The truck slowed down as they arrived at the cemetery and Buck felt peaceful. It might be a bit weird but Buck had always liked cemeteries, to her they were peaceful and calm, where you could walk around and mourn at your own pace.
She looked up and caught Eddie looking at her with a smile and she couldn't help but smile back. It had been almost two months since their first date and everything was going great. Eddie was so sweet and she knew she was slowly but surely falling in love with him and she hoped he felt the same.
Christopher was all for them dating and he seemed to love when they did family dates where he was included. Something that made Buck want to cry in happiness was that Christopher came to her when he needed to talk and didn't feel like he could talk to Eddie, gosh Buck loved that kid.
If Buck were being honest, and she tried to be, at least to herself, she could admit that she had never felt the way she felt about Eddie for another person. When she was younger, she had slept around, not because she strictly wanted to, sex to her had always been… meh. Like sure, sex felt physically pleasurable, but before and after she just felt weird.
It took one of her falls into the rabbit hole of the internet to figure out that she was demisexual and what that meant. Before that she had always thought there was something wrong with her, that she was defective in some way.
Buck had told Eddie about her demi sexuality on their second date and after he had admitted that he heard her telling Taylor Kelly about it, and after asking her to explain it a bit more, he had accepted her whole heartedly and without reservations. If Buck had actually cried at that easy acceptance, that was between her and Eddie.
"You could just ask him out, you know?" Hen said to her as they walked towards the accident scene.
"What?" Buck asked with confusion.
"You have spent the last 10 minutes staring at Eddie." Hen smirked. "Ask him out."
"Let's juts focus on the job, okay?" Buck huffed with a slight awkward smile.
Her and Eddie had not really told them about them dating yet. It wasn't that they were ashamed or anything, and they weren't really hiding it either, it just so happened that they hadn't come out and told them, 'Hey guys, we're dating'.
"I'm just saying, I don't think he'll say no." Hen smirked as Buck walked over to Bobby who was getting information.
"So we have one guy still missing?" Bobby asked as the man he was talking to led him towards the accident.
"Yes, it's horrible." The man sniveled. "Elisio and Stavros were preparing Mrs. Mandechek's final resting place and they just got sucked in."
"Okay." Bobby said and Buck followed as he walked over to the worker they had saved already. "Sir, can you tell me what happened down there?"
"Me and Stavros were… digging a plot…" Elisio broke of to cough. "… when we were pulled in. Like the grave was digging itself."
"A sinkhole." Chim pointed his flashlight towards where they had been digging. "The quake shifted everything around down there. We're basically walking around on eggshells and bubble wrap. See it?"
"How long ago did this happened?" Bobby wanted to know.
"I don't know." Elisio answered slowly. "Half an hour, maybe?"
"Let's move guys." Bobby ordered.
Buck walked towards the sinkhole, trying to think off a way to help Stavros who was still trapped in there somewhere.
"Whoa…" Bobby caught her before she could fall into the sinkhole when where she stepped started to… sink? "Easy. This whole side is like quicksand. I don't want you to fall in there and drag ten tons of loose soil on top of yourself and our friend down there."
"He's been breathing dirt for half an hour, Cap." Buck pointed out sadly. "I can hold my breath for a long time but…"
"Well, maybe not." Bobby said thoughtfully.
"What are you thinking?" Buck wanted to know.
"Eggshells and bubble wrap." Bobby stated simply.
Everyone was quiet for a few seconds before Eddie spoke up, "Air pockets."
"Yeah, we just have to find out where they are." Bobby pointed out.
Together they all worked to place wooden pieces down on the ground around and inside the sinkhole to distribute their weight more evenly. After they had placed the wooden pieces as best they could Bobby grabbed a thermal camera and with Buck at his back, walked out onto one of the wooden pieces.
"Is this considered grave robbing?" Buck asked as she stood behind Bobby. "Because if it is, this job is really becoming messed up."
"I don't think it's considered grave robbing, Buck." Bobby reassured her. "It's more of a grey zone."
"Well that clears it up." Buck chuckled. "Thanks Cap."
After they had found Stavros and Hen had been completely badass with the digger, they were finally on their way back to the firehouse. Buck all the while glaring at Hen for saying that the spirits might not be happy with them for disturbing their resting place.
The shift started bright and early, Eddie and Buck hadn't even managed to do more than change into their work clothes and sit down before the bell had rung. Luckily, they had managed to have a breakfast date before work so they wouldn't have to work hungry.
Eddie felt giddy. His relationship with Buck was moving forward at a slow but steady pace. Christopher adored her, Abuela and Pepa thought she was the sweetest and in only two weeks he would finally be divorced and have full custody off his son. Life was looking up.
And sure, he and Buck hadn't had sex yet but that didn't matter to Eddie. Even if they'd never have sex, he was happy and content in their relationship, but he knew that both him and Buck wanted to take the next step, it was just a little hard to find time for just the two of them, where they could take the time to take it slow.
