No place like you - Buddiesmutslu*t (2024)

Buck’s heart drops to the bottom of his stomach, palms growing clammy and nausea rising in his throat as he scrolls through the messages on Tommy’s phone.

Texts reminiscing about being sore from long nights and photos of marks left over from passionate encounters, flirty words and naughty strings of conversation - all shared between his fiancé and Sal, Tommy’s best friend.

His mind blanks as hurt and a rage unlike anything he’s ever known floods through his veins, a red haze falling over him, small trembles traveling through his limbs until he’s shaking like a leaf in the winds of a hurricane.

He’d noticed that Tommy had left his phone over after their date night, had grabbed it with the plan to take it over to Tommy’s place so he could have it for his shift in the morning, but then a text came in from Sal, confirming plans for the night with far too many suggestive emojis to be anything less than a hookup.

They’re getting married in less than a week, and judging by how far back these messages go, this affair has been going on since long before they got together.

Also, long before Sal and his wife got together.

He puts the phone down and huffs out a heavy breath, jaw aching as he clenches his teeth together hard enough that he’s not entirely sure he’s going to get away without cracking a tooth or two. It takes everything in him to take a few steps back, place his hands atop his head and breathe deeply instead of grabbing the phone and chucking it against the wall, wanting it to shatter to pieces in the same way he feels he is.

There’s a slight hint of guilt that he’s not upset about the right thing, but then snippets of the texts flash across the back of his eyelids, and the guilt disappears as if it was never there in the first place.

He feels like he wasted so much of his time with Tommy, tying himself to this relationship that he was never sure of, that he never felt like he quite fit into. They’d only been together for a few months when he found the ring in Tommy’s pants, but he was trying to make it work regardless of all that.

Unfortunately, he was never really excited about this relationship, and he’s been dreading this wedding, picking options based on what he thought Tommy would like - because heaven forbid the man make a decision for their wedding - instead of what he wanted.

He's furiousthat he's spent all this time and effort and energy into Tommy and being the kind of partner Buck thought he wanted, instead of being himself and having a partner of his own that worried about him at all.

He wants Tommy to hurt for this. He wants him to pay.

An idea crosses his mind, and he springs forward to put it into action.

By the time Tommy knocks on his door again, the message that started all of this has been marked as unread and the phone put back where Buck found it in the first place. He smiles and teases Tommy for forgetting it, watches as he checks the screen and breathes a small sigh of relief, a movement that Buck would have missed if he wasn’t looking for it so closely.

When he finally walks out of his apartment for the second time that night, Buck waits on the edge of his seat for exactly 5 minutes before leaving himself, practically sprinting to his Jeep and heading to Eddie’s house.

–

He doesn’t want to think about how many driving laws he broke on the way to Eddie, but he gets there in record time, and bangs on the door. He can’t use his key, not for this. Eddie has to open up the door and let him in or tell him to go. It needs to be Eddie’s choice, and Buck refuses to encroach on his space.

The falling rain is cool against his heated skin, the frantic energy that has been buzzing beneath his skin since he read the text messages only heightens when his best man answers the door, looking tired and confused and beautiful enough that Buck thinks he might actually explode.

God. He asked Eddie to be his best man at a wedding he didn’t even want to be a part of. He’d needed him close, needed Eddie’s presence as close as he could possibly have it. A tiny part of him was hoping that Eddie would refuse his request immediately, would admit that the thought of Buck marry someone else was too much for him to bear and sweep him off his feet. Or maybe he was hoping that Eddie would even object at the wedding.

He’s not sure, but those were all fantasies he’s had, and he should’ve known better. He should have known that his best friend would never try and get between him and his perceived happiness, would never even realize that nothing makes Buck as happy as Eddie does.

So, he wipes the rain out of his eyes in a useless effort to clear his vision and lets everything he’s been feeling for years fall out of his mouth before Eddie even has the chance to open his to ask him why he didn’t use his key.

“I’m in love with you.” He asserts resolutely, watching as Eddie freezes, eyes widening and brows nearly hitting his hairline in shock. “I’ve been in love with you forever, sometime between your first day and the tsunami, I don’t know. Maybe I was born looking for you, wandering the globe and waiting for you to find me; a dormant reservoir of love meant just for you, who knows, but I do know that it was never about Tommy, never about his attention; it’s always, always been about you. I finally realized it, and you came out, and I was going to break up with him. I was going to break up with him and tell you how I felt, but then I found the ring, and I got scared. I’m a goddamn coward, Eddie. Tommy was offering me a lifetime and I was terrified that you would never feel the same way about me that I feel about you, and I thought having you as my best friend and my partner would be enough. I lied to myself and to you and to Tommy, but the thought of spending the rest of my life with anybody other than you sounds like a pretty f*cking sh*tty life.” He has to raise his voice a little to be heard over the rain, and he thinks his shaking is now also partially because the cold is starting to seep in through his clothes, not just adrenaline anymore, but he can’t stop now. He needs to get everything out, not leave any stone unturned or word unsaid so Eddie knows exactly what he means.

