Archive of Our Own

Eddie held his hand up in front of his face for the millionth time that week. He couldn’t stop admiring the ring that Buck had slid onto it a few days ago. It was just a simple silver band with a strip of gold in the middle.

It was the ring Buck used to propose to him because Buck wanted to marry him.

There was no stopping the smile that split Eddie’s face.

Eddie still felt horrible for what he’d said the day he had planned to propose to Buck. On his way out to the door that morning, running behind schedule after a round (or two) of morning sex with the love of his life, he’d told Buck he wouldn’t have a boyfriend for much longer.

Like, how fucking stupid of a thing to say to a guy who still carried old fears about being left behind.

Buck forgave him, of course, because Buck’s heart was infinitely forgiving and so full of love. Eddie still wasn’t sure what he’d done to deserve Buck. To deserve loving someone like him, waking up beside him every day, building a life with him.

“Sweetheart?” Buck’s voice broke through Eddie’s thoughts.

He blinked, turning to Buck. “Yeah, baby?”

Buck was leaning back against the headboard with a crossword puzzle book in his hands, but all of his attention was on Eddie. The warm glow from the lamp softened Buck’s features, making him look younger than he was.

“Whatcha doing?” Buck smirked.

“Just admiring this ring my fiancé gave me,” Eddie murmured, looking at the ring again. “He did pretty good.”

Buck’s cheeks turned a light shade of red. “Yeah?”

Eddie nodded. “Yeah.”

Setting the puzzle book on his nightstand, Buck slid down on the mattress and put his head on the pillow. “Well, my fiancé did better than yours.” Buck held his hand up, running a finger over his ring. “This is the best thing I’ve ever been given.”

“Hey, don’t diss my fiancé like that,” Eddie teased. “He did an excellent job with the ring he picked out. If I had to give him a grade, it’d be an A+.”

Buck rolled onto his side, facing Eddie. “Really? An A+?”

Eddie copied Buck, rolling onto his side. They were practically nose-to-nose at this point, which was right where Eddie liked to be.

“Yeah. A perfect one-hundred percent,” Eddie whispered, staring into Buck’s eyes.

“Wow. Your fiancé sounds like a lucky guy,” Buck murmured. He closed the distance between them and pressed a soft kiss to Eddie’s mouth.

Eddie grabbed Buck’s hand and threaded their fingers. “Mm. I’m the lucky one. I can’t believe this man wants to marry me.”

“Are you kidding? How could he not want to marry you?” Buck whispered. “You’re basically perfect.”

“Oh, stop,” Eddie snorted. “I am far from perfect.”

“Whoa, hey, no,” Buck argued. “You’re slandering my fiancé. I will not stand for this.”

“Wait…you’re my fiancé?” Eddie feigned surprise. “This whole time, you’ve been my fiancé?”

“God, are we really this lame?” Buck giggled.

Eddie inched even closer to Buck, throwing his arm over Buck’s waist. “Absolutely. And I don’t even care. I’ll be lame for the rest of my life if it means I get to be with you.”

The smile on Buck’s face faltered, just a quick little twitch, but enough for Eddie to notice.

“You okay?” Eddie asked.

Buck nodded. “Yeah, I am. I just–I never really thought I would get married someday. Or be with somebody that was this excited to be stuck with me for the rest of our lives.”

Eddie’s chest tightened. He didn’t understand how anyone could look at Buck—the way he wore his heart on his sleeve and gave away love so freely—and make him believe he wasn’t worth choosing forever?

“After Tommy,” Buck continued, a little hesitantly, “I thought that was it. I figured he was the closest I’d ever get to being engaged to somebody.”

Buck didn’t talk about Tommy a lot. All Eddie knew was it’d been a bad breakup and Buck had fled Pennsylvania because of it.

“You thought Tommy was going to propose?” Eddie whispered.

Buck sighed. “I was going to propose. I mean, we’d been together for three years.”

Eddie drew mindless shapes on Buck’s waist. “But?”

“But then I found out Tommy had been cheating on me. For six months. With two different guys,” Buck muttered, a humorless laugh slipping out of him. “On our three year anniversary, which was also the night I was going to propose to him.”

Eddie’s stomach dropped. “Baby,” he whispered.

Buck’s nose scrunched. “I made us a nice dinner, lit some candles, got an expensive bottle of wine and everything.” A melancholic smile crossed his face. “When I confronted him about the cheating, he just…god, he started screaming at me about it being none of my business. He had me cornered in the kitchen, yelling about how I just couldn’t mind my own business and that was why nobody would ever want to be with me.”

Eddie wanted to meet this Tommy. For no particular reason other than practicing his right hook.

“Baby, you know that’s not true, right?” Eddie murmured. “I want to be with you. Christopher wants to be with you.”

Buck smiled softly. “Yeah, I know that now. You guys always make me feel wanted and special and like I’m not too much.”

Leaning forward, Eddie pressed a lingering kiss to Buck’s forehead. “You’re not too much for us. You’re just enough. We love you so much, Evan.”

“I love you guys too,” Buck breathed. “I didn’t know it was possible to love this deeply.”

“God, I can’t wait to marry you.” Eddie shifted, rolling Buck onto his back and crawling on top of him. He threaded one hand into Buck’s curls and put the other one on Buck’s chest, right over his heart. “My sweet Evan.”