"The old trail should be right up there." Bobby pointed out and brought Eddie back to the task at hand, he and Buck grabbing their gear incase they had to rappel down the side of the cliff. "Park warden said they closed it down a few years back. Guess every once in a while, they still get thrill-seekers who ignore the signs."
"They haven't been able to ping the phone?" Eddie asked as he fell into step with Bobby.
"No contact since the call was dropped." Bobby informed them as they started to make their way up the trail.
"I can understand why people would wan to go on this trail." Buck said as they made their way along the trail. "It's beautiful here."
"Yes, it is." Eddie smiled as he looked directly at Buck.
"I love hiking." Buck admitted softly. "Nature and sunshine, it's amazing."
"Do you think she gets that he's flirting with her?" Hen whispered quietly to Chim, not knowing that both Eddie and Buck could hear her.
"Nope, I think they are both oblivious idiots." Chim muttered back.
Eddie looked at Buck from the corner of his eye and saw that she was biting her lip to prevent herself from laughing. At first, he and Buck just hadn't said anything about them dating because they wanted to see if it would work and not have to listen to the teasing, but now they just didn't say anything because it was hilarious to listen to the others in the firehouse talk about them and how 'oblivious' they were to each other.
They came to an outcrop and stopped to look around when Eddie saw something glinting in the sun. "Cap."
"Yeah." Bobby and the rest of the team followed Eddie.
"I guess this is where he went over." Buck said as they saw the selfie stick and phone laying on the ground. "Guys, just a tiny, itsy bitsy, question: How did he manage to call 9-1-1 if he dropped his phone here?"
"Maybe he has a smart watch or something." Eddie offered with a shrug.
"All right, everybody gear up!" Bobby ordered. "Hen, Chimney, get the winch and the guidelines. Prep a basket just in case. I'm gonna radio Aerial Recon, have 'em on standby."
"Copy that." Chim acknowledged as he and Hen walked away to do just that.
"This is Captain Bobby Nash. T-118." Bobby radioed in as Eddie and Buck strapped themselves in. "Aerial Recon to Abalone Cove in Palos Verdes."
"Copy that, T-188." Dispatched answered the radio call.
"You still up for going trick or treating with Christopher and me?" Eddie asked quietly as they waited for Hen and Chim to come back.
"Yeah." Buck smiled brightly at him. "I'm actually really looking forward to it, if I'm honest."
"So are we." Eddie smiled back. "So, what are you going dressed as?"
"That is for me to know and for you to find out." Buck smirked.
"Oh, come on, not even a hint?" Eddie mock pouted.
"I'll give you a hint, if you want." Buck chuckled. "But only one."
"Lay it on me." Eddie nodded seriously but a smile was playing at the corner of his mouth.
"Green." Buck looked at him with glittering eyes.
"Green?" Eddie asked in confusion.
"Green." Buck actually giggled as Hen and Chim came back and they were back to focusing on work.
As the made their way down the cliffside Eddie laughed to himself when he saw Buck leering at his ass. One thing Buck did when she wanted him to smile or laugh was stare at his ass, which was, according to her, perfection.
He had never been with someone who made him feel so good and comfortable in himself and who he was. Sure, he had gotten a lot of compliments on his looks, but no one had so blatantly checked out his ass as Buck did and she wasn't even embarrassed about it. Buck was also the only person he had ever been with that said 'Screw it' to gender rolls and norms. One such occasion was when she had given him a bouquet flowers and a box of chocolate as she picked him up for a date that she had planned.
That had made him feel warm all over and he hadn't stopped smiling for days afterwards. Who knew flowers could have such an effect on him? Buck also refused to let Eddie be the one to pay for everything, demanding that they either split the check or they traded of who paid, and Eddie had no idea what he had done to be so lucky to find someone like her.
"Okay, there is one thing you have to let me try when we have some free time though." Buck declared as they came to the bottom of the cliff.
"And what's that?" Eddie unhooked himself to make it easier to look around.
"I really, really, want to try and bounce a nickel off your ass." Buck looked at him with big, pleading, blue eyes.
"What?" Eddie snorted.
"Please?" Buck begged.
"Okay, sure." Eddie agreed with a smirk mixed smile as Buck beamed at him. "But to make it fare I want to try and bounce one of your ass, too."
"Deal." Buck nodded quickly.
"Eres una mujer maravillosa y no puedo creer que tenga la suerte de llamarte mío." Eddie hummed as he smiled at her. (You are a marvelous woman and I can't believe I'm lucky enough to call you mine.)
"You do remember that I don't speak Spanish, right?" Buck raised an eyebrow at him and Eddie just laughed.
"Buck, Eddie, you guys see anything down there?" Bobby's voice came over the radio.
"Nope." Buck answered. "Just a million-dollar view."
Eddie looked down and frowned. "Cap, found something."
"Is it our hiker?" Bobby asked as Buck joined Eddie.
