Work Text:
It's the perfect spot. Tucked in the corner by a window, the chair comfortable and soft but still offering support.
Eddie has everything he needs for a productive writing session, and yet he's been staring at the blank page in front of him for twenty minutes now, waiting for the words to come.
His coffee cup is almost empty, but he refuses to drink the last sip until he's written at least a sentence. He needs to pick Chris up in less than an hour, though, and he's beginning to wonder if today is another no-go. It's been weeks since he's written anything more than a sentence, and his editor has seriously been breathing down his neck about it.
A cup clunks down on the table in front of him, and he glances up in surprise, brow furrowing. The barista he'd ordered from when he came in is standing there, looking ever so slightly awkward. Eddie remembers his name, even though it had been pinned to the apron which he was no longer wearing.
Buck .
Eddie has been here a lot lately, timing his visits for when he'd figured out Buck usually worked. It makes him feel like a bit of a stalker, but he rationalizes it by telling himself it’s just because Buck usually gives him a free shot of vanilla in his lattes.
"I, uh… you looked like you could use another cup," Buck says. "On me, don't worry," he adds, when Eddie's frown deepens.
Eddie looks between the steaming mug of fresh coffee in front of him, and the bashful expression on Buck's face.
"Thanks,” Eddie feels a smile pull at the corner of his mouth. “Do you wanna sit?”
Eddie gestures at the seat opposite him, and Buck hesitates.
“You’re writing,” Buck waves a hand and takes a step back. “I wouldn’t want to interrupt.”
The smile finally wins out, and Eddie closes the notebook. “I haven’t written a single word since I got here, Buck. I’d welcome the distraction.”
Buck’s eyes widen a fraction, and he agrees, sitting across from Eddie with the to-go cup he had in his hand. He really had been planning to just drop off the coffee and go.
“What were you working on?” Buck asks, nodding at the book.
“It’s a novel — or, well, it’s supposed to be. Eventually.”
Buck leans forward, and his enthusiasm could almost be seen as teasing, if it wasn’t for the pure curiosity in his eyes.
Eddie tells him, reeling off the standard summary he gives when his family or friends ask, the version he has memorized at this point. A firefighter, a mystery, a suspicious new face he can’t get out of his head.
Buck hangs on every word, and when Eddie finishes, he doesn’t move on. He asks questions, and Eddie is suddenly reminded of Christopher’s “Why?” phase.
Eddie answers each one with ease, until Buck asks. “Why’d the new guy show up in the first place?”
And Eddie… doesn’t know. He frowns, staring at the empty cup of coffee which he’d drank without even noticing.
An answer begins to take shape in his mind, and suddenly, Eddie knows.
“Holy shit,” he whispers.
Buck looks taken aback. “What just happened?”
“You fixed my writer’s block!” Eddie tears open the notebook to a blank page and starts writing it down before it can slip away.
“I did?” Buck asks. “Really?”
Eddie glances up briefly. “Seriously! This is—”
Eddie’s phone buzzes, a reminder he needs to leave for Chris. “Fuck,” he grumbles. “Seriously, Buck. I could kiss you right now, but I need to pick my son up from school. I gotta go.”
He shoves the book in his bag and races for the door, but Buck stops him with a hand on his arm. “You could kiss me? You have a kid?”
Eddie has to go, but Buck’s staring at him like he’s something wonderful, and it pins Eddie to the spot.
“Look—” he begins, glancing at the clock. “Let me buy you dinner, okay? I owe you for the inspiration, and, well — yeah, maybe I do want to kiss you, but I really need to leave right now.”
Buck’s face is bright pink, but he smiles. “Sure, that… that sounds good. I’m free tomorrow at six? Unless you need more time, to find a sitter or whatever?”
Chris will be with Carla tomorrow, and Eddie thanks his past self for calling in that favor to buy himself more time to work out this writer’s block.
“That works for me! I’ll meet you here, okay?”
Buck nods, and Eddie rushes out the door. He’s halfway to Chris’s school before he realizes he’d never actually told Buck his name.
Tomorrow at six.
He can introduce himself then.