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Buck stared at Eddie like he’d just announced the moon had fallen out of orbit. The weight of the words hovered between them, heavy and unyielding. People on the porch. People. His parents.
His parents who hadn’t called, hadn’t texted, hadn’t sent a Christmas card in years but had decided, out of nowhere, to show up at Eddie’s house. His house too, Buck guessed, though it never really felt like it.
His name wasn’t on the deed, no matter how many mornings he woke up to Christopher’s chatter, how many nights he fell asleep on the couch with Eddie dozing beside him, some random action movie forgotten on the screen.
And now his parents—the last people Buck would ever want to meet Christopher—had decided to invade the one safe place he had left.
“Are you serious?” Buck’s voice cracked, and he hated himself for it. Hated that they still had that power over him, to make him feel small and exposed and unworthy. Eddie didn’t flinch at the sharpness in his tone.
He never did, even when Buck felt like the only thing holding him together was the thin veneer of bravado he plastered on in front of everyone else.
Eddie was just looking at him, calm and steady, a grounding force. It was the look Eddie got when someone was on the edge of a breakdown—a mixture of patience and determination, like he was ready to hold the whole world together if it meant sparing Buck the weight.
“I wouldn’t joke about something like that,” Eddie said, his voice low but firm. His hand was still wrapped around Buck’s wrist, not tight, just there, anchoring him.
Buck’s fingers twitched, and Eddie’s thumb brushed over the pulse point in his wrist, a soothing motion that Buck wasn’t sure Eddie even realized he was doing. “They said they wanted to meet Chris. Said they’re his grandparents.”
The laugh that broke out of Buck’s throat was bitter, more of a bark than anything else. “Yeah, sure. Now they care about being grandparents. Now that they can swoop in and pretend they’ve always been perfect and loving and—” His voice caught, and he shook his head, taking a step back.
Eddie didn’t let go of his wrist, just shifted with him, staying close but not crowding him. Buck couldn’t look at him. Couldn’t handle the way Eddie was staring at him like he could see straight through to all the messy, broken pieces inside.
“Do you want me to tell them to leave?” Eddie asked, his tone as measured as ever, like he was asking if Buck wanted cream in his coffee. But there was an edge underneath it, a sharpness that Buck knew wasn’t directed at him. Eddie didn’t get angry often, not really.
D O N ' T C O P Y , D O N ' T R E P O S T , D O N ' T P L A G I A R I Z E , D O N ' T T R A N S L A T E , D O N ' T C O P Y , D O N ' T R E P O S T , D O N ' T P L A G I A R I Z E , D O N ' T T R A N S L A T E , D O N ' T C O P Y , D O N ' T R E P O S T , D O N ' T P L A G I A R I Z E , D O N ' T T R A N S L A T E , D O N ' T C O P Y , D O N ' T R E P O S T , D O N ' T P L A G I A R I Z E , D O N ' T T R A N S L A T E , D O N ' T C O P Y , D O N ' T R E P O S T , D O N ' T P L A G I A R I Z E , D O N ' T T R A N S L A T E , D O N ' T C O P Y , D O N ' T R E P O S T , D O N ' T P L A G I A R I Z E , D O N ' T T R A N S L A T E , D O N ' T C O P Y , D O N ' T R E P O S T , D O N ' T P L A G I A R I Z E , D O N ' T T R A N S L A T E , D O N ' T C O P Y , D O N ' T R E P O S T , D O N ' T P L A G I A R I Z E , D O N ' T T R A N S L A T E , D O N ' T C O P Y , D O N ' T R E P O S T , D O N ' T P L A G I A R I Z E , D O N ' T T R A N S L A T E , D O N ' T C O P Y , D O N ' T R E P O S T , D O N ' T P L A G I A R I Z E , D O N ' T T R A N S L A T E ,
But when he did, when someone he cared about was in the line of fire, it was like flipping a switch. Calm, protective Eddie turned into a force of nature, and Buck had a feeling his parents had no idea what they’d walked into.
He wanted to say yes. Wanted to tell Eddie to march out there and send them packing, to slam the door in their faces and pretend this whole thing never happened.
But the thought of them leaving without answers, without knowing the truth about why they didn’t deserve to be in Christopher’s life, made Buck’s stomach churn. “No,” he said finally, his voice barely above a whisper. “I’ll talk to them.”
Eddie’s brow furrowed, and Buck could see the gears turning in his head, the calculations he was making.