"A hiker." Eddie said into the radio as Buck grabbed something from under the big rock. "Don't think it's the one we came looking for. It's human remains, Cap. Skeletal remains."
"All right. Well, flag it but don't disturb it." Bobby ordered. "We'll call it in."
"Unless…" Buck smirked and held up a phone.
"What, you think a ghost called 911?" Eddie chuckled.
"I'm just saying." Buck laughed. "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
"Don't go quoting Spock at me." Eddie bantered back.
"Spock?" Buck looked confused. "That was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle."
"Help!" A male voice called out in the distance.
"Okay." Eddie smirked. "So, no ghost."
Eddie led they way towards where they had heard the call for help, Buck close on his heels.
"What's going on down there, guys?" Bobby's voice sounded from the radio again.
"Yeah, I think we heard something, Cap." Buck informed him.
As they rounded a couple of big rocks, they finally saw a young man laying on the ground. Eddie quickly made his way towards him, "Easy, buddy, we're here."
"Hey, Cap, we got a live one." Buck said into the radio and Eddie wanted to chuckle, 'A live one' really?
"Can you tell me your name?" Eddie asked the injured man.
"Ian." He groaned out.
"Ian, okay. I'm Eddie and that's Buck." Eddie introduced himself and Buck. "We're gonna get you out of here, okay?"
"My le-leg is broken." Ian pointed out.
"Alrigth, guys, we're going to send down a basket to you." Bobby informed them.
"How'd you find me?" Ian wanted to know.
"It wasn't easy." Buck smiled at Ian. "You weren't on long enough for them to ping your phone."
"On with who?" Ian asked slowly.
"With, uh, with 911." Buck looked up at Eddie and silently asked about head injuries.
"I dropped my phone when I went over." Ian told them. "I didn't call 911."
"You don't have a smart watch or anything like that?" Eddie asked as he examined Ian.
"No, I was thinking about getting one but…" Ian trailed of as his voice grew weaker.
"Hey Ian, I need you to stay awake for me, okay?" Buck shuffled over so she was sitting besides his head, slowly stroking a gentle hand through his hair.
"I'll try." Ian said and forced his eyes open.
"You have anyone waiting for you at home?" Buck started a conversation as Eddie tied a tourniquet around Ian's leg.
"I live… alone… with my… cat." Ian gasped out.
"What's his or her name?" Buck wanted to know.
"Iroh." Ian smiled. "I named him after Uncle Iroh from the Last Airbender."
"That's awesome." Buck chuckled. "You don't have a special someone in your life?"
"Not really." Ian murmured. "Though, I do have a date with this really cute guy on Friday. Or I guess, I had a date with a really cute guy on Friday, I don't think he'd want to go out now."
"I think he would still want to, you just have to ask." Buck reassured him. "Tell me about him?"
"His name is Gray and he has the prettiest smile I have ever seen." Ian smiled and kept talking about Gray until they had managed to secure him in the basket and send him on his way to the hospital.
"I have a good feeling about Gray." Buck called after Ian as he was winched up.
"You are a sap." Eddie grabbed her and pulled her into a soft kiss.
"I might be." Buck smiled into the kiss, before pulling back. "You nervous about tomorrow?"
"A little." Eddie admitted as they made their way back towards where they lines were. "I have heard only good things about this school and I do want Christopher to have the best opportunities, but what if it doesn't work out?"
"It will." Buck sounded so certain that Eddie couldn't help but let her certainty fill him.
Eddie felt awkward as he helped Christopher pack his lunch, the tie around his neck felt restricting and the dress shirt itchy. Buck had agreed to come and pick Christopher up and drive him to Abuela's before her shift started while Eddie and Carla went to the meeting at what Eddie hoped would be Christopher's new school.
There was a knock on the door followed by a happy "Buck!" and Eddie smiled.
"Good Morning, superman, how are you today?" Buck's voice floated through the house as Christopher led her towards the kitchen.
"I'm great!" Christopher said happily. "Bisabuela has promised that we're going to decorate cupcakes today."
"Cupcakes?" Buck gasped. "That sounds epic."
"Yeah, I'll even save one for you if you want?" Christopher offered.
"I'd be honored." Buck hummed as they walked into the kitchen.
"Good morning, cariño." Eddie smiled at her.
"Well, fudge." Buck muttered as she looked at him and Eddie frowned in confusion. "Hey, Chris, why don't you go and get your bag from your room."
"Okay." Christopher hurried off as fast as he could, excited to spend a time with Buck even though it wasn't a lot.
"Eddie." Buck walked over, her voice sounding a bit strange.
"Everything okay?" Eddie asked slowly.
Buck didn't answer, she just pulled him into a deep kiss, licking at the seem of his lips. Eddie felt heat flash through him and quickly spun them around, pressing Buck against the fridge as he deepened the kiss even more and pushing his leg between her jean clad thighs, hearing Buck moan.
They slowly pulled away from each other, heated eyes locked together but knowing that they couldn't do anything right now.
