Work Text:
Eddie was in a really bad mood. He had an accident while at work, three months ago, just after Chimney and Maddie's wedding, and broke his left leg in three pieces.
The boot was itchy, the pain meds made him dizzy, and the rehab had been a bitch. But at last, he was finally back to work and his locker was... taken by a probie.
He was late getting to his first shift back and already in a bad mood. Chris had overslept, Carla wasn't there because she had an emergency at home, so he had to drive his son to school, instead of the regular carpool with Penny's mom.
Also, he had forgotten his coffee mug at home and the one he bought on the way to work tasted awful.
Changing into his uniform as fast as possible, he got back to the locker problem and ended up doing what he always did: dumped his bag in Buck's locker and went upstairs to say hello to his team. Chimney and Hen were happy to see him, Cap was making him an omelet and things started looking better for Eddie. Until he saw his best friend, who had been rather... absent lately.
Buck was playing video games on the sofa with a girl, (the new probie, Eddie guessed) and didn't even stop to say hi when or introduce their new coworker. Rude, Eddie thought and ignored them. Bobby approached him with a plate and sat with him to eat.
"Eddie, you're going to be paired with Ravi until further notice.” Bobby said and Eddie wanted to go back home and get into his bed. “Buck is training Martinez, has been for the last two months, and I think it's better to let them keep working together for now. They are really a great team”
Eddie nodded without looking at the pair. Would it be too bad if he jumped off the loft and broke his other leg? Drama much? provided his brain. Just a twisted ankle would make him stay home for a week. "Sure, Cap" he answered, stuffing half the omelet in his mouth and ignoring his coworker's looks.
Buck and Martinez dropped their controllers when the alarm sounded and ran to the truck, competing to see who got ready first.
Behind them with his coworkers, at their usual pace, shaking their heads and getting on the truck. He had never, in the almost seven years they worked together, been ignored by Buck this way and he didn't like it.
He was practically pouting when he went to sit in his usual spot and found a blonde woman in it. Martinez smiled, glanced at Buck, who ignored him and didn’t move.
Glaring at both of them, Eddie sat on the front of the truck with Cap and ignored the chatter. Once on the scene, a two vehicle MVA, Cap sent him along with Ravi to help the SUV's passengers while Buck and Martinez were sent to a sedan on the other side of the road.
The SUV's driver was missing and based on the smell in the car and the open bottles, probably drunk. The passengers on the backseat seemed in good condition but trapped, no immediate medical assistance needed.
Eddie had only worked with Ravi a couple of times, and they did not make the greatest team. Ravi didn't anticipate his thoughts like Buck did and always interrupted him when talking to victims, asking what he needed. It wasn't his fault he wasn't a mind-reader.
By the time they got the passengers out of the back, he noticed Buck and Martinez were not only finished helping the driver in their car but had tracked the missing driver and were taking him to Chimney and Hen.
On their way back to the station, he was in a worst mood and decided to just sleep it off in the bunk room, but even there, Martinez and Buck wouldn't stop yapping, so he ended up in the loft's sofa, uncomfortable, trying to find something to watch on the TV.
"Hey, Eddie Diaz, right?" asked Martinez, sitting by his side. "We weren't introduced, I'm Evelyn Martinez, but people call me Evie, nice to meet you."
"Hey," Eddie said, barely acknowledging her. Buck sat next to her and said "hey" to Eddie and continued their conversation as if Eddie wasn’t there.
"Hey, Buck, Chris says hello" Eddie said, trying to get Buck's attention. Evie laughed uncomfortably, sitting between them, and Buck rolled his eyes.
"Chris and I talk every day, you are the one who hasn't said hello recently" Buck answered sarcastically and kept talking to Evie about someone called Christina and Eliana, ignoring him again.
“Well, I did send you several messages. Maybe you didn’t see them” Eddie answered with the same level of sarcasm, while getting up to make himself some tea in the kitchen. “Also, I put my stuff in your locker as mine was taken over while I was on leave.”
"Oh, sorry, Buck said it was OK to use it as you guys usually share his" Evie said apologetically, pushing Buck and making him blush. She approached Eddie and asked him to make her some tea, big puppy eyes and begging face. Eddie couldn’t say no, and asked Buck if he wanted some tea and a snack. He perked up and followed Evie into the kitchen.
Seeing them side by side, Eddie noticed Evie was almost as tall as him, maybe 5' 10" or 11", with brown hair and blue eyes a shade brighter than Buck’s. She seemed nice and Eddie told himself to give her a chance, maybe they could get along.
