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Tonight is supposed to be perfect.
And Buck will make it perfect even if it kills him.
It’s an important day and a big step in their relationship—their first Valentine’s Day together.
Officially.
As a couple.
See Buck and Eddie have, of course, celebrated “Pal-entine's Day” before. When they were just best friends—who were both single—they would spend the holiday often on the couch with a heart shaped pineapple pizza (courtesy of a holiday deal from a local joint), chilling with Chris between them as they put on Eddie's favorite rom coms—because again, what else would you do on that kind of day before realizing your best friend is also your soulmate?
It’s been months of talking around it as making Theo comfortable living with Buck was priority numero uno. They found plentiful ways of working together to settle Theo, even on the hardest days. And when Buck's doubt crept in while at his wits end or thought he couldn't measure up to being the kind of guardian that would be right for Theo, Eddie was always one of the first to reassure him.
So they went on family outings to parks together, hosted family dinners with the four of them, and even let Chris play babysitter to show he's a competent, trustworthy teen who can handle responsibilities—which led to more and more nights of just Buck and Eddie getting closer, bonding over being single dads.
Everything was going great!
And then right at the beginning of the new year, right as the clock hit midnight, Eddie confessed he was in love with Buck, and Buck's first instinct was to sob because he didn't think he was allowed to be in love with his straight best friend. Eddie consoled him and reassured Buck with a quipped little ‘No more worries, bud, definitely not straight!’ and that was that.
They shared a chaste kiss while Chris had Theo outside to watch the fireworks and it was the start of the rest of their lives.
Weeks went by. Testing the waters of their quietly developing romance with more movie nights with the kids, and following those nights up by stealing shrouded kisses in shadowy door stoops. Then there were more sleepovers in general which led to Chris’ not so subtle accusation of 'are you guys dating or did Buck and Theo decide to move in and you guys didn't tell me?’
Confessions ensued.
Theo was thrilled his Eddie gets to be around more now that they kiss.
Chris was less thrilled about the idea of catching any lovey dovey exchanges, but he couldn't disguise the sly grin and proclamations of he knew this was going to happen eventually. Eddie had furrowed his brow at this because how would Chris know he was gay before he did which led to Chris dramatically sighing with a ‘ohhmygod dad you don't even hide how you look at Buck’ which led to a lot of blushing and stuttering.
And then February hit and they both were finally confident and comfortable enough to tell the rest of their family (which of course brought its own rounds of ‘I knew its’ and ‘about times.’)
And here they are.
Present day.
Going to a nice dinner while Chris and Theo hang out with May and Harry to be educated on Disney movie classics and have a sleepover that isn't at Buck or Eddie's place.
So why is Buck so nervous about the day being perfect, one may ask?
Oh because their first REAL official dating date is on Valentine's Day.
And the last time Buck had a Valentine's Day date, it ended with him all bloody, unable to breathe, and whisked away to a hospital.
Not a very charming or romantic way to start a relationship. Buck would know.
And Eddie wants a romantic evening.
He deserves a romantic evening.
Buck likes the idea of a romantic evening, especially as a big fan of being wined and dined.
Everyone is thrilled about a romantic evening, such a lovely plan that has Buck shaking as he struggles to button his brown button up shirt and has him fighting to make his curls lie properly.
Everything will go well tonight and they'll end their evening sharing chocolates in bed and maybe some making out—which is their favorite pass time when the kids are not around—and maybe a little further if Eddie is comfortable with the idea.
This Valentine's Day will not be cursed if Buck refuses to allow it to happen.
He glowers at the idea that anything could ruin such a momentous day like today. Their first date day!
When he finally leaves the bedroom, he runs smack into a flower bouquet that is shoved into his chest by a slightly flushed looking Eddie, which has Buck stumbling back.
“Err—they're blue cornflowers. I. They're really pretty and kind of match your eyes and they mean ‘I love you.’ So. Here.”
Eddie getting flustered is an Eddie Buck doesn't get to see often enough. With a broad smile and—totally not sweaty hands— Buck plucks them out of Eddie's own and leans in for a small kiss to the corner of Eddie's mouth.
“They're lovely, Eddie. Thank you,” Buck easily finds a vase to place them in and carefully sets them on the coffee table before appraising Eddie; taking in the fluffier hair, strong scent of cologne, and the tan jacket and matching pants. A coy smile flirts its way to Buck's lips. “You clean up well, Mr. Diaz.”