Buck grabbed Eddie’s waist and pulled him down until their mouths met.

For a few minutes, the room was quiet except for the sound of their soft kisses.

After one last kiss, Eddie slid off of Buck. He plastered himself to Buck’s side, one of his legs tossed over Buck’s.

“So,” Buck started, whispering, “I made a spreadsheet.”

“Oh?”

Buck traced a finger up and down Eddie’s arm. “Mhm. So we can start planning our wedding.”

Warmth rushed through Eddie. “Yeah? Whatcha got so far?”

“So, I made a list of different venues across LA and everything they have to offer, like catering and tables and bar service. I also have a list of the highest rated florists in the city and I already made an appointment so we can get fitted for tuxes.”

Eddie looked up at Buck. “We’ve been engaged for, like, five days, baby. How do you have this much done already?”

Buck smirked. “I don’t work twenty-four hour shifts like you, sweetheart. I have plenty of free time to get stuff done. Plus, I’m just super excited to marry the hot guy that also wants to marry me, so that’s pretty motivating to get stuff done.”

Lifting his hand and setting it over Buck’s heart, Eddie softened. “Okay, so, first things first. We need to pick a date.”

Buck blinked. “That…somehow slipped my mind,” he muttered. “I have a whole list of wedding-related things, yet I never once considered the fact that we’d need to pick a date.”

Eddie snorted. “Arguably, the most important thing.”

Buck huffed a laugh. “Did you have anything in mind?”

Taking a deep breath, Eddie thought for a moment. “Would it be cheesy to get married on the anniversary of Chim and Maddie’s dinner party?”

“The first time we met,” Buck hummed. “No, I don’t think it would be cheesy. That actually sounds super sweet, so it makes sense you’d want to pick that day, Mr. Romantic.”

“So, April 15th?”

A breathless laugh escaped Buck. “Let’s get married on April 15th.”

Somehow, impossibly, Eddie burrowed even closer to Buck. It still wasn’t close enough. “Thank god for that dinner party.”

Buck put his finger under Eddie’s chin and tilted his head up. “The best dinner party ever.” He leaned down and kissed Eddie, slow and sweet. “Also the only dinner party I’ve been to, but it’ll always be the best one regardless.”

Eddie laughed, loud and bright and carefree. “Remember the potato salad? I can’t believe you actually ate that.”

“Hey!” Buck argued, laughing. “It was a good potato salad!”

“So good that you even ate it off of my plate,” Eddie teased.

“Not my finest moment, I’ll admit,” Buck answered. “But it got you to fall for me, didn’t it? Or was it the way I choked on that mushroom when you walked in the room?”

“It was definitely love at first sight, baby. The way your face turned bright red when you were choking on the mushroom? The hottest thing I’d ever seen.”

Buck snorted. “Oh my god, you’re ridiculous.”

Eddie patted his chest. “Sometimes.” He yawned. “Okay, it’s getting late. Will you show me your spreadsheet in the morning?”

“Sure thing, sweetheart.” Buck shut the lamp off, plunging the room into darkness. He rolled onto his side, pulling Eddie’s arm across his waist. “Goodnight, Eds. I love you.”

“Love you too, baby.” Eddie pressed a soft kiss to the back of Buck’s neck before laying his head back on the pillow. “Also, I was promised the clipboard would make an appearance. Don’t go back on that now.”

Buck just huffed a laugh and tapped the back of Eddie’s hand three times.

Smiling into the dark, Eddie tapped back three times before sleep finally claimed them both.

____________________

A week went by.

By this time, Buck and Eddie had decided that they wanted to have their wedding at a small, intimate, all-inclusive venue. A place that could host both the ceremony and the reception. A place that already had tables and chairs, a full bar, and in-house catering. It was a little more expensive, but would save a lot of time and stress for both of them.

They’d already seen two different venues. The first place they toured was nice, but almost too big for what they wanted. They were thinking the guest list would only be fifty people, give or take, so they didn’t need a huge amount of space.

The second place they saw was oddly themed like a twenty-four hour wedding chapel in Vegas. When they walked in, Eddie had exchanged a look with Buck and nearly burst into hysterics.

“The pictures online looked nothing like this,” Buck had whispered to Eddie through his giggles. “That’s false advertising!”

But, they’d humored the venue manager and seen the entire thing before gently telling her that they were looking for something different, but thanks for the tour.

As they’d walked out, hand-in-hand, Eddie couldn’t hold his laughter back any longer.

“You don’t want the Elvis impersonator at our wedding, baby? I can’t really imagine anything more romantic than that!” Eddie’d exclaimed.

Buck had wiped a tear from his eye. “We could’ve had our first dance to Love Me Tender, The Remix by the Elvis impersonator.”

Needless to say, they needed to look for another venue.

Which is how they found themselves pulling into the parking lot of another venue on Saturday morning.

Buck pulled into a spot near the front of the building, putting the jeep in park. “Well, the landscaping is nice. That’s a promising sign, right?”

Eddie nodded. “Yeah, I think so. The Vegas chapel didn’t have hydrangeas out front.”

Blowing out a breath, Buck turned to Eddie. “Okay. I have a good feeling about this one. You ready?” He held up a fist.

