Chapter Text
When Eddie walks down the hall towards Buck’s kitchen, the first thing he spots is Buck’s open refrigerator. A bemused huff sits on the tip of his tongue. He told Buck before that it's a waste of energy. He owns a house now, fosters a kid; he has to be more mindful of these things.
The early hours of the morning, however, allow for certain slips to be swept aside. Because who cares; Eddie has more important points to dwell on than whether or not Buck leaves his fridge open too long while trying to decide what to make for breakfast.
The second thing Eddie spots is, of course, Buck himself.
He slows. His feet drag to allow him the necessary time to enjoy the uninterrupted beauty of it all.
Sunlight graces the curve of Buck’s nose and slides over his shoulders like a warm embrace. Dust motes float through the beams that paint his skin and hair a brushed gold. For a moment, the world preserves this picture of perfection.
It’s rare to get a quiet morning like this in the Buckley household lately.
Chris and Theo slept over Pepa’s because she wanted to spend quality time with Chris before he got too old to want to hang out with her (her own words that Eddie refuted but didn’t push because, well, he had plans), and Theo has entered a phase where he refuses to leave Chris’ side. She didn’t mind, was ecstatic even to have another mouth to feed, another kid to dote on.
Arms crossed, Buck glares at his fridge. There’s a crease between his brows that Eddie wants to smooth out.
Buck’s curls are wild enough to fall across his forehead, fluffed and sleep-mussed, and Eddie now knows their soft touch tangled against his fingers. An old, faded LAFD t-shirt hangs off his body, struggling to conceal the fact that he pulled on boxers but never bothered with pants. A thin, dark line of a tattoo peeks out from the stretched hole at the collar. Eddie kissed every single one of his tattoos last night, traced the ink with his lips, with his teeth. Eyes closed, he could map them from memory.
An impressive bruise blooms on the side of Buck’s pale neck. A few more cluster further down to his collarbone on both sides. Though hidden, his thighs present an impressive tapestry too, Eddie knows. The taste of sex and sweat lingers like a sweet memory.
Eddie leans against the door frame, head resting on the wood. When Buck snaps his wide-eyed attention toward him, finally sensing his presence, Eddie starts to grin. Too many quips build at the back of his throat; he opens his mouth.
Only for Maddie to pop up from behind the refrigerator door, stuttering a shocked, “E-Eddie?”
Off kilter, he stumbles a surprised step back. Shit. "Uh—"
She tilts her head, gaze quickly zipping over his body and then back toward her brother who freezes, a deer caught in the headlights.
Her mouth forms his name and that catapults Buck out of his stupor. He jumps forward like he got zapped.
“Wait, Maddie, I swear it’s not what it looks like.” He wedges himself between him and Maddie to block the view.
A view that screams Eddie clearly stayed the night and clearly didn't sleep on the couch where Theo’s dinosaurs preside. That he clearly wears Buck’s baggy shorts with the drawstring pulled tight and a tank top that hangs way too low to be at all respectable in the company of anyone he didn’t fuck the night before. He is also, as one could have guessed, covered in hickies. If he mauled Buck, Buck returned the favor tenfold. His mouth barely left Eddie’s body all night. He laughed into Eddie’s skin, smiled wide as he ate him out and took him deep.
"I knew you brought someone home!” Maddie exclaims as she whirls on Buck. “Liar. You were being so cagey."
Buck winces, and Maddie’s smug expression never fades. “Would you believe me if I said Eddie arrived a couple minutes before you did?”
“I would sooner believe in our parents remarrying.”
He raises one eyebrow. “So, no?”
The thing is, last night they discussed keeping this development a secret. Eddie rested his head on Buck’s chest, arm draped over his stomach, while Buck’s fingers danced along his spine. They decided they wanted time to understand it all without outside influence, to transition from friends to romantic partners and lovers on their own terms, however they decided.
If the clock on Buck’s stove is accurate—it usually drifts by a couple minutes—they had maintained that conviction for less than five hours.
Considering their family, that was probably the best they could have ever hoped for.
“Hey, Maddie,” Eddie sighs, officially greeting her, before he turns his attention to Buck. He shoves his hands into the pockets of his shorts. “Did you forget your sister was coming over?”
“My fault,” she answers before Buck can reply. “Howie forgot to buy eggs and Jee really wanted French toast this morning. Someone unfortunately promised her yesterday.”
