Chapter Text
The sunlight streamed through the cream-colored curtains, casting golden lines across the wrinkled sheets. Buck woke slowly, a smile of contentment spreading across his lips.
His body ached, but he felt deliciously alive.
Since Doug’s death and his short hospital stay, Eddie hadn’t really given him a choice. He’d brought him to Malibu to recover and had declared that this was where he’d live until he was cleared to return to work. Buck had grumbled, but Eddie had known exactly how to win him over, with kisses and gentle touches.
A private doctor came regularly to check on him, and Maddie was free to visit whenever she wanted, which she did, often. He also had daily phone calls with Bobby and Athena, and Hen and Chimney called in a group chat at the start of every shift, mostly to ask what he had on his plate.
Yes, Eddie had a very talented personal chef, and everything Buck ate was absolutely delicious. Bobby had told him to take his time recovering, he’d been through a trauma, and it had nearly killed him. He had to talk to a therapist once a week, and Eddie had flat-out refused to let him leave the house once he found out what had happened with the last one.
Even though Buck kept saying it had been consensual, Eddie wouldn’t budge: it had been abuse. Buck had overheard a snippet of conversation about getting her stripped from the medical board.
So now he saw his new therapist via video call.
Dr. Copeland was kind, and Buck had eventually opened up to her about what had been weighing him down since the incident, the terror, the loneliness, the sense of death looming all around. He still had terrifying nightmares.
Eddie had reorganized everything to handle his business remotely.
He worked from the downstairs office, refusing to be away for too long. He kept Christopher at home with a tutor he’d chosen himself, preferring to keep his son close for now. It wasn’t ideal, being stuck inside, but it had calmed Eddie down enough to resume a somewhat normal life.
And Buck had gotten used to it.
He didn’t complain, the presence of Eddie soothed him, even if the man hovered like a worried mother every time he so much as sneezed. He monitored everything, what Buck ate, how he slept, if he was taking his meds, if he felt any pain.
A real control freak.
The only thing that managed to calm him down, to ground him, was sex, and Buck had learned to recognize that predatory look Eddie gave him through his lashes, a look that clearly turned him on more than it should have.
And that had changed too.
They’d just spent four unapologetically indulgent weeks together. Buck still bore the invisible marks of the cuffs on his wrists. He’d learned to listen to his body, to understand his wants. Eddie remained the dominant, but Buck no longer feared asking for what he wanted, suggesting, even demanding at times.
The night before, they’d taken another step.
Eddie had brought out a flogger, and Buck had swallowed hard, heart pounding. But Eddie had taken his time, explaining every movement, every intention, calmly, and Buck had relaxed.
He didn’t regret it.
The bite of the leather straps, the controlled burn against his skin, the strange caress of the whip… everything had blended together, pain, desire, excitement, until he came undone, pleasure exploding, wild and overwhelming.
He shifted slightly under the sheets, and froze.
The plug inside him moved, sending a shiver down his spine. He even knew the differences between them now: some were long, designed to press against his prostate and send unexpected waves of pleasure with the slightest movement. Others, wider at the base, gave a constant feeling of fullness. Some even vibrated. Others were made to be worn in public, controlled remotely, but Eddie hadn’t gone there. Yet.
This one, simpler and shorter, was discreet and mostly symbolic. Eddie said he wanted him to keep what he gave him. And Buck loved that. He loved the idea of keeping Eddie’s release inside him, of feeling his imprint long after.
Yes, they were together now.
Officially, boyfriends, lovers, in love. A real couple. The word floated in his mind and warmed his chest.
Then he rolled over to curl up against Eddie’s warm body… but found only emptiness.
The bed was cold, and his thoughts wavered, violently.
He remembered their first night here, in Malibu. Waking up alone, just before Eddie had pushed him out of his life. Even though Eddie had explained everything afterward and had made it up to him, Buck couldn’t shake the feeling that one day, he’d be abandoned again.
He tensed, muscles still sore. The room, vast and bathed in light, suddenly felt too big, and the silence pressed down on him. He listened, searching for a sound, a sign… nothing.
Panic knotted in his gut, and his heart began to race.
He was gone.
Images crashed into his mind, raw and brutal: the loneliness, the pain, the desire to end it all… Then they shifted, became darkness and stifling heat, begging for his life, the pungent smell of gasoline and urine saturating the air, death hovering nearby…
Buck felt his chest tighten, his breathing grow shallow.
He closed his eyes, trying to force the memories away.
He was safe. Doug was dead. He wasn’t in the trunk of that fucking car anymore, he was in Eddie’s bed, in Eddie’s ultra-secure Malibu villa, sheltered from the outside world. And Eddie… Eddie couldn’t be far. Probably negotiating a deal or something.
