Author's Note: Not quite sure when this is set or if it will mention canon events. If that changes, I'll update in a note. And Taylor is pretty out of character in this one. I don't mind her character on the show, but I decided to have a bit of fun with it in this story. Hope you enjoy!
"So then Eddie takes the ax and just smashes it through the door. It was epic," Buck said giddily, jabbing his fork into a meatball. Taylor idly twirled a noodle around her own fork, trying to at least pretend to be interested in the story Buck was telling. It was difficult when it was always Eddie this and Christopher that, but she couldn't admit that out loud. Not if she wanted to keep her boyfriend.
"Sounds impressive," Taylor said, using the voice she used while interviewing people for stories she knew wouldn't get her anywhere.
"It totally was! It was so Jack Torrance. And when I called him that, Eddie had no idea what I was talking about. Can you believe that?" Buck asked incredulously.
"No, I can't."
"I mean, who hasn't seen The Shining? Even I have and it came out a million years ago!"
"It's been a while since I've seen it. Maybe we can rent it tomorrow and other scary movies and make a night of it?" Taylor suggested. Horror movies weren't really her thing, but cozying up with Buck on the couch didn't sound too bad. It usually led to some very fun times in bed.
"Actually, I kind of already made plans to do that with Eddie tomorrow," Buck winced. Taylor tried to hide her reaction, but Buck caught the quick frown that flashed across her face. "It's just that we both have the night off and Christopher is having a sleepover with Hen and Karen, so it was the perfect opportunity for it. I'm sorry."
"It's fine," Taylor waved off, taking a sip of her wine. Once again, Eddie was taking priority over her. Sometimes it was hard to remember who Buck was actually in a relationship with.
"You can come if you want. I'm sure Eddie wouldn't mind," Buck offered. Sitting there while Eddie and Buck fell into their groove felt like torture. It was like everyone else in the room disappeared and only they were left in their own world. Buck was supposed to do that with her.
"It's fine," Taylor said again, a little more tightly this time. Buck slumped like a little boy who'd been chastised. Maybe this could work in her favor in the end. If Buck felt guilty and Taylor was gracious, she could probably get him to do whatever she wanted. "I'll just get caught up on some work."
"Are you sure? I promise I'll make it up to you."
"And how are you gonna do that?"
"Well, I could start by cleaning up dinner?"
"Okay, then what?" Taylor asked, leaning over the table a bit to give Buck a peek down her shirt. At least she had Eddie beat there.
"I could draw you a bath?" Buck replied, biting his lip a little. He understood where this was going now. "I got you more of that soap you love."
"Go on."
"Massage in bed?"
"I guess," Taylor sighed, making it seem like she was doing him a favor. Buck was just too easy sometimes. He hated the idea of anyone being upset with him and that was easy to exploit, when she needed to. It wasn't like she was always taking advantage of his caring heart, but she did it when necessary. Buck didn't know how to be in a committed relationship, so she was taking on the burden of training him.
Taylor hadn't even wanted to get serious with Buck, at least at first. She was fine keeping everything a casual fling. But once Buck decided he wanted to leave his old ways behind, she had to shift if she wanted to be able to keep him. Not everyone would be able to understand and accept her lifestyle as a reporter, but Buck did.
The only problem was that Buck had a busy life too. The firefighting grind didn't bother her, since they didn't need to constantly be around each other. Taylor liked to have her alone time. But Buck spent a lot of his free time with Eddie. That was the thing that got to her. She should be the first person he went to when he had a night off. But it seemed like she only got the scraps. Buck was with her tonight, but it was probably only due to Eddie having other plans. And she just couldn't deal with it anymore.
"Let me go get the bath started real quick. Then I'll come back for the dishes," Buck said, scooting back from the table and darting around it to get to the stairs. He paused when he was beside her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She smiled serenely at him until he dashed out of sight, then rolled her eyes. Taylor would have her fun tonight and let Buck pamper her, but something was going to have to change. If this was going to work, Eddie was going to have to be out of their lives. Now she just had to figure out how to do it.