"What brought this on?" Eddie asked as he ran his thump over Buck's kiss swollen lower lip.
"Do you have any idea how good you look right now?" Buck whispered lowly.
"Bucky, I'm ready!" Christopher called from the hallway.
"I'm coming, buddy!" Buck called back and with one last kiss she extracted herself form Eddie's arms. "Good luck at your meeting today."
Eddie leaned back against the fridge and took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm down and make his erection go away, he did not have time for this. With a quick look in the mirror to see if he looked presentable, Eddie walked out to his truck and made his way towards the school and the meeting.
Two hours later Eddie and Carla walked alongside the principal of the school as she gave them a tour. "Our grounds include two outdoor play areas, state of the art gymnasium, music, theater, the full range of academic offerings, as well as behavioral and cognitive programs."
"Look. Um… The programs sound good, but Christopher's happiness is what's important to me." Eddie looked at the principal. "I want him to feel normal, not like some special-needs charity case."
"Every child is special. And yes, some do have additional needs, but they're all equally our children." The Principal said calmly and nodded over to the side. "They learn as much from each other as they do from us."
Eddie walked over to look into one of the classrooms with Carla at his side, he smiled when he heard Carla speak up. "I think Christopher would be well cared for."
Eddie chuckled and turned back and walked back to the Principal. "Okay. Let's do it."
"The only thing left would be the family interview." The Principal smiled.
"I'm sorry?" Eddie felt confused.
"Oh, Christopher is terrific." The Principal hurried to assure. "We have your information. All we need now is to meet Mrs. Diaz. That won't be a problem, will it?"
"Yes, it will be a problem." Eddie sighed tiredly. "Shannon, Christopher's mom, left him with me without a word 2 years ago. I had my lawyer write up divorce papers and send them to her but she didn't answer. This continued every three months for the last two years. In around 10 days the court will annul my marriage and grant me full custody of my son because Shannon hasn't answered any of the tries to contact her."
"Oh, I'm sorry." The Principal looked apologetic. "Then it doesn't seem to be a problem not to meet the soon to be former Mrs. Diaz."
"So that's it?" Eddie asked hopefully. "If you want, I can get my lawyer to contact you and he can tell you everything?"
"That would be great." The Principal smiled. "But I can already say that Christopher has a place at this school."
"Thank you so much." Eddie smiled relived.
"Of course." The Principal nodded. "Now, there are only a few more things that needs to be signed but that can be done the week before school starts."
"What are the things that needs to be signed?" Carla wanted to know.
"Emergency contacts, who is and isn't allowed to pick Christopher up from school, if Christopher has any allergies and things like that." The Principal explained as she walked them out.
"Are you alright?" Carla asked as they walked towards their cars.
"Yeah, I'm fine, that is just a subject I rather not talk about." Eddie admitted.
"I can understand that." Carla nodded before she frowned. "What would happen if, Shannon was it?, came back tomorrow? How would the annulment and the custody of Christopher work then?"
"Well, the annulment will still go through, nothing can stop that now, not even Shannon." Eddie felt grateful for that. "But the custody for Christopher is a little more complicated and we'll have to go to court for it, but my lawyer is positive that the odds are in my favor."
"Well, that's a relief." Carla smiled before it twisted into a little half smirk. "Have the rest of your team figured out that you and Buck are dating yet?"
"Hahaha, no and it's becoming harder and harder not to laugh when we hear them talking about how oblivious we are." Eddie chuckled.
"You two are having way too much fun with this." Carla gave a quiet laugh.
"Thank you for going with me today, Carla, I really appreciate it." Eddie smiled at her.
"Of course, it's no problem." Carla waved him off. "Now, go to your Abuela's and spend some time with your family before you have to go to work."
"Yes, ma'am." Eddie laughed as he jumped into his truck and drove away.
The laughter and camaraderie could be felt all through the firehouse as the 118 gathered for dinner. Bobby had made casserole and for some reason Buck had made it her mission to make everyone laugh. She did this by telling jokes and everyone was all for it.
"Do you guys know the most common allergen amongst lesbians?" Buck asked as she leaned back in her chair.
"What?" Hen asked with a raised eyebrow as sounds of denial and unknowledge was called out from around them.
"Nuts." Buc smirked and laughter rang through the place.
"That was so bad." Chim chuckled.
"But not wrong." Hen laughed.
"Really Buck?" Bobby asked even as he had laughter in his eyes.
"Do another joke." Jackson leaned forward.
"A cowboy walked into a bar, sat down and ordered a shot. Across the bar there's a Mexican man staring at the cowboy. The cowboy downs his shot, slams the glass down on the counter and called out 'T-G-I-F'. The Mexican man orders a shot, downed it, slammed the glass down on the counter and called out 'S-P-I-T'." Buck smiled as she told her joke, feeling Eddie subtly rub his thumb over her shoulder blade. "The cowboy looks over at the Mexican, noticing that he was still staring and ordered another shot, downed it and called out 'T-G-I-F'. The Mexican man fires back, orders a shot, downs it and called out 'S-P-I-T'."
