“A toothbrush?” Hen repeats, eyebrows high and tone extremely dubious.
“A toothbrush,” Eddie confirms.
“Your girlfriend broke up with you because of a toothbrush?” Ravi clarifies, he’s not the only one seeking that clarification either, Eddie can tell he beat Chim to the question only because he didn’t have his mouth full.
“Yes,” Eddie confirms (again), sounding a little more disgruntled this time about it.
Chim finally swallows his mouthful to ask, “Is this like a metaphor?”
Eddie shrugs. “I don’t know.” And he doesn’t, that’s the thing. He’s got no damn idea why a toothbrush (of all things) had Marisol breaking things off before they’d even really gotten started.
“I’m going to need more than this,” Hen says. “What kind of toothbrush?”
Exasperated, all Eddie can say is, “I don’t know - a toothbrush.”
“I mean,” Chim says thoughtfully, “did she not like the colour? Were the bristles too hard? Maybe it wasn’t about the toothbrush but the toothpaste on the brush - do you have weird toothpaste taste?”
That earns Chim a confused look from everyone but he just shrugs which Eddie finds fair because he honestly doesn’t know. “I don’t have weird toothpaste,” Eddie defends.
“I like your toothpaste,” Buck announces, dropping down into the chair beside Eddie. “Why are we talking about Eddie’s toothpaste?”
“We’re talking about Eddie’s toothbrush,” Hen clarifies and even as she does, she looks like she can’t believe that’s a sentence she’s found herself saying.
“Eddie’s toothbrush?” Buck repeats, sounding just as confused as when he thought they were talking about toothpaste.
“Not my toothbrush,” Eddie groans. “It wasn’t even mine!”
“Wait,” and this comes from Bobby who looks as though he can’t believe he’s joining in this conversation, “Marisol broke up with you because of Christopher’s toothbrush?”
“Marisol broke up with you?” Buck says, “Sorry man.”
Eddie waves off Buck’s words, he’s not all that broken up about it honestly, just genuinely stuck on how a toothbrush could possibly be reason enough to break up with someone. “No it wasn’t Chris’ toothbrush, Jesus.”
“I’m so confused,” Buck said.
“Me too,” added Ravi.
But Hen, Hen had a look on her face and there was a note in her voice he couldn’t identify as she asked, “Whose toothbrush was it?”
“Buck’s.”
And Eddie has no idea why that is suddenly explanation enough for everyone.
i have feeling eddie sisters have made the 'your gay' joke to him a couple times. i mean like way before him and buck met
cuz like its just funny to tease your brother for something they did that was remotely or kinda "gay"
but also as they grew up, his sister kinda just look at him and its like 'yeah he for sure in the closet'
and when they finally met buck and see how they act together and how eddie is looking at him. they just look at each other and had that 'oh' moment
and they just knew. ofc they still love and support him, but the teasing and shit he will endure for the rest of his life 😂😂
and when his ass comes out, oh the gay jokes and slurs that will come pouring out. but also the guy trash talk they will have together, the girls night out, advice on outfits for dates or outings, his sis going feral if anyone disrespect his ass for being queer cuz only they can do that
"I want your life to be happy and free and full of joy and im not sure that's possible with me in it" written to Chris by Shannon will never not haunt me because it extends to Eddie. It always extends to Eddie.
Her love was always there, even when asking for a divorce. She would always love Eddie though it would be as a person instead of as the husband she found after coming back. Its the same for Eddie - he loved her so much as a person, as the mother of his child, for who she was, but not as a wife. The letter shows the audience that Shannon was a key part of Eddie, but more to do with who he thought he had to be instead of who he was. With her in his life actively, he had to perform and hide, even from his own son just so he could give Chris his mother which is why we see Eddie lamenting over so many cases in s2 as he looks to what he feels like he needs to do instead of what he wants. Its something which haunts the narrative of ALL of Eddie's canonical romantic relationships with women up until s8 where he's encouraged to allow himself joy.
Christopher gets excited when he meets Dad’s new friend; Tommy.
