Archive of Our Own

(Buck’s P.O.V.)

If you were to ask Buck three weeks ago how he was planning on spending his Valentine’s day. He’d probably smile politely at you then walk away to sulk in the nearest inclosed space

Because exactly twenty-one days ago he had come to the earth shattering revelation that he was indeed the cliché queer guy hopelessly pining for his straight best friend. Only, said best friend had come out a week earlier - that event kick started “Divorce era 5.1” as Chimney had called it.

But they weren’t fighting. They were just.. Deliberately avoiding each other - or at least he was avoiding Eddie. Until that one faithful Thursday night, Buck will be forever indebted to wine nights after that.

He had gone to pick up Eddie, which wasn’t unusual, even if the two weren’t exactly talking they’d still show up for each other.

It was on the drive to Buck’s house - because Eddie insisted on going there - when it happened. 

Eddie wasn’t drunk, maybe a little tipsy yes, but he had enough of a clear mind (and he had - had enough glasses of wine) to bring up the subject of their lack of speaking.

Meaningless to say, after a long talk - that mostly took place in Buck’s driveway and then his kitchen - the night ended with the two cuddled up in Buck’s bed, talking about nothing in particular until they fell asleep.

Now if you asked Buck currently how he was planning on spending his Valentine’s day. He’d probably smile politely at you then walk away to have his thousandth melt down in the nearest inclosed space.

Because he has no fucking idea.

To clear up any confusion, yes, he and Eddie are dating and it’s been great, amazing even. They might do all the lovey dovey stuff other couples do but at the end of the day they are still best friends so not much has changed.

That being said, here's the problem: for as long as he can remember Eddie has always been a terrible gift receiver, and anyone can back him up on that.

If he needs something he’ll buy it himself, other than that if you ask him if there is anything specific that he wants he’ll say something stupid like “Oh, anything is fine” or “As long as it’s nothing expensive”, and when he combines the two it makes Buck want to pull his hair out.

So yeah, he loves dating Eddie, but now on top of Birthday and Christmas gifts he has to figure out what the hell he’s going to do about their anniversary and fucking Valentine’s day.

It also doesn’t help that the younger of the two has blatantly stated that he doesn’t like surprises or over the top romantic gestures - which is fine, lord knows he’s had his fill of big romantic gestures. The dislike of surprises is what has him clawing at the seams and is also what sends him back to the drawing board or - literally - in this case clipboard. 

And to pile onto this whole disaster show, it’s their first Valentines day together as a couple. In other words: it’s the make or break - okay that’s a bit dramatic, even if the day doesn't go well Eddie wouldn’t break up with him over it.. But at the same time he’s not going to risk it.

He does, however, take a little break on brainstorming gift ideas. 

Until exactly a week before Valentine's day. 

🚒🐕📚

It was a quiet evening with just the two of them in the (Buckley-) Diaz household - Chris was at the Wilson's -. 

They had just finished up dinner and Eddie was in the middle of doing the dishes; Buck was drying them as they were placed on the rack.

It was nice, just existing and doing something as domestic as this together. They operated in a comfortable silence, safe for the occasional clinking of dishes and the soft splash of water.

Whilst Buck was packing away some of the cups he dried, Eddie broke the silence.

“Hey, Babe, do you think you could get me a jacket from-”

Eddie barely finished getting the words out before Buck wiped his hands off of his pants - an action that earned him a glare from his boyfriend, that he gracefully ignored in favour of kissing the shorter man on the head and half running down the hall to Eddie’s bedroom. 

It was there where he found it.

He spotted a hoodie he hadn’t seen in ages - one that used to be one of his favourites - he lost it a bit after Eddie came home from the hospital after the shooting. 

Buck picked it up and ran his hand absentmindedly over the slightly worn fabric. 

And as he smiled to himself, he wondered at what point the brunette had “borrowed” it, he’s about to get up and make his way back to the living room where Eddie had probably moved to, when his hand catches on a packet of some kind.

Startled and a little curious, he sent a quick glance towards the door before turning back to the closet. He cautiously reached out for the plastic bag, only hesitating for a second before looking inside. 

There was just a box, nothing else, it wasn’t that big and after shaking it a little Buck could confirm there was nothing inside.

Yet. 

And look, he isn’t saying whatever it is, is being put inside for him.. But there was a little heart on the bottom of the box.. Which could mean nothing.

Or, it could mean that Eddie is planning to get him something for the dreaded holiday that was a week away; that would also mean that Buck was totally, royally screwed.

Buck scrambled to put the bag back exactly where he found it as the bedroom door opened.

Eddie stepped inside and did a double take when he saw him crouched on the floor with the red hoodie in his hand.

“It’s been ten minutes, I thought you fell into Narnia”

Buck laughed, maybe a tad bit too loud because Eddie’s brows rose with concern. 

“You okay there bud?”

He nodded, getting up from the floor and walking over to him.

“Uh- I don’t remember letting you borrow this”

Eddie smiled and ignored the slight change in subject, he plucked the hoodie from Buck’s hand, not making a move to put it on.

“I stole it the night after I got home from the hospital”

The fond tone of voice made Buck want to collect every single piece of warm clothing he owned and just give it all to the man in front of him.

“Wow, the silver star having, hero of a firefighter admits to stealing one of his boyfriend’s favorite hoodies. What would your captain think?”

Eddie scoffed, lightly hitting his shoulder.

“Why would you tell Bobby about this? You want it back or something?”

Buck shook his head.

“Nah, you can keep it.”

That earned him a satisfied smile.

“I uh- also came in here to ask if you want to watch a movie before bed?”

Buck glanced back at the closet, then weighed his options.

He could spend the rest of the night in the presence of the man he loved or he could spend it doing the impossible- because yes, the concept of finding a perfect gift for the man in front of him was considered impossible.

In the end he chose the former.

He’ll whip out his emergency clipboard in the morning before Eddie wakes up.

🚒🐕📚

That was yesterday, and he had somehow forgotten to take into account the shift they both had that morning, that also means, Eddie was up before him.

It seemed like the moment they stepped into the station the alarm went off, and what came with it was hell let loose by St.Valentine himself.

