Consider this chapter a Tumblr exclusive bc ao3 keeps glitching on my pc when I try to upload BUT feel free to Read the rest of the interior designer!Eddie series on ao3!
XXIII
Evan Buckley— "I go by Buck, actually, please," — drops down to a stool in the loft of the fire station and grins up at the camera. “This is my jacket,” he says, pointing to the cover. The camera zooms in on the magazine, and then back to Buck’s face. “Do you know how many times Eddie has seen that in my closet and given me shit for it? Like a hundred times—oh, wait a minute, are we allowed to swear on this thing? You’ll just cut it out? Sweet. Okay. But, yeah, he always says it looks like a massive bird pooped on it . I totally thought I was losing my mind because I couldn't find the thing. Now I know why." He scratches his chin, a sheepish look crossing his face. "Sorry, um, what was the question again?”
Behind the camera, Julie Binet—one of the editors for Amateur Design magazine—clears her throat. “We asked you how long you’ve known Eddie Diaz.”
“Oh.” He laughs, scratching the back of his neck. “Going on six years now.”
“What three words would you use to describe him?”
Buck’s eyes catch on something behind the camera and a mischievous grin curls his lips. “Stinky, lazy, and uninspiring.”
A muffled voice in the background says, “Fuck off.”
“Eddie. We’re on camera. The children.”
The camera spins and stops on Eddie where he's lounging on an arm chair, wearing an identical uniform to Buck. A TV plays HGTV in the background. Eddie pointedly looks down at the phone in his hands.
“Anyway,” Buck says, when the camera focuses back on him. “Seeing as this jacket is selling this issue of Amateur Design, I think I should have half the profits. Actually, consider me the recipient of sixty percent of anything Eddie makes off his neurotic design hobby in the future.”
“Neurotic?” Julie asks. The sound of a pencil scratching over paper fills the silence. “Can you elaborate?”
“Oh, yeah, Eddie’s just particular, that’s all.”
“Buck,” Eddie voices, sounding pained.
"You're smouldering on this thing."
Boots thud against the hard floor, and then Eddie appears and plucks the magazine out of Buck's hands. "I do not smoulder."
"Tell that to the magazine."
Eddie's eye twitches and he opens his mouth to say something, peeks at the camera, and just storms off instead.
“I’m his best friend,” Buck explains, looking pleased with himself.
A paper ball soars into the frame and nails Buck in the back of the head.
*
“Uh, I wasn’t aware this was an in-house interview.”
“All in the release we had your chief sign,” Julie states, and a file of papers appears. Robert Nash— "Bobby, please, Robert makes me sound a hundred years old," — grabs the file with a suspicious look in his eye and flickers briefly through it before nodding once.
“I’m . . . confused. Do you have a copy of this magazine?”
“Right here, Cap!” Buck waltzes in out of nowhere, plopping the magazine in Bobby’s hands. “Get a load of this guy, eh?”
Bobby looks at the cover, and then up at the camera. “Is this supposed to be Eddie?”
“He’s wearing my jacket!” Buck huffs. “I made him famous.”
“Huh.” Bobby’s face scrunches up. “I thought you gave that jacket away. It hurts my eyes.”
“I wore it one time . . .” Buck mutters, walking away from the camera.
Bobby continues analyzing the magazine cover, and then his head snaps up and he beckons somebody over. “Eddie? Just a second, please.”
Eddie slouches into view. “Yeah, Cap?”
Bobby turns the magazine around. “What’s this? You never said anything.”
“I’m pretty sure Buck did at some point.”
“Buck says a lot of things. I tune most of it out. You, however. That I would have remembered.”
“. . . Sorry?”
Bobby tuts his tongue, eyes twinkling. “It’s decided then. This is going up on the station fridge.”
Eddie stares up at the camera, looking scandalized.
*
The camera pans out from a close-up of the magazine cover tacked to the station fridge, and then Chimney’s face— "The meaning behind the nickname? Come on, now, that’s a second date story, sorry," —comes into view. He has an energy bar in each hand.
“This is fantastic,” he sighs, peeling the wrapper off one after sticking the other in his pocket. “Best thing that’s happened all year.”
“You said Eddie redesigned this firehouse?” Julie asks.
Chimney nods, thinking as he chews. “Oh, yeah. Well, I mean, we all thought it was Bobby who did it, because—I mean, it’s Eddie, you know? I love the guy, but you have to understand, the other day he had his laptop open to the Old Navy website and just . . . a dozen henleys in his cart, three of which were the same color." He stares sorrowfully at his half-eaten energy bar. "Chris always looks so sharp, d'you think he uses all his style juice for the day on his kid?"
