Work Text:
Ali
Buck adjusted his position on the sofa a bit, grumbling as it pulled at his leg uncomfortably. He scooped up the remote next to his leg and turned on his television, choosing one of the apps and scrolling to find something to watch. He eventually settled on a documentary about the Amazon, knowing that, at the very least, he would learn something cool to tell Christopher.
The documentary was halfway through when the front door of his loft opened and Ali appeared with a couple of reusable grocery bags. “Hey, how are you feeling?” she asked, kicking the door shut behind her.
“I’m alright, considering,” Buck shrugged. “What did you bring?”
“I got the night off work unexpectedly, and I figured I could make you dinner,” Ali smiled, dropping the bags off at the kitchen counter before moving over to kiss him in greeting. “I was gonna make some garlic chicken and cilantro rice.”
“Oh, Ali, that’s really sweet, but I uh, I have plans tonight, actually.”
“Plans? What plans, you can barely walk to the bathroom on your own,” Ali frowned slightly and sat next to him on the couch.
“Eddie’s bringing Christopher over for dinner. If I knew you were coming over, I would have told you,” Buck worried his fingers in his lap. “You can still stay, of course, if you want. It would be nice for you to get to know them anyway.”
“That sounds nice,” Ali agreed, though Buck could tell her smile was strained. “Do I still need to cook?”
“No, no, Eddie’s picking up Mexican on the way here, I’ll text him and tell him to get more. Tacos okay?” Buck asked, already grabbing his phone where it lay beside his leg.
“Yeah, that’s fine. I’m gonna put this stuff away and freshen up, yeah?” Buck nodded and watched her for a minute, as she slowly put away the groceries she bought, as if she wasn’t quite sure where everything went in his kitchen. He eventually pressed play on his documentary, going back to that while Ali continued moving around his loft.
By the time the documentary was over, Ali had joined him on the couch. She had changed into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt and was carefully not touching him at all. Before either of them could say anything, there was a single, perfunctory knock on his front door before it swung open, Chris stepping inside first with Eddie following behind, two plastic bags in hand.
“Buck!” Chris said brightly and Buck pushed himself off the couch. Before he could make it any further than grabbing his own crutches, Christopher was throwing his arms around Buck’s hips, burying his face in Buck’s stomach.
“Hey Superman, I missed you!” Buck beamed and cupped the back of Chris’ head. He looked up to see Eddie greeting Ali as he set the bags of food on the dining table. “Hey, Eds.”
“Hey, Buck! You’re looking better. More color in your cheeks, and you’re filling out again,” Eddie grinned. “Let’s eat, you still need some more muscle on your bones there.” Buck nodded and ushered Chris over to the table, following him clumsily, still not used to the crutches the way Chris was.
Ali sat next to Buck at the table, Chris taking his other side, leaving the opposite chair open for Eddie. Buck nodded along as Chris told him all about his day at school, while still watching as Eddie pulled out plates and utensils, setting the table quickly. “Chris you want juice or milk?”
“Chocolate milk, please!” Chris requested and Eddie rolled his eyes, pulling the carton out from the back of Buck’s fridge.
“You know you don’t have to buy this for him, right?” Eddie said as he poured the glass. “He gets enough sugar as it is. Ali, you want anything?”
“Oh, I’m alright, Eddie, thank you though,” Ali shook her head, smiling tightly.
“Can you grab me a beer?” Buck asked, pouting when Eddie grabbed his water bottle instead.
“You are on painkillers, therefore, no beer,” Eddie sat down at the table, setting the two drinks down. “Alright kid, what kind of tacos do you want?” Buck glanced over at Ali. He reached out and took her hand, tilting his head slightly.
“You good?” he asked quietly and she nodded, giving him a quick smile. By the time he turned back to Chris, Eddie had already served him a helping of tacos, beans, and rice. “Thanks, Eds.”
“So Ali, how’s work going?” Eddie asked, turning to look at her, eyebrows raised. Ali gave a brief explanation of what she had been doing at work recently, Buck only paying half attention to his girlfriend as he focused more on Chris, getting him another taco when he asked and asking him questions about his recent field trip.
Things were going fine, Eddie was keeping Ali engaged in conversation, Buck occasionally interjecting, until Chris dripped salsa down his shirt. “Uh-oh,” Chris looked over at his father, biting his lip.