It was just call after call of couples trying to do all these big and romantic things for their partner, only for it to end with either yelling, crying and of course a 9-1-1 call.

They just got back to the firehouse after an intimate hot tub… incident gone wrong, and it was arguably one of the most normal calls that they have gotten today.

Eddie plants a quick kiss on his cheek before mumbling something about a shower.

The minute Eddie walks towards the showers Buck's already halfway up the loft stairs.

The whole team was up there - including May who had dropped by earlier with brownies - he wasted no time slamming his hands on the dining table.

“Team emergency” 

He announces.

Everyone barely looked up at that.

“Family emergency?” 

He tries again and this time everyone's heads snap up.

“Are Eddie and Chris okay?”

Bobby asks from the kitchen and Buck honestly feels a bit bad for concerning him that much.

Oh well.

“Well Robert, let me answer that with a question of my own: what are you guys doing for Valentine's day?”

They all visibly deflate at that. 

Hen answers first, her expression fond if not a little exasperated.

“Having trouble planning something?”

He nods, as she sighs.

“Karen and I are planning on having a quiet night in; we're gonna finish watching ‘The Hunting Wives’”

Chim lights up at that.

“Me and Maddie watched that last week, have you two-”

Buck waves off his question.

“We did, now answer the question Howard”

His brother in law shakes his head fondly.

“I'm planning on going classic: Dinner and a movie”

Simple and like Chim said, classic, but would Eddie like that?

“Have you thought about asking Eddie what he wants?”

Buck stares at Ravi like he just spat in his face and called him a duck… that's not a saying of any kind it's just the most absurd thing he could compare what Ravi just said to.

“Listen, I'm not going to take advice from a single person-”

Ravi cuts him off.

“For the last time, Buck. I'm not single”

Buck doesn't even resist the urge to roll his eyes.

“You’re dating someone?”

May asks and Ravi immediately lights up, which causes Buck to audibly groan.

God not this again.

May shoots him a questioning look.

“He has the male equivalent of a Canadian girlfriend, except the guy's apparently from Korea”

Ravi scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest defensively. 

“There’s no ‘apparently’, he is. And I’m telling you he’s real”

Chim places a comforting hand on the younger firefighter’s shoulder.

“It’s okay Ravioli, if you say you're in a relationship with a guy we’ve never seen or heard of before then I believe you” 

Ravi looks greatly offended at that.

“I’ve talked about him before”

Hen raises a brow, genuinely confused.

“You have? I think we would have- Oh, is this the same guy who you- yeah no I’m getting nothing”

The three continue to bicker, but Buck ignores them and turns his attention to where Bobby and May were standing in the kitchen.

“What about you Da- Bobby, got any plans with ‘Thena?”

The step-daughter and father share an amused look before turning back to him.

“I was planning on taking her on a picnic in the park near our house. Though I don’t think Eddie would really enjoy that, there’s usually too much people there at these kinds of places, especially around this time of year”

Buck sighs, slumping further into the couch, before turning to May hopefully.

“You doing anything exciting?”

She thinks about it for a moment before shaking her head.

“Seeing as I’m as single as Ravi at the moment, no”

They both let out a chuckle at that.

Then as footsteps start to approach the top of the loft, Buck mentally prepares himself to look Eddie in the eye and pretend he isn’t internally spiraling.

But it’s not Eddie’s face he sees when the steps stop at the top of the stairs- they do look alike though. 

He immediately jumps up to pull her into a hug. Adriana nearly drops the bag in her hand to hug him back.

She pulls back first after a minute and waves to the rest of the team. Ever since the Diaz sisters moved to LA - for reasons they claim is for work opportunities but is really just them wanting to spend more time with their older brother - they’ve been coming by the station fairly often. Sofia with her twin girls and sometimes husband and Adriana with her.. Baby pictures of Eddie. 

“Eddie not around?” 

She asks, her eyes drifting around the loft before staying locked on something - or someone - in the kitchen.

“He’s in the shower right now, you can wait around if you want though- right Cap?”

He gives the older man his best puppy dog eyes.

“Of course she can, I’ve extended the invitation many times Buck”

Andy’s eyes drift over to Bobby and she smiles.

“Thanks Bobby, sorry I haven’t had much time to visit, the ER has been hectic with Valentine’s day around the corner. I’m sure you guys are pretty busy as- why are you looking at me like that?” 

The question was directed at Buck.

“You grew up with Eddie right?”

She narrows her eyes at him.

“I’m not telling you what I’m getting him for his birthday, get your own idea”

He waves her off.

“I’ll figure it out, do you have a girlfriend right now?”

She gives him a look he has only seen the man that raised her (Eddie obvi) - and sometimes her older sister - give him a handful of times, it’s the ‘are you kidding me right now’ look.

“Nope, clinically single”

She glances back at the kitchen and this time he follows her gaze. oh.

He could work with this.

He looks at Bobby, then the three who have been suspiciously quiet throughout this whole interaction and gestures vaguely between the two women.

The look he receives from Hen screams ‘Are you sure about this’.

Ravi just mouths ‘Go for it’ and Chim looks like he’s trying to piece everything together, then he smiles and gives him a nod.

Bobby to his credit, shoots him a thumbs up with one hand, while presumably texting Athena with the other.

“Y’know May’s also single, why don’t you ask her out?”

Both girls splutter at that, though Andy recovers first and shoots him a death glare.

“Buck what the-”

“I wouldn’t mind”

All heads snap to where May was standing flushed in embarrassment (good, he has done his job as an older brother).

“Oh, um- yeah that’d be cool if you’d want to-”

“There’s a coffee shop down the street if y’know-”

“Yeah I’d love to!”

The interaction was so painfully awkward yet also kind of adorable at the same time.

And yes, he did just set them up to ask about their plans for Valentine’s day, but he probably shouldn’t ask right now. 

They just met, agreed to a first date and as far as they knew he did it out of the goodness of his heart... Probably 

Plus, holy match making skills. They'd met each other a handful of times - though those interactions were mostly the two exchanging awkward greetings then spending the rest of the time trying not to make it obvious that they were staring at each other.

