Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Okay!” Buck happily exclaimed, clasping his hands together as he admired his finished creation. Two containers packed with chicken tinga, a third one filled to the brim with warm tortillas, and a few smaller ones for the sides. Very basic, classic, and quick to make, but no less one of Eddie’s favourite comfort foods. He’d seemed a little down these past few days, so it wouldn’t hurt to try and cheer him up with something good and familiar.

“Now we only need to pack these up, and then we’ll bring them to your daddy, yeah?”

He turned around, fully expecting his two-year-old to be sitting in her chair, quietly eating her veggie soup like the behaved little girl she usually was, only to flinch so hard his whole body jolted.

“Sofie, what—“ The shock punched the air from his chest. He quickly cut himself off, grabbing a handful of paper towels and dampening them as fast as he could. With a sigh, he took the bowl and spoon away from her and wiped her mouth clean, though it didn’t make much difference considering the chaos in front of him.

There was soup everywhere. On her clothes, her cheeks, her little hands, splattered across the table… and somehow even across the floor.

“I turn my back for thirty seconds, and you go and turn the kitchen into a war zone…” Buck whispered under his breath, pulling off her bib and lifting her into his arms. Another sigh left his lips as he quickly washed her hands, then hurried to her room to grab a clean shirt.

He changed her into a yellow sweater with bees on it before returning to tackle the mess on the table and the floor. That alone ate up several more precious minutes.

Despite having promised his coworkers that he’d be at the station by 10, one quick glance at the time told him that he was already 15 minutes late, making him groan and pack the containers at record speed.

He slung the bag around his shoulder, grabbed his keys, slipped into his shoes, then picked up Sofie from where she’d been playing with a toy car on the floor. Outside, it took another two minutes to tuck her securely into her seat and strap the food bag down before he finally dropped into the driver’s seat with a heavy exhale.

“Alright, you excited to see everyone again? Hen, Chim, Bobby? I bet they’ve missed you,” he asked loudly as he pulled out of the driveway. Through the rearview mirror, he didn’t miss the way her little face lit up at the mention of bobby’s name. He had always been like a third grandfather to her, and they both loved each other to pieces.

Smiling, and a bit more relaxed than before, Buck turned the music up and sang along to some children’s songs in hopes of keeping her entertained. Which turned out to be a great idea, because she smiled and babbled happily the whole drive, all the way until they finally pulled into the station’s parking lot.

He swiftly got out, then hurried to the back. “Okay, come on, angel,” he muttered as he pulled her out and held her tight with one arm, supporting her on his hip, before he grabbed the bag with his free hand.

A comforting wave washed over him the moment he stepped into the station. All the different scents of the alphas here, of his pack, tickled his nose in a welcoming and grounding way. Luckily they all seemed to be in a good mood.

He had barely reached the top of the stairs before Hen’s loud shriek echoed through the loft.

“Oh my god, look what cute baby girl finally showed up!” She squealed in excitement just as she jogged up to them and scooped the toddler from Buck’s arm, hugging her tightly and smothering her in kisses.

Had it been anyone else, anyone not from his pack, Buck might’ve gone borderline feral. But Hen was family. So he only smiled gratefully and went to drop the bag on the table.

His daughter’s bright, high-pitched giggles filled the loft as he began unpacking the containers one by one. But a tiny gasp made him look up to see Bobby emerging from the back, his lips curling into a soft, warm smile.

“Hen, as your captain, I’m telling you to hand her over to me now,” Bobby ordered calmly, his tone teasing as he approached.

“What? Hey, you can’t do that!”

“You heard me.”

Just as he was about to reach out to the girl, completely ignoring Hen’s glare, a pair of hands suddenly swooped in from the side and snatched the toddler right from Hen’s arms

“Alright, enough stealing,” Eddie sighed, though the smirk on his face betrayed him. He hugged Sofie close and covered the side of her face in soft kisses, turning away from the other two’s offended looks. “That’s right, mi amor, your dad’s right here.”

Smiling quietly to himself, Buck shook his head. Moments like these reminded him just how lucky he was to have them. Coworkers who had become friends, then family. People who loved his daughter wholeheartedly and would do anything for her. That was something he never took for granted, especially considering she’d been conceived while he was—and still is—unmated.

Watching her squeal with laughter in Eddie’s arms made his chest warm in the best way. He could watch them forever.

“God, Buck, this is amazing!” Chimney’s voice came out of nowhere, making Buck abruptly turn toward the table. Chim was nodding approvingly while chewing, spoon in hand and every container already opened in front of him.

“Ah, finally someone who noticed my existence as well,” Buck announced loudly, walking around the table to clap a dramatic hand on Chim’s shoulder. The sarcasm was unmistakable, earning him a collective, flat “Hey, Buck,” while not a single pair of eyes left the toddler.

He huffed a small laugh, shaking his head, then opened the cupboards to grab plates.

Soon enough, the chaos subsided. Everyone filtered toward the table, thanking him for the food and asking about his day, genuinely this time.

“Hey, everything alright?” Eddie’s quiet voice beside him made Buck pause mid-rummage through his bag.

“Yeah. Why?”

“You seemed kinda stressed earlier.”

Buck fell silent, then sighed and let the bag drop. “Yeah, just—” He wiped a hand over his forehead. “Sofie woke me up so early today because she wouldn’t stop crying, and then it took me longer than expected to prepare the food, and then she threw her soup literally everywhere, which I bet some of it is still on the floor even though I cleaned it, and now I just realized I forgot her bib and her fork and I didn’t bring any extra clothes and—”

“Buck.”

The single word made him stop short. He hadn’t even realized he was spiralling.

The warm hand on his shoulder, mixed with the sudden, all too familiar scent of pine and slightly burned sugar in the air, grounded Buck in a way he didn’t know he needed. Although Eddie wasn’t his alpha, he still appreciated the help, drowning in the comforting effect his scent had for a moment.

He closed his eyes for a second, then opened them again and trailed his gaze down to the sleepy girl in Eddie’s arms. At least they were standing a few feet away from the others; he hated the idea of seeming weak in front of them. And thank god he’d remembered his scent blocker today, otherwise the loft would’ve been thick with the smell of his stress.

“Everything’s alright, okay? Nothing that can’t be fixed,” Eddie murmured softly, his eyes searching Buck’s as he squeezed his arm gently. “Do you want me to take her today? I can ask if I—”

“No,” Buck cut in quickly. “No, it’s fine. I’m just… glad to be here with you guys right now.”

Even though Eddie didn’t look entirely convinced, his brows pulled together, he eventually nodded. His hand drifted from buck’s shoulder to the small of his back, nudging him gently toward the table.

Bobby immediately insisted on taking Sofie once they sat down, so Eddie passed her over before taking his own seat. Almost instantly, she regained her full energy again, reaching across the table to steal a piece of shredded lettuce from one of the containers.

“Ooh, going straight for the greens. You guys taught her well,” Hen chuckled.

Eddie crossed his arms proudly. “Thank Buck’s great cooking skills and healthy diet for that.”

A ripple of soft laughter went around the table before they all quieted for Bobby’s usual prayer.

The moment he finished, hands shot across the table like a pack of eager children. Buck barely blinked before half the tortillas and the first container of chicken had disappeared.

A collective chorus of “mhh” filled the air, followed by enthusiastic chewing that warmed Buck’s heart. The food wasn’t anything fancy, but he was grateful they enjoyed it so much anyway.

He waited until they were all busy devouring their food before assembling his own. He placed a warm tortilla down, added a generous scoop of shredded chicken, then topped it with lettuce, avocado slices, and a drizzle of sour cream. Simple.

“Oh… wow. You really know how to make this,” Eddie murmured between mouthfuls, eyes closed, as he continuously pointed at his plate. “You want another baby?”

Buck froze instantly.

The tortilla in his hand hovered halfway to his mouth, a piece of chicken dangling helplessly, while every single person at the table went still like someone had hit a giant pause button.

But Eddie… Eddie just kept eating.

Completely unfazed and oblivious. As if he hadn’t just blurted out the most loaded question in existence between them.

He scooped more chicken into his tortilla, folded it neatly, nodded approvingly, and took another big bite with a satisfied hum. “Seriously, this is amazing. We should make this more often.”

Buck’s heart was doing something that might have qualified as acrobatics inside his chest. Heat crept up his neck, his ears burning, his palms sweating instantly. He could practically hear Hen’s brain screaming across the table.

Chim was the first to speak up. “Uh… Eddie? Buddy?” he croaked. “Did you… did you just propose having another kid with Buck over lunch?”

Eddie looked up with a smear of tortilla sauce on his lip, confused. “What? No. I mean…” He frowned, apparently finally noticing the five pairs of eyes glued to him. “I was just saying the food is really good.”

Hen leaned forward. “That is not what you said.”

“I literally heard: ‘You want another baby?’” Chim repeated, pointing at him accusingly.

Eddie blinked. Then blinked again. “Oh. Well…” He shrugged lightly. “It was a joke.”

The air left Buck’s lips in a shaky exhale he hoped nobody noticed. A joke. Right. Of course. His heart was beating way too fast for something that was apparently just a joke.

He tried to move again, but his body was still stuck in place. “Man,” he managed with a nervous laugh, “maybe… think about phrasing next time.”

Eddie gave him an apologetic smile, one side of his mouth curling up in that familiar way that always managed to knock Buck a little off balance. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to freak anyone out.”

Bobby cleared his throat and patted Sofie’s back as she wiggled in his lap. “Well, I think we can all agree the food is wonderful. Maybe we focus on that before we stress Buck into an early grave.”

That earned a round of relieved laughter, the tension melting just enough for everyone to start eating again. Except Buck, who finally forced his hand to lower the tortilla to his plate.

His pulse slowed, but not by much.

He could feel Eddie’s gaze drifting to him from time to time, soft in that way Eddie rarely let anyone else see. It made his stomach twist, but not in a bad way… which only made things worse. It was the same twist he used to get back then, years ago, before the accidental pregnancy, before Eddie told him they had to co-parent as best friends.

He picked at his food as chatter filled the loft again. Sofie babbled happily, reaching for a piece of tortilla Eddie handed her, Bobby teased Chim, Hen recounted something from earlier in the morning.

And Eddie leaned back in his chair, perfectly relaxed and unaware of the way Buck’s entire world had short-circuited for a moment.

He took a quiet breath. Then another.

He reminded himself that he was fine. It was fine. Just an offhand comment. Just Eddie being Eddie.

Still, as he watched Eddie help Sofie wipe sour cream off her chin, Buck felt something warm settle in his chest. Something he had forced himself not to feel ever again.

He pushed the feeling aside. Or tried to.

“Buck,” Hen called from across the table, eyes narrowing with a teasing smile. “You okay over there?”

“Of course,” he grinned. “Just enjoying the peace.”

Chim reached for more lettuce. “Peace? After Eddie tried to jumpstart co-parenting round two?”

“Chim.” Bobby warned.

Eddie hid his face in one hand, groaning. “It was a joke.”

Buck knew it was. He really did. But that didn’t stop his heart from giving one last flip at the thought of Eddie saying something like that without thinking.

It was a sensitive topic, one they usually never talked about.

The scent of slightly burned sugar that had comforted Buck not too long ago suddenly smelled like someone had slammed a pot of dark, burnt, acidic caramel right in front of his nose. Fucking hell.

Instead of letting it get to his head, he forced himself to focus on the other alphas’ scents around the table. Which… only left him with Hen’s. But that was fine. Great, actually. Her warm honey and amber scent had grounded him more times than he could count, pulling him out of moments of panic and anxiety with nothing more than a steady breath.

Like always when he felt helpless, his eyes searched for his daughter. For those striking blue eyes that were probably the only thing she’d gotten from him. Other than that, she looked frighteningly like Eddie. Same smile, same cheeks, same everything.

He noticed her little hair clip sliding off, hanging on by a single stubborn, dark strand, and every instinct in him screamed to take her back into his arms, hold her close, fix the clip, and breathe in her sweet scent. His fingers twitched with the urge under the table, but he forced himself to stay still. He wasn’t going to just snatch her away from Bobby and make everyone uncomfortable.

Hell no.

And Bobby, bless him, was doing his best to pretend nothing had happened, rocking her gently as she bit into a slice of avocado.

Buck pretended too. Because that was what he did. He pushed things down and smiled like nothing was wrong.

Which was the truth. Nothing was wrong.

Everything was just fine.

Though that didn’t explain the overwhelming wave of relief that washed over him when the alarm suddenly went off.

The next few things all happened in a matter of seconds. They thanked Buck again for the food, apologised for having to leave, and handed him his daughter.

Before Eddie ran off, he pressed a quick kiss to sofie’s cheek and whispered them both goodbye.

And then Buck was alone again. With her. And despite usually preferring to be surrounded by his pack, he felt a strange sense of ease settle over him.

He sighed, then stood up and carried the toddler on one arm again, scared she might run around and hurt herself at the stairs if he’d let her go. With his free hand, he began stacking the dirty plates and brought them to the dishwasher, grateful to see it was empty. The rest of the leftovers went into the fridge before Buck grabbed his discarded bag and made his way down the stairs and back to his Jeep.

He was tired already, and the day had barely even started yet.

Chapter Text

“So, are we gonna address the elephant in the room?”

Eddie tore his gaze away from the window and the blur of passing streets to look up at Hen. “What elephant?”

She tipped sideways a little when the truck made a sharp turn, steadying herself with one hand. “Uh, you. And whatever the hell that was at the station.”

Eddie felt the urge to roll his eyes, but he quickly caught himself and turned his head instead. “I wasn’t being serious. I don’t…” He laced his fingers together on his knees, squeezing a little too tightly. “I don’t get why you’re making such a big deal out of it.”

Silence settled over them for a while. The sirens wailed above them and the engine thrummed beneath their feet, a feeling that normally soothed him.

When the quiet stretched on long enough to feel awkward, Eddie finally lifted his head again.Hen and Chim were both watching him, their eyes far too perceptive for his comfort.

He honestly didn’t understand why they were treating this like it meant something. He hadn’t meant anything by what he said earlier. It just slipped out because Buck’s cooking was unbelievable and because joking like that had always been part of their routine. They teased each other constantly. It wasn’t new.

And it wasn’t like what happened back then between him and buck was ever going to happen again. Everyone knew that. Buck knew that. Eddie had stepped in because he’d been needed. It had been the right thing to do. The only thing to do. Without him, Buck might’ve not made it. That was the truth Eddie lived with.

“Everybody deals with their emotions differently,” Hen began after a moment. “And I don’t want to reduce Buck to a stereotype, because he isn’t one. We all know he‘s strong, big, sometimes too stubborn for his own good, but… he’s still an omega. An unmated one at that. The smallest shift in tone or emotion can send alarms through his whole system. That is biology talking, not judgment. And I think because he’s so independent, we forget that sometimes.”

“I know,” Eddie said quickly. “God, I know. I just didn’t think it’d get to him that much. You all saw how obsessed I was with that damn chicken tinga.”

Chim let out a short laugh and then immediately cleared his throat when Hen shot him a look.

“Listen,” he began, “we know you two avoid talking about what happened and pretend it’s old news. But maybe it would help if you actually sat down and talked about everything. All of it. Get it out of your systems once and for all.”

Eddie thought about that, just for a moment. The idea of picking apart what happened back then made his stomach twist. If they ever did that, he wasn’t even sure where he’d begin. As far as he knew, there wasn’t anything left to say. He’d done what he had to do. What any decent alpha would’ve done. He kept Buck alive. The pregnancy wasn’t planned, they somehow dealt with it, and now they’re co-parenting their daughter. They moved forward.

To Eddie, that was the end of the story.

“It’s not like—” Eddie began with a lick of his lips before he was suddenly cut off by the vibrations of his phone. Cursing under his breath, he then patted down his dozens of pockets in his thick uniform until he finally found it and pulled it out.

“Oh, it’s Buck,” he muttered with a raised brow, a little confused because they had left the station just 15 minutes ago.

His thumb quickly accepted the call without hesitation.

“Hey, Buck, what’s up? Is something w—“

“It don’t know how that— I’m sorry, Eddie I— I don’t know how that happened…”

Buck’s voice cracked apart on the line, and Eddie felt his entire body tensing. His eyes snapped open wider, his heart skipping so hard it almost hurt. Buck sounded terrified. Not anxious or stressed. Terrified.

Eddie heard his fast and uneven breathing, and when a loud sob hit the speaker, every nerve in his body lit up like it had been set on fire.

“Buck? Hey, Buck, calm down. Breath for me, okay? Just slow down and tell me what happened,” he managed between gritted teeth, tying his hardest to keep his voice down. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Hen scrunch up her nose at the heavy, burnt smell rolling off of him. Hers wasn’t any better, turning almost sour as she looked at him with wide, worried eyes.

“It… It was an accident! An accident, okay? It was green so I started driving, but then he just came out of nowhere and—I don’t know what— I’m in shock, Eddie,” Buck’s voice was cut off at the end by his own sob, and Eddie’s hand itched to just open the door and jump out of the goddamn driving truck.

“Hey, guys, there’s been an accident two minutes from us. We’ll assist there first,” Bobby suddenly called out from the front, his radio in hand.

“T-that’s Buck! Cap, I think that’s Buck!”

Bobby had never turned his body around to them faster than when he heard that. His lips were parted, the worry clear, and by the time he instructed the driver to go faster, Eddie had already turned his attention back to the phone.

“There are first responders here, and— and they want to take her away from me. But I don’t want them to take her, Eddie, please don’t let them take her!”

“Buck? Is Sofie alright? What about you? Are you two okay?”

Eddie felt like breaking his phone in half if they didn’t finally arrive in the next five seconds.

“Y-yeah, we’re fine. But I’m scared, Eddie. Please just come.”

Maybe it was Eddie’s inner alpha, or the bond he had with Buck, or maybe a mix of both, but the anger and fear running through him made it feel like he could lift the entire damn truck with his bare hands. His body was buzzing with energy he had nowhere to put. Every shaky breath Buck let out over the phone made his heart skip another beat, and every choked sound fueled him until he bit the inside of his cheek just to stay grounded, tasting blood.

“Eddie? Eddie, is he okay? What happened?” Chim asked loudly as he leaned forward, but right when Eddie was about to explain, the truck finally came to a halt.

Without waiting another second, he ended the call, tore the door open and rushed out in a sprint while completely ignoring Bobby’s voice calling after him.

Two cars twisted together in the middle of the intersection. One of them was unmistakably Buck’s Jeep, almost completely crushed, as the other vehicle’s front end had punched deep into the side of it, leaving a horrifying crater of metal.

His eyes overlooked the scene frantically, searching and searching, until they finally landed on who he was looking for.

Buck sat on the curb, shoulders hunched, clutching Sofie so tightly that she looked almost swallowed in his arms. His hands were shaking, his lips pressed against the top of her head like he was breathing her in, inhaling her scent. Blood ran down the side of his face, along some scratches on his nose and cheek.

For one horrifying heartbeat, Eddie couldn’t breathe. Then he was running again before he even registered it.

“Buck!” His voice cracked in a way he didn’t care about. “Hey, Buck! Buck!”

Buck looked up at him with wide, stunned eyes, and Eddie could see the panic still trapped inside of them. Sofie lifted her head at the sound of his voice, her little face blotchy and wet.

Eddie reached them in two strides and dropped to his knees in front of them, hands trembling as he touched her for the first time. His palm cupped the back of her head and he pulled her close, scanning every inch of her tiny body. She clung to him instantly, wrapping her little arms around his neck and sobbing quietly into his collar.

“Hey, angel,” Eddie whispered into her hair. “I’m here, you‘re okay. I’ve got you.”

Her scent was shaken but uninjured, and relief hit him so hard that it almost knocked him back.

Only when he was sure she was unhurt did Eddie lift his eyes to Buck again.

And everything inside him went still.

Buck looked exhausted, pale. His pupils were blown wide in shock and his breathing came in uneven puffs. The blood on his temple had already begun to dry, leaving a dark streak down his cheek.

His scent blockers must’ve either worn off already, or Buck was simply too stressed for them to work anymore, because his scent suddenly hit Eddie like a tidal wave. Buck usually smelled like citrus, but now the air was full of worry and bitterness.

“Are you hurt?” Eddie asked, quieter now.

Buck swallowed hard. “It’s nothing. Just a cut. Sofie is okay. She’s okay.”

His voice broke at the end, and Eddie’s chest tightened painfully.

His breath was still uneven, so Eddie did the only thing he knew how to do to calm Buck down. He lifted his free hand and brought it to the back of Buck’s head, then guided him down to the side of his neck. Eddie buried his nose against Buck’s scent glands, forced himself to relax, and released wave after wave of his pheromones.

He was scenting him.

Not just letting Buck breathe him in or offering comfort. No, he was deliberately scenting him, gluing his own scent to every particle of Buck’s body. And to Sofie too, though she had stopped crying by now.

Apart from that one accidental time years ago, they had never done that before or ever again. It was unusual for anyone who wasn’t blood-related or a partner to do that. And it showed, because Eddie felt Buck tense right after hearing his sharp inhale.

“Eddie, you shouldn’t—” he began, but Eddie only pulled him closer.

“Just this once, alright? Just… calm down.”

It worked for approximately thirty seconds. Buck’s shaking eased, and Eddie could hear him taking slow, rhythmic breaths, until they suddenly heard voices beside them.

“Excuse me, Mr. Buckley, but we really need to check you and your daughter now,” one of the paramedics sighed, and Eddie felt a violent instinctive spike of anger at the way Buck’s anxiety shot right back up. It wasn’t him, not really. It was his inner alpha reacting to an omega in distress, especially when that omega was the father of his child.

He thought back to what Hen had said in the truck about an omega’s heightened emotions, and the memory made the tight string in Eddie’s chest pull even harder.

“Hey, we’ll take care of them,” Chim’s voice came from behind, and a wave of relief washed over Eddie.

“Hey, big guy. You mind if I take a look at both of you? Nice and easy. No rush.”

Buck nodded without lifting his face from Eddie’s neck, and Eddie felt the tiny tremor that went through him, barely there. Sofie had her small fist curled into Eddie’s turnout collar, refusing to let go.

Chim carefully reached for Sofie first, scanning her quickly and checking her pulse and limbs. “She’s alright,” he said softly. “Just scared. No injuries.”

He straightened a little. “Buck, can you look at me for a moment?”

Buck hesitated, then finally lifted his head from Eddie’s shoulder. The cold air hit Eddie’s neck where Buck’s breath had been, and he tried to ignore how strange it felt. Chim checked the cut, murmuring something about butterfly stitches.

“You’re both okay. Shaken, but okay.”

Eddie almost collapsed from the relief.

He stood slowly, shifting Sofie onto his hip. She refused to be handed over to anyone else, tiny fingers fisted in Eddie’s jacket like she was afraid he’d disappear.

Buck stood too, though a little unsteadily, so Eddie instinctively reached out and curled a hand around his elbow.

“Buck!” Bobby called out as he jogged up to them and immediately pulled the other omega into a tight embrace. “Can you tell us how that happened?”

It took a moment for Buck to step back again, but when he did, he finally seemed partly okay. “I… I was waiting there, and then the light turned green, but I was zoned out a little, so I didn’t really check the street before I started driving, and then this guy, he— he just crashed right into us! But the light was green, okay? I swear, it was green—”

“Hey, Buck, it’s alright. You’re right, the light was green. It’s not your fault,” Bobby assured him, hands on Buck’s shoulders. “I just checked with the other guy, and it turns out he’s heavily intoxicated. It’s not your fault, do you hear me?”

The huge sigh of relief that left Buck plastered a smile on everyone’s faces.

“We’ll still get you both to the hospital, just to be safe, alright?”

—

As soon as Eddie opened his front door, Christopher stormed inside faster than Eddie had ever seen him move.

“Buck! Sofie!” He called out, and Eddie stepped in just in time to see him scramble onto the couch and wedge himself tightly against Buck’s free side.

Eddie had driven Buck and their toddler to his place after the hospital discharged them, not willing to leave them alone in Buck’s house after the shock of the accident. After dropping them off, he had rushed to pick Chris up from school and explained everything on the way home.

“Hey, buddy. How was school?” Buck asked, slinging an arm around Chris’s shoulders and pulling him close.

“It was fine. Are you and Sofie okay?”

“Of course we’re fine. It’s all good, you don’t need to worry.”

Eddie watched them with a warm smile, leaning against the wall as Chris took off his crutches and held his arms out for Sofie. She immediately climbed over Buck’s lap and into the boy’s embrace.

“Buck?”

“Yeah, buddy?”

“You stink of dad.”

As soon as he said that, Buck’s eyes snapped up to Eddie’s instantly. He was biting his lip, trying his hardest not to smirk.

“Hey! My scent is lovely, thank you very much,” Eddie scoffed as he crossed his arms, but even he couldn’t hide the grin when Christopher suddenly burst into loud laughter.

He walked up to them, then ruffled the boy’s hair. “Why don’t you go play with Sofie in your room, hm? I just need a minute with buck.”

Chris didn’t need to be told twice. He grabbed his crutches, slid carefully off the couch, and headed down the hallway with Sofie toddling beside him, both giggling as they disappeared around the corner.

Eddie didn’t miss the shaky breath that left Buck the moment they were gone. He sat beside him, leaving some room between them.

