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Days since Buck started fostering Theo had been different, in a lot of ways life felt more rewarding. He now had someone of his own to come home to at the end of the day and he had someone other than himself to take care of, which given Buck’s destructive tendencies he really needed. But not every day has been a walk in the park.
Today was one of those days, Buck and Eddie’s days off collided with the weekend so both of their kids were around too and whenever this happens they like to make a day of it, so on Sunday the plan was a trip to the aquarium, something that usually the boys love.
The first problem arose when Theo couldn’t find his shark t-shirt because he’d worn it to Kindergarten the day before despite Buck reminding him that they were going to the Aquarium and they wouldn’t have the chance to wash it again in time if he did. Of course at the time Theo insisted that was fine, but on the morning of their day out he had been screaming the house down because he couldn’t wear it.
So Buck fished the soiled shirt from the hamper and examined it, there were no obvious stains, a miracle in itself, just a day's worth of stink from an overenergetic child, so Buck tossed it in the washer on the quickest setting possible hoping Eddie and Chris wouldn’t mind waiting around until it dried. Which led to the second problem, Theo was initially excited when he heard Eddie’s truck pull up outside - a sound both of them were innately familiar with - but when Theo set his eyes on Chris the excitement was drained from him as he spotted the shark on Chris’ t-shirt.
Now Theo was unpredictable at times, sometimes he wanted nothing more than to be just like Chris from stealing clothes from his dresser when they’re at Eddie’s to taking an interest in whatever activity Chris is trying to do. Other days Theo is deadset on his own individuality, which is great, Buck is glad that he’s creating an environment in which his foster child feels comfortable enough to be his own person and express his own interests. But right now it’s causing problems.
When he’s having one of these days he has a lot of misplaced frustration at Chris having any overlap with him, so wearing a t-shirt with the same sea creature that he was planning on wearing was going to cause problems. So his screaming returned and he stormed off to his room letting the door slam with a house rattling bang. After recounting The Ballad of the Unwashed Shirt to Eddie they split leaving Eddie to ensure the t-shirt gets dry just in case Theo still wants it and Buck to try and talk the boy into a better mood.
He refused to wear the shark t-shirt that started the morning dispute and he eventually settled for a blue shirt Buck convinced him represented the water. They left 30 minutes later than intended, almost certainly going to miss the time slot they booked, and it was on the drive over that the third problem occurred.
Theo had calmed down a lot before getting in the car and, once they were all settled, Eddie handed out morning snacks and drinks to ensure no one got hungry whilst they were walking around the aquarium. He had coffees for himself and Buck and got them both pastries and protein bars, Chris had a pot of pre-sliced apples and a bottle of water, and Theo had a little bag of fruit snacks and a carton of apple juice.
And things were fine until Theo decided to test how tightly he could squeeze the carton and promptly burst it at the seams soaking his clothes in juice and letting out a bloodcurdling scream that caused Buck to slam on the brakes harder than necessary in the panic. They pulled over at the first possible safe location after that and made quick work of getting him changed in one of the many spare outfits they packed for the boy - luckily they packed the newly cleaned shark t-shirt which Theo now really wanted to wear and then on they went to the Aquarium.
Luckily they were able to move onto the next available time slot and then their day began looking like it would be going much better, and for a while it was. The fourth problem came at the touchpool, between Buck and Eddie they were trying really hard to teach Theo to be more aware of his actions but ultimately he was still having trouble grasping the concept of gentle hands. So with that considered maybe they should’ve steered clear of the touchpool altogether, but last visit they’d tried him out with it and he was very well behaved so they booked it again in hopes that interacting with the sea creatures could help teach him how to be considerate with his touch and actions.
Today was a different story, when he made his way over to the nearest part of the pool there were no rays, before Buck had the chance to suggest that they move to a different area where the rays are swimming around happily Theo let his inner frustration take over and he splashed his hands into the water causing it to splash back over himself, Buck, and the floor around them. Chris made his way over to the pools at his fathers suggestion so that he wouldn’t have to miss out on the exhibit whilst Eddie went to find an attendant to inform them of the newly created slip hazard. Buck lifted Theo away from the water trying to ignore the boy's limbs flailing against him as he attempted to wriggle free from his grasp.
