He lifts the branch holding a clay gingerbread man when something catches his eye in the light - a cobweb strand, definitely a cobweb strand and not a stray thread.
āNope,ā Eddie says to himself, āI am not having a spider infestation for Christmas.ā
Eddie has two options here, he could spray the tree with some bug spray - he even has the type that protects surfaces for up to a week so any spider not in the tree right now would also be killed. Or, he could get rid of the tree.
After a few too many calls involving spiders in Christmas trees, Eddie can't sleep worrying about the possible arachnid infestation in the Diaz Christmas tree. So he does the only logical thing - throws it out at midnight. Only...how will he explain the missing tree to Christopher in the morning? Buck to the rescue - he probably deserves an early Christmas present (kiss) for his help really.
DAY 1 FILL PROMPT - Christmas Tree
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
My prompt fill for the Buddie Christmas Advent Calendar Event, I'm running. Just a funny little story about spiders and Christmas trees with Buck being a Christmas miracle worker.
Tags below the cut - let me know if you want to be added or removed
Itās late but Buck canāt sleep, so heās sitting on the couch ā aka his bed since he hasnāt found a new place to move into it ā scrolling through some random article about the rise of pumpkin spice when he hears feet shuffling down the hall.
He glances up, spotting Eddie, sleep rumbled and tired, moving closer to him.
āHey.ā Buck says softly, dropping one foot onto the floor, his other still up, knee bent and resting against the back of the couch. āThought you were asleep.ā
Eddie shakes his head and arrives at the couch. Buck thinks heāll sit on the opposite corner but he doesnāt. Eddie crawls up the length of the couch, placing himself between Buckās spread legs, and flops down, his head finding a spot along Buckās collarbone.
Frozen at the sudden closeness, Buck doesnāt know what to do. He and Eddie donāt cuddle. They donāt do this. But Eddie is more or less boneless on top of him and doesnāt give any sign of moving anytime soon. So Buck locks his phone and tucks it behind his back on the couch before slowly lowering his arms to rest around Eddie.
Eddie releases a small noise, one of content, and Buck decides to do more. He moves one hand gently up and down Eddieās spine while his other hand cradles the back of Eddieās head with a tenderness that has to be way too revealing.
It doesnāt take more than another minute before theyāre both relaxed in their new position.
Buck doesnāt know whatās brought Eddie out here or has him seeking this type of comfort from Buck, but he isnāt complaining. Not when Eddie seems comfortable and content.
āLetās run away.ā Eddie mumbles after some time has passed, neither having broken the silence.
āRun away?ā Buck asks in a low tone.
āYeah.ā Eddie snuffles, repositioning his head until itās tucked under Buckās chin, nose pressing against Buckās neck. āRun away. Go somewhere. Start anew.ā
āWhere you thinking?ā Buck asks, playing along with these late night thoughts.
āSomewhere warm. Not cold. You wouldnāt last somewhere cold.ā
āThanks.ā
āSomewhere whereā¦where they donāt know us. Somewhere we can be whoever we want. Somewhere we can be free.ā
Buckās heart clenches. āEddieā¦ā
āNo more boxes. Expectations. Rules.ā Eddie continues. His fingers are curled around Buckās ribs, slotting into the empty space. āJust us. Being us.ā
āAnd Chris?ā
āObviously. Thatās my baby.ā
A small, sort of laugh escapes Buck. āHeās not a baby anymore.ā
āShush. He is.ā
āAlright.ā Buck tilts his head down, resting his mouth against the crown of Eddieās head. He doesnāt like this type of late night thinking. Simply because it means Eddie is struggling again, but has been keeping it to himself. At least heās sort of opening up to Buck now.
āWeād be happy. Together.ā Eddie continues. āJust us two.ā He pauses, āAnd our kid who is definitely still a baby.ā
Buckās heart skips a beat this time, āWe could be happy together here.ā
āCould we?ā Eddie asks; and oh, he sounds so terrified. Buck wants to take all of that away. He holds Eddie tighter.
āWe can. You just have to ask, Eddie.ā
Thereās silence. Buck wonders if it was too much. But thenā¦
āSoon. If youāll wait a little longer.ā
āIāll wait as long as you need.ā Buck tells him. āAnd if you need to run away, Iāll pack our bags and weāll leave at sunrise.ā
āThank you.ā Eddie whispers.
āAlways.ā Buck replies.
They fall asleep like that, tangled together. Always together.
Iām just here thinking about the first time Eddie ever buys Buck flowers.
