Before You Go

When the Diaz household is running late one morning, Buck helps Eddie get Chris ready for school and them ready for work. Then Eddie gives Buck a quick goodbye kiss and their whole day rearranges.

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Written for the Buddie First Kiss Week, Day 5 Prompt: Domestic

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Buddie First Kiss Week, buddiefirstkiss, firstkiss2020, Getting Together, First Kiss, Distracted Kisses, Domestic, Family, prompt: domestic

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"The doctor's just told Carla her husband's gonna be fine!"

The call echoed to Buck in the bedroom, where he was helping Christopher pull on clothes and looking for a lost shoe. Buck shot Christopher a thumbs up and a grin at the news, which Christopher mimicked back.

It had been Christopher's birthday yesterday and so Buck had been over to not only celebrate with his favorite boys, but to help Eddie manage the dozen nine- and ten-year-olds attending the party. It had gone almost perfect, without a hitch. And Buck had loved every minute of it. Eddie joked it was because Buck was a child himself, but really it was because doing that, helping Eddie with Christopher's party? It made him feel like he was part of the family. Like he belonged there. With them.

By the time the last of the guests had left it was late, and Christopher had asked Buck to stay the night. Who was Buck to refuse?

He and Eddie had stayed up for only a half an hour after Christopher went to bed. Wrangling kids was as exhausting as fighting a house fire. They cleaned up from the party, and then tried to watch something on TV. Something mindless. But they themselves were so mindless by then that Buck kept drifting over onto Eddie's shoulder and Eddie couldn't keep his eyes open long enough to process what was happening on the screen. So instead, they shut off the TV and the lights and trudged off to bed. With a tired goodnight hug, Eddie headed for the master bedroom and Buck disappeared into the guest room.

Then morning came.

And no one had set an alarm.

Eddie was woken up by his phone ringing. Carla's husband had been in an accident at work and she had to go to the hospital to be with him. She didn't know if she would be available to take care of Christopher after school. It was only after assuring Carla that he'd figure something else out that Eddie saw the time on the bedside clock.

As soon as he'd hung up, Eddie leaned out his bedroom door and shouted, "Buck! Buck, wake up! We're late!" He heard Buck curse from the guest room as he went to wake Christopher up too.

The morning routine was hectic after that. Even though they were rushing and didn't talk about it, Buck and Eddie divided up the tasks between them. Buck poured cereal for Christopher and started coffee for himself and Eddie, knowing they could grab something at the station if nothing else. Eddie got Christopher up, his teeth brushed, and to the table in record time. While Christopher ate, Buck and Eddie took turns sitting with him and using the bathroom to wash up themselves. Then Eddie cleaned up breakfast and got Christopher's lunch ready while Buck took Christopher to the bedroom to get dressed and pack his bag.

Thus the search for the missing shoe.

It was finally located under Christopher's desk, sitting half hidden under Christopher's backpack. Buck must have accidentally laid the bag on top of the shoe after double checking that Christopher had everything ready for school.

"Got it," he cheered, hurrying over to slip it on Christopher even as he checked the clock. "Oh man, buddy, you are just barely gonna make it."

Christopher smiled and touched Buck's face. "Thanks for helping me get ready."

Buck's return smile was fond. "Any time."

Then they were hurrying to the door. Christopher even deigned to be carried there, recognizing how late they were running and how fast they needed to move. Eddie met them in the hall with Christopher's lunchbox in one hand and the keys to the truck in the other. Buck set Christopher down by the front door to slide his own shoes on while Eddie and Christopher kept moving out the door.

Outside, Eddie unlocked the truck and started helping Christopher into the back seat. With a curse, Buck ran back into the house. He grabbed both his and Eddie's work bags and threw them over his shoulder, then darted to the kitchen to pour the finished coffee into two travel mugs. He juggled the mugs while locking the door behind him, then half-jogged over to where Eddie was standing by the driver's door of his truck.

Eddie's tense shoulders drooped just a tad when he saw what Buck had. "Dios, I'm so out of it this morning," he cursed, accepting one of the mugs and his duffel. "Thanks." And he leaned in to give Buck a grateful peck. "I'll see you at work."

Then Eddie hopped into the truck, put it in gear, and reversed out of the driveway.

Buck stood frozen on the pavement. His own duffel slipped off his shoulder to catch at his elbow, nearly making him drop his coffee, and he still didn't move. Did Eddie just—

The truck jerked to a stop just as the back wheels hit the road. Through the windshield, Buck could see Eddie's face—eyes wide, mouth open, skin pale. Then he grimaced and lowered his forehead to the steering wheel so Buck couldn't see it anymore. Knowing Eddie, he was probably cursing under his breath in Spanish so Christopher wouldn't hear it.

Something akin to courage burst in Buck's chest. He dropped his duffel to the ground, set his travel mug on the hood of his jeep, and jogged down the driveway to the truck. It took a second for Eddie to answer the taps on his window, and even when he finally rolled it down, he didn't lift his head from the wheel.

"Yeah?" Eddie said, tone clipped.

He was expecting a fight. Lips quirking, Buck laid his arms on the edge of the window and leaned into the truck. He caught Christopher's eye in the back seat and winked, making the kid giggle. Then he tapped Eddie on the shoulder again and again until Eddie finally turned to face him.

"What, Buck? Wh—"

Buck leaned further and pecked him on the lips too. "See you at work."

For a few seconds, Eddie gaped at him like a fish out of water. Then his tan skin warmed to pink, the flush overtaking his entire face. "R-right."

Smiling so wide his eyes nearly shut, Buck tapped the side of the truck. "Now hurry up or Chris'll be late to school." He leaned back so Eddie could drive without worrying he'd hit Buck on the way.

The smile didn't leave Buck's face even long after the truck had passed out of sight. Instead, as soon as there was no way Eddie could see him, Buck jumped and gave an excited holler.

He'd gotten a kiss from Eddie, and not just any kiss. That was the distracted sort of kiss someone gave their long time significant other. That was a kiss that meant Eddie had to have imagined doing that too many times to count, to the point where his frazzled brain did it on autopilot. That was a kiss that meant Eddie felt for Buck the way Buck felt for Eddie.

They would have a lot of talking to do later, but things were definitely looking up. The morning had been chaotic, but the rest of the day? Not a cloud in sight.

Still beaming, Buck headed for his jeep, a bounce in every step.

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fin