The camera turns to Julie, who blinks in an effort to process his words. "I'm not sure."
Chimney considers the thought for a moment more before shrugging and biting into the bar. "Well, anyway. It’s always the ones you least expect, you know?”
“It’s a good look. Other fire stations have tried to copy it.”
Chimney chokes on his energy bar. “What? You’re serious?”
“There’s a station in Chicago who posted a picture on Twitter. They tagged Eddie in the design.”
“No shit—oh, shit, can I swear on this thing? You'll just cut it out? Awesome. Wow. I don’t really go on social media. Neither does Eddie, now that I think about it. His last post was like three years ago. Oh, my God.” Chimney cranes his neck, waving his second energy bar in the air. “Hey, Eddie! When’s the last time you logged on to Twitter?”
The camera pans over to Eddie walking up the steps. He turns around and walks back down.
*
"Wait, I thought this was about interior design. What does anybody care how many henleys I buy?"
The camera shifts over Eddie's shoulder and zooms in on the wide-eyed look on Chimney's face.
"Is this some kind of fashion magazine? I'm not—I thought you were called Amateur Design."
Chimney backs slowly toward the fire pole.
"Also, just for the record, there isn't anything wrong with henleys. My dad always said it was good to find a piece of clothing and stick with it. He had a bin full of polos."
Chimney snorts so hard he trips over his feet and nearly slams into the pole.
*
“No, I didn’t know Eddie was a closet design fanatic. And yet I’m not surprised. It’s a healthy hobby, though. Nothing wrong with it.”
Henrietta Wilson— "Call me Hen. If you say Henrietta I’ll think it’s my mother and hide," —taps a pen against the page of some sort of medical textbook. Behind her, Bobby smiles proudly at the magazine cover on the fridge before reaching inside for a carton of eggs.
“Is this really a big thing?” The camera focuses on Hen’s face. “Like, is Eddie leaving to design rooms for the President or something?”
“It could be a gateway to something much more,” Julie explains. “Some of our spotlighted amateur designers go on to have illustrious careers. One of them is the personal consultant for Oprah.”
“Oprah.” Hen whistles, shaking her head. “Karen is going to love this.”
A loud crash is heard in the background, followed by an undignified squawk. The camera follows Hen as she stands to track the noise down the stairs, where Eddie is hunched over laughing with his hands on his knees and Buck is on the ground with an upturned bucket of soap and water soaking through his uniform.
“Yeah,” Hen remarks dryly. “That guy. Working for Oprah. I can see it now.”
Eddie helps Buck to his feet and then shoves a dirty sponge in his face.
Hen gives the camera a flat look.
*
“Thank you again for sitting down with us in your house Eddie.”
“Of course,” Eddie says, rubbing his palms against the denim over his thighs. His eyes widen suddenly and he makes a move to stand. “Do you guys, uh, do you need anything? Water, tea, coffee—well, actually, Buck drank the rest of my coffee, but I think I have—”
“We’re quite alright, Eddie,” Julie cuts him off, and he sinks back into the couch, shoulders pensive. “Thank you.”
“Sure.”
“As our newest featured amateur designer, I just wanted to ask you some questions about your inspirations, how you got into design, the basic stuff. You ready?”
Eddie nods with a face that looks the opposite of ready. “Uh, yeah. Yeah, I guess. Yes. I’m ready.”
“Great.” The camera widens to show Julie seated on the opposite end of the couch, angled toward Eddie, notebook in her lap. “Have you always enjoyed interior design?”
“Um, uh. Well. I guess? I mean, I didn’t really do much with it when I was younger, but I guess I always noticed. The design work and stuff, I mean. Yeah. I guess you could say I’ve always been aware of it.”
“You spend your days and nights as a firefighter, but have you ever considered doing design full time?”
Eddie laughs. “Oh, my—no, it’s never crossed my mind. I love what I do. Interior design has always been more of a stress relief thing.”
“Well, your ‘stress relief thing’ has garnered you a lot of attention.”
He laughs again, a little more nervously.
Julie shifts on the couch, a hawkish smile on her face. “Now, I’ll be hunted down if I don’t ask for our readers, but the people want to know: are you single?”
Eddie’s face reddens. “Um.”
“Just between us, Mr. Diaz.”