Heās out at the grocery store for some basic house-hold necessities. He passes by the floral department and this sunflower assortment catches his eyes. They remind him of Buck. Theyāre vibrant, fun, and just veryā¦Buck.
His ex-girlfriends loved flowers. Right? Buck isnāt a woman but heās still human and what human doesnāt love flowers? Right? Right??????
Heās an absolute nervous wreck trying to find a perfect bouquet. Heās just about sweating through his hoodie at the check-out line. His hands shake while heās trying to pull his credit card out and on the steering wheel the entire drive home.
He walks in, met by some delicious smelling concoction he was sure was from Buckās Pinterest board āRecipes To Tryā. Buck is barefoot in the kitchen, wearing a hoodie and sweatpants that make him look that much more likeā¦home.
Buck turns around the moment he hears the Eddieās keys open the door. His eyes light up immediately when he sees the sunflowers. At first he doesnāt say anything, just kinda stares.
āI hope this isnāt weird- I mean, weāre datingā¦why would it be weird? Right? Itās just, I saw them and they reminded me of you- and my exes loved flowers, because who doesnāt love-ā and Buck is pressing his lips to Eddieās. Eddie breaths a sigh of relief into Buckās mouth. As Buck pulls away, he grabs the sunflowers from Eddieās hands.
āThanks baby. Theyāre beautiful.ā He turns on his heel and puts them in a vase before returning to the stove, stirring some sauce that is incredibly aromatic.
āCome taste this, I canāt tell if it needs more...ā But Eddie doesnāt hear a word Buck says because heās just standing there in awe that this is his life now.
He stares at Buck and then at the sunflowers. Yeah, heāll be making a stop every week at the floral department from now on.
obsessed with the idea of eddie never learning how to properly cook because his parents made fun of him for it when he was younger, laughing it off as being ātoo feminineā and that heāll have a ānice wifeā to cook for him later in life
and that same eddie in the future having an over 6 foot tall hunk of a man cooking for him on the regular
aka Buck and Eddie play Stardew Valley together. Find it here on ao3
āI got - I got a little pop-up,ā Eddie says, voice high and tight. Oh god this is not how this is meant to go. āIt said - it said āBuck loves youā and it had a little heart.ā
āI didnāt - oh. Uh. That, uh. Your dog's name is Buck. That just means you built up your relationship with the dog enough that, uh. The dog loves you,ā Buck tells him, completely crushing Eddieās heart in the process. The fucking dog loves him. The animated dog on his animated farm. Not the Buck in front of him, who Eddie will never be able to look in the eye again.
or
The one where Buck and Eddie play Stardew Valley together and Eddie needs to thank the game developer.
eddie is bad cook and even worse baker. buck normally handles the cooking and baking anyway so eddie doesnāt bother learning. but heās damn good on the grill. heās your classic dad griller. he has his little apron and is constantly flipping burgers and roasted veggies whenever summer rolls around and someone requests grilled burgers and hotdogs. you would think it would be buck and bobby working on the grill during 118 bbqās but nope itās eddie. buck may be the man of the kitchen but eddie is the king of the grill
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
āI hang onto the stuff that matters,ā Eddie says firmly. āWhich is why Iām hanging onto you. If youāll let me.ā
āIf Iāll - Eddie, wh-what does this all mean? I donāt - I donāt understand,ā Buck breathes. He thinks he might understand, actually, but he canāt say it out loud.
āI think you do,ā Eddie whispers, eyes bright and cheeks dusted a deep pink.
or
The one where Buck tries to move out, Eddie has some capital F Feelings about it, and shows Buck just how much he matters
Relationship: Buck/Eddie
Word Count: 4.3k
Rating: Teen and Up
Tags under the cut! If youād like to be added to or removed from my tag list please let me know.
Imagine Chimney going through Bobby's desk in his office. Having to clear personal things out. It breaks his heart, but also warms him because the captain was sentimental.
Then he comes across a small blue book labeled simply "Buck." Curious, he opens and flips through it.
Kid has eating problems. Will forget to eat when stressed. Feed him, and encourage him to cook, because he likes to taste-test a lot.
Chimney remembers that. Buck mentioning getting so hungry the starving pains go away. He does remember during the shitty times when Buck lost so much weight.
-Loves carbs
-Hates Okra
-Probably allergic to shellfish and mangos. Encourage him to get an allergy test
-Allergic to Naproxen
-Allergic to heavy fragrance laundry detergents. Use gentle.
-Remind him he's doing a great job. Use positive reinforcement.
-If he's depressed, as Maddie says, hand him a child. May and Harry work too.