“Not a problem, kid, accidents happen,” Eddie reassured him immediately, grabbing a couple of napkins to dry any excess. “We’ve got an extra shirt in your bag.”
“I’ll help him change,” Buck offered, standing and hobbling to where Chris’ backpack had been dropped by the door. “Chris, let’s go, into the bathroom.” Buck followed the boy as he walked into the bathroom slowly, both of them having left their crutches leaning against the dining table. Buck helped Chris pull up the stained shirt and used the hand towel to gently clean his chest before tugging on the new shirt. “All good?”
“All good!” Chris confirmed with a nod. When they joined Eddie and Ali back in the main room, the dirty dishes were cleared from the table and Eddie was loading the dishwasher. “Daddy, can we watch a movie?”
“Yeah, Superman, go sit on the couch and I’ll set up a movie,” Buck answered before Eddie had the chance, but he didn’t disagree. Ali looked between the two men as Chris ambled over to the living area, dropping onto the couch with a happy grunt.
“I…I think I’m gonna go. I have to work early tomorrow,” she said and smiled tightly at Buck. “Thanks for dinner, Eddie.”
“Drive safe, text me when you get home?” Buck leaned in and kissed her cheek, squeezing her hip. She nodded and grabbed her purse, leaving the loft quickly without another word. “Alright, kiddo, what movie are we watching?” Buck asked as he grabbed his crutches, joining Chris in front of the television.
***
Ali broke up with him less than two weeks later.
Taylor
Buck sighed as he walked through the door of his loft, dropping his duffle on the kitchen island. He just got off a 24-hour shift and he was only coming back long enough to shower and change before heading to the Diaz house to hang out with Christopher for a bit while Eddie was at therapy.
“Babe?” Taylor spoke from the loft, standing against the railing and looking down at Buck.
“Hey, Taylor,” Buck smiled tiredly. “How was work?”
“It was fine. Got the scoop I wanted, I’ve been writing, waiting for you to get home,” she said. “Wanted to just drink some wine and cuddle.”
“I can’t,” Buck said as he climbed the stairs. “Eddie’s got therapy. I gotta go over and hang out with Chris until he’s done.”
“You just got off shift,” Taylor frowned. “Isn’t there someone else that can do that? Carla or Eddie’s aunt?”
“Probably, but Eddie doesn’t like anyone else seeing him after therapy,” Buck explained. “It’ll only be a couple of hours and then I’ll be back.”
“And you’re already exhausted,” Taylor said, crossing her arms over her chest. Buck didn’t bother replying, grabbing some clean clothes from the dresser. “You need to stay here.”
“I will get some sleep after Eddie’s appointment,” Buck huffed. Ever since Eddie was shot, ever since Buck found out that he was Chris’ just in case, he was spending more and more time with the two Diazes, and he knew it wasn’t fair to Taylor when they were just starting a new relationship, but he couldn’t help it. There was no place he would rather be than home with his two favorite people.
“Why do you take every opportunity to go see Eddie?” Taylor stared him down, lip wobbling as she spoke.
“Eddie is my best friend, but it’s not just Eddie, it’s Chris too. Chris is the most important person in my life, Taylor,” Buck looked over at his girlfriend, raising an eyebrow when she just looked affronted, jaw hanging.
“Seriously? I’m your girlfriend, Buck and you’re gonna stand there and tell me your best friend’s nine-year-old son is the most important person in your life?” Taylor spat.
“Yes, I am. And he always will be,” Buck shook his head. “I’m not dealing with this right now. I have to get ready, and I can’t be late.” Taylor watched him as he stomped to the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind him. When he was finished and dressed twenty minutes later, she was gone along with her purse and keys.
***
Buck kissed Lucy three weeks later.
Natalia
Buck grinned as Natalia walked into the small cafe they were meeting at for their date, standing to greet her with a kiss. “Hey, how are you?”
“I’m doing good. A lot better now that I’m here,” Natalia smiled back.
“I already got you that tea you like, and a cherry pastry.” Buck gestured to the small table where two mugs and two plates already sat.
“Thank you,” Natalia kissed him again before sitting down, taking a sip of her tea with a contented hum. Buck took his seat across from her, taking a long drink from his coffee. “How was your last shift? You texted me something about a lizard and a bottle of hair remover?”