He hadn't thought much of it at first, but seeing that gooey look in both girls’ eyes, he's kinda glad he did this.

Cute awkwardness and him possibly coming for Cupid’s job aside, he still has absolutely no Idea what he’s doing for Eddie.

He feels the couch dip beside him and the familiar warmth of a shoulder bumping against his.

He hadn’t heard him come up but speak of the devil.

“How did you know I was planning on setting them up?”

Eddie leans in a little to whisper. 

He places his head on his shoulder before answering.

“Great minds think alike, I guess”

Later, after their shift officially ended - and way after May and Adriana had left for their coffee date -. Buck was standing by the locker room door, waiting for Eddie to get changed; that's when he spotted the bag Adriana was holding earlier.

“Did Andy forget that?”

He nods over to the bag next to Eddie.

The brunette looks up from where he was previously tying his shoes and shakes his head.

“No, she needed me to hide this for Sofi’s birthday, you ready to go?”

He asks, getting up with a small grunt. 

Buck hums, giving one last glance over at the bag.

🚒🐕📚

“If you could be any season, what season would you be?”

“Winter”

Eddie answers, not looking up from his book.

“What's your favourite book or movie genre?”

“Anything with drama for movies; mystery for books”

“Why?”

The question earns him a glance.

“Why mystery?”

Buck elaborates though he gets a shrug in response.

“Because I like puzzles, and making a game out of whether I can solve whatever's going on before the end of the book”

Buck nods - filing the information away for later - then looks back down at his phone for the next question.

“Would you say you have ‘Black cat energy’?”

Eddie lets out a small laugh, closing his book before tossing it on the coffee table. It lands with a satisfying thud as the brunette turns to fully face him.

“Okay- you gonna tell me what the quiz is for or do I find out when I get my results?”

Buck locks his phone, placing it on the couch in between them. Dangerous, considering he had the ‘Your ideal, Very Special Valentine's day Gift ’ quiz open on his screen and Eddie can unlock it.

“Did you know Seals are distantly related to Bears and Skunks?”

Eddie levels him an almost glare, he says almost because the shorter has his head tilted to the right, meaning he's interested.

He'll probably ask more about that later.

“Buck, you’re deflecting”

He shakes his head, feigning innocence.

“No, I'm telling you a very interesting fact about Seals, by the way did you know that–”

“Buck”

He sighs, slumping back impossibly further into the couch.

“Okay- fine I’m trying to figure out what your secret kink is …”

Buck internally slaps himself for that one.

Eddie just stares blankly at him, blinking slowly before reaching over and snatching Buck’s phone.

He unlocks it with his fingerprint and as the screen lights up Eddie’s eyes narrow.

“A.. Gift quiz?”

Buck sighs.

“I’m trying to figure out what to get you for- y’know, Valentine’s day”

The last part of his sentence - specifically where he mentioned the damned holiday - was spoken with pure dread, like he was talking about his parents coming to visit or something.

Eddie immediately softens at that, he gets this gooey look in his eyes that makes him want to just shake him aggressively - but not like to hurt him or anything, he would NEVER. It’s just.. What did Ravi say it was? 

Oh yeah: 

Cute aggression. Yeah that thing.

“Buck, you really don’t have to go out of your way, it’s our first Valentine’s day together I mean- I don’t exactly expect you to.. Have a big display of roses waiting for me at the pier or anything”

Buck perks up at that.

“Is that.. Something you’d want? Because I can-”

He cuts him off with a shake of his head.

“No, it’s just an example from the book I’m reading”

“Thought you liked mystery not romance”

He grumbles, resting his head on the back of the couch.

“I’m pretty sure she’s gonna end up murdering him- but that’s not the point…”

Buck moves to sit up straight.

“Yeah, the point is that I don’t know what to get you for Valentine’s day and that makes me feel like I’m being a terrible boyfriend”

Eddie makes a sound of protest, glaring at Buck the same way he does whenever he says something that Eddie deems ‘Blatantly wrong’.

“You're not a terrible boyfriend, I’m really not expecting anything, I mean there’s always next year?”

He huffs - definitely not crossing his arms over his chest.

“Do you have some deep seated trauma surrounding Valentine’s day? Like did you give chocolates to someone you liked and they just ate the wrapping paper?”

Eddie looks to be biting the inside of his cheek in an attempt not to smile. It fails and he laughs.

“Nothing like that, I’ve just never been good with gifts you know this”

Buck shakes his head. 

“You’re an amazing gift giver though!”

He protests, damn near pouting at this point.

“That’s not what I’m talking about and you know it. If I need something I’ll buy it myself; if I want something… I don’t really do anything about it- I don’t want to cause anyone trouble so usually I just keep quiet about these things” 

He doesn’t really have the heart to tell him how wrong he is, because he genuinely seems to believe that he’s not giving anyone gray hairs at the thought of gifting him anything.

“Plus I’ve never really gotten anything before anyway”

That causes Buck’s train of thought to temporarily stop, because surely he isn’t saying what he thinks he’s saying. 

“You don’t mean that no one’s ever gotten you anything for Valentine’s day, right?”

Eddie avoided his gaze in favour of tracing his thumb over the palm of his other hand, it’s something he does when he’s nervous, or when he’s confronted with something he doesn’t want to talk about.

“Seriously, not even flowers?”

He huffs an amused laugh.

“Don’t know if you’ve noticed but I’ve been in relationships with strictly women for most of my life, even though it was only three.”

Buck takes personal offence to that, because gender be damned- who wouldn’t want to buy flowers for Eddie Diaz? Scratch that, who wouldn’t want to do the bare minimum of proper romancing for the man.

“That doesn’t matter, a girl can buy her boyfriend chocolates or flowers, same as he would do for her”

Again, especially if said boyfriend was the man in front of him. 

“I’m telling you, it’s fine, and really-”

He cuts himself off to take Buck’s hand.

“You’re not a terrible boyfriend, if you were you wouldn’t care this much.”

Eddie was right. Not about the ‘not being a terrible boyfriend’ thing, no, the jury was still out on that one.