“I just found out that Tommy was cheating on me, has been for our entire relationship, and do you know what my first thought was?” He asks, watching as Eddie’s nostrils flare and his eyes spark with anger on Buck’s behalf, not that he gives him a chance to answer. “My first thought was, I can’t believe I thought this could ever be better than Eddie.’” The anger fades from familiar brown eyes, but it doesn’t disappear completely as the shocked expression returns. “I’m not even mad that he’s cheating on me, I’m furious that I wasted all of this time with him when I should have been here, fighting for you. I don’t know if you could be interested in me in that way, but even if you never are, even if you find somebody else that you fall in love with and want to spend a lifetime with, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be your best man at your wedding, I’ll make a goddamn speech and raise a glass to you and your spouse, knowing the whole time that nobody on God’s green Earth can love you the way that I will, that I do. I love you more than I ever thought it was possible to love another person, and I will never, ever stop. If you don’t feel the same, if you’re 1000% sure you never will, that’s fine. Tell me right now and I’ll go back to the loft, and we don’t ever have to talk about it again; I’ll never whisper another word about it, I swear. If there’s a chance though, even the slightest hint of a possibility, I’m going to take it. I’m going to be here for anything you want or need, I will- I’ll f*cking court you, like we’re in some period-piece drama that you refuse to admit you enjoy but spend days binge-watching. Either way, I’m not going anywhere. I’m not ever going to leave you, not unless you want me to, and I’ll fight like hell even then to convince you to let me be by your side, because that’s where I belong. That’s the only place I ever want to be. It’s all up to you, Eddie.”

He’s panting heavily by the time his monologue is finished, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he sucks in the oxygen he’d been unintentionally depriving himself of in favor of making his speech. For a moment, the only sound is the rain falling on the roof and the street, the heavy sounding plunk-plunk-plunks creating what feels like a curtain, closing them off from the rest of the world. It feels like the universe itself is holding its breath in anticipation of what’s going to happen next, right alongside Buck.

Eddie’s quiet for a long second, head tilted to the side as he studies Buck, who remains still as a statue and allows him to see everything.

He feels frenetic, nerves curling in his gut like a snake, like he’s balancing on the edge of a cliff, thousands of feet in the air. Either way, he’s going to fall - he never stood a chance against Eddie. The only question left to be answered is if he’s going to splat on the pavement below or soar amongst the clouds with a parachute.

“Are you done?” Eddie finally asks after a long silence, his face a mask that Buck is trying his best not to worry about. He meant what he said, he’s not leaving Eddie, but the emotionlessness of his voice and the not knowing is a special brand of torture. A torment he deserves, maybe, but agony, nonetheless.

“For the time being.” He replies, eyes scanning his partner’s face for any hint about how he’s feeling in this moment.

He’s standing there, in the pouring rain, praying that he didn’t ruin this, that he didn’t just lose Eddie because he was a coward or because he admitted his feelings, praying that maybe, please God maybe, he could have Eddie. He’s praying that he can have him and hold him and love him and worship him in all the ways he deserves, because Eddie does deserve it. Eddie is his rock in every storm, his harbor on an unforgiving ocean, his beacon in the dark. He deserves to be wooed and pampered and carted around like a princess, and kissed sweetly every day of his life and Buck is beyond willing to do that.

Slowly, like he’s watching water rise to a boil on the stovetop, a smile grows on Eddie’s face, stretching his lips and pinkening his cheeks and adding a twinkle to his eyes, and Buck feels relief so strong that it nearly takes him out at the knees.

Eddie leans his hip against the doorframe, looking down on Buck knowingly and he wants to drop to his knees and prostrate himself on an altar at Eddie's feet.

“You’re the reason I figured out I’m not straight.” He admits casually, his head falling to the side enough to rest on the door, eyes glued to Buck’s, whose breath stalls in his lungs at the confession.

“Really?”

Eddie’s smile turns into a bit of a smirk as he nods. “Yeah. Took me blowing my life up to realize that I could never give Ana or Marisol or even Shannon all of me in a relationship because I wanted you more than anyone. It wasn’t an easy thing to realize, especially given the fact that you were with him, but- I know it’s been kind of a mess, and it sounds like it still is, but there’s no world in which I don’t love you with every shred of my DNA.”

Buck makes a noise low in his throat that sounds suspiciously like a groan, his hands aloft between them, cupped like he wants to hold Eddie’s face, but isn’t sure the contact will be welcome. “Eddie- Please, can I-” He stumbles over his words, seconds away from spinning off the face of the Earth, but then Eddie grabs his wrist and pulls him inside. Inside, out of the cold rain and into his warm home - a sanctuary he’s built and shared with Buck for nearly their entire friendship. He’s pulled into the only place that Buck’s ever really felt at peace.

Eddie barely gets the door shut, closing them in together before he’s pushing Buck back against it, hand on his chest - right over his heart - and the other on his waist, leaning in for their first kiss.

It’s softer, initially, than Buck expected it to be, with how desperate he feels and the emotions that were playing over Eddie’s face. He’s felt like a feral animal all night, hissing and clawing and spitting in his upheaval, but one touch from Eddie’s lips - soft and gentle against him, tongue lazily meeting his - is like a sieve to that, draining everything out until he’s empty of everything that isn’t Eddie.

He was wrong about the falling part, too.

Kissing Eddie feels like he’s laying in a soft bed, surrounded by soft blankets and cool pillows. It feels like a haven, like he’s planted firmly in the ground, like an oak tree. Kissing Eddie makes him feel safe and sturdy and light as a feather.