“We’re fine, Eds. We don’t have to stay here.”

“Oh, but I think you should.”

Buck rolled his eyes, though a soft grin tugged at his lips. “Enlighten me, Edmundo. What can I do at your house that I can’t do at mine?”

“Well, for starters,” Eddie began, matching Buck’s teasing tone even though every word was sincere, “you could actually relax. Let me take care of Sofie for a bit while you lay back.”

He was being serious. A car crash was bad enough on its own, but with your two-year-old strapped into the back seat? Eddie didn’t even want to imagine how terrified Buck must’ve been in those seconds before the impact. And how hard he must still be fighting to pretend he was okay.

A small chuckle left Buck’s lips. “I’m fine.”

“You keep saying that.”

“Because I am.”

“You’re shaking.”

That made Buck stop moving completely. His eyes flicked down to his own hands like he hadn’t realized they were betraying him. Eddie watched the denial die on Buck’s tongue.

“I just need to breathe for a minute,” he whispered.

“Then breathe here, with us. With me.”

Eddie could feel the shift in the air as his pheromones accidentally pushed through. He didn’t do it on purpose. The control he usually had was slipping, and he hated how obvious it must’ve been.

Buck inhaled sharply. It hit him like a visible impact, the way Eddie’s scent washed over him. His pupils went wide for a second, his fingers twitching.

Eddie should pull back. He should give Buck space. He knew that. The right thing to do was to step away and let Buck recover his breath without an alpha he wasn’t mated to pressing too close for once.

But Buck’s scent spiked again, a quick burst of fear and comfort, and Eddie instinctively leaned forward instead. Although he didn’t touch him, Eddie felt the instinct thrumming under his skin like a living thing, telling him to bridge the gap, to anchor Buck, to stop the trembling through any means available.

Buck looked up at him with wide, startled eyes. “Eddie. You’re doing it again.”

“I know. I’m trying not to, trust me.”

He really was. It just wasn’t working.

Buck swallowed. “You have to stop. Your house is already saturated with you. This is too much.”

“I know. But you’re still scared. My body is simply reacting to that.”

The scent of really acidic and bitter lemon curled through Eddie’s nose, causing his own scent to react to the anxiety again.

Buck sighed. “You know, it’s strange. I’ve been through so much worse at work, but that car accident still shakes me up so much just because…”

“…because Sofie was with you?” Eddie finished for him, which earned him a small nod from Buck.

He reached out before he thought about it. His hand brushed Buck’s elbow, barely a touch, but Buck inhaled sharply again, like the contact had sent a wave of heat up his spine.

“Eddie.”

“I’m not trying to overwhelm you. I swear I’m not.”

“I know.”

Eddie could see the panic and the comfort fighting inside Buck’s eyes, trying to coexist and failing. He could smell it too, the way Buck’s scent wavered like a candle flame. His omega instincts were responding to Eddie’s alpha instincts. And Eddie’s alpha instincts were responding to Buck’s stress. It created a loop, something they hadn’t experienced since the pregnancy.

Eddie had forgotten how strong it was.

“I’m sorry. I should have more control than this.”

There was a moment of silence, both just sitting side by side and staring at the blank tv screen. Then Buck cleared his throat. “I—um, while you were picking up Chris just now, I had some time alone with my thoughts and…” he trailed off, eyes flicking briefly to Eddie’s before slipping away again. “This accident showed me that maybe I should start dating again. You should too.”

Eddie studied his face for a long time. “How come?”

“I mean, you know as well as I do that I don’t need an alpha in my life to live it peacefully. But i realised today how fucked I would’ve been if you weren’t there with me.” Buck rubbed his palms over his thighs, his voice wavering. “Man, I would’ve probably still been shaking and crying by now. And then I wouldn’t know how to calm down Sofie either.” His expression twisted with frustration, then with something closer to shame. “I didn’t even want them to touch her, Eddie. They were just trying to help, and I—God, I feel like I’m going crazy.”

They were valid points. Painfully valid. Eddie had wondered the same things earlier, wondered what the scene might’ve looked like if he hadn’t been just two streets away. Wondered if Buck would’ve been sitting on that curb until dark, shaking and terrified, holding Sofie like she was the only thing keeping him grounded. “Yeah, I get it,” he muttered. “But why does it feel like you’re asking me for permission?”

“Does it?” Buck let out a small, humorless huff as a sad smile tugged at his mouth. “It’s just that… neither of us have dated anyone in the two years since Sofie was born.”

“And?”

“We never talked about it either. We never talk about anything anymore, really. I don’t know if you’d be okay with that. With another alpha in Sofie’s and my life. Probably scenting her and loving her as their own.”

That made Eddie recoil, just a little, but enough for Buck to see it. He didn’t mean to react, but his nostrils flared before he could stop the instinctive spike of protectiveness. The mental image alone, Sofie carrying another alpha’s scent, reaching for them and treating them like a third parent, made something burn in Eddie’s chest.

But none of that gave him the right to deny Buck the chance at something good. Someone to love him. Someone to care for him. Someone who could be there when Eddie wasn’t, which was often. Logically, it was the best thing Buck could do for himself.

“Sure, it would take some time to get used to,” Eddie admitted, clearing his throat. “But that’s not… a problem. Go for it. As long as you’re happy.”

He meant it.

Or at least he thought he did.

Chapter Text

“Would you like that?” Buck whispered softly as he brushed his fingers through his daughter’s brown hair. “Having a sibling one day?”

She swayed slightly, leaning on the coffee table with both hands clutching different coloured crayons. Only after she finished drawing a… whatever that was, did she turn her face toward him. “Jee-Yun,” was the only thing she said, looking at him with raised brows.

Buck couldn’t help the small chuckle that slipped past his lips. “Yeah,” he murmured. “You’re actually cousins, but she’s like a big sister to you, right?”

After staring at him with a confused expression for a moment, Sofie just turned back to her paper and continued adding blue blobs everywhere.

Her answer didn’t help him at all, but he hadn’t expected it to anyway. She was still too little.

For some reason, Buck had never really thought about having more kids until Eddie’s “joke” a few days ago, which was also the reason he had zoned out in the car and ended up in the crash. Or maybe he had just never allowed himself to think about another baby. His first pregnancy couldn’t have been more unplanned, and, if he was honest, very unwanted at first. Because it wasn’t like he had wanted to have a child with his best friend. It just… happened. In a moment of emergency.

And god, it had been hard at the beginning. Being in love with his best friend and then having to raise their child together as just “co-parents” and nothing more was a kind of agony he’d never forget. Watching Eddie be so caring and so loving with the baby, and then having to shove his feelings down because Eddie wasn’t his mate but just Sofie’s other parent was torture.

Not to mention the pregnancy itself. He’d hoped he’d be one of the lucky ones who never got sick. But the nausea had hit him every day like a damn truck the moment his second trimester started. He couldn’t even smell meat without sprinting to the nearest trash can or bathroom. Then came the exhaustion, the intense back pain, the mood swings that could’ve been classified as a public disturbance. The 118 was lucky Bobby had banned him from joining them on calls at twelve weeks.

He could groan right now just thinking back to the time without work. The boredom almost killed him. Almost every day he’d gone to the station just to sit and talk with his team, listening to their interesting calls, until Bobby banned that too. And for some reason, that had made him so unbelievably jealous. Sometimes, whenever he’d felt furious for being left alone when they had to work, he found himself getting angry at the child inside him. At how she had ruined everything for him, took away his work and complicated his friendship with Eddie.

But he was never mad for long. Because he knew that it wasn’t her fault, never. It was his own.

But Buck had gotten past it. Like he always did. Now, if he somehow could travel back in time, he wouldn’t change a single thing. Not if it meant he ended up here, with his sweet little girl. He’d go through all of it as many times as needed just to have her again.

And one day, mated with the love of his life, he would probably do it all over again.

“Look!” Sofie suddenly shouted, picking up her drawing and holding it out proudly. Though it was mostly questionable circles and chaotic streaks of color, Buck took the offering with a huge smile. He pulled her in gently by the back of the neck and pressed a soft kiss to her temple.

“Wow, this is amazing! Want Daddy to hang it on the fridge?” he asked, pointing toward the kitchen.

At her enthusiastic nodding, another laugh escaped him.

Groaning as he got to his feet, he walked to the fridge, grabbed a magnet, and placed the masterpiece beside the other three equally mysterious drawings.

When he turned around again and found her standing right next to him, he picked her up so that they could just stare at all the pictures together. There were so many, he was starting to worry he’d run out of space soon.

“Daddy and Sofie!” She exclaimed loudly in his arms as she pointed her finger at one of the pictures. It showed Eddie holding her in his arms, barely one year old at the time, in front of a fountain with wide grins on their faces.

“That’s right. And there are Sofie and daddy as well,” he pointed at another picture, “and here too, and… look, there’s Sofie with both her dads!”

She was fully laughing now, kicking her legs, and Buck couldn’t help but join her. There really was no one more adorable than her.

At the sudden sound of Buck’s phone ringing, he quickly put her back down and let her run free before hurrying to the couch.

“Hello?” He asked as he answered without checking the caller ID. But he didn’t need to anyway, because the voice on the other line was faster.

“Hey, Buckley. It’s me, Taylor.”

Buck wished he could hide the grin that instantly crept into his face.

“Hey, Taylor. What’s up?”

“Oh, nothing much,” she replied, the smile evident in her tone. “Sorry, this is kind of sudden, but—are you free today?”

Buck blinked in surprise, shifting his weight onto one foot while Sofie zoomed across the living room with a stuffed giraffe. “Uh… yeah, I think so. Why?”

Taylor hesitated for a second, which was unusual for her. She was one of the most confident and sharp alphas Buck knew, but right now her breath caught just slightly before she spoke.

“I was wondering if you’d like to grab something to eat with me,” she said. “Just you and me. Not an interview, not work.”

Buck froze for half a heartbeat.

A date.

She was asking him on a date. His heart fluttered with something almost nervous, something he hadn’t felt in a long time. He still couldn’t quite believe it. He had been genuinely surprised when she’d asked for his number yesterday after they rescued her. The two of them had talked for a while, but he hadn’t thought she’d actually be interested in him. Hell, that had been the first time he’d given his number to anyone in two years.

“Oh. Like… a date?”

“Yeah,” Taylor answered, a soft laugh slipping out. “Like a date. If you want to, of course. No pressure.”

His stomach flipped like he was twenty again. It had been years since he was going out with someone who wasn’t one of his friends.

“It sounds nice,” Buck admitted, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “Really nice, actually.”

He meant it.

“Great. I was thinking something casual. Maybe dinner? Or we could just get coffee and walk around if that’s easier. Whatever works for you.”

Buck let out a small laugh. “Dinner sounds good. But I’ll need to find someone to watch Sofie.”

“That’s fine, I can wait as long as you need. Just tell me the time.”

He bit his bottom lip, thinking. Maddie was free today, if he remembered correctly.

“Yeah. I think I can make tonight work. How about seven?”

There was a warm hum on the other end of the line. “Perfect. I’ll pick you up at seven then.”

Buck’s heart stuttered again. “Okay. Great.”

When they hung up, he slowly lowered the phone and stared at it for a moment, feeling a strange combination of excitement and nervousness spread through his chest.

“Date?” Sofie asked suddenly, popping up beside him with a crayon in her hand.

Buck choked on his own spit. “What? No— I mean— you— how did you—”

She simply held up her stuffed giraffe and yelled proudly, “Date,” like she had cracked the code to something unsolvable.

—

The strong, burning tingling in Buck’s lips was more intense than anything he’d felt in what felt like forever.

His breath came out shaky, chest rising and falling fast. He swallowed hard between uneven gasps, trying to organise his thoughts as he felt the thin string of saliva break and slip down his bottom lip.

Okay. Yeah. This was definitely not planned.

“You’re really adorable…” Taylor murmured, still close enough that her breath ghosted over his mouth. Her fingers were warm where they held his chin, her thumb brushing once before she slowly pulled back.

The wicked grin she wore matched her pheromones perfectly, warm and spiced and clearly aroused, filling up her car.

Buck’s heart hammered against his ribs, hard enough he half-wondered if she could hear it. He shifted in the passenger seat, legs drawing together as heat crept up his neck. His body was responding too intensely, and he mentally cursed whatever gene made omegas act like they were walking fountains.

God. It really had been too long.

“So…” he chuckled weakly, still a little breathless and not at all steady. “When will we see each other again?”

Taylor’s eyes flicked down to his mouth for just a second before she looked up the driveway toward Maddie’s house. “Whenever you want,” she said, her voice attractively smooth. “I’m free most evenings next week. And if you’re busy…” She leaned an inch closer again, smirking. “I’m very good at making time.”

“I—yeah. Okay. Uh… great.”

“It is great.” Her grin softened into something more genuine. “I had a good time tonight.”

“Me too,” Buck quickly replied, and he meant it.

She lifted a hand again, brushing her knuckles against the side of his jaw in a way that made Buck’s breath catch all over again. “And next time,” she added quietly, “I’ll try not to kiss you in a parked car outside your sister’s house.”

Buck groaned into his hands. “Oh god, she’s definitely watching from the window.”

“Then you better get inside before she storms out here and drags you in by the ear.”

Buck let out a breathy laugh, heart still pounding a bit too fast. He unbuckled his seatbelt and reached for the door handle, but paused to glance back at her.

“Hey, Taylor?”

“Yeah, Buckley?”

“I really, um… I liked tonight.” His voice went quiet. “A lot.”

Her expression softened in a way he hadn’t expected. “Good,” she murmured. “Because I plan on doing it again.”

“I’ll text you?”

“You better,” Taylor teased, her smirk returning. “Goodnight, Buck.”

Buck practically stumbled out of the car, smiling like an idiot as he shut the door. Taylor waited until he was safely halfway to the house before pulling away.

And Buck stood there on Maddie’s front porch for a moment longer, hand pressed to his still-tingling lips, wondering how on earth this night had actually happened.

Then the door suddenly swung open.

Maddie stood there, one eyebrow raised and her arms crossed.

“Welcome back, Mr. ‘I’m just going out for drinks with an old friend of mine’ Buckley,” she greeted him, though the smile on her face contradicted her furrowed brows. It honestly sent a shiver down Buck’s spine.

“Mads,” he groaned as he stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. “Please don’t start.”

“Oh, I’m starting,” she said immediately. “You smell like… pepper? Spice? Trouble?”

Buck flushed bright red. “It’s not— look, it wasn’t— do you always have to sniff me when I come in?”

“You walk into my house reeking of alpha hormones and you expect me not to ask questions?” Maddie countered, eyes wide. “Buck, I’m an omega, not dead.”

“Great. Perfect.” He rubbed his hands over his face. “This is exactly what I wanted after my first date in two years.”

Maddie’s expression softened instantly. “Hey,” she said, nudging his arm with her shoulder, “I’m only messing with you. You look… good. Like, really good. Happy. Did it go well?”

Buck opened his mouth, then shut it again, unsure how to summarize kissing Taylor until his brain short-circuited. “Yeah,” he sighed eventually. “It went… really well.”

“I’m glad. Now come on.” She motioned toward the couch. “Sit for a bit. Tell me everything. And don’t you dare leave out the kiss.”

“Maddie.”

“Oh, please. You know I saw you through that window.”

Sighing, Buck eventually plopped down next to her, taking slow breaths. “Where are the girls?”

“Sleeping. We went to the park today, and they just dropped dead after that.”

Buck nodded, then thanked her sincerely for watching Sofie today. But he didn’t miss that weird look on her face, the one she made whenever she wanted to ask something but wasn’t sure if she should.

“What?” Buck muttered, turning to face her.

“So… I’m guessing you won’t try it with Eddie again then?”

Buck instantly sat up straighter, tension shooting through his body. “Again? I never even tried it once.”

Maddie’s eyes flicked to his stomach once before returning to his face, her brow lifting suspiciously. Okay, so what if he and Eddie had a child together? That didn’t mean they’d ever been in love. Well… Eddie certainly hadn’t been.

“I already told you, I never said anything about my feelings for him to him,” Buck sighed.

“Yeah, and maybe that’s the problem. We’ve already had this conversation a hundred times, but I’ll say it again: you don’t know if he would’ve rejected you back then or not. Maybe if—“

“Mads, he rejected me the moment he said we’d just raise our daughter as best friends. Don’t you think he would’ve made a move at least when we found out I was pregnant if he had been interested?”

That made Maddie close her mouth. She looked a little guilty now, her cheek squished against the hand holding up her head.

Buck closed his eyes for a second. “You know better than anyone that all I want for Sofie is for her to have parents who love each other. But that’s just not possible anymore.”

“Never say never, Evan,” she said. But right before Buck could argue, the sound of the door opening stopped their conversation short, both of them looking toward the entryway.

Chimney stopped halfway out of his shoes, eyes darting from one Buckley to the other. “Uh… am I… interrupting something?”

Maddie huffed. “You always interrupt something.”

“Relax, Chim. We were just talking.”

“Talking,” Chim repeated slowly, eyes narrowing at them. “The kind of talking where I should pretend I didn’t hear anything? Or the kind where I get snacks first?”

“No snacks. Just come here.”

Chim walked closer, still suspicious, then dropped down beside Maddie with that end-of-shift groan Buck knew too well. His gaze flicked between the two siblings again. “Okay, seriously, what’s going on? Why do you both look like you were having a feelings meeting without adult supervision?”

“Yup, that’s my cue to go,” Buck announced cheerfully before getting up. Without turning back, he made a beeline for Jee’s room. The door was open, the room quiet except for the faint sound of the girls breathing.

Very carefully, Buck then approached the bed, where he could barely make out their little shapes sleeping peacefully next to each other, and he felt a stab of guilt at the thought of waking his daughter now.

“Hey, angel. Come on, it’s time to go,” he whispered as he gently rubbed Sofie’s back. But when she didn’t wake up, not even when he lifted her arm and let it fall back down, he just sighed and scooped her up carefully.

By the time he returned to the living room, she hadn’t moved an inch, her head resting on his shoulder as she snored softly.

“Listen,” Buck began quietly, “I really don’t want to inconvenience you, but I’d appreciate it if one of you could drive us home. Since, you know… I still don’t have a car. And I don’t want to pay for a cab again. You still have Jee’s old car seat, right?”

“Yeah, no problem,” Chim said with a sigh as he got up from the couch, already heading toward his shoes again.

“Let me just get it real quick.”

Chapter Text

Eddie unconsciously bounced his leg under the table as his thoughts kept drifting to the morning of his shift yesterday.

That scent was still so vividly engraved in his mind. Sweet, salty and so damn thick spices clinging to Buck as he’d walked past him in the loft. So strong it had almost knocked Eddie off his seat.

It had been obvious Buck had tried to conceal it with half a bottle of cologne, but nothing could ever hide from an alpha’s nose. Especially not another alpha’s scent, the kind that overpowered everything else even in a room full of anxious omegas. Which was why Eddie kept wondering whether Hen genuinely hadn’t noticed… or if she had just pretended she didn’t.

And then Eddie had to work side by side with Buck for the rest of the day, and at one point in the truck he’d genuinely had to bite his tongue to keep himself from releasing his own pheromones, anything to drown out the spices coating Buck’s skin. Because that wasn’t the smell of an alpha who had just hung out with him, no, it was the smell of an alpha who had deliberately scented him. An alpha who wanted everyone within a mile radius to know exactly who Buck belonged to.

Which was insane. Its hadn’t even been two weeks since he and Buck had talked about dating again, and Buck hadn’t mentioned anything about getting involved with someone new. He didn’t have to, of course, but Eddie had assumed, after that conversation, that Buck would at least tell him if there was someone else now.

God, Eddie could still feel the tension running through his veins from the day before, that strong instinctive urge to cover Buck in his own scent just to erase the other one.

He hadn’t done it, obviously. But after two years of Buck smelling like either Sofie or, occasionally, Eddie himself, it was strange to suddenly smell someone new on him. He hadn’t expected it to hit this hard. But he also knew he had no choice but to get used to it from now on.

Still, with Buck being the father of his child, his instincts were scratching their way up his throat, flaring hot under his skin at the idea of another alpha claiming Buck so boldly.

Which, again, was crazy, because Buck probably barely knew that person yet and—

“Eddie?”

Ana’s voice suddenly ripped Eddie out of his thoughts, and he felt a little ashamed of how easily he’d gotten distracted. And when he met her kind eyes and that small, patient smile, guilt settled in right next to the shame.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I just…” he trailed off, unwilling to admit what he’d really been thinking about. “What were you saying?”

She just looked at him for a moment, like she was trying to decide whether to push, but then she swallowed and simply shook her head.

For some reason, that only irritated Eddie. He didn’t want to be, he really didn’t, but he felt like he’d been stretched thin since yesterday, like anything could set him off.

And Ana being a beta wasn’t helping. He couldn’t smell anything from her, couldn’t read if she was nervous or annoyed or lying or trying to protect his feelings. That little gap of uncertainty shouldn’t have mattered, not on a first date, not when he’d dated plenty of betas before. But after years at the 118 and after years of working so closely with Buck, an omega, he’d gotten used to something else. Even when Buck wore scent blockers, Eddie could sometimes catch the faintest trace of what he was feeling. Stress, sadness, happiness, when he was overwhelmed, when he was trying not to cry, when he was holding something back. Those soft hints gave Eddie something solid to hold onto.

With Ana, he had none of that. No scent, just guessing. And he hated that it bothered him this much.

“Okay, well, how about we—” He didn’t get to finish due to a wave of sweet spices drifting right past his nose, making him freeze. The scent bit through every layer of calm he had had left. His eyes widened as he straightened in his seat, scanning every corner of the restaurant.

No. No, that couldn’t be a coincidence. There was no way.

“Eddie?”

His eyes flicked up to the person the voice belonged to, and he found himself staring right at the ocean.

“Buck?”

Then his gaze slid to the woman next to Buck and… “Wait, Taylor? Taylor Kelly? The—the news reporter we saved?”

“The one and only,” she said, smiling as she stretched out her hand for Eddie to shake. Her expression didn’t waver, and her confidence somehow made him feel uneasy.

“Okay,” Buck began with a nervous little laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. “Taylor, I already told you about Eddie. And this is…” He nodded toward Ana.

“I’m Ana. Nice to meet you two.”

Hands were shaken all around, but Eddie barely registered it, too focused on the thick spice scent clinging to Buck like someone had tattooed it on his skin.

“Oh—are you two on a…?” Buck asked, eyes widening as he stepped back. “Sorry, we’ll leave you to it. Have fun, you—”

Eddie saw his chance and took it. The date had already turned awkward the moment he had zoned out anyway. “Buck, wait. Why don’t you just join us for a bit?” He glanced at Ana, wincing at her confused expression. “Is that alright?”

At her hesitant nod, Eddie immediately scooted over on the bench, giving Buck space to sit beside him. Across the table, Ana moved aside as well to make room for Taylor.

God, the scent was everywhere. In Buck’s hair, clinging to his skin, his clothes, strong and unmistakably not Buck. It made Eddie’s jaw clench, the muscles in his thigh tightening as he tried to keep from bouncing his leg again.

And Eddie didn’t want to read into things, really, but there was something about the way Taylor looked at him. Like she was… assessing him, or trying to form an opinion about him.

“Wow, okay,” Buck breathed out as he grabbed the menu. “Didn’t expect to run into you guys here.”

Ana smiled politely. “It’s fine. Really. We were just talking.”

“We were?” Eddie muttered, immediately regretting it when Ana shot him a tiny side-eye. Oh, great. Perfect.

Taylor leaned forward, elbows on the table. “So. Sofie.” She said it like she was testing the weight of the word. “Buck tells me she’s adorable.”

Eddie stiffened. “She is.” Then, because that felt weirdly defensive, he cleared his throat. “Uh—yeah. She’s great.”

Buck lit up instantly. “She started copying Eddie’s annoyed face. You should’ve seen it. She scrunches up her eyebrows just like—”

“I don’t scrunch my eyebrows.”

“Yes, you do,” Buck and Ana argued at the same time.

Shaking his head, Eddie didn’t miss the way the conversation dipped into silence after that, not necessarily awkward but not comfortable either. Buck seemed oblivious as he scanned the menu, and Ana politely pretended to do the same.

Eddie… couldn’t focus. Not when the scent was right there. Strong and practically stamped onto Buck like someone had pressed a hand to the back of his neck and held it there.

He exhaled slowly through his nose, though it didn’t help. If anything, it made it worse.

“So,” Ana began after a moment, “Sofie really does look like the perfect mix of both of you.”

Buck’s head snapped up. “Have you met her?”

He turned sharply toward Eddie, and the look he gave him was a quick “Really? Without talking to me first?”

Eddie felt his eyebrows pull together, not in anger but in pure disbelief. Did Buck honestly think he’d introduce someone to their daughter on a first date? He stared back at him for a second as if to say “Are you kidding me? Of course not.”

And then another thought pushed through: Buck hadn’t exactly told Eddie anything about Taylor either. And this didn’t seem like their first time out together. Not with how thoroughly her scent was glued to Buck’s skin.

Eddie wasn’t angry. Not exactly. Just… confused and off balance. And for a moment, the whole situation made his mind fog up in a way he didn’t know how to clear.