“You don’t have to do this,” Eddie said, his voice soft but insistent. “Whatever they have to say, it doesn’t change who you are. It doesn’t change how much we love you. Chris loves you. I love—” He cut himself off, his jaw tightening for a fraction of a second before he pressed on. “You don’t owe them anything.”
Buck’s heart did a weird flip at the almost-confession, but he shoved it aside, focusing on the weight of Eddie’s words. We love you. The firehouse family. Maddie. Eddie and Chris.
They were everything his parents weren’t, everything he’d spent his whole life wishing for without realizing he already had it.
“I know,” Buck said, and he meant it. For once, he really, truly meant it. But that didn’t make this any easier.
He took a deep breath, and Eddie matched it without missing a beat, their chests rising and falling in sync. Eddie let go of his wrist, but only so he could slide his hand down to clasp Buck’s fingers, squeezing once before leading him toward the front door.
The sunlight hit Buck like a punch to the gut, too bright and unforgiving. His parents stood on the porch, just as polished and put-together as ever, like they were stepping into a country club and not the Diaz household.
His mother’s gaze swept over him, sharp and assessing, while his father’s expression was as blank as always, a mask of indifference that Buck had spent years trying—and failing—to crack.
They didn’t even look at Eddie, though Buck felt his presence beside him like a wall of steel, solid and unyielding.
“Evan,” his mother said, her tone cool and clipped, like they were strangers meeting for the first time. “It’s been a while.”
D O N ' T C O P Y , D O N ' T R E P O S T , D O N ' T P L A G I A R I Z E , D O N ' T T R A N S L A T E , D O N ' T C O P Y , D O N ' T R E P O S T , D O N ' T P L A G I A R I Z E , D O N ' T T R A N S L A T E , D O N ' T C O P Y , D O N ' T R E P O S T , D O N ' T P L A G I A R I Z E , D O N ' T T R A N S L A T E , D O N ' T C O P Y , D O N ' T R E P O S T , D O N ' T P L A G I A R I Z E , D O N ' T T R A N S L A T E , D O N ' T C O P Y , D O N ' T R E P O S T , D O N ' T P L A G I A R I Z E , D O N ' T T R A N S L A T E , D O N ' T C O P Y , D O N ' T R E P O S T , D O N ' T P L A G I A R I Z E , D O N ' T T R A N S L A T E , D O N ' T C O P Y , D O N ' T R E P O S T , D O N ' T P L A G I A R I Z E , D O N ' T T R A N S L A T E , D O N ' T C O P Y , D O N ' T R E P O S T , D O N ' T P L A G I A R I Z E , D O N ' T T R A N S L A T E , D O N ' T C O P Y , D O N ' T R E P O S T , D O N ' T P L A G I A R I Z E , D O N ' T T R A N S L A T E , D O N ' T C O P Y , D O N ' T R E P O S T , D O N ' T P L A G I A R I Z E , D O N ' T T R A N S L A T E ,
“You could say that,” Buck said, crossing his arms over his chest. He didn’t miss the way her gaze flicked to the movement, her lips tightening like she wanted to scold him for bad posture or something equally ridiculous.
She didn’t get the chance. Eddie stepped forward, just enough to draw attention to himself without putting Buck in the background. “You must be Buck’s parents,” he said, his voice polite but laced with steel. “I’m Eddie Diaz. Buck’s partner.”
Buck’s breath hitched at the word, and he couldn’t stop himself from glancing at Eddie, who was standing tall and sure, like he hadn’t just dropped a bombshell in the middle of an already tense situation.
His parents exchanged a look, his mother’s brow furrowing ever so slightly. “Partner,” she repeated, the word unfamiliar in her mouth.
“Partner,” Eddie said again, firmer this time. He didn’t elaborate, didn’t back down, just let the word hang in the air, daring them to challenge it. Buck couldn’t help the small, shaky laugh that escaped him, and Eddie shot him a quick, sidelong smile, warm and reassuring.
“This is Christopher,” Eddie continued, gesturing toward the doorway where Chris had appeared, curiosity written all over his face. “My son. And Buck’s too, as far as we’re concerned.”
Buck’s mother’s lips parted in surprise, but she didn’t say anything. For once in his life, she was at a loss for words.
And Buck, standing between his found family and the people who had tried to break him, felt a surge of something he hadn’t felt in years.
Pride.
For who he was. For who he’d become, in spite of everything. And for the people who had helped him get there.