Work Text
creepy_shetan
author's choice, any relatively new friends or new couple, "Where does this go?" or "Where do you keep your ___?"
Buck shifted the bags in his hands until he had a free one to knock on the door. Since he’d given Eddie a ride home from the station after the earthquake (and back again when Eddie finally got word that the debris had been cleared from around his truck), Buck had been plotting ways to see Christopher again. Not in a perverted way, but because Christopher was important to Eddie.He'd finally finagled an invitation to Eddie’s for dinner at the start of their four days off a few weeks later. But he couldn’t appear empty handed. He’d chosen a six pack of beer to share with Eddie, figuring he could leave the extras if Eddie liked it. For Christopher, it had taken a bit more thought. Finally deciding that he’d encourage the seven year old’s curiosity, he’d chosen a couple of books that explained earthquakes and a small shaker table. Christopher could create his own buildings and then set the shaker off to see how different designs fared in an earthquake.Now he knocked lightly on the door, then a bit harder when he realized he hadn’t knocked hard enough to be heard. He was so used to banging on the door to check on occupants during a fire and always had to remember to modulate his knocking.A moment later, the door was thrown open by a grinning blond. “BUCK!” he exclaimed. “Hi!”Buck knelt down, holding out his hand for Christopher to shake. “Hey, Chris,” he greeted the boy.“Chris!” came a call from inside the house. “Did you open the door?”“Yes, Dad!” Christopher called back.Eddie entered the living room with a frown on his face. “Did you open the door?” he asked.“But it’s Buck!” he protested.Eddie crouched down so he was eye to eye with his son. Buck backed up a little so that he wasn’t infringing on their space. “Did you know it was Buck when you opened the door?”Leaning on his crutches, Christopher shook his head. “No. But he was coming so it had to be him.”“We’re also expecting the pizza delivery,” Eddie reminded him gently. “Are you supposed to open the door without me here?”Christopher hung his head. “No, Daddy.”Gathering his son into his arms, Eddie said softly, “I just want you safe, mijo. I’m not mad at you.” Releasing him, Eddie stood up and smiled at Buck. “Hi. Sorry.”“For what?” Buck asked as he stepped fully into the house. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Christopher trying to peek into the bags. “I’m glad it was just me at the door.”Eddie rubbed the back of his neck. “Me, too.” He stepped back, allowing Buck to move farther into the house.Buck offered the beer, saying, “I wasn’t sure if you’d want it, but you don’t come to a house without a gift.”“You didn’t have to,” Eddie protested, but accepted the case, looking at it. “This is nice, Buck. Thank you.”“And for the younger Mr. Diaz…” Buck handed the bag in his hand to Christopher.The boy’s blue eyes widened and he looked up at Eddie before carefully peeking inside the bag. “For me?” he asked.“Yes.” Buck grinned. “You seemed interested in the earthquake when I drove you home the other night. I thought knowing more about them might help any worries you have.”Christopher grinned. “Thank you, Buck!” Turning to his father, he asked, “Can I read one of the books?”“Just until we’re ready to eat,” Eddie said. “Then maybe Buck can read to you before bed.”“I’d love to!” Buck said as there was a knock on the door.“Is it okay if I…?” Buck started to ask as Eddie maneuvered around them to get to the door.“If you what?” Eddie asked as his hand landed on the doorknob. “Make yourself at home, Buck.”Buck grinned at the invitation, but didn’t want to overstep. “Can I help you move your books?” he asked Christopher as Eddie engaged the delivery girl in conversation, pulling out his wallet to pay for the pizza.“Yes, please.” Christopher indicated the coffee table and Buck set the bag on it, stepping back slightly to allow Christopher to ask for help if he needed it.As Eddie shut the door, pizza box in hand, Buck asked, “Where are your plates?”“There’re some paper ones on the counter and Chris’s juice is in the fridge. His cups are in the cabinet next to the fridge.”Buck could see the kitchen through the open doorway and he headed that way, snagging the case of beer that had gotten set down. A few minutes of searching and he found everything Eddie had directed him to gather.Eddie had taken the pizza to the coffee table, setting it on the opposite end from where Christopher was set up with one of his new books. Buck held up one of the bottles of beer. “You want?” he asked.“Yeah, I’ll have one,” Eddie agreed.Carefully balancing everything, Buck carried their supplies out to the living room. Eddie took one of the plates, dishing out a piece for Christopher before helping him get settled. A few minutes later, the two men were seated side by side on the couch and digging into their own pizza. Buck smiled to himself as Christopher and Eddie negotiated the movie they would watch. He hoped to have many more evenings with the Diaz boys.