Ana shook her head. “Oh— no, not yet. But Christopher always brings pictures of her to school.”

Buck perked up at that. “Oh, you’re Christopher’s… teacher?”

She nodded, smiling, and from that point on they fell easily into conversation. Just the two of them. They talked like they’d known each other for longer than the ten minutes they’d been seated. They drifted from Christopher to work, from weird hobbies to terrible restaurant recommendations, in a comfortable, never-ending loop of small talk. Buck lit up when he talked about Chris, and the way his voice softened made Eddie want to smile even as his attention slid away.

At some point he stopped listening closely and let his eyes trail back to Taylor instead. Even though she had a smile on her face, it looked tight, like someone holding a laugh they didn’t want to let out. Eddie could tell she wasn’t exactly amused, and he could bet she’d rather be anywhere but here. That made him feel oddly protective and, he hated to admit it, unreasonably on edge.

Later that evening, after the plates were cleared, the mood started to shift. Buck laughed loudly and kept ordering shots like there was no tomorrow.

“Alright, big guy, I think that’s enough for today,” Eddie sighed as he managed to snatch a shot glass away right before Buck could chug it. The table had more empty glasses than he cared to count and Buck had probably emptied more than half of them alone. His face was flushed, his grin crooked, and his words slurred.

“Hey, come on!” Buck whined, trying and failing to reach for the glass again. He gave up quickly and slumped back into the seat with his head tipped up and his eyes closed.

Eddie watched him, heart unusually fast. He needed to get Buck home before he made a fool of himself or fell down a flight of stairs, and he needed to apologize to Ana for the whole mess of an evening.

“I’m really sorry about tonight,” he muttered. “This wasn’t what I planned. I should get him home.” She gave him a small, kind smile that made him feel guilty and relieved at the same time. “It’s okay. Don’t worry. He’s with you.” She reached to squeeze his hand, and Eddie meant it when he said, “I’ll text you. Thank you for tonight.”

However, inside he already knew he wouldn’t be setting up a second date. There had been a distance there he couldn’t look past, no matter how kind and lovely Ana was. It simply hadn’t clicked for him. He didn’t think that was her fault, but he also couldn’t pretend he felt otherwise.

Before he could get Buck moving, Taylor stood up so abruptly her chair scraped across the floor. “I’ll take him,” she announced.

Eddie looked at her. “Taylor—” he started, but she cut him off. “He came with me. He’s been with me tonight. I should be the one to take him home.”

Eddie’s jaw tightened. “I appreciate that. But he’s family. I’m taking him.”

“I’m perfectly capable. I can get him home safely.”

“And I’m perfectly capable of getting him home too,” Eddie answered. It wasn’t about strength or a show of dominance. It was about who Buck belonged with in this moment, and Eddie’s instinct to keep him safe from whatever mess the night had become.

“Eds, wanna go home,” Buck slurred, and that was all it took. Taylor’s face froze for a quick second before she inhaled, took a step back, and straightened her jacket. “Fine. Tell him to text me when he wakes up tomorrow.”

“Sure.” Eddie slid enough money on the table to cover everyone’s drinks and food, helped Buck to his feet, and guided him toward the door. He didn’t want a stranger to take Buck home alone, no matter how close he and Taylor were. To Eddie, she was still a stranger.

After Eddie had called an Uber, he checked the ride and made sure Buck was propped safely in the backseat before he let go. As they settled in, Buck sighed against his shoulder. “Taylor is really nice,” he murmured.

“Yeah? You like her?”

“Mhm. But she doesn’t know me as well as…” A hiccup cut through the sentence. “As you do.”

Eddie huffed out a small laugh. “Well, you haven’t known her for long yet. That’s normal.”

“No,” Buck suddenly declared, loud enough for Eddie’s eyes to widen. “She never will know me. Because— because she’s not you.”

Eddie jerked back slightly, the words landing harder than he expected. “What do you mean?”

For a second Buck just stared at him, eyes unfocused like he was trying very hard to hold on to a thought that kept slipping through his mind. Eddie blinked, trying to decide if Buck had just sobered up for a moment, but no, the swing of his head and the slow blink gave it away. Buck was drunk. Very drunk. And drunk Buck had always been… unpredictable.

Buck slumped sideways until his head found Eddie’s shoulder, cheek warm through the thin fabric of Eddie’s shirt. “She’s not you,” he repeated, softer now.

“Buck… okay. What does that mean?”

Buck didn’t answer right away. His head rolled slightly, nose brushing Eddie’s collarbone. “You’re… you’re the best dad,” he mumbled. “The best. Sofie thinks so too. She told me. She said—” he held up a hand, squinting hard, “she said she loves you big-big-big. That’s three bigs, Eds.”

Eddie let out a short, helpless breath. “Yeah? Three bigs, huh?”

Buck nodded so enthusiastically that his forehead bumped Eddie’s collarbone again. “Mhm. And she’s right. You’re a perfect dad. And perfect dads make perfect mates.” He snapped his fingers. Or tried to. “That’s you.”

Eddie froze at the word. Mate?

He stared ahead at the seat in front of him. Mate? Perfect mate? Where the hell was that coming from?

“Buck,” he murmured gently, adjusting him so he didn’t slide down his side, “you’re not making sense.”

“I’m very making sense,” Buck argued. “You’re… stable. And warm. And you smell like home. And you always remember my snacks, you let me rant, and let me cry. And you take care of Sofie and Chris and me and everyone because you’re just—” he waved his hand, searching for a word, “—good. You’re good, Eds.”

Something in Eddie’s chest warmed. “Buck, hey… you don’t mean that.”

“I do. You’re a good mate. A perfect mate. You’d make someone really happy. Because you’re you.”

Eddie exhaled slowly, eyes on the streetlights passing by. “You’re drunk, Buck. You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I dooooo,” he sing-songed. “You’re perfect. Just… perfect.”

Eddie had no answer for that. His mind searched for something logical to say, something that made this whole thing less… intimate.

“Okay. Just close your eyes. We’re almost home.”

Buck hummed, nuzzling into Eddie’s shoulder like it was the most comfortable pillow in the world. “Home,” he breathed softly. “’Cause… ’cause you’re there.”

Eddie went completely still.

Then Buck took a shaky breath and continued, “But you know, what you said about the second baby at the station? That wasn’t nice, man. But it also got me thinking.”

“I know. I’m sorry, I was being insensitive. How did that get you thinking?”

“If I want more kids someday.”

“Do you?”

Buck was quiet long enough that Eddie wondered if he’d fallen asleep. But then his fingers curled into his own knee, visibly tense. “Yeah. Think so,” he whispered. “With my future mate. I like Taylor, you know? She likes me the way I am. It’s not easy for an omega my size to find someone who wants me.”

Something in Eddie’s heart shattered at those words. A shard that now moved through his bloodstream and cut open everything in its way.

He didn’t trust himself to speak.

Thankfully, the rest of the ride went by quickly. Faster than Eddie expected, honestly. He wasn’t sure he could have handled Buck spiraling deeper into that topic. He wanted to rantt about how anyone who wouldn’t want Buck just because of his size was an idiot. About how Buck was one of the most loving people Eddie had ever known. About how he deserved someone who cared about him, not what he looked like.

But Buck’s house finally came into view, and that was the end of it.

He thanked the driver, then managed through sheer determination and a lot of grunting to haul Buck out of the car. Buck leaned heavily against him as Eddie fished out the spare key he kept for emergencies, unlocked the door, and guided him inside.

“Alright, bud. There you go,” he grunted as he plopped Buck down onto the bed. He laid him on his side, just in case, then pulled the blanket up over his shoulders.

After that, Eddie slipped out quietly and shut the door behind him. Somehow, being here in Buck’s house felt like the only logical option now. Buck might wake up confused or sick, and Eddie wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if something happened while he was gone.

So he sank onto the couch in the living room, stretched out with his feet up, and closed his eyes.

Thank god they had the day off tomorrow.

He was going to need it.

Chapter Text

“Fuck…” the word slipped over Buck’s lips as he stumbled out of his room, nearly smacking his shoulder into the doorframe. It was completely dark, both outside and inside the house, so he couldn’t see a damn thing. His head throbbed painfully, and every small movement made him feel dizzy and nauseous. He pressed one hand to the wall and let his fingers drag along it as he tried to find his way to the kitchen, feet shuffling tiredly across the floor.

By the time he reached the open space, he fumbled for the light switch and flicked it on, instantly regretting it. The brightness stabbed into his eyes like needles, forcing him to squeeze them shut while he groaned and covered his face with his hand.

He blinked a few times, mouth dry like sandpaper, and his stomach was twisting uncomfortably with the leftover alcohol still sitting inside him. Slowly, he made his way to the counter and reached for a glass before he filled it with water and drank almost half of it in one go.

When he glanced toward the oven clock, squinting at the glowing red numbers, he saw it was a little past four in the morning. He frowned at that, completely confused as to how he had gotten to bed in the first place, or why he had woken up at this hour at all. His memory was a blurry mess, nothing really connecting.

Still holding the half empty glass, he turned to the living room and reached for the switch out of habit, wanting to turn the lights on so he didn’t trip over something.

However, the second the lights flickered to life, his whole body jerked so hard that water splashed all over himself.

Eddie was asleep on his couch.

Buck’s heart suddenly beat so fast it almost made him feel sick all over again. For a moment he just stood frozen, staring like he wasn’t sure if he was actually awake or if this was still part of some dream.

“Eddie?”

Only then did Buck feel the fog in his mind dissolving. Not completely, but enough for him to be able to make out what happened the evening before. The car, his own voice saying things he would never say sober, Eddie’s shoulder against his cheek. Something about perfect and mate.

God, his stomach flipped again. This time for a very different reason.

Eddie shoot upright the second he heard Buck’s voice. He jerked like someone had set off an alarm near his ear, eyes wide and breathing faster as he looked around. His gaze landed on Buck first, then the kitchen light behind him, and his shoulders slowly dropped.

“What happened?” Eddie asked, sounding half asleep and half ready to jump into action if needed. He rubbed a hand over his face, pushing his hair back as he blinked around the room again. “You okay? What’s going on?”

Buck swallowed hard. “I… uh… I just woke up. Didn’t know you were here.” His voice sounded too soft and unsure, like he suddenly felt seventeen instead of a grown man. He took a hesitant step closer. “Why are you here?”

“I… you were so drunk. I didn’t want to leave you alone.”

Buck was quiet for a moment, just staring at him. Then he let out a quiet sigh, set the glass on the coffee table, and sank down next to Eddie on the couch. Without meaning to, he left more space between them than usual, careful not to brush up against him. It was strange, because touching Eddie had never been a big deal before. They hugged all the time, clapped each other on the back at work, bumped shoulders walking side by side. Nothing unusual.

He didn’t know why he felt so awkward all of a sudden.

“Listen, Eddie, I’m sorry about yesterday,” he began, voice low as he stared at his hands. “We crashed your date and ruined everything, and then you had to take me home on top of that and—“

“Stop,” was the only thing Eddie ordered as he interrupted him. And it worked, because Buck immediately shut his mouth again.

“It’s not your fault,” he continued, exhaling as he crossed his arms. “I was the one who asked you to join us. And I won’t be seeing Ana anymore anyway.”

“What? Why? She seemed really nice.”

“She is. It just didn’t… I don’t know. I can’t see a future with her.”

A strange feeling spread through Buck’s chest at that, warm and uncomfortable at the same time, and he hated that he didn’t immediately know what emotion it was. He wanted it to be sympathy, sadness for Eddie that things didn’t work out. But the tiny flicker of something suspiciously close to relief made him hope to any higher being that it was the first one.

“Sorry, that probably sucks,” he muttered, cringing internally at how useless his words sounded. “But… I also want to apologise for whatever I said in the car.”

Eddie’s body visibly tensed at that, his fingers flexing on his arm. “Why would you apologise? You didn’t say anything bad.”

“Maybe not bad, but definitely too much,” Buck admitted, embarrassment crawling up his neck. “And I kept leaning on your shoulder and just… everything.”

“But, Buck, that’s not— since when is that such an awful thing to do? You were drunk and you leaned on me. We were always that close back then. I feel like we’re kind of growing apart lately.”

By now, the pounding in Buck’s head had infected his heart as well. “Back then?” he repeated, suddenly feeling unreasonably defensive before he could stop it. “As in two years ago before we had our daughter? Or back then as in before you made that joke?”

“Wait, are you still mad at me because of that?”

“No. No, I’m not mad. Sorry. It just…” Buck trailed off, unsure of what he wanted to say, of what he allowed Eddie to know. It was true; he wasn’t mad anymore. He hadn’t even been mad back then. It had just put these strange thoughts and feelings into his mind that he just couldn’t seem to shake. Feelings he had strictly forbidden himself from feeling a long time ago.

And then there had been this flicker of… hope in his chest. He didn’t even know what he was hoping for anymore. There was nothing there for him. Nothing that could possibly happen. He had accepted that for the past two years, had moved on.

He shouldn’t fucking hope.

But god, it was harder now than ever to suppress these feelings he had kept down for so long when eddie was right there all the time. At work, in his private life as his friend, as Sofie’s father. And right here, right now, looking at him with those big, helpless, confused brown eyes that always seemed to see more than Buck wanted to show. It was hard because there was a reminder of Eddie literally everywhere. Not just objects or memories, but his scent, clinging onto everything Buck owned. It was in his house, at the station, on their daughter every time she curled into Buck’s arms. Sometimes Buck even caught it on himself after a long day, and it hit him in the chest every single time.

It was hard because Eddie put that spark of hope into him without even meaning to, completely unaware of how that tiny moment had sent Buck’s mind spinning out of control. One lighthearted joke, and suddenly all the walls Buck had spent two years building were shaking.

And he had done a good job all this time coping with the fact that they would always stay just that: friends, raising a daughter together, nothing more. As painful as it had been, he learned to accept it. He forced himself to move on, piece by piece, until the ache hurt less and less.

But now? That little joke had smashed every carefully placed brick in Buck’s heart back into dust. And he found himself struggling harder than ever to rebuild them.

“Sorry. I’m sorry, okay?” He started over with a sigh. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me.”

Eddie was quiet for a while. His gaze kept flicking from one of Buck’s eyes to the other as if he was trying to find something in there. He looked so deep in thought that Buck could almost hear the gears turning in his head. “Do you think there’s a reason why there’s this weird… underlying tension between us all the time ever since Sofie was born? I mean, apart from what we did back then.”

Buck’s stomach twisted because didn’t Eddie basically just say the whole reason right there? What they did back then wasn’t something best friends like them were supposed to do, so of course it messed up their entire dynamic. Friends weren’t meant to have sex and put babies in each other and then just go back to being “only friends” afterward, no matter how dangerous the situation had been that day.

And then there had been Buck’s unrequited, relentless love for Eddie. That had changed everything too. His acting skills weren’t that great, and pretending nothing had shifted inside him had been nearly impossible. He’d spent months trying to hide the way he was breaking apart inside, trying to hold himself together every time Eddie smiled at him or brushed past him or said his name in that soft way. He wasn’t always sucessful.

But none of that was Eddie’s fault. Because Eddie didn’t know. Buck had never told him. He had never even allowed himself to consider admitting it. He had just hoped that maybe after everything they did, after becoming parents together, after surviving all the chaos that followed, maybe it would do something to Eddie. Maybe it would make him see Buck differently too.

It didn’t.

“I don’t know. I mean, come on, wasn’t that to be expected? That it would never be the same again?” Buck muttered, forcing a small, hurt smile onto his lips. He leaned back against the cushions, not missing the way Eddie’s eyes followed his every move.

Eddie looked like he wanted to say something, but then closed his mouth again and turned his head the other way instead. “Yeah, I guess that’s right,” he muttered, so softly it sent a warm shiver down Buck’s spine. Then he added abruptly, “So… Taylor.”

Buck pushed his earlier whirlwind of thoughts to the back of his head before he curled his lips into a real smirk this time. “You don’t like her.”

“Hey, that’s not true.”

“So you do like her?”

Eddie winced slightly, turning to him with squinted eyes. “That’s… also not true,” he muttered, in thoughts. “I can see she makes you happy, and that you like her, but— but I feel like she’s way too possessive, considering you two barely know each other.”

“That’s an alpha for you.”

Eddie huffed. “Yeah, she’s an alpha, but even for an alpha her behaviour is extreme. If I didn’t know better, I’d assume you two have been mated for years.”

“That’s not true.”

When Eddie gave him that You know damn well look, Buck couldn’t help but let out a breathy laugh. Maybe Eddie had a point, but that didn’t make Taylor a bad person. She took great care of him, peppered him with attention, always made sure he was feeling safe and comfortable whenever they were together. And she…

…she was a good distraction.

Buck’s heart sank at the sudden realisation. It had dawned on him just now that that could be the reason why he’d basically thrown himself at her the second she showed the slightest interest. Why he couldn’t even wait after their first date to be kissed to heaven in her car, or why he allowed her to scent him so easily. He’d just grabbed onto the first person after deciding to date again and held on, hoping to finally feel wanted and loved. Anything to keep himself from slipping back into that same hole, the one always waiting to consume him with those buried feelings for Eddie.

Jesus.

But… that couldn’t be all of it. Right? He really did like her. He liked her humor, her warmth, her kindness. She was good. And she wasn’t just a distraction. She couldn’t be.

Buck let out a long sigh. And before he could talk himself out of it, he let his head fall gently onto Eddie’s shoulder again. He didn’t know if Eddie would want that, not after everything they’d just talked about, but the moment his head touched him, his arm wrapped around Buck’s waist and pulled him just a little closer.

Buck melted instantly.

It was warm, safe, tingling, but so dangerous at the same time.

But maybe… just this once… he could let himself have it. He could rest his head on Eddie’s shoulder and let Eddie hold him. Just for a moment. Just long enough to breathe normally.

Yeah. He could do that.

Just this once.

——

“Hi, my beautiful girl,” Buck greeted her happily as he took Sofie from Athena’s arms and pulled her close, covering her face in kisses. She giggled and laughed, and just hearing her voice made flowers bloom in his chest.

“Did you have fun here, princesa?” Eddie chimed in from beside him, brushing a gentle hand over her hair. Then he turned back to the couple. “Thank you both so much for letting her stay the night. I hope she wasn’t any trouble.”

Athena waved him off immediately. “Oh, don’t be ridiculous. She was an angel!”

“We’ll look after her whenever you need,” Bobby added with a calm smile, nodding as he slid an arm around his wife. And Buck couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with gratitude for these people. His family.

He watched as Eddie took the bag with all of Sofie’s things from Bobby, even though they realistically didn’t need to bring half of it anymore. Sofie had stayed here so many times that Athena and Bobby had everything she could possibly need. Toys, plates, tiny cutlery, even her own little bed. If someone asked Buck what these two were to his daughter, he would say “her grandparents” without hesitating.

The four of them talked a little while longer before eventually saying their goodbyes and driving back to Buck’s house. After all, before they finally went back to sleep at around 5am this morning, they decided that today would finally be the day where they baked Christmas cookies with Sofie. Some they would keep for themselves, and the rest would be little gifts for their friends and family.

As soon as they arrived, Buck didn’t waste a second getting everything ready. While Eddie changed their little toddler into more comfortable clothes and called Hen to check up on Chris and their trip to the theme park, Buck pulled up the different recipes and gathered every ingredient and tool they would need, setting everything neatly on the table.

He and Eddie had baked cookies together countless times before, especially around Christmas, but this year felt different. It would be their first time doing it with their daughter. Last year Sofie had been far too young to join in, but now she could actually participate.

Her squeals filled the kitchen before they had even begun. She sat in a chair at the table, legs kicking while she played with the wooden spoon Buck had given her. Her hair was tied into a ponytail, and she looked cuter than ever.

“Alright, sweetheart,” Eddie began, tapping her spoon lightly with his own. “Are you ready to be the best helper in the world?”

She nodded with all the energy in her body.

“Okay then. You get to help me mix.” Buck handed her the bowl filled with flour and sugar, guiding her hands as she stirred. Her movements were clumsy and every time a little puff of flour flew up she gasped loudly.

Eddie leaned on the counter beside them, steadying the bowl whenever it looked like Sofie was about to yeet it off the surface. “You’re doing great, baby,” he murmured, kissing the top of her head.

Once the doughs were ready, they helped Sofie press cookie cutters into the shapes. Trees, stars, little gingerbread people. Eddie handled transferring them onto the baking sheet, and every now and then he and Buck brushed hands while reaching for the same cutter. And each time Buck’s stomach did a small, warm flip. He hoped Eddie didn’t notice.

But Eddie never gave any sign he did. He just smiled to himself and kept working.

A little while later, Sofie discovered that smacking her hands onto the flour-dusted table made soft white clouds float into the air. The moment she realized that, she laughed, hitting her palms down repeatedly. Buck tried to stop her, he really did, but he was laughing too hard for her to listen to him. Flour coated her arms, her eyebrows, even her hair, until she was completely covered in it.

Eddie lifted her under her arms, patted her off a little, and then sat her back down. “You’re a mess, Sofie.”

“Wonder who she’s got that from.”

After hearing that, Eddie immediately whipped around, probably ready to give Buck one of those yeah right looks he always shot him. Buck barely had time to grin when Eddie’s foot suddenly slid over a layer of flour on the floor. He inhaled loudly, hands scrambling for balance before he fell forward with his full weight. Buck hardly even understood what was happening before Eddie crashed into him and pushed him back against the kitchen island.

The breath instantly punched out of Buck’s lungs. Although Eddie’s hands landed on the countertop on either side of his waist, they ended up chest to chest anyway, so close that Buck could almost feel Eddie’s heartbeat against his own.

For a second, neither of them moved. Buck swallowed, but his throat felt too tight.

Eddie blinked slowly, his eyebrows scrunching as if he was trying to understand how this even happened. His gaze flicked up to Buck’s eyes, then down for a single heartbeat to his lips, so fast Buck almost thought he imagined it. But he felt it like a shock through his whole body, causing his knees to buckle.

Buck didn’t breathe. He couldn’t.

He could feel Eddie’s warm breath on his skin, and it made his mind go blank. Everything inside him was screaming to stay perfectly still, terrified that any kind of movement would make this moment shatter. Or even worse, that Eddie would pull away fast, embarrassed and apologizing. Buck wasn’t sure he could handle that right now.

“Sorry,” Eddie murmured quietly, almost inaudible. He didn’t move back though, not right away. “I slipped.”

“I noticed,” Buck whispered, because it was the only thing he could think of. His hands were frozen uselessly at his sides, unsure what they were allowed to do. Touch him? God no, that would be too much. But doing nothing felt weird too.

Sofie babbled from the table behind them, hitting her palm into the flour again and sending another soft cloud into the air. It fell over them like snow, settling gently in Eddie’s hair and on Buck’s shirt.

Only then did Eddie finally push himself back a little, only a few inches, but enough for Buck to breathe again. His eyes softened when he looked at him, almost worried. “You okay?”

No. Absolutely not. Buck was pretty sure his soul had left his body for a full ten seconds.

“Yeah,” he whispered anyway before adjusting the apron he wasn’t even wearing properly. “Fine. Totally fine.”

Eddie’s expression said he didn’t believe that for a second. His eyebrows drew even closer together, like he was searching Buck’s face for a lie.

Forcing himself to look away, Buck focused on Sofie instead. She had managed to get a bit of flour in her mouth, apparently proud of herself as she pressed her tiny hands together to make another puff of white dust. He let out a shaky laugh and brushed his fingers over her cheek. “You’re gonna need a full bath later, sweetheart.”

Eddie stood beside him again, but this time with a safe amount of space between them. Still close enough that Buck could feel the heat of him, close enough that he could smell the faint trace of panic in Eddie’s scent.

“You sure you’re alright?”

Buck nodded, even though his heart was still racing far too fast. “I’m good. Promise.”

Even though Eddie looked unconvinced, he let it go. He flattened another batch of dough, dusted the counter again, and handed Sofie a fresh cookie cutter.

Buck watched him, watched the way Eddie’s muscles moved under his shirt, watched the crease between his eyebrows that hadn’t fully relaxed yet.

God, that was scary.

Buck felt the tension burning him from the inside.

He took a deep breath, trying to ground himself as he reached for a rolling pin. “Come on. Let’s keep going before she eats the whole kitchen.”

“Yeah. Good idea.”

And then they both leaned forward at the same time to help Sofie press another shape into the dough, their shoulders brushing again.

Buck hoped the trembling inside him wasn’t obvious. He hoped Eddie couldn’t feel it.

Just this once, he thought to himself. But he already knew it wasn’t going to be that easy anymore.

He fought, harder than he’d had to in a long time, to shove those feelings back down where they belonged. Back into the lowest part of his heart and the furthest, dustiest corner of his mind. The place he’d locked them away years ago, when he’d decided it was easier for everyone if he pretended they never existed.

And that was where they were supposed to stay.

No matter how violently they clawed their way up now.

Chapter Text

Eddie wore a genuine smile on his face as he filled his plate with more of the food on the table, unable to decide what to choose from so many dishes. From honey glazed ham, roast turkey, and lasagna to mashed potatoes and shrimp cocktails, there was everything one could imagine. Even more than at their last Christmas party last year.