Eddie tapped his fist against Buck’s. “Third times the charm. Let’s do this.”

They climbed out of the jeep. Eddie reached for Buck’s hand, linking their fingers together as they strolled to the front entrance. The building was made of sleek white marble. Ivy dotted with little purple flowers crawled up the sides of the building.

A woman came through the front door. She was dressed in a gray pantsuit and held a clipboard in her arms.

“You must be Evan and Eddie,” she said, extending a hand to them. “My name is Diana. I’m the manager of The Ivy Garden. Pleasure to meet you both.”

Buck shook her hand. “I’m Evan, but you can call me Buck. Nice to meet you.”

Eddie shook her hand next. “Eddie. Beautiful place,” he said.

“Well, thank you!” Diana exclaimed. “I’m sure you understand where the name comes from.” She gestured to the walls behind them. “All of this ivy has been here for over fifty years. The original owner of the venue planted every single root that you see today. Now, if you’ll follow me…”

Diana led them inside, showing them to the changing rooms first. “This is where the bridal parties can get ready for the ceremony. We grant early access to the couple getting married, their bridal party, and any immediate family for that purpose.”

“Oh, that’s awesome. We toured two other venues already and that wasn’t an option,” Buck said.

“Here at The Ivy Garden, we like to pride ourselves on doing the very most for our guests.” A proud smirk crossed Diana’s face. “That’s what makes us one of the leading wedding venues in Los Angeles. Not to brag or anything.”

Eddie laughed. “No, no. Brag away.”

After that, Diana took them to the banquet area. The room was already set up for an event. Around fifteen round tables, each covered by a white tablecloth and surrounded by six chairs, filled the space. The back wall was made completely of glass windows, giving them an unfiltered view of the ocean. Soft white tulle with fairy lights was draped across the ceiling, meeting in the middle around the chandelier hanging above the dance floor.

Glancing sideways at Buck, Eddie could tell that he was already picturing their reception. A room full of everyone they loved, everyone that would be there to celebrate their marriage.

“Wow,” Buck breathed. “This is…beautiful.”

Diana grinned. “This is obviously where the reception would be held,” she continued, gesturing with her clipboard. “We can add or take away tables, depending on how big your guest list is.”

“We aren’t planning a very big wedding,” Buck said. “Neither one of us have big families, so maybe around fifty people or so?”

Diana nodded. “Honestly, what we have set up now might be perfect for your event.” She pointed to the dance floor. “We do have a contract with a local DJ, if that was something you’d be interested in. Not required, if you had something else in mind, but just letting you know.”

Eddie squeezed Buck’s hand. “Honestly, that’s not something we’ve discussed yet.”

Buck chuckled. “It seems like the list of planning just gets bigger and bigger.”

“Planning a wedding is fun…until you’re the ones planning it,” Diana agreed. “That’s why we like to offer as much as possible in-house. Kind of like a one-stop shop.”

After a few more moments admiring the reception hall, Diana led them outside.

“And this is where the ceremony would be.” Diana swept her hands wide. “How about that view, gentlemen?”

The yard overlooked the ocean, deep blue waves crashing against the cliff below. The grass was well-maintained, bright green and nicely manicured. Leading to the altar, there was a stone pathway that branched off on either side at the front of the aisle.

“Wow,” Buck breathed. “Wow. This is–wow.”

Eddie turned to Buck, beaming. “I can already picture us up there.”

Buck looked at him, a warm smile on his face. “Me too, sweetheart.”

“We have chairs that would be set up out here on the morning of the wedding as well,” Diana added.

“What about catering? I saw on your website you have in-house catering?” Buck asked.

“We do,” Diana confirmed. “If we go back inside, I can get you a menu and give you a minute to look it over, if you’d like.”

Following her back inside, Diana handed Eddie a menu. “Here you go. We offer a five-course meal, but it can be adjusted to your preferences. On the back, you’ll also find our bar options. I’ll give you two some time.”

They wandered over to a table and sat, looking at the menu.

“Eds, I have to be honest. I think I’m already sold on this place,” Buck murmured.

Eddie smiled, turning his attention from the menu to Buck. “I could tell by the way you looked when we first stepped in this room. The view is incredible.”

“It’s kind of perfect, isn’t it? For us.”

Lifting Buck’s hand, Eddie kissed the back of it. “It is absolutely perfect for us.”

An hour later, they strolled out of The Ivy Garden, hand in hand, with a signed contract tucked safely into Buck’s coat pocket.

On April 15th, they’d officially become husbands at The Ivy Garden.

____________________

“Okay, sweetheart.” Buck wandered into the kitchen with his clipboard. “We really need to work on a guest list so we can send out save the dates and invites.” He set the clipboard on the table and dropped into a chair.

From where he stood in front of the fridge, Eddie glanced over his shoulder at Buck. “Can I grab a snack first?”

“Yes. But only if you bring me one too.”

Eddie snorted, grabbing another cheese stick out of the drawer, before closing the fridge and joining Buck at the table. He slid the cheese stick across the surface to him.

“Thanks, sweetheart,” Buck said, ripping the package open. He took a bite, then gestured to the clipboard. “As requested, my clipboard has made a reappearance.”

“Took long enough,” Eddie grinned. “So. Guest list.”