He hadn’t run.
He hadn’t abandoned him.
He’d promised he wouldn’t.
And Buck believed him now.
They had changed, grown, but his heart still wasn’t entirely at ease.
Then muffled sounds reached him from the hallway, footsteps, a low, amused voice, and another one, younger, lighter.
The door opened and Eddie walked in, wearing a white T-shirt and dark joggers, a tray in his hands. Behind him, Christopher walked carefully, focused, lips pursed.
“Look who finally decided to wake up.” Eddie teased.
“Right on time, apparently.” Buck replied with a smile, sitting up.
And thank God they’d gotten used to getting dressed before falling asleep. Buck would’ve been mortified to be stark naked with Christopher in the same room. He’d already had a hard time dealing with the sounds he made during sex, until Eddie reassured him that the room was soundproof.
“What’s all this?”
He shifted to one side to avoid feeling the plug move inside him.
It didn’t press on his prostate, but damn, it still felt good to have it there, and he blushed every time Eddie seemed to notice the wave of pleasure that hit him.
“Look, Buck!” Christopher exclaimed, snapping him back to the present. “I poured the juice all by myself!”
Buck’s heart swelled with love, and he smiled despite himself.
“You nailed it, Superman.”
The tray was set down on the bed, a bit awkwardly.
Christopher climbed up beside him, knees digging into the comforter, and launched into a retelling of his geography lesson from that morning. Eddie sat on the other side, his hand resting lightly but firmly on Buck’s nape.
They had breakfast there, the three of them.
Eddie proudly claimed he’d made everything himself for once, and Buck couldn’t help but smile as he devoured the overcooked pancakes and lukewarm coffee. Still, something inside him settled, like an invisible anchor.
He wasn’t dreaming. It wasn’t a mirage.
Eddie had stayed.
---
An hour later, Christopher was studying in the living room with his tutor.
Buck bent down to collect the empty cups when arms wrapped around him from behind and a chin rested on his shoulder. He froze a little awkwardly in that position, but the housekeeper, Annie, if he remembered her name right, appeared out of nowhere, took the tray, and slipped out, closing the door behind her.
“You’re mine.” Eddie murmured in his ear.
Buck shivered.
He straightened up slowly and turned around, facing him. Eddie adjusted immediately, pressing his body against him and grinding his hips into his.
“I’m here.” Buck whispered.
Eddie kissed him, long and deep.
Then he guided him to the bed, pushed him down gently, and lay on top of him, his gaze intense but calm.
“Are you going to tie me up?”
“Just hold you.” he breathed against his lips.
“No whip this time?”
“No. But I know you liked it. We’ll do it again.” he promised. “Today, I just want to make love to you.”
And it sounded like a fucking promise for the future, and Buck loved that.
Eddie kissed him languidly, settling between his thighs. He slid off his boxers, tore would be more accurate, and played with the plug for a few seconds before pulling it out, making
Buck whimper at the loss of sensation.
“Shh, it’s okay, querido. I’m here now.”
He entered him slowly, and Buck bit his lip to keep from crying out, until he remembered he could.
Eddie sank into him gradually, nosing at his neck, busying himself with leaving a new mark, before pulling out and slamming into his prostate.
This time, Buck screamed in surprise and saw stars.
Eddie was fucking amazing, and Buck wrapped his long legs around his waist to keep him there. He felt Eddie nibbling at his skin before diving back into his mouth, driving into him again and again, hitting or teasing his prostate, making him moan with pleasure and anticipation.
“Eddie.” he gasped, trying to catch his breath between kisses.
Eddie was practically stealing his air, kissing him like he wanted to swallow his soul. Then, slowly, he eased up, his thrusts slowing as if he wanted to stretch out the moment.
He grabbed Buck’s hands and pinned them on either side of his head, their fingers intertwining.
And Buck found it ridiculously romantic.
Eddie pulled back just enough to look into his eyes.
“Hi.” he smiled.
“Hi.”
“You’re beautiful. And you’re mine.”
“All yours.” Buck confirmed.
Eddie kissed him again, resuming those slow, delicious movements.
Buck realized that this was how Eddie said I love you.
He struggled with feelings, with vulnerability, but here, in the quiet of their room, he was making Buck his.
Eddie didn’t want to dominate him anymore. He wanted to love him.
Buck responded to every movement, every sigh, every shiver. He dared to guide Eddie’s hands, take initiative, sometimes even flip their roles. He had never felt so free, so bare, so safe.
It seemed to last for hours, and still it wasn’t long enough.
Eddie stayed inside him for a few minutes, looking straight into his eyes, and that look said more than any words ever could.
He had finally found love.