The camera shifts over and zooms in on a picture sitting on a table beside the couch, of Buck and Eddie and Christopher smiling together at the beach, as Eddie says, “No, I’m . . . I’m not really seeing anybody at the moment, I guess.”
“The people will be relieved,” Julie smirks, but notes his discomfort and smoothly glides to the next question. “What would you say your biggest inspiration is?”
Eddie’s eyes flit about the space. “Uh, I don’t think . . . I mean . . .”
The door opens, cutting off his sentence, and the camera follows Eddie’s gaze as Buck and Christopher walk through the door. Buck blinks at everybody gathered in the living room. Christopher grins a toothy smile.
“Awesome,” he breathes, as Buck says, “What?”
“Dude.” Eddie vaults off the couch. He corrals Buck in the hall, away from the crew. “I told you I had this stupid thing today. Weren’t you going to the zoo?”
“Zoo’s closed,” Buck answers, sneaking a peak at the interview crew over Eddie’s shoulder. “Something happened to one of the elephants. Some kid saw and totally freaked. There’s a lawsuit pending.”
“So you came back here?”
“Yeah, man, what’s the big deal? I’ll go to Christopher’s room. We’ll be quiet.”
Eddie drags a hand down his face, sighing heavily. “Okay. Okay. I’m sorry. This is stressful.”
Buck smiles, something soft and fond and amusing all at the same time. He rubs a hand down Eddie’s arm. “I know. Tough being in the spotlight, huh?”
“Screw you.”
“Mmhm.” He nudges his shoulder and follows Christopher down the hall. “Well be in the room. Definitely not listening to everything you say.”
Eddie groans and waits for the door to click shut before sitting back down on the couch. “Sorry. Where were we?”
“Biggest inspiration,” Julie repeats.
“Right,” Eddie says, and fumbles his way through an explanation. Something scuffs against the floor, and the camera switches to the nearest doorway where Buck is propped. He puts a finger to his lips when he sees the camera, eyes falling back on Eddie as he listens. He’s smiling.
*
After Eddie's interview, Julie talks quietly with the crew as everybody packs up. Eddie disappears down the hall with a mumbled excuse. Buck materializes by the camera and scoots closer. “I have my own copy of the magazine,” he whispers conspiratorially. “I’m going to keep it on my nightstand until the day I die.” And then, cupping his hands around his mouth, he shouts, “Hey, Eddie, will you sign a copy of the magazine for me?”
Something clatters in another room, followed by a muffled slew of words.
Buck turns back to the camera and grins.
*
Buck's first interview at the station got cut off by a call, so he lets the crew in his apartment to wrap it up.
“Oh, yeah, he signed it alright,” Buck says, a far off look in his eyes. After an awkward period of silence, he jerks to attention, looking embarrassed. “Sorry, I didn’t—what? What is that look for? Is there something on my face?” He pats at his cheeks just as the door to his apartment opens and Eddie walks in, Christopher behind him.
“Oh, Jesus." Eddie ducks behind the bag of groceries in his arms. “Seriously? You could have warned me, man.”
Christopher gasps. “Am I going to be on TV?”
Buck scoffs, hopping up from the couch. The camera follows him as he walks toward the kitchen. “Sorry, buddy, it’s just for a magazine. Your dad isn’t that cool.”
“Wow. Ouch.”
Buck cackles, absorbing himself into the world of his two guests, seemingly forgetting that the camera crew is present. The camera pans over to the magazine forgotten on the couch, zooming in on the words scrawled across the inside flap in sharpie:
Synopsis: While working as a valet in renowned painter Eddie Diaz’s house, curiosity leads him to learn more about his employer and his artwork. Evan later becomes Eddie’s muse for his most famous piece to date, but can they draw the line between employer and employee? Or will love and passion lead them down a path they should never cross…
the show has suggested that perhaps eddie likes watching telenovelas tho he claims it's only to practice his spanish with christopher.
now, i am come here burdened with the glorious purpose of suggesting that silly!eddie and christopher fully embrace their love for telenovelas, they sometimes invite buck for watch parties and learn to quote lines and enact their most favourite dramatic scenes. (buck has not lived until he sees christopher diaz wearing a pillow case like a veil, pointing dramatically at eddie, going: 'you, pedro, are not my son. YOU. are. my UnCle!')
but you know, secretly, eddie might be checking out the fan websites and devouring the fan theories and having deep, deep loathing for everyone who says that rocío and josé shouldn't get married
i just...
yeah. i think it would be kind of neat
help i am Lying On The Floor about this eddie absolutely gets so invested in the drama and him reading fan theories is my favorite concept fdshkj you know that post that's like "just read something i disagreed with on the internet" / "and you're being so brave about it" that's him and buck
ceilings, plaster
can’t you just make it move faster?
lovely to be sitting here with you
[ID: 8 gifs of eddie and buck paired with lyrics from ceilings by lizzy mcalpine
GIF 1: from 3x01, eddie and buck hug at buck’s welcome back party. white text reads: touch me like nobody else does.