Buck paused to take a sip of water before she continued, "This goes on for a while, the bartender is confused and annoyed and so he finally has had enough and walked up to the cowboy and asked, 'Do you know what T-G-I-F means?' the Cowboy answers 'Hell yes I know what it means, 'Thank God It's Friday!' the bartender nodded and turned around to walk over to the Mexican. 'Excuse me senior, but what does S-P-I-T mean?'" Buck smirked as she looked at the people around her, "The Mexican ordered a shot, downed it and called out 'Stupid Pendejo It's Thursday!'."
Jackson snorted milk out of his nose as he burst out laughing along with everyone else. When everyone started to calm down Buck looked thoughtful and said, "For some reason I always picture Eddie as the Mexican when I tell that joke." Which made everyone start laughing again.
"Have any more jokes for us, Buckley?" Paulson asked with a wide grin.
Before Buck could answer the alarm sounded all through the firehouse and everyone was moving. Before Buck climbed fully into the truck, she turned to Paulson who was climbing into the other truck. "Hey Paulson, what do you call an Irish lesbian?"
"No idea, Buckley." Paulson called back.
"Gaylick!" Buck closed the door to the sound of laughter.
As they arrived on the scene of the bat attack, and that just made Buck chuckle quietly to herself, there was chaos all around. After her and Eddie had crabbed a back of tools, they walked towards Bobby to get their orders.
"Buck, Eddie, head around back, see if you can figure out the power situation." Bobby said as they approached. "We can't save what we can't see."
"On it, Cap." Buck acknowledged as she and Eddie made their way to the back.
"Did you know that Bats can live more than 30 years and can fly at speeds of 60 miles per hour or more!" Buck said happily as they walked. "And that baby bats are called pups? Which is frankly adorable."
"I did not know that." Eddie chuckled softly.
"And that there Are More Than 1,200 Species of Bats in the world." Buck continued her happy babbling. "Bat Droppings Can Be Used to Make Gunpowder. And bats aren't really blind, only the smaller species of bats use echolocation as their main means of orienting themselves. Bigger bats can see better than humans. Sight is a blessing and a curse, however, because sight can override echolocation signals. For instance, a bat may fly into a window because it sees light outside, even if echolocation tells it the surface is solid."
Eddie stopped and turned around as they arrived at the power station, grabbed Buck gently around the back of the head and pulled her into a soft kiss. "You are an adorable nerd."
"Sorry." Buck muttered with a blush while looking down.
"Don't apologize." Eddie smiled at her. "I mean it. You are adorable and I like it when you tell me all these random facts. It's just hard not to kiss you when you do."
"You really don't fine it annoying?" Buck asked hopefully. Most people found her habit off sprouting out random facts that most people found uninteresting to be annoying and most just told her to shut up.
"Why would it be annoying?" Eddie wondered as he stroked a thumb over her cheekbone.
"Because I babble and I talk and I never shut up and I…" Buck muttered.
"Whoever told you that is an idiot." Eddie told her before kissing her again. "But let's focus back on the job at hand before I get lost in your eyes, yeah?"
"Thank you." Buck gave a small, fragile, smile as she helped him turn the power back on, a blush staining her cheeks.
"So, what are you doing tomorrow?" Eddie asked as they slowly walked back towards the trucks.
"Not much, really." Buck shrugged. "Keep scourging the internet for apartments, I guess."
"Wanna come over and have lunch with me and then we can start season 2 of Charmed?" Eddie grabbed her hand and interlaced their fingers.
"That sounds wonderful, actually." Buck leaned into him gently as they walked. "Are you going to cook?"
"The only thing I can really make is scrambled eggs and that is more breakfast food then lunch, don't you think?" Eddie chuckled. "I was thinking we could order Thai or Chinees?"
"Thai sounds great." Buck agreed. "Should I pick it up on the way or?"
"Nah, I'll order it and have it delivered so we can eat when you arrive." Eddie decided.
"Sounds good." Buck gave Eddie's hand one last squeeze before letting go as they made it back to their team.
Eddie looked at himself in the mirror and chuckled, he looked ridiculous, but if this was the price to pay to go trick-or-treating with his son and Buck than it was all worth it. He shook his head before going to say goodbye to Carla who was ready to leave for the day.
Carla startled when she turned around and saw him standing in the doorway, then she laughed, "Are you some kind of pirate?"
"Snake Plissken?" Eddie asked as he pulled the fake gun. "Escape from New York? Kurt Russell? John Carpenter's masterpiece?"
"Oh, right, right." Carla chuckled as it finally clicked. "Well, I prefer Tango & Cash myself. But you look cute, so I approve."
"Cute?" Eddie mumbled to himself.
"Though I'm disappointed that costume didn't come with a smile." Carla said like she hadn't heard him.
"What if Buck doesn't like it?" The words slipped out before Eddie could stop them.