He’s talking about the ‘caring a lot’ part, because after this conversation a normal person would take Eddie’s words to heart and really not go out of their way to plan anything big; honestly a normal person would just run to the store, find the biggest bouquet they can find, a teddy bear and probably a huge box of chocolates and be done with it.

But it's long since been established that Evan “Buck” Buckley is not a normal person.

Especially when it comes to Eddie Diaz.

In fact, his boyfriend’s words only motivated him further.

He was going to plan the best Valentine’s day ever for his amazingly complicated partner.

And you can quote him on that.

🚒🐕📚

His plan had started with gathering references (watching any/all movies with heavy romantic themes), then collecting data through the subject’s reaction (watching said movies with Eddie) and finally eliminating all no go possibilities through carefully crafted questioning (saying ‘hypothetically’ every second word). 

He even bought a whole other clipboard for this (which wasn’t as much of a big deal as he’s making it out to be, but it still matters to him!)  and now it was finally time to get a non-biased opinion on all the remaining things on the list.

And who better to ask than his older sister?

“You can’t expect me to believe he actually said he wouldn’t mind bungie jumping on Valentine’s day, not even that, he’s seen what happens when it goes wrong”

Okay so maybe he should have taken that off the list.

“How is going to couple’s counselling considered romantic? What movie did you watch?”

“Mr & Mrs Smith. Y’know the movie with–”

“I know what you're talking about, but why? I thought you guys would be watching old rom-coms and hallmark movies, that’s more action.”

Buck sighs, letting his head fall down on Maddie’s kitchen counter with a particularly loud thud- he’s fine. 

“He was getting suspicious” And I was running out of options.

He says, or tries to. It comes out muffled and a little incomprehensible, at least it would to anyone else.

Not Maddie though.

She hums, and then he hears the rustling of paper.

“Oh, this could be cute: a couples cooking class.”

He shakes his head.

“I meant to take that off the list”

He lifts his head and Maddie raises a brow.

“Why, it could be fun?”

“You don't understand. If neither me, Bobby or Linda can save him or his kitchen, no one can, especially not a stranger.”

She sighs, placing the list down again.

“Have you directly asked him what he wants?”

He shrugs.

“Yeah- but it's like arguing with someone who thinks that water is wet… it is but y’know. It leads nowhere”

She blinks at him, her expression blank.

“Okay, what exactly did he say? Because you're making it sound like he's expecting you to plan something big.”

“That's just it, Madison, he's not. But it's more than that, no one's ever done anything for him on Valentine's day before, ever”

She furrows her brows at that.

“Not even just giving him a card or something?”

“Nope” 

He says, popping the ‘p’.

Maddie scoffs, and Buck’s just glad that someone else understands the absolute absurdity that comes with what was previously stated.

She grabs the list again and tosses it on a random pile of blankets.

“Okay, forget the list and use your brain, this man has been - and still is - your best friend for eight years, you know him better than anybody, what does he like?”

Buck thinks for a moment.

There's a lot of things he could say and a lot of things he could do that would be appreciated by the other man, but most of the things he can think of they already do on a daily basis, this is different.

Sure it's one day of the year, but that's exactly why it's important. It's essentially also important because Eddie hasn't been treated with the proper romancing he deserves.

And that fact as stated multiple times, makes his chest hurt in an almost guilty way.

Because Maddie's right, he should know him, and he does, of course he does. But at the same time.. it just feels like he's doing a bad job at showing Eddie how much he means to him.

No matter how many times Eddie says that he's an ‘amazing boyfriend’ and sometimes jokingly asks out loud ‘how he got so lucky’.

It's overshadowed by the times Buck sees him hesitate to ask for something as simple as a hug or kiss at times, and how he's always going out of his way to make sure that Buck's okay, and his and Chris’s needs are met and they get everything they need and want.

Then of course when it comes to himself there's always an excuse.

And whenever Buck points it out, he always gets the same reaction.

Eddie will smile at him and with a little shrug he'd say.

“Come on Buck, you and I both know I don't have the best track record in relationships. I'm just trying to keep this one.”

As if Buck's own record was any better.

All of that aside, yes he does know Eddie, but that doesn't mean his mind can provide anything worth the occasion.

He tells Maddie as much, which causes his older sister to let out a long, almost tired sigh.

His shoulders slump in defeat at the sound.

“I’m screwed right?”

Maddie shakes her head, almost furiously, a determined look in her eyes.

“No, no, no I’m going to help you. Next wine night’s on Thursday, I’ll bring that bottle Eddie likes, get him drunk and interrogate him, heck I’ll even get the others in on it.”

He blinks, not knowing whether to feel scared for his boyfriend or grateful for his amazing big sister… he’s feeling a little of both to be honest.

Buck smiles, letting out a sharp breath.

“Thanks Mads, but erm- try not to give him alcohol poisoning please.”  

She waves him off with a smile.

“You should tell Mo- Athena that, not me. And anyway if push comes to shove you can always just make him something… like a good luck charm! Those are always a cute gift."

He tilts his head, eyes narrowed in curiosity.

“Good luck charm?”

She nods, clearly not seeing the dangerous glint in his eyes.

“Yeah. I know Eddie doesn’t really believe in that kind of stuff, but I think it'd be a nice thing to do; it comes from the heart and you can use literally anything to make it. Howie made me one with crystals”

She rolls up her sleeve to show him a well made bracelet made with what looks like rhodonite and clear quartz. 

“Crystals”

He mumbles to himself.

“Buck?”

He hums.

“Whatcha thinking about?”

“Crystals”

“Why?”

She asks, her voice taking on the patient and gentle tone it always does around him.

And that's a good question, it’s also one he never got to answer. Because shortly after the word left her mouth, Buck was already up, planting a kiss on her cheek before racing out her front door.

What happens next will probably not come as much of a surprise to anybody

Except for him..

Because the conversation he had with Maddie took place five days before Valentine’s day, getting home that night was a blur but he thought absolutely nothing of it.

That is, until the next morning when he ended up in the middle of his living room surrounded by over a hundred boxes of Carnelian stones and an email from an alleged etsy witch thanking him for his purchase.

To make this whole situation even worse, both Eddie and Chris are with him clearly trying their best not to break out in laughter.