But when Buck hugged her and dragged her back to the sofa, to his spot, to play another game, Eddie rolled his eyes and got back into his task. Washing the dishes and making a lot of noise to ignore the couple. He replaced me so fast, he thought, sadly.
Eddie didn't know what Buck was doing lately. Not since... No, Eddie didn't want to think about their last actual conversation, right after he got hurt, when he showed up in his house in the middle of the night. They started talking, then arguing, then a screaming match ensued, and Eddie thanked a God he wasn’t sure he believed in his son was in a sleepover.
It was the worst argument they had ever had, worse than the grocery store and Eddie hadn’t directly talked to Buck since then. The silence was deafening.
*****************
Chris was in a great mood. Eddie was still in a horrible mood after his shift, but didn't want to sour his poor child's day, so he tried to pretend he was just tired.
He felt like he had lost his best friend and didn't want to leave his bed but with a teenager in the house, he had no choice.
"Dad, Buck invited me to go to Christina's birthday party, can I go?" he asked, really excited.
"Who is Christina?" Eddie asked, distractedly, while sipping his morning coffee. After dropping off his son, he would have his post-shift nap, but until then, he had to be a functioning adult. Or at least pretend.
"Oh, Christina is Evie's daughter" Chris answered while showing him a photo of Buck, Evie and a ten-year-old girl on Buck's shoulders. It seemed like they were in the zoo, having the time of their lives.
That used to be us, thought a despondent Eddie. He didn't want to see the photo or imagine the circumstances. "Have you met Christina?" he asked, suddenly wondering why his son was so excited to go to the birthday of the daughter of a coworker Eddie himself barely knew.
"Yeah, remember when Carla had an emergency and asked Buck to pick me up from school? He was babysitting her and Jee. I met Evie later, when she went to pick her up from Buck’s loft. Christina is really smart, and Evie is nice too. And so tall, almost as tall as you, dad" Chris said and kept eating his cereal.
"OK then, you can go but I have to take you. I want to see this house and meet these people" Eddie said, still angry Buck was leaving their family for... wait, no, ignoring him, he was mad Buck was ignoring him at work and out of it. Yes, that was it. No one liked being ignored, right?
"Sure, I'll tell Buck. She’s going to be so happy. They just moved from Boston, and she barely has friends at school. She goes to Durand; Buck and Carla helped get her in" Chris explains and Eddie feels bad for the little girl. No wonder Buck already got attached.
He introduced Carla to Evelyn, Eddie mused and felt even worse. He felt petty and vindictive, wanted to scream at Buck and at the same time, to get Buck’s eyes look at him again, like he used to, smiling and so trusting.
No, he has a new partner, he thought and wanted to get in his bed and not come out for days. He has someone new to have his back, he doesn’t need me anymore. First Tommy, now Evie. Eddie ignored his wandering thoughts and tried to go back to the very important conversation with his son.
"Well, I think it's very nice that you are going to her party. Did you buy her a gift with Buck, or do you want to go today after school?" Eddie offered, a kind of peace offering.
"Can we? Thanks, dad! I was going to give her some of my books on dinosaurs, she's really into that, but if I can buy her a hair band, I think it will be perfect. She has really long hair and loves hairbands" Chris said, getting up to wash his bowl.
"You really like her, huh?"
"Yeah, she's Buck's family so she is ours too, right?" Chris said and Eddie was suddenly confused. What did he mean by Buck's family? He tried to remember the little girl's face and realized she looked like Maddie in photos Buck had shown from his childhood, but with Buck's blond hair and blue eyes.
Eddie started reeling. Maybe that's why they were so close. Was Christina... Buck's child? Evie being an ex would explain why they got along so well having met so recently. Eddie felt like he had been hit by a truck.
He had felt as if Buck replaced him and Christopher with Evie and Christina and wanted to throw up. Maybe the black coffee on an empty stomach and bad feelings was a bad idea.
****************
Buying things for little girls was hard, but Christopher had the brilliant idea of enlisting his girlfriend Penny (the only one, thank God) to help them with the task.
The three of them, plus Penny's mom, ended up going to the mall, having a kid's date and an adult gossip session. Gaby (Penny's mom) was almost interrogating Eddie about his latest girlfriend.
"Marisol and I got along well, I don’t know what happened.” Liar, his brain provided, you know exactly what the first nail in the coffin was. “Chris didn't like her, I guess" Eddie explained, using his son as an excuse for the breakup. The truth was Marisol was nice, just like Ana was nice, just like the women his aunt had set him up with were nice. But they didn't make him feel anything. It was a performance and Frank had a field day with him about that.
