Chapter Text
Evan “Buck” Buckley would like the records to show that he's a pretty chill guy. As long as no-one is messing with his loved ones, he's usually a pretty patient man. He can play tea party for hours and hours with his niece with pink hair clips all over his hair, he doesn't get upset when he's stuck in traffic behind the old lady who probably shouldn't even be behind the wheel in the first place, and he barely blink an eye when the drunk frat boy pukes all over his shoes while they’re out on a call to save said drunk frat boy from being stuck on top of a building. All in all? He's not usually one to getting worked up unless it's called for. But right now? He'd said it's called for.
“Sorry, man. We´re gonna have to take down the wall and the floor, the pipe is going through your main wall.” Buck tries not to glare at the man as he just pops his gum and stares down on his clipboard with a bored face, seemingly not caring in the least that he’s currently making Buck´s day a hell of a lot harder. It's not the man's fault so he has no reason to take out his frustration on him, but he's tired from shift and the man can barely bother to look at him, trying to walk away every other second before answering Buck´s questions. The neighbor on top of him has a leak, but since the pipe is apparently going through Buck´s walls, and no-one seemed to notice the leak, he got a not too pleasant surprise when he got home from an 48-hour shift and found water dripping down the wall in his loft.
“How long do you think it will take?” He asks tightly, not sure if he really wants to know. The man just shrugs his shoulders at him, popping his gum again as some other men walk by them straight into his loft like they lived there.
“Hard to say, water is tricky, ya know? Gets into places. Takes a while to dry up, we won't know the damage until we've torn everything down. You can't stay here in the meantime.”
Before Buck can even answer he turns on his heel and stamps up the stairs and Buck tries not to whimper at the wet sound his shoes make as they step in the water. This is just- fucking great. He rubs his face hard with his hands and allows himself to feel a bit sorry for himself for a moment before he sticks his hand down his front pocket and slides his phone up, quickly snapping a picture of the mess before attaching it to the conversation.
Buck [6:45 PM]
image_214.jpg
Mind if I borrow your
couch for a bit?
😣🥺
He quickly sends the message before heading upstairs to start packing a bag. He has almost thrown down everything he thinks he'll need when his phone pings with an incoming text.
Eddie 🤠 [6:52 PM]
Oh fuck man, that´s a mess.
Of course, come over whenever
Thank
god
for good friends. He barely even looks back at the mess that is his apartment at the moment, leaving it in the hands of the property manager after a promise to get a call when everything is sorted out, and quickly heads down towards his jeep. As he's driving towards Eddie's place his stomach growls loudly and he realizes he hasn't had anything to eat since lunch, so he swings by Taco Bell and grabs some take out before finally coming to a stop in front of the familiar house.
The house is quiet as Buck enters it with the food and his bags, and he feels some of the tension leave his body just by being in the quiet house that almost feels as much as home as his own loft. He drops the bag inside the door before walking towards the kitchen with the food.
“Eddie? Brought some dinner if you want some.” He calls out as he starts unpacking the items and grabs a couple of plates from the cabinet.
He frowns slightly and pauses when there’s no response, waiting a moment before he leaves the food and starts walking down the hall. He saw the truck outside when he pulled up and the door was unlocked so the man should be home. “Eds?” He tries again and this time there's a responding sound from the man´s bedroom and he heads towards it. As he walks inside he finds his best friend facing the doorway to the attached bathroom, body rigid and a clenched jaw, and Buck raises an eyebrow at him.
“Hey, what’s going on?” He asks and Eddie snaps his head towards him with a deep frown as he gets a relieved look in his eyes.
“ Please get it out!” He hisses and points towards the open door and Buck stares at him, not used to seeing the man so decomposed.
“Get what out?” He asks confusedly and Eddie gives him a look that's equally pleading and glaring.
“Just- Buck, c’mon! Can you just-?” He says and gestures towards the bathroom for Buck to go inside before he crosses his arms tightly over his chest and takes a step away from it, glaring at it like the room has personally offended him.
“Um- alright?” Buck still has no idea what's going on and he gives Eddie another look before he walks towards the room and slowly steps inside. He doesn’t really know what to expect and as he enters it he looks around, trying to spot what Eddie is referring to. After a minute he gives up, everything looks just like it use to, the toothbrush on the sink, some clothes in the laundry basket, some shampoo bottles in the shower. Nothing strange or out of order, and he turns back to his friend that’s still glaring into the room.
“What exactly am I looking for here, Eddie?” He asks, and the man frowns at him.