-He's finally gaining weight! :)
-The Buckley parents are banned. Do not ask why. Firehouse is his safe area.
-He fidgets when he's stressed. Have him chop some vegetables or prepare them for you. He loves being helpful.
-He loves his clipboard. Have him organize important events. Give him gold stars. Do not let Hen and Chimney hide it. He gets sad.
-Remind him not to read too close or in the dark. He's gonna need glasses at this point. (If he does, don't let others tease him. Tell him he looks great)
-He doesn't admit it, but his leg still bothers him. Heating blankets are in the closet in the office. Have Eddie massage his leg or send him home early if he's obviously struggling.
Chim laughs. He laughs, and laughs, and starts to cry. Of all things, he did not expect to find a "How to Take Care of Your Buck" guide hidden away in Bobby's desk.
Buck may not be actually dying, but this cold he and Eddie have both caught certainly feels like death. The pounding headache, the blocked nose, the sore throat that makes it feel like he's swallowing razor blades, and sinuses so swollen Buck is certain his face twice its usual size.
Chim told them it was their own fault - that helping the woman with the broken arms (yes, both of them) up off the ground was a one person job, and that there had been no need for them both to assist her. Which, logistically, may have been true - but Buck had to work for months without Eddie, so why would he not do every job possible by his side? He does wish he'd left Eddie to it though, because then the patient would only have sneezed directly into Eddie's face instead of sneezing in both their faces.
Buck is currently wrapped up in a thick blanket on the couch, a plastic bag full of used tissues next to him - the extra soft kind with aloe vera, because the cheap kind Eddie gets when he does the grocery shopping left his nose feeling scraped raw.
"I'm making tea, you want one?" Eddie's just as sick as Buck, his cheeks flushed red and movements slow as he shuffles towards Buck. He's wearing the thick fluffy socks Buck had got him last Christmas as a gag gift - they're pastel pink with blue and green hearts on them and little white pompoms dangling off the cuff. Eddie had rolled his eyes and laughed as he unwrapped them, but Buck knew he not-so-secretly loved them.
"The lemon and honey one?" Buck asks hopefully. "With Tylenol in it?"
"Of course," Eddie chuckles weakly. He stops in front of Buck on the couch, depositing his own blanket and box of tissues on the opposite end. "Queue up Bake Off?"
"You can't be mad at me if I fall asleep halfway through the first episode," Buck counters. Eddie snorts and leans down, pressing his lips to Buck's forehead.
"You've definitely got a fever," Eddie hums as he pulls back. Buck's frozen in place, eyes wide as he watches Eddie walk into the kitchen. He's hallucinating, surely. Eddie didn't just kiss him to check his temperature, right? He's certainly not acting like he just did, making his way into the kitchen. Buck hears the kettle flick on and two mugs being placed on the counter. There's silence for a few seconds, before Eddie appears in the living room archway.
"Um," he croaks. "Did I just kiss your forehead?"
"You did," Buck replies slowly.
"Is that...was that weird?"
"...no," Buck whispers. He feels his lips involuntarily twist into a smile, the feeling of Eddie's lips on his forehead still lingering.
"Good," Eddie breathes. "That's...that's good. You, uh. You should check mine, too. Once I'm back with the tea."
"I can do that," Buck grins. "But my lips are a little cold. You might need to help me warm them up."
"I can do that," Eddie echoes softly. He crosses the room (torturously slowly) and leans down again, taking Buck's face in both hands and kissing him. It doesn't last long - neither of them can breathe through their noses right now. But it's enough to effectively ruin any resolve Buck had in denying that he was in love with Eddie. Buck presses a gentle kiss to Eddie's forehead - it's hot and a little sweaty, but Buck thinks if had had a sense of taste right now it would taste like home.
"So warm," Buck sighs.
"Me or your lips?"
"Both," Buck says. "Better get that tea and come curl up under the blankets with me."
"You gonna need more help warming your lips warm?" Eddie teases, walking backwards to the kitchen.
"So much more help," Buck chuckles. "Probably for, uh. The rest of my life."
"The rest of your life, huh? You planning on dying from this cold?"
"No?" Buck blinks at Eddie across the room as he disappears back into the kitchen, returning two minutes later and setting two steaming mugs of tea down on the coffee table. He slides under Buck's blanket with him, dragging the one he brought out over their legs.
"Guess I'd better keep kissing you then," Eddie murmurs, kissing Buck again. Buck feels better already.
--
Tags below cut. If you'd like to be added to or removed from my tag list, please let me know!
blakekathryn
yousharknotpass
2087
annaxmalina
kaledo-art
andulkaphoto