Of course, the kiss doesn’t stay chaste for long - not when they’ve been suppressing sexual tension for years. Eddie’s hand moves from his chest to his hair, curling his fingers into the soaked curls and tugs, drawing a moan from Buck that he devours, and then the race is on.

Buck moves his hands from where they’d been cupping Eddie’s face to the hem of his shirt, his knuckles brushing the plains of his stomach as he yanks it up, mewling helplessly against Eddie’s mouth. “Eds, please. Please, please, please. I need you. Need to touch you, to feel you, please.”

Eddie chuckles darkly, breaking the kiss long enough to rip it over his head, baring enough golden skin that Buck’s brain goes offline for a moment before he’s pressing forward and dragging his lips and tongue across it, trying to consume as much of Eddie’s taste as he can.

“C’mon baby, let’s get you out of these dripping clothes before you get sick.” Eddie murmurs softly, taking a short step away and doing his best to peel the fabric that’s clinging to his body off.

They drop with a heavy splat in the hallway as the cold air rushes over his chilled skin, and it’s only seconds before he’s burrowing into Eddie’s warmth, teeth chattering and body shivering as it tries to warm itself up again.

Eddie makes a distressed noise and then he’s tucking Buck under his arm and dragging him down the hallway to the closet, picking out a clean towel and running it over his body to dry him off, clicking his tongue when Buck tries to take it out of his hands and do it himself.

Once that’s done, Eddie leads him back to the bedroom and moves the covers out of the way before pressing Buck’s naked form down to the mattress and covering him up again.

Buck reaches out and grabs his wrist when he turns in the direction of the door, a pained noise in his throat at the thought of Eddie leaving, because Eddie can’t go. Buck needs him right here, within reach of his arms and his lips, he’s already wasted so much time being so far away from him, he-

“Shh, baby. I’m just going to lock up, turn the lights off and stick your clothes in the dryer. I’ll be right back.” He promises, but it’s not good enough.

Buck tugs harder and harder - very carefully, because the last thing he ever wants to do is hurt Eddie - until his partner is landing on the bed beside him with a laugh as Buck reattaches himself to Eddie’s warm skin, kissing along his collarbone.

“Buck, you’re freezing. Get under the covers and warm up, I’ll be right back.” He tries to get up again, but Buck tightens his hold, digging his teeth into the muscle of Eddie’s shoulder.

“No. You can warm me up yourself. Don’t go.” He pleads quietly, pressing an apologetic kiss to the imprint of his teeth, nuzzling in with a smile when he feels a kiss being placed against his forehead, followed by a heavy sigh as Eddie reaches down to strip off his sweatpants and boxers before crawling under the covers, their arms and legs immediately intertwining, lips meeting again and again and again.

Buck feels drunk, out of his mind on the feeling of Eddie’s blazing skin pressed against his, of his perfect lips and pointy teeth and soft moans. He’s certain that there’s not a single drug in existence that can make him feel as high as he does right now, with his best friend, his partner, the absolute love of his life leaving a hot trail of kisses down his jaw and across his throat.

He claws at Eddie’s back and his hair, the current places his hands have found themselves for the moment. “Need you. Eddie, I need you, please, now, please.”

Eddie’s lips return to his own as his body moves slightly away. It’s only once a familiarly shaped bottle and a foil packet is pressed against his chest that he realizes the man must have been digging in his nightstand.

Buck raises a brow when Eddie shifts to lay on his back, one hand gripping Buck’s bicep to pull him along. “You want me? Then take me. I’m yours.” He whispers fiercely, pointedly opening his legs a little further in an effort to make his point crystal clear.

Buck whines as he dives back into him, flipping to hover over Eddie, hands clumsily running over his skin and lips messily charting each inch of chest that he can reach. He takes a few seconds to press lingering kisses to the two scars on Eddie’s shoulders, eyes closed tightly as he thanks every deity he can think of for not taking Eddie away from him and begs them to let him stay.

Eddie’s glassy eyes meet his once he opens them, and Buck knows his own aren’t much better. He pushes up for another kiss at the same time one of his hands ghosts down Eddie’s stomach, grinning when the muscles bunch and flex beneath his light touch, before they wrap around his co*ck, drawing a delicious moan from Eddie’s mouth that he does his absolute best to taste from the source.

He strokes him, up and down, slow and tight for just a few moments, categorizing the movements that get him loud moans and sharp breaths, which ones have his hips thrusting upwards and what it takes to have Eddie dig his nails into Buck’s skin.

Then, he draws away - held in place for a moment at the awe-inspiring sight of Eddie Diaz, his soulmate, laid out beneath him, flushed and pink and hazy-eyed and all because of him - before he traces the path his hand had taken previously with his mouth. He takes the time to kiss each divot of Eddie’s abs and lick along the plains of his sternum, sucking dusty pink nipples into his mouth and watching the reaction that each move gets him.

He worships Eddie’s body, because it’s what he deserves. He deserves to be kissed and held and loved, and Buck is going to give it to him for the rest of his life.

By the time he gets down to his end goal, they’re both shaking, and Eddie’s moans have grown nearly loud enough to fill the room. Buck is fleetingly grateful that Chris is at a sleepover with his Tia Pepa tonight so he can draw each and every noise from Eddie possible.