“It's right there !” He grunts and wearingly looks over Buck’s shoulder seemingly towards the ceiling, and Buck sighs before turning back towards the room again, giving it another sweep with his eyes. That's when his eyes catch it, in the right, top corner and he feels laughter bubbling up inside his chest as he slowly turns back to his friend again with a raised eyebrow, a smile tugging on his lips.
“You mean the spider ?” He says innocently and Eddie presses his lips into a thin line.
“ Yes . I was gonna take a shower and it was just there . Hovering . Just- get it out of here, will you?” He snaps, arms still crossed tightly over his chest, and Buck lets the smirk break free on his face.
“Yeah. Sure, Eds. I´ll save you from the big, scary spider.” He chuckles as he shakes his head and moves over to the nightstand to grab the empty glass and an envelope lying there. Then he walks into the bathroom and carefully nudges the small animal until it's trapped between the glass and the envelope before he walks out into the bedroom again. As he enters it Eddie quickly backs up until he's on the other side of the room, pointedly keeping his eyes away from the glass in Buck´s hands as he tries to keep his face natural and Buck gives him his best shit-eating grin.
"He's cute, wanna say hello?” He asks the man with feign nonchalance, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice, before he takes a step towards him.
“Keep that thing away from me!” Eddie hisses and moves faster than Buck´s ever seen him do as he throws himself over the bed and ends up on the other side, seemingly keeping it between them as a barrier and leans away with rigid back. Buck´s well aware that his best friend is a brave man, and usually picks fight over flight every single time, but something tells him this would be the exception to the rule and he finds it weirdly adoring.
“You can't seriously be afraid of this little buddy?” He asks before he coos at the spider and Eddie shoots him a revolting look as Buck leans closer to the glas get a better look at it. Spiders have always fascinated him, and he doesn't get why so many people are scared of them. Well, he gets it, everyone is afraid of something, he just doesn't understand why spiders are such a big deal though.
“I am not scared of it.” Eddie snaps and Buck raises an disbelieving eyebrow at him. “I just- it has so many legs . Please just get rid of it?” He pleads with a resigned voice, Buck would almost call it a whine. He chuckles quietly before carefully carrying the spider out to the back yard where he releases it into the gras.
“Now stay out here ok? Eddie will not be happy if you sneak back inside, and next time I might not be here to save you.” He tells it before walking back into the house. Eddie has come out of the bedroom and is leaning against the wall in the living room as Buck enters, hands clasped behind his back with a sheepish look on his face.
“Thanks.” He mutters, his hair falling over his forehead, and Buck bites back a smile as he steps up towards him.
“No problem.” He says and shoves his hands into his front pockets, rolling on his feet, not quite able to keep the amusement out of his voice. “Sure you’ll be able to sleep tonight? Or do I need to go look under your bed for spiders after I’ve looked under Christopers for monsters?” He asks innocently and chuckles when Eddie´s cheeks turn red as he narrows his eyes at him.
“Shut up.” He mutters before straightening up and walks towards the kitchen, ears still red. Buck just shakes his head fondly before following him and picks up the task of laying out food again.
“Did you eat?” He asks and Eddie just shakes his head before coming over and makes a plate of his own before they grab a beer each and walks out on the back porch with their food. As they sit down Buck lets out a sight and takes a couple of deep gulps of his drink, finally being able to relax a bit even though he does feel a bit drained after the long shift and the event of the day. He feels Eddie´s eyes at him but he's too hungry at the moment so he just stuffs his mouth full with taco and groans loudly as the taste hits his tongue.
“Have a napkin, your animal.” Eddie says as he throws one at him but there's a smile on his face and Buck just gives him a half-glare before going back to his food. The evening is quiet around them as they eat and the backyard is almost dark by the time they are finished with the meal.
“Sorry about your loft, man.” Eddie eventually says as he pushes his plate away and leans back in his chair. “What the hell happened?”
Buck sinks down in his own chair with a groan and leans his head back against the back seat, staring up at the dark sky.
“The neighbour on top of me had a leak in the pipe, a pipe that apparently goes through my walls so it was all flooded when I got back from work. Must've happened right after I left for shift.” He mutters. “Was fucking water everywhere, man. Gonna be a bitch with insurance when it's done.” He sighs and Eddie lets out a compassionate sound.
"That's sucks. Well, the couch is yours for as long as you need it, ok?” He says and Buck turns his head towards him with a grateful smile.