The whole station smelled like the food, and mixed with the quiet music in the background and all the different voices and conversations of his loved ones, Eddie felt utterly at peace. Content, relaxed, happy. He couldn’t wish for better people in his life, and he was overjoyed to see them just as much in a good mood as he was.

The way they included Sofie and Chris in everything, talking with them, singing with them, encouraging them to try different dishes, made his chest feel warm. And of course he hadn’t been able to hold his daughter even once since they arrived, because everyone wanted a turn. Sofie kept being passed from one person to another, and every single one of them melted at her tiny giggles.

“You like it, buddy?” Eddie heard Buck ask Christopher from across the table, and he looked down at his son on his right. Since Chris’ mouth was so full with whatever he just stuffed in there, he could only nod enthusiastically, hand still gripping the fork tightly.

When Eddie looked back up, his gaze landed on Buck—chewing, laughing, talking like he didn’t have a problem in the world. And Eddie felt that sensation hed been trying to ignore for days course through him again. Buck looked fine. But Eddie knew better. He knew that the second they were alone, the act would start cracking and underneath there would be that awkward tension again. The one that had followed them ever since the stupid little baking accident a week ago.

And god, Eddie also knew that it was stupid and childish. Nothing had happened, he’d just slipped and fallen forward, that was it. But for some reason, Buck seemed to have a hard time looking Eddie in the eyes for more than two seconds since then. His words were always clipped, he was more serious, and it just felt like he was pushing Eddie away.

It grated on Eddie’s nerves more than he cared to admit. There was simply no logical reason for Buck to act this way. Was what happened really this bad?

Of course not.

A sudden chorus of “aww!” fell over the table, pulling Eddie back to reality. He didn’t need to search for the source for long before his eyes landed on Chris, now wearing matching Christmas hats with Sofie. She was on his lap, and they were grinning widely while he helped her scoop mashed potatoes off his plate. Almost everyone pulled out their phones and started to take pictures.

“Oh yeah, this will be my new wallpaper,” Buck muttered under his breath, tilting his phone left and right as he continuously tapped the camera button.

Eddie opened his mouth to tease him about it, when suddenly, he caught a whiff of something by now uncomfortably familiar to him. And by the flare of Buck’s nostrils he didn’t seem to be the only one who noticed.

Buck’s whole body froze for a second. He sniffed once more before instantly whipping around, his lips curving into a lovely smile.

“I thought you said you wouldn’t be able to make it!” he said as he jumped up and hurried over to the reporter approaching their table. Despite her hands full with heavy bags, she still managed to wrap her arms around Buck's waist and pull him into a tight embrace. Then she leaned in to press her lips to his for a full three seconds.

The sight alone made Eddie's jaw clench.

And her scent now mixing with everyone else's only made things worse. It wasn't that she smelled bad—not at all. He just couldn't stand that another alpha, not part of their pack, was scenting someone who was part of his pack. His instincts automatically flagged her as an intruder and a threat.

But at the same time, he just couldn't get behind the fact that Buck barely knew her, yet already acted so familiar with her. Didn't he know better?

When they walked back to the table, Eddie fought hard to force a smile to his face, doing the same as everyone else and wishing her a merry christmas. She put the bags to the rest of the presents in the back and then sat down next to Buck.

Instinctively, Eddie's eyes flicked to the other alphas at the table: Hen, Ravi, and Athena. But unlike him, they all seemed genuinely happy, talking and engaging with Taylor instead of feeling threatened by her. Which was stupid, of course, because Eddie had no goddamn reason to feel threatened. But when she glanced at him for a second, flashing that same mischievous grin as before... he really had no other choice than to feel this way.

It pissed him off that he seemed to be the only one affected. Was he jealous? Jealous that from now on he wouldn’t be Buck’s best friend anymore? The one person Buck would always turn to first when something was bothering him? Or was it just strange to see someone at Buck’s side again after all this time of it just being the two of them?

Eddie shouldn’t feel like this. He was the one who had encouraged Buck to date again, after all.

As he glanced down at his plate, still covered in food, his appetite vanished instantly.

From his right, he watched Chris helping Sofie stab pieces of turkey with her fork, chatting and smiling, before he suddenly leaned closer to Eddie. The boy tugged at his sleeve and whispered, “Daaad…!” in an almost alarming tone.

Eddie just blinked, brow raised. Only when Christopher slightly waved his hand over his nose did he finally understand.

Oh god.

His pheromones. They were everywhere.

It hit him like a bucket of ice water. He hadn’t even realized. He’d been so wrapped up in trying to look normal, trying not to look at Buck and Taylor sitting pressed together, that he hadn’t noticed how much of it had been coming off him.

His scent felt almost uncomfortable to his own nose, and that was saying something. Completely inappropriate for a gathering like this.

Eddie swallowed hard and ran a shaky hand over his face, shame washing over him. “Sorry,” he mouthed to Chris.

He took slow and deep breaths, trying to pull everything back in. Trying to calm his stupid instincts, trying to pretend he wasn’t affected by anything happening at this table. Because he wasn’t. He shouldn’t be.

However, before he could fully calm himself, he suddenly felt it.

Taylor’s scent.

It was just as strong, warm and so much more confident than his own. And Eddie couldn’t help but feel embarrassed, cringing internally at what the actual fuck they were doing right now; trying to scent over each other. This was completely out of line. Disrespectful to everyone else, even.

But still, it was like his body wasn’t listening to him anymore. He tried so hard to not react to her, to cool down and pretend nothing had happened, but for some reason it just wouldn’t work. He tensed up everywhere as he fought not to make an even bigger scene. Yet one by one, his scent just kept getting stronger, more dominant, and angry. Jesus, why was he so angry?

When he lifted his gaze, she was already looking at him. One eyebrow raised, that same mischievous grin on her face as if she was daring him to push further.

eddie stared right back, glaring and almost challenging without meaning to. He hated how easily she could provoke him. But since when had he ever backed down from another alpha?

After his eyes finally dared to look up at the other people at the table, they stopped instantly when they landed on Hen. Her fork was frozen halfway to her lips, and she gave him that look she used on rookie firefighters seconds before they did something incredibly stupid. It was a warning, a simple “Stop that”.

And fuck, as if he wasn’t trying to already.

He felt his palms starting to sweat as he rubbed them on his jeans, forcing his shoulders to relax. He tried again to take a calming breath, to stop whatever his body was doing and push down whatever instinct kept wanting to challenge and protect.

This was Christmas. Everyone was happy. Buck was happy.

He should be happy too.

However, when he finally—after what felt like forever—glanced up at Buck again, he was… glaring at him. A painful pang shot through Eddie’s chest.

Buck’s brows were furrowed, drawn together, his eyes wide with utter disbelief. Confusion was basically written all over his face.

Before Eddie could open his mouth to apologise or at least say something, anything, Buck suddenly shoved his chair back with a loud screech and stormed away from the table, leaving the whole loft in stunned silence.

For a moment, everyone just stared at one another with shocked expressions, bodies frozen as they tried to figure out what the actual hell had just happened.

And then, before Taylor even had the chance to go after him, Eddie immediately followed suit and ran after Buck. Deliberately ignoring his friends calling after him, he jogged down the stairs and headed straight for the locker room, where Buck could be seen pacing behind the glass wall.

Eddie’s heart was racing uncontrollably, his breathing ragged as he reached out and pushed the door open.

Despite Buck’s scent blockers, the thick smell of an omega in distress hit him the second he stepped inside. So strong it almost made him scrunch up his face. God, it was overwhelming, as if someone had dunked his head into a bucket of bitter, sour lemons, and it only intensified the guilt and shame twisting in his chest.

Buck’s pacing halted the second Eddie closed the locker room door behind him. He turned sharply, breath coming too fast. Fast enough to make Eddie feel like the worst person alive. There was hurt in his scent, frustration too, and Eddie barely managed not to flinch at the intensity of it.

“What the hell was that, Eddie?” Buck burst out, throwing both hands up. “Seriously, dude, what was that?”

Eddie swallowed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Buck, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to… do anything.”

“But you did. Why are you acting like this?” Buck’s voice was a whole octave higher now, sounding confused and angry. Understandably. His lips were parted, his hands stretched out in confusion. “You two were being so childish! Was that some kind of competition about who’s the more dominant alpha? Seriously, you made everyone at the table uncomfortable. That was so unlike you.”

“No, it wasn’t like that. It’s just—“

“Then what was that about? I know you don’t like Taylor, and I know you think I’m jumping into a relationship way too soon, but come on. Trying to scent over her, really?”

Eddie took a few seconds to calm his breathing, wiping his hands over his face. The last thing he wanted to do was upset Buck like this, and it hurt to see him this way. “I didn’t do it on purpose, okay? Trust me,” he began after a moment while trying to sound as relaxed as possible to not agitate Buck even more. “And it’s not about her.”

Buck scoffed. “Oh really? Because it sure as hell looks like it to me.” He crossed his arms, the birthmark lifting with the raise of his brow. “Why do you have to act like some jealous, possessive boyfriend instead of just being happy for me for once?”

“What?” The question slipped over Eddie’s lips in a whisper. He recoiled a little, jaw clenching as he let the words sink in. Jealous boyfriend? Was that really how he’d come across just now? But that’s impossible, because Eddie literally didn’t do it on purpose. He tried so damn hard to keep his pheromones from spreading and marking everything and everyone in the loft. Really, he had. His instincts had simply reacted to her strong scent, that was all.

“Buck, I am happy for you! All I want is for you to have every good thing in life and—“

“Well then what if—” Buck cut in, voice cracking. “What if I actually don’t want you to be?”

Eddie froze, lips still parted. “What? What do you mean by that? You just told me you want me to be happy for you.”

“I know, but… but what if I don’t want you to be happy for me? What if I want you to…” Buck trailed off, the colour draining from his face. His adam’s apple bobbed visibly as he swallowed before he took a small step back. The next words left his mouth in a whisper. “What if I want you to be jealous? And mad, and— and not happy seeing me with Taylor?”

In that moment, Eddie felt his whole world turning upside down. He took a sharp inhale, blinked and blinked over and over again to somehow understand whatever that was he just heard. “Why?” He asked, just as quietly. “Why would you say that?”

Buck was silent for longer than Eddie would’ve liked. His face twitched, brows furrowing and relaxing as if his mind just went through a thousand different things to say (or not to say). He averted his gaze, suddenly looking way smaller than he really was. Like a cornered, lost puppy.

“Say something, please,” Eddie urged softly, keeping his voice calm as he took a few careful steps forward.

“You know…” Buck began after a moment. His voice sounded unusually small. “It’s kind of funny how oblivious you actually are.”

Oblivious? “What do you mean?”

“I’ve already said too much,” Buck muttered, shaking his head, before he suddenly made his way back to the door. “I’ll just make everything worse between us if I keep going.”

Before he was able to take another step, Eddie immediately reached out and stopped him by his shoulders. His fingers dug deep into the flesh, barely containing his strength, as he kept Buck rooted to the spot. “Don’t give me that bullshit,” he gritted out. “You’ll make it worse by not explaining what you meant by that.”

Buck instantly stiffened, breath hitching. Eddie stood close enough that he could feel the warmth coming off him.

“Eddie,” Buck whispered, shaking his head. “Let me go.”

“No. You don’t get to drop something like that and then just walk away.”

Buck’s jaw clenched, his chest rising and falling quickly. He couldn’t meet Eddie’s eyes, instead just staring at a random locker.

“Buck,” Eddie tried again, softer this time. “Talk to me. Please.”

It seemed like that was all it took.

“Don’t you get it?” Buck snapped suddenly, voice cracking once more. He shoved Eddie’s hands off him and took three steps back, pacing again. “I don’t want to talk because everything I say just… makes me sound pathetic.”

“You’re not pathetic.”

“You don’t know that! You have no idea what’s been going on in my head. None.”

Eddie opened his mouth, then closed it again. He’d never seen Buck like this.

“Then tell me,” he whispered.

Although Buck laughed, it was obvious that there was nothing funny about this. “You really wanna go there? Right now? After what just happened upstairs?”

“Yes,” Eddie insisted. “Right now. Exactly right now. Because clearly there’s something you’ve been holding in for a long time and—”

“And you never noticed,” Buck said, whipping around to face him.

“Noticed… what?”

“Eddie—”

“Buck.” Eddie stepped closer. “I’m right here. You can tell me anything. You know that.”

Buck shrugged with a shaky inhale, and he looked like he was contemplating whether he should really say whatever he was thinking about. “Before Sofie was even born,” he began slowly. “I was already gone for you.”

Eddie stopped breathing.

“I was—” Buck swallowed again, harder this time. “I was completely, stupidly in love with you.”

Eddie’s eyes widened, his body tensing. The room suddenly felt almost claustrophobic. Was that the reason Buck had been so upset because of Eddie’s joke? Because deep down, at one point, it was something he had actually wanted? And Eddie was such an idiot and just… joked about it.

“Do you know what that felt like?” Buck demanded. “To carry that alone? To be in love with you while watching you build a family and a life with me – but not with me? It broke me,” he confessed, voice rising. “Every single day. And I never said anything because I didn’t want to lose you. Or Chris. Or the tiny little piece of a family I got by being your best friend.”

Buck was breathing fast, wiping at his eyes like he was furious at himself for almost crying. “I finally get over you and tell you I want to date again, and you encourage me. You say you want me to find someone. So I do. I try. And suddenly you’re angry and scenting all over the damn place and glaring at Taylor like she stole something from you.”

“She didn’t,” Eddie whispered.

“Then why?” Buck shouted. “Why are you reacting like this now? Why does any of this matter to you?”

Eddie didn’t answer.

Because he didn’t know how. He didn’t know why he felt this way, and now with everything he had just been told, it made it a hundred times harder to think about the reason.

“I don’t get how you never even suspected a damn thing,” Buck continued, furious. “Not even when I was literally begging you to fuck me back then.”

“Buck, that’s because there was literally nothing left for us to do. We really don’t need to talk about what happened—“

“But maybe we should! We never talked about it, and maybe that’s the problem! The reason why it’s never been the same again between us.”

Eddie was quiet for a while, still not able to process anything. His heart was beating fast as he bit his lip. “Come on, Buck. We know what happened.”

“Do we? Alright then, tell me what happened.”

Despite being on edge, confused, shocked, Eddie almost groaned. What did Buck want him to say? What explanation was he looking for? There was only one version of the truth.

He sighed, then dropped down onto one of the benches. “We… we were on a call, checking the emergency bunker to make sure no one was inside, when the hotel collapsed above us and trapped us.”

Buck just stared, daring him to continue.

“It took them four days to get to us,” Eddie muttered. “And in that time you didn’t have your suppressants with you. And since you’d been on them consistently for over a decade, you went into heat just a few hours after you should’ve taken them. It was… it was really bad.” Eddie’s voice got quieter at the end as he felt those memories painfully pressing down on his chest. It had been horrible, the sight of Buck. It was as if all those heats he had suppressed for ten years just came crashing down on him.

Eddie could still see it clearly; Buck’s face flushed red and pale at the same time. He remembered the way Buck was curled in on himself on the cold floor, shivering and sweating and crying. But the worst was seeing him barely able to hold on to consciousness. Eddie remembered shaking him and screaming for him to stay awake. He'd told him over and over that someone would find them, that Buck just had to hold on a little longer, but even Eddie had felt the hope bleeding out with every hour that passed.

Buck was dying, and not even Eddie’s pheromones could help him anymore. So, after Buck had asked—begged—him to do something, Eddie had no choice but to help him. He remembered them having so much sex, over and over again, for hours on end, until Eddie almost collapsed right with him, but to no avail. It didn’t help, so there was only one last thing left that could make it better.

They both were scared, unsure. Buck’s words “I won’t get pregnant, I’ve been on suppressants for too long,” still echoed in Eddie’s head sometimes. So he’d knotted him, spilled inside him again and again until his own vision swam. Until Buck’s fever eventually went down and he was able to breathe without choking on a sob. Even if just the tiniest bit.

Eddie hadn't cried until after they were rescued, after Buck was taken to the hospital, after everything was supposed to be "over." And then he had cried again, weeks later, when the positive pregnancy test turned his blood cold all over again.

“Yeah, it was bad. But do you want to know how I remember it?” Buck asked, more quietly now before he sat down next to Eddie. Despite the small gap between them, Eddie still felt warmer now, with Buck’s warmth so close to him.

Him looking into Buck’s eyes was answer enough.

“I felt awful because I was dying. It was possibly the worst I’ve ever been in my life. But when I think about it now? I don’t picture the pain, i picture you. I don’t think about me crying on the floor, I think about you staying awake for days because I couldn’t. I think about how you never once left my side, and how you, despite knowing what it would do to our friendship, helped me.”

“Buck, that’s because it was either that or you ending up dead,” Eddie muttered, frustrated.

“I know. But don’t you see how pathetic that makes me? I was miserable and scared and half out of my mind… and still, for some fucked up reason, somewhere deep inside me, I— I liked it. Not the pain, but the fact that I got something from you that was more than just a hug. I don’t remember everything, but I remember how safe and relieved I felt, that it was you in there with me and not anyone else. Just you.”

Eddie’s heart broke, piece for piece, until he felt nothing but shards in his chest. His eyes searched Buck’s, and at the sight of a single tear rolling down his cheek, Eddie couldn’t help but feel his own eyes stinging. He didn’t know what to feel. But somehow, he felt better now than he did in all those years before. He felt better because now he knew that Eddie had been a beam of light for Buck in that traumatic experience. He hadn’t just been “a help”, he’d been the only good thing for Buck in there. Knowing that now reassured him in some way, and the realisation caused a choked breath to leave his lips.

Maybe Buck had been right. Maybe they should’ve just talked about everything from the start.

He wiped his hands over his face. “Buck I’m— I’m sorry that I—“

“Stop,” Buck cut him off quickly, letting his head fall back against the lockers. “It’s not your fault. You didn’t know how I felt back then. I should be the one apologizing… for never saying anything. But even if I had, I don’t think it would’ve changed anything.”

“But now I feel like the biggest asshole. Back then, I told you we were going to get through the pregnancy and a baby because we’re best friends and we could get through everything together.”

Eddie caught one corner of Buck’s lips slightly curving up into a grin. “Oh yeah, that hurt like a bitch,” he muttered, eyes closed, and Eddie couldn’t help the quiet chuckle that left him in response.

He thought back to what Buck had told him earlier, and it hit him just as hard the second time. Buck had been in love with him before. Like, actually loved loved him. And Eddie had never noticed. His heart swelled strangely, and he rubbed his palm over his chest in order to calm it.

Then he remembered the beginning of their conversation. “You said you don’t want me to be happy for you and Taylor. Does that mean you… you still have feelings for me?”

Buck’s eyes fluttered open at that, and he turned his head a bit to look at Eddie. The expression he wore was indescribable, something between sadness and acceptance. “I was over you. And I still am, I think. But with the way you’re acting whenever Taylor is around, you’re making it… really hard for me, y’know?”

Despite the guilt that washed over Eddie, a small smirk still found its way to his face. “Because I act like a crazy, possessive boyfriend?”

Buck chuckled. “Damn right you do. And it— it confuses me.”

“I’m sorry. I really am. I don’t know why I do that. It confuses me, too. I want to be happy for you and support you with Taylor. At first, I thought maybe it was just because you were moving too fast, and I didn’t like her. But… I don’t think it would’ve been any different if it was anyone else.” Eddie’s voice cracked, and he looked down at his hands in his lap, needing to focus on the words.

It was quiet for a while then. Long enough for Eddie to look up again to make sure Buck hadn’t accidentally fallen asleep or anything.

But no, Buck was wide awake, of course, just staring straight ahead with a sad smile plastered on his face.

“Can I ask you something?” Buck murmured then, so quietly Eddie almost missed it.

“Of course.”

Only then did Buck turn his head to him. They held each other’s gaze, listening to the rhythm of their breaths. And once again, Eddie couldn’t help but notice how bright and blue Buck’s eyes were. Soft, like the sky reflected on the ocean.

“Can I kiss you?”

Eddie’s next breath hitched. His heart slammed against his insides, palms starting to sweat. He blinked, then blinked again, making sure he’d heard right.

“It’s alright if you don’t want to. I just… if I do this, if I finally do what I’ve dreamed about for years… maybe then I can finally let go of you,” Buck whispered.

For a second, Eddie couldn't move. He just stared at Buck, at those blue eyes waiting for something that looked like permission or release or maybe both at once. He didn’t know why, but he nodded eventually. Buck’s shoulders relaxed immediately as a relieved exhale escaped him.

When Buck’s hand found Eddie’s face, the rest of the world fell away. His body moved without thought, and he felt almost like he was watching himself from outside, feeling Buck’s fingers curling around his jaw, feeling the shiver that ran through him as Buck leaned closer.

Closer and closer, until their noses brushed.

And then—finally—their lips met.

A sigh escaped Eddie’s nose as he closed his eyes, and the softness of Buck’s lips, the warmth of the kiss, made him feel like he could melt right into the bench. Buck leaned in slowly, opening up but not sticking his tongue out yet, so Eddie didn’t either.

They moved their lips in sync, so slow it also could’ve been in slow motion, and every hair on Eddie’s body stood up. His hands felt awkward in his lap, unsure what to do, until he lifted one slowly and pressed it gently to the side of Buck’s face.

The single tear he caught with his thumb broke his heart once more.

And then, just as he felt warm breath on his skin and the tip of Buck’s tongue brush his own, so softly, the moment was over again.

Buck pulled back slowly, like he didn’t really want to but had to. His face was flushed, and his hand lingered on Eddie’s jaw for just a moment longer before it slipped away.

And Eddie... god. Eddie felt like someone had slammed a fist straight into his chest. His heart hammered so hard he thought it might burst. He struggled to catch his breath, each inhale painful.

“Thanks, Eds,” Buck murmured, and Eddie barely registered the words before he saw him stand and leave the room.

And then he was gone.

And Eddie was alone now. Alone with the chaos in his head he’s trying so hard to pretend isn’t there.

Chapter Text

“Daddy!”

Eddie lifted his gaze at the sound of his daughter calling for him just as he reached the top of the loft. Leaning down, he immediately wrapped her in his arms and picked her up as she came running toward him.

“Hey there, angel,” he murmured into her hair, pressing a kiss to her temple. “Everything alright?”

She nodded, leaning her head against his shoulder, when chris came into view. “Come on, dad, they already started!” He exclaimed as he tugged at Eddie’s wrist. Only then did Eddie notice everyone gathered around the tree at the back of the loft with tons of gifts around them. He let out a quiet sigh, then ruffled his son’s hair and let him lead him forward with a soft “Alright, superman.”

A small pang of disappointment washed over him at the sight of several gifts already unwrapped without him being there, but he couldn’t blame them. After the… kiss, he physically couldn’t get up for another 20 minutes. It had taken everything he had to shake off the shock and plaster on a convincing smile before climbing up here.

Despite the concerned looks he got from his friends as he tiptoed around the gifts on the floor to get to the couch, he pretended he was perfectly fine, tickling Sofie with his nose before sitting down. She turned on his lap to face the others while Chris put his crutches down and plopped onto the floor beside him.

But it didn’t take long for Eddie to start feeling kind of intimidated, almost annoyed, by the not-so-subtle glances sent his way. It was obvious Buck hadn’t said a word about what happened, because Maddie and Hen were squirming in their seats, curiosity written all over their faces.

Sofie suddenly clapped excitedly when May handed her a small box wrapped in bright red paper, and Eddie tried—really tried—to focus on her instead of the way his pulse wouldn’t slow down. His heart felt like it was trying to break free from chains, and every breath he took hurt. He bounced her gently on his knee, forcing a smile, swallowing down the remnants of panic still clinging to him since earlier.

He should have been able to relax by now. His kids were happy. Everyone was laughing and opening presents. There was no reason for his body to still be stuck in that moment from thirty minutes ago. But he couldn’t make it stop. Not yet.

When Sofie tore into the wrapping paper and held up a stuffed reindeer with a loud gasp, Eddie laughed and kissed her cheek. Maybe a little too eagerly, almost desperate to ground himself in something good. Chris bumped his shoulder from the floor, showing off the new video games he got from Karen and Hen, and Eddie gave him a real smile for that. His kids were the one thing that could always pull him back.

Well, most of the time, at least. Because right now, only seconds later, he was spiraling again. He still couldn’t figure out how to interpret the kiss. Was it Buck saying a final goodbye to him? Because it sure as hell felt like that. Though that couldn’t be it, because he was still here, both right in front of him and still in Eddie’s life. And he would always stay in Eddie’s life. Not only because they had a daughter together, but because of their friendship as well.

Their extremely complicated friendship.

Buck had said goodbye to his feelings for Eddie, in some way. Eddie knew that. And yet, he couldn’t shake the thought that it had been more than that.

And he hated how that revelation pressed down on his chest like an anvil and crushed every single rib, lungs included .

The moment his eyes landed on Buck, every emotion from earlier washed over him and swept him away all over again. His heart skipped a beat, and his throat tightened uncomfortably. This… this was the man he had kissed just now.

Oh god.

He kissed Buck. No, Buck kissed him.

Whatever, same thing.

Eddie still couldn’t fully comprehend what they’d done. Those same plump, pink, unfairly soft lips he was staring at right in that moment were on his not even an hour ago. Opening for him, tasting him, moving in sync with his in a way that was far too perfect for it to have been their first time.

