Just some sappy feel-good fluff to top it off after all that angst. Thank you all so much for sticking with me through this fic!
I have another one coming out in the next few weeks that follows a similar thread of post-lawsuit what-if? Check back soon for it!
Chapter Text
Bobby had filed the paperwork the same day they moved Buck out of that building, despite what he had told the super there. He could not ignore the obvious health and safety issues of the building and when he thought about it that afternoon on the car ride over to the Diaz home, he didn't want to ignore them even for an extra couple of days. While he held no remorse for blindsiding the super of the building, he did feel some regret when he heard the fallout from his report.
The city had sanctioned thousands of dollars in fines due to the sorry state of the building. Sadly that had forced Delia to pack up and relocate when the owner had decided to forgo any sort of repairs and instead chose to demolish the building. It had all unraveled quickly after that and Buck found himself back in that forsaken building soon after moving out to help Delia load up her things into the waiting trucks. He had Eddie and Bobby in tow to help with the muscle work. Christopher had come along as well, inviting himself as he had to meet the woman who made those cookies.
He set himself up on her couch right next to the elderly woman and chatted her ear off the entire afternoon as everything was pulled from the apartment around them. They only stopped when the couch was the last thing to be moved and Christopher again insisted that he would be their supervisor and rode out on the couch like it was a throne much to the merriment of Delia.
Bobby, still feeling remorseful that his actions had caused the kind woman to uproot her life, was acquitted of his feelings when she took him aside and patted him on the shoulder in a motherly fashion.
"Don't be so blue! I'm glad to be getting out of here! I get to go live with my granddaughter and that awful man at the desk will be out of a job. It's a win-win!" Bobby smiled at her gratefully and laughed along with her.
Bobby breathed a sigh of relief in private that it seemed that the move was a much-welcomed affair and he hadn't caused the woman any great harm. She'd told them all she would be moving in with her grand-daughter across the city in her suburban home. She had boasted that it would ultimately be a much better situation for her and she had greatly missed the young woman so different from her grandson.
Buck had met the young woman as soon as they arrived at her home and began to unload. She seemed genuinely excited about having Delia stay in her home and Buck was glad for it. Delia deserved a healthy and safe place to live and to be surrounded by family. He hugged her tightly when they said their goodbyes and promised that he would see her again.
He hadn't known her for very long but he still felt a keen sense of kinship with the woman. She had been his only support in one of the lowest points in his life when everyone else had disappeared.
That was over a year ago and a lot has changed since then. He had gotten his family back & even more. He and Eddie had worked through their feelings of hurt and even managed to go to a few therapy sessions together and individually to sort through their traumas.
Buck managed to realize just what Maddie had found so funny that night sitting on his bed. While he harbored so much guilt and self-hatred over everything that had transpired, he realized that he was not the only party at fault in the conflict. He had managed to rope Bobby into a session as well where they had begun to work through the events leading up to the lawsuit and everything that came with it.
After that session, he was much more receptive to everyone force-feeding him for months after. He didn't know just how bad he had looked by the time he was able to reconcile with the team. It was only when Bobby was sitting on that couch in the therapist's office that he realized what a haunting image he'd made as the older man spoke about how he has nightmares of Buck withering away.
This is a much better place.
That was the thought running through the youngest Buckley's mind as he sat hand in hand with Eddie on the edge of the patio in Athen and Bobby's backyard. Eddie himself is fidgeting nervously, toeing at the grass and pebbles at their feet. Buck stretches knocking into Eddie's legs with his own and takes in the view around him. They're celebrating the 6 month birthday of his niece, because when they're that little every month is cause for a celebration.
Jee is gurgling happily as she's fawned over by her parents and Eddie's Abuela. He can see Christopher playing with the balloons alongside Harry and Denny in the far corner of the yard. Athena was dishing out the cake for everyone as they gathered to celebrate Jee's existence.
"Hey!' He quipped in surprise. "It's your tia Pepa!' He gestures to the older woman joining the circle around Jee to fawn over the girl. He swivels around to beam at Eddie, happy to see she made it to the event. Eddie managed to return the smile with a squeeze to his hand.
"Your sisters are here too! I can't believe they drove this far for a kid's birthday party!" Buck chuckles at their expense, knowing that it must have been an interesting ride with all of them in one vehicle. "Is that your parents?"
Eddie places a soft kiss to Buck's cheek and takes a fortifying breath, knowing that this was it. He turns to face Buck as best he can, ignoring the cold concrete of the patio seeping through his jeans.
" I wasn't planning on doing this at an infant's birthday party but I couldn't wait anymore, Evan. Not for tomorrow, not for tonight. Not even for after we've had some of that cake!" Buck let out a confused chuckle unsure of where Eddie was going with this chain of conversation.
"Wait for what, Eds?"
Eddie shifts to kneel in front of him, uncaring of the grass stains he would definitely have on his knees after this afternoon. Buck feels his breath catch in his chest and suddenly it's like the whole crowd is focused on them.
"I want this, Evan. I want you for however long you'll have me. I want to wake up every morning to you and see your face last every night. I want nights in the living room building forts and watching the same movies over and over. I want you next to me at all of Christopher's activities and every PTA meeting. I know now more than anything that I want this and I want you to know it. I'm not willing to let you go another day thinking in any way that you're not wanted. I want everything with you and I want to give you every day I have.'
Eddie pulls a small black box from his pocket and Buck feels like he can't breathe. He registers a quick flash in the back of his mind but his eyes are entirely on Eddie in front of him. The moment the box is opened, Buck feels oxygen punching back through his chest and he's saying yes before Eddie can even ask the question and pulling him into his arms in a tight embrace.
He only vaguely hears the chorus erupting from the family gathered around them. This is everything that he ever wanted and didn't think he could have. The moment is broken when Christopher appears and piles in with his chubby hands clutching at Buck's shirt.
He hears Christopher mumble into his collar, "It's about time. Does this mean we can get another cake?"
He can't help but bark out a laugh and Eddie is barely holding his own in next to him. 'Yeah, Mijo. We can get another cake."