The trip was cut short after that with both men making promises to Chris that they’d reschedule for another day, Theo was changed once again back at the car and Buck swapped out his t-shirt for a fresh one but stayed in his water damp trousers for the drive back as to not need to leave Eddie alone with both kids when Theo was having a difficult day.
The fifth problem was LA traffic, a predictable problem but a painful one nonetheless with a restless child in the car, Eddie gave the boys their packed sandwiches on the drive back once it became clear they’d be sat there for a while. Theo was given another juice carton on the proviso that Eddie would not be taking his eyes off him whilst he drank it. He finished the drink before moving on to his sandwich and the sixth problem came as soon as Eddie turned back around.
Buck knew what Theo liked in his sandwiches, he would always ask for either peanut butter and jelly or ham and cheese. He had never shown interest in anything else no matter how much they tried to expand his palette. If he was having a sandwich it was one of those two options, but something changed on this drive and he refused to eat it as it wasn’t chicken. Chris, however, did have Mexican chicken in his sandwiches and Theo had taken notice of this which only furthered his annoyance that he had PB&J in his.
Much to everyone’s relief Chris willingly offered to give up one of his sandwiches in exchange for Theo’s as of yet untouched one and Buck made a mental note to buy Chris whatever game he wanted in thanks for avoiding a meltdown in an enclosed space. They made it back to Buck’s place in one piece after that and Theo was happy to play in his room for a bit allowing Chris some reprieve to play a video game with Buck and Eddie on the couch.
In fact they made it all the way to dinner without any troubles, the seventh problem came when dinner was dished up and Theo vehemently did not want to stop playing to come and sit down at the table to eat. Not even the boy’s grumbling stomach was enough to convince him to leave his room, after some deliberation with Eddie they decided to let him bring some colouring to the table but nothing else and he eventually relented.
The eighth and final problem came at bedtime, Theo was willing to go to bed but he wouldn’t let Buck tuck him in or read him a story. It had to be Eddie. Which was at least a problem he could solve by letting Eddie come in and do it, but it still stung to not be able to do something so simple. Chris was set up on the air mattress in Theo’s room so Buck let himself wander out into the backyard and take a seat looking up to the dark LA night sky.
Some time later Eddie found him and he placed two non alcoholic beers on the table beside him before taking the free chair for himself, they sat in silence for a little while just enjoying the others company whilst working through the first bit of solitude that they’d been granted all day.
The hum of the fairy lights were filtered out by the soft music playing from Eddie’s phone, it was something in Spanish that Buck couldn’t quite pick out, but he was enjoying it nonetheless.
“Am I making a mistake?” Buck spoke eventually, lolling his head to the side slowly to look at the other man, “with Theo, would he be better off somewhere else?” he asked once brown eyes met blue under the faint glow of moonlight.
“I don’t think this is a mistake Buck, today was just a tough day,” Eddie assured before taking a long drag of his drink, he was still adjusting to the difference in taste of the non-alcoholic beer but when it was just the two of them he liked to meet Buck where he was at, desperate to never let him slip away the way he once did again.
“A tough day that I could do nothing to make it better,” Buck complained, “I let him wear the shark shirt even though I knew he would want it, I booked us in the touchpool knowing his tendencies for destruction, and I wasn’t even able to put him to bed tonight Eddie,” he recounted.
“Buck…” Eddie started before being cut off once more by Buck’s ramblings.
“I’m failing him Eddie, I took him in because I was scared of where he’d end up if I didn’t and now just… what if I’m the wrong place for him to be,” Buck shook his head as nausea pooled in his stomach, “what if I’m not enough for him.”
Eddie paused, there’s a million things in his mind that he could say to Buck right now. He could tell him that he thinks he’s a great dad or tell him that Theo is lucky to have him, but right now Buck’s in a downward spiral and any compliments are destined to fall on deaf ears so he knew he needed to snap him out of his decline before anything further could be said. So he increased the volume a few ticks on his phone as he pushed himself up from the garden chair.
“Come here,” Eddie said as he drifted across the lawn to stand in front of Buck with an arm extended, “take my hand.”
“What are you doing?” Buck frowned in confusion as his eyes darted from Eddie’s waiting hand to the hopeful look on his face.
“Just take my hand Buck,” Eddie repeated as he inched closer with the moon now encircling him like a halo, “please,” he added, standing there like Buck’s own personal guardian angel in the crisp night air.