Those same lips Buck just wet with his tongue before smiling.

Those same lips that were now… on Taylor’s.

Shit. Eddie immediately whipped his head around, averting his gaze to anywhere but them. The dread he felt just from looking at them, doing what Buck had done with him, was something he didn’t want to intensify. Not to mention that Eddie probably would’ve looked like a creep anyway if he had continued to stare like that.

Forcing his attention back to his kids, he held the stuffed animal Sofie had gotten in his hand and waved in front of her, making funny voices and gestures with its hands to make her laugh. Or maybe just to distract himself. Probably both.

The rest of the afternoon passed comfortably enough, with everyone opening gifts, talking and laughing. Eddie received a few presents too, including a cookbook from Bobby titled Bobby’s cookbook with handwritten notes—because you need to become a better cook. And Eddie actually had to chuckle when it was handed to him. Not that Bobby was wrong; Eddie really wasn’t the best cook. And he appreciated the toddler- and kid-friendly recipes inside as well.

It also wasn’t a surprise that all the kids here had gotten the most gifts. From stuffed animals and drawing books to video games and nerf guns, there was everything a child like them could wish for. And at some point, Eddie started to wonder how he, Hen and Chim were going to fit all of it in their cars. The big toy kitchen Sofie had gotten from Athena and Bobby made him worry the most. He’d probably load that into the back of his truck, strapped down with rope like some construction material, while Buck shoved everything else into his trunk.

And then another thought crossed his mind. Eddie had a gift for Buck as well, but now it felt weirdly strange to give it to him. He guessed he’d do it… later.

What he didn’t expect though, was that later came way sooner than he’d hoped it would.

Because suddenly Eddie found himself in Buck’s hallway in his house, with Buck and Taylor standing in front of him while the kids sat on the couch. And he didn’t miss how Taylor’s arm wrapped around Buck’s waist made him feel… wrong. Uncomfortable?

Buck must’ve noticed, because he turned to Taylor and asked if she could start a bath for Sofie. She nodded and headed upstairs, leaving the two of them alone. And Eddie hated how domestic they already seemed.

It was awkward and quiet between them, much to Eddie’s dismay, until Buck finally cleared his throat.

“Come on, Eddie,” he began with a half smirk. “Hey, it— it doesn’t have to be like this from now on.”

“Don’t know what you mean,” Eddie muttered, eyes darting anywhere but to Buck’s. He hated the tension, hated feeling like every nerve in his body went on high alert whenever Buck got too close. But damn it, Buck needed to cut him some slack. What they’d talked about today, what they’d done, that wasn’t something best friends just did because they felt like it. No, it was so much more. And Eddie simply needed some time to… process that.

When he looked up again, Buck was watching him with a raised brow and smiling, parted lips. “That wasn’t my intention, y’know. I didn’t want to put an even bigger gap between us.”

“No, I know,” Eddie replied quickly as he ran his fingers over his jaw. “We don’t have to talk about it. I actually just…” he trailed off, bending down to rummage through one of the bags with all the gifts inside before pulling out a little box. “I just wanted to give you this.”

He held it out, muttering a quiet “Merry christmas, Buck,” before letting his arm fall to his side again.

Buck’s eyes went wide for a moment as he turned the gift over in his hands. Just as he was about to open the box, he suddenly turned to the drawer next to them and pulled out something suspiciously identical.

Grinning, he held the second box toward Eddie. “Merry Christmas, Eddie,” he wished him. They looked at each other for a second, brows furrowed as knowing smirks spread across their lips.

And then, at the same time, they opened the boxes.

“Aw, no way!” Buck blurted, laughing loudly, and although Eddie didn’t say anything, he wore the exact same, surprised and amused expression on his face. God, they really did know each other better than anyone else.

Eddie lifted the watch from its padding, running his thumb over the cool metal and the smooth glass. His pulse quickened all over again. When he glanced up, Buck was holding an almost identical watch, eyes shining and glistening, even though no light hit them.

“There’s something engraved on the back of yours,” Eddie murmured.

It took a few seconds for Buck to make out what he was supposed to see, but when he did, a long, shaky breath slipped from his lips. “Sofie and Chris… did they write their names themselves? ‘Cause I almost couldn’t tell that the first one was supposed to be Sofie with those wobbly lines,” he laughed, and Eddie nodded with a chuckle.

“Yeah, had to help her a bit,” he explained, and Buck grinned from ear to ear before telling Eddie to turn his watch around as well.

Surprised, Eddie did, and what he saw almost made him melt onto the floor. “Best Dad In The World” was engraved on the back, and he had to take a few seconds to recover from the warmth that spread through him.

“How did we manage to get each other the exact same thing?” buck asked with a stunned chuckle. He sounded just as surprised as Eddie felt.

But before either of them could say another word, the next glance they shared dissolved every thought on their tongues. Despite the initial awkwardness, Eddie dared to take a step forward, and a breath of relief left him the moment Buck walked right into his arms.

Words weren’t needed when a simple hug said everything they wanted to.

The moment Buck’s arms wrapped around him, something in Eddie just… gave out. The knot inside him loosened all at once, like Buck had reached into his chest and untied it.

He exhaled shakily against Buck’s shoulder. He hadn’t planned on breathing him in, not with how messed up he felt, but he couldn’t help it. It just happened. His body did it before his mind could stop him.

And god. Buck’s scent. Citrus and vanilla. It hit Eddie in a wave, finding its way into his nose and wrapping around him like a blanket he hadn’t known he needed.

For the first time all day, Eddie felt like he could breathe without it hurting.

Buck squeezed him tighter, his free hand coming up to press between his shoulder blades, while Eddie’s fingers curled into the back of Buck’s shirt without thinking.

Neither of them spoke. They didn’t need to. They stayed like that long enough for Eddie’s eyes to sting, long enough for him to stupidly wish it didn’t have to end.

When Buck’s breath brushed the side of his neck, Eddie felt the tiny tremble there, felt how Buck wasn’t doing as well as he was pretending. And selfishly, it made Eddie feel better.

At least until Buck eventually loosened his hold, and Eddie forced himself to do the same.

They pulled back only a little, still close enough that Eddie could see the softness in Buck’s eyes and the slight tremble in his lips.

Eddie stepped back first. Not because he wanted to, but because he had to.

He cleared his throat and grabbed the bag from the floor, forcing a smile before calling for Chris. “We should get home. I’ll pick up Sofie at noon tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Good idea.” Buck hesitated for a beat before adding, softer, “Drive safe, okay?”

“Always.”

——

“Come here, mi cielo,” Eddie said happily as he picked up Sofie from where she appeared behind Buck’s legs at the front door. He took the backpack that Buck handed him before pressing a kiss to her head.

However, just as he pulled back, he suddenly froze, then lowered his nose to her hair again. His nostrils flared as he smelled her, then faster and more insistently as he lifted her higher and buried his face against the side of her neck, then her clothes. Sofie giggled and smiled, but Eddie didn’t find the moment funny in the slightest.

His fingers tightened around her without him meaning to. He buried his nose into her hair again, deeper this time, almost desperate, and the scent slammed into him like a punch.

That wasn’t Buck’s. His faint citrus and vanilla smell on her was barely there, almost too faint to even notice.

It also didn’t smell like his home. Or Buck’s home.

Or anything from them.

No… this was sharper and spicier.

Taylor. All. Over. His. Daughter.

He jerked his head back, eyes snapping up at Buck so fast his head didn’t even register it. “What the hell,” he said, breathless, “why does she smell like that?”

Buck blinked, confused. “Like what?”

Eddie held Sofie even closer, almost shielding her with his body. His voice came out harsher than he intended, but he couldn’t help it. His pulse rocketed into the sky. “Like her, Buck. Like Taylor. Why the hell does Sofie smell like Taylor’s scent?”

It took one long second before Buck’s face softened, then tightened. “Wait— wait, you think Taylor scented her?”

Eddie stared at him like he’d lost his mind. “I know she did.”

“Taylor?” Buck called out into the house behind him.

She poked her head out from around the corner, towel over her shoulder. “Yeah?”

Buck motioned her over. “Uh… Eddie thinks you scent-marked Sofie.”

Taylor’s face showed disbelief first, then morphed to annoyance, and lastly confusion. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about,” Eddie scoffed.

Why didn’t Sofie smell like she always did? Why didn’t she smell like citrus and vanilla and pine and slightly burned sugar? Like them?

Eddie felt his breaths coming ragged and short, one strong puff after another, and he felt like he might burst any second. Sudden protectiveness flooded every single one of his cells, and he hated that he couldn’t tell whether it was directed at Sofie or Buck. Or both.

Buck rubbed the back of his neck. “Hey, Eddie, even if she did, didn’t you tell me back then that you’d be fine with my partner scenting Sofie eventually? Like… when things got serious?”

The words hit him harder than they should have. Because technically, yes. He had said that. Weeks ago. But now that the moment was actually here and had become real, it was so much worse than he’d imagined. Especially because he hadn’t expected it to come this soon. It felt like a piece of Sofie had been taken away from him and given to someone else, and just the idea of having to share her with a third possible parental figure made every vein in his body want to pop.

But that was before everything that had happened. Before the confession, before the kiss, before the way-too-intimate hug, before Eddie’s entire world was shaken apart and turned upside down. Before he’d been able to sleep without Buck being every thought in his head. Buck and the way he fried Eddie’s entire brain.

This was so much worse than he ever expected. And he didn’t know if he’d ever get used to it.

Eddie opened his mouth, then closed it again. He didn’t know what to say. Because none of this made sense. Because he didn’t even know what he was allowed to feel right now. Because all he knew was that the idea of someone else—Taylor—scenting Sofie made his chest burn.

He swallowed, jaw clenched so tightly his teeth hurt. “That was before.”

“Before what?”

Eddie didn’t have an answer. He didn’t have anything. Just a hole in his stomach and too much noise in his head and Sofie’s tiny hands gripping his shirt as she babbled nonsense to herself.

“I’m—” Eddie shook his head, cutting himself off. “We’re leaving.”

“Eddie—”

But Eddie had already turned while he held Sofie tight against him as if she was his only anchor in this moment. His heart pounded so hard he could barely hear his own footsteps. He didn’t look back, didn’t give Buck a chance to say anything else, didn’t trust himself not to snap or break or reveal something he wasn’t supposed to reveal.

He strapped Sofie into her seat with trembling hands before she reached up and touched his cheek. “Daddy?”

“I’m okay, mi amor,” he whispered, kissing her forehead. It wasn’t true. Not even close. “Daddy’s okay.”

He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Christopher’s head as well, who looked understandably confused, before he shut the door and leaned his forehead against the cool metal for a second. Just to breathe. Except breathing didn’t help either.

Eddie’s anger or confusion or… whatever that was that got him so worked up wasn’t directed at Buck. Not really. And not even fully at Taylor, though he still couldn’t get himself to like her. Neither of them had done anything wrong, and Eddie knew this was going to happen sooner or later.

He was just angry with himself, because he couldn’t, for the love of god, figure out why he was suddenly so territorial. It was as if, ever since he had seen that different side of Buck in the locker room, he wanted to keep it for himself and never give it back to Taylor.

And without even having to look at Buck’s face, he knew he was hurting him. By forbidding Buck’s partners to bond with their daughter, he was also taking away a piece of Buck’s happiness.

He knew that. But Eddie was so messed up right now, and Buck couldn’t expect what he’d done to just fly right over Eddie’s head. It wasn’t like that. It should be like that. It shouldn’t matter anymore that Buck had once been in love with him, that he had kissed Eddie, but it did. And Eddie couldn’t understand why.

He didn’t look back towards the house even once as he got into the driver’s seat and started the truck. A second later he pulled away from the driveway, hands gripping the wheel so tightly they shook.

“Dad, is everything okay between you and Buck?” Christopher’s worried voice came from the back, and Eddie immediately felt guilty.

“Yeah of course, bud. All good. You don’t need to worry about a thing.”

When Christopher nodded, Eddie let out a quiet breath. He had promised himself he would never lie to his son, but this was something he couldn’t put on a 9 year old. How was he supposed to tell him that he was losing his mind over his best friend’s partner scenting Sofie? That said best friend, who Chris saw as a father figure, had taken over every corner of Eddie’s mind?

He couldn’t do that. And now here he was, with two young kids in the back seat, feeling more overwhelmed than he had in a long time.

After thinking for a while, Eddie turned in a direction he usually didn’t. Apart from Sofie and Chris’ barely understandable chatter, the drive was quiet until they stopped in front of a beautiful, familiar house.

“Are we not driving home, dad?”

Eddie wiped his face once and unbuckled himself. “How about we visit Jee for a little bit, hm?”

From the rearview mirror, Chris was seen breaking into a huge smile, and Eddie felt the relief washing over him. He got out, then helped both his kids out of the car and knocked at the front door.

Luckily, someone was home.

“Eddie!” Maddie exclaimed with a smile, though one of her brows was raised in slight confusion. She stepped aside, letting them all in before she hugged the boy and picked up Sofie into her arms. “What are you doing here?”

“Sorry for just showing up without notice. I…” Eddie blew out another breath as he wiped his forehead. “I don’t know what to do. I’m just so… confused, and I wasn’t sure if I could handle the kids like that and—“

“Hey, it’s okay! Come on, why don’t we sit down first?”

Eddie was thankful for Maddie’s kind and calm presence, seeing how he instantly felt more relaxed already. Ever since Sofie was born, he and Maddie had become closer than ever, considering how she had been a big help in raising the little girl.

He gave Jee a big hug, then watched as Maddie set Sofie down on the carpet with the other girl, letting them colour in some books. While Chris hadn’t seemed all too happy to have to sit down with two younger girls and colour in different animals, he did seem to enjoy himself after a while.

“Okay. Tell me what’s going on.”

Eddie dragged both hands down his face, elbows on his knees. “I don’t—” His voice cracked, so he swallowed and tried again. “I don’t know what’s happening to me, Maddie. I feel like I’m going insane. When I picked up Sofie just now, she smelled like Taylor’s scent.

Maddie’s brows rose slightly, but she didn’t interrupt.

“And I just— I lost it. It felt wrong. So wrong. And I know it shouldn’t because Buck’s allowed to have a partner and he’s allowed to have someone. Someone besides—“

“Besides you?”

Eddie flinched. “That’s not… that’s not what I meant.”

“Are you sure?”

He shook his head. “I don’t like Taylor. But she never did anything wrong. Not really. She’s just smirky and extremely clingy with Buck. And the whole ownership stare thing drives me insane. But she’s never been… mean. It doesn’t make sense why she sets me off like this.”

Maddie hummed thoughtfully. “Does it bother you because she’s Taylor? Or because she’s someone Buck lets close?”

“I don’t know.”

She gave him that all too familiar older-sister-who-sees-right-through-you look she used on Buck all the time. “Eddie.”

He sagged instantly. “I don’t know. But this scenting thing today, it… I don’t understand why I reacted like that.”

“Scenting a kid is intimate,” Maddie reminded him softly. “It’s bonding. It’s not nothing.”

“Yeah, but— I told Buck I’d be fine with that happening eventually. And that when things got serious, it would be okay. But Maddie, it felt like someone punched me. Right here.” He pressed his palm to his chest. “And I can’t even tell Buck why I’m mad because I don’t even know why. I just couldn’t breathe.”

Maddie hesitated for a moment, then let out a soft sigh. “Did something else happen between you two?”

Oh.

Eddie froze for a second. The opportunity to tell her everything was right there. To spill what had been messing with his head the most for the last—Jesus, had it even been 24 hours? Whatever. It was right there. He could talk to her and have someone listen to him, maybe give him advice and help him out of this hole. But would that be fair to Buck?

He bit his lip, rubbing his sweaty palms over his jeans.

But then it just rushed out of him.

“We kissed.”

“What?”

He swallowed hard. “I mean, no—“

“You kissed?” Maddie hissed in a whisper, her eyes flicking to the kids for a second.

“At the station, when I ran after him, he told me he used to be in love with me. And then he asked if he could kiss me as a form of… I don’t know. Goodbye? Letting go of his feelings kind of thing. And I just—”

“You said yes,” Maddie finished gently. It wasn’t a question. When Eddie nodded, her expression softened, and she gave him one of her most calm smiles. Eddie didn’t even realize his leg was bouncing until she placed a calming hand on his knee.

Her smile turned almost fond. “Took him long enough.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Maddie began carefully. “Buck being in love with you wasn’t subtle. Everyone knew.”

Eddie felt his brain deflate. Nothing made sense anymore. His heart began beating faster again for some reason, and he caught himself biting the inside of his cheek. “He told you?”

“Please,” she scoffed lightly. “Of course not. It was just extremely obvious.”

Letting out a long breath, Eddie slumped against the cushions, just staring at the ceiling for a moment.

Maddie chuckled beside him. “Also, if I can be completely honest, do you really think he doesn’t love you anymore? I mean, come on, Eddie. Do you really think someone who finally got to kiss the person they’ve loved for years could just… let go of their feelings after that?” She leaned back as well, smiling. “You don’t think that would make their feelings even stronger?”

Damn, she had a point. Good points, actually. “But he’s with Taylor now.”

“So? Didn’t he basically cheat on her by kissing you?”

Eddie groaned instantly. Jesus, he hadn’t even thought about that until now. At this point he worried that the guilt would eat him alive.

A soft sigh slipped over Maddie’s lips. “What about you? Did the kiss make you feel something?”

“Not… not in the moment, I think. But after that, yeah. I mean that was probably one of the reasons for my strange behaviour today. I just can’t stop thinking about it.”

“I’m not an expert, Eddie, but that sounds a lot like you may be confused about possible new… feelings for—“

“In love with Buck? No,” Eddie cut her off immediately, unable to withstand the fast pounding of his heart for another second. It felt like it was going to burst or jump right out of his chest just from the mere thought of seeing Buck as someone more than just, well, his friend.

Until yesterday, that possibility had just never even crossed his mind. Eddie had never been attracted to men before, and even if he were… why Buck? Why his best friend, the father of their daughter, the one person he never wanted to lose? He’d heard too many stories about friends turning lovers, then losing each other entirely because not even their friendship could survive the heartbreak.

“It… wouldn’t be so crazy” Maddie muttered, smoothing the front of her blouse.

“Except that I’m not,” Eddie insisted. But even as the words left his mouth so confidently, the bitter taste they left behind on his tongue made him worry for himself. And his sanity.

Aside from the adorable voices on the floor and the sounds of markers inking paper, it was quiet then for a while. By now Eddie’s heart had finally calmed a little and he was glad he’d decided to come here. He didn’t know how long he could’ve pretended to be fine in front of his kids with all of these strange feelings stored inside o him.

“So…” he said after a while, clasping his hands together. “Everyone knew?”

“Everyone.”

Chapter Text

“Okay, team, we’ve got a rooftop bar with a partial collapse that’s still shifting, so watch your step. We’re looking at multiple victims, possible entrapments. Hen, Chim, set up triage on the street level. Buck, Ravi, you’re on search with me. Let’s go.”

A collective “Yes, cap!” could be heard from everyone before Buck strapped on his helmet and jogged after Bobby.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Taylor already at the scene, doing her job and reporting in front of the camera. But there was no time to pay her any attention. Instead, Buck focused on the mess in front of him.

It was New Year’s Eve, and from the looks of it, this place had tried to squeeze in as many people as possible, ignoring the illegal overcapacity of the rooftop. A tragedy, really. And as Buck stepped over massive chunks of concrete, simultaneously helping victims up on his way inside, he couldn’t help wishing he were at home instead. Of course he loved his job—god, he loved it—but he couldn’t help the small pang of jealousy he felt at the thought of Eddie at home with the kids. Athena, Karen, Maddie, May and the other kids were there too, probably gathered around the table, eating, laughing, and counting down the minutes to midnight.

And even though he and Eddie hadn’t talked much since their… argument last week, Buck had still been the first to volunteer for this shift. It was the right thing to do after seeing how stressed and frustrated Eddie had been that day. Buck had ignored all of Eddie’s texts insisting he would take this shift, and since he could be extremely stubborn, Eddien never really stood a chance.

If this rooftop collapse was resolved smoothly, without further emergencies or additional structural damage, they should all be home by around 3am, so in about 4 hours. Not ideal, but not terrible. Most of the adults would still be awake, and Buck could at least join the tail end of the celebration. Chim, Hen, and Bobby would be there too, and maybe he could even convince Ravi to join them by then.

“Help! Someone help me!” The screaming from a woman close to him pulled Buck back to reality, and broken glass cracked under his boots as he instantly followed the voice.

Just as he was about to call out to her again, he caught a glimpse of her in the beam of his flashlight.

“Cap, here!” He called out to Bobby before he grabbed the debris and threw the heavy pieces to the side. Grunting, they both got the last heavy block off her, and Bobby briefly checked up on her before he picked her up and told Buck to keep searching for more trapped people.

Buck nodded. He wanted to do that, really. Wanted to keep going, move deeper into the collapsed bar, check the hole that punched straight through two floors, and call out for anyone in need of help.

But he didn’t get that far.

There was a sudden crack, and next thing he knew, a big piece of concrete broke loose above him. Before he even had time to react, it slammed into his back and pushed him forward, making his face hit the ground and scrape against the dirt. The weight pinned him down and forced every last bit of air out of his lungs.

His own painful wheeze and the faint shout of Bobby calling his name was the last thing he heard before everything went black.

——

Buck couldn’t have told anyone how much time had passed when he woke up again, not even if someone held a gun to his head. All he knew was that it couldn’t have been very long, because the first thing his eyes registered when they slowly and unwillingly fluttered open was the familiar interior of an ambulance.

Too white. The lights were so harsh and bright that his eyes burned instantly, and he wanted nothing more than to shut them again.

It would be so easy to just go back to sleep. Let everything be dark and quiet again.

Except it wasn’t quiet.

It was loud. So loud. God, why was it so loud? Why couldn’t someone just make everything shut up? Even past the ringing in his ears, he could hear voices. A woman, maybe two. He couldn’t tell yet, his vision still blurry and his eyes threatening to roll back into his skull as he tried to focus.

“Buck? Buck! Hey, stay with me, alright?”

Painfully slowly he turned his head to the voice, and only then did the shapes beside him morph into people he recognised. Taylor was gripping his hand tigtly, though he could barely feel it, while Hen worked on him, doing medical things Buck couldn’t even begin to understand in his current state.

A shudder tore through his body at the sudden, strong wave of alpha pheromones that washed through the cramped space, and Buck’s whole body hurt at the movement. Everything hurt. He couldn’t even tell whose scent it was. Hen? Taylor? He couldn’t tell which one of them was trying to comfort him with it, trying to calm him down. Maybe both.

But it wasn’t working.

And it was strange because the longer those scents filled his nose and the entire ambulance, the worse Buck felt. It didn’t make any sense. It shouldn’t be like that. It should be good for him, should relax and calm him. It always did . But right now they made him want to crawl out of his own skin. For some reason, he couldn’t help but scrunch up his nose, groaning loudly as he instinctively tried to turn away from the thickening pheromones.

He heard a faint, worried “Buck? What’s wrong?” as he squeezed his eyes shut again and brought a shaking hand up to cover his nose and mouth.

Too much. It was becoming way too much. His breathing stuttered and he swallowed down panicked gulps of air.

He needed it to stop, needed to get the hell out of there.

With what little strength he had left, he pushed against Hen’s palms holding his legs down. He didn’t mean to fight her, but his body was acting before his mind could catch up. Somehow he managed to roll onto his side, burrying his face into the stretcher in hopes it would make breathing easier. His arms wrapped tightly around his stomach and he felt his knees curl up as far as possible, trying to make himself as small as he could.

Only when a warm tear slid down his cheek did he realize he was making strange noises. Little whines and choked gasps that slipped out of him as he curled tighter and tighter, trying to block out the gut wrenching pain in his torso and the scents and sounds overwhelming him.

He didn’t understand why this was happening, even less why he couldn’t stop it. His body wasn’t listening to him anymore.

Another gasp tore out of him as his hands and his lips shook alongside his shoulders, and Buck only felt like crying and needing. He needed something, something that would help him, but he didn’t know what it…

“Eddie…”

The name left his lips in a shaky whisper. His throat felt tight and scratchy, burning painfully as he croaked it out. But why? Why did he say that? Why didn’t he have any control over his own body anymore? And why did the longing for Eddie grow stronger and stronger with every single second that passed?

“Shit, this looks a hell of a lot like omegadrop,” Hen’s voice filtered through the fog in his mind as she pressed her palm to his forehead, probably checking his temperature.

“Omegadrop? But why? I’m his partner. I’m right here.”

Buck didn’t even have it in him anymore to listen, because even their voices, voices from people he loved and trusted with his life, were becoming too much too fast.

But even as he kept croaking Eddie’s name to no one in particular, longing for him and only him, Buck was aware that his partner, his alpha, was right there next to him. She didn’t pull away from him and she didn’t stop trying to soothe him, even when he kept whispering another alpha’s name instead of hers. Even when he kept hiding his nose from her scent, burying his face into the stretcher instead of letting her calm him.

And despite not being fully aware of his surroundings, Buck felt that. And on top of the agonising pain and longing and confusion and rising panic, guilt began to spread through his chest. But he still couldn’t stop.