"Oh, sweetie, she will love it." Carla reassured him. "As long as it's you, she would have like it even if you wore a potato sack."
"Really?" Eddie felt a pleased smile creep onto his face.
"Oh, you are so gone on that woman." Carla chuckled at him and he felt the blush make its way onto his face.
"Is it that obvious?" Eddie wanted to know.
"No, but you've got to remember, I've been here since the start." Carla smiled at him.
"Daddy?" Christopher made his way towards them, clawed hands raised and growling.
"You know what, you're so cute, I could just rip you to shreds." Carla laughed and Eddie decided to stand with Christopher as they both growled.
"Wonder who that could be?" Carla hummed as there was a knock on the door.
"Bucky!" Christopher called out as Carla went to open the door.
"Well, look at you, Buckaroo." Carla sounded impressed.
"Hey Carla." Buck sounded happy and as she stepped into the house there was a tinkling sound.
Eddie felt his breath get caught in his throat as he saw Buck in her Halloween costume and he finally understood the Green hint. She was dressed in small green ballet flats, a knee length green dress with bells on it, her hair up in a bun at the top of her head and shimmering green wings on her back.
"You're Tinkerbell!" Christopher called out with delight.
"All you need is faith, trust and a little pixie-dust." Buck giggled as she waved a silver and green wand over Christopher. "And how are you this evening, Wolverine?"
"I'll protect you from the bad guys." Christopher declared with a bright smile.
"I feel safer already." Buck smiled back at him before turning to Eddie. "Hi."
"Hello." Eddie pulled her into a soft kiss.
"Ewww." Christopher giggled as they pulled back.
"Well, you three seem to have everything under control so I'm going to go home to my husband." Carla chuckled.
"Bye Carla and say hello to Howard from me." Buck hugged Carla before she left.
"Go get your candy bucket, Chris, and then we'll go trick-or-treating." Eddie smiled as Christopher shuffled to do just that before he turned back to Buck. "You look stunning, cariño."
"Thank you." Buck blushed and smiled at him. "You don't look so bad yourself. I mean, I knew you had powerful arms, but this? Wow."
"But from the look in your eyes you have no idea who I am dressed as." Eddie chuckled, feeling pleased that she liked it anyway.
"Sorry." Buck chuckled.
"It's just another movie we have to put on the list." Eddie hummed as he pulled her close.
"You're getting glitter all over your shirt." Buck giggled.
"Worth it." Eddie whispered before kissing her again.
A few hours later, after Christopher had filled his candy bucket to the rim, an old man had leered at Buck and Buck and Eddie had gotten complimented on their costumes by an elderly couple, they walked into Eddie's house. Christopher had talked them into watching Finding Nemo while they cuddled and ate the spoils of the evening, but Eddie had demanded they eat dinner first.
Eddie noticed Buck blinking a lot and shifting as they waited for the pizza to arrive and felt concern, "Buck, are you okay?"
"Huh?" Buck looked up and Eddie could see that her eyes were read. "Yeah, sorry, it's just that as you know I usually don't wear makeup, and that makes my eyes sting when I actually do. Maddie thinks I'm allergic to my eyeliner, but I'm to cheap and lazy to buy a new one."
"You can take a shower if you want." Eddie offered softly. "I'll put some clean clothes on the counter in the bathroom and then you don't have feel discomfort."
"Thank you." Buck looked so grateful that Eddie wondered what sort of people she had dated before that made her shocked and grateful for such a simple offer.
Fifteen minutes later Eddie walked over and knocked on the bathroom door, "The Pizza is here."
"I'll be right out." Buck called out and Eddie heard the shower shut off.
Eddie was placing a slice of pizza in front of Christopher as Buck walked into the kitchen, her hair up in a towel and wearing Eddie's clothes. That did something to the possessive side Eddie didn't even know he had until he met Buck.
"Thank you for letting me use the shower and borrow your clothes." Buck smiled and kissed him on the cheek.
"Anytime, cariño, anytime." Eddie assured her.
"You can borrow my clothes anytime you need to, too." Christopher piped up with a beaming smile.
"That's so sweet, Chris, but I think your clothes would be a bit to small." Buck chuckled as she ruffled his hair.
"Oh." Christopher looked down a little sadly before perking up again. "Well, you can borrow my blankets whenever you need to."
"Thank you, sweetie." Buck kissed Christopher on the cheek as she sat down and the boy looked very pleased.
Waking up with Buck sleeping on his chest was one of the best feelings in the world. They were both fully clothed and nothing had happened, but just sleeping with her in his arms had given him the bets nights sleep he had had in… a long time.
After eating the pizza the day before, Christopher had dragged both him and Buck to the sofa to watch the promised movie. Buck had cuddled close to Eddie, burying herself into his side as he draped an arm around her and Eddie hadn't been able to stop smiling.