Now then, there are a lot of things to unpack about all this, and most importantly a lot of things to say in his defence, instead though, his stupid, archive-like brain suddenly remembers one of the uses of this particular stone, his mouth moves before the useless thing in his skull can react.

“I swear I’m not trying to get you pregnant” 

He blurts out, staring at Eddie in horror.

The brunette’s entire body goes rigid and his face goes through about several different emotions before landing on embarrassment, he looks to Chris who just looks between the stones, his dad and Buck.

He then scrunches up his nose in disgust before calling them weird and announcing he’s going to the guest room before things get any weirder.

The two are left alone and all Buck can think about is the fact he just spent 250 dollars on what is kind of considered a stone to help with fertility. To be fair for the amount he spent and the amount of stones he got this was kind of a steal.

Eddie doesn’t agree though and proceeds to give Buck a professor level worthy lecture on his impulsive spending habits, he switches to spanish half way through when Buck tells him he has more than enough money and that it’s not really a big deal.

Since the stones won’t really be much help in this situation - except they could probably help him make more positive choices in his life.. He could use some of that, he’d give anything for some bit of positivity right now, because he is dangerously close to taking an axe to his dry wall if he doesn’t come up with anything soon.  

Maybe he should figure out a way to stop time until he finds something, or maybe he could just become one with his couch and die.

The second option is tempting and a bit more realistic than the first one, but he’d rather stay human; alive while getting chewed out by his insanely beautiful boyfriend while their son is in the next room probably playing on the PC he had set up for him

Rather than being a couch and dead… If Eddie sat on him though- Nope, nevermind… but also…..

🚒🐕📚

He takes back every single thing he has ever said.

Do not quote his previous, weirdly confident statement.

He’d rather be a couch, let him be the couch, the couch doesn’t have to get things for people, they just stay wherever you put them and wait for you to sit on them, simple, amazing. That should be him.

Sadly unless he cuts it open, climbs inside and has someone on standby to sew it up for him, he is not able to become a couch.

Okay, enough of that, let him set the scene.

Twas the third day before ol’ Saint Valentine’s day, Evan Buckley stood over his kitchen counter rolling dough, he had already baked two batches of lemon blueberry scones done, the third batch was in the oven.

There was no gift, no big surprise and definitely no plan in sight.

He couldn’t plan in between shifts because the universe decided to make at least one person in the station say the q-word per shift, it was hell on earth, even Eddie broke when someone said it again right before shift swap.

And if that wasn’t hard enough he hasn’t seen the other man since their shift ended earlier this morning, he had said something about running a few errands leaving Buck to the prison that is his very own mind.

So he turned back to the only thing he knew would stop him from filling his bathtub up with water, tossing his toaster in and then himself.

Baking.

Was this in any way - shape or form healthy? No, probably not. Was it helping? Not really, no.

Could he probably be doing something better with his time? He can think of a few things, yes- he’s been putting off doing the laundry and washing the dishes.. Come to think of it, he's going to need clean pans soon… and socks.

Firstly though he should probably figure out if the rattling by his front door is someone trying to break in or a raccoon.

Both would be fine with him, he could send both options away with scones.

Sighing, he places the rolling pin down, then picks it up again because he needs to protect himself in case it is actually someone breaking into his house.

He barely makes it half way to his front door before a voice sounds behind him and scares him shitless.

“Hello, other father.”

The yelp he lets out is dignified and actually very classy, and the way he jumps back and drops the ‘weapon’ in his hand is as graceful as a ballet dancer.

“Chris what the fuck you scared the shit out of me!”

The teenager raises an unimpressed brow - it’s becoming one of his go-to expressions nowadays and it makes Buck miss the bubbly little seven year old who used to talk his ear off about the randomest unhinged things he could think up

Now he was just kinda eighty-five percent sass, five percent attitude, ninety-five percent unhinged and another five percent unpredictable.

He still loves the kid though, but he is sort of regretting giving him a spear key to his place. Believe it or not this is not the first time this has happened. The first time he almost hit Chris over the head with a butter knife.

“That’s twenty dollars in the swear jar”

With his hand rested on his heart, still trying to calm his breathing down, Buck stares at the younger boy in disbelief.

“You just terrified the crap out of me and you expect me to pay?”

“That’s another five dollars”

He deadpans.

“What, we both know ‘crap’ doesn’t count!"

Chris shrugs.

“You’re being kind of hostile right now and I’m not really lovin’ it, plus you're lucky I’m not charging you for saying the s-word”

He rolls his eyes, but it's fond.

“How about I give you five dollars, a really cool stone and some lemon blueberry scones?”

Chris narrows his eyes.

“Stop trying to give away your weird ass crystals. I’ll take the five dollars though.. And the scones”

Buck nods, he could live with the loss of five dollars and fine Christopher he’ll keep the damn stones.

He leads the teen into the kitchen and gets a plate out, the shorter of the two looks around the room in mild concern.

“Did you and Dad get into a fight or something?”

He freezes mid drizzling honey over the scones - both Eddie and Chris prefer it this way -, he follows his gaze to the other side of the kitchen where tubs full of other kinds of baked goods stood.

So yeah.. He made a little more than just scones.

“Uh- Nope, just felt like–”

“Opening a bakery? Or is this just a cover and you're actually putting weed in everything.. Do you have a meth lab in your attic?” 

How the hell did they get here?

“...no”

“Are you sure you're not fighting with dad?”

“...yes?”

“You hesitated.”

He states, his shoulder’s tense.

“I also hesitated when saying no the first time, doesn’t mean I’m cooking meth in my attic”

“Buck”

He sighs.

“We’re not fighting, I just.. I’m trying to figure out what to get him for Valentine’s day”

Chris blinks once before furrowing his brows, the tension in his shoulders are gone and he gladly accepts the plate Buck hands him.

“I guess a baby is out of the question right? Since he told you to get rid of the crystals?”

Buck flushes at the memory.

“Chris-”

“What’s the big deal? You could just make him a nice card and take him out to dinner- or make him dinner, he loves your cooking”

Buck mulls over that for a moment before humming.