Buck sighed. “Well, my side of the family isn’t much. I have Maddie and Chimney.” He hesitated. “I was thinking about inviting my parents.”

Eddie sat back in his chair, ignoring the cheese stick in front of him. “Yeah?”

Buck nodded slowly. “Yeah. Is that…okay?”

“Buck, of course,” Eddie said firmly. He reached across the table and laid his hand over Buck’s wrist. “You don’t have to ask me if it’s okay to invite your parents to our wedding. If you want them there, then so do I.”

“I just–I’m not close with them, but I still…I want them at my wedding,” Buck said. “You know, maybe this is a good way to extend an olive branch.”

Wrapping his foot around Buck’s ankle, Eddie nodded. “Yeah. Baby, I think it’s a great idea.”

Buck smiled. “Okay. So, Maddie, Chim, and my parents. That’s–well, that’s my family.”

“You’re forgetting about everyone at the station. They’re your family too,” Eddie pointed out. “They all love you just as much as they love me.”

Buck softened, knocking his knee against Eddie’s. “Right. I knew that. So, everyone from the station would include…?”

Ticking off on his fingers, Eddie said, “Hen, Karen, and Denny. Bobby, Athena, May, and Harry. Ravi. I think that should be everyone.”

Buck scribbled that down on the notebook paper clipped to the clipboard. “Okay, so we’re up to…twelve people.” He looked up at Eddie. “How many from your side of the family?”

“Well, my parents. Soph and Mateo, plus their two kids.” Eddie paused. “Adriana. I don’t–I don’t know if she has a partner or not, but we could give her a plus one?”

“Yeah, of course, sweetheart,” Buck murmured.

“She probably won’t come,” Eddie muttered, rubbing his jaw. “But I don’t want to not invite her.”

“You don’t have to explain it to me, Eddie. I understand.”

Eddie nodded, sighing. “Okay.” He continued ticking off on his fingers. “Abuela and Pepa, of course. My cousins, Camila and Gabriel and their families.”

“Alright,” Buck said, writing the names down. “So, Camila is the one with a wife and three kids? And Gabriel is just him and his daughter?”

“Correct and correct. Nice job, baby.” Eddie held his hand up for a high-five. Buck smacked it with no hesitation. “Honestly, that’s probably it for my family. I don’t really care to have the rest of my cousins there.”

“Okay, so that gets us to thirty people.” Buck sat back in his chair. “I would like to invite some friends from work, I think. Mrs. Wilson–or Becky, I guess. And the eighth grade teacher, Mr. Summers. Nolan. And I guess probably my boss, too, Mrs. Parrish–Kayla.”

“All with a plus one?”

Buck nodded. “Yes.”

“So that takes us up to thirty-six people?”

“I also have a couple friends I’m still close with in Pennsylvania that should be invited. Friends from college, like Connor and Cameron. Matthew and Jason. Erin. That should be everyone for me.”

“Alright. I think that’s a pretty solid guest list.”

Buck set his pen down on the clipboard and smiled at Eddie. “A very solid guest list. I’ll get working on designing save the dates, so we can get them mailed out as soon as possible.”

A rush of warmth coursed through Eddie’s veins. “Every day, this becomes more and more real,” he beamed.

“Like a dream that’s slowly becoming reality,” Buck added. He bumped his knee against Eddie’s.

Eddie bumped him right back. “The best dream ever.”

____________________

“Dad! I want to go with you to eat cake!”

Blinking awake, Eddie squinted his eyes against the early morning sunlight. He could feel Buck still laying beside him, breathing evenly. He looked at his son standing over him.

“Chris?” he whispered. “What time is it?”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t matter, I want to eat cake with you!” Chris whisper-shouted back.

Eddie looked at the clock on Buck’s nightstand. It was only 6:08.

“Buddy, it’s still early. Why are you awake already?”

Chris huffed. “Dad, please take this seriously.”

Pushing up onto an elbow, Eddie rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “Take what seriously?”

“I want to go eat cake with you and Buck.”

Things started clicking into place. Buck and Eddie had an appointment at a bakery that specialized in wedding cakes, but it wasn’t scheduled until one p.m.

Eddie sighed. “Chris. This could’ve waited until we woke up, buddy.”

“No, it couldn’t. This is important. This is cake, Dad. I’m a very good cake eater. I know what tastes the best, you have to let me come with you.”

Buck suddenly huffed a laugh. “He makes a very good argument,” he mumbled with a raspy, sleepy voice. “I’m already sold.”

Eddie flopped back down on his pillow. “Sorry if we woke you, Buck.”

“‘S okay.” He let out a big yawn, rolling onto his side to face Chris and Eddie. “I’m on Chris’s side. We need his cake tasting expertise.”

Chris beamed. “See? I knew Buck would agree with me.”

Buck reached his arm over Eddie’s body, balling his hand into a fist for Chris to bump. “Always, Superman.”

Eddie sighed. “How come it’s always you two versus me?”

“Aw, c’mon, sweetheart. It’s us three versus the world.” Buck poked Eddie in the side. “You just have to agree with Chris and me all the time.”

“Yeah, Dad. All the time.” Chris leaned in close to Eddie. “Can I please please please go taste the cake with you today? Please, Dad?”