Red streaks through Eddie's cheeks and up to his ears before he's mumbling something about ‘of course I do, I got a hot date’ and clearing his throat to usher them both out the door.
They arrive at a local, fancier steakhouse near the bay. The hostess compliments their outfits and non so subtly asks if they're models before showing them to their seats. Not too long after, another server drops off a couple glasses of water, the menus, and…. a bread basket.
Buck starts perusing the menu immediately and every now and again will shoot the bread a nervous glance.
“You good?” Eddie doesn’t look up as he asks, his gaze splits between layering an equal spread of butter over his piece of loaf while scanning the menu laid in front of him.
“Y-yeah, never better.”
“Buck, the bread’s not going to hurt you. They are happy carbs! Take the other one before I eat it too.”
It did hurt me last time! Buck's thoughts fire back but he instead sends Eddie a flashy grin and an overtly loud scoff as he slowly snags the single remaining bread roll.
Their server, a bright bubbly red head with trendy glasses goes over the restaurant's Valentine's specials for the evening, including a classy (and affordable) red wine and a rather daunting sounding surf and turf meal. Eddie jumps at the idea of a tasty wine to share and not too long after she returns with the bottle.
By the time she comes back to check in their initial wine assessments, they place orders for calamari to share, salads and their main entrees.
Sipping nervously at the cool, slightly sweet, wine, Buck grabs his piece of bread—sweating more—and starts tearing it apart delicately.
Eddie's smirking in his own glass as he catches Buck’s eye across the table, “—are you nervous about this date for some reason?” Buck’s mouth gaps in silent protest before Eddie continues, “It’s okay if you are! It’s just, I’ve never seen you so stressed in the—month we’ve been together together.”
“It’s just the day. I want everything to be perfect,” Buck quietly admits.
“Well if you stop worrying and just enjoy my company, darling, we'll be all good.”
Eddie shoots him a shit eating grin before munching the rest of his bread before reaching over to steal a piece of Buck's roll.
Buck's quick to thwap the thieving paw off his plate and offers him an equally bright grin.
“That doesn't sound like too hard of an ask from you, cowboy,” Buck coyly shoots back before they both descend into giggles.
It's so easy to talk with Eddie about anything and everything. Buck can comfortably ramble for hours without Eddie getting bored or annoyed, which is nothing new, but that reassures him that Eddie is just dealing with the non stop talking. If anything, now that they're both fully admitted to their feelings, the looks Eddie sends his way seem to be fully enamored. Or…he always looked that way at Buck but he didn't fully grasp what those looks meant, until now.
Eddie is always attentive and asks him clarifying questions when he forgets to add context. The man truly means it when he confidently shared with the team, “he can listen to Buck speak forever and he would be privileged to listen.”
A sweet sweet sap of a man, but one Buck truly feels blessed to call his partner.
Buck is just sharing the latest news of an exhibit all about black holes at the planetarium he thinks the kids would both get a kick out of when their server returns.
With the salads arrival, they both get back to their conversation and start nibbling on their respective veggies.
Nibbling being exactly what Buck plans to do. ‘Small bites, Buck’ he coaches himself as he literally cuts up his already chopped salad.
There's silence across from him that rings loudly enough that causes Buck to shift his focus from the salad dissection back to Eddie who is staring at him in confusion.
Buck starts sweating more.
Hands shaking a little where he tightly grasps his fork and knife as Eddie tilts his head.
“Are you—sure you’re fine?”
“Yeah yeah! Just, being food conscientious. Ya know, safe? Small manageable bites make the digestion easier. I think I saw an article about it in a Men's Health magazine.”
Eddie slowly chews, assessing Buck.
“Okay,” Eddie places his fork on the table and clasps his hands together giving Buck an imploring look, “You wanna tell me why you’re being a tad neurotic tonight, bud? That’s normally my thing.”
“Eddie…”
“What!? I wanna know. Is it the place? I know you suggested Italian but it’s not my favorite but we could have gone somewhere else. Maddie said Chim took her here a while back and they had a blast since it overlooks the water and has the mood lighting and the live jazz in the corner. Are you feeling more Italian? We should have just gone to Gino’s. I know they have several vegetarian and fish options here but like, we could still go elsewhere—?”
Buck fiddles with his wine glass, taking a sip to avoid this conversation before chuckling and shaking his head in self-deprication.
“I just—okay don’t laugh at me but I had a really really bad experience on a Valentine’s date years ago and I do not want anything bad happening tonight. Since it’s like our first official date.”