Carla picked him up from school, and just dropped him off on their foyer, already rushing to her next appointment. She kissed his head and said, “Say hi to your Dad for me. Have to go.”
So, he says hi to his Dad as he keeps his eyes wary on the new person sitting at their breakfast table, waiting for him to introduce them.
Or: Christopher's POV on everything that has been happening with Buck, Eddie, and Tommy. And Buck coming out to him.
So, I haven’t been too invested in Stranger Things lately but I am reading a lot of 9-1-1! I figured I would try out some writing for that fandom. Enjoy!
~*~*~*~
The 118 always felt like a family to Buck. From the moment he started as a probie, he felt something there. Over the years, he grew from the annoying little brother that everyone reluctantly put up with to a (sometimes) respected member of the family. Hen and Chim were the siblings he always wanted, Bobby was the father he never knew he needed, and Eddie. He was the love of his life, his best friend that Buck could always count on.
Sure, there were moments that tried to shake his beliefs. The lawsuit left him estranged from his family, abandoned like his parents and Maddie had done when he was a kid. Eddie getting shot shook him and left him ungrounded. The taste of blood in his mouth didn’t lessen until Eddie was back at his house with Buck hovering like a mother hen.
The point though was that the 118 was Buck’s family.
He thought that until his whole world started fracturing. Maddie left him again after promising to never leave again. Just like she had done was a teenager, she left him despite sacred pinky promises and a family that loved her. He knew she wasn’t in the best headspace but his hurt didn’t see logic, it just saw his sister abandoning him again.
Buck tried to look after Chimney and Jee in her absence like he promised her, devotedly caring for them and for her until a sucker punch stole his devotion. He wasn’t in his loft with his friend, coworker, and future brother in law then. No, Buck was back in his childhood living room drenched in fear, cowering away from the hatred his dad threw at him. Just like back then, he couldn’t fight back. He couldn’t explain his side of things or try to protect his sister. Instead, he shrunk back from Chimney and escaped into the dissociation he adopted when his dad had hit him as a child.
Buck was already drowning when Eddie announced that he was leaving the 118, leaving Buck. He still held onto their friendship and the hope for more with both hands for as long as he could but the one-sided efforts grew exhausting. Soon, Buck stopped reaching out first and without his attempts at contact, all of his relationships that he held in such high regard were eventually extinguished. Even Eddie cast him aside. The man he’d come to love so much stopped reaching out. Sure, their shifts didn’t always coincide and Buck was probably annoying when they did get together. But that was the last straw. As soon as he lost the Diazes, something in him snapped. That was when he stopped treading water and let the waves take him.
He stopped trying to keep his family together, he stopped making plans, and taking care of himself. What was the point? All he wanted in the world was a family that would be there for him and stick around but it seemed impossible to achieve.
For once, he wanted to be the one who left first. His parents were never there, Maddie kept leaving him even when she said she never would again, and the 118 wasn’t a family after all, just as Bobby had said way back when. When he mentioned a transfer initially, Eddie had told him not to because they were a “family”.
There was no one to stop him now. So, Buck transferred to a new station across town. He uprooted his life; moved to a new apartment, established a new routine, found a new hiking spot.
But reminders of his failed attempts at a family were everywhere. He would see billboards of DV and think of how strong Maddie was to survive all those years, he’d see recipe cards at the grocery store and think of making them with Bobby, he’d see kids and think of how long it had been since he’d seen Christopher, and he’d flinch at hands moving toward him and think of Chimney.
Across town wasn’t far enough. So after six months, he transferred to Chicago. Despite loathing the cold, something in Buck missed the snow. He found the busiest station there and decided to try again. The Buckley’s weren’t a family, the 118 never was despite the facade, and the Diazes weren’t his family. But maybe he could try again at Station 51 in Chicago.
He threw all of his effort into bringing his dream to life once again, the 118 being lost as just another bad memory to him.