Understanding the logic—though not why she didn’t go to the grocery store instead of Buck’s refrigerator—Eddie nods. “You can’t break a promise.”
“See, he gets it,” Maddie says as she side-eyes Buck.
“It’s not that I didn’t get it, just that you could have called first before barging in.” He glares, waving wildly at her. “You’re lucky we’re semi-decent.”
A very loose description. Eddie folds his arms across his chest, suddenly subconscious. But it’s not as if he hasn’t known Maddie for nearly a decade. He—He just never had to face her after hooking up with her brother. A twinge of embarrassment floods his cheeks.
“Oh don’t worry, I’ve learned my lesson.” A quick grimace flashes on Maddie’s face while she shudders. “But I apologize for not realizing you finally figured it out.”
Buck’s nose wrinkles as he points at her. “No, you do not get to say I told you so.”
“After suffering for years, I should get to say something.”
“Should I leave until you two finish this…” Eddie gestures at them, not quite sure how to address their squabble.
“No!” they respond in tandem.
Eddie raises his hands, surrendering. Alright, then.
Cocking his head and setting his full attention on Maddie, Buck asks, “So what do you want to hear? That after Eddie kissed me first, we spent all night making passionate lov—”
“Ah, ah, no, nope,” Maddie frantically cuts him off. She cradles a half carton of eggs in her arms as she walks across the living room to the door. “Don't want to know. Don't even want the Spark Notes." Bucks smirks at her, apparently having won the sibling battle they’d been waging, and she turns with one last glance over her shoulder. "Congrats, you two," she says, smiling, before she closes the front door behind her.
Eddie blinks, too exhausted to fully understand what he just lived through, but he thinks it was fine. Good, even. His body isn’t tingling with signs of an oncoming panic attack—terror doesn’t squeeze his heart; in fact, it’s calmer than it’s ever been in recent years. Unconsciously, he rubs at his chest. Someone now knows a secret about himself that he only figured out a few days ago. He’s still standing and time continues to march onward.
Buck walks up behind him, pressing against his back as he drapes an arm over his shoulder. His lips find Eddie’s temple and then the corner of his eye. His lashes tickle; his stubble is rough. “So how long until the group chat blows up?”
“If she tells Chimney the minute she gets home” —Eddie glances at the invisible watch on his wrist— “Twenty minutes? Give or take a couple seconds of processing time.”
Buck’s thumb absently brushes against one of the more tender hickies decorating Eddie’s collarbone. The weight of Buck straddling him settles permanently amongst his precious memories, the bedsheets smooth against his bare skin as Buck’s thick thighs had locked against his hips. Forever greedy, he leans into the present touch; Buck’s caresses deepen.
“I’m sorry. I know this wasn’t what we agreed upon,” he mutters, lips now near Eddie’s ear.
No, it’s better.
He grabs onto Buck’s forearm, keeping them entangled. “It’s fine,” he honestly says as he traces the thick bands wrapped around Buck’s skin. “Probably easier this way. We can let the gossip chain do all the heavy lifting.”
Turning, Eddie slots himself further into Buck’s space, forcing him to walk backwards until he hits the island and has to hoist himself up. Eddie slides between his legs, his favorite place. “Tomorrow’s shift will be interesting though,” he breathes against Buck’s mouth.
Grabbing onto Eddie’s wrists, not unlike where he gripped while fucking him, Buck maneuvers them around his neck. “Dear God,” he groans, though not in the same way he did last night. It’s crazy that Eddie can now pick out the differences. “Please let me forget about it.”
Eddie bites at his mouth, answering his prayer. He never kissed a man before yesterday evening and now he can’t stop kissing one in particular. He has nine years to catch up on. Buck sinks his hands into Eddie’s hair while Eddie digs into Buck’s thighs. His fingers slip under the hem of Buck’s boxers and brush the fine hairs covering his legs.
Eddie is sore and exhausted from last night and can go ten more rounds if Buck wants. But his stomach rumbles, killing the building mood. They both laugh, their heads tipping against each other.
“If Maddie didn’t steal all our eggs, French toast sounded nice.”
Buck leans forward to steal one last searing kiss; Eddie barely allows them to separate. He trails after Buck who indulges him too much until he grabs Eddie’s waist, easing him back. “Breakfast, kids, then we deal with everyone else.”
Eddie hums, content. “Sounds like a plan.”