When he wraps his mouth around the head of Eddie’s co*ck and suckles, he gets a surprised gasp followed by a low moan. After he’s slicked his fingers up and starts gently pressing them in - one, then two and then three in quicker succession than he’d expected Eddie to be able to take them - he gets groans and demands gritted out between heaving breaths.

Finally, after making sure his partner is fully prepped, he’s drug back up, face-to-face with Eddie again and drawn into another consuming kiss.

He rolls the condom on and arranges himself in the best position before he begins to slowly press inside Eddie, each of them groaning when the head of his co*ck breaches the tight ring of muscles. He eases in, tuned into Eddie’s body language to make sure that he’s not causing any pain to his lover, because the thought of disconnecting their lips to watch his face feels impossible.

Soon enough, his hips press flush against Eddie’s perfect ass, and he has to pause for a second because he swears to God, nothing has ever felt as good as being buried to the hilt inside his Eddie, jaw aching a little from the blowj*b. He’s long since warmed up, the heat between their bodies buried under the covers, sweat is collecting at his temples and in the small of his back, but he’s still shaking.

He’s so relieved that he’s here and he’s more turned on that he can ever remember being, and he loves Eddie so so so so much and it’s-

It’s so incredibly overwhelming. He’s drowning a little beneath the weight of it all, all the emotions and the physical feelings and the roller coaster he’d been thrust on without warning, it’s so much; in the best way, of course, but his nervous system is stretched thin regardless.

Large hands cup his face and draw his attention up to soft brown eyes, ones so familiar and full of tenderness and love that it somehow breaks and heals him all at the same time. “You’re trembling. Are you alright?”

Buck nods fervently, not wanting Eddie to doubt for one second that he’s exactly where he wants to be, where he needs to be. “Yes, yeah, I’m okay.” He promises, leaning forward to press his forehead against Eddie’s, nose brushing together with each breath. “I’m perfect, actually, I just- Eddie, I love you so much. I love you and I thought I lost you but you’re here and you’re- you’re the most beautiful, amazing, perfect f*cking thing ever in the entire world and you’re here with me, finally , and I-” He trails off when his throat gets too thick to talk anymore, swallowing thickly.

He doesn’t even realize he’s crying until Eddie reaches one hand up and brushes the tears off his cheeks with a tender smile that only has more tears falling. “Baby.” He croons, placing his palm flat against the side of his face, thumb gently stroking his cheekbone. “Of course I’m here with you. I love you, Evan Buckley. From the tips of your toes to every curly strand of hair on your head and everything in between. Nobody could ever compare to you, could ever fill my life so perfectly the way that you do. You’d never lose me, because I would never leave you. You’re stuck with me, because right beside you is where I belong, too. You know I never really believed in soul mates or anything, but you, Buck, you feel like the other half of me, like I’d been doing nothing more than surviving each day until I met you, and then part of me woke up. You’re never getting rid of me, mi amor. I’m going to be right here for the rest of this life, and through whatever comes next.”

Their words are quiet, barely above a whisper, like neither one of them wants to speak too loudly and break the moment. It’s soft and intimate on a level that Buck had never even known existed. Though, of course Eddie would be the one to show it to him.

He nods, leaning forward to kiss away the tears that had begun leaking from those brilliant eyes not even halfway through his speech before capturing those lips again.

Eddie tilts his hips up in a silent request, and Buck is all too happy to comply, drawing out shallowly before pressing back in with a grind, sipping the sighs he gets in return like they’re the finest of wines. He draws out further and further each time, until he’s nearly all the way out, but his drive back in is slow. Purposeful and deliberately, he slides in and out, grinding his hips because he hates being too far away. He wants to be inside Eddie in every way, wants to peel his skin back to lay beside his skeleton before sewing him back up. He wants to be inside his brain and read every thought, he wants to feel his lungs expand with each breath and watch every beat of his heart. He wants to be overtaken and consumed by Eddie until he doesn’t know where Eddie starts, and he ends.

Nails rake down his back when he leverages himself up just a little on one hand, the other falling to Eddie’s waist to hold him in place, the angle just right to hit his prostate on each stroke, a fact made noticeable by the way his back arches and his moans escape in perfect time with the movement of Buck’s hips.

He stares, transfixed, at the place where he and Eddie meet, his body greedily sucking Buck back in, like he doesn’t want to be apart anymore than Buck does.

The closer Eddie gets to his peak, the more he starts to talk, and the more Buck starts to lose his mind, driving into him like it’s the last thing he’ll ever do. “ f*ck, Buck, oh my God. Baby, you feel so good. You f*ck me so well - oh my God. Yes, right there baby, right there. Just like that, f*ck me just like that. Doing so good, so perfect all for me, Buck, I love you.”

Sparks and heat race up and down Buck’s spine, twisting around his bones and pooling low in his stomach with each new praise that falls from Eddie’s lips in between his breathy groans, and it’s nearly impossible for him to form a coherent thought, to think about anything other than the silky, tight heat around his co*ck and the way Eddie is clinging to him. His responses are mostly whines and vague sentences of the things he needs to get out as he bends over and buries his face in Eddie’s throat, maintaining the angle of his hips to try and make Eddie feel as good as humanly possible. Eddie. So good. Y’feel so good. Love you s’much. Wanna keep you. Please keep me. Need you, want you, need you, love you. Love you Eddie Eddie Eddie Eddie please please please. Keep me Eddie Eddie love you love you.