He didn’t hear about Eddie going back to the 118, Maddie or Chimney going back home, or Hen staying at the 118 instead of pursuing medical school. He cut his losses just as his sister had modeled for him so many times before. This time, it was Maddie and the rest of the 118 being abandoned and Buck could move on with his life in a way he never had before. Without regret.
(inspired by @bvckleydiaz post: “ someone PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE write something where eddie and the rest are sitting around telling stories/talking about buck!! my heart needs this! 😩🥺”)
yeah my inspiration muse struck, and here we are
(a.k.a. help I accidentally wrote a bit more than a drabble)
************************************
“Hello? Is anybody in here?”
Eddie looked up from his locker, surprised to see an older couple making their way over from the front entrance. A quick glance around revealed nobody else on duty nearby.
He sighed. He really didn’t want to deal with well-wishing senior citizens today. They tended to be overly nice and expected his full attention, even when he had other things to do. Usually, Eddie enjoyed the visits as a welcome break during the day, but this time he was a bundle of tightly-tensed nerves waiting to combust ever since Buck had come in that morning.
Buck.
Eddie lightly rested his head against the cool metal of the locker, chasing away the sudden onslaught of images from earlier, the terror that had overcome him when he’d thought his friend had... gone in the explosion. The events from earlier had affected him more than he’d let on.
Maybe if he just stayed really still and didn’t look up again, the older couple would find someone else.
“Excuse me?”
Or not.
Eddie turned around, plastering a tight smile onto his face. “Can I help you with anything?”
The man nodded. “Is Evan here? We... need to talk with him.”
Eddie spun around and felt his blood run cold as the words fully registered.
It was them.
And they had the nerve to show up here after Buck had nearly died saving a stranger’s life. Eddie's gaze flickered to the punching bag in the corner, a memory springing up of Buck, angrily punching the ever-loving crap out of it.
“Two dinners, and I’m twelve years old again,” he’d said, face filled with fury. And pain.
And now? Faced with the dread parents themselves?
“Mr. and Mrs. Buckley, I presume?” Eddie finally managed to say, snapping himself back to the present.
“Yes, it’s good to meet you!” Mr. Buckley offered his hand, but Eddie ignored it under the guise of turning around to look for someone else.
“Buck isn’t here right now,” Eddie’s tone was terse. “He’s getting examined after our last call.”
“...examined?”
“Medically examined. He was exposed for too long at the factory fire.”
“Factory fire?!” gasped the woman, dread etched on her features.
The man’s face only hardened, his jaw clenched. “He has no right,” he said. “no right to do this to us!”
“Excuse me?” Eddie interjected, feeling his temper quickly rising to dangerous levels. But he pushed it down, bottled it securely into the bottom of his chest. He couldn’t afford to behave rashly---lives were lost when people behaved rashly.
But he allowed a small trace of his anger to show itself in his eyes and the tense set of his shoulders. Judging by their silence, it was enough.
“If you’ll please come with me, you can wait upstairs in the seating area.”
Eddie gestured up the stairs and they soon followed. But before they reached the top, he turned around and leveled his gaze at them. “Your son is a hero, not the reckless daredevil you think he is.”
“You have no right to tell us what we do or don’t think of our son!”
Eddie clenched his jaw tighter. That punching bag was looking more and more appealing.
“Just please, sit down over there.” He looked up at the seats and saw with relief that Bobby, Hen, and Chimney were all nearby.
Good, that accounted for all his impulse control.
He turned his face away from the couple and raised his eyebrows deliberately to the team. “Bobby, Hen, Chimney, this is Mr. and Mrs. Buckley.”
After that, it got very tense, very quickly. Chimney’s expression was very blank and tightly controlled, while Bobby and Hen looked closer to a tightly wound spring.
“Oh, Howard! It’s good to see you!” smiled Mrs. Buckley, seemingly oblivious to the tension in the room. “We’re just looking to talk to Evan for a moment. I understand he’s gone and hurt himself?” she pulled a distasteful face.
“With all respect, unless you have something to apologize for, I think you’ve talked to Buck enough for now,” said Bobby, trying to sound courteous.