“Please, Eds?” Buck rested his head against Eddie’s chest, looking up through his lashes and jutting his bottom lip out.

“Oh, Jesus Christ,” Eddie mumbled. He was never going to win an argument in this house. “Of course you can go with us, Chris. Otherwise we’d probably end up picking out the worst cake imaginable.”

“Yay! Thanks, Dad! Thanks, Buck!” Chris cheered. “Okay, that’s all I needed. You can go back to sleep now.” He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Eddie laid a hand on Buck’s back, dragging it down until it rested on the waistband of Buck’s shorts. “It was nice of him to give us permission to go back to sleep.”

Buck chuckled. “Have you forgotten that Chris is the boss in this house?”

“Oh no, how could I forget that?” Eddie started tracing mindless circles on Buck’s skin.

“You better stop doing that,” Buck shivered, goosebumps rising on his skin. “It’s going to get me going.”

Eddie snorted. “And that’s a bad thing?”

“Our kid has already broken into our room once this morning, we don’t need to scar him for life because you decided to touch me like that.”

“Okay, okay,” Eddie relented, dragging his hand back up to the middle of Buck’s back. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to get back to sleep.”

Buck sighed. “Me either. Wanna make some coffee and watch that new movie on Netflix?”

“What movie?” Eddie asked, making no moves to get out of bed.

“I don’t know. There’s probably a new one on there,” Buck said.

Laughing, Eddie leaned down and pressed a kiss to Buck’s forehead. “Fair enough. I’ll get the coffee started.”

Buck pushed up onto his elbow, smiling down at Eddie. “Kiss first, please and thank you.”

Ever happy to oblige his fiancé, Eddie met him in the middle and kissed him.

*

A huge smile crossed Chris’s face. His eyes were bright with joy as they swept across the table in front of him. There were six plates in front of them, a different flavor of cake on each.

“This is…so much cake,” he said eagerly, looking up at Buck and Eddie. “We get to eat all of this?”

Eddie nodded, smiling at his son. “We sure do, buddy. You sure you’re up for the challenge?”

Chris puffed his chest out. “Duh.”

Pierre, the cake decorator, laughed. “Oh, I like his sass.”

“He gets it all from this one,” Eddie said, jabbing a thumb in Buck’s direction.

“Whoa, hey, that is not true at all,” Buck argued. “I am not sassy. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever sassed anyone before. Ever.”

“You’re sassing right now, baby.”

Buck opened his mouth to argue back, but then stopped. He turned to Pierre. “So, what do you have for us?”

Pierre flicked his eyes between Buck and Eddie, a grin on his face. “Oh, you two are perfect for each other, I can already tell.” He gestured to the table. “Today I have for you six different specialty cakes. My most popular one for weddings is the Lemon Lavender cake. A delicate lemon cake with lavender and raspberry buttercream.” He slid the plate with the lemon cake to the middle of the table. “Please enjoy.”

All three of them grabbed a fork. Chris took a huge scoop, shoving it into his mouth as quickly as possible. Buck and Eddie copied him.

“Hm,” Chris mumbled. “It tastes like flowers.”

Pierre nodded. “Yes, that would be the lavender.”

“I didn’t know you could eat flowers,” Chris said, scrunching his nose.

Buck smiled at Chris. “I take it you don’t really care for this one?”

“It’s okay. I just don’t know about the flowers.”

“I like it,” Eddie chimed in. “I think it’s a nice balance of citrus and floral. Refreshing.”

Buck turned to him. “It is. I like it a lot. I never knew raspberry and lavender could pair so well.”

“Well, now you have to make raspberry lavender macarons for us.”

Pierre perked up. “You bake?”

“Yes! I love to bake,” Buck said cheerfully. “Cookies, muffins, macarons, I’ll do it all.”

“Well, no pressure for me, then,” Pierre joked. He pushed the next plate in front of them. “Next up is more kid-friendly,” he said, smiling at Chris. “A chocolate truffle cake. The cake itself is more light and spongy with a dark chocolate glaze.”

Again, Chris took the first bite.

“Oh, wow. I think this one is the winner,” he said through his mouthful.

Eddie laughed. “Yeah? Well, if that’s the winner, we don’t need to try anymore then?”

“No, I didn’t say that,” Chris insisted. “We need to try them all.”

“Yeah, Eddie, c’mon. Take this seriously,” Buck quipped.

“Okay, okay!” Eddie took a bite of the chocolate cake. It practically melted in his mouth. “Oh my god, yes. Fantastic.”

“We’re never going to be able to narrow this down to just one,” Buck muttered. “Your sweet tooth is far too intense to choose just one cake.”

Eddie shook his head. “And that’s a bad thing? If we have six different cakes at our wedding, would that really be a bad thing?”

“I think that would be the opposite of a bad thing!” Chris exclaimed. “I think that would be a very, very good thing actually!”

“Oh my god, you Diaz boys and your sweet tooth.” Buck shoved a bite of the chocolate cake into his mouth, closing his eyes and groaning. “Wow. Pierre, you’re a magician.”

With a grin, Pierre took a little bow. “Thank you, Mr. Buckley.”

“Oh please, just call me Buck. Now, what’s next?”

Next was an almond amaretto strawberry sponge cake.

