[ Salad for breakfast is kind of weird to Buck but he'll get over it because Chris seems to like it and he's happy the kid's eating his greens. ]
Between you and me, kid, you're just as cool as your dad already.
[ He says this in a stage whisper, just loud enough for Eddie to hear, as he helps around the kitchen, washing up, wiping down counters like he lives here. He's so comfortable with this living space, he almost forgets sometimes that he doesn't. ]
How about we go down to the store to pick up ingredients so I can teach you how to make mac and cheese that doesn't come from a box?
[ They'll. Find other things to do, too, likely before passing out until the alarm rings for night shift or they have to pick up Chris. But Buck probably wants to talk about that without Christopher in the room. ]
Sounds like a plan. ( he'll give buck his grilled sandwich because, come on, he's not here to just clean up after them. eddie had invited him over to eat breakfast and that's what he should do. well, that, and to hang out after. he's kinda curious to see where this is going. sure, it's possible they'd both crossed a line they shouldn't have, but it's a little too late now. it's not like buck's the only one who's feeling sex-starved lately. after his breakup with ana, he hadn't really gone on any dates. eddie had mainly been focusing on his work and taking care of christopher. )
Ten minutes, buddy. You still gotta take a shower. ( he'll signal to chris to put his ipad away and focus on finishing his breakfast. he doesn't want to be late for school again. almost immediately, chris puts a handful of salad on buck's sandwich and tells him to eat his greens before grinning at his dad. )
I swear, sometimes I think he gets his cheekiness from you, Buck.
[ Buck starts eating his sandwich anyway, because he doesn't mind his greens. And, yeah, it's kinda gross for it to be like wilted lettuce on his hot sandwich, but he'll eat it anyway. Can't waste food. ]
I'm not his dad, Eddie.
[ He reminds him, but teasingly, because he does like the idea of being an influence on him. ]
But hey, do you wanna... talk?
[ About serious things, because he thinks maybe they ought to. ]
About um. Last night? Or this morning, I guess.
[ He looks sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck. ]
Uh, yeah. Sure. Later? ( because he definitely doesn't want to talk about that with christopher in the kitchen with them. eddie will just busy himself with loading the dishwasher and then excuse himself to go check on chris' school stuff to make sure he's got everything packed in his bag.
he doesn't go back to the kitchen while christopher's getting ready. instead eddie heads outside to check on the mailbox and does god knows what else until he hears chris talking to buck again. he feels like a complete ass for how he's avoiding talking to buck about the whole thing, but he might have panicked at the idea of chris finding out. he yells for them both to hurry up as he stops watering the lawn for no good reason, and then they're off to get his kid to school. )
[ Okay, well, that was awkward. Yes, he probably should have specified that he wasn't going to talk about details in front of Chris, but it doesn't seem to matter anyway, as Eddie excuses himself and Buck starts talking to Chris about his essays and his homework instead. ]
You tell them that you're allowed to change your mind whenever you want, kid.
[ Then when he comes out he sees that Eddie's watering the lawn, which is a strange thing to be doing this exact moment. ]
Eddie, why don't I drive?
[ He's hoping this isn't about them. After all, he'd broken up with Ana, and maybe Buck is just another in a short but growing line of mistakes. As long as their friendship is unharmed, he steels himself, and thinks, he can get over it. ]
( he thinks to tell buck that he can handle it, but decides against being difficult, so he lets him take the wheel as he helps christopher into the car.
thirty minutes later, and they're getting coffee outside the grocery store after a quick round of shopping. they're seated across from each other at one of the tables outside of starbucks and eddie finally relaxes some. )
Sorry about that. ( the apology comes quick because he owes him that. he knows buck sensed that something was wrong the minute he'd practically bailed on him in the kitchen earlier, right after he'd mentioned wanting to talk about this whole thing. )
I just... I guess I really hadn't thought about it properly when I invited you over this morning. ( because his kid can't find out about this. it would just confuse him. especially after what he'd put christopher through recently, what with him breaking things off with ana out of the blue like that. )
[ He hadn't thought that they'd tell Christopher right away anyway, or anybody at the 118. But he's also not sure if there's anything to tell them - he's not sure if Eddie would rather just not actually start anything at all.
Buck takes a deep breath and readies himself for what might just be inevitable. ]
So... I guess... what'd you want to talk about?
[ He flashes Eddie a smile and tries not to sound nervous even though he's prepared to be broken up with in the same manner as Ana was. Eddie's his best friend, and Chris is kind of like a kid to him, but he's not Buck's kid. He has to remember that. He doesn't lay any claim to either of the Diaz boys, and he has to just be happy that he gets to be in their lives at all. ]
( seeing buck, having him here with him, the fact he's always so supportive of him, makes eddie resolute in his decision to want to talk things through first. the last thing he wants to do is ruin their friendship or to hurt buck in any way like he'd done with his exes. )
If we do this... ( and he takes a moment to just gulp down some coffee first because oh boy. ) I mean, you know, mess around... I can't let Christopher find out, okay? But is that gonna be all right with you? Us fooling around, no strings attached. ( because they shouldn't do this if buck has different expectations here. )
This isn't gonna mess up our friendship, right? ( it's an unfair question to pose to a guy when they both haven't even done anything because who's to know? except he figures they're both adults here. they can just agree on something and shake on it. no biggie. )
[ Well, that wasn't what he expected. He just expected Eddie to say that he doesn't want any part of this and he'd rather they just stay friends.