Eddie stares him down before something seems to click behind his eyes. He leans forward and lowers his tone while Buck wipes his sweaty palms on his pants.
“Is this about the—infamous bread incident?”
Oh god.
Without further ado, Buck thumps his head on the table and whines into the cloth.
“I knew Hen or Chim would have told you.”
“They didn't tell me!” Eddie purses his lips to keep the grin off his face, “Okay, Hen may have alluded to a dinner date in your past that went wrong, and then Chim expanded on the story. So you choked on bread. During a date. It’s not a big deal.” Eddie shrugs.
“Don’t be dismissive! It was a big deal! It was my first actual date with someone I was trying to get to know—and not just sleep with—and it couldn't have gone more wrong! I went to the ED and everything since Abby cut my throat to give me an emergency tracheotomy,” He coughs a little, feeling a flush crawl up his neck.
That catches Eddie's attention.
“Wooah woah woah—wait—she did what!?” Eddie’s eyes widen and he sits up with shock.
Buck rubs his neck where the scar slightly lingers in a barely there mark.
“Was it actually that serious?”
“Yup—so I am chewing my food and being so incredibly cautious tonight. Nothing is going wrong.” Buck pouts over his minced salad.
After several moments, Eddie’s concern clears and transforms into a gentle smile.
“You don’t have to be overly careful around me, Buck. You know I got your back. If any emergency were to happen, I'd save the day no problem.”
Buck sips the rest of his wine before allowing some of his anxiety to drain away. Shaking his head and clearing his throat, Buck offers a small smile in return.
“I know,” he agrees softly.
Their food arrives shortly after Buck's mini freak out. He receives a smoked halibut drenched in a butter and lemon sauce with asparagus and creamy mash potatoes. Eddie, an order of a ribeye steak, mixed veggies, and a baked potato.
The food looks good. Eddie tops off his wine with a wink which causes Buck heart to flutter uncontrollably and more flush light up his cheeks at the chivalrousness.
A small sip of water, another sip of wine, and a small bit of fish.
He carefully chews.
This night is actually going pretty well, Buck can't help but think to himself as he swallows.
And promptly chokes.
His life is a living nightmare.
Buck swallows again in a quick attempt to fix the situation before it becomes a thing and he feels something block his windpipe.
No no no no no no —
Did he swallow a bone? Was he not being careful, again?
He grabs his throat and squeezes his eyes trying to reign in the grunts and noises that escape.
This isn't supposed to happen. Not again.
Buck tries clearing his throat with a cough but that also does not help.
He can't swallow.
He can't breathe.
“Buck!?” Eddie reaches over, already getting out of his seat as his utensils go flying to the ground in his haste.
Words. He needs words.
‘He's fine.’ He could say. ‘It's just a tickle. No big deal. He's playing it up. Haha. It’s all a joke!’
But this isn’t a joke.
He’s just losing air.
Buck's eyes fill with tears while his head grows fuzzy. It feels like everything is getting fainter and tunneling as he attempts to wheeze in any air.
No way the little piece of fish he chewed did this. No way.
Eddie is talking whilst leaning in front of him; his hands are touching Buck's face trying to coax him to focus. But there’s a pounding roar of water in his ears and his vision is swimming.
The hands are guiding and pulling him quickly out of the chair and onto the fancy designer carpet when it's obvious Buck is not following any direction given.
And through it all—Buck still can't catch his breath.
Light taps to his face.
Hands press to his throat.
Fingers prying his mouth open.
Some frantic commotion is starting away from him.
Shouting.
Hurried footsteps.
A sudden jab in his thigh.
He gasps.
“Buck! C’mon—stay with me.” Eddie’s clear, commanding voice rings in his ears, “You're not choking, c’mon babe, try to take small breaths through your nose. Open your eyes—there you go. Prettiest eyes I've ever seen, bud. Just relax now, slow deep breaths, c’mon.”
Buck’s eyes are still lined with unshed tears but he can now make out Eddie’s form hovering above him, concern etched in the furrow of his brow and roundness of his brown eyes.
“You’re okay, I promise, you’ll be okay, Buck.” Eddie’s hand runs through his hair while his other hand grasps his wrist, probably counting how erratic his pulse is. There are concerned onlookers lingering behind Eddie's shoulder but they go in and out of focus the longer Buck fights with clearing his vision. “Don’t look at them. Eyes on me.” His head is carefully tilted back towards Eddie, “We got one dose of epinephrine in your leg. You were suffering, what looks like, an allergic reaction for about a couple minutes before I was able to inject you. I don't think the swelling is getting any worse but it's also not going down quick enough for my liking… your skin’s still really flush and warm too.”