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templefugate
Feb. 27th, 2024 09:48 pm (local)
Any, any, empty nest syndrome
Buck/Eddie
Eddie had drawn the short straw and gone to do their grocery shopping while Buck started on the laundry. Normally they did it together, but they’d spent the first three days of their four off helping Christopher finish packing and move into the dorms. Last night, after they’d returned home, they’d been so tired they’d immediately collapsed into bed.Now it was starting to sink in that Christopher wasn’t just at a sleepover. That he wouldn’t be home later today or tomorrow. Buck was reminded of the first summer Christopher went to sleepaway camp, but he wouldn’t be home in two weeks this time.Pulling the clothes out from the dryer, Buck began to fold them. The first few shirts, his and Eddie’s work t-shirts, were quickly folded and put into the basket to go to their rooms. He’d grabbed two baskets out of habit, not remembering until he was in the laundry room that he only needed one, but then kept finding random things that belonged to Christopher.And he was fine. Really, this wasn’t going to make him tear up. That was until he pulled one of Christopher’s shirts out of the dryer and held it up to fold it. The last time they’d gone to the aquarium, before Christopher entered high school, they’d gotten so soaked at the dolphin show that they’d ended up buying new shirts. As a joke, and to make Christopher roll his eyes, Buck had bought them matching shirts. There hadn’t been one in Christopher’s size so he’d still been able to easily wear it even years later.He hadn’t even realized the teen had worn it recently, but now he was holding it in his hands. He stared down at the shirt, realizing that he wasn’t going to be doing Christopher’s laundry for the next few months. He and Eddie were going to have a quiet house unless they made noise. He didn’t realize how not ready for it he was, until he held this shirt.A noise behind him startled him a bit and he turned to find Eddie leaning against the door jam. “You okay, babe?” Eddie questioned.Buck held up the shirt. “I just found this.” Lowering it, he looked down at it. “Our baby is gone, Eddie.” He sniffed a little, refusing to admit that there might be tears trying to break through. “And we aren’t going to have another.”“Well, not unless one of us has a plumbing change, no, we won’t.” Eddie frowned a little. “You don’t regret that, do you? I mean that we never had more kids.”“Regret?” Buck scrambled to his feet. “No. No, of course not.” He wrapped Eddie in his strong arms, continuing, “I do not regret any part of our relationship…” He squeezed Eddie tightly. “But our baby is gone.” He pulled back, glaring slightly at Eddie. “You never should have let him go to summer camp. That’s why he left us.”Eddie rolled his eyes. “Okay, drama queen. He’s at UCLA. It’s not like he’s across the world. And we’ll see him for Sunday dinner at Bobby and Athena’s.”“It won’t be the same.”Eddie wrapped his arms around Buck. “I know it won’t be the same, but we need to let him grow up. As much as we don’t like it.”“You’re taking this very well,” Buck commented.“When you finish freaking out, I’ll have my moment,” Eddie responded. He kissed Buck. “Right now, you’re freaking out enough for both of us.” He rested his forehead against Buck’s. “We’ll see him again soon.”“I know… but he’s not just down the hall,” Buck complained.Eddie reeled him back in, tucking his hands in the back pockets of Buck’s jeans. “He’s not. And that means we have a nice empty house.”Buck’s eyes lit up. “Screw chores,” he said, grabbing Eddie’s hand, he dragged him down the hall towards their bedroom. Laughing, Eddie allowed himself to be pulled. He should have known it would be easy to get Buck out of his funk. A moment later, the previously silent house rang with laughter followed quickly by moans.
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ami_ven
Any, any/any, "How was your day, dear?"