“Fine,” Buck relented as he slid his own cold hand into the warmth of Eddie’s grasp and let himself get pulled up to his feet landing a breaths width apart from his best friend, “now what?” he asked quietly, feeling unable to look anywhere but the crinkle around Eddie’s eyes as he grinned up at him.
“Dance with me?” Eddie began to take strides backwards until he reached a part of the yard with enough space for them, Buck couldn’t help the smile creeping across his face in spite of the day as he allowed himself to be pulled along, content to do whatever Eddie wants if it means he keeps getting to see that smile directed only at him.
“I’m not a good dancer,” Buck chuckled over the words softly.
“Oh I’m aware,” Eddie laughed back as his free hand brushed against Buck’s hip, “but I still choose you to be my partner regardless,” his hand wrapped firm against the muscle as he pulled Buck closer until their chests were flush against one another. His hand settled against the small of the other man's back as Buck tentatively placed his own against the nape of Eddie’s neck.
“Is this still about dancing?” Buck asked quietly as Eddie took the lead, swaying them to the rhythm of the song. It was a far cry from the complex choreo of his ballroom competition youth but it didn’t need to be more than this.
He didn’t need to perform with Buck. He never has.
“Not entirely,” Eddie said back equally as low, “you’re not perfect Buck, no one is. But I truly believe you are perfect for me, and for Chris, and most importantly for Theo.”
“I don’t know if that’s true Eddie,” Buck replied, trying to find the right way to move along with Eddie’s body.
“Well I do,” Eddie stated, firm and final, “okay? So for now just feel the music, let go,” he moved his hand in small circles against Buck’s back trying desperately to soothe all the tension buried under his skin.
Buck released Eddie’s hand to allow both his own to interlock around the back of Eddie's neck giving him an excuse to pull them impossibly closer to one another until they were moving as one. Eddie responded in kind as his fingertips grazed each other on the expanse of the other man's back as he felt Buck’s head rest atop his shoulder.
“You’re good at this,” Buck mumbled as he let his hot breath kiss the bare skin of Eddie’s neck eliciting a spread of goosebumps from the man.
“Well, I was a 2 time El Paso under 8s champion,” Eddie joked pulling back enough to break Buck’s grip and run a hand down his arm until their hands joined once more giving Eddie the opportunity to give his dance partner a twirl before letting their bodies meet once more as they reassumed their previous position.
“I meant me,” Buck laughed as his head found solace once more in the crook of Eddie’s neck, “no one understands me like you do, suppose that’s why you’re so good with Theo too.”
“Sure it helps, but you have that same experience too - more even,” Eddie pointed out.
“You’re better at taking care of me than I am,” Buck commented, tilting his head to look at Eddie directly whilst still leaning his body weight onto him.
“Hmm, that’s because you don’t try to not because you can’t,” Eddie remarked, feeling a blush grow on his cheeks at the proximity, they were close enough that Eddie could feel the flick of Buck’s lashes on every blink. Somehow it still felt like they should be closer, “with Theo you do try, you try so damn hard Buck and I want you to know that doesn’t go unnoticed.”
“That’s easy for you to say you seem to notice everything,” Buck pulled back, not letting go of Eddie, just looking at him clearer. They both seemed to mourn the additional inches of distance, neither admitted as much.
“You’ve got a lot worth noticing,” Eddie studied Buck’s features in a way he’d never had the opportunity to before, they’d never been this close before. Even in the dim light Eddie can see the ridges of his birthmark as his mind traced the shape, etching it into his memory clear enough he could replicate it from memory with children's crayons. He could see the way the colour deepened along with the flush on his face and the striking blue of his eyes sat amongst the crimson.
Eddie had never cared too much for water. He learned to swim for preservation and any trips to the beach since moving to LA were for Chris’ sake either enjoyment or to work through trauma from the tsunami. The latter made him care for the water less, why would he willingly go towards the very thing that almost took two of the most important people in his life from him. But the way the lights caught in the aqua of his friends' eyes changed all of that, it made him want to dive straight in. If it meant he could live within Buck forever, he’d be willing to drown.
“Thank you,” Buck whispered, breaking Eddie free from the daze he’d found himself lost in, “for this, for today, for just everything. I don’t know, I just don’t think I say that enough.”