“Oh yeah, that call was crazy!” Buck explained in detail the call they went on the day before, involving a pet store that specialized in reptiles and a customer who thought hair remover was sunscreen.
“I have so many questions but I don’t think any of them have actual answers,” Natalia said once Buck had finished the story, mouth agape. “I suppose unrelated, we’re coming up on two months since you were struck by lightning. How are you feeling about that?”
“Oh,” Buck shrugged. “I’m fine. Eddie and I have talked about it a lot, and I think that’s helped.” He thought back to their conversation in Eddie’s kitchen, and the subsequent three nights he spent sleeping next to Eddie in his bed.
“That’s good. Oh, I just finished a book that you might be interested in!” Natalia grabbed her purse and dug out a small book, handing it over, the title proclaiming Stiff, on an image of a mortuary tag.
“Looks good,” Buck nodded quickly and smiled at her, setting the book facedown on the table. “Thanks.”
“So, I was thinking Thursday night we could go out to get dinner and maybe some dancing?” Natalia suggested. “This club I really like does themed nights on Thursdays and I know you have it off.”
“Uh, this Thursday?” Natalia nodded. “I can’t, I’ve got plans with Eddie.”
“Oh?” Natalia’s voice raised in pitch. “What are you guys doing?”
“Chris’ parent/teacher conferences are Thursday night,” Buck said easily.
“Chris is twelve, isn’t he? Does he still need a babysitter?” Natalia frowned a little and Buck inhaled sharply.
“No, Chris is gonna be at his tias, I’ll be with Eddie at the conferences,” Buck corrected her.
“Wait, what? You’re…you’re going to Chris’ parent/teacher conferences? Why?” Natalia tilted her head in confusion as she watched Buck.
“Well, Eddie doesn’t like to go alone, and the first few years he took Carla, but the last few years, after Eddie made me Chris’ guardian, I’ve been going with him instead,” Buck explained. He had asked to go the first time conferences came around after Eddie told him about his will, and then he just never stopped.
“So you go to your best friend’s son’s parent/teacher conference? And you don’t think that’s a little weird?” Natalia asked earnestly and Buck shook his head.
“I’ve been looking out for that kid since the day I met him. Eddie’s been a single dad for a long time and he’s my best friend, and Chris is just as important to me; so if there’s something I can do for them to help them out, even a little, I will.”
“Right,” Natalia said distantly. “That…makes sense, I guess.” Buck smiled at her, glad the issue was resolved, and asked her if she was interested in going to the club next week.
***
Natalia broke up with him less than a week later.
Tommy
Buck was cleaning up after dinner, Tommy on the couch in the living room when his phone rang - a picture of Eddie wearing sunglasses as he lounged on a pool chair, book in hand as the sun shone off his bare skin. “Hey Eds, what’s up?”
“Hey, I’m sorry this is so short notice, but can you watch Chris for just a couple of hours? Pepa needs some help but my other tias are over and Chris doesn’t want to deal with all their questions right now,” Eddie explained quickly.
“Course,” Buck agreed without pause. “Has he eaten?”
“No, I was just about to order a pizza when Pepa called,” Eddie sighed. “I can pick something up for him on the way?”
“Don’t worry about it, I have some leftover enchiladas, Abuela’s recipe, and he loves those, so I’ll heat ‘em up for him,” Buck reassured him quickly. “You on your way?”
“Getting in the car right now,” Eddie said. “See you soon.” The call disconnected and Buck slid the device back in his pocket, a new goal in mind now.
“Hey, Chris is gonna be with us for a bit, Eddie’s got a family thing he’s gotta take care of,” Buck explained as he grabbed a beer and brought it over to Tommy with an apologetic grin. “Sorry, I know it’s date night.”
“Why can’t Chris go with Eddie if it’s a family thing?” Tommy raised a single brow.
“He doesn’t want to,” Buck shrugged, huffing a bit at Tommy’s pushback. “All the tias are there and they always hound him 'cause they don’t see him too often. Probably asked if he could come here instead.”
“And you just said yes? Without asking me first?” Tommy asked, and Buck frowned - Chris was always his first priority and he thought Tommy understood that.
“Chris is my kid, Tommy. I know it’s not super conventional or whatever, but Chris will always be my priority. So if my kid asks to come spend time with me for a couple hours, I’m going to say yes. Every time,” Buck explained plainly, heading back to the kitchen to get out the food for Chris’ dinner.