He’s nearly out of his mind, struggling to support his own weight with how tightly he’s wound up, but he can tell that Eddie’s close, can read the pleasure on his face and needs him to come first like he needs oxygen. So, he reaches out with his free hand clumsily and strokes Eddie’s co*ck in time with the thrust of his hips. “Eddie, need you to come. Please baby, I need to see you come, need to feel it, need you to come on my co*ck, please.” He begs, eyes glued to Eddie’s, which are half-lidded and hazy with pleasure.

It doesn’t take long before he’s making a mess between them, a loud groan ringing in the air as his body constrics so tightly around Buck that he comes too, whining as he scatters short kisses across Eddie’s face as his body milks every last ounce of pleasure from him, leaving him exhausted and boneless and sated.

He collapses on top of Eddie, smiling amusedly at the “ Oof.” He hears before his love is wrapping him up in his arms and holding him tightly against his chest, leaving a lingering kiss to the top of his head.

–

Eventually, they do take a shower and do all the things Eddie mentioned needing to do previously, but then they go right back to bed, where they take off the sweatpants they’d put on after getting cleaned up and slide naked once again onto fresh sheets.

Buck’s on his back, Eddie tucked into his side and halfway on top of him, their fingers of one hand linked together on Buck’s chest.

For the first time all night, he finally feels settled. There’s no rage swirling in his gut, no anxiety curling around his throat or hurt digging into his chest. There’s only room for love and the way he feels as Eddie kisses him, slow and soft and sleepy.

It’s beyond late, firmly in “middle of the night” territory, but despite his own exhaustion, he never wants tonight to end. He wants to draw it out like taffy, to always exist in this time where he and Eddie finally figured themselves out and made it official, making out sweetly after mind-blowing sex.

“I love you.” He whispers against Eddie’s mouth for the thousandth time that night, opening his eyes to watch the way his partner’s eyes light up and get all gooey, the way he noticed they do nearly every time he makes his proclamation.

“I love you, Evan Buckley.” Eddie whispers back seriously, a gravitas in his words like he knows Buck needs to hear the weight behind them to truly believe it.

It still feels a bit like he’s dreaming, but he hopes he never gets used to it, that he never takes Eddie’s love and attention for granted.

He can’t fully stifle the giggle that worms its way out of his throat when Eddie rubs their noses together lightly, pressing a quick kiss to his before doing it again.

It’s so sweet and casual, the kind of intimacy you only have with a person you love like this, and Buck’s overcome with a wave of peace that crashes over him and makes his bones feel liquidized as the two of them fight over who is kissing whose face, hands circling around wrists and pressing against shoulders and delving into hair, their soft laughter filling the same space their moans had not even an hour ago.

Eventually, they resettle, Eddie tugging Buck to switch their positions, so he’s now leaning against Eddie’s chest, the comforting rhythm of his heart beating perfectly in Buck’s ear.

“So, when are you breaking up with him?” Eddie asks after another long stretch of silence where they worry about nothing but existing in this moment together.

Buck smirks at his plan and places a kiss to Eddie’s chest before snuggling back in. “Not yet. I have a plan.”

“Oh?” His partner asks hesitantly, body tensing slightly. Buck pushes up to his elbow, leaving his free hand resting over Eddie’s heart. “Is that going to occur before or after the wedding that takes place in 4 days?”

Buck studies him for a long moment, trying to figure out if he’s being serious or not. “Eddie. Obviously before the wedding. I’m not going to marry him.” He snorts, the idea so unbelievably ridiculous. He has Eddie now, why on Earth would he ever pick Tommy? It’s honestly laughable.

Eddie chews on his bottom lip, eyebrows slightly furrowed in a way that Buck knows he’s worried about something. Fortunately, now he can do what he’s wanted to do literally every time he’s seen Eddie make this face: He presses his lips to the scrunch between his eyes and uses his thumb to softly coax the lip from its torture, pressing a soothing kiss to that as well.

Eddie melts into the affection, body leaning into Buck’s, and he’s smiling as he pulls away, thumb swiping tenderly against Eddie’s bottom lip. “I shouldn’t have been a coward about telling you, I should have broken up with Tommy like I planned and come clean sooner, but he had a ring, and I was worried it was the only chance for marriage that I’d ever get.” Eddie opens his mouth, no doubt to reassure Buck that anybody would be lucky to have him - as he’d done in the past - but Buck quickly presses their lips together to halt him. “Eds, the ring wasn’t even for me.” He shares once he pulls away, noting the wideness in those brown eyes, as well as the flash of curiosity, and he can’t help but smirk. For someone who claims to hate drama, Eddie is pretty goddamn nosy.

“I was washing a pair of pants he’d left over at my place and found it while I was emptying his pockets. He came in while I was staring at it and gave me the most awkward proposal of all time. Which makes sense I guess, given the fact that I learned tonight that he originally bought it for Sal, not me.”

Eddie’s jaw drops at that, and Buck smirk only grows. “Sal?! His best man?! The one with the wife?!” He demands.

