Buck froze. "Wait, what?" Just then, he saw Eddie and Christopher head back towards him. "I'll call you when I'm alone."
"Okay, honey, we love you," Shayla whispered.
"I love you both, too. I'll talk to you soon."
Just then, the back door opened, and Buck watched as Eddie aided his son get settled. He couldn't stop the smile that appeared on his face.
Eddie climbed into the front seat and turned to look at his son. "Christopher, I'd like you to meet Buck."
"Hello Christopher, it's wonderful to meet you." He held out his hand.
Christopher leaned forward and took hold of it, and giggled. "You glow."
"I do?" Buck kept the grin on his face. Christopher could have magic or be a very rare human who could see magical creatures' colour. Fae glowed. It looked like sunshine. He might be brighter because he was royalty, apparently. Jesus, he was royalty. The only reason he was being told now was because of danger. Would he have to leave? Would people he knew be in trouble?
"Buck?" Eddie looked at him with concern.
"Sorry, I might have glowed because I was excited and happy to see the cutest kid I've ever seen. I am in awe and your humble servant," Buck bowed his head as Christopher laughed. "Well, your majesty, shall this royal steed take you home?" He tapped the dashboard of his jeep.
"Y, y, you, may," Christopher spoke in his best royal voice.
"On we ride my trusty steed," Buck turned slightly as he saw Eddie smile. He was in so much trouble with these two. There was no way his heart was going to remain safe from the Diaz boys. He didn't feel that dread he thought he would feel; instead, he was filled with hope.
It didn't take them long to arrive at Eddie's home.
"Do you want to come in?" Eddie asked.
"Not this time. Look, this was your first earthquake; I think the two of you need to be together. I promise next time, I will."
"Thanks, I... thank you," Eddie smiled shyly.
Buck turned to Christopher before he did something stupid, like telling him they were soul mates or kissing him. Both things would be a huge mistake.
"My lord Christopher, we have arrived at your palace."
Christopher sniffed. "T, t, thank you, my loyal subject." He then giggled.
Eddie grinned at his son and had no idea what he'd been watching or reading.
Buck watched as they got out of his jeep and walked towards the house. The two turned and waved. He reciprocated, and once they were inside, he headed started his vehicle so he could go home. Now he needed to find out about this royal fae thing.
XXXXX
He pulled his jeep into his car parking space. Buck needed to talk to his grandparents here, as Maddie was in the flat, and she had no idea about the whole fae thing.
He pulled out his cell and dialled.
"Evan, sweetheart."
"What don't I know?" Buck sighed.
"Well, there was what you would call a civil war in the fae realm. The 'purebloods'."
Buck laughed. "I can hear those quote marks when you say that."
"They do think they're special. They hated the royal family because we believed in you love who you love. They were all about purity. We lost, and all the members that lived escaped and went to different countries in the world of this realm."
"And we're part of the royal family. Something clearly happened."
"The war has continued, and the 'purebloods' want it to end," Shayla growled. At the moment, there wasn't anything she could do to protect her family.
"There's something that's going to point to me, isn't there?"
"I don't know. They want to marry a member of the royalty. But if it's you, well, you'll be treated like a slave because of your grandfather."
"Because he's human, but why me?"
"Evan, you're powerful, and your birthmark being on your face, it's rare and special."
"So I'll be a powerful slave for them to control," Buck rubbed his eyes. He could feel a headache coming.
"It would be easier if you were bonded with your soulmate, kind of," Lucas muttered.
He was glad it was on speakerphone, and his grandfather was there. "Uhh, yeah, about that, I've met him. His son said I glowed."
"Wait, you met your soul mate, and his son could see our…."
"Fae glow?" Buck laughed.
"I wish you would stop calling it that but, yes. What are you going to do?"
"I don't know, but I can't put them in danger."
"If we can do anything, let us know."
"I will. I'll talk to you soon." Buck looked around. There is a fae who would want to force him into a marriage. What is his life?
