#buckaroo118

66. "i want you to meet my family"

it seems like a great idea all the way until the night before, when eddie suddenly isn't so sure. he tries to swallow down his doubts, because he doesn't want buck to think it's about him, but—it's buck. of course he figures out that eddie is on the verge of spiraling.

"you're about to freak out, aren't you?" he says, settling next to eddie on the couch.

"i'm... not not about to freak out," eddie allows.

"do you want to call it off?" buck asks, no judgement in his voice. "adriana's gonna be here for, what, two days? i can easily stay with maddie and chim for that time."

and eddie knows he means it, and he loves buck for it. eddie knows that if he asked, buck would go to maddie's and lay low the entire time adriana is visiting, so that eddie could keep letting his sister think he's straight by way of lie of omission.

but despite the not not freaking out, it isn't actually what he wants.

"buck, no," eddie says, reaching for buck's hand. "you live here, i'm not gonna kick you out just because i'm a little nervous."

"it's not kicking out if i volunteer to go," buck offers, squeezing eddie's hand.

"it's not even about that," eddie says. "i don't want you to go. i want you to be here. i want you to meet my family."

"technically, i've already met them," buck points out. "after the special deployment."

"you know that's not what i mean."

"i know," buck says softly. "if it's really what you want, eddie, of course. just—i'm not gonna hold it against you, you know? if you change your mind."

"i'm not gonna change my mind," eddie says firmly. "i might—i might freak out about it a little, but i'm not gonna change my mind. you're the best thing that's ever happened to me—except for christopher, obviously—"

"—obviously," buck agrees.

"—and i want my family to know that."

"okay then," buck says, and leans over to kiss him.

eddie picks up adriana on the way back from taking christopher to school, and she doesn't even blink when eddie opens the door and shows her into the kitchen where buck is still finishing up breakfast.

"hey, buck," adriana says, accepting the mug of coffee buck hands her and sitting at the table. then she looks back at eddie. "figured it out, did you?"

"i—what?"

"please," adriana says. "i saw the way you two were looking at each other that time at mom and dad's. it was just a matter of time. big sisters know these things, you know."

"... oh."

"as for you," adriana says, turning back to face buck. "has anyone given you the shovel talk yet?"

buck grins. "carla, pepa, abuela, christopher, half of the 118..."

"okay, good," she says. "then i don't need actually pretend to be threatening this early in the morning, but consider my name added to that list."

"will do," buck says, bright and cheerful, and eddie blinks.

"what—buck, why are you so happy about multiple people threatening your life?"

"people only give shovel talks when there's a potential for real hurt," buck says. "so it's like... a tacit acknowledgement that this is serious."

"yeah, pretty much," adriana agrees, and snags the remaining half of buck's pancake.

"i could have just told you it's serious," eddie says. "without needing to threaten anybody."

"where's the fun in that?" buck asks, and adriana points her fork at him in agreement.

eddie just shakes his head and ducks down to drop a kiss on buck's forehead on his way to pour himself a cup of coffee.

the idea of telling his parents still stresses him out, but at least now he knows for sure he's got adriana in his corner.

Nicky: I took the DNA test and it turns out I'm baby.

Nicky, watching a bad guy fall over dead: Mood.

Nicky: Nile, come join us, we're just vibrating.

Nile, sobbing: Please... Stop...

It doesn't happen for many years. When they got married, it just made sense for Buck to move into Eddie's house. They're perfectly happy to build a life there and once Christopher moves out, they keep his room available whenever he comes to visit.

When their first grandchild comes to sleep over, it's an emotional affair to convert Christopher's room into one more suitable for a child - Eddie rekindles his relationship with his sisters for the first time in a while in order to get Chris' old baby furniture out of storage in El Paso.

Even when their second and third grandchild come along, it's a treat for the kids to share a room at Grandpa Diaz's.

They're both reluctant to retire, unwilling to imagine their days without seeing their team or helping to save people. Eventually, they both put in and have a long conversation about what to do next because they're not ready to relax, their bodies just can't handle being at the station day in and day out. Ultimately, they both leave the station to pursue less physical jobs in their later years.

Their first house together is smaller than Eddie's - even though Buck's name was added to the deed and every inch of that structure was covered in love marks from both of them, it was Eddie's house because he didn't choose it with his new family in mind. This place is just for the two of them. They chose a bungalow because with Christopher's crutches, all the little ones running around, and Buck's knees, stairs are a horrible decision. It's quite open, they don't need a lot of furniture, and they imagine how much fun the kids will have sliding on the hardwood floors. It's a home purchased with their future in mind.

Their first official guest in their house is their first great-grandchild. She sleeps with her parents in the guest bedroom that's set up a little more generically so all generations can stay. Eddie almost didn't let her go when he realized that he was holding his great-grandchild, but his shaking hands made him nervous.

He wakes up in the middle of the night sometimes. Really, he only gets maybe four hours of sleep these days, his body unused to being allowed to rest. Those late nights when they baby sleeps over are his favourite, though. He'll pick her up and take her to the recliner in the living room and just hold her for a little while, telling her stories of him and Buck and of Christopher and his children. If he's feeling strong enough, he might walk her around the house, giving her the official grand tour of the place she'll spend her summers - of the apple tree he envisioned her climbing, of the new stove he wanted to teach her to cook on, of the portraits in the hallway that tell the story of his life (and he can't wait to add her picture).

His sisters and their families don't visit often - the journey from El Paso became a bit if a challenge over the years - but everyone once in a while, Buck insists on hosting Christmas dinner for whoever wants to come (on both sides) and the house is overrun with scampering feet and shouts of joy. One year, there were so many people in their tiny house that people had to eat in shifts. Not that anyone minded.

Buck is always inordinately excited when members of his old team come to visit. Hen and Karen bring the kids and grandkids to visit for a barbecue every few months until they move away, Michael and Paul stop by rarely, but they always bring a loaf because Paul is an amazing baker. Bobby would have loved the place (on lonely nights, Eddie catches his husband telling the walls about how proud Bobby would be) and Athena came for the housewarming party but with May and Harry both living in other states, finding a ride from her retirement home is a challenge.

Chimney and Maddie visit as often as possible. They rarely stay the night, preferring to sleep in their own beds; but just as they would drop their child off at Eddie's house for a sleepover with her cousin, they're happy to leave their granddaughter at Great Uncle Buck's every once in a while. Chimney (and later his daughter as well) still comes over to watch the game with Eddie, only for the two of them to fall asleep on opposite ends of the couch.

They live in that house for about 25 years but it is 25 years spent making a home for all generations, and creating memories for everyone who enters.

misc asks | always accepting

“Maybe, depends in how good you manage after such a cheesy pick up line.”