“Yup.” Buck agrees with a nod, popping the “p”. “Turns out, they’ve been a thing for- God, I don’t even know how long, honestly - but long before either one of us came into the picture. Tommy was trying to convince Sal to leave Sarah and marry him instead, but he wouldn’t do it. Then, I found it, and instead of being honest with me, he lied. I don’t know if he was trying to call Sal’s bluff, or if he was also just worried about being alone, but either way- Eddie, we almost didn’t have this. You and me, together like this, we nearly missed out on all of it because of those two, and I-” He pauses, biting on the inside of his cheek as he debates how to phrase this next part. He wants to do it, feels like he needs to, but if Eddie tells him not to, he won’t.

“I want to hurt them, Eddie. I want to blow up their lives in the way they tried to blow up ours. I know it’s my fault too, I know it, but I would’ve stayed with him because he asked and I would have lost you , Eddie. I would have lost you and I can’t- I can’t just forgive them for that! I can’t- They-” His breathing comes quicker and shallower as he tries to ignore the very realistic future of him and Tommy miserably married and Eddie hurt and all of them so incredibly unhappy. It’s such a gray, awful future and he was literally days away from it, and it’s horrible to think about.

Eddie notices the change in his breathing immediately, wrapping his arms around Buck’s shoulders and gently pulling him back down on top of him, kissing the top of his head while one hand rubs soothingly up and down his back. “Buck, baby, baby, baby. Shh, it’s okay. It’s okay, mi amor, that’s not going to happen. You’re here with me now. I’ve got you. I’m not letting you go, I promise. I love you.”

Buck clings to him, breathing in the familiar scent of his body wash and hair products, using the steady beat of Eddie’s heart beneath his palm to get his own back under control.

“They’ve been doing this for years, and instead of figuring it out together or just staying single, they’re dragging so many other people into it, and it’s not right, Eddie. I know it probably seems silly, given the fact that I’m here like this with you and the things that occurred in this very bed tonight, but they’ve cheated on every partner they’ve had, and it’s- it’s so f*cked, Eds, it’s so incredibly f*cked, and I- I can’t just let them keep doing it. For me, and for you, for Sarah and for whoever would come next and the people in the past, it has to stop.”

He silently pleads for Eddie to understand, to get where he’s coming from and back him up, like he’s always done. Eddie’s always had his back, and he needs him to have it again.

Of course, because it’s Eddie, he does. His lips tilt up in comprehension and he nods, leaving a gentle kiss on his birthmark. “Okay. I trust you. Whatever you’ve gotta do, do it.”

--

“You know,” Eddie murmurs later, after they’ve been dozing lightly for a bit. “There’s a perfectly good wedding already planned and paid for. I mean, since you’re not going to use it to marry him, maybe… we can use it instead?”

Buck’s mind blanks at the offer, the realization that wow, Eddie really, actually, genuinely loves him, enough to want to marry him and spend the rest of their lives together, but he can’t shake the thread of disgust at the thought of marrying Eddie - the love his life and his very best friend - in the same place he was going to marry Tommy - the man he should’ve let go after their failed first date.

“No.” He answers firmly. “No way. Eddie, I- that whole wedding was about him, what I thought he would like. None of it is about you and me, and I don’t want any more of him to taint what we have. I love you, and I want to marry you - hell, I’d marry you tomorrow if I could - but you deserve better than just… stepping in to Tommy’s place in that wedding. The two of you are not anywhere near the same level, and I refuse to make it seem like you can just be switched out interchangeably.”

His lips are already tingly and numb from how much they’d kissed, but that doesn’t stop him from meeting Eddie halfway when he leans in again, smiling against his mouth. “Okay, we won’t get married at the wedding.”

“And you will help me call all the vendors and cancel everything, right? I don’t know how much of a refund we’ll get back on such short notice, but I’m not going to have them lug all of their stuff out to the venue when we’re never even going to make it to the wedding.”

Eddie hums, kissing his cheek. “Of course, isn’t that what your Best Man is for?” He teases, and Buck chuckles into another kiss.

“You are the best man.” He whispers a moment later, all amusem*nt replaced with pure adoration. “Best man I’ve ever met.” He places a kiss on Eddie’s nose. “Best dad in the whole wide world.” On one cheek. “The best friend anybody’s ever had.” The other cheek. “The best work partner I could ask for.” His chin, before capturing his lips again in a syrupy slow kiss, loving the way his words have brought a flush to Eddie’s face that he can feel beneath his hands. “You’re the best for me, and I’m the luckiest man alive to have the opportunity to love you.”

It’s no surprise that they don’t sleep much that night.

–

The next 4 days, Buck spends every possible free second at Eddie’s side. He sleeps in Eddie’s bed, drives to work with him in the mornings, makes him and Chris dinner and generally glues himself to his partner's side.

When Tommy asks about it one night over text, Buck blames the wedding - which is fair, because there are so many people to call and cancel their services, it’s extremely time consuming - and his family - his parents are in town, but he’s been doing his best to avoid them, so that one is less true. Of course, Tommy doesn’t know he’s talking about his family, Eddie and Chris, but he will soon enough - and his fiancé accepts it all too easily. He knows Sarah - Sal’s wife - travels a lot for work, so he’s 99% sure Tommy’s spending these nights with Sal, but he can’t bring himself to care.

Not when Eddie smiles at him softly and holds him and kisses him like they have all the time in the world to be together.