Frank sent him into a tailspin when he asked him what he was looking for. "A partner" he answered, "someone who has my back. Also, someone who Chris likes and who knows he will always be my priority."
"So, what did Marisol do to make Chris so against her?" Gaby asked, curiosity in her voice.
"Chris said it was not something bad, just a comment about her being a priority to me, that I wouldn’t have so much time to outings with him” and with Buck, he had said but didn’t mention it to Gaby) “and it made him angry. He told me if I kept dating her, he would move in with Buck" Eddie laughed, remembering his surprise at his son's words.
“You told me about your will, about how he is my legal guardian, so I can go to him” Chris declared and closed his door in Eddie’s face. Marisol was gone by the next day. Eddie was happy his son could trust another adult so much and had already run to Buck before but didn’t appreciate the ultimatum.
He knew Chris was right, she wasn’t good for them if she thought that. But to have it screamed at his face while the woman was in the next room? It seemed a bit harsh. Teenagers.
"Well, you made a cute couple, but I understand always thinking about your son" Gaby says, before going over to see what the kids had selected for Christina.
"Your cousin will love this, Chris" Penny declares and Eddie was confused again. Cousin? Why did Penny think Christina was Christopher's cousin? Was it because she thought Buck was Chris's uncle and the little girl was Buck's daughter?
Eddie was perplexed and Christopher took the chance to buy a bow, a headband and also a tiny bag to put both accessories in (Penny's advice again). Eddie's wallet was a lot lighter after their trip to the mall.
**************
The day of the party, Eddie ended up getting ready for the party, dreading any kind of confrontation with both Buck and Evie. Going to a stranger’s house for a child’s birthday party was something he was used to, but he planned to drop Chris off and ran.
Christopher was excited to go to Christina's house and Carla had thanked Eddie. She was going to take Chris, but Eddie offered. He wanted to see the house at least. Also, going to a kid's birthday party was not in her job description, after all.
They got dressed casually (Eddie with his usual henley and jeans combo, Christopher with his favorite Superman T-shirt Buck got him for his last birthday) and Chris gave his dad the address Buck had provided, a little house less than 15 minutes away.
When they arrived, he was able to drop Chris off at the curb and was about to leave when a tall brunette with a commanding air waved at him. Eddie wasn’t expecting a stranger, so he decided to park across the street and go in to meet the family. Maybe it was the wrong house, but he doubted it. Chris seemed to know the woman and by the time he got to the door, his son was already dropping his gift at a dinner table.
"Eddie, right? I'm Eliana Martinez, but everybody calls me Ellie, nice to meet you" she said, extending her hand.
"Nice to meet you too" Eddie answered, taking her hand. She had a strong handshake. "Military, right?"
"Army medic, actually. I did three tours, didn’t reenlist, and now I'm in my final year of residence. I’m the reason for the big move, Chrissy will not let me forget that” she joked and invited him in. “You are a firefighter like our boy Buck, right?" The house was a nice place, cozy and lived in. "The party is out back, come one. Your boy is already out there."
Following her to the back yard, he noticed not only Buck and Evie along with half a dozen kids but also Maddie and Chimney with Jee. Eddie felt out of place until he saw Christopher playing with Christina. "They are so close already, the three cousins" Ellie said and Eddie couldn't stop himself.
"But... they are not cousins. I don't understand why he keeps saying that. Chris is not related to Buck; he is my son. He may consider him like a dad but..."
"I mean Maddie, Buck and Evie. They're cousins, didn't you know?" Ellie was now the confused one. "Evie and her family left Hershey when her and Buck were twelve, right after Maddie got married."
Eddie was now understanding everything. The physical similarities, how Evie reminded him a bit of Maddie but with Buck's eye color, the closeness so soon after meeting. He laughed at his own stupidity and stayed close to Ellie. "Ok, so Evie is Christina's mom, and you are her partner, I guess."
"Yes, we've been married for five years. Evie already had Christy when we met and she took my last name after the marriage. I adopted Chrissy soon after, so she has my name as well. You know how the Buckleys prefer to leave their last names behind. When that one gets married" she said, saluting Buck, who had noticed Eddie and was approaching rapidly, "say goodbye to that last name."
"Eddie, what are you doing here?" Buck asked, annoyed.
"I brought my son to his friend's birthday party, Evan" Eddie answered, also annoyed. "Sorry, Ellie, I have to go. Buck can call me when the party is over so I can pick him up. Wish your little girl a great birthday, and I hope she likes her present."