After that, a chocolate hazelnut espresso cake with chocolate ganache.

Then a blueberry maple pound cake with vanilla buttercream.

And to finish, a strawberry champagne vanilla cake with whipped champagne frosting.

Buck sat back in his chair, laying a hand over his stomach. “Holy shi–shoot,” he caught himself, wincing in Christopher’s direction. “Pierre, how are we supposed to choose one?”

“This might actually be the most difficult part of planning so far,” Eddie agreed. “Seriously, we had an easier time picking a venue and a date.”

Pierre clasped his hands together, giving them a little bow. “Thank you for the kind words. Might I offer a suggestion?”

Buck and Eddie nodded.

“Let Christopher choose.” Pierre turned to Chris, grinning at him. “He’s the one that knows best, yes?”

Chris grinned, nodding. “Of course I know best.” He paused, for dramatic effect Eddie was sure, before giving his answer. “Can we get a chocolate truffle cake and a blueberry maple cake? And then maybe we can get cupcakes with the almond strawberry flavor?”

Pierre turned back to Buck and Eddie. “Well?”

Eddie blew out a breath. “I mean, our wedding isn’t going to be that big, buddy. I don’t think we need all of that.”

“But, it’s all really yummy, Dad!”

Buck held up a hand. “In all fairness, this is our wedding and we can do whatever we want. Even if that means having three different cake flavors.”

Chris nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, hello! That’s what I’ve been saying! Like, this is Buck officially becoming a Diaz, so we have to go big! It’s a big deal!”

Eddie looked at Buck. His smile had fallen, going completely still and staring at Chris. He reached over and set his hand on Buck’s knee, squeezing it.

“You know what, buddy? You’re right,” Eddie said softly, still looking at Buck. “That is a big deal and we should have everything we want on our wedding day.” He turned to Pierre. “Let’s do exactly what Chris said.”

Twenty minutes later, they were back in the jeep, trying to decide if it was too early to go out for dinner.

“I think we should go to In-N-Out,” Chris suggested. “And remember I know best. Even Pierre said so.”

Eddie sighed. “I think Pierre gave our son a little bit of an ego, baby.”

“Well, I’m not going to lie, sweetheart. In-N-Out does sound kind of fantastic right now,” Buck said. He reached over the console and grabbed Eddie’s hand. “And I swear, this isn’t just me teaming up with Chris to gang up on you again.”

“Mhm, sure, Buckley. Sure,” Eddie said in response. “You’re lucky I want to give you guys everything I possibly can, even when it just comes to fast food. Let’s go to In-N-Out.”

Chris cheered in the backseat. Buck joined in only a second later.

Eddie could only shake his head in fond amusement, so overwhelmed with affection for the two people he loved the most.

____________________

The day of their tux fitting appointment came.

Buck stepped out, wearing a classic black tuxedo with a crisp white shirt and black bow tie.

Eddie wasn’t sure he was going to survive this—not when he was getting a preview of what Buck would look like on the day they said ‘I do’, and definitely not when Buck looked so unbelievably handsome in a tux.

“Whacha think, sweetheart?” Buck stood in front of the mirror, taking in his reflection. He smoothed a hand down the front of his jacket. “Is this the one?”

“It is…incredible, baby,” Eddie breathed. “You look amazing.”

Buck’s cheeks turned red, suddenly looking shy. “Really?”

Eddie nodded, sauntering up to him. He put his hand on Buck’s shoulder, stroking his thumb across the soft fabric. “Really. You clean up nice.”

Buck ducked his head. “Thanks, Eds. Now, go try your tux on. It’s only fair since you got to see me in mine.”

“Okay, baby.” Eddie pushed up onto his tiptoes, putting his mouth next to Buck’s ear. “You’re kind of driving me crazy in this outfit, baby.”

Shivering, Buck swallowed. “Easy, Edmundo. Save it for later.”

Eddie smirked. “Oh, don’t worry. I’m planning on it.” He ran his hand down the length of Buck’s back, stopping just above his ass.

Buck sucked in a breath, glaring at Eddie through the mirror. “Tease.”

Laughing, Eddie waltzed back to the dressing room where his tux was hanging. They’d decided that Buck would wear a black tux with a white undershirt and Eddie would wear a white tux with a black undershirt.

Eddie stepped into the dressing room and changed into the tux, taking his time to make sure everything was laying correctly. After he had everything on, he stared at his own reflection in the mirror, rolling his shoulders and blowing out a slow breath.

This was really happening.

He really was marrying Buck.

A few months from now, Buck would be standing in front of him, wearing his black tux. They’d be surrounded by their family, vowing to love each other for the rest of their lives. He'd be promising to be the loving, doting husband Buck deserved.

His vision turned blurry.

Blinking rapidly, Eddie tried to quell his tears, but he just couldn’t stop them from falling down his cheeks. He was just so happy, so in love with his fiancé, that he couldn’t stop the joyous tears.

A knock on the door.

“Sweetheart?” Buck asked quietly. “Everything okay? You’ve been in there a while.”

Eddie opened the door, just enough for Buck to slip inside. He looked at Eddie through the mirror.

“Oh, hey, why’re you–Eds, why’re you crying?” Buck asked. He shut the door behind him, cutting them off from the rest of the shop.