Sara/Leonard (Legends)
The slamming of the front door drew Leonard’s attention from his book. Sara had left that morning, telling Leonard that she was going to visit her sister. With Mick off with the current Legends, that had left Leonard home with the twins. They’d had a good morning, playing at the park, and after lunch, he’d put them down for a nap. Now he tilted his head, making sure that the sound of the door hadn’t woken them. There was no sound from the direction of their room so he turned his attention back to his book, waiting for Sara to appear.
A minute later, she stalked into the den and flung herself into a seat. “And how was your day, dear?” he drawled.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she grumbled. Looking around, she asked, “Where are the twins?”
“Sleeping,” he answered. “Wore them out at the park and put them down after lunch.”
“Mick?” she questioned.
“Still visiting the Legends. I don’t think he’ll be back for another couple of days.” When he glanced over at her, she was pouting. “What’s wrong?”
“I wanted to go dancing. Maybe find a bar… fight,” she admitted. “But someone has to stay home with the twins.”
Reaching out, he took her hand, tugging her until she straddled his legs and settled on his lap. Leonard ran his hands up her sides, suggesting, “I could call Sin. She loves spending time with the twins. And take you out.”
She contemplated his offer for a moment, then rested her arms on his shoulders and toyed with the short hairs at the back of his neck. “Or. You could just take me to bed.”
“I like that idea,” he agreed, sliding his hands under her ass in preparation to pick her up.
A wail from the other room stopped him cold. Sara sighed, dropping her head to his shoulder for a minute, then straightened, saying, “I got him, you get her?”
As Sara slid off his lap and headed for the twins’ room, he pulled his phone out, sending a quick text to Sin. They’d be responsible parents now, but tonight he was taking his Birdie out.
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drabblewriter
Apr. 18th, 2024 02:28 pm (local)
Any, any platonic friends, "Stop assuming we're dating!"
Buck/Tommy & Eddie
“Are you sure Tommy doesn’t mind me crashing your date?” Eddie asked as Buck slid into the driver’s seat of his Jeep.Buck put his seatbelt on before shifting the car into reverse and backing out of the driveway. “Tommy was the one who told me to invite you. Not sure if it’s to help keep an eye on me or compete with him.”Eddie chuckled. “Maybe it’s to be your medic when you fall and break something.”“Hey, I can run!” Buck protested. “Just because I’m not a Muay Thai super guy like the two of you…”Eddie laughed out loud at this comment. “Do you have any idea what a Mudder is?”“It’s running… through the mud,” Buck answered, but he didn’t seem too sure about that. “Right?”“Sure, Buck, we’ll go with that,” Eddie agreed.Getting anywhere in LA was never a quick experience and even though they’d left early in the morning, there was still traffic to contend with. Eddie relaxed back into the passenger seat, allowing Buck’s music to flow over him and the scenery to pass him by.Tommy was leaning against his truck when Buck pulled into the spot next to him. When the two men swung out of the Jeep, he stepped forward to greet them. As Buck stepped towards him, Eddie averted his gaze. He was fine with the two of them indulging in some light PDA, but didn’t feel the need to stare at them.“Eddie,” Tommy greeted him when the two were finished. “Glad you could make it.”“Couldn’t resist,” Eddie answered. “I don’t think I’ve ever run one of these officially.”Tommy chuckled. “Yeah. I know what you mean.” When Eddie looked over, Tommy and Buck’s hands were linked, their fingers entangled. He could only wish he’d have that level of comfort with one of the women he dated, but he’d mostly given up. He was happy having the friends he had and Christopher. Plus Buck was finally dating someone who seemed to get their level of co-dependency.Buck was grinning when Eddie’s eyes met his, bouncing a little on his feet. Eddie shook his head at his best friend acting like the golden retriever they all called him. “Did you explain this to Buck?” he asked as the three men moved towards the starting line.“Explain what to Buck?” the man in question asked as Tommy guided them towards the tent where they had to check in.