“Thanks, appreciate it.” He mumbles with a smile before looking back at the sky. If he squints his eyes he thinks he can see a star or two. “Spoken to Chris?” He then asks, feeling a pang of missing in his chest as he thinks of the boy. The teenager had decided that he wanted to visit his grandparents in Texas during the summer and spend some time with his cousins. Eddie hasn´t been too happy about it but eventually he gave in. So the kid had left about 2 weeks ago and won't be back until August when school starts.
“Yeah, he called earlier. Seems like he's having fun.” Eddie says, an unreadable tone to his voice, and Buck straightens up in his chair so that he can look at him properly.
“But…?” He asks when the man just keeps his gaze down, picking on the label of his bottle.
“But nothing.” He says and Buck narrows his eyes at him.
“Eddie.” He pushes and the man presses his lips together.
“What if-” He starts after a moment and Buck raises an eyebrow in question when he throws a look at him. “They´re taking him to all these cool things, museums and activities, and they even bought a season pass at the local pool so that he can go whenever he wants.”
Buck just watches him for a moment, sensing that there´s something deeper going on here, and when Eddie squirms uncomfortably in his chair it finally clicks.
“Eds. Hey.” He pokes at the man's attention until he meets his eyes, an insecure look in them. “They´re his grandparents. Of course they're gonna spoil him rotten. That's what they're supposed to do. And at the end of the summer he's gonna come home and he's gonna tell you about all the fun things he's been doing, and when he's older he's gonna remember that cool summer he spent in Texas. But he's coming home, Eddie.” He assures him and the man chews on his lip.
“What if he wants to stay there?” He eventually says quietly, like if he's not saying it out loud it won't be a possibility. “I can't compete with all of that, Buck! It costs a fortune.”
“He won't and you don't have to.” He assures him and shakes his head when Eddie opens his mouth to argue. “He won´t , Eddie. I promise. He loves you. He doesn´t need any of that stuff they´re treating him with, I bet that part of what he likes about it is that he gets to get home and tell you about all of it in the end. This is his home. You are his home. You´re his dad. He's coming home, I promise.” When Eddie just nods with a small, grateful smile on his face, Buck gives him a smile back before taking a sip of his beer and enjoys the quiet night.
“Hey, I need to do some errands after shift. You good to get home?” Buck looks up from his book as Eddie sits down next to him at the firehouse couch, looking expectantly at him and he nods.
“Yeah, no problem.”
“So it´s going well then?” Chim says behind them and they look back over their shoulders.
“What is?” Buck asks confused and Chim raises an eyebrow at them.
“Living together. And working together. You´re with each other 24/7. You guys still haven't gotten on each other's nerves?” He asks and Buck frowns at him. But the man honestly seems curious about the whole thing and not teasing, so he just puts on a big smile.
“I do not know what you could whatever mean, Chim. I'm a joy to be around!” He smirks at the man and Eddie snorts next to him, making him look over at his so-called best friend. “What? You sure don't complain when breakfast is served every morning.” He says with narrow eyes and Eddie tilts his head.
“No, but I could live without tripping over your shoes every time I enter the house. Seriously man, would it kill you to leave them on the side of the door?” He says with raised eyebrows, but there's a glint to his eyes that makes Buck understand he's just teasing.
“You one to talk, how hard is it to put the cup in the dishwasher? Hmm?” He turns back towards Chimney again who's watching them with wide eyes. “No matter what, there's always a cup or a glass on the counter.
Always
. Even when I've literally
just
taken care of the dishes, it just magically appears!” He says exasperated and Eddie splutters.
“It's for when I'm thirsty! There's no point in taking a new glas every time I want some water!” He says affronted. “And you´re the one that keeps leaving the tv on!” Buck narrows his eyes, getting ready to pull out the big guns.
“Well, if I wasn't around, who would save you from the big, scary sp- mphf!” Suddenly a hand is pressed over his mouth and Eddie is glaring at him.
“Don't you dare.” He hisses with narrowed eyes and Buck chuckles behind the hand, having a bit of a hard time taking the man seriously, but then Chim raises his hands.
“Alright! Sorry I said anything, please don't start to fight. The shifts would be unbearable!” He begs and slowly backs up before quickly turning on his heel and runs for the stairs. Eddie slowly lowers his hand and Buck bites back a smile as he watches Chim retreat before looking back at Eddie, meeting his amused eyes and they both start to chuckle.
