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Evan Buckley was an idiot. OK, maybe that was a bit unfair. He was a smart man, he knew things. He had a habit of diving down deep holes online in the name of research, finding out really cool facts, and he had the knack of being able to recall them at will. You want to know the strength of a chimpanzee? Buck could tell you. The depth of the deepest ocean, the height of the tallest building, the length of the world’s longest limousine? He could tell you all of that in the blink of an eye. Once it was in the filing cabinet he called a brain, he could just mentally pluck it out again. So yeah, he wasn’t an idiot.
What was it Judd had yelled at them that fateful night in Texas to him and TK? “Dumbass and Dumbasser”? Buck had never figured out which of them was which. Really, he hadn’t dwelled on it much at all since he got back to L.A. But now, he was kinda thinking he was the latter. Because what idiot sees their sister find their own engagement ring, try it on and get it stuck, and then a year later does exactly the same thing? Only a dumbass.
He could blame it all on Eddie. Who hides something like that at the back of their t-shirt drawer, where anyone, say someone who was putting laundry away, could find it? Buck had just been rearranging the drawer so that he could fit everything in (Eddie had a lot of Henleys, far too many for one man), and there it was. A small, dark blue velvet box. Buck had to look, of course. Any normal person would. Besides, it could have been something boring, like cufflinks. He didn’t want to get completely the wrong idea. He didn’t want to get his hopes up for no reason. So, he opened it and there it was, a plain silver band with a small aquamarine stone set in the middle. It was so beautiful, so sparkly...he could just try it on? Make sure it suited him, make sure it fitted? Sliding it on his finger, he held his hand up to the light and admired the way it glinted in the sun. He had to admit, his boyfriend had good taste. OK, enough now. He thought. Eddie would be back in about an hour and a half, he had to get it back where it belonged, and all the clothes away before he did. He put two of his fingers on it and pulled firmly. It didn’t budge. OK, maybe a little more pressure would work. He tried it, and nothing. Shit. Think rationally, Buck. Grabbing the bottle of lube from the bedside cabinet, he poured some on liberally, making a mental note to grab some more as soon as possible. Still nothing. After about half an hour of frantically trying to no avail, remembering everything Maddie had told him that she’d tried when it happened to her, he was starting to panic. He couldn’t tell Eddie, he just couldn’t. This had to come off somehow. And he wasn’t for using the ring cutters. This was way too pretty for that. Trying one last time, as if this time would be the one that eventually freed him, he groaned as it still didn’t move. He had to call someone. Not Eddie, obviously. Not Bobby either. As much as he knew that Bobby would help him, and be discreet about it, he couldn’t be certain that Eddie had left him yet. They were doing some paperwork at the station before Eddie picked Christopher up, and he might still be there. Maddie it was. She was never going to let him live this down, was she?
Picking up the phone, he fired off a quick message.
Buck: Are you alone?
His phone beeped with a reply almost immediately.
Maddie: Just me and Jee here, why?
Buck: I did something stupid.
Maddie: Buck, what did you do?
Sighing, he opened his camera and snapped a quick picture of his left hand and sent it to his sister. A few seconds later, it rang, and he answered it.
“He proposed?!” Maddie shrieked, so loudly that Buck had to move the phone away from his ear.
“Not exactly...” He replied as soon as she stopped. “Um, so, don’t laugh...” He pleaded. She ignored him and burst out laughing, following where he was going with this.
“Isn’t that bad luck?” She gasped through her laughter, Buck’s words from a year ago coming back to haunt him. “And you tried...?”
“Everything!” He groaned. “Everything except the ring cutters, because look at it! It’s so beautiful...” He took a second to stare at it again. It was perfect. If he were to choose an engagement ring for himself, that would probably be the one that he would choose.