That she had fallen asleep in the middle of the movie had made pride bloom in his chest, knowing that it was a show of absolute trust. He had, of course, woken her up after the movie was over and asked if she wanted to stay the night, giving her the option of sleeping in the guest room. The happiness he had felt when she chose to sleep in his bed, cuddled close, was hard to describe.
Eddie was brought back to the present by the insistent buzzing of his phone and he smiled when Buck groaned and said, "Either answer it or kill it."
"Hello?" Eddie answered with a smile.
"Is this Eddie Diaz?" A female voice sounded from the other end.
"This is he." Eddie sat up a little.
"This is Principal Summers." The woman said and Eddie recognized her voice.
"Principal Summers, what can I help you with?" Eddie asked, trying to sound calm.
"I am so sorry, Mr. Diaz, but there seems to have been a mistake and your ex-wife was contacted about Christopher starting here." Principal Summers sounded apologetic. "We decided not to alarm her when she showed up and have been doing out best to distract her."
"Wait, she's there right now?!" Eddie exclaimed loudly, making Buck wake up completely.
"Yes, and we are not sure how you want us to handle this." Principal Summers said quickly. "I know that your marriage to this woman will be officially annulled in two days and that you should gain custody on the same day, but how are we supposed to act right now?"
"Just… just treat her like any other mother to potential students, I'll be there outside in fifteen minutes." Eddie quickly got up ad started to get dressed.
"Okay, we'll keep her occupied for another twenty minutes then." Principal Summers decided. "And I'll send everything to your lawyer if you want?"
"I would greatly appreciate that, thank you." Eddie told her and hung up the phone after they said goodbye. "Shit!"
"Eddie, what's wrong?" Buck gently took his hands in hers.
Eddie quickly explained what was going on, finishing with "And I don't know what to do."
"Go with your gut." Buck advised. "From what I've gotten to know about you, your gut rarely lead you wrong."
"Okay, I guess your right." Eddie nodded and calmed down slightly.
"I'll take care of Chris until you get back and then we can play some boardgames or something, just have a nice calm day." Buck offered softly.
"What would I do without you?" Eddie kissed her softly before wrapping her in a hug.
"Luckily for you, you don't have to find out." Buck teased. "Now go, you don't want to be late."
On the way to the school, Eddie called his lawyer and talked about what he could do legally and what this could mean. After Marcus, his lawyer, had reassured him that there was no chance in the universe that Shannon could stop the marriage from being annulled, Eddie felt calmer. That she couldn't demand Christopher back or even to see him without going to court, also helped.
When he saw Shannon walk out of the school, wearing a yellow summer dress that would have made his breath catch and his heart skip a beat once upon a time, he felt nothing except annoyance.
The first time Eddie met Shannon he thought her beautiful and funny, but now? Compared to Buck, Shannon was plain and boring. Not only in looks but in personality too. And yes, Eddie might be biased but he was allowed to be, he had a wonderful son and a goddess waiting for him at home.
As he saw Shannon come closer, he got out of the truck and got in her way, "What are you doing here, Shannon?"
"Hello to you to, Eddie." Shannon smiled flirtatiously, but Eddie just huffed.
"What are you doing here?" Eddie repeated, letting some of his annoyance leak into his voice.
"Well, the school contacted me about admitting Christopher here and I wanted to see what sort of school it was." Shannon kept smiling, like she hadn't left him and Christopher, hadn't ignored Eddie's lawyers attempt to contact her.
"Why do you even care?" Eddie wanted to know.
"He's my son." Shannon sneered before she quickly hid it behind another smile.
"Is he?" Eddie frowned. "Because from where I'm standing you abandoned him and haven't been his mother since then."
"I'm your wife, Eddie, you should show some respect." Shannon demanded.
"You're only my wife for another two days." Eddie smirked, feeling happy about that.
"I haven't signed any divorce papers so you can't just decide our marriage is over." Shannon scoffed, an ugly sneer on her face.
"And you not having signed the divorce papers, and not even been in contact with my lawyer, is the reason why our marriage is getting annulled by the courts in two days." Eddie informed her.
"I want to see my son." Shannon declared, ignoring everything Eddie had said.
"No." Eddie said simply.
"You can't keep me from my son, Edmundo!" Shannon glared darkly.
"Yes, I can." Eddie tried not to smirk at her. "You see, you in your infinite wisdom of not having any contact with Christopher for several years, has made it possible for me to petition for full custody."
"You can't do that without contacting me." Shannon's voice sounded screechy.
"We did contact you." Eddie pointed out. "But you obviously didn't read the papers or the emails my lawyer sent to you. This means that for you to be able to see Christopher you need either my permission, which you don't have, or the courts permission until I'm either granted full custody or not."
"I will get my son back, Edmundo!" Shannon sneered and slapped him across the face before walking away to her car and driving off.
Eddie felt the stinging in his cheek and didn't really know how to react. She had slapped him. Why? He knew the conversation wasn't the best but it had been calm, at least from his side it had been.
"Mr. Diaz, are you alright?" Principal Summers almost ran over to him. "We saw everything and I have already made sure copies from the security tapes be sent to your lawyer."