GIF 2: from 2x04, eddie and buck share a Look after bobby reveals that buck called him to clear christopher visiting the station. white text reads: you’re kinda cute and i would say all of this.
GIF 3: from 2x03, buck drives eddie to christopher’s school after the earthquake. white text reads: but it’s over, then you’re driving me home.
GIF 4: from 5x01, eddie and buck share a Look over the pool table. white text reads: and it feels like the start of a movie i’ve seen before.
GIF 5: from 4x13, eddie looks at buck, confused, after being shot. white text reads: but it’s not real.
GIF 6: from 5x11, eddie watches buck laugh at the bar with an odd expression. white text reads: and you don’t exist.
GIF 7: from 5x03, ana kisses eddie’s cheek during their break up. white text reads: and i can’t recall the last time i was kissed.
GIF 8: from 2x04, eddie and buck walk side by side, their shoulders bumping. it cuts to 5x14, also walking side by side, their shoulders bumping. white text reads: and it feels like the end of a movie i’ve seen before.
With the first call in this ep, I couldn’t help but think of 316. When Eddie is there, to hold the line (and keep Buck safe, a symbol I explored in this fic), Buck’s eager to jump up and suggest a rope rescue. But the second Eddie isn’t, when their little team of two with their assigned roles I’ve mentioned before is broken up, Buck is suddenly okay with just asking Bobby what they should do. I know some interviews have suggested it’s Lucy’s daredevil nature that reinvigorates Buck, but this feels like proof that no, it doesn’t. Eddie does. ~~~
Gotta say two words about Lucy and Greenway. I didn’t like their remarks about Chim in 513, and now they did the same to Hen specifically and the team in general. It indicates they’re not a part of the 118 family despite working together. Which is significant! Eddie said in 311 that this team is the family they chose. It’s not a real choice if anyone coming into the fire station automatically becomes a part of the family, there has to be real chemistry. So in a sense, to see these two not really fitting in makes the click between the people who do more meaningful. But then, I also feel like this is another indicator that Buck and Lucy can’t be endgame. In addition to brushing off any possible meaning for the kiss by saying she got REALLY drunk, she also talked shit about Buck’s chosen family. That’s not the typical Love Interest, who’s usually shown as compatible and even loving the family of whichever character they’re there for. Yeah, another sign that Buck/Lucy isn’t and can’t be endgame. ~~~
That brings me to the other significant moment with her, Buck and Lucy’s talk… He was obviously just helping a colleague, and his tone was different with her (with Eddie it’s soft and intimate), plus he actually came over to talk to her to make sure she doesn’t go too arrogant about it, he didn’t come over to check up on her. But with Eddie, Buck’s been stepping in with him intentionally all along. Also, there’s this sense I get that Buck might have been impressed for a second with Lucy in 511, but this scene tells me he doesn’t look up to her. Lucy is at the start of her road, similar to where Buck used to be at the beginning of s1 (professionally, Lucy is now going through something similar to what he did in 102, plus she seems to be where he was emotionally in 101, only going for casual sex), and in realizing that, I think Buck is less likely to want something romantic with her. He seems to always like it when his partners are people he does look up to. Abby was stood out as a dispatcher when they first crossed paths in 101, she was older than him, more experienced and, for the young and reckless Buck, also capable of much greater self-control (he was really taken aback when he heard how long she hadn’t had sex). Ali? Handled herself really well during the earthquake despite the insane situation they were in, even helping them, despite not being used to this danger, since she wasn’t a firefighter. Taylor? When they first meet, Buck does have a bit of a crush on her as the reporter he listens to daily.