There was only Eddie, Eddie, Eddie in his mind. Eddie’s strong arms, Eddie’s scent, Eddie’s voice, Eddie’s presence. And for some reason, even with his partner right next to him, Buck’s inner omega reached out for another alpha.

God, how he hated being an omega sometimes.

Fragments like “…no time...” and “…we…get to the hospital quickly…” were the only words that slipped through the fog in his head. And fuck, how badly he wished to finally get out of this ambulance. Away from these scents that made his nose burn. Away from alphas he didn’t want near him right now, not when every instinct in him screamed and begged for the one person who wasn’t here.

That thought was the only thing that repeated itself inside him as he tried to tune out everything else that overwhelmed him for the rest of the ride.

Stop. Stop. Just make it stop.

He didn’t even notice when they rolled him out until the sudden wave of new triggers in the hospital sent his senses into overload again. As he watched people rush past , all he felt was disorientation, and the cycle started again as panic flooded his veins. He couldn’t pick out a single familiar scent, and mixed with his inability to breathe properly, still curled into a ball, Buck suddenly felt terrified.

Breathing hurt more and more, and somewhere deep in his mind he knew that at least two broken ribs were the cause of his pain.

A sudden bright flashlight in front of his eyes made him flinch violently. The doctor’s voice sounded like it came from underwater, asking if he could hear or respond, but no part of Buck was able to answer. When he felt several hands trying to pull his body apart and uncurl him, he let out a guttural whine and drew his legs even tighter to his chest. He fought, so hard, against the force tugging on his limbs that tried to take him out of the only position that felt remotely safe.

“We can’t make an x-ray like this,” the doctor snapped. “We need his bonded or preferred alpha. Like right now. Where are they?”

There was a brief silence after that. At least as much silence as a chaotic hospital hallway could allow. Voices, footsteps, machines inside other rooms, all of it blended together as Buck tried desperately to shut it all out.

Very slowly and hesitantly, Buck then lifted his gaze toward Taylor, and their eyes met. For a second, the background noise vanished, and the only thing Buck became aware of was the conflict in her expression. But then it changed, and suddenly her sadness turned into determination.

“Get Diaz,” she said in that firm tone of hers as she turned to Hen, and a pitched sigh of both relief and agony slipped over Buck’s lips.

After that, he tuned everything else out again and focused on the one person he needed more than anything right now. At this point, it wasn’t only the broken ribs causing him pain, but also the constant, nonstop shaking of every single muscle in his body.

He couldn’t tell for how long it lasted. Seconds, maybe, or minutes. But when he finally, finally, caught a whiff of pine and sugar in the air, that familiar scent, Buck instantly broke into a series of sobs. With every moment it grew stronger, he felt his body slowly but surely begin to relax again. It intensified until it was so strong that he forced his eyes open and let out a whined sigh of relief at the sight in front of him.

Eddie didn’t even take a single second to take a look at Buck before he rushed to him, leaned down, and molded his arms around Buck’s body like he never intended to let go again, as if he could shield him from the rest of the world. He held him tight enough to push a painful puff of air from Buck’s lungs, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t care about anything except the man holding him.

And although Eddie’s scent was heavily laced with panic and fear, his sweet sugar turning into burned, failed caramel, Buck only buried his nose deeper and deeper into his neck. His fingers fisted the back of Eddie’s sweater, shaking as he lost himself in the alpha’s skin and warmth.

“Jesus, Buck,” Eddie whispered, voice trembling. “I came as fast as I could. I’m here now. I’m right here.”

The words hit Buck so hard that a choked sob ripped out of him before he could stop it, his fingers clutching harder at Eddie’s sweater. His ribs protested at the movement, but the pain didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except that Eddie was here. Finally, finally here.

Eddie’s hands moved over him shakily, one settling at the back of Buck’s head while the other went down his spine. Buck didn’t understand why his body responded only to this, why none of the doctors or nurses or even Taylor could get him to calm down even a little, but Eddie… Eddie was different. Eddie always had been. And a part of him would never be able to let go of him.

he pressed his forehead deeper into Eddie’s throat and inhaled him like oxygen. His sobs kept coming, and every time he shook, Eddie only held him tighter and whispered something Buck couldn’t make out but appreciated all the same.

Then Eddie shifted just enough to bring one hand up to Buck’s face. He cupped his cheek, brushed away a tear with his thumb, and tilted Buck’s head back the tiniest bit. Just enough for Eddie to lean in and press his lips softly to the birthmark at the arch of Buck’s brow.

Instantly, a desperate sound slipped from Buck, something between a sob and a whine, his whole body melting at the touch. His fingers loosened against Eddie’s sweater only to grab on again just as tightly. It felt like every muscle in him turned to water for a second.

“Eddie…” he whispered shakily against his warm skin.

“It’s okay. You’re safe. I’ve got you.”

Buck didn’t know when he’d started crying again, but Eddie’s scent wrapped around him like a blanket he needed more than anything. He felt Eddie rest his cheek on top of his head, felt him breathing Buck in like he was trying to calm himself too.

And slowly, Buck’s body began to relax. The trembling slowed more and more as Eddie kept talking to him in that low voice.

But he didn’t let go yet. He couldn’t. Not when Eddie’s arms were the only place he wanted to be right now.

And Eddie didn’t let go either.

Not when Buck finally allowed the nurses and the doctor to take his gear off, and not when they examined him from head to toe. Their hands kept being intertwined, because Buck wasn’t sure what would happen to him if Eddie let go.

After the x-ray, which Buck had to be alone for for a short moment, the results confirmed that two ribs were indeed broken. Luckily, not bad enough for surgery, which is why they only wrapped his torso and gave him pain meds. Still, they wanted Buck to stay for a few more hours in case his lung bruised or collapsed.

When everything was finally over, and Buck eventually released Eddie’s hand so that he could get himself something to drink, he suddenly found himself alone with Taylor in the room.

It was awkward as she stood next to the bed, and the shame and guilt was too much for Buck to even look her in the eye. A tiny drop of blood formed on his lip from how hard he was biting it, and he felt his body instinctively wanting to curl in on itself again under the alpha’s stare.

“Look at me, Buck,” she demanded before she lowered herself onto the edge of the bed. “I’m not mad, okay? You need to understand that.”

Even as he listened, he found it hard to believe her. It didn’t make sense that she wasn’t mad at him. She should be mad.

When he didn’t respond, she carefully wrapped her fingers around his palm. “I’ll admit, I’m heartbroken and sad. But I also know this wasn’t something you could control. Your omega already chose an alpha, and you can’t change that now.”

“I’m sorry,” Buck croaked out, voice rough and shaky. “I’m so sorry I— I never meant to hurt you, Taylor, I…”

“Hey, stop that.” She carefully brought her hand to his cheek, wiping her thumb along the underside of his eye. A small shiver ran down Buck’s spine at the coldness of her skin. “I know you never planned this. Me neither. But that’s just how it is now, and that’s alright. Maybe it’s my own fault for not noticing what you actually needed sooner. Or maybe I did, but I just told myself that I was imagining things because I wanted it to work out between us.”

“You noticed? How?”

A tiny chuckle left her mouth. “Please. Anyone with eyes can see there’s something going on between you two. You need him, and it’s obvious he needs you too. I think you should hurry up and get him before it’s too late.”

“Taylor, he doesn’t…” Buck trailed off at the sudden heavy feeling in his chest. “I mean, it’s not like that for him. You know?”

“You’re so wrong it’s actually cute,” she whispered before she suddenly leaned forward and pressed a soft, feather light kiss to Buck’s forehead. “I hope this can be a lesson for the both of us, Buck. And trust me when I say that Sofie will be glad, when she’s older, to have both her parents living in the same house.”

Without thinking, Buck immediately wrapped his arms around her before she had the chance to pull away again. He gripped her tightly, breathed her in once or twice, and then let go with a long sigh. “Thank you, for everything. I hope you can forgive me one day,” he whispered as Taylor’s hands slowly left his body.

She shot him a warm, grinning smile before she took her bag, got up, and left the room.

Just then, Eddie, who seemed to have been waiting outside, swapped places with her and walked in before closing the door behind him. He held a cup of what was probably coffee in one hand and his phone in the other. Then he walked over and set the things down on the little rolling table.

Eddie sank onto the chair beside the bed and scooted it closer, barely an inch, maybe two, but the moment he did, Buck felt his breath knock out of him. Before he even knew he was moving, he reached out and caught the fabric of Eddie’s sweater, and with a painful groan hauled himself upright.

“Buck—hey, no, lie back, you’re gonna hurt—”

But Buck didn’t let go. Instead, he tugged weakly and leaned sideways until his forehead met Eddie’s shoulder. An embarrassingly relieved and trembling exhale that left him at that, and eddie tensed under him for a split second. Still, Buck didn’t pull away.

He couldn’t. Not after the pure chaos and exhaustion his body had gone through just earlier. And every nerve in him still screamed to get closer and closer to Eddie the moment he laid his eyes on him, like his omega still hadn’t fully calmed down yet.

He closed his eyes and breathed Eddie in again, just like before. And unlike back then, this time he dearly appreciated Eddie scenting him. Welcomed it, even. He wanted to smell like nothing but Eddie. Like pine and sugar and caramel.

“Easy,” Eddie murmured. “Careful with your ribs.”

Buck nodded against his shoulder, though the movement made him wince. He tightened his grip on Eddie’s sweater without meaning to.

“It’s over. We… we broke up,” he admitted, voice barely above a whisper.

Eddie huffed out a small chuckle into Buck’s hair. “Yeah,” he murmured. “I figured.”

Buck swallowed as a wave of guilt suddenly hit him. “I’m… I’m sorry I ruined your New Year’s Eve. You and the kids, you were all supposed to be—”

“Buck.” Even though Eddie’s voice was soft, his tone was firm. “You didn’t ruin anything. The most important thing was you. That you were okay. Everything else can wait.”

Pain stung in Buck’s eyes again. He hated how easily he felt like crying tonight. And he hated even more how safe he felt right now, and how impossible it was to hide anything from Eddie when he was this close.

Eddie’s breath warmed the top of his head, and Buck could feel him contemplating whether to pull him closer or loosen his grip because of Buck’s injuries.

“Besides…” Eddie whispered gently. “…I just brought the party here.”

Before Buck could even lift his head to ask what he meant, a light knock appeared at the door, followed by a familiar muffled chorus of shushing and someone whispering, “Stop pushing, I’m going first!”

Eddie snorted quietly. “Told you.”

Not even three seconds later, a tiny little girl came running up to him, yelling “Daddy!” before she gripped the mattress, wanting to get up. Despite the concerned looks, considering Buck’s broken ribs, he still bent to the side and picked her up with all the strength he had. Of course he earned a round of exasperated sighs when he groaned in pain, but it was worth it just to hug his daughter again.

He bit his lip as she snuggled up to him, listening to everyone’s questions about whether he was really alright and how worried they’d been. And although Buck was beyond overjoyed to have everyone here with him, his fatigue was too strong for him to engage much in conversation.

When he glanced to the side and saw Chris standing there a bit awkwardly, he stretched out an arm for him. Instantly, a smile stretched across Chris’s face, and he quickly came over and hugged Buck from the side, laughing softly and breathing him in.

“You smell like dad again,” Chris whispered into his ear, and Buck could only chuckle quietly in repose while he pulled him closer.

“He doesn’t smell too bad, does he?”

Chris made a thinking face for a moment before breaking into a wholesome chuckle. “No. But you can’t tell him I said that!”

“Alright, superman. I promise.”

Chapter Text

“Alright, the last one’s finally asleep too.”

Buck carefully stuffed another forkful of mac and cheese into his mouth and hummed in approval. “Who would’ve thought such a small child could stay up until 8 in the morning?”

Chuckling, Eddie plopped down into the chair next to him, wiping a hand over his tired face. They’d only just gotten back from the hospital, after Buck had practically begged them to discharge him, and to Eddie’s dismay, the house looked exactly how it had before he rushed out earlier. A complete disaster: food still out on the table, glasses half full, and decorations hanging from the ceiling.

His chest hurt just thinking about how his heart had stopped for a second when Hen called and said Buck had an emergency and that Eddie needed to get there as soon as he “fucking” could. Eddie had imagined the worst. Much worse than what had actually happened. Even now, small waves of relief washed over him knowing that Buck was fine, and that he was here with him right now, instead unconscious in a hospital bed or hooked up to machines.

When he’d seen Buck on the stretcher, crying and shaking and curled in on himself, despite Taylor next to him, it had taken Eddie only a split second before he figured out what was going on. Even though omegadrops weren’t very common, they do happen. Especially in situations similar to Buck’s, after bad accidents that leave them in panic and fear. Situations where they feel scared, disoriented, don’t know what happened, and where the person they need isn’t there with them. If Eddie had been in the ambulance with him, Buck probably wouldn’t have dropped at all. Because he’d be there, and he’d comfort him before the panic could set in.

But still, Eddie couldn’t get over the fact that he was that person for Buck. And by the looks of it, well, Buck clearly hadn’t expected that either. He kept acting like everything was fine, but the way he avoided Eddie’s eyes and tried to mask his embarrassment by laughing said otherwise.

“Man, I wish I could’ve seen the fireworks…” Buck mumbled, mindlessly stabbing his fork into a pile of nacho salad.

“I mean, you can. We didn’t get to fire any of ours.”

Buck shot him a quick look, one eyebrow raised. “And wake the kids and the whole damn neighbourhood?” He turned back to his food, a small disappointed smile on his lips.

Eddie huffed a laugh. “Trust me, nothing can wake them up for the next 10 hours.”

A chuckle slipped out of Buck before his attention drifted back to the table. Eddie watched him scan over every single dish and snack with such concentration it looked like he had to think really hard about what to eat next. It was… honestly kind of adorable. And Eddie was just happy Buck finally had a chance to eat something—anything—after probably 12 hours of nothing. Hell, if Buck asked him to cook something new right now, Eddie would be in front of the fridge in half a second. Bobby had given him that nice cookbook for Christmas anyway, it wouldn’t hurt to practice.

After Buck’s eyes suddenly halted at the charcuterie board from Athena at the other end of the table, he tried to lean forward and reach towards the grapes, but his face instantly contorted in pain as he clutched his torso.

Before he could push through the pain and hurt himself more, Eddie plucked a single grape from the board and held it out to him.

He waited.

And waited.

But the grape just stayed there, between Eddie’s fingertips, because buck… Buck didn’t take it.

They both just stared down at it, and for some very strange reason, neither made any attempt to move. Almost as if time had stood still, Eddie felt himself unconsciously holding his breath.

This was odd. So strange. He’d just grabbed the grape, was that wrong? Did Buck actually want the crackers? Something else? Why wasn’t he taking it?

When Eddie eventually dared to lift his eyes to Buck’s, he almost flinched at the sight of Buck already staring at him. But not in a normal way. Buck’s brows were drawn together, and Eddie could see him biting the inside of his cheek. He looked… nervous.

Buck’s eyes flicked to Eddie’s fingers, then back to Eddie’s face. And suddenly, it clicked.

Oh.

Eddie’s brows lifted slighly, and before his mind could even catch up to his body, his hand suddenly moved. It lifted, higher and higher, almost in slow motion, until it stopped right in front of Buck’s lips. Those unfairly pink, soft lips. Lips that quivered for a second before they parted, just barely, and closed the distance between them and Eddie’s fingers.

A shiver ran straight down Eddie’s spine the moment Buck’s mouth touched his skin. And everything else from that point on fell into the background.

His eyes fixed on the way Buck molded himself around the fruit, at how his nostrils flared, and at how he very slowly drew the grape into his mouth. And before Buck even got the chance to bite down on it, Eddie’s fingers followed, almost on instinct, and suddenly his thumb was resting flat on Buck’s tongue. Warm, wet, and… god, almost filthy.

This was wrong, he knew that. He knew he should pull his hand back and ask himself what the hell he was doing. But it was so hard when Buck suddenly leaned forward and closed his lips around the finger, and even harder when the rest of Eddie’s hand just molded itself around Buck’s chin and jaw.

His gaze snapped back up when he heard a tiny sigh, almost a moan, from the back of Buck’s throat, and he was surprised to find Buck looking utterly blissed out. Shoulders relaxed, eyes half closed, as his body sank into the touch.

Eddie was aware of the fact that Buck liked to have something in his mouth. Well, he didn’t know, not for sure, but he’d always suspected. Because wherever they went or whatever they were doing, Buck always seemed to keep his mouth busy with something. When he wasnt chewing gum or biting on the ends of pens, he was popping little snacks like nuts into his mouth or biting the skin on his fingers. Eddie had even walked into the loft at the station more than once to find him with a lollipop rolling from cheek to cheek.

But until now, he had never thought much of it. He’d always assumed it was just something to keep him busy, or help with boredom or stress. And maybe that was all it was. But maybe… other things helped him too. Things that weren’t pens or gum. Like… fingers?

Eddie swallowed quickly.

The air got stuck in his throat for a second, and he almost considered pulling away again if it wasn’t for Buck’s overjoyed expression. His heart skipped a beat at the thought of how much more Buck would enjoy. Would he like it if—

Oh yeah, Buck definitely liked that. Loved it, even. He practically melted at the feeling of Eddie’s thumb moving over his tongue in slow circles, pressing down just a little harder. Buck’s eyelids fluttered and a deep, approving sound vibrated through Eddie’s hand.

Eddie didn’t even notice how close they’d gotten until both of Buck’s palms suddenly landed on his knees. Close enough for Eddie to see every tiny twitch of Buck’s brows, the flaring of his nostrils, close enough to notice the small cut on his lower lip from biting at it too much.

He told himself he was only doing this because it made Buck happy and because it clearly relaxed and calmed him… not because Eddie was helplessly fascinated by the sight of Buck sucking intently now. He tried to ignore the twitch between his thighs, the way heat crawled up his face when Buck let out another whiny sigh.

He knew that if he kept going, they were going to cross a line they could never uncross again. No matter how hard they would try to pretend that this never happened, nothing between them would ever be the same. He knew that.

And yet, even when Buck stood up, plucked the grape from his mouth, and pulled Eddie with him toward the bedroom with that pleading look in his eyes, Eddie didn’t stop him. He didn’t stop him when Buck guided him to sit at the edge of the bed, and he didn’t stop him when Buck suddenly sank to his knees in front of him.

He should, of course. But every rational thought he had flew straight out the window at the sight of Buck kneeling there.

What the hell was happening right now?

His pulse sky rocketed, his heart racing faster than ever, palms sweating as they gripped the sheets next to him with so much force his knuckles turned white.

“I’m sorry, Eddie,” Buck suddenly whispered, and only then did Eddie snap out of his trance. He stared down at Buck with wide eyes, his voice shaky as he muttered “For what?”

“For putting you in this situation. I’m making everything worse between us, I’m sorry.”

“Jesus, Buck,” Eddie huffed before he cupped Buck’s face in both hands, not missing the way Buck instantly melted into the touch. “What are you apologising for? If this helps you and calms you, then you know I’ll do anything to make that happen.”

Buck turned his face slightly, burying his nose into Eddie’s palm, lips brushing his skin. “Not just that,” he murmured. “I don’t know why I chose you as my needed alpha earlier, but I did, and I know that probably puts a lot of pressure on you. I didn’t mean for that to happen, you have to trust me. And now my girlfriend broke up with me, and even though I was fine without an alpha for the past few years, now I feel so lost and lonely and confused because suddenly you’re the closest person I have again, and I don’t want to rely on you too much because you shouldn’t feel forced to take care of me and—”

“Are you serious?”

Buck’s eyes widened, both from shock and confusion.

“Hey, Buck, I know these last few weeks have been hard for us, okay? I didn’t make things easy. But yet you’re still here, and you chose me. Just like I would’ve chosen you if things were reversed. Why would you think I’d feel forced to stay at your side? I don’t just look after you and help you because I’m your best friend or because we share a daughter. I do it because I want to. Because you mean the world to me.”

Eddie took a deep breath, then traced Buck’s birthmark with his thumb. “So please, whatever it is you need, just let me help you.”

A flicker of gratitude crossed Buck’s face, only for it to turn into uncertainty again. He bit his bottom lip, and Eddie immediately slid his thumb past that lip and gently pulled it free.

It hurt, seeing Buck still so unsure. Eddie wished he would just say what he wanted and what he needed. There was nothing in the world eddie wouldn’t do for him, and he needed Buck to understand that.

“Please,” Eddie begged again, sounding almost desperate now. “Talk to me, Evan.”

Buck’s eyes flicked up, then back down to Eddie’s sweater before he let his head fall to the side, resting against Eddie’s thigh. “I can’t…” he whispered, full of shame.

“Yes you can. Come on, what do you want?”

When Buck shook his head, Eddie felt his patience fraying more and more. Why wouldn’t Buck let him be there for him?

“Buck, what is it? Hm? Let me help you.”

“I… I can’t tell you, Eds.”

“Jesus—of course you can! When has there ever been something we couldn’t tell each other?” Eddie’s hand found its way into Buck’s curls, threading through the strands as Buck pressed his face deeper and deeper against Eddie’s thigh.

“What? You want to suck on my fingers? Go on!” Eddie said, louder than he meant to. A huge contrast to the gentle brush of his palm against Buck’s face, which instantly turned three shades redder at Eddie’s words. “I don’t care! As long as it makes you feel better, I’d even let you bite my hand off! Or is that not enough for you? Need to suck my cock instead?”

…

Oh.

Did he just say that out loud?

“God, Buck, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—“ Eddie started, his heart racing in his throat, but cut himself off at Buck’s unexpected reaction.

Because instead of pulling away and asking Eddie what the fuck was wrong with him for asking that, Buck just… turned his face even more, hiding it completely in the crease between Eddie’s thigh and hip bone now.

Eddie felt Buck's hot breath through the denim, and his hand, still buried in Buck’s hair, instantly froze. He knew he should pull away, should apologize again and make a joke. Anything to defuse the bomb he’d just dropped. But Buck’s absolute refusal to meet his eye was an answer in itself.

"Buck," Eddie whispered. He gently tried to lift Buck’s head, but he resisted, shaking his head.

"Don't," he mumbled, the word muffled. "Please. Don't pull away. It's too much."

"What's too much, mijo? Was what I just said too much?"

Suddenly Buck wrapped his arms around Eddie's hips, almost desperately, as his usual citrusy scent turned thick and sweet with need. His scent blockers must’ve worn off, because Eddie could smell a hint of anxiety, and it was obvious that Buck still hadn’t fully recovered from his drop earlier.

"I hate that I want it," Buck confessed quietly. "I hate that I need you, after everything. After Taylor and... after two years of pretending it was just about Sofie." He finally lifted his head, and Eddie’s heart skipped a beat at his blown pupils.

Even though Eddie listend to every single word with his full attention, he was too much of a coward to really dive into what they actually meant. He was scared for himself, scared of what it would do to him if he let himself decipher them. So instead, he simply cradled Buck’s face again and pressed his thumb to his quivering lip, feeling Buck’s teeth scraping against the tip.

“It’s okay. This doesn’t… it doesn’t have to make things awkward between us. I’m helping you, just like I did back then. And just like I always will in the future,” Eddie told him quietly, barely above a whisper. “If you let me, that is.”

At this point, it almost felt like Eddie needed this more than Buck did. He didn’t want to acknowledge the anticipation and curiosity running through him, but it was impossible not to notice it taking up space in his whole body. It was wrong. God, it was wrong in so many ways. Because despite what he said about things not becoming awkward, Eddie wasn’t even sure he believed it himself.

This would change everything. Again.

They’d gotten past it once, had returned to being best friends after crossing lines before. But this? This was different. Of course, they’d done worse things. They’d had sex, countless times, but that was only because it was either that or watching Buck succumb to his own heat. But now? If they did this, it wouldn’t be because they had to, it would be because they wanted to.

And that changed so much.

Eddie couldn’t help but wonder, for the first time, as his eyes locked on the soft pink lips between his thighs, what they would feel like wrapped around him. He wondered if Buck had fantasized about this before, back then, and if he still wanted it. Wondered what other things Buck had dreamed of doing with him. The things he thought about when he was alone, when he was still in love with Eddie.

“I don’t know if… if I’ll be able to stop once we start,” Buck muttered suddenly, his grip on Eddie’s clothes tightening. “I’ll just want more and more and then I’m not just doing it for my own comfort anymore but because I want you to feel good and—”

“That’s fine.”

Eddie couldn’t believe he’d actually said that. He was agreeing to things he had never allowed himself to even imagine happening between them. His breath was shaky, because of both anticipation and fear.

Again, he told himself that this was just for Buck because Eddie wanted him to feel better. But deep down, he felt the lie gnawing and scratching at his insides.

Without another word, he took Buck’s hand gently in his own and guided it to the zipper between his thighs. Buck’s fingers trembled as badly as Eddie’s did, and he heard Buck’s shaky inhale as those fingers finally curled around the small metal tab.

Agonisingly slowly, Buck then pulled the zipper down while Eddie unbuttoned himself.

Even though Eddie didn’t have a full hard on, he wasn’t completely soft either, so the relief he felt when the pressure vanished almost sent a shiver up his spine.