The thing about housing with his best friend is that it's so damn easy. They know each other inside out, and even if they spend a whole shift together they still enjoy hanging out when they get home. Within just a few days they´ve created a routine that works smoothly for both of them and Buck feels like they've been living together for months. He's usually the early riser so he uses the bathroom first and by the time Eddie emerges with sleep heavy eyes and messy hair he has coffee ready and breakfast on the way. In the evening he's already cozy under the blankets on the couch as he listens to Eddie moving around the house, making sure everything is locked up and lights out before he spends half an hour in the kitchen, having a cup of tea while he either reads, doing a crossword or listening to a podcast. It's something Buck somehow didn't know about the man and he guesses it's a fairly new routine Eddie has taken to to wind down, maybe since Chris left. But as he listens to Eddie padding around in the evenings he feels oddly safe.
“Alright, I'm going for a grocery run before coming home, let me know if you want something, yeah?” Eddie says, bringing Buck back into the current conversation.
“Sure. Oh! Can you grab a package of red capsicums?” He says hopefully and the man stares at him before shaking his head.
“Seriously, I've never met someone who eats those as snacks. It's weird. But sure, I´ll get you some.” He says as he stands up.
“It's not weird, they´re healthy! And really good!” Buck calls after him as the man walks towards the stairs with a chuckle.
“Want another?” Eddie nods towards the empty beer bottle on the table and Buck nods.
“Sure.” He says and the man stands up and collects the empty once before heading towards the kitchen. It's been a pretty quiet night, by the time Eddie had gotten back home Buck had already made some dinner and they ate while watching some tv. He hears the clatter of bottles and a second later the man comes back into the room and Buck moves his legs to the side to let him through.
Before he has time to react though Eddie falls forward over him with a yelp, seemingly having tripped on the leg of the coffee table, and Buck quickly reaches out to steady him on pure reflex. His hands manage to grab the firm waist and Eddie´s muscles tenses under his hands as he fights to stays somewhat upright without making a faceplant. He does succed, but the bottles in his hands though? Not so much.
“Oh crap.” The man mutters as he gets his balance back on his feet and pouts down at the mess on the couch cushions that´s now soaked in beer where he dropped them.
“You say, that's my bed, Eddie! Where am I supposed to sleep?” Buck pouts as he stares at it as well.
“Well, there´s always Chris´s bed.” Eddie smirks at him and Buck glares at him.
"Hilarious." He deadpans, seeing in front of him how he would have to fold in half to fit in the kids bed. Eddie grimaces, a guilty look taking over his face.
“It´ll be fine. We'll share my bed.” He says before frowning down at the mess again, and Buck freezes.
“Uhm- I´ll- You sure?” He asks hesitantly. “I can just grab the air mattress.” He ads weakly, remembering the back pain he had from last time he used it, since it's leaking air and he was more or less on the floor by the morning.
“No, come on, that thing is horrible. The bed is big enough for both of us, it's fine.” Eddie says absently, still starring down on the soaked fabric. “We do need to do something about the cushions though, they´re gonna stink if we leave it like this.” He wrinkles his nose and Buck nods before quickly moving over and starting to strip them off the couch.
It turns out cleaning couch cushions is not as easy as one might think and by the time they´ve managed to get them somewhat clean it's late and the bathroom is a mess with water. So they put the cushions to dry and quickly clean off the water from the floor with towels before getting ready for bed.
As Buck steps into Eddie´s bedroom the room is mostly dark, only the small bedside lamp on the bedside table throws a soft light over the bed where Eddie is already comfortable under the covers, scrolling on his phone. Suddenly Buck feels nervous and shifts his weight between his feet as he hesitates, and the man looks up at him with a raised eyebrow.
“You're coming to bed?” He asks calmly and Buck bites his lip before giving a nod, padding over to the right side of the bed that Eddie´s left for him. As he slides down under the covers he can't help but let out a sight of comfort from the soft mattress. Eddie´s couch is fine, but spending a week on it has not been kind to his back, and his muscles almost cry of relief as he settles down at the bed with another content sigh. When he hears a low chuckle from the side he looks over and sees Eddie watching him amusedly.
“Comfy?” He teases and Buck just gives him a look before snuggling deeper into his spot, pulling the comforter up to his chin, all hesitation from before gone.
“No offense to your couch, but yeah.” He mumbles, already feeling sleep slipping into his body, and he blinks tiredly at Eddie and turns on his side towards him. The man just watches him for a moment, a small smile on his lips before he grimaces.
“Sorry, probably should have offered earlier.” He says sheepishly and Buck shakes his head.
“No, it's fine. Just grateful you let me crash.” He says and sends the man a quick smile before a big yawn takes over and his eyes slip closed. He feels the bed move and hears some rustling of sheets before the room becomes completely dark and Eddie settles back into the bed.
“Of course. You always got a place here. Night, Buck.” He says quietly and Buck hums in acknowledgement, already feeling himself slip into sleep.