“What do you mean he’s your kid?” Tommy followed him across the short distance. “Unless you failed to mention something about your relationship with Eddie, he’s not your kid.”
“You don’t get to determine my relationship with Chris. After everything that happened this summer, with Chris being in Texas, Eddie and I had a lot of time to talk, especially after he went back to therapy and we discussed, at length, my role in Chris’ life. Legally, I’m not his parent, but I’m as good as. I’m his emergency contact and medical proxy after Eddie, I get guardianship if something happens to Eddie, and I’ve spent more time parenting that kid than his own mother ever got the chance to, so yeah. Even if I haven’t adopted him, Christopher is still my son.”
“You didn’t think to talk to me about this before you agreed to it? It affects me too,” Tommy snarked and Buck took a deep breath, serving up a portion of the enchiladas and rice onto a plate, and putting it in the microwave before responding. He knew better now than to just spew the first thing that came to mind in anger.
“No, I didn’t, because it’s not about you, or our relationship. It’s about mine and Chris’. I met that kid when he was seven years old, and now he’s almost fourteen. That’s half his life that I have been there with him, for him. I was his parent long before I ever met you. And we had only been dating…two months when Eddie and I had that conversation,” Buck met Tommy’s eyes. “I should have mentioned it earlier than this, I admit, so I am sorry for that. But I am never going to apologize for loving that kid.”
Before Tommy had the opportunity to reply, the front door opened with the slide of the lock and the familiar tap of Chris’ crutches on hardwood. “Hey, Buck, thanks so much,” Eddie said as he came in behind his son. “Here’s his bag. He’s still got a little bit of homework to complete, he hasn’t finished his iReady lesson for math yet this week, but his reading is done.”
“I’ll make sure he finishes it after he eats,” Buck said easily, grabbing the bag from Eddie. “Drive safe, text me when you’re on your way back and I’ll make sure he’s ready.”
“Course. Alright kid, I love you, I’ll pick you up in a couple of hours,” Eddie kissed Chris’ head briefly, squeezing his shoulder. Chris responded in kind as Eddie fled back out the door, swinging it shut behind him. Chris greeted both Buck and Tommy with a flat hey.
“Alright kid, sit at the table, your dinner should be ready soon,” Buck said easily, smiling down at Chris. “How was your day?”
“Good, Tana finally broke up with Maggie, so now she’ll hopefully stop complaining every time Maggie talks to another girl and move on. And Ms. Peters let us have a catch-up day in science so I finished my history assignment about the purpose of the Declaration of Independence since I was done with all my science work.”
“You’re doing…matter in science, right? And like atoms and shit?” Buck pulled the plate out of the microwave and grabbed a fork, setting it in front of Chris.
“Yeah, and it’s easy for me, I finished the assignment yesterday,” Chris said, immediately shoveling a forkful of food into his mouth.
“Good work, bud. You want water or juice?” Chris responded with juice so Buck poured him a glass before finally turning back to his boyfriend. “Are you gonna stay or head home?”
“We need to finish our conversation from earlier,” Tommy huffed. “It’s-”
“We will finish it later,” Buck interrupted. Chris was old enough to understand and he was not going to fight with his partner in front of his kid.
“I’m right here,” Chris said, turning to look at the two men. “And it’s obvious you were talking about me. And it was probably more of a fight than an actual conversation. Might as well finish it while I can listen and argue back.”
“No,” Buck denied instantly. “I’m not gonna lie that it wasn’t about you but we are absolutely waiting until you go home.”
“Evan-” Tommy started.
“Who the fuck is Evan?” Christopher fully turned at that, scrunching up his nose.
“Language,” Buck said instinctually, though there was no real heat behind it. “Wait what?”
“Who is Evan?” Chris repeated, looking between Buck and Tommy. Tommy turned to look at Buck with an incredulous expression.
“He doesn’t even know your name but he’s your kid?” Buck completely ignored the comment and looked at Chris instead.
“My first name is Evan,” Buck said. “But my last name is Buckley, so I go by Buck.”
“Huh,” Chris hummed thoughtfully. “I never realized. I’ve never heard anyone call you that before. Probably because no one who actually knows you calls you that.” With that, he turned around to face his dinner, the sound of metal on ceramic breaking the silence that hung in the room.