“But it needs to come off, Buck. He obviously has this all planned out, and I’m sure that plan doesn’t involve, well, this.” She reasoned, and Buck sighed. She was right, he knew she was. He didn’t want to ruin any proposal he had planned. Plus, if his finger kept swelling up the way it had started to do, he wouldn’t need a ring because he wouldn’t have a finger to keep it on anyway. “Come over and we’ll figure it out. We did last time, remember?” Buck didn’t need to be asked twice. He hung up, quickly fired off a message to Eddie, telling him that he was going to babysit Jee for a few hours because Maddie had an appointment, and jumped in his Jeep. Think positive, Buck. You can do this. He thought as he sped off. You have to do this.
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Eddie and Christopher arrived at Maddie’s house in record time. For some reason, L.A. traffic had been good to them, and it only took them about ten minutes instead of the usual twenty to get from Christopher’s school. He knocked on the door, more out of habit than anything else, then opened it to see Jee sitting on the floor, her tea set and an assortment of stuffed toys spread around her. Maddie was sat on the couch, watching her, and Eddie caught her eye. He opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted by Jee yelling “Kriss-fer! Play with me!” Christopher groaned, and Eddie laughed slightly before patting him on the shoulder and reminding him that was part of the “big cousin” role. Dutilly, he eased himself onto the floor, passing his crutches to Maddie, and watched as Jee poured imaginary tea into the cups.
“Thought Buck was here?” Eddie asked confusedly. That was definitely what he’d sent, right? That he was going to babysit while Maddie was out. But Maddie was here, and Buck was nowhere to be seen.
“Yeah, um, in the bathroom.” Maddie replied pointedly. Buck heard her and muttered “traitor” under his breath. “Don’t be mad...just talk to him?” She said softly. “Because whatever you’re going to say, I’m sure he already knows.” Eddie looked from Maddie to the door of the bathroom and back again. She nodded, and he crept over to the door. Pushing it open silently, he watched Buck’s back as he stood at the sink, making strange jerking movements with his arms as he ran water over his hand. After a few seconds, he gave one big movement, a “yes!” and a satisfied sigh.
“You alright there, Buck?” Eddie asked. At the sound of his voice, Buck spun around and clasped his right hand tight.
“Yeah, um, what-what are you doing here?” He stammered. Eddie was meant to be at home, not in Maddie’s house. And definitely not in the bathroom seconds after he’d finally managed to get his finger free.
“Came to take you and Jee out for ice cream, since Maddie had that appointment...you know, the one that she’s meant to be at right now?” He raised his eyebrows, and Buck bowed his head to stare at the floor. “Buck, what’s wrong?” Silently, without raising his head, Buck took a step towards his boyfriend, took his right hand with his left, opened his palm and pressed his own right hand against it, dropping the metal ring on it. Buck pulled his hand away, and Eddie looked at the ring, then back up at Buck.
“Why...why do you have this?” He managed to force out. “Why is it here?”
“You might need to get it resized.” Buck muttered. Glancing at Buck’s left hand, he suddenly noticed the red, swollen fourth finger. “It’s a bit tight.” Eddie looked again at the ring, then placed his other hand on his head in realisation.
“You two really are two sides of the same coin.” He couldn’t help but laugh. “I can’t believe both of you...God, you are never living this down, ever, you know that?”
“You’re...you’re not mad?” Buck tentatively asked. In reply, Eddie shoved the ring in his jeans pocket, then placed two fingers under Buck’s chin, tilting it up until their eyes met.
“How can I be mad at you?” He smiled. “I mean, of all the places to do this, your sister’s bathroom was the furthest place from my mind, but what the Hell. Evan Buckley, I love you with every single fibre of my being. I think I fell in love with you the minute that I saw you, and I continue to fall in love with you every single day. You are the only man I’ve ever felt this way about, and you are the only person I want to spend the rest of my life with. So, Evan, will you do me the honour of marrying you?” He ended on a whisper, a tear rolling down his cheek, and grinning, Buck wrapped his arms around his neck and gave him a soft kiss.
“Of course, I will. But on one condition.” He whispered back. “OK, two. One, do not let me put that back on until it’s resized. And two, we tell no one else about this.”
“Deal.”