XXXXX
Buck closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Why couldn't they have a call? He was willing to get a cat out of a tree, anything to stop this. Chim started on the jokes about him sleeping around. There was a new audience with Eddie. He'd made a mistake at work, but why should his personal life outside of being a firefighter become a joke, an unfunny one at that. He glanced over and saw the frown on Eddie's face, and the way he glanced around, it was clear he was uncomfortable. Chim didn't see it or didn't care.
"Enough," Buck shouted. "Firstly, Eddie is new, and you're being unprofessional. I've told you and Bobby that I don't find these jokes about my personal life funny. Why should I be ashamed for being single and wanting to have fun? I'm not talking about the mistakes I made at work. I owned up to them and stopped. No one I've been with wanted anything more. You don't do this to anyone else, just me. Why? Clearly, you all think I am a joke. Excuse me," Buck stood and left. He headed towards his locker. He placed his hands on it, bent his head and took a deep breath.
"Are you okay? "Eddie asked.
Buck took a step back, walked over to a bench and sat down. Eddie joined him.
"I'm sorry about that; I didn't mean to lose my temper."
"You don't need to apologise. I was uncomfortable with those jokes. I can't imagine what it was like for you."
"I made mistakes, used official vehicles for booty calls. Those things I am sorry for. The stuff outside of that, why should I apologise? It was all I felt I was good for. Then I met Abby. I thought she saw more in me."
"Thought?"
"There was this guy who used my image to chat up woman, catfishing. I kept getting slapped by these random women. Everyone here believed I did it even though I was in a relationship. Abby believed it. Just because you like sex with different people when you're single doesn't mean I would do it when in a relationship. I hate to say this, but I need to explain something about Chim. This is the first time I've discussed it. He dated this woman, but he out and out lied to her. All the things he said were done by other people. I'm not making endless jokes about it because it's not funny. It just seems I'm the butt of most of the jokes. No one ever asked me if it hurt. I had to say it, but you can see how well that changed things."
"I'm sorry, Buck, that shouldn't have happened. I don't sleep around. People made jokes because I need to have an emotional connection to a person. None of this should be joked about unless the subject is happy with it. They clearly didn't ask you. Can I ask what happened with Abby?"
"She was older than me, but I didn't care. I fall for a person, not their gender, age, or anything else. Eventually, I was believed. Then Abby's mother died, and she felt as if she didn't know who she was and decided to travel. I supported her. We all need to find ourselves. Eventually, she stopped contacting me. I would've preferred her to let me know it was over. I get that sometimes people move on, and I appreciate that she helped me. God, I'm still living in her apartment. It's about time I moved on," Buck sniffed.
"Only if you're ready," Eddie reached out and squeezed Buck's shoulder.
"Would you and Chris like to help me house hunt?"
"We'd love to. Let's head back up. You don't need to talk to them if you don't want to. I've got a phone full of photos of Christopher."
"Okay, those I need to see."
"Let's go," Eddie stood up and held out his hand. As soon as Buck took hold of it, he felt a spark the moment they touched. He could see that Buck felt it too.
As soon as they made their way upstairs, Chim walked over to him.
"Buck, I'm sorry."
"And? You've apologised before, and it stops you for a couple of days. Why should this be different?" Buck noticed Eddie had sat down, his phone in his hand. He went over and joined him and then started to show him photos of Christopher and the stories behind them. Their eyes stayed on the cell. They didn't look up as people stopped in front of them. They only moved for calls and work they needed to do.
XXXXX
"Buck, Chim is sorry. You should forgive him," Maddie walked over to her brother.
"Really, I thank you for your support on me being the endless butt of his jokes. I have forgiven you time and time again. I'm not doing again until he proves he means it."
"But Buck–."
"Maddie, stop. You may disagree with me, but respect my decision."
"You're wrong, and you know it. I'm your older sister, and I know you better than anyone. So listen to me."
"Excuse me? I think you don't really know me," Buck turned and stared at her. "Wow, I was thinking about doing something, but you've now made it clear it's the best thing for me to do."