“I think I’m gonna head home,” Tommy said. “I’ll call you later, Evan.” Neither Buck nor Chris said anything else until the door shut.
“Oops,” Chris said. “I didn’t mean to make him leave. Really.”
“It’s okay, kid,” Buck shook his head and sat next to Chris at the table. “We were already fighting before you got here, and no matter what, I am always going to pick you.”
“I know, Buck,” Chris nodded. “You know, ever since you and Tommy started dating, Dad’s changed his mind about him.”
“What do you mean?” Buck furrowed his brows.
“Well, whenever you talk about him, Dad rolls his eyes and puts on that smile he uses when he’s talking to someone he really doesn’t want to talk to, like Jake’s mom at pick-up,” Chris explained as he finished his dinner. “And he’ll make comments under his breath that he thinks I can’t hear. They were really good friends and now Dad’s acting like Tommy’s his biggest opp.”
“Huh?” Buck leaned his head on his hand, not entirely sure what that meant. “Uh, get your iPad out. Your dad said you gotta finish your math iReady for this week, so let’s get it done.”
“Ugh,” Chris groaned. “I’m so close to testing out but the videos don’t make any sense when I need help.”
“Well, I don’t think I’m going to be able to help with high school math, but I’m sure we can find a video on YouTube or something that can explain it,” Buck said, pulling his own phone from his pocket to search it up as Chris opened up the app on his tablet.
***
Buck breaks up with Tommy the next morning.
+1. Eddie
“Shit,” Buck heard Eddie mutter as he rifled through the stack of papers on the kitchen table.
“What’s up?” Buck asked, stepping closer to his boyfriend, and rubbing a hand over the small of his back.
“Chris mentioned a permission slip that he gave to me a couple of weeks ago, but I don’t remember getting it and I certainly don’t remember signing it, but he says today is the last day to turn it in,” Eddie huffed, throwing down the papers when he couldn’t find the one he needed.
“The one for the art museum?” Buck furrowed his brow. “He gave that to me, I signed it and he turned it in the next day. He must have forgotten. Or lost it somewhere in his bag, probably. I’ll check and see if I can find it.” Buck pressed a quick kiss to Eddie’s temple before moving around the table to open up Chris’ backpack, pulling out a mess of crumpled papers and mismatched folders. It took him a few minutes of searching, but eventually, he found it in Chris’ science folder behind a history assignment.
“There, all good,” Buck said with a smile, shouting for Chris. A few minutes later the teenager appeared in the doorway, looking between his dad and Buck.
“What? I was in the middle of a round on Fortnite and I died because you distracted me,” he huffed.
“I suggest you check your tone if you want this permission slip that you lost,” Buck held up the paper in question. “We just went through your backpack and cleaned it last month, how is it already this bad again?”
Chris shrugged. “It’s quicker to just shove them in there. I don’t like getting out a folder every single time I have to put a piece of paper away,” he whined, leaning all his weight on his crutches. “Why does it matter anyway? It’s my backpack.”
“And once again, your permission slip you almost lost. Come on, kid, clean it out, and then you can go back to your game,” Buck set the permission slip on the table with the rest of Chris’ stuff and moved out of the way. “Baby, you okay with a beef and veggie stir-fry for dinner?” Buck turned his attention back to Eddie, who had just been staring at Buck for the past few minutes.
“Baby?” Buck tried again, nudging his hip against Eddie.
“I love you,” Eddie said instead, reaching out to pull Buck into a soft kiss, ignoring Chris’ exaggerated Ew! in the background.
“I love you too,” Buck whispered, resting their foreheads together. They had only been together two months, but Buck had never felt like this about anyone before, and he knew Eddie felt the same way.
“Thanks for taking care of us,” Eddie mumbled back, tucking his hand in Buck’s back pocket. “And stir-fry for dinner sounds delicious. Let me know if you need any help?”
“I’ll be alright. Our son might need some help, though,” Buck licked his lips, inhaling deeply as Eddie nuzzled into him. “You help him, and I’ll make dinner.”
“Sounds perfect.” Despite their agreement, it still took another thirty seconds before they broke apart, starting on their respective tasks, though every few moments they glanced over at each other, grinning stupidly when their eyes met.
***
A month later, Eddie proposes.