Turning to leave, Eddie was surprised to feel Buck following him "What the hell, Eds?" he exclaimed, with a low voice, once inside the house.
“I don't want to argue, Buck. I wasn't planning to stay, anyway” Eddie wanted to run away and hide. He couldn't do this here, in front of all these people.
“Chris was asked to stay over tonight, can I come over after the party? To talk? Or are you going to continue to ignore me?”
“I'm not the one ignoring you, Buckley” he said, turning around and glaring at the other man. “I was right there each time you picked Chris from my house the last three months, and I have been texting you with no answer. So don't come at me with accusations when you are the one who pushed me away.” Eddie was getting angry now, and kept walking, now almost to his truck.
Buck stopped right by Eddie's truck and looked at him so sadly and angry at the same time. “I told you I loved you and you told me you love me as a friend, so excuse for needing my own space.”
“I’m sorry, Evan, but you shut me out. You didn’t give me a chance to explain myself, to tell you...” Eddie answered, flustered and still upset.
“What could you possibly say that would fix us? I screwed our friendship up and I couldn’t even look at you. I just needed time to get over you and you wouldn’t stop calling” Buck asked sarcastically but still sad.
Eddie couldn’t say another word. Buck was right, what could he say? He just grabbed Buck's face and kissed him, right there and then. In front of his cousin's house, where his family and the whole neighborhood could see them.
Buck kissed him back after a moment. They kissed and kissed; Eddie lost track of time in the other man’s mouth. “Not fair” Buck murmured against Eddie’s lips, grabbing him by the waist and pushing them into the driver's door of the truck. “Not fair, Eddie” he practically moaned and pushed himself off his friend, putting space between them, trying to make his brain function again.
“I'm sorry, I needed time to sort out my feelings. You went from telling me you were dating Tommy and taking him to your sister's wedding to showing up at my house a week later, in the middle of the night. I had just broken up with Marisol and was on pain meds. You told me you were in love with me and kissed me with no warning.” Eddie complained, messing up his own hair. “I needed time to process... all of it”
Eddie sighed and tried to turn around, to leave, to give Buck the space he so obviously needed but the other man grabbed him and kissed him back, his hand again in his waist, his mouth so sweet and perfect against his.
“It was my fault you got hurt” Buck complained. “You pushed me away and asked for time. I thought that was my answer. That you didn't... want me. So, I did what I always do: I got in my head. You’ve known me for almost seven years, you should know how I operate.”
Eddie chuckled. "Yeah, I know, and I couldn't even leave my house by myself to track you down and force you to listen. And you recruited everyone, even my own family, to keep me home, away from you" He grabbed Buck's face with one hand, the other going through his hair. “I missed you so much.”
"Not the hair," Buck complained but didn't stop him from messing it up. “Missed you too, so much. What will people think when we go back to the party?"
"We? I like the sound of that. Also, I love the hair without product, all curly and sexy" Eddie answered, taking Buck's pouty mouth again. He had dreamt of doing that so many times and he could now, so why contain himself? "Also, I'm rather sure Evie, Ellie and Maddie are watching us from the windows."
They were, and Chimney was also taking a video that he promptly sent to all the 118, claiming he won the bet. "I said no bets, Howard Han" they heard Maddie yell and tried to hide their laughs in each other's necks.
"Want to meet my family? The ones I actually like?" Buck offered, still looking a bit unsure.
"Yes, but I want to be introduced as your boyfriend, that OK?" Eddie answered and Buck's face lit up.
*******************
"So, you thought my daughter was Evan's? Ewwwwwww" said Evelyn Martinez nee Buckley, while chatting with Eddie, Hen and Chimney at the firehouse. Buck was helping Bobby cooking but also joined the "Ewwwww" chorus.
"I'm sorry, no one thought to introduce us, and Buck was being a stubborn ass and refused to say a word to me, so seeing that photo of the two of you with Christina, I just assumed and made an ass of myself" Eddie admitted and his boyfriend laughed, along with the rest of his coworkers.
"I have to admit," Evie said after they had stopped making fun of Eddie, "I did think Christopher was Buck's, so we are even, I guess."
"Hey, I have not been fathering children left and right" Buck complained and they all exclaimed: Buck 1.0!
Eddie smiled at Buck and his best friend/boyfriend smiled back. Damn professionalism, he was going to push Buck in a storage closet as soon as everyone was distracted. What Bobby didn't know, didn't hurt him (and also, didn't get them fired).