"Thank you." Eddie looked up at her and smiled. "I'm fine, just shocked."
"You're bleeding." Principal Summers pointed out softly.
"I am?" Eddie brought a hand up to his cheek and flinched slightly as he touched something wet that made the stinging worse.
"Here." Principal Summers held out a compact mirror.
"Thanks." Eddie opened the mirror and looked at himself.
On the side where Shannon had slapped him there were three thin scratches. Eddie figured she must have used her nails as she delivered the slap and wondered what he could tell Christopher because he refused to tell him what really happened or that he had even talked to Shannon.
After Shannon had left, Christopher had acted weird and while he had gone back to his normal happy kid self a few months later, even to this day Christopher would go quiet and withdrawn if anyone brought Shannon up. It worried Eddie but he didn't push Christopher into telling him, certain that he would come talk to him when he felt ready. Or maybe he'll talk to 'his Buck'.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Principal Summers asked slowly.
"Yeah, I'll just put some antibacterial cream on the scratches when I get home." Eddie shrugged.
"That's good but I meant emotionally." Principal Summers smiled softly.
"I'm more shocked than anything." Eddie chuckled. "I thought we were having a calm conversation and then 'Bam' I get slapped."
"If you're sure." Principal Summers nodded. "While you are here, do you want to sign those papers now?"
"Yeah, that sounds good." Eddie agreed, feeling like it was a good idea to get it done.
An hour later Eddie walked back into his house to the sound of Christopher's laughter and felt a smile grow on his face. He felt the tension that had been building since the phone call that morning melt away and disappear.
"Hi Honey, I'm home!" Eddie called out as he closed the door.
"And what sort of time do you call this?" Came Buck's teasing reply from the kitchen.
"Yeah, daddy, what sort of time do you call this?" Christopher giggled.
"Tickle time!" Eddie exclaimed as he snuck up on Christopher, who was sitting at the dinner table, and started to tickle him.
"Bucky save me!" Christopher called out amidst his laughter.
"Oh no, I am not getting in tickle distance." Buck chuckled as she placed some apple juice on the table, before turning to Eddie. "You want some pancakes?"
"I would love some pancakes." Eddie kissed the top of Christopher's head before he straightened and looked at Buck with a smile. She was still in his clothes, hair in a messy ponytail and flour on her cheek.
Buck's smile quickly turned into a concerned frown as she looked at him, "Eddie, what happened?"
"Daddy, you're bleeding." Christopher gasped as he looked up at Buck's tone.
"Oh, eh, I got into a fight with a branch and lost." Eddie lied quickly. "Before we eat, I was gonna ask Buck if she could help me put some antibacterial cream on it."
"You lost against a branch?" Christopher giggled, then he turned to Buck with a smile. "Buck help daddy before we eat."
"On it, Superman." Buck gave a salute before grabbing Eddie's hand and pulled him towards the bathroom.
"Okay, what really happened?" Buck asked quietly as she closed the bathroom door and pulled the first aid kit from under the sink.
"Shannon slapped me." Eddie admitted. "She must have used her nail while she did."
"Bitch." Buck glared at nothing as she gently cleaned the cuts on Eddie's face.
"Buck." Eddie chuckled.
"What?" Buck looked at him with mischief in her eyes. "She is."
"Thank you." Eddie whispered softly.
"For what?" Buck looked slightly confused. "Helping clean your face?"
"For giving me, us, a chance." Eddie looked at her, trying to show all off his appreciation and gratefulness through his eyes. "For never judging me, for always being here, for being you."
Buck blushed and stepped closer, burying her head in his neck as she hugged him and Eddie wrapped his arms around her tightly. He didn't know how long they stood there, just holding on to each other.
"Daddy, Buck, can we eat now?!" Christopher called out from the kitchen.
"We'll be right there, buddy." Eddie called back before he kissed Buck softly.
A few minutes later as Buck was making pancakes Eddie remembered that he needed to tell her something. "Hey Buck, while I was at Christopher's new school, I signed some papers."
"Okay, that's good, right? Having it done so you don't have to stress about it later." Buck flipped a pancake in the air.
"Wow, that's so cool!" Christopher looked on with wide eyes.
"One of the things I signed was emergency contacts and who was allowed to pick Christopher up." Eddie explained. "I hope it's okay that I placed you as second on the emergency contact forms?"
Buck froze before turning to Eddie with hock and happiness warring in her eyes, "You trust me enough to have me as the second emergency contact?"
"Of course." Eddie declared. "I trust you with Christopher and I know you would do everything in your power to protect him."
"Yeah, you're awesome Bucky." Christopher beamed at her and Eddie saw the tears of happiness in her eyes.
"You are the awesome one, Superman." Buck walked over and kissed Christopher on the cheek, radiating happiness.
Eddie felt content and warm all over as Buck walked back over to the stove to finish making the pancakes. Is this what true love felt like?