Eddie turned to face Buck, wiping his cheeks hastily. “Because I’m lame and so in love with you and we’re getting married,” he rushed out in one breath before drawing in a shaky inhale.

Buck’s expression melted. “Sweetheart.” He pulled Eddie into a hug, wrapping both arms around him. One hand came up to the back of Eddie’s head, gentle fingers carding through his hair. “You’re not lame for being happy about this.”

Eddie sank into his embrace, resting his head against Buck’s chest. “It’s okay, baby, you can call me lame.”

Buck chuckled. “Well, if you’re lame for crying, then so am I. Because I teared up at the look on your face when I first walked out. I just hid it better than you.”

A startled laugh slipped out of Eddie. “That’s not fair.”

Pressing his lips to Eddie’s hair, Buck pulled him even closer. “Don’t worry. You’ll see me crying plenty of times before we manage to say ‘I do’.”

With a wet sniffle, Eddie pulled back and looked at Buck through his damp lashes. “I really, really love you.”

Buck smiled softly, moving his hands up to Eddie’s cheeks and cupping them. “And I really, really love you.”

Buck kissed him slowly at first, soft and unhurried. Just a gentle press of lips that made Eddie weak in the knees. It was like he could feel, taste, every ounce of love he and Buck shared for each other.

Slowly, the kiss deepened, lingering a little longer. Buck walked Eddie two steps backwards until his back hit the wall. He made a soft noise at the back of his throat, which only seemed to spur Buck on.

It wasn’t desperate, it wasn’t needy, it was just…the overwhelming desire to have Buck as close as he possibly could.

Tightening his fingers against Buck’s waist, he pulled him closer until their chests were flush against one another. He let his hands wander, spreading his palms across Buck’s back.

Buck slid his fingers into Eddie’s hair, gently tipping his head back so he could kiss him even deeper.

“Buck,” Eddie breathed when they finally came up for air. He rested his forehead against Buck’s, their breath mingling. “My sweet, sweet Evan.”

Buck caught Eddie’s mouth again, leaving a lingering kiss. “I love you, sweetheart. I can’t wait to be your husband,” he whispered.

“I can’t wait to be your husband,” Eddie murmured, cupping the back of Buck’s neck with his palm. He brushed his thumb across the short hairs on his nape. “I’m definitely going to cry then, too.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll be a complete mess on our wedding day.” He pulled back slightly, flicking his eyes between Eddie’s. “I’ll be impressed if I even make it halfway down the aisle without tears. I mean,” he laughed softly, “I’m going to be walking toward my soulmate, am I really expected not to cry?”

And what else was Eddie supposed to do but kiss him again?

“We’ve been in here for a long time,” Buck whispered against Eddie’s mouth when he pulled back. “Do you think our seamstress forgot about us?”

Eddie huffed a laugh. “Probably. We should get back out there.”

Buck took a step back, letting his gaze drag down the length of Eddie’s body. He smiled softly. “You are so handsome, sweetheart.”

Reaching out, Eddie caught Buck’s hand and linked their fingers. “Thank you, baby.” He stroked his thumb across Buck’s knuckles. “You ready?”

“Yeah,” Buck nodded, “let’s get back out there so we can go home and I can show you just how much I really love you.”

Cheeks flushing red, Eddie’s heart stuttered in his chest. He smiled up at Buck. “Who’s the tease now?”

Buck snorted. “You love it.”

“I love you,” Eddie corrected.

A knock on the door came suddenly, making them both jump.

“Mr. and Mr. Buckley-Diaz?” Their seamstress, Janelle, called. “Are you guys okay in there?”

Buck cleared his throat. “Yeah, yeah, all good. Sorry, he, uh, needed help with his tie.”

“Oh, okay. I just wanted to make sure.” The tone of her voice made it obvious she did not believe that for a second.

“We’ll be out in a second,” Buck promised.

As they listened to Janelle’s footsteps fade, they dissolved into giggles.

“Busted,” Eddie whispered through his laughter.

“We should really get back out there,” Buck murmured once he’d finally caught his breath. “After one more kiss.” He leaned in once more, kissing Eddie, before leading them back out to the main room.

Janelle, ever the professional, didn’t mention their extended absence.

A couple hours later, they finally made it home.

Buck kept his promise. He spent the rest of the evening showing Eddie just how much Eddie meant to him with every touch, every kiss, every soft word whispered between them.

And sometime later, tangled in the sheets, Eddie cried for the second time that day, overwhelmed by the amount of love he felt between the two of them.

____________________

It was midmorning on a Sunday. Chris was at a sleepover until later that night, which meant Buck and Eddie got to sleep in a little later than usual. When they both finally woke up, they spent an indeterminate amount of time simply making out, never going further than lingering kisses and mouths pressed to necks. Afterwards, Buck made them a breakfast of pancakes and bacon, which they ate in bed, before migrating out to the couch. A documentary was playing on the tv, but Eddie was distracted.

This entire time, Eddie had been hiding something from Buck.

“Would you be upset with me if I already ordered our centerpieces for the reception?” Eddie finally broke, right after Buck had lifted his coffee mug to his lips and taken a sip.

Buck choked, coffee dribbling down his chin as he coughed. He sat forward, sliding his mug onto the coffee table.