“Yeah, I guess. But that wouldn’t be different from any other night”

“Does it have to be?”

The question comes out slightly muffled by the food in his mouth, but Buck looks past it because he’s not Eddie.

“I don’t know, I really just want to do something special for him, he deserves it.”

Chris lets out a thoughtful hum, then after swallowing he speaks.

“Okay, I’ll help you”

Buck nearly drops the pan he just took out of the oven.

“What? Why?”

He lets out a long suffering sigh, and with an eye roll he asks.

“Can’t I just do something out of the goodness of my heart? I mean you're right Dad deserves to have something special done for him”

“And you: his son, want to help me with that?”

He eyes the younger suspiciously.

“You get something out of this”

He states, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I don’t know what you mean”

Chris replies, feigning innocence.

“Chris.” he warns.

“Buck”

“Christopher”

“Evan”

He silently regrets telling him his first name, maybe if he didn’t he could have one upped him.

After the two have a rather lengthy stare down, Buck's the first one to break.

“So, what exactly is your plan to help me?”

“I never said I had a plan, but I do know where we’re going”

He answers with an almost wicked smile.

And Buck wordlessly prays to whatever higher power is listening to save him.

🚒🐕📚

They end up at a pop up market by the pier. 

Buck's a little sceptical at first, which is reasonable In his humble opinion, and if he finds himself glancing down at the beach every six or seven minutes, then that's nobody's business but his own

And the seagull who keeps staring at him with his judgy, void like eyes.

He makes a note to do more research on the bird when they get home.

Chris drags him around from stall to stall, pointing things out that Eddie might like with a happy glint in his eyes

And Buck?

He admits that it's been a hot minute since he's seen the younger boy so carefree and excited. A content feeling washes over him as he watches the teen talk animatedly to one of the shop keepers.

He silently wishes Eddie was here, but then remembers why they're there in the first place.

After another hour has passed Chris states that they needed to really ‘lock in’ or whatever because he had a gaming session with Denny later.

Buck agrees but suggests they grab a late lunch first, not wanting to face the wrath of a tired, hungry teenager.

Chris doesn't complain and follows him to where a circle of food trucks were parked.

After sitting down with their tacos (That Buck was eighty percent sure would give them food poisoning later) they fall into a steady routine of bouncing ideas off of each other and catching up a little.

It’s been a while since just the two of them hung out and honestly he missed spending time with his favorite Diaz.

“Dad was getting into painting right? Because I saw some cool art supplies, looked pretty high quality too.”

That would be fine, amazing even.. But there was just one problem-

“Athena already called dibs on getting him some for Christmas”

Chris made a face at that but didn’t say anything.

“What about a lamp?

He shakes his head, already knowing where this is going.

Earlier the two had stumbled upon a - and he can admit this - awesome looking lamp at one of the stalls, but one lecture about how he spent his money was enough for him to put his wallet away and lead the teen elsewhere

He actually forgot about it, but the boy in front of him has his father’s memory - so what else could he expect.

“All the lamps, at both of our homes work just fine”

“Yeah, but this is a star wars themed lamp, we don’t have one of those”

He says with a roll of his eyes.

“And we don’t need one, plus that’s almost sixty dollars, I am not paying that much for that your dad would kill me”

Chris crosses his arms over his chest with a huff.

“whipped”

The word was said so softly that Buck almost didn’t catch it, key word: almost.

“Okay listen here–”

“What about a puzzle? There was an a thousand piece next to the lamp, Lord of the rings themed.” 

Giving someone a puzzle for Valentine’s day wasn’t exactly romantic, but this is Eddie they’re talking about and Buck is desperate, so this would be the perfect gift, right?  

Correct, It would be… except– 

“Chimney called dibs on getting him a puzzle for his birthday”

“Oh my god, what are you people, middle schoolers or something, why is everyone calling dibs on things?”

Buck shrugs, giving his kid a sympathetic smile.

“I don’t know what to tell you, we both know how it is with your dad and gifts”

Chris nods his head solemnly.

“Yeah”

Buck tilts his head.

“Y’know, you never really did say what you get out of helping me?”

The younger shrugs, taking a sip of his once forgotten milkshake.

“To be honest, I kinda missed hanging out with you and I needed a ride here”

He chuckles, leaning over a bit to ruffle Chris’ hair.

“If you wanted to hang out you could’ve just asked, no need to torture yourself with this”

He hums.

“I’ll remember that next time”

Next time.

The promise of that made Buck smile.

“And hey-” he continues. “At least the only thing you're worrying about is the disaster that is your relationship and not a like- natural disaster… y’know like a Tsunami.”

… 

Like father, like son.

“Chris-”

“I’ve been waiting to say that all afternoon, don’t take this away from me”

He sighs, trying and failing not to smile.

God he loves his kid.

🚒🐕📚

He doesn’t know how he ended up in the middle of Eddie’s living room next to an empty pet carrier, watching his boyfriend of almost four months play happily with a Labrador puppy while Buck watches in mild jealousy.

Okay maybe more than ‘mild’ but he’s not going to admit that.

The drive from whatever pet shop he ended up at, to South Bedford street was a blur, but he is painfully aware of the hole in his wallet and the amount of food, toys and other nick-nacks that sit in a pile in the back of his Jeep.

It’s sort of worth it though, to see the poorly hidden smile on the younger man’s face as he tries to seem annoyed when the puppy licks his face.

He snaps a couple of pictures to show Chris after he gets home from his science club meeting.. Or was it debate club today? It is Thursday righ- oh shit

“Wait, aren't you supposed to be at wine night?”

Eddie shares an amused glance with the puppy.

“We all have work tomorrow so it ended early, now are you going to tell me why there’s an adorable little puppy in the middle of my living room?”

Hell if he knows, the only thing he remembers is- not a lot actually and that’s really concerning.

“I can take him back to wherever I-”

“Oh. no, we’re keeping him, I was just asking why he’s here and not at your house or something?”

To reference his previous statement: Hell if he knows.

“I just thought-”

“I think I’m gonna name him ‘Forest’. We should get him a collar, do you have a collar? Does he have food? Toys? - Buck, please tell me you got him toys at least”

He blinks once, twice, then shakes his head.