“Umm 9-1-1 says the emergency people, I mean, the ambulance will be here in five minutes,” their waitress shares where she crouches near them with her phone pressed to her ear.
Buck tries to lift his hand to wave them off and Eddie catches it, “Buck, stop. We need to get you checked out. Just focus on breathing, bud.”
Buck can't stop the tear that escapes.
Eddie swiped the droplet away, “You'll be okay, Buck. I'm here.”
🍷🍞 🍷🍞
Entering South Bedford is a quiet affair. After being deemed non life threatening, their night came to a close in a bright and busy Emergency Department at Cedars Senai. Buck spent several hours being routinely monitored and reexamined to make sure he wouldn’t have a secondary reaction to the….sunflower seeds.
During his preliminary exam made by the arriving paramedics, Eddie pulled the waitress aside and asked for an ingredient list of all the food Buck had for that evening.
It was not the bread’s fault this time.
It was the wine.
Because some winemaker believed adding sunflower seeds into a red wine gave it such an alluring flavor profile it was worth Buck’s life over. Who would've known? Not Buck since he's never apparently eaten any sunflowers in his 34 years on this planet.
Eddie was all torn up over his (unknown at the time) error and exhausted all his apologies while carefully holding Buck’s hand to his cheek in the small curtained off section of the emergency department, offering small kisses to repay the undue harm. Buck truly had no idea he had a seed allergy so it came as quite the surprise and immediate dismal of any claims of wrong doing.
But that was hours ago, and now, past midnight, they slowly shuffle into Eddie’s bedroom to prepare to finally wind down for the night. Allergic reactions take a lot of energy out of the sufferer, so Buck lumbers around like a zombie. He pulls off his nice, brown dress shirt and black slacks before starfishing onto the bed.
“Move allergy boy,” Eddie directs as he starts shoving and pulling at Buck’s body until he is arranged in a comfortable position on his side underneath the covers before the lights are finally flipped off.
“M’ sorry, baby,” Buck barely manages to mumble out before arms wrap around him and a cheek is pressed to the top of his head.
“Nothing to be sorry about, bud.”
“I ruined Valentine’s Day—again. M' cursed. ”
“Not your fault,” Eddie snuggles Buck a bit closer to him and gives him a smooch on his forehead, “who would have thought not being in little league would be a detriment to you later on in life.”
Buck’s eyes are heavy but he tilts his head up with a small questioning “mwaht?” With a laugh and another kiss, Eddie tilts his chin down and stares at Buck’s tired, confused face.
“When I was on my first baseball team aka little league, the first thing they did was teach you to chew sunflower seeds, ‘like the pros’ they said,” Eddie mimics with much gusto to his voice, “because giving a bunch of five year olds hubba bubba was a mess in the making.” Eddie pokes Buck's cheek a little with his finger, “and a lot of leagues and schools just always have sunflower seeds in general at their disposal since it's relatively cheap. So if you would have played baseball, you would have known about the allergy sooner.”
Buck's eyes flit between Eddie's, searching for something, before sighing, “I still don’ care bout baseball or watchin’ the LA Angels games, Edd’e—especially now I'll just think of m’ allergy from your baseball allegory.” Buck slurs out with too much honesty before letting out an ‘ommf’ as he's fully squished beneath Eddie's pouting and aggrieved form.
“Buck!” Eddie complains into his neck as they both giggle tiredly, “you're so mean when you take allergy medication. I don't love all the different long ass documentaries you and Chris watch, but I love spending time with you so I lock in and try not to fall asleep. You can't do the same with me and baseball? Theo's really getting a kick out of it. Maybe we can sign him up for little league? See if he inherited your allergy during a practice some day.”
Buck groans out a ‘you're terrible’ and Eddie huffs out a laugh back into his hair.
They continue their light back and forth about baseball and plans for a future sports outing to see if Theo would like to expel his energy on a baseball diamond over a soccer field when—not too long into the rapport—Buck’s starts dozing to Eddie's quiet timbre as he still tries to convince Buck that America's Pass Time isn't so bad.
And in no time at all, they're both asleep; bodies curled together in a relaxed, loving embrace.
Both men are okay, content, and safe.
It wasn't the perfect Valentine's day, but it was an incredibly ‘Buckley-Diaz-esque’ Valentine's Day. And that in itself is it's own kind of perfect.