But - messing around, Buck could do that. ]
Yeah, I don't. I don't want Chris to think of either of us like that. You're just my best friend.
[ Maybe with benefits. He doesn't mind that. He doesn't like being a secret, but Eddie's not looking for a relationship and Buck doesn't want to push him into one. He wouldn't want his status to change to Christopher unless they were serious, and he supposes that they never will be. ]
And no matter what, Eddie, our friendship is the most important thing. I never wanna lose that. So if this doesn't... work out, we'll have to stop.
[ But he has another question he should ask: ]
We're. I mean, we're gonna. See other people though, right?
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Between you and me, kid, you're just as cool as your dad already.
[ He says this in a stage whisper, just loud enough for Eddie to hear, as he helps around the kitchen, washing up, wiping down counters like he lives here. He's so comfortable with this living space, he almost forgets sometimes that he doesn't. ]
How about we go down to the store to pick up ingredients so I can teach you how to make mac and cheese that doesn't come from a box?
[ They'll. Find other things to do, too, likely before passing out until the alarm rings for night shift or they have to pick up Chris. But Buck probably wants to talk about that without Christopher in the room. ]
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Ten minutes, buddy. You still gotta take a shower. ( he'll signal to chris to put his ipad away and focus on finishing his breakfast. he doesn't want to be late for school again. almost immediately, chris puts a handful of salad on buck's sandwich and tells him to eat his greens before grinning at his dad. )
I swear, sometimes I think he gets his cheekiness from you, Buck.
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I'm not his dad, Eddie.
[ He reminds him, but teasingly, because he does like the idea of being an influence on him. ]
But hey, do you wanna... talk?
[ About serious things, because he thinks maybe they ought to. ]
About um. Last night? Or this morning, I guess.
[ He looks sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck. ]
no subject
he doesn't go back to the kitchen while christopher's getting ready. instead eddie heads outside to check on the mailbox and does god knows what else until he hears chris talking to buck again. he feels like a complete ass for how he's avoiding talking to buck about the whole thing, but he might have panicked at the idea of chris finding out. he yells for them both to hurry up as he stops watering the lawn for no good reason, and then they're off to get his kid to school. )
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You tell them that you're allowed to change your mind whenever you want, kid.
[ Then when he comes out he sees that Eddie's watering the lawn, which is a strange thing to be doing this exact moment. ]
Eddie, why don't I drive?
[ He's hoping this isn't about them. After all, he'd broken up with Ana, and maybe Buck is just another in a short but growing line of mistakes. As long as their friendship is unharmed, he steels himself, and thinks, he can get over it. ]
no subject
thirty minutes later, and they're getting coffee outside the grocery store after a quick round of shopping. they're seated across from each other at one of the tables outside of starbucks and eddie finally relaxes some. )
Sorry about that. ( the apology comes quick because he owes him that. he knows buck sensed that something was wrong the minute he'd practically bailed on him in the kitchen earlier, right after he'd mentioned wanting to talk about this whole thing. )
I just... I guess I really hadn't thought about it properly when I invited you over this morning. ( because his kid can't find out about this. it would just confuse him. especially after what he'd put christopher through recently, what with him breaking things off with ana out of the blue like that. )
no subject
[ He hadn't thought that they'd tell Christopher right away anyway, or anybody at the 118. But he's also not sure if there's anything to tell them - he's not sure if Eddie would rather just not actually start anything at all.
Buck takes a deep breath and readies himself for what might just be inevitable. ]
So... I guess... what'd you want to talk about?
[ He flashes Eddie a smile and tries not to sound nervous even though he's prepared to be broken up with in the same manner as Ana was. Eddie's his best friend, and Chris is kind of like a kid to him, but he's not Buck's kid. He has to remember that. He doesn't lay any claim to either of the Diaz boys, and he has to just be happy that he gets to be in their lives at all. ]
no subject
If we do this... ( and he takes a moment to just gulp down some coffee first because oh boy. ) I mean, you know, mess around... I can't let Christopher find out, okay? But is that gonna be all right with you? Us fooling around, no strings attached. ( because they shouldn't do this if buck has different expectations here. )
This isn't gonna mess up our friendship, right? ( it's an unfair question to pose to a guy when they both haven't even done anything because who's to know? except he figures they're both adults here. they can just agree on something and shake on it. no biggie. )
no subject
[ Well, that wasn't what he expected. He just expected Eddie to say that he doesn't want any part of this and he'd rather they just stay friends.
But - messing around, Buck could do that. ]
Yeah, I don't. I don't want Chris to think of either of us like that. You're just my best friend.
[ Maybe with benefits. He doesn't mind that. He doesn't like being a secret, but Eddie's not looking for a relationship and Buck doesn't want to push him into one. He wouldn't want his status to change to Christopher unless they were serious, and he supposes that they never will be. ]
And no matter what, Eddie, our friendship is the most important thing. I never wanna lose that. So if this doesn't... work out, we'll have to stop.
[ But he has another question he should ask: ]
We're. I mean, we're gonna. See other people though, right?