“Yes everything is in my Jeep- Eddie are you.. Are you drunk?”

He gives him a bit of an offended look at that.

“No, we have a shift tomorrow why would I-”

“Then why aren’t you mad?”

Eddie shifts a little to make space for- Forest apparently, to settle on his lap.

“Why would I be mad, have you seen this little guy? Best gift ever”

Buck freezes, right now it feels like the entire world does because.. Did he think that-

“Gift?”

He tries not to make it sound like a question, it does but Eddie doesn’t seem to notice at least.

“Yeah, I mean you did kinda shoot yourself in the foot bringing him here early but-”

He trails off as the dog- he has a name Buck, he’s also a puppy Buck, be cool about it Buck - licks his hand.

“I uh- didn’t know how long I could hide him at my place”

He lies.

And does it make him a bad boyfriend that he’s going along with this? Jury’s still out, but you have to understand, all strength leaves him when those freaking doe eyes stare at him like he hung the moon.

This is most certainly gonna bite him in the ass later but that’s a problem for future him.

“Hey bud?”

He hums, softly.

“Can you stop chewing on my finger, it’s not food”

Oh, he was talking to the pup, nice- cool, amazing, fan-freaking-tastic.

“I’m just gonna, bring his food inside”

Eddie turns to him with a smile.

“Thank you, Cariño. And then after you give our new son some food, we’re going to talk about your sister’s behaviour tonight”

He all but sprints out of the house.

🩺🐈🎖️

If you were to ask Eddie how he was planning on spending his Valentine’s day, he’d probably shrug and say: ‘At home with my boyfriend and our puppy’.

To be completely honest he doesn’t really care, yes he cares about Buck and Forest, he’s not saying he doesn’t, what he doesn’t particularly care about is the holiday itself

It’ll happen after three failed relationships (not counting you know who) and years of his parents - especially his mother - drilling a certain mindset into him.

It’s always about your partner: ‘If there’s a puddle in the street, physically throw yourself in it and let the other person step on you’. You don’t feel comfortable in a certain situation? ‘Suck it up’,  ‘Be a man’ or his personal favourite ‘Stop being so sensitive’.

Not in the mood? Just lie down and count backwards from one hundred.. Okay that’s a bit dark but it is something he’s had to do in the past.

That aside, he’s bent over backwards to make sure the day was about whoever he was dating at the time, or at least he tried to. 

They never complained so there was no need for him to, and there was also no need to expect anything back from them because he had done his duty and that was that - Although Shannon did make him a card once, but that was for father’s day—

Okay enough of that- a week into he and Buck’s relationship, Eddie already had a plan, though contrary to the past he didn’t find himself feeling indifferent. He was actually pretty excited for the blonde to see what he got- well made him and a little nervous at the possibility that he wouldn’t like it

Then all of those hours in between shifts at Adriana’s place, learning and getting a lot of wool burns would have been for nothing.

He felt bad that he had to lie to his boyfriend the whole time, but he told himself it was worth it. It would all be worth it.

His plan was almost screwed up when Adri came to the station earlier than she was supposed to, and Buck noticed the bag, because of course he did and then Eddie had to hide the thing at Pepa’s place

Which is where he is currently coming back from.

He made up some excuse about a leaky pipe that afternoon and bolted out the door, it was late now since there actually ended up being something he needed to fix

And by the time he came home he didn’t question the amount of candles by the door or the way the lights seemed dim. He just kicked off his shoes and audibly yelped when he saw Buck standing in the doorway, looking frankly like something out of a wet dream.

The outfit itself was simple, a cozy maroon jumper and a pair of black slacks, but it still somehow filled him with the desire to just jump on the taller man and take a nap and don’t even get him started on his curls– (really don’t because then this fic will never end)

Suddenly aware of his state of dress - a black tank top, one of Buck’s cardigans (that he claims is actually his) and a pair of jeans. Casual but probably not formal enough for whatever’s going on here - and the thing in his hand, he quickly moves to hide the bag behind his back

Pretending to - then actually - taking a look around his house, he asks.

“What’s all this for?”

He lets out a nervous laugh while glancing at the orange(?) candles.

“It’s for you, and uh- so is this…”

He takes a step forward and hands him a fucking bouquet, because of course he does, seriously how is this man real?

“Orchids and Lilies. I had lunch with Abuela and Sofia while you were out, they said you liked them so..”

Oh

Oh.

Oh no, this was bad for his heart; his amazing mental health, his everything, the absolute audacity of this man!

“Buck I-”

“Before you say anything else, I made Empanadas, I got the recipe from Abuela she said you used to make them with–”

“My Abuelo”

He finishes, fighting the urge to squint when Buck lights up like a Christmas tree.

“Yes! It might not be as good but I still hope you like them… Eds?”

Whatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuck–

“Am I dying?” 

He croaks out, causing Buck to do a double take.

“No? I mean- no, you're not right? When’s the last time you’ve been to the doctor-”

“Then why are you doing all this, I don’t understand?”

Buck visibly deflates at that.

“It’s the least I could do”

Least?

Flowers, dinner and whatever the hell else is the least he could do? 

“I don’t-”

“How about we just go have dinner?”

He asks, eyes pleading. Eddie nods and follows him to the dining room, but not before tossing the bag he was holding on the couch.

Dinner is interesting, the food is amazing obviously - and it takes him back to the Sunday’s he spent in his Abuela and Abuelo’s house in Texas -, the conversation flows easily, with Buck seeming a little nervous, almost like he’s expecting a bomb to go off or something.

They finish eating quickly and the older man insists on doing the dishes, repeating his earlier words ‘It’s the least I could do’, like he didn’t just spend god knows how long in the kitchen making dinner.

They both knew it was just an excuse for him to keep himself busy and worry over whatever he’s thinking about.

Eddie settles on the couch, bag hidden behind his back - and under a pillow, just in case - . Forest hops up next to him and slumps down like he just worked a forty-eight hour shift, he pets his head waiting - with as much patience as he can manage - for his boyfriend.