"Why are you changing the subject?" She sighed.
"Because I am not going to forgive Chim until he proves this, I've told you this. I've decided to move out."
"What, why?"
"It's Abby's apartment. I've left her a message saying I know it's over, and I am moving out. I'll let her know when I've gone. Us, living together, especially how close you and Chim are. This won't work. I'm going to need somewhere I can relax and not have someone come in and start on me because she doesn't like my decision."
"I want you in my life, but there have to be boundaries on both sides."
"Evan, you need to be able to discuss things like this as an adult. You should've asked me."
"Maddie, you're here as a guest. Hell, I'm here as a guest. It was never permanent, especially after Abby and I split up. I need to move on with my life. I don't feel like I can do it here. We both have some time. I'm not leaving tomorrow."
"Fine, I will look for somewhere else." Maddie glared, turned and walked into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of white wine.
Buck just left her to it. This would blow over. It usually did. He had to do what was right for him.
XXXXX
Buck stared at the woman with her head stuck in a tailpipe. He'd done his fair share of flirting, but this was idiotic. This guy clearly cared more about his truck.
Once Jennifer pulled her head out at the tailpipe, she felt ridiculous. She glanced up and saw a blue eyes firefighter. There was a glow, and it disappeared into the birthmark on his face. He was fae. She opened her mouth and managed to stop herself before she said something stupid. Jennifer forced out a fake giggle and looked at the other firefighters. She had sobered up somewhat but pretended to be a little drunk to cover up the way she stared at the fae. So she would play it up. She gave him a wink and smirk as he left. He smiled back at her:
Buck sighed and breathed deeply as they left. Jennifer had recognised what he was, but she had managed to play it off. Supernatural creatures sobered up really quickly. Some couldn't even get drunk.
He watched as Eddie received a phone can. Clearly, there was something wrong as his face fell. Buck would do to help where he could, whatever it was.
XXXXX
Buck opened the door and smiled at Eddie.
"Thanks for coming."
"It's the least I could do after how you helped with Abuela being in hospital." Then he looked around. "Where is everything?" Where were all the boxes and things?
"This is all Abby's stuff. When I do find somewhere, it's going to be empty. I guess I could find a furnished place."
"What? I'm confused. Why am I here?"
"There's someone I want you to meet."
"You didn't set me up, did you?" Eddie was horrified at the thought.
"Trust me; she's exactly what you need." He grinned. He knew what Eddie was thinking. He walked towards the door as soon as someone knocked.
Eddie wished that he either knew what Buck was talking about or a way to escape. He would just have to wait, be polite and then strangle his friend later. He heard Buck talking to someone, and then the door fully opened.
"Uh, Eddie, this, this is my friend Carla."
"Nice to meet you, Eddie," Cana held out her hand.
"Likewise," Eddie was still perplexed but still reached out and shook her hand. His Abuela and Tia would've killed him if he'd been rude.
"Carla is LA's finest home health care aid. And I thought she could help you figure out how to get Christopher what he needs," Buck beamed.
Eddie looked over at Buck. He had just tried to help, not ask for anything in return. Something just clicked, and it felt like a connection was made. Weird. As he looked at Buck, he looked surprised by something. Did he feel the same thing? No, he couldn't. Wait, was Buck glowing? Eddie was clearly stressed and seeing things. He turned back to Carla.
"I'm red tapes worst nightmare. I'll get you through this in no time. Now, let's go sit down and let's see what you're working with, besides that perfect bony structure."
Eddie couldn't help but laugh. She was a character.
XXXXX
Taylor Kelly looked over at the people who rescued her. But as soon as her gaze landed on a man with blonde hair and blue eyes, she knew he was fae. Taylor needed to look into him. The 'purebloods' would have the perfect marriage candidate if he was powerful and royal. Then they would owe her so much. The one problem was how the two younger firefighters looked at each other. They would need to stop them from getting together or kill the attractive brunette.
TBC