Now, they’re at the rehearsal, the night before the wedding. The venue was more than a little confused when he called and canceled the reservation for the day of the wedding, but asked if they could possibly keep the scheduled slot for the walk-through the night before. He promised they wouldn’t be there for long or make a mess, and it did take a bit of convincing, but they eventually agreed.

So here he is, greeting his family - blood and chosen - in front of the venue that he picked because it was the only one that Tommy could muster up an opinion of and tries not to curse himself out for not running then. Eddie’s at his side, mere inches away, the same place he’s been since that night.

Tommy is across the room, chatting with his mom. He’s barely spoken more than a few sentences to the man he was going to marry tomorrow, and Tommy hasn’t put in much more effort than he has. As he watches, he sees the way his eyes float towards Sal - who is talking with the rest of that side of the wedding party - and wants to kick himself in the teeth for not putting it together sooner.

A warm hand settles inconspicuously in the small of his back, a reminder that it’s all going to be over soon, and a promise that he’s not going to be trapped in that situation.

He relaxes, pressing back into Eddie’s hand with an exhale of relief, letting the pressure ground him. They share a short look of reassurance before the coordinator of the venue comes out to greet them and walk them through what “tomorrow” is going to look like.

They’re going through all the steps of who’s coming out with who and where everyone is going to stand when everyone’s phone goes off, and Buck tries his best to smother the smug grin that wants to break out across his lips when everybody exchanges confused glances before digging their phones out, right on time.

He gets to watch everyone’s reactions as they receive screenshots of the texts between Sal and Tommy, including the message about how the ring Buck had been wearing for months was originally meant for Sal, texts about how Tommy was willing to call the wedding off if Sal left Sarah, on and on and on.

Buck had taken screenshots of every incriminating text he could find, and then sent them to himself before deleting all trace of them off of Tommy’s phone. Then, he’d scheduled for all of them to be sent out during this time, so his beloved finance (sarcasm) didn’t have the chance to delete all the evidence. He’s not sure if Tommy would, or if he’d just come clean and break up with Buck, since he didn’t actually seem all that invested in their relationship or upcoming marriage, but he wasn’t about to take that risk.

“Evan, what the f*ck is this?”

He finally lets loose the grin that’s been threatening to break free since the phones went off. “That, my darling fiancé, is proof that you’ve been cheating on me the whole time we’ve been together. You really shouldn’t leave your phone behind if you’re trying to hide an illicit affair.” He says coldly, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Thomas? What is all this?” Mrs. Kinard questions, and he watches in glee as Tommy's face pales, taking on a gray hue.

Sarah isn’t here, and Buck made sure that she wouldn’t be, because she doesn’t deserve the humiliation of finding this out in front of other people, but she does deserve to know. So, he sent her a separate message, explaining how he found this out and warning her that he was going to confront them for it. It went out at the same time as everyone else’s did, so she should be reading them right about now too. He hates that she’s probably hurting right now, but he’d want her to tell him, if the situation was reversed.

“Eva- Buck. Maybe the two of you should go somewhere, talk this out.” His own dad suggests, glancing warily between the grooms.

“Yes, you have to. This really was not the time or place for this, Evan.” His mother scolds, and he can’t stop the way his eyes roll.

“All of our friends and family around, I think this is the perfect time to learn that my ex-future husband is an even bigger asshole than I originally thought.” He shoots back. His mom opens her mouth to say something else, but Maddie swoops in, placing a hand on her arm to get her attention before shaking her head.

Bobby, Chim and Hen - who are all in his wedding party with Eddie and Maddie - step up beside him, forming a protective half-circle around him. Tommy had always been jealous of the bond they had, the family the 118 had created, but Buck didn’t realize he was being used as an in for him to get a piece of that. Seeing the desperation in his eyes as he studies them now though, Buck can see it, and he’s even more glad that he’s never going to be tied permanently to this man.

A sharp ring pierces through the air, Sal’s face dropping as he holds the screen out, showing his wife’s contact information. “Tommy.” He whispers, both of their gazes swinging over to meet Buck’s again.

“I texted her at the same time, so she knows everything.”

Sal makes a strangled noise before he takes off out of the room, the rest of Tommy’s groomsmen watching him go with judgment in their eyes.

Tommy starts to chase after him, before turning around, nostrils flared and more emotion in his eyes than Buck even knew he was capable of feeling. “Are you happy now? You’ve ruined his life, and for what? Your pride? You were really so hurt that you had to lash out and take everybody else down with you, Evan? I didn’t realize you were that pathetic.”

Eddie growls low in his throat beside him and takes a step forward, like he’s about to get in the middle of them, but Buck lifts his arm to stop him. “ I didn’t ruin anybody's life, Tommy, that was all you. Not only did you ruin Sal and Sarah’s by sleeping with a man you knew was married, you tried to ruin mine too, by trapping us in this sham of a marriage so you wouldn’t be alone. You’re selfish and a coward, and you and Sal are the only ones to blame for the sh*tshow you’re in now. I am done taking responsibility for the sh*tty choices you make. You’re a grown f*cking man, it’s about time you start taking some goddamn accountability.” He spits, toe to toe with his ex. A thought crosses his mind, and he digs in his pocket, pulling out the ring he’d been wearing like a noose around his neck and pushing into Tommy’s hand. “Oh, and here’s your ring back. Although maybe I should be giving it to the person it was actually meant for instead.”