When Buck’s fingers paused at the waistband of Eddie’s boxers, Eddie went through Buck’s curls again, trying to steady him. Or maybe steady himself. Either way, it helped, because the next second, Buck slipped beneath the fabric and pushed it down to Eddie’s thighs along with the jeans. The immediate cold against Eddie’s half hard cock made him exhale a shaky breath as it fell against his stomach.

He heard Buck’s breath hitching, and the moment his fingers closed around him, a shameful spike of pleasure shot through Eddie. It was the softest yet most electric touch he’d ever felt. But unlike what he’d expected to happen, Buck didn’t move to kiss or lick or instantly take him into his mouth. Instead, he simply rested his cheek against the exposed skin of Eddie’s thigh, right next to his now growing cock, and a quiet sigh of relief left Buck.

“It’s warm,” he whispered, mostly to himself, as he tightened his fingers around the base. “It’s just… it’s good. You’re good.”

Eddie understood. “I’m here,” he promised, his hand moving from Buck’s curls to the back of his neck. “It’s okay.”

And when Buck finally, hesitantly, opened his mouth and shifted just slightly forward, Eddie was ready to give him everything he had.

A low, grunting sound tore from his throat the second Buck’s lips closed around the sensitive tip. And when he leaned in, using his lips and the softness and wetness of his tongue to take more of him, Eddie’s chest shook from the tremor that went through him. He took a deep breath, in absolute disbelief of the sight in front of him. Buck was big, bigger than Eddie even, all muscle and body, and yet he looked so small between Eddie’s legs, crumbling from having his cock in his mouth.

It was hard for Eddie to stifle the disbelieving huff that wanted to escape his lips at the realization that this was actually happening right now. And it was even harder trying not to get swallowed whole by the unexpected pleasure.

His hand, still cradling the back of Buck's neck, tightened gently, urging him closer. He couldn't help himself. He was instantly hard, and Buck’s sweet scent was now heavily mixing with Eddie’s own arousal.

“This okay?” He whispered before he let his thumb travel down to Buck’s stretched lips around him, tracing them softly.

At Buck’s faint nod, Eddie then leaned back a little, supporting himself with one hand on the bed while the other found its way back into the curls tickling his skin.

And then, it was quiet.

Eddie could hear Buck’s breathing evening out, turning slow and rhythmic again, and when he glanced down, he caught Buck’s eyelids softly fluttering close. Apart from Eddie’s fingers slowly raking through Buck’s hair, neither of them moved. They just stayed like that, in the previously dark room that was now partially lit by the winter sun shining through the blinds.

The beams landed right across Buck’s soft features, making Eddie’s heart skip another beat because of how adorable he looked. Yeah, adorable. Buck could be extremely adorable at times. Eddie had thought that long before any of this ever started. It always made him feel good and useful when Buck let him take care of him. There were times when his face went all soft and pouty and when he only needed one look for Eddie to know exactly what he needed. That was adorable.

He had no idea how long Buck would want to stay like this, completely still except for the little flicks of his tongue against the underside of Eddie’s cock. And Eddie had no idea what would happen after this was over. He didn’t know anything, really. But maybe that could wait for later. Because Buck was right, he needed this. And for some reason, Eddie did too.

After a few more minutes, Eddie honestly thought Buck had fallen asleep. Which would’ve been good, he figured. It would’ve just proven how much this really did help him. But when he muttered a soft “So pretty,” mostly to himself, Buck’s eyes fluttered open again before they went up and landed on Eddie’s.

Buck’s brows drew together for a second as warm air left his nose, and he moved forward another inch, taking Eddie deeper.

This time, the movement was less hesitant, more confident. This was what Buck had talked about earlier. The “wanting more and more” thing where it transitioned from simply seeking comfort to providing pleasure. He pulled back slightly, took a deep breath through his nose, and then slid down even further than before.

Eddie instantly sucked in a breath, his fingers clenching into the strands of Buck's hair. This was the blissful, consuming pleasure he had been trying so hard to ignore. Buck’s tongue pressed tighter against the sensitive underside, which pulled another shaky groan from Eddie.

"Buck," he muttered breathlessly. He watched Buck work, watched his lips stretching wider and wider, watched his hand twist around the base. It sparked something in Eddie far beyond sex, like a primal need to claim and to protect.

He pushed gently forward, not forcing, but inviting Buck to take more. Buck responded instantly, his cheeks hollowing as he accepted the press of Eddie's hips, his hands stabilizing himself on Eddie's thighs.

Eddie was far beyond considering if this was right or wrong, his only focus being the breathtaking pleasure Buck’s warm, wet mouth brought him. Unlike back then, where he had strictly forbidden himself from feeling any sort of internal pleasure while helping Buck through his heat, he could now soak it all in, because Buck was deliberately giving it to him. And it was easily one of the few things he knew he would never forget for the rest of hue life.

“Is this nice, hm?” He breathed as he wiped spit from the side of Buck’s chin that dripped down. “Does it feel good?”

Buck replied with a long moan that came from the back of his throat.

That deep, vibrating sound was all the affirmation Eddie needed. He tightened his fingers in Buck’s hair and tilted his head up slightly so he could watch the entire thing.

“You’re doing so good,” Eddie murmured, earning a another pretty sound from Buck. He began to set the rhythm, pushing his hips down, then back, while still ensuring he wasn’t causing Buck any more pain from his ribs. When Buck’s hands tightened on his thighs, his cheeks hollowing further with each stroke, Eddie picked up the pace as he felt his breath coming quicker.

The heat, the scent, the sight, it was overwhelming.

"Look at me, Evan.”

Buck's glazed eyes flicked up instantly, meeting Eddie's. And that was all it took for Eddie to tip over the edge. Buck looked so strangely beautiful, pretty, with his lips stretched wide, and his big blue eyes looking up at Eddie with all the bliss and adoration in the world.

"God, Buck," Eddie gasped, bucking up one final time just as the pressure and pleasure became too much to bear. Instead of pulling Buck away, he clung to the back of his head and let his body seize and shudder. With a long, final groan that mirrored the one Buck had given him moments before, Eddie spilled every drop he had in him, his mind blanking out everything but the relief and the sensation of Buck's warm and soft throat closing around him.

He fell back onto his hands while his lungs struggled to catch up with the extreme force of his climax. His forearm fell across his face as he rode out the aftershocks.

Below him, Buck remained still, breathing heavily, his lips still where they were just a moment ago. The silence that followed wasn’t awkward, but enough for Eddie to come back to his senses. He slowly lowered his arm and looked down at the top of Buck's head, his hand immediately moving to smooth the damp curls.

"Everything okay?" He asked after a moment, his voice terrifyingly hoarse.

He watched Buck swallow it all down, felt the moment his throat closed around him again, and that alone made his sensitive and spent cock twitch once more. Buck pulled back just slightly as he inhaled deeply through his nose. He kept his lips around Eddie’s skin, and it looked like he didn’t want to be anywhere but right where he was.

“Wanna get up?” Eddie asked softly as he stroked the back of Buck's head.

Buck shook his head slightly, head falling onto Eddie’s thigh again.

“Buck, your ribs and knees must hurt like hell by now.”

Still, Buck made no attempt to move. Apart from their uneven breathing, it was silent again. But Eddie knew he had to prioritize Buck’s physical state.

“You don’t have to stop, but let’s at least move up to the bed, hm?”

A few seconds passed before Buck finally agreed with a tiny nod. He slipped off carefully, swallowing as he sat back on his heels, face flushed and sweaty. Eddie looked at him for a moment, before he reached out and cradled Buck’s face in his hands, tracing his thumbs over his wet and plump lips.

“Come on” he whispered, then carefully helped Buck up by supporting his weight. Buck's face visibly contorted in pain as he straightened, and a small gasp escaped him, so Eddie kept an arm tight around his torso and guided him toward the bed.

Once Buck was on the mattress, Eddie quickly slipped out of his pants entirely and tossed the jeans onto the floor. He crawled up and sat back against the pillows.

Buck just looked up at him. Then, carefully, avoiding hurting himself too much, he squeezed himself between Eddie’s legs and slid down until his head lay on Eddie’s thigh.

He didn’t waste a single second before he wrapped his lips around Eddie’s now soft, sensitive cock again. And even though Eddie winced slightly from the overstimulation, he only moved his hand back into Buck’s hair and gently threaded through the damp strands.

He knew now that Buck needed this.

And deep down, Eddie knew he wasn’t any different.

Chapter Text

About two hours had passed since Buck had fallen asleep between Eddie’s legs, both arms wrapped around one of Eddie’s thighs. Eddie knew he was asleep the moment he heard those tiny little sighs Buck always made when he was out. That and the occasional gentle scrape of teeth dragging over the skin of Eddie’s cock, making him wince quietly.

He could’ve gone to sleep too, god knew he needed it after being up all night, with the morning sun already out, but he forced himself to stay awake. Because of Buck. Because he wanted to be right there when Buck woke up again. Chances were high that Buck would freak out, maybe try to run, and Eddie didn’t want that or risk him hurting himself even more.

So he fought against his eyelids trying to fall shut and eventually reached for his laptop on the nightstand.

Since he wanted to understand exactly what Buck was been doing, and why it seemed to calm him, Eddie opened his browser and typed out questions like: “why do some people always need something in their mouth” and “friend likes to keep cock in mouth, why?”

He felt ridiculous at the wording, but… well. That was what it was, wasn’t it?

Luckily, he found answers quickly. Or at least he hoped he did.

As he scrolled through different websites, two terms kept popping up: “oral fixation” and “cock warming.”

Apparently an oral fixation was a psychological concept from Sigmund Freud’s theory describing persistent, often unconscious, behaviors centered on the mouth, like smoking, nail-biting, overeating, that develop if an infant's needs aren't met during the early "oral stage". Though it seemed that modern psychology viewed this as learned behaviours or habits linked to stress and anxiety rather than Freudian stages.

And the deeper Eddie sank into the websites and Reddit posts, the more he saw people mentioning that an oral fixation could tie into cock warming, which was the act of keeping a partner’s penis in one’s mouth (or elsewhere) for a longer period without movement or friction. Sometimes people did it just for fun, simply because they liked having something in their mouth. And sometimes it was because it comforted them and kept their minds busy. Just like Buck.

Eddie guessed Buck’s case was probably a mix of both, considering things hadn’t stopped at just warming but eventually turned into a full on… blowjob.

Shit. It really hit him then that Buck had actually blown him. Not even three hours ago.

Heat crept up Eddie’s neck, something he tried desperately to ignore as he fought to keep his attention back on the screen. He didn allow himself to think more about it, because he knew that he would just start spiraling and freaking out again. And this time way worse than when he’d freaked out after Buck kissed him on christmas.

Just when he was about to click on another website, something between his legs moved slowly, and before he knew it, his soft cock twitched at the sudden cold on his wet skin. He shoved his laptop beside him on the bed to find Buck rubbing a hand over his eyes, his lips painfully red and wet.

“Morning, buddy,” Eddie murmured softly, making Buck’s head flick up to him.

And… oh god.

Eddie caught the exact moment it dawned on Buck what he had been doing.

Right before Buck had the chance to flee from the bed and possibly hurt himself more, Eddie quickly leaned forward and grabbed onto Buck’s biceps to help him up and keep him still. “Hey, it’s okay,” he assured him as he swiftly grabbed his boxers from the floor and threw them on. “No need to freak out.”

The moment Eddie’s hands settled on Buck’s shoulders, Buck went completely still.

“Uh—hey,” he said, voice rough and scratchy. “Uh… sorry. I think I—um, fell asleep.”

Yeah. Fell asleep with Eddie’s dick in his mouth.

Buck’s cheeks turned a dark pink, and he swallowed hard. His hands immediately left Eddie’s thighs, bracing on the mattress instead.

“It’s fine,” Eddie assured him gently. “You’re okay.”

Buck nodded quickly. “Yeah. Yeah, I know. I’m good. Totally good.”

He wasn’t. Eddie could see the tension in his shoulders and the way he kept nibbling on his lips until they turned even redder. He kept blinking too fast, too many times, like he was trying to figure out how the hell he was supposed to act now.

Buck scrubbed a hand over his face and exhaled through his nose. “Um… look, whatever happened, it was—it was just—” He gestured vaguely between them, then winced like the movement hurt his ribs. “I probably wasn’t, you know… fully with it.”

“Hey,” Eddie started softly, and Buck hesitantly looked up. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Still… I shouldn’t have—”

“You were scared and hurt and your body was trying to calm down. I’m not mad or weirded out. And I’m not upset. Okay?”

Buck held his breath for a long second. “…Okay,” he whispered eventually, but it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself, not Eddie.

It was silent then, neither of them really knowing what to say or how to act now. Eddie felt like an idiot, because he had promised Buck earlier that it wouldn’t get awkward between them, but now it was hard to think about anything else to talk about.

“It started when I found out I was pregnant,” buck suddenly muttered, his eyes finding Eddie’s.

“What?”

“I know you want to know. I would too, if I were you,” Buck said. “Back then, I was just so not ready for a child. It was so unexpected, and I was just scared, of everything. Of the pregnancy, of suddenly having to be responsible for a kid when I barely had any responsibility for myself. And I was so, so scared of our friendship not being the same anymore.”

Eddie nodded, letting Buck know he was listening, that he could keep going.

“And… I guess I coped with all that stress and anxiety by eating. I mean, dude, do you remember just how damn much I was eating back then?” A small chuckle left Buck’s lips at the end, and Eddie couldn’t help but smile too.

“I do. But that was normal. You were eating for two,” Eddie assured him softly.

“Yeah, but it got to a point where eating stressed me out too. And so I looked for alternatives, and then it just… happened. I started chewing on other things. It helped me calm down and relax my mind in a healthier way. And— god, that sounds pathetic.”

Eddie’s thumb sunk deeper into the curve of Buck’s collarbone. “Not at all. I actually noticed. And I read a few things about it just now, but I don’t want to jump to conclusions about something you might not even relate to.”

“Oh, like…?”

“Oral fixation? Cock warming?”

Buck’s face flushed instantly, and he dragged both hands over it with a groan. “Jesus,” he breathed. “Yeah. That.”

Eddie couldn’t help but laugh when Buck turned and let himself fall back into the pillows, only to yelp loudly at the pain in his ribs. Shaking his head, Eddie followed him down, leaning back next to him.

“Sorry, Eds,” Buck muttered after a moment.

“For what? You’ve been apologizing way too much lately.”

Buck clicked his tongue and grabbed a pillow, tossing it straight into Eddie’s face. “For what I did. I hope I didn’t— didn’t force you into anything. Friends don’t… do that.”

The laughter abruptly died in Eddie’s throat. He rolled onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow. “Friends also don’t fuck each other.”

Buck let out a surprised snort, and Eddie chuckled with him. “You know I would’ve just said no if I wasn’t okay with it, right?” he added quietly.

“You don’t think I’m weird for it?”

“God, no. I only think you’re weird when you bring those smelly canned tuna and peanut butter sandwiches to work.”

Buck gasped loudly, clutching at his invisible necklace. “It works!”

“It shouldn’t!” Eddie shot back, and then they were both nothing but a chuckling and wheezing mess again. Out of nowhere. And Eddie was reminded, once again, of why this man right here was his best friend.

When they finally calmed down again, Eddie’s eyes drifted back to Buck’s. So blue, so full of life. His gaze automatically dropped to Buck’s lips, and he had to swallow and force himself to look away again.

“You know,” he began quietly, and he heard Buck inhale deeply when their eyes met. “I’ll always help you when you need it. I don’t care if it’s not something friends do, Buck. I just want to be there for you. So don’t stop yourself from reaching out next time, yeah?”

Buck gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing as a small dent appeared in his cheek from biting the inside of it. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need to anyway. The gratitude in Buck’s expression said more than words ever could.

Nodding, Eddie then flopped back onto his back and threw an arm over his face. “Let’s sleep a little more before the kids wake up and demand those goddamn banana, blueberry, marshmallow, cinnamon, cacao pancakes again…”

“Oh, yeah. I like them too.”

Eddie snorted, then gently nudged Buck’s thigh with his knee before pulling the covers up over both of them.

He hoped for at least 4 more hours of peace.

——

Buck was so fucked.

For too many reasons for his comfort.

“What the hell, Maddie? Are you kidding me?”

“I’m sorry!” she blurted out, grabbing onto both his arms to keep him from getting off the couch. “I knew you wouldn’t have come if I’d told you sooner!”

Buck’s brows pulled together. “Yeah, for a reason!” He let out an exasperated sigh and fell back against the cushions. “I don’t want to see them. Do they even know that I’ll be here too?”

Maddie’s familiar guilty expression and the little wince that came with it was answer enough, making Buck groan loudly. “Seriously, Maddie, just let me go home. It’ll be more pleasant for all of us.”

“Buck, please. Come on, you haven’t seen them in almost two years! You don’t have to stay long, but please just…” she took a deep breath, “Just talk to them again. Maybe they’ve changed. And if they haven’t, then I’ll never ask you to see them again, okay?”

Even though Buck’s whole body rejected the idea of being in the same room as his parents again, his stomach already cramping just thinking about it, Maddie really didn’t make it easy for him. Her brown eyes were big and pleading, her lips pulled into a begging pout as she took his hand in hers. It was really unfair. How was anyone supposed to say no to that?

Groaning, Buck rubbed his eyes, then clapped a palm against his knee before jumping to his feet. “Fine. Damn. But can I at least—” he bit his lip. “Lemme at least call Eddie over. I don’t think I’ll survive otherwise.”

When Maddie shot her surprised and concerned “Are you sure?” look his way, Buck knew exactly why. But he didn’t care. Didn’t care what his parents thought and didn’t care how they’d react to seeing him again. It didn’t matter. He’d lived just fine without them for years, and if this went badly, he’d live just fine without them for the next few decades too.

Without waiting for an answer, he pulled his phone from his pocket and walked to the far end of the kitchen, scrolling until he found Eddie’s contact.

“Hey, Buck, everything alr—”

“Are you free right now?” Buck didn’t even let Eddie finish, that’s how worked up he was. He leaned back against the counter as his eyes drifted to Maddie now sitting at the dining table with Sofie in her lap and Jee in the chair next to them.

“Right now? Uh, yeah, I just dropped Chris off at a friend’s,” Eddie told him, and the sound of a car door slamming shut could be heard in the background. “Why?”

“Do you think you could come to Maddie and Chim’s? I kinda… need you here.”

It was silent for a moment, before Eddie cleared his throat. “Is everything alright? Did something happen?”

“No,” Buck muttered. “But something will if you don’t get here as soon as you can.” He winced immediately. “Uh, no pressure, though.”

“Could you stop talking in riddles and just tell me what’s going on?”

“It’s…” Buck started, then trailed off, already imagining Eddie’s reaction. He mentally crossed his fingers. “It’s my parents. They’re coming. And Maddie begged me to stay.”

“Ah…” could be heard from the other line, and Buck’s eyes squeezed shut at Eddie’s already pissed tone. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll be there. Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”

Eddie sounded so incredibly unconvincing it almost made Buck laugh.

He thanked him quickly, then hung up and joined the others at the table, careful not to strain his ribs. For the rest of the wait he barely spoke, stuck in his own head as he absentmindedly stroked sofie’s soft hair.

He didn’t want to think back to the last time he’d seen his parents, but it was hard not to, considering how badly they’d hurt him. And Eddie.

They hadn’t been on good terms from the start anyway, and mixed with Buck’s stress and everything else that had been going on in his life back then, he never told them about the pregnancy. They found out when Sofie was already 6 months old. When they came to visit.

It still hurt, thinking back to how they’d reacted. Because it wasn’t like they hadn’t accepted Sofie. They had. They’d loved her, held her, even though they’d been shocked. Buck had really thought that maybe things would change after that, and that they would get better.

Until the question came up about who the other parent was. About Buck’s mated alpha. His girlfriend.

And everything went downhill from there.

“Hey,” a voice behind him and a sudden hand on Buck’s shoulder made him flinch hard, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Instant relief washed over him when he turned in his chair and found himself face to face with those familiar kind, brown eyes.

“Thank god you’re here,” Buck muttered as Eddie sat down next to him, Maddie returning to her place at the table. It was scary how even the faintest hint of Eddie’s scent seemed to calm something in him.

Eddie‘s hand traveled down to his knee. “You know it’ll only be worse with me here.”

“I don’t care. If they won’t talk to you or even look at our daughter, then they don’t need to talk to me either.”

After that, Buck wasn’t sure how much time had passed just sitting there, watching the girls draw on the paper Maddie had put out for them. Sofie carefully arranged her apple slices into rows before eating them one by one.

Buck tried to focus on that and on the scratch of crayons against paper, on Eddie’s knee brushing against his own.

It worked. Kind of.

Until there was a knock on the door.

Maddie jumped up immediately, and with every step she took, Buck’s pulse sped up more and more.

And when the very familiar voice called out a cheerful “Maddie!” his stomach dropped.

“Mom, dad, hi. Come in.”

He could hear them shuffling out of their jackets and shoes, and Buck realized he’d been holding his breath without meaning to.

Then they came around the corner.

“Oh—” Margaret said right away, her lips slightly parted and her hands frozen mid-air.

Phillip came to a stop right next to her, his polite smile dropping as his eyes moved through the room. He looked confused first, then surprised.

Buck swallowed. “Mom. Dad,” was all he managed with a stiff nod.

He stood up slowly, careful because of his ribs, and felt Eddie rise beside him at the same time. They didn’t step forward or close the distance, instead just stood there, shoulder to shoulder.

Margaret’s eyes drifted down then, and Buck followed her gaze carefully.

Sofie’s legs swung slightly as she still sat at the table and nibbled on an apple slice. There was juice on her chin and a faint blue smear from a crayon on her fingers. She looked peaceful and completely unaware of the tension in the room.

Margaret inhaled sharply. “Is that…?” she asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Buck’s hand then moved on instinct as he reached out and threaded his fingers through Sofie’s soft hair, letting it slip between them. It steadied him and gave him something to hold onto.

“Yeah,” he replied, his voice flat. “Sofie.”

Phillip didn’t speak, but Buck could see his eyes staring at Sofie like he was trying to think back to the memory of the six-month-old baby that she had been the last, and first, time they saw her. Two years. Two whole years they hadn’t been here.

Sofie glanced up at them then, tilting her head for a second before she went right back to her apples.

After a long moment, Phillip cleared his throat. “And…” His eyes lifted slowly, finally leaving the toddler. “…Edmundo.”

Eddie let out a short breath through his nose. “Yeah. Long time no see.”

Margaret seemed to snap out of it then, her attention jumping suddenly to the head of the table. “Oh, Jee!” she called brightly. “Hi, sweetheart.”

Jee’s whole face lit up. She jumped off the chair and ran over, nearly tripping over her own feet before Margaret crouched down and wrapped her in a tight hug. Phillip joined them, smiling as he brushed a hand over Jee’s hair.

“Look at you,” Margaret cooed. “You’re getting so big.”

Buck watched silently.

He noticed the way they fawned over her and how their voices softened. The way neither of them so much as glanced back at Sofie. Not a hello, not a smile, nothing.

Sofie kept eating, humming quietly under her breath, completely oblivious. And Buck told himself he was grateful for that and that it was better this way. And maybe it was. But that didn’t stop the anger from rising anyway. He hadn’t expected anything different from them, not really. That didn’t make it hurt less, though.

“You’re not gonna say hi to her?” Eddie suddenly spoke up, sounding so pissed it made Buck freeze instantly.

Phillip cleared his throat. “Well, it’s not like she knows who we are anyway—”

“Yeah, and whose fault is that?”

Buck’s feet started shifting on the spot, unable to stay still from the sudden change of atmosphere. Even though his first instinct was to defuse the situation, he hesitated. A part of him wanted to hear what excuse they’d come up with this time.

“Hey, how about we just sit down first and maybe get some coffee or tea,” Maddie suddenly chimed in from the side, but no one paid her any attention.

Margaret’s mouth opened and closed. “W-well, we live far away! We can’t come to LA all that often.”

“Bullshit,” Buck muttered as he gripped the back of the chair tightly, instantly regretting his cursing because of the kids around. “You come to see Maddie all the time. You think she doesn’t tell me about your visits?”

His mother’s excuse almost made him laugh, if it wasn’t for his blood that started to boil. “Instead of trying to lie your way out of this, just be honest for once! You guys always do this. Always!”

“Evan, that’s not—” Phillip began, but Buck wasn’t having any of that.

“Yes it is true. All you ever care about is coming out of things looking like the good guys!” He felt his heart racing, his voice louder than he intended. “What, you wanna tell me it wasn’t you who put my six-month-old daughter down like she was contaminated the second you found out who her other parent is?

Margaret stiffened.

“Or who told me,” Buck went on, “that she was going to live a sad life because her father is my male best friend and not some strong alpha woman I’m mated to?”

Margaret clutched her necklace tightly. “Because she was an accident! She wasn’t conceived with love!”

“Oh, and I was?”

The room instantly went quiet. The older Buckleys gasped, and Maddie covered her lips with her fingers.

But Buck wasn’t finished yet. This was the one chance he got to really let out every burden he’d had to live with because of them for years. “How can you stand there and pretend my daughter doesn’t exist just because she wasn’t planned, because her parents aren’t mates and madly in love when you two only had me for the sole purpose of being a donor for someone else?”

