Chapter Text
November 2025:
Eddie wipes a tear from his face as he loads the Truck with his belongings. He has to go home and help his mom sort out her life now that his father is gone. Taken suddenly by a heart attack.
Eddie had never had a chance to forgive him for ripping Chris away from him when he was at his weakest.
He told himself he had learnt life was precious and short. Live every moment like it was your last, sounding like some stupid influencer on Instagram.
He still drove away from Buck across 3 state lines, though.
"I'll be back soon" he had promised as he pressed a kiss against the taller man's lips.
December 2028:
The waiting room is almost a cliche, Buck thinks to himself, a stale, fluorescent white light filling the room, a couple of chairs spread around a coffee table with magazines that date back about 10 years (or longer)
The receptionist, who is clearly disinterested in her job, sits at her desk, a hole in the wall, as she types away on a keyboard. She abruptly answers calls before transferring them within the same breath.
Buck is spilling interesting facts out to Athena and Bobby, who are both half-heartedly listening, not really focused on what Buck is saying but on what he is doing. What's he's about to do.
“Mr Buckley,” a voice calls out, “If you are ready, come this way.”
Buck stands up, and Bobby and Athena rise up next to him. A hand grabs his arms lightly and tugs before Athena speaks up, “Buckaroo, you don’t have to do this. We can take you down to the shelter, get you a cat or a dog.” It might sound like a joke, but Buck can read Athena’s face, and he knows she disapproves of the idea.
Buck sighed dramatically, crossing his arms over his chest defensively. He didn’t need Bobby and Athena to like the idea, but he wanted them onboard. He needed their support now more than ever, and he had leaned on them a lot. Right from when Bobby had given him the last chance (after saving Athena, so really, hadn’t he earned that chance?)
“We’re just worried”, Bobby reasoned “, that you have a tenancy to rush into things . . . .”
“A tenancy to be Buck being Buck”, Athena clarified, somewhat unnecessary in Buck’s humble opinion. Yes, it was a reckless idea, probably stupid but Buck had to do it. Someone had to step up.
“I have to do this, guys. I’m not asking you to like it; just please promise me you’ll be there.” It’s an honest plea, and Buck doesn’t realise he’s shaking till he’s halfway through it. This is important to him, and it’s important that the people who are most like his parents (more so than his real parents) are there.
“Of course, Buckaroo” and Buck disappears into the room to sign the mountains of paperwork.
Athena sighs in defeat. Buck was an idiot, but he was an idiot with his heart in the right place. Let’s hope it didn’t get trodden over.
“You know, Bobby, I blame you for this.” It was a true statement, but it lacked heat as if it were just another fact.
Bobby grimaced in response. “If it makes you feel better, I do too.” The older man did at least look guilty, worried lines etched into his face as the man who was like a son to him disappeared into a room to make the biggest mist..... decision of his life.
Bobby may have hoped that his own self-hate made her feel better, but It didn’t.
** June 2029
Eddie thumbed over the key in his hand, parked out the front of Bucks' new house. A single-story home located in the sprawling suburbs of LA, the house looked like a family home rather than the eternal bachelor pad that had been Buck’s loft. Eddie wilfully ignored the role he had played in that situation, and to be fair, Maddie was mad enough at him for the three of them. Never mess with an overprotective sister who spent her life defending her younger brother.
It had been four years since he had kissed Buck and then whisked away back to El Paso. In Eddie’s defence, his father dying from a heart attack was not his fault. What was his fault was the fact that Eddie had then chosen to hide in El Paso.
Exiting the truck, he double-checked the address before slowly strolling down the pathway to the front door. Was it a mistake to show up uninvited after all this time? Buck still cared enough to send him a new key, but did he have the right to use it?
Why was he here anyway? Didn’t Buck deserve more than hot and cold Eddie? So many questions, so little time. It wasn’t like they had cut off all communication; Eddie still came up to LA, even more so since Chris had decided to study at UCLA.
Buck was still part of their family, and when the two of them were together, it was like Eddie had never left. Until the visit was over, he would climb back into his truck and drive out of LA and away from Buck.
There was a good reason Maddie was no longer on speaking terms with him. God bless Chimney's diplomacy skills.
Before his thoughts could catch up with his body, he opened the door to Buck’s new home and walked in like he belonged there. It was strange, but despite it being Eddie’s first time at the new address, it felt warm and homey—it felt like Buck.
What Eddie was not expecting was a naked teenager standing in the kitchen taking a selfie (he assumed) in a towel. It seemed out of character for Buck, who a) tended to go for older and b) didn’t seem like a creep - it was hard to imagine Buck, in his mid-30s, going for a teenager; Buck wasn’t one of those guys.
He was easy on the eye, Eddie reluctantly admitted, coughing to catch the teen's attention before the selfies became any more revealing. The unknown person was a little shorter than Eddie, at a guess around 5ft 8, with messy brown hair and a slight tan and clearly worked out.
The cough caught the teenager off guard. He snapped around to face the intruder and picked up the nearest thing as a weapon—an apple, not exactly the deadliest weapon in the house. The two of them locked eyes as a typical teenage scowl appeared. Eddie recognised it from Chris; it must be universal, he joked to himself.
“Who the fuck are you, and what the fuck are you doing here”
“I could say the same thing about you” Eddie shot back, not that he really had a leg to stand on and the teen seemed to know it because he put the apple down and crossed his arms
“What the fuck does that mean man? How the fuck did you get in here?” The apple trained at his face, the teen's hazel eyes shining brightly, daring Eddie to come further.
