this is for @jewishbucke‘s birthday y’all should go wish him a good one / CISHETS DNI //
Eddie isn’t entirely sure when Buck moved in. He thinks it was sometime after the tsunami, when both him and Chris were wrought with nightmares and comforted most by knowing the other was safe. It was just easier, when Christopher woke up screaming and afraid, for Buck to be right there as opposed to on the phone miles away. Even if they don’t talk about it, being able to check that Christopher is sound asleep in his room helped Buck sleep better too. It was just easier for him to be there. Between late shifts and early mornings, pancake breakfasts and pizza dinners, Buck became a fixture in his and Christopher’s lives.
It doesn’t matter though, he thinks. Not really. However it happened, Buck is here now, his chest slowly rising and falling under Eddie’s cheek in a way that proves him to be restful. Neither of them have nightmares as often since they gave up the pretense of the fold-out couch, but it’s still startlingly nice when he wakes up on his own, no alarm or bad dream, to Buck a solid and comforting presence beside him. One of his heavy arms is curled around Eddie’s waist to keep him close, even in sleep.
He knows what everyone would say if they knew about this. He knows his parents would have their opinions on it, and Maddie would give him this knowing smile. The team probably have bets on it. Eddie doesn’t want them to know, not yet, anyways. He’d like to hold onto the privacy for a little longer, especially given that they don’t talk about it. Buck and Eddie fall asleep in the same bed, clinging to each other, every night. They share each meal and take turns bringing Christopher to school, and sometimes they get a little lost in kisses that feel like so much more. But they aren’t anything official. They deserve to figure that out first, and then to have time after that.
Christopher’s crutches make their morning slap against the hallway floor, meaning he’s up and off to watch cartoons. He always waits until eight to come wake them if they’re not up, understands that they need their sleep and is more than happy to spend a little time by himself. Eddie should let Buck continue to rest, but it feels weird now to begin a morning without him. He props himself up on his elbows, on either side of Buck’s broad chest, and kisses him awake.
At first, Buck makes a sleepy noise and tightens his grip around him, but a moment later, kisses Eddie back. He’s beautiful half-asleep, adorable when his eyebrows scrunch and he tries to bring his whole mind to the soft early sunlight. Slowly, he wakes up, kissing Eddie and keeping his eyes shut until he gets a little side tracked and presses one of his muscular thighs up between Eddie’s. They could fool around, cross the invisible line in the sand to greet the morning, but that feels too much, too fast. So Eddie pulls back, kissing his cheek to soothe the pout and stretches across the mattress.
“Eight already?” Buck asks, voice still deliciously rough with sleep. “Feels like we just got home.”
Something about how easily he declares this place home too makes Eddie’s heart clench. This is their home. Him, Buck, and Christopher against the world, tucked away in their neat home with a package of bacon ready to be properly fried up on the stove. Eddie glances at the clock and kisses Buck’s bicep, because he can. “It’s like seven thirty.”
“I get you to myself for half an hour then?”
“You’ve got me as long as you want me.”
Buck blinks at him. For a moment, Eddie regrets his words. He wants to take them back, tries to find an excuse, but then he realizes Buck is smiling and he looks so unbearably fond. It was the right thing to say. It’s how he feels, how they both feel. Buck cups his face and kisses him again, slow and tender, and Eddie feels loved.