“He still lets people call him that?” broke in Philip Buckley, clearly annoyed with the fact.
“Yes, and it suits him.” said Hen, stepping forward a bit.
“Oh, enough with the stupid nicknames already!” snapped Margaret Buckley. “Just tell us when he’ll be back!”
Eddie cut in softly, “he’s getting a medical examination after a massive fire and you’re worried about when it’s most convenient for you to talk?”
“That’s not what...” Margaret trailed off. “Fine. What of it?”
“Did you know that he has smoke inhalation--” Eddie started, but Philip cut him off.
“I’m so sorry on his behalf, he seems to get himself injured often. It’s been a problem for--”
Bobby put his hand up. “Stop right there,” they looked up. “You have no right to apologize for him,” he nodded to Eddie. “I think what Mr. Diaz over there was trying to say is that he has smoke inhalation as a result of giving his mask to a stranger trapped in the burning building.”
This seemed to shock them, and they looked at Eddie for confirmation, and he nodded, never breaking his cold stare.
“Well that’s a first,” mumbled Margaret. “I wish he’d had that kind of character when he was younger.”
Bobby squared his shoulders. “I will not tolerate unnecessary and untrue degrading comments in my firehouse.” his tone was icy and brooked no room for disagreement.
“It’s not untrue...” Margaret murmured under her breath.
“That’s enough,” ordered Eddie, letting the soldier in him leak into his tone.
They stood around awkwardly for a few moments, until Hen spoke up. “I’m not sure what you’re thinking, but your son, our Buck, is an incredible person. He would never needlessly endanger himself. He knows we care too much.” That last sentence was ever so slightly barbed.
“One time he climbed to the top of a roller coaster with no safety equipment to get to someone in trouble.” Eddie said, raising an eyebrow. “It was on the news and everything.”
“And the man let go---he failed!” Philip dismissed the notion with a wave of his hand.
“But he still tried!” Hen uncrossed her arms and stood up straighter. “From what we’ve heard, it’s more than you’ve done.”
“Look, we don’t care what he has or hasn’t done, but it wasn’t Evan’s place to complain to you about his personal problems. Did you know he even has to see a therapist?!” Margaret was indignant.
“Margaret,” Philip put his hand on her shoulder. “These firefighters haven’t done anything wrong. We’re here for Evan, not them.”
“He saved my son’s life.” Eddie said suddenly, remembering what Buck had said about Daniel. “He was with my young son on the pier when the tsunami hit.” He shifted, his voice softening. “Christopher would be... gone if Buck hadn’t been there.”
The Buckley’s had frozen. Sensing an opening, Eddie continued, “My son has cerebral palsy, and Buck risked his life over and over again to make sure he was safe. Christopher wouldn’t have stood a chance if he hadn’t been there.”
Just like that, Margaret and Philip stopped. And Eddie knew it was because the story of Christopher had reminded them of Daniel. It was a low blow, he knew, to exploit their grief like that. But he had to make them see.
Chimney picked up the conversation. “He was pinned under a fire truck---it shattered the bones in his leg---and he still came back so he could help people.”
“And he once saved a man who was hanging out of a car windshield on the road. Off duty.” Hen added.
Bobby sighed and cleared his throat. “Whether you see it or not, Buck is a hero. He’s brave and selfless, always making sure everyone else is safe before checking himself.”
Margaret nodded mutely, still processing the information.
“And whether Buck knows it or not, he has a family here who will always be there for him.” Bobby spoke the last part with such conviction that the Buckley’s couldn’t help but look ashamed.
Philip turned to Margaret, unsure how she was reacting. “Margaret, I think we need to apolog---” he stopped short when he noticed Eddie had perked up and was now looking at the door, listening intently.
A red paramedic truck pulled up, and then Eddie was gone, already halfway down the stairs.
Bobby had noticed too, and addressed the couple again. “It looks like Buck is back now. We’re going to go check on him, and we’ll let him know you’re here.”
“And whether he comes up or not is his choice,” added Hen.
Margaret and Philip watched them hurry down to greet Buck.