“Good thing I’m not doing any of this for your praise then,” Eddie laughed as he brought one hand up to cradle Buck’s face to ensure he maintained their eye contact for what he was going to say next, “everything I do is for you, not for your thanks or out of obligation, I do it because you deserve someone that you can share the load with, because I want to be that someone,” he promised as they continued to move in time with one another.
“Why?” Buck asked, his voice breathless from the touch against his cheek. Despite being the larger man by most metrics he looked so small and fragile as he questioned the sentiment provided by his best friend, his eyes shone brighter as tears decorated his waterline and Eddie would find it undeniably beautiful if the way he asked why didn’t sound so broken.
Eddie let his hand trail down Buck’s skin letting his caress against his jaw, then neck, before finally settling on his shoulder with his thumb finding the spot on his collarbone carved out just for him. They stopped swaying, bringing Buck to a single point of focus, Eddie and his hand as he began to speak, “Because Evan, I don’t trust anyone else to do it right.”
“Well you are a deeply mistrusting person,” Buck laughed back taking Eddie’s hand in his and initiated the dancing once more this time trying to take the lead himself, it was messy and uncoordinated as he tried to shuffle his feet back and forth, “I don’t think I’m doing this right.”
“It’s okay, I like it anyways,” Eddie couldn’t stifle his laugh as Buck stumbled over his toes in an attempt to match the beat of the song. He did it like Buck did anything, with his full heart and a little rough around the edges, and Eddie would be hard pressed to find something he went full Buck on anything less than endearing.
“Can you just take over again,” Buck snorted with three mindless squeezes to Eddie’s hand as he stepped back in anticipation of being back under the other man’s spell.
“Anything for you Buck,” Eddie smiled back as he took a couple of steps until both men were standing side by side. Buck didn’t move, he just stood holding the other man’s hand waiting to see what Eddie was going to do next., He twirled Buck back towards him, keeping him spinning until his back collided with his awaiting forearm to lean him back into a dip and whilst Eddie has the strength to hold his fellow firefighter up in that position the giggles coming from Buck rattled his frame causing them to both crash to the ground tangled up around each other.
“I think that’s a sign to call it a night,” Buck’s laughter continued to rumble through his chest jogging Eddie where he lay against the man’s pecs, “ready to call it a night?”
“Sounds good to me,” Eddie was first to get back up, extending his guide Buck to his feet for the second time this evening. They tidied up their things outside and dropped them in the kitchen to deal with the following morning as the exhaustion of the day started to settle into both of them.
Eddie followed Buck back to his room, an action that was by no means out of the ordinary given that his spare clothes for nights like this lived in their own designated drawer in Buck’s dresser.
“Hey Buck,” Eddie called out into the en suite Buck had headed straight into.
“Yeah?” Buck’s voice was muffled by the toothbrush in his mouth as he poked his head back into his bedroom, never one to deny Eddie his full attention.
“I really don’t feel like setting up the couch tonight, I am beat,” Eddie yawned, “do you mind if we both just…” he continued gesturing to the bed in place of stating the words outright.
“Oh yeah, that’s fine,” Buck replied popping back into the bathroom briefly to spit out his excess toothpaste before coming back to continue his thought, “although I do need to tell you that Theo spilled his cereal on the bed this morning and there was the whole fuss with the t-shirt so we’ll probably a clean comforter getting out,” he explained.
“I’ll grab that, you finish up in there,” Eddie offered despite getting bedding out being the whole reason he just provided for not being able to sleep on the couch. He walked over to Buck’s closet as the man himself returned to the bathroom, Eddie didn’t need to ask where his spare comforter was.
He knew this house as well as he knew his own so he pushed aside the hanging clothes and leant into the depths of the cupboard shifting boxes around until he found the brand new comforter, as he lifted it out a box got knocked on its side exposing the contents. Eddie dumped the bedding on the floor behind him as he leant in further to scoop up the discarded items and tidying them back into the box, he let himself linger on the objects as he went.
Some postcards he assumes were places he travelled before he moved to LA, some Peruvian currency, a small gold chain with a horse shoe charm that Eddie would really like to see Buck wear sometime, and a scraggly teddy bear. The last item held his focus, everything in the box seemed to be from young adult Buck, things he’d held onto whilst living out of his jeep as tokens on his journey. The bear felt out of place. Buck found him sat on the hardwood floor between the open doors turning the bear over in his hands.