He walks into the living room a few minutes later and wordlessly walks over to the other side of the couch and sits down, his head is hanging and he looks like he’s preparing for one of Athena’s lectures. 

“I’m sorry”

Buck says suddenly, making him pause his movement of petting their puppy.

“What, why?”

He doesn’t answer at first, just slumps back into the couch like he wants to merge with it.

“I know you said you weren’t expecting anything, but I should’ve done something for you today, I mean all this is the least I could have done since I didn’t have anything planned but…”

And that- that confuses him a bit.

“What was all this then? I mean the flowers and everything?”

He shrugs, not looking at him.

“The bare minimum, and an apology? For lying- Forest wasn’t a gift I bought him on impulse or I think I did? I don’t really remember how I got him or where for that matter”

Eddie hums, still scratching the spot behind the pup in question’s ears.

“But you already knew that didn’t you?”

He looks up and finds the blonde staring at him with a slight frown.

“I had a hunch. Look- Buck this is more than I’ve ever gotten from someone, I know you think this doesn’t mean anything but it’s perfect, and I mean that.”

“And-” he hesitates before adding. “It’s sort of making the thing that I got you seem lame” 

“You got me something?”

He asks with a certain edge in his tone.

“Yeah, but you already knew that.”

He smiles sheepishly.

“I had a hunch?”

He rolls his eyes.

“I’ll press you for the real details later, for now-”

He carefully takes the bag out from behind him, not wanting to wake Forest up.

“Here”

He takes the bag and seems a bit surprised when he sees the paper at the top, he recovers quickly though and reaches inside, Buck pauses briefly when his hand catches on what's inside.

“Why is it soft? Is it a blanket?”

He huffs, half annoyed and half endeared.

“Stop guessing and see for yourself”

“But I'm nervous!”

Eddie scoffs, causing Forest’s ear to twitch.

“Do I look like the picture of calm to you?”

Buck presses his mouth into a thin line.

“You don't want me to answer that”

“Evan Buckley-”

“Fine! Fine, see? I'm looking- I'm look-”

He goes silent as he pulls the gift out of the bag.

“What is..”

“It's a seal plush, well not a plush but y'know its a seal, does it not look like one? Does it look like a shark? I told Addie it would but she didn't-”

Buck shakes his head, snapping out of his trance.

“What about the box, the one with the heart?”

“With the?-”

“Nevermind, you– you made this? Yourself? I mean- how long did this take?”

“Actually not that long, at least for its size, Adriana helped me and turns out I'm pretty good at crocheting”

“I don’t- you really did this for me?”

Buck’s eyes go glassy.

“Of course I did, I know these guys have been your obsession for quite awhile so uh- ‘It was the least I could do’. Do you like it?”

“I'm close to crying man, of course I like it!”

Eddie scrunches up his nose.

“Don't call me man, we literally made out this morning.”

“This is an emotional moment Edmundo don't ruin it”

If he doesn't stop smiling soon his face is probably gonna stay like that.

He rests the side of his head on the back of the couch, his smile softens as he looks at the man in front of him who - as cliché as it may sound - might definitely be the love of his life

He wants to bask in his presence till the day he dies. Which is probably not a normal thing to want with someone you've been dating for almost four months,

But it's long since been established that Edmundo ‘Eddie’ Diaz is not normal about Evan Buckley.

“I love you”

He finds himself saying, it's always been implied before today. But saying it out loud is.. an interesting feeling.

Buck hides a sniffle in a quick cough then clears his throat.

“I love you too”

Eddie hums quietly.

“You know I'd kiss you but I'm being physically weighed down by the puppy version of you so–”

Buck laughs, still holding the seal to his chest, the bag being forgotten somewhere on the floor.

He gets up and moves swiftly to the other side of the couch, he crouches down and presses a solid chaste kiss to his lips

The kiss doesn't last long before a ‘yip’ sounds in between them. Buck moves away a little surprised and Forest looks like he's about to pounce.

“He hates me”

“He doesn't hate you..”

“Eddie, our son hates me. Jungle hates me”

A low growl escapes the puppy and Eddie looks down at him in surprise.

“See? He hates me!’

“Maybe it's because you called him Jungle, Buck, we both know that's not his name”

He rolls his eyes, and shoots Forest a glare, the intimidation Is non-existent thanks to the plush held tightly in his arms.

… 

He kinda regrets making it now. He brought it into this world so he can take it out right?

“Okay, how about I go get us some ice cream - yes it's Caramel - and we can put on a movie or something”

Eddie nods, smiling up at him.

“I like that idea”

Buck shoots him a mock salute, he starts to move to the kitchen before hesitating.

“You know that I love you, right?”

“Are you going to kill yourself?”

Buck gives him an unimpressed blank stare.

“I love you too”

He smiles.

“Good-”

“And, next year I promise to be more open with you if there is something that I want”

Buck nods, his eyes shining with some kind of mischief.

“I'll make sure next year beats this one.”

“Oh? You're finally ready to go for the title, Evan?”

“Don't make me jump you in front of our dog”

He scoffs, waving him off.

“Keep it in your pants and go get me my Ice cream Buck”

He lets out a long sigh.

“Sir yes sir”

And with that he finally makes his way to the kitchen.

Eddie turns to Forest, shaking his head fondly.

“Your other dad's kinda a weirdo but-”

“RAVI’S DATING ALBERT?!”

He blinks, then Forest nuzzles his hand.

“Never mind there's no but, he's a weirdo but we love him anyway.. Did I tell you about the crystals he bought?”

By the time the next year rolls around Buck actually does manage to top the previous year's Valentine's day with a proposal, there was a lot of crying - from the man in question mostly, that almost made his speech a bit awkward with the amount of sobs he was letting out.

Forest has also warmed up to him a bit more... to an extent.

The mystery of the box in Eddie's closet has yet to be solved.

Buck managed to sell all of his crystals, except for the few he kept to make Eddie a bracelet with.

May and Adriana have moved in together and have about four cats.

And finally and most importantly: Ravi proved everyone wrong by the next shift when he walked in hand in hand with Albert

Chimney did chase him around with a mop but it was worth it.

This is your narrator Freddie Fakeman signing off…. 

The end.