Their entire relationship, he’d been blaming himself for all the ways Tommy acted. It was his fault that Tommy ditched him on their first date without a warning, it was his fault that they couldn’t seem to make a deeper connection, despite the times he’d tried to open up. It was his fault that Tommy was mostly uninterested in planning their wedding. Everything was his fault, and he’d taken that all in and punished himself to do better. He’d bend over backwards and fold himself into little pieces to avoid blaming Tommy for his own misgivings.

Well, he’s done with that now.

“ Me?! You think I’m the one who needs to take accountability? You f*cking-!” He makes to step forward, hand raising - probably to point angrily at Buck, since that’s usually his go to move - but he’s stopped by a line of bodies.

Bobby and Eddie are front and center, but Hen and Chim have also stepped up, and his sister looks furious. Her jaw is tight and her lips are curled up in a way that makes him think she’d be hissing if she had the ability to. “I think it’s best you go, Tommy.” Bobby suggests, always calm in the middle of a storm, and Buck is forever grateful for that.

He looks like he wants to argue, but his own groomsmen step up and start pulling on his shoulders and herding him out of the room, throwing apologetic looks over their shoulder to Buck.

He’s still ranting angrily to his friends, but they refuse to let him turn around, manhandling him out the door and towards the parking lot, his mother trailing behind them with a hand over her mouth and glassy eyes like she’s completely lost on how to handle the situation.

A quiet settles over the rest of them, the tension breaking mostly with Tommy’s departure, and Buck feels like he can finally breathe again. It’s over. Tommy is gone, the truth is out, and he doesn’t have to hide anymore.

“Well, it’s truly never boring with you around, is it, Buckaroo?” Hen teases, looking at the door that just closed with a smug relief before she turns back to him with a brow raised.

Hen never had much to say about his and Tommy’s relationship, and looking back now, he thinks that probably should’ve been one of the first red flags.

“Gotta keep you on your toes, Henrietta. Don’t want you getting bored.” He teases back, grinning when she narrows her eyes at him for the unapproved use of her full name.

Before she can threaten him with bodily harm, a warm, familiar hand lands on his bicep and squeezes gently, drawing his attention in front of him, to the man who’s always held it.

“Are you okay?” Eddie asks lowly. “Some of those messages were…” He trails off, like he doesn’t know the right word for them.

“Cruel?” Buck suggests with a casual shrug. “Eh, turns out, I don’t actually give a f*ck what that jackass thinks. His judgment is very obviously skewed, so I don’t think he’s a person whose opinion I should be letting bother me.”

With that, he grabs at Eddie and pulls him forward, spinning him around and dipping him at the waist, licking the laughter it earns him straight from his mouth. Eddie grabs onto his shoulders with a surprised shout, but then immediately falls into the kiss, trusting Buck to keep him safe.

Shouts of confusion and excitement follow the move, and Buck chuckles, placing one more chaste kiss to Eddie’s lips before swinging him back up with a grin, enamored by the pink of his cheeks and the sweet, shy smile that turns up his lips.

“What!? When did this happen!”

“What?! No way!”

“Evan Buckley!”

“I knew it! I knew this would happen!”

That last exclamation comes from Chim, which earns him a deadpan expression from his wife. “You knew Buck would get engaged to Tommy, find out that Tommy and Sal have been sleeping together for years, Buck would announce the affair by screenshots from Tommy’s phone and then kiss Eddie in front of us? You “knew” that?”

He tunes them out for a moment when he wraps his arm around Eddie’s waist and pulls him further into his side, mesmerized by the love and warmth and pure, effervescent joy on his face. “Love you.” He whispers, quiet enough not to distract from the group discussion that everyone has suddenly joined in on.

Eddie leans in further when Buck presses a lingering kiss to his temple through his smile.

“Gross.” Chim teases, but there’s nothing other than brotherly pride and a hint of mischief on his face, and honestly, the mischief is just a staple Chimney expression at this point. “So, are you going to tell us how you guys finally got together, or are you going to make us guess?”

Eddie chuckles and moves out of Buck’s arms to grab his hand and tug him towards the door. “We have a dinner reservation for the wedding party that we didn’t cancel, let’s get dinner and we’ll tell you all about it.” He promises, which leads to a mass exodus out the door.

His parents didn’t say anything, and while he knows they don’t really care about him being bisexual, he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous about what they might think - and more importantly, say - about him and Eddie and how they got together.

He has no intention of lying to his family about how their relationship started. Not that that’s really an option, given how he confronted Tommy about his affair and then immediately kissed Eddie, they’d never believe that was their first kiss. They might let him get away with it, but they’d know better, and it seems pointless to lie.

But then, he gets to hold Eddie’s hand while he drives, and watch him from the corner of his eye as he talks on the drive to the restaurant, and Buck realizes that he doesn’t actually care what his parents think. They’re too polite to say something at dinner, in front of everyone, and he’s too deliriously happy to give a sh*t if they text him about it later.

He will never regret finally making his move or loving his best friend, will never ever regret picking Eddie, so if they don’t like it, well... That feels like a them problem.

He’s going to be too busy building a life with his soulmate to worry about them or Tommy or anyone else who doesn’t support them, and it’s going to be a beautiful goddamn life.