Chapter Text
Chapter One
Buck walked toward the kitchen, seeing Moxie sitting outside waiting for him. "What?" he asked, frowning at the ginger cat.
"You know what, Evan," Moxie huffed, "Breakfast, and you're late with it, as always," he added as he turned around, flicking his tail as he led the way to the kitchen and jumped up on the counter.
"I was on a twenty-four," Buck grumbled as he reminded his familiar.
Moxie turned back to face him, "Yes, and you were here and could have gone to sleep. Instead, you spent three hours talking with Eddie about your next date," he reminded him, poking his tongue out a little, since he couldn't precisely smirk at Buck. The Magic he shared with Buck as his Familiar only gave him his voice, and not much else.
Buck blushed, "Yeah, well, we're trying to think when the right time is to move in together and how to tell the others."
"Are you going to be telling your sister about the relationship?" he asked, tilting his head as Buck walked over to the cupboard where he kept Moxie's food.
Buck paused and shook his head, "I'm not sure, she's been really negative about me hanging around with Eddie. She's still pissed that I have him as my Medical Proxy and Next of Kin," he sighed heavily. The two siblings had been finding it hard to reconnect after she had burst back into his life. Even Daniel had been shocked. Maddie had been adamant that her life with Doug had been perfect. For a while, they knew things were okay between the two. Daniel had friends keeping an eye on things, but nothing had surfaced until a month before Maddie had broken into Buck's house. Even then, they didn't know everything that had happened until the divorce proceedings had started.
The two had argued badly, and he had hit her. She had left that very night and then filed for divorce. Doug had agreed and let her leave. The man wanted nothing more to do with her after he had found out she had been using magic on him during their whole relationship. Daniel had only just found that out. Maddie was magical, just as Buck was. Daniel was the only child of the Buckleys who didn't have magic of any kind. Though Maddie didn't know about Buck, he had hidden his gift, not wanting to draw attention to himself from his parents after they freaked out when Maddie had turned out to have some magic.
"You need to decide," Moxie warned him, "She has been snooping around, and trying to interrogate me. She's not happy that I won't break confidence with you. How she knows I can speak, I don’t know," he hissed as he thought of the woman who stopped by unannounced and just entered the home. She had broken the wards that Buck had put around the house and even broken into the house itself on occasion. Buck had been tempted to put up stronger wards, but was afraid that they might hurt someone.
"I know, she's... she's not going to be happy. She never is when I'm in a relationship. When she heard about Abby, she hit the roof. When she thought I was dating someone else, she bitched at me about it. I know that she and Doug broke things off. That she had left him after he hit her, but she had been using magic on him, without him knowing. Though I don't know if that is true or not. As for the talking, I had a feeling that she thinks that the spell she cast has worked. I caught her doing so a few weeks ago. Figured out what it was,” he told the ginger cat with a roll of his eyes.
"In my opinion, you should have cut her off," Moxie told him bluntly. He had that opinion from the start when he had seen just who had torn the wards down brutally enough that even Buck would have felt them at work. It would have caused the man some significant pain since the wards he had put up were closely linked to the man himself. Even Moxie had felt an echo of the pain.
Buck sighed. This was one thing that the two of them couldn't agree on. Moxie despised Maddie and had done so for the last year, even since the woman had walked back into Buck's life. She might be his sister, but that didn't give her any right to do as she had done. "She's my sister."
"And your brother would agree with me. He wants nothing to do with her either, and he is only letting her into his life because you wish for the same," he pointed out to him. "She is bad news, and we still don't know what she has done to the man she had married. He filed a restraining order against her, and the courts sided with him."
Buck slumped and began to prepare Moxie's food. He didn't say a word. He knew that he should find out what she had done. Part of him wanted to know, and the other part of him didn't. He didn't want to taint the picture he always had of his sister. She had taken care of him for the first couple of years. Then it had been Daniel, Maddie had gone off doing what young teenagers want to do, going out with friends and dating. Maddie always had someone on her arm. Usually, someone who was well off and popular. A trend she had continued when she had gone to college and met Doug. His family was well off, and he was very popular.
"Ahh, chicken," Moxie said, as he licked his lips, "my favorite."
Buck snorted, "Yeah, I know. I've never known a cat, even a familiar one that didn't like tuna."
Moxie hissed at the mention, "Tuna, it offends my delicate senses, no, chicken is much better, as is beef," he said as he went over to the saucer that had been placed down with his food on it. He dug in, looking up at Buck, "Thank you," he said before going back to his meal.