“This isn’t just a run,” Eddie explained as Tommy signed them in. “It’s an obstacle course. Tommy signed us up to run as a team.”Buck’s eyes lit up and Eddie hid a smile to see it. It’d been years since they’d been in the academy and all of them had joined firefighting for different reasons, but the teamwork was part of what drew them in. Eddie knew that including Buck probably made the man’s day.Tommy looked over his shoulder at Buck’s chuckle, smiling to see Buck duck his head and grin at something Eddie said. “Your friends are a cute couple,” the volunteer said.A light snort burst out of Tommy as he said, “Um, actually the blond is my boyfriend. The darker haired one is our friend.”The girl blinked. “Um. Sorry. I guess I shouldn’t have assumed.” She held out a marker, saying, “You use this to write your team number on your arms, then return the marker. Pointing out a standing arch, she explained, “The starting line is over there. Just join the crowd. I think they’re going to do the speech soon and then you’ll start.”“It’s not a problem,” Tommy assured her. “Thank you.” He took the marker from the girl and headed over to where Buck was fussing over the brace on his knee. Eddie had crouched down to make sure it was sitting right. Buck looked up as Tommy rejoined them, giving him a sunny smile. Tommy held out the marker. “We use this to write our team number which is 8145 on our arms.”Buck’s smile turned into a frown as he took in Tommy’s demeanor. “What’s wrong?” he asked, stepping away from Eddie. He rested a hand on Tommy’s forearm, sliding it up a little when he had Tommy’s attention.“Nothing,” Tommy told him. “What could be wrong when I have two gorgeous men ready to get sweaty and muddy with me?”A wrinkle marred Buck’s forehead as he glanced between Tommy and the girl checking people in. “What did she say?”Tommy leaned towards him, pressing a kiss to Buck’s birthmark and then to his lips. “Nothing important, sweetheart,” he said easily. “You boys ready?” Buck held out his arm in response and Tommy scrawled their number on it before doing the same for Eddie. Buck scrawled it on Tommy’s arm before they handed it back to the girl.“You might be older than us,” Eddie commented as they began following the crowd towards the starting line. “But we aren’t that much younger.”There were other people already waiting at the starting line and the three firefighters joined the crowd. Tommy glanced over at Buck to find the youngest of their group people watching with avid interest. Buck’s blue eyes darted around as he tried to take in every part of what they were surrounded by. Even as he watched, Eddie stepped up next to Buck, very obviously watching his back.Tommy tuned out most of the inspiring speech, choosing to watch Buck as his boyfriend yelled and cheered with the rest of them. Whenever Buck turned to look at Tommy, the dark haired man smiled. This was the first time he’d run a mudder with a dedicated team and he was eager to see how well it worked.As they took off, keeping pace together, Tommy realized that he hadn’t considered the bond between the other two when he’d invited both of them. It took hardly a glance between them for them to communicate and he found himself a couple of beats behind their plans.When they reached the Hero Wall, Tommy put his back against it, squatting so Eddie could go up first. Sitting on top of the wall, Eddie reached down to give Buck a hand up. Together the two of them reached down to pull Tommy up after them.Each obstacle proved that Buck and Eddie worked well as a team, but after a couple, they got into the rhythm of including Tommy in it. He’d never had that bond, that partnership, the two shared, but he didn’t feel like Eddie was trying to horn in on his relationship. Their bond had started before he’d even met them and somehow had expanded to include his and Buck’s relationship. Tommy had really expected more pushback from Eddie, but it seemed that as long as he was cognizant of their relationship… it was all well.As they waited for their turn to climb Everest, Tommy found himself standing next to another Mudder. Buck and Eddie were nearby, watching the others climb the obstacle and discussing the pros and cons of different plans of attack.The man nodded at Buck and Eddie before saying, “I wonder how many times they’ve done one of these.”“It’s their first time,” Tommy answered easily. “They just have a very tight partnership.”“Partners?” the man asked.Tommy glanced at him. “Not that way. They’ve worked together for six years and they’re friends outside of work.” He indicated Buck, who was no longer blond as the mud had covered his hair. “He’s my boyfriend.”The man looked at him incredulously. “You’re a better man than me,” he commented. “Don’t think I’d let my boyfriend have a relationship like that.”Tommy looked at them again as Buck started laughing. “I’ve had enough time to make my stupid mistakes,” he said. He waved as Buck called to him. “Time for me to go see what those two have planned.”He left the man standing there to go find out the plan for conquering Everest. Buck might enjoy spending time with Eddie and they might share a bond, but Tommy was the one who got to see Buck fall apart. He could live with Eddie in his life if he had Buck. If only people would stop assuming Buck and Eddie were dating.