“My friend Buck, who I believe this house belongs to gave me a key, and is your vocabulary that small that fuck has featured so frequently”
“Fuck works really well at communicating emotions; Buck gave you a key? I’ve never seen you before.”
Eddie ponders if he could get away with another ‘I could say the same thing about you.’ However, he is the one who turned up uninvited, so he probably owes the kid (sorry, teen) an answer, assuming he has a right to be there.
“My name is Eddie, I’m a long time frie. . . “
“Oh”, the teen interrupts, a knowing look flashing across his face as he unfolds his arms and saunters over, not shy about his state of dress or, more appropriately, undress. “You’re fuckface, should have known. Maddie was right, you are adorable but an asshole.”
“Excuse me, I’m old enough to be . . .” There was many things wrong with the sentence that just rolled off the teen’s tongue.
“You’re excused; no need to say thank you, so why are you here now, and why do you have a key?”
“Thank you?” Eddie asked incredulously at the arrogance of the teen in front of him - it's Buck's house, and Buck has a right to give a copy of said key to his . . . partner? ex? friend? - Eddie wasn't sure exactly how Buck would describe their current relationship status.
The teen smiled at him, taunting him, which was dangerous, he obviously didn't know that Eddie had been in the Army, he could kill the brat, and they would never find the evidence. That was a lie; Athena would find it, be super disappointed and arrest him. He couldn’t do that to her, especially when she graciously accepted his apology for breaking Buck’s heart.
“Naw, I said there was no need for thanks. What are you doing here? Or are you fucking deaf Grandpa?” the teen turned his attention from Eddie to the apple in his hand that he started juggling.
Grandpa, he wasn’t even forty yet. How on God's green earth was he been disrespected by Buck’s sugar baby? God give him patience in lieu of the lack of heterosexuality (which wouldn’t have been such an issue if god had dumped him in a catholic family in the middle of Texas in the 1990s)
“It’s been a while since I’ve caught up with Buck, and I thought I’d check out his new pad.”
“Pad? What are you 90? But yes, Buck got this place so we could ‘work’ on our ‘relationship’,” the teen said mockingly, air-quoting around the word's work and relationship. So Buck was dating someone young enough to be his son, which was . . . well, gross. Eddie knew that eventually, Buck would have to move on, but not this.
Was this Eddie’s fault? Was Buck having a midlife crisis, brought a house in suburban LA and shacked up with some smart-ass boy toy.
The teen disappeared into a room, leaving Eddie alone in Buck’s kitchen. He should go, message Buck, arrange to meet up, knock some sense into him. Kiss him, drag him into the motel bed and ride him all night. He could of had all that, Buck had waited years for him.
Far out, it was always going to be Buck. Except apparently, Buck had moved on with a teenager. This made Bobby’s cryptic message make more sense. It was all clicking into place.
Eddie heard Buck voice before he saw him, a slightly panicked tone as he scrambled into the house “Ryan! I came as soon as I could, Ryan is everything oh ka . . . Eddie?”
Buck was just as handsome as he ever was, in his fire uniform. Captain of the 133 was a good look on him. There was a moment, or maybe longer . . .
“You guys are fucking gross” the teen - who was apparently called Ryan said, looking pissed off “eye fucking each other in the kitchen, get a room” was he jealous?
“Ryan” Buck turned to face the teen “I got your message, is everything okay pal?”
“Trying pal now are we, seeing if that work’s better?” Ryan scoffed, and Eddie really didn’t like the brat.
Although Buck tried to keep a neutral face, Eddie couldn’t help but notice his shoulders sink slightly at the rebuttal. An awkward silence filled the kitchen area, interrupted by a tapping noise. Oh, Eddie clicked. That was his foot tapping on the floor. He was the source of the noise, the noise which reminded Buck that he was standing there.
“Eddie, I want you to meet someone uh important to me, I know this might come as a bit of a shock . . . .”
“Jesus fucking Christ man, just spit it out” Ryan groaned. “We’ve met anyway.”
“You’re awful rude for someone who appears to be living in Buck’s house, eating Buck’s food, and I don’t think calling me Fuckface counts as an introduction” It Turns out Eddie's patience had a breaking point after all. Wincing at the glare, Buck gave him, which was puzzling given Eddie had just defended his best friend's honour, he bit his tongue.
If Buck was going to say anything, it was cut off by a shrill ring as Buck’s phone rang; fishing it out of his pocket, he scrunched up his face. “Why is Athena calling me now? Shit, I hope everyone is okay” Buck’s concerned face glanced over to Eddie for reassurance, not that he could give it in this moment, he had less than no idea what was happening.
However, someone seemed to.
Ryan put his hands up, which caught Eddie’s attention. “Okay, before you answer that, just remember there is two sides to every story” For the first time, Eddie had noticed even a hint of something other than mockery etched on Ryan’s face as the teen seemed to huddle in the corner, avoiding eye contact with Buck.
“That doesn’t fill me with confidence, kid” Buck growled, looking only slightly disappointed as Eddie tried to work out the dynamic in his head. Buck swipes his phone screen to answer the call, putting on a fake pleasant tone “Athena, what a surprise . . . . uh huh . . . . oh. . . . . . welllll . . . .I can see that . . . .look . . . . . okay of course . . . . .of course . . . . no, I understand . . . . I do . . . . I will . . . . . I know . . . . . Thanks, talk later”
Buck narrowed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath before looking up at the brat (sorry, Ryan).
Ryan clapped his hands together, bring them up to his chin "If this is about the coffee shop, I think everyone is over-reacting."