By now his hands had started shaking, and his lungs filled with more and more air with every quick breath he took.

“You can’t get to say Sofie isn’t worth it because she wasn’t convinced with love when I wasn’t either!” He swallowed hard. “I’m sorry that I ended up an omega and therefore wasn’t a match for Daniel, alright? I’ve started to accept that you’re never going to love me the way parents should love their son. But I will not stand here and let you disrespect my daughter like this.”

Margaret’s eyes filled with tears, red and glassy, her hands shaking when she spoke. “Well what do you want us to do, Evan? We just never wanted your children to end up like you!”

Hearing those words felt like a slap right across Buck’s cheek.

“We know we didn’t make things easy for you. That’s why we wanted you to find a good, kind alpha woman. A mate! Someone who could give you stability. Someone who would love you and the children properly, so they could grow up normal, with parents who wanted them and loved each other endlessly.”

“Mom!” Maddie gasped, reaching for Margaret’s arm, but the older woman refused to take her eyes off Buck.

“This girl,” she continued as she pointed at Sofie, who had stopped paying attention to her snacks by now, “is the result of recklessness and incompetence! She deserves a parent who prioritises you and bonds properly so she can grow up in a real, loving family. Not someone like…” her words drifted off, eyes flicking to Eddie.

“Ahh,” Eddie made a sound as a sarcastic, heated chuckle left his mouth. “So what is it? Because I’m a man? Or because I got your son pregnant without being his mate?” He, too, gripped the back of the chair in front of him now, his knuckles white. “What, would you’ve liked it better if I’d just let him die in that bunker back then? Would that have been easier for you? Attending his funeral instead of having to pretend Sofie doesn’t exist?”

“Of course not!” Margaret shouted, and Buck didn’t miss the way his father stayed awfully quiet this whole time. “But you know how unmated pregnant omegas are looked down on! And their children too!”

“But that’s not her fault! She’s innocent!” Buck yelled as he slammed his fist on the table with all the anger he had in him, making everyone in the room flinch instantly. Including himself.

He was breathing hard now, and when Sofie suddenly started crying, his own tears sprung into his eyes. A huge wave of guilt crashed down on him, and Buck quickly rushed to her side and lifted her up. He wrapped his arms around her like a shield, as if they were trying to take her away from him. His ribs ached painfully, but he didn’t care. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” he whispered into her hair, caressing her head. “Shh, it’s okay. Everything’s fine.”

“We’re leaving,” Eddie then abruptly announced. Without waiting for any reaction or protest, he grabbed Sofie’s bag from the floor, placed a hand on the small of Buck’s back, and guided him forward.

At the entryway, he stopped, pulled his keys from his pocket, and pressed them into Buck’s hand. “My car.”

Buck was confused, one brow raised as he took the keys while rocking Sofie in his arms. Even though he didn’t know what more Eddie wanted to do, his determined expression was enough for Buck’s worry to waver. He could trust him. Always. So, he opened the door, stepped out, and closed it behind him again.

Still, as he strapped Sofie into Eddie’s car, Buck couldn’t help but wonder what Eddie was saying to them back inside. The thought barely had time to form, though, because the chaos inside him and Sofie’s loud cries didn’t allow it. He wiped at his own wet eyes and then climbed into the backseat with her just as Eddie came out of the house.

Eddie looked exhausted and stressed. He dragged a hand over his face before getting into the driver’s seat and starting the car with the keys Buck handed back to him without a word.

The drive stayed quiet after Sofie eventually cried herself out and fell asleep. And for once, Buck didn’t mind the silence. He actually welcomed it.

He brushed his thumb gently over her damp cheeks, just watching her breathe. It didn’t make sense to him, and it never would, how anyone could say such cruel things about her. This tiny, perfect, sweet little girl. His flesh and blood. His whole world.

They could say whatever they wanted about him, he’d survived that his entire life. But Sofie was where he drew the line.

She was the only thing on his mind until Eddie pulled up in front of Buck’s house.

They went inside without speaking and carefully put Sofie to bed.

Only once they stood in Buck’s dark bedroom did his body seem to realize it was safe.

A shaky exhale left him, and before he was able to break down completely, Eddie wrapped his arms around him, and Buck melted into the touch immediately. His nose found Eddie’s neck in a heartbeat, breathing him in and letting Eddie’s pheromones wash over him without a second thought.

A small sigh left his trembling lips at the feeling of Eddie pressing a kiss to his birthmark. It was a feeling he could very easily imagine wanting for the rest of his life.

When Buck pulled back to look at him, relief hit him hard, because Eddie… understood.

He always did. Without Buck having to explain himself.

So Buck didn’t say anything when Eddie took his hand and led them to the bed. He didn’t say anything when Eddie leaned back against the pillows and let Buck’s fingers pull down the zipper of his pants.

And Buck was grateful for that. He wouldn’t have known how to ask for what he needed anyway.

Maybe he should’ve felt embarrassed by the soft, shaky sigh of relief that left him when his hand wrapped around Eddie’s slowly hardening cock. Maybe he should’ve felt embarrassed by how quickly happiness flooded him when he rested his head against Eddie’s thigh and took him into his mouth again, barely a week after the first time.

But he didn’t. Not when Eddie’s hand slid right back into his curls, and not when Buck’s eyes fluttered close at Eddie’s quiet words of encouragement.

Oh yeah, Buck was fucked.

Because he knew that warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest all too well, to his own dismay.

And he realised now that he was, once again, falling into an endless pile of all consuming love. Love for the one person he could always count on, that one person who would do anything for Buck. Consequences be damned.

He had tried. God, he had tried so hard not to repeat old mistakes and not to fall back into the same patterns.

But Buck was tired. Tired of pretending his feelings had ever really gone away.

And tired of pretending anyone else could fill the space in his heart that had always, unmistakably, belonged to Eddie.

Chapter Text

The quiet sizzle of scrambled eggs in the pan and the whisk of pancake batter in a bowl filled the kitchen as Eddie made breakfast. Truth be told, he already felt a little overwhelmed by the multitasking—two pans, the mixer, keeping an eye on everything at once—but he’d manage. He might not be the best cook, but breakfast he could do.

Hearing Chris laugh from the living room brought a smile to his face as he turned the heat down a little. The kids were on the couch, watching a children’s movie on Buck’s Netflix account.

It was a slow morning. After Eddie had called Chris earlier to check in on him, he’d also told him what had happened the day before at Maddie’s. Somehow, despite Eddie using his happiest voice, Chris had known right away that something was wrong. And then he‘d instantly asked to be picked up from his friend’s place, so Eddie had driven to get him and then straight back to Buck’s house first thing at 8am.

He hadn’t even bothered to change Sofie or himself out of their sleep clothes. And since Chris had his own things here, because he slept over a lot, he’d changed into something more comfortable as soon as they got back.

He yawned, rubbing a hand over his eyes, when he suddenly heard another voice coming from the living room. Even though it was muffled and faint, he could still make out Buck’s “Good morning, you two,” followed by some quiet small talk, asking how the kids slept and what they were watching. By the time the sound of Buck’s feet dragging across the floor reached the kitchen, the coffee machine had already started brewing.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” Eddie said gently as he turned fully toward Buck, who shuffled into the kitchen with a long yawn.

“God, I thought you guys had left when I woke up,” Buck murmured, rounding the kitchen island to join him. His lips curved into a smile when he glanced at the pans on the stove. “I was scared.”

Eddie huffed out a chuckle. “Why?”

“Because you weren’t in the bed and Sofie wasn’t in her room either. That almost gave me a heart attack.”

Shaking his head, Eddie turned back around, took the mug of coffee, and placed it on the counter closest to Buck. Then he forced his attention back to the pancake, flipping it once before stirring the eggs. “You gonna talk to Maddie today?”

“Probably,” Buck sighed as he moved closer, eyeing the cooking suspiciously. “I mean, it’s not her fault our parents are the way they are. She just shouldn’t have forced me to stay when I told her beforehand how it would end.”

“You okay?”

Buck lifted the mug toward his lips but stopped halfway, glancing away. “Yeah. I think so. I didn’t expect them to change anyway.”

Just then, eddie saw him out of the corner of his eye snag a piece of egg from the pan with his bare hand and pop it into his mouth. Buck made a thoughtful face, then quickly added a bit of salt and something else Eddie couldn’t see because he was busy flipping the pancake.

And then Buck did it again.

They absentmindedly switched sides, and Buck dipped his finger into the batter, licking it off before adding something else. He slid the finished pancake onto a plate, poured more batter into the pan, and walked around to Eddie’s other side again.

From that moment on, Buck was everywhere. Every time Eddie turned, Buck was suddenly right there. And when he wasn’t bumping into him or fidgeting like he was fighting the urge to rip the spatula out of Eddie’s hands, he was breathing down Eddie’s neck, peering over his shoulder.

Eddie tried to ignore it at first. He knew Buck only wanted to help and that he meant well.

But the next time Eddie turned around, bumped into Buck, and almost knocked the coffee mug off the counter, he’d had enough.

“Alright, that’s it,” he huffed. He set everything down, bent forward, grabbed Buck by the thighs, and with a quiet groan lifted him up onto the kitchen island. His palms stayed on Buck’s hips a moment longer than necessary. “There. No more helping.”

Buck stared at him, stunned for a second with wide eyes, before he burst into a laugh. “Eddie, what the hell?”

“I appreciate what you’re doing, but trust me, I got this,” Eddie assured him as his fingers unconsciously dug deeper into Buck’s skin. “You don’t have to do anything but sit there and look pretty.”

Eddie didn’t even realize what he’d said at first.

It was only when he finally really looked at Buck again that it hit him. The way Buck froze, the way his cheeks had flushed a deep red, all the way up to the tips of his ears. His lips parted just slightly, like he wanted to say something but couldn’t quite find the words.

Oh.

Eddie’s heart made some weird acrobatics in his chest.

For a second, he considered backtracking, saying something casual, making a joke, anything to take it back. But instead of looking uncomfortable, Buck looked… flustered. So soft. And for once, Eddie decided not to ruin the moment by overthinking it.

So he just held Buck there a little longer.

Buck cleared his throat. “I mean,” he started, clearly trying to sound normal, “I could still help. Just… from up here.”

Eddie huffed out a quiet laugh, shaking his head. “Nope.”

Buck’s brows pulled together instantly, his mouth tugging downward into that familiar pout Eddie had seen a thousand times before. The one he made when he didn’t get his way. The one that had absolutely no right looking that cute on a grown ass man.

Eddie snorted before he could stop it. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“That,” Eddie said, gesturing vaguely at Buck’s face. “That thing with your mouth.”

Buck’s pout only deepened, exaggerated now, like he was doing it on purpose. Eddie’s eyes dropped before he could help it, halting on the inside of Buck’s lower lip where the skin looked a little rough and chewed raw from years of nervous biting.

God. Buck looked unfairly pretty like this. Messy hair, sleepy eyes, flushed cheeks, lips swollen and pink. Eddie felt warmth burning in his chest.

For a split second, his mind went completely blank. He leaned in without even realizing it, just enough that he could feel Buck’s breath on his face. His eyes flicked to Buck’s mouth, and he had this sudden, overwhelming urge to kiss that pout away.

It would be so easy. Hed just need to lean in a bit further and close the gap, his lips brushing against Buck’s.

He just needed to—

“Buck!” Chris suddenly called from the living room, making them both freeze. “Can you come here?”

Eddie sucked in a loud breath, as if he’d been caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to. And Buck shakily inhaled at the same time, his hands gripping the edge of the counter.

Eddie closed his eyes for a second. Then, slowly, he let his forehead drop against Buck’s shoulder. His nose brushed Buck’s neck, and he breathed him in without thinking, losing himself in that familiar scent. Buck didn’t pull away. If anything, he even leaned into it.

Eddie’s hands slid up an inch, fingers pressing more firmly into Buck’s hips as if he never wanted this moment to end.

“Go,” he murmured. “I’ll finish up here.”

After one last second, he forced himself to let go. He stepped back, turned around, and picked the spatula back up like nothing happened. Behind him, Buck let out a quiet breath before answering Chris. “Coming, buddy.”

Even though it was hard for Eddie to focus on breakfast after that encounter, he managed to get everything done. Somehow. He plated the food and set it on the table, along with some water, orange juice, and the healthy green shake he made that he knew Buck loved. Lastly, he cut a pancake into small pieces for Sofie so she wouldn’t choke and could eat more easily.

He called out for them to come eat, but even after a full minute, no one showed up. When he tried again and still got no answer, Eddie shook his head and started covering the pans. He knew exactly why it was so quiet.

The moment he stepped into the living room, a small chuckle left his lips.

Buck was sprawled across the couch, his long legs stretched all the way to the far edge. Sofie was half on top of him, and Chris was tucked in close at his side. All three of them were asleep. The movie still played quietly in the background, and aside from that, there was only the sound of soft breathing and Buck’s occasional snore that filled the room.

He guessed the day had started too early for all of them. For him too.

Carefully, Eddie sat down next to Chris, making sure not to wake him. But the moment he reached up to gently remove Chris’ glasses, the boy blinked awake.

“Sorry, buddy,” Eddie whispered. “Didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s okay, dad,” Chris whispered as he rubbed his eyes, yawning while Eddie ruffled his hair.

“Did you call for Buck just so you could all do some group cuddling and fall asleep without me?”

Chris chuckled quietly, sitting up straighter. “No!” He laughed. “Sofie got super antsy and I didn’t want her to start crying. And then Buck laid down with us and his snoring made me sleepy too.”

Snorting, Eddie let his gaze drift back to the reason behind it all. Buck’s features, once again, were all soft and gentle, his lips slightly parted and his head tilted downward. One arm was wrapped around the toddler’s small body, and the other wrapped around Chris’ torso. A sight that melted Eddie’s heart instantly.

“You know, dad,” Chris suddenly started, pulling Eddie’s attention back to him. “I always thought you and Buck would end up together.”

Hearing that caused Eddie to suck in a surprised breath.

“When I was younger that was always what I was hoping for. And that’s also why I always got so mad when you got new girlfriends,” the boy continued. “Sometimes it feels weird when I wake up and Buck isn’t in the house with us. It feels wrong.”

Eddie just stared at him for a moment.

He was sure his face gave him away, because Chris’ expression shifted almost immediately, his brows drawing together like he was worried he’d said something wrong.

“You… you really think that?” Eddie asked quietly, careful to keep his voice low so he wouldn’t wake Buck or Sofie. His heart was beating way too fast now. “You— you’d be okay with that?”

Chris blinked at him. Actually, no. He didn’t just blink, he looked genuinely confused. “Why wouldn’t I be? Buck’s already my family.”

Eddie swallowed hard. “I mean,” he tried again, slower this time, “if Buck and I were… together. Like that.”

Chris frowned, clearly thinking about it, before his face relaxed again. “Buck’s my second dad,” he said simply, and Eddie felt something ache in his chest.

“He takes care of me,” Chris continued softly. “And Sofie. And you. He’s always here. When we’re tired or sad or when things get hard.” He shrugged a little. “I thought that’s why you loved him.”

Eddie’s breath caught in his throat before he could stop it. “I don’t—” He paused, realizing he didn’t even know how to finish that sentence. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but wouldn’t come out, because it would feel wrong to say them. So, so wrong. His stomach churned, and that bitter, venomous taste flooded his mouth again.

Just as he reached out to brush his fingers through Chris’ curls, his phone suddenly started ringing on the coffee table, making Eddie curse under his breath.

He grabbed it quickly and accepted the call, glancing toward Buck and Sofie as Hen’s voice filled his ear.

There was some small talk at first, Hen checking in, asking if they were okay and what they were up to, but then she launched straight into it, asking if he and Buck wanted to come out to a bar that evening. A late New Year’s celebration, since the actual one had been a complete disaster.

Eddie looked back at Buck’s sleeping face and thought about it for a moment.

“Sure,” he replied quietly. “Why not. I’ll ask Buck when he wakes up, and I’ll check with Tía Pepa to watch the kids.”

Hen made a pleased sound and told him to call her later before hanging up.

Why not. It wouldn’t hurt, would it?

——

“Wow, the Buckley-Diaz delegation finally arrived!”

“Weren’t having any fun without us?” Eddie teased back as he shot Chimney a sarcastic grin. He and Buck squeezed into the booth next to each other, and Eddie dared to slide just a little closer so that his shoulder pressed tightly against Buck’s, who didn’t move away. If anything, he leaned into it, looking far more relaxed than Eddie had seen him in days.

“Oh no,” Hen said as she lifted her glass with a grin. “We were just about to leave because it was so boring without you.”

Karen snorted. “Speak for yourself. I was enjoying the peace.”

They fell into easy conversation after that. Nothing heavy and nothing that required thinking too too hard. Stories from shifts, Chim complaining about Jee waking him up at ungodly hours sometimes, Hen and Karen arguing about who was actually better at karaoke. Buck laughed loudly, his hand gesturing wildly as he told some story Eddie had already heard at least three times before.

And Eddie found himself watching him anyway.

After a while, glasses started to empty, and the conversations became louder and louder. Eddie glanced at the table, counted drinks out of habit more than anything else, then sighed and pushed himself up.

“Alright,” he announced, clapping his hands once. “I’ll get the next round. As an apology for being late.”

“I’ll come with you,” Buck quickly announced as he slid out as well. And who was Eddie to say no to that happy, smiling face of his.

They walked in silence to the bar, resting their arms on the counter while waiting for the bartender to notice them. She was a woman in her thirties, hair pulled back into a messy bun, tired eyes that told that she wanted nothing more than to clock out.

“What can I get you?” she asked, wiping a wet rag over the counter top.

Buck leaned in. “Uh, let’s do—” he glanced over his shoulder toward the booth, counting heads, but everything he said after that flew right over Eddie‘s head. His thoughts drifted back to the conversation he had with Chris earlier, as he let his gaze wander around the room while they waited. The place was busy, loud and filled with overlapping scents. Mostly dark and rich tones from alphas.

Which was why the sudden spike of sweetness hit him like a punch.

The smell of flowers and cherries filled his nose far too strong to be accidental. Eddie stiffened instinctively, shoulders tensing as he turned slightly.

“Hey.”

Eddie looked down to find a man standing beside him, shorter, dark-haired, with bright eyes and a smile that looked almost wicked. An omega. Unblocked, at that. His scent washed off him in waves, clearly intentional, and clearly meant to draw attention.

Eddie took a small step back on reflex.

“Hi,” the omega said again, gaze flicking over Eddie from head to toe. “You smell… nice.”

“Thanks,” was all Eddie said before he turned back around again. He really wasn’t interested. Not in that omega openly flirting with him, and not in anyone else, actually. Well, except for…

“Can I get you something to drink?” The stranger asked in that deliberate sweet tone that made Eddie want to roll his eyes to the ceiling.

“No, thanks. I’m already here with someone.”

The omega laughed softly. “So? It’s just a drink.”

“Like I said, no thanks. I’m not interested.”

Eddie watched the stranger’s eyes squinting in annoyance. “Come on, what’s the problem? I don’t see any omega here you might be mated to.”

“Actually…” the word slipped out of Eddie’s mouth faster than he could think. He held his tongue for a second, mentally praying that Buck would forgive him for what he was about to say next.

However, before he even had the chance to continue, Buck suddenly took the words right out of his mouth. He leaned back, and before Eddie really processed it, he was suddenly standing right next to him. “Oh, you don’t?” Buck asked, and despite the smile on his face, Eddie knew him well enough to hear the irritation in his voice.

A tiny breath of relief slipped from Eddie’s nose, grateful that Buck was playing along, as he slid an arm around Buck’s waist to make it more believable.

The stranger’s expression showed utter disbelief at first as his eyes roamed over Buck’s body. Buck, who was taller and bigger than Eddie, who seemed to practically burst with confidence. But then a cackling laugh left him just as quickly. “You guys are funny,” he started, leaning closer. “Alright, joke’s over. I don’t mind going home with two alphas today either.”

Eddie frowned, confused. He immediately figured the stranger must have already had a few drinks, because otherwise he should have understood by Buck’s scent alone that he wasn’t an alpha. Or rather, by the lack of scent, thanks to the blockers most omegas wore in public.

Instead, the man stretched his hand out across the counter, inching closer and closer to Eddie’s arm, before it was abruptly stopped by Buck’s fingers closing firmly around his wrist.

“Oh yeah, very funny,” Buck said with a humourless chuckle. “Except it wasn’t a joke, and you’re starting to piss me off if you don’t start minding your own business soon.”

Jesus. Buck was… hot, when he claimed Eddie as his. Even though it was only an act.

The man abruptly yanked his hand away again. “Dude, what the hell? You’re trying to tell me that you’re an omega? His omega?”

Eddie felt Buck’s body tense where his arm was still around him, heard his breathing grow faster. And even though Buck usually avoided physical conflict, Eddie wasn’t sure that would hold true much longer if this didn’t stop soon.

“Why?” Buck asked, still smiling, though it was far less friendly now. “Because I’m bigger than him?”

“Yes?” The stranger snapped. “Fuck, stop messing with me and just let me buy you a drink.”

Buck chuckled. Or scoffed. Or maybe both. Eddie couldn’t really tell. Because all he could focus on now was Buck looking at him, his eyes flicking down to Eddie’s lips and then back up again.

And the second their gazes met, Eddie knew exactly what kind of mindblowing idea had just crossed Buck’s mind.

A fucking good one, for once.

Eddie hated that this stranger shoved all omegas into the same box where they had to be small, skinny and cute. He hated that Buck would never be taken seriously as an omega at first glance just because of his build, because people never believed him.

Buck didn’t deserve that. He deserved to be acknowledged for who he was without needing second or third glances.

And Eddie was going to prove it. Prove that Buck could very well be his mated omega, if they wanted to be.

Almost at the exact same time, when they reached a point where their eyes couldn’t stay away from each other’s lips, they then surged forward and crashed their mouths together in a messy kiss.

He pulled Buck closer and turned him to face him, hands gripping Buck’s hips tighter than ever before.

For a split second, Eddie told himself this was still just an act. But that thought barely survived the first touch of Buck’s mouth.

The kiss was rough and uncoordinated at first, teeth knocking, lips smacking together, neither of them fully deciding who was leading. Eddie’s grip on Buck’s hips tightened instinctively, feeling lovely, solid muscle beneath his palms.

Buck made a satisfied sound against his mouth, barely audible, before he kissed back harder.

His hand fisted in Eddie’s shirt, knuckles digging into his spine as he surged closer, closing the last inch of space between them. His mouth was warm and soft, lips moving against Eddies with such desperation and confidence it knocked the air from his lungs.

This wasn’t for show anymore. No matter how hard Eddie tried to tell himself it was all an act, he wasn’t stupid enough to actually believe that anymore. And it was driving him crazy, making his hairs stand up, his nerves feeling charged with electricity.

He felt hot all over when he tilted his head without thinking to deepen the kiss, and Buck followed instantly as if he’d been waiting for permission. Their mouths moved together in a way that felt way too natural, considering they’ve only shared a quick soft kiss one time before.

When Buck’s lips parted just slightly, Eddie took advantage of it and slipped his tongue in before he could stop himself.

The bar around them faded into nothing but muffled noise in Eddie’s ears. All he could focus on was Buck. Buck’s mouth, Buck’s breath stuttering against his, the way Buck melted into him despite being anything but small. Eddie’s thumbs dug deeper into Buck’s hips as if he couldn’t believe that this was actually happening.

Buck’s free hand slid up Eddie’s chest as the kiss eventually grew slower and sloppier, until Eddie could feel Buck’s breathing starting to match his own; uneven.

Somewhere behind them, Eddie vaguely registered the stranger making a startled noise. But he didn’t care.

Buck pulled back just enough to breathe, their foreheads brushing and noses nearly touching. Eddie’s pulse skyrocketed. He could feel Buck’s breath ghosting over his lips, feel the heat that creeped up both of their necks.

Then Buck leaned in again, but this time it wasn’t messy. Buck’s mouth moved against his agonisingly slowly, and it caused Eddie to let out a quiet sound he didn’t recognize as his own, hands sliding from Buck’s hips up his back to pull him closer again.

Eddie forgot the bar, forgot the stranger, and forgot the reason they were doing this in the first place. There was only Buck and the way his lips softened when Eddie kissed him just right, the way his body fit against Eddie’s like it had always belonged there.

But then, finally, Buck pulled back at some point. His breath was shaky, his pupils blown wide as he stared at Eddie with that adorable flush spread across his cheeks again. The sight of his wet, kissed, plump lips sent a pleasant shiver down Eddie’s spine.

Then Buck turned his head slightly, just enough to look at the omega. “You still think he’s available?”

The stranger turned pale as he looked between them, clearly at a loss for words. After a moment, he scoffed under his breath and stepped back. “Whatever, man. Not worth the trouble.”

His scent faded quickly as he disappeared into the crowd.

But still, Eddie didn’t move. And Buck didn’t either.

They were still pressed together, hands lingering where they shouldn’t be, breathing like they’d just run a mile. Reluctantly, he loosened his grip on Buck’s hips.

Buck huffed out a quiet laugh. “Well,” he murmured, voice a little unsteady, “that escalated.”

“Yeah. It did.”