“Oh wow,” Buck remarked as his eyes settled on the plush toy, Eddie turned his head to look up at the man quick enough to be at risk of whiplash as embarrassment settled in him at being caught effectively going through Buck’s belongings without permission.
“Sorry, it um, I knocked a box over, I was putting everything back, comforter is behind me,” Eddie scrambled out his reply but continued to grip the bear in his hands nonetheless.
“It’s fine, mi casa es su casa and all that,” Buck reassured, “I just haven’t seen this in a while, forgot I even still had him, can I?” he asked, dropping his open palm into Eddie’s eyeline.
“Yeah of course,” Eddie passed it up to him and tucked the box back into the closet before swiping up the comforter as he got back up from the ground with an aged grunt, “looks well loved.”
“Maddie gave him to me when we were kids, it’s possibly the only bit of Hershey I haven’t left behind,” Buck turned the bear over in his hands as he studied it, it’s smaller than he remembered - or more he’s bigger than the last time he held it, “it’s funny that you found this actually,” he admitted piquing the other man's interest.
“Why’s that?” Eddie asked, looking at the bear before dragging his attention back up to Buck’s face as he awaited the response.
“His name’s Eddie,” Buck answered.
The silence that fell between them couldn’t have lasted more than a couple of minutes but it was all consuming enough that not even the hum of the HVAC stood a chance at permeating the moment.
“His name’s Eddie?” Eddie finally spoke, repeating Buck’s statement as if he’d heard it wrong the first time because truly what are the chances of that.
“Yeah, um, I just wasn’t great with my T’s at that time - or very creative I suppose - so I called it an Eddie Bear and overtime that got shortened to just Eddie and yeah he’s Eddie - this isn’t weird is it? I didn’t mean to make this weird,” Buck rambled through his explanation as the panic grew in his chest.
“It’s not weird, it’s strange and a little crazy how things work out but you didn’t make anything weird,” Eddie promised, “I’m kinda happy about it actually - is that weird?”
“I think that depends on what you’re happy about,” Buck smiled at him as he continued to fiddle with the bear in his hands.
“No, no, it’s weird, we should just go to bed. It’s late, we’re tired, the kids have school in the morning,” Eddie brushed it off making his way over to the bed to change over the comforter, Buck followed along behind dropping the bear onto his bedside table as he helped to make the bed up.
“I still want an answer Eddie,” Buck pushed back.
“It’s silly,” Eddie stated, pulling the new covers taut across the bed.
“I like silly,” Buck retorted, doing the same on his side.
“I’m going to use the bathroom now,” Eddie replied.
“And I will still be waiting for that response when you get back,” Buck cheesed in response, “the mouthwash you like is in the medicine cabinet by the way, Theo was trying to drink it the other day,” he added.
“Thanks bud,” Eddie called back, Buck settled onto the bed leaning mostly against the headboard as he picked the bear back up. It had been the only piece of comfort he’d gotten to have for years, no amount of hook ups making fun of him for keeping it in his jeep or interstate moves could’ve ever brought him to get rid of it.
To lose it would be losing the fleeting few good memories from growing up in Pennsylvania, it would’ve been losing his last connection with his sister, his last piece of proof that he was someone that could be loved. He kept it when he settled on LA as his home and his three subsequent moves since then and even now that he didn’t really need a toy to remind him of his worth he still wanted to keep it.
“Please tell me what you were going to say,” Buck pleaded as he heard Eddie’s footsteps enter the room, looking up to face him he continued, “I don’t care if it’s stupid or weird or whatever I just want to know what you were going to say about it,” he held up the bear as if their conversation was anywhere else.
“Okay,” Eddie exhaled before continuing the walk to the bed and crawling in under the covers alongside Buck, mirroring his position on the mattress, “when you told me the bear was called Eddie I felt this rush of relief come over me, like you having this Eddie was akin to me always having your back, even before we ever met,” he answered.
“Like I’d never really been without you?” Buck surmised, Eddie nodded back giving the former the green light to continue, “I don’t think that’s weird for what it’s worth, I think it’s pretty nice that the idea of that makes you happy,” he melted into the space between them until his head rested against Eddie’s shoulder yet again.
“Sometimes I wish I’d met you sooner,” Eddie admitted, feeling his walls coming crashing down into dust either from the intimacy of sharing a bed with Buck or the tiredness flooding his veins.