And then there’s Eddie, I just mentioned in the clothes meta for 513 how Buck has always admired him. I think that’s still the case, even after seeing him break down. I believe Buck continues to see all the ways in which Eddie is amazing, and is the first person to make Buck feel wanted, needed and included. So right now? Eddie is in pain and in need of help, but he’s no less amazing. That’s reflected even in how Buck helps him, by showing him how much good he’s responsible for. With Lucy, Buck probably just realized that she still has a long way to go until she’s even close to being someone who will truly and fundamentally, not incidentally, impress him. Now, something that I find interesting is that the spoilers we had before the ep sounded as if something Lucy says during this talk will end up pointing out to Buck how he can help Eddie. But no, it’s actually something Hen says that triggers that look on Buck’s face that says, “I just heard how I can help my husband and this is now my sole focus.” At the end of the day, 911 has yet to show one way in which Lucy has contributed to Buck or bettered him, unlike how Buddie are always doing that for each other. ~~~
Eddie’s dream turned nightmare is so interesting, it’s a throwback to the other scenes we’ve had of him and Chris together at the breakfast table, the ones from 511 being a contrast to what we saw in 204 because Eddie didn’t have as much time to spend with his son anymore. So this dream tells us what he yearns for, to have back that sense of quality time, to be a better dad. And it also gives us an idea of how much he’s afraid of dying, but not only due to death being scary in itself. Eddie’s scared of failing his son by dying. He’s SUCH a good dad, IDK how anyone can dislike him when he tries so hard. And that’s shown again when Chris asks whether he’s one of the things that make Eddie sad. No matter what Eddie’s going through, he puts comforting his son and making sure Chris knows he’s loved and treasured at the top of the list.
~~~ Which leads me to how insanely domestic Buddifer are throughout this ep. It seems like Buck might have spent the night over (maybe even right after the end of 513, meaning this ep shows us the following morning. Because we hear from Bobby that Buck took Chris to school, which would imply Buck knew Eddie had that very rough night and that he would need more rest than usual, which meant also helping with Chris, especially after how scared he was during Eddie’s breakdown. If Buck didn’t stay over, he would have had to come in very early, wake Chris up, help him get organized for school without waking Eddie up and letting Bobby in before he left, which is possible, but makes me feel like having spent the night there is more likely).
It obviously parallels the way Buck was there to step into Eddie’s shoes for Chris after the shooting (and this is so significant in 514, the same ep in which this trauma is brought up between Buddie again). We also have Buck being there as the babysitter while Eddie is in therapy, drawing with Chris and waiting for Eddie, expecting to be there for him to unload after this session. It obviously parallels 408 and the way Buck was there during and right after Eddie’s date, except this is even more intense, since their talk after therapy was always going to be of a deeper nature. And lastly, when Buck takes Eddie to see Charlie, they bring Chris along. Buck didn’t have to, but he turned it into an actual, proper family outing, reminiscent of the 210 one where they went to see Santa together, and I’m… I mean, Buck must have known that this was going to be an impactful moment for Eddie, yet he still heard where Charlie could be found, realized Chris could benefit from this place as well, and made it happen. I’m not even gonna talk about Buddie’s silent communication when Eddie was a bit apprehensive about letting Chris ride and Buck reassured him with one look. Everything about the way they handle themselves in this ep says Buck and Eddie are married and are Christopher’s dads. Period. But since we see how important being a good dad is to Eddie (his dream-nightmare reveals it’s the thing that matters to him the most), that makes this domesticity not just incredibly sweet, it’s also such an amazing illustration of why Buck is Eddie’s perfect partner in every possible way, more than any other possible LI. Remember those drawings Buck and Chris made? They could have drawn anything. But those two drew hearts. And then Eddie literally held up Buck’s heart, which was happy and romantic, full of colors and bursting with love, with smaller hearts surrounding it on all sides. I’ve written before about the heart theme for Eddie that started with Carla telling him to follow his heart and continued with him being shot in his chest, through thinking he was having heart attacks in this very season and so on, but here, we literally see why Buck has Eddie’s heart and how Buck’s helping it heal, as well as why Eddie following his heart will always lead to Buck. ~~~
Buck and Taylor’s one scene in this ep, especially after the mess they went through in 513, was not a good look. We’ve seen it before, but once again, Taylor was basically using Buck for what matters most to her, i.e her work. But the tables have… at least shifted, if not turned, because this time Buck put a boundary instead of lying to her, as we’ve seen him do at the end of 506, and he also did the same thing she did. He used her for what mattered the most to him. Eddie. ~~~
(the rest under the cut. Thank you SO MUCH to the incredible @judsonryder and @whosoldherout who consistently make these meta posts so much more beautiful with their gifs!)
romaincrisis
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