Buck smiled and ran a hand down his familiar's back. "Well, what do you think about us moving in with Eddie and Christopher? I know you love the kid as much as I do."
Moxie growled a little as he stopped eating, "Ask me again when I'm finished with breakfast, go and make yourself a coffee while you wait, and then I will talk," he told him, grumbling a little more before going back to his breakfast.
Buck rolled his eyes but did as was suggested. He made himself a coffee and sent a message to Eddie, they were going out later on with Christopher. Buck leaned against the counter, messaging Eddie occasionally as Moxie finished his breakfast.
"Now, you asked about moving in with Eddie and Chris," the cat said as he walked over to the edge of the counter he was standing on. "I think you should. This is your relationship, Evan," he told him, "I've been with you since you were fourteen and you moved in with Danny. You can make that decision yourself. You have found love, and a true kind. You know my thoughts on Abigail," he added, "Eddie is your One, your match. He can keep up with you, even though he doesn't have an ounce of magic within him. He is good for you, and you are good for him. His son is just a bonus and a good one."
"Yeah," Buck smiled as he drank the last of his coffee. "Are you good to be alone? Or do you want to come with?" he asked.
"Oh, meeting Eddie now, then?" Moxie said, and if a cat could smirk, Buck knew Moxie would have been.
"Yes, he's not doing anything at the moment, and Chris doesn't get out of school for what, another five hours?" he said with a shrug, "Eddie doesn't mind you coming along either."
"I know," he replied, "But I think I shall let you two love birds spend time together without the third wheel," he said as he turned around and jumped off the counter, "Besides, it means I can watch what I want on TV."
"Okay, I'm going to get ready," Buck said, washing his mug and Moxie's plate before heading out of the kitchen.
"Oh, Evan!" Moxie called after him as he made his way to the living room, "Please set some wards that won't let Maddie inside. I don't care if she ends up hurt; she needs to learn that your life is not something she should have unfiltered access to. She is trying to dictate what you do and who you see. You saw that when the truck landed on you," he reminded him, "So create a boundary and keep it this time," he added one last thing, jumping onto the couch, "And do it now, before you and Eddie come out to everyone else."
Buck sighed and knew that Moxie was making a good point. Maddie had tried to tell him what he should do after breaking his leg. He was just thankful that the break wasn't as bad as it could have been, thanks to his own magic protecting him more. He had still been off work for four months while he healed. Maddie had been trying to dictate what he should and shouldn't do while he healed up. Then she tries to get him to go with her after his release. Eddie had been able to derail that, much to Maddie's annoyance. She had tried to barge into the Diaz home several times, only to find herself blocked by Isabell each time she tried anything.
"Fine," Buck said after another few moments. He went to where he had set up his wardstone and began to make a few adjustments. Making sure that only those he really wanted in his home were able to enter. Those he didn't, would be bounced off, and he made sure that they couldn't be torn down, as Maddie had done before. "Done," he said when he had finished, "Right, I'm going to get changed," he added, heading to the doorway that led to where the bedrooms were.
Moxie sneezed as the change in the wards sank in. "Blegh," he muttered before curling up on a cushion and looking at the TV, remote beside him, the buttons big enough that he'd be able to push them to change what he was watching. He reached out a paw and began to guide it to something else.
Buck headed back into the living room, "Right, I've done the ward stone, as you've no doubt guessed," he said, "I'll be out until late. If I'm going out overnight, I'll come back for you. The auto feeder is set, and there is some more chicken on the side for you to eat later, under a preservation ward. There is enough there to last until later on," he finished.
"Have fun, and do come and get me. I can spend some time with Christopher. I have things to talk about with him," Moxie yawned and stretched on the cushion before resettling himself down.
Buck rolled his eyes, "I have no idea what the two of you are talking about."
"His magic and how to help him with his control, the class that he is in for it isn't helping by the sound of it. I would contact the school about it as soon as you can," Moxie answered him.
"Right," Buck nodded, "I'll tell Eddie," he agreed, "Wonder why you've only just mentioned it."
"Because he wanted to deal with it himself, thinking he was doing something wrong. I figured out he hasn't, and that they aren't teaching things right. So now you know," Moxie told him, looking at him for a moment before looking back at the TV.
"Thanks," he said, as he headed towards the door, "see you later!"
"Bye, Evan," Moxie called back. The front door opened and closed with a click, and the wards sprang up even stronger now that Buck was out of the house. The cat settled down, eyes slowly closing as the drone of the narrator on the TV sent him to sleep.