“Me too,” Buck threaded his arm closest to Eddie through the space provided by him, interlocking their arms and leaving them flush from head to toe, “I’m just glad I have you now though.”
“You’d be okay without me,” Eddie let his own head rest atop the fluffy head of curls beside him.
“I wouldn’t,” Buck’s laugh left his body with a sharp force at the sheer absurdity that he’d be okay living in a world without Eddie Diaz, “especially not with Theo, I don’t understand how you ever did this on your own.”
“I was never alone Buck, I had you through the easiest of those years,” Eddie reminded him, raising Chris was tough after Shannon left, but everything got easier when he had someone to share the load with and even as girlfriends came and went - they always had Buck, “you were someone’s parent long before Theo was even born, that’s how I know you’re able to do this.”
“You believe in me far too much,” Buck tightened his grip on Eddie’s bicep as he tried to quill back his emotion as Eddie’s kind words continued to overwhelm his senses.
“Well if you’re not going to believe in you I’ve got to do it enough for the both of us,” Eddie laughed but his voice with devoid of any teasing tone, “look Buck, if someone knew the answers to parenting they’d be quadruple billionaire through all the advice books they could sell. Unfortunately no one has a quick fix because every kid is different and every parent is different, you’re good for him and he does love you even if he has bad days because that’s what family does. You don’t give up over shark t-shirts and juice boxes, you just get through it and hope tomorrow will be better.”
Buck pulled back from their embrace to see the other man, studying his face for something he couldn’t quite put his finger on yet, “I really meant it before, I wouldn’t be okay without you,” was the best he could offer in response to the hope Eddie instilled in his chest.
“Good thing you never need to go without then,” the corner of Eddie’s mouth ticked upwards in a smile as he spoke, “I’m always going to be here,” he assured reaching across the expanse of the bed to push the teddy Eddie out of his hand so they could interlock their fingers once more.
“He may have been my first Eddie, but you are always going to be my favorite,” Buck gave a gentle squeeze to the other man's hand as a silent promise that that truly would never change.
“Your favorite Eddie huh? That sounds like a prestigious title, do I get a trophy with that?” Eddie let out a quiet laugh only for them, both men falling closer to each other as if the rest of the world grew further and further from their bubble.
“One can be arranged, don’t you doubt that for a second,” Buck joked back as they joined hands settled in the limited space between them.
“Oh I don’t, I’m sure it’ll be in my locker first thing Tuesday morning,” Eddie shifted on the bed tucking his legs together as he turned his torso to face Buck directly.
“No,” Buck feigned annoyance with an exaggerated scoff as he slowly moved his body in the same way Eddie had moments before, “the engravers take at least 4 working days Eddie, expect it there on Friday’s shift,” he continued, unable to hide the blossoming glee on his face.
“You know this is why I love you,” Eddie said on the come down of his laugh, the words sounding so natural from his mouth even though it was the first time he’d ever said them in Buck’s direction.
And the first time he’d said them in a romantic context and truly meant it.
“Yeah?” Buck’s breathing increased as the weight of those words sat heavy on his chest.
“Yeah, I do,” Eddie replied, knowing the question behind the question as he always could with Buck, “so much.”
“I love you too,” Buck squeaked out, the words so quiet there was a chance Eddie wouldn’t have heard him at all if he wasn’t listening so intently as if everything Buck had to say mattered on a cosmic level, “not just as a friend so if that’s what this is I need you to tell me that in those words,” he pleaded.
Eddie chose to use his actions over his words for the second time that evening making the stance as to whether his love declaration was platonic or not by crossing the remaining distance between them to plant his lips against Bucks in a chaste kiss that couldn’t have lingered for more than 10 seconds, but was addicting all the same.
He pulled back, waiting for any sign of hesitation from Buck. None came, the response he got instead was Buck dropping his hand to let him fully cup Eddie’s jawline as he launched forward for another kiss. It was longer than the first and more passionate, they stayed connected one way or another for several minutes following that as their kisses turned from deep and longing to chaste and languid as their tiredness finally came beating down on them in a way they could no longer ignore.
They drifted off to sleep that night side by side with their limbs intertwining around each other as a physical reminder that neither of them either needed to go on alone, the bear stayed on the bed between them serving not just as a reminder to Buck that he could be loved, but that he was.