Eddie handed him a napkin, a sheepish look on his face. “Sorry, bad timing.”

Grabbing the napkin, Buck wiped his chin, still coughing. He shook his head, waving his hand around in a meaningless gesture.

When he finally caught his breath, Buck looked at Eddie for a long moment. “You already ordered our centerpieces?”

Eddie nodded, wringing his hands nervously. “I know you had a whole spreadsheet about the different florists in LA, but I was driving home from shift the other day and passed by one and I just–I stopped in because I couldn’t stop thinking about that first bouquet of flowers I ever got for you and how much you love tulips and I just thought that would make really pretty centerpieces–”

“Sweetheart. Breathe,” Buck interrupted, nodding encouragingly at Eddie.

Following Buck’s instructions, Eddie sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Sorry. I got carried away.”

Buck chuckled. “A little. Tell me again, but slower this time.”

“I was driving home after shift the other day and I found myself thinking about our first date,” Eddie started. “Remember I got you that bouquet of tulips, baby breath, and eucalyptus?”

“As if I could forget,” Buck said. “You remember that?”

“Of course I do. It was our first date.”

Buck softened. “It was a good date.”

Eddie held his hand up, pointing to his ring. “It was an excellent date.”

Grinning, Buck held his own hand up, admiring his ring. “It really was.”

“Anyway,” Eddie continued, “I passed by this florist and then it just–well, I think something might’ve possessed me for a minute because one minute, I’m telling the florist about that bouquet and how I want something similar for our wedding decor, and the next, I’m handing over my credit card to pay for centerpieces for our wedding.”

Buck didn’t say anything for a long moment. He just stared at Eddie.

Eddie blew out a breath. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that without telling you. I’ll go call the florist and cancel–”

“Whoa, hey, no,” Buck cut him off. He leaned back against Eddie, setting his hand on Eddie’s knee. “I’m not mad. Not at all, Eddie.”

“You aren’t?” Eddie asked softly. He wrapped his arm around Buck’s shoulders, pulling him closer.

“Are you kidding?” Buck teased, resting his head against Eddie’s shoulder. “My fiancé still remembers the flowers he got for me on our first date and had centerpieces made with the same flowers because he knew I liked tulips. How could I be upset about that?”

Eddie pressed his lips to Buck’s hair. “I remember everything about our first date, baby. That was one of the best nights of my life.”

“You are such a sap,” Buck murmured, laughing softly. “Don’t ever change.”

“Wasn’t planning on it.” Eddie stroked his thumb across Buck’s bicep. “I think you’re really going to love them, Buck. The florist made a sample centerpiece and it turned out really beautiful.”

Buck hummed. “You’re really beautiful.”

Eddie’s cheeks heated up. “Okay, who’s the sap now?”

“Still you.”

Looking down at Buck, Eddie saw that his eyes had slipped shut. His breathing had already slowed, like the warmth of the couch and Eddie’s embrace was lulling him to sleep. Smiling to himself, Eddie leaned down and pressed his lips against Buck’s temple.

They spent the rest of the day like that, wrapped around each other on the couch and watching documentaries Buck recommended, until it was time to pick Chris up.

____________________

“Eddie. I can’t dance.”

Eddie paused, the knife he was using to slice tomatoes hovering over the cutting board. He glanced over his shoulder at Buck.

Buck was standing in front of the stove, wearing the apron Eddie bought for him for his birthday and holding a spatula in one hand.

Eddie glanced at Chris, who was sitting at the dining table with a coloring book and crayons. He raised an eyebrow at his son, who simply shrugged and went back to coloring.

Setting his knife down, Eddie turned and leaned against the counter. “You can’t dance?”

Buck, who still had his back to Eddie, nodded. “I can’t dance,” he confirmed.

“And this is bothering you on a random Monday night because…?”

Buck sighed, finally turning around. “My students reminded me that I was going to have to dance at our wedding, which obviously I knew, but that also reminded me that I have two left feet.”

Eddie glanced down, looking at Buck’s socked feet. “I see one left foot and one right foot.”

“Eddie!” Buck whined. “It’s an expression!”

Chris giggled. “It’s a silly expression.”

“Guys, this isn’t a joke. Eddie, I think we should take dance lessons before the wedding,” Buck said.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Eddie tilted his head. “Really? It’s that serious?”

“Yes!” Buck insisted. “I can’t make a fool of myself in front of our family! They’ll never let me live it down. Chimney will never let me live it down.”

“Dad can teach you to dance, Buck!” Chris exclaimed.

Buck snapped his head in Chris’s direction. “What?”

“He used to ballroom dance! He can teach you!”

Buck’s head whipped back to Eddie. “Is that real? You were a ballroom dancer?”

Eddie nodded, one corner of his mouth turning up. “It’s real.”

Buck’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “What?” he hissed. “We’re literally getting married and I’m just now finding this out!? You were a ballroom dancer!”

Nodding again, Eddie laughed. “For almost ten years. I started when I was five, quit when I was fourteen.”

“Oh my god, Eddie!” Buck exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Eddie shrugged. “Never came up.”

“Never came up,” Buck echoed. “You spent your childhood in a ballroom and you never thought to mention it.”

“Sorry?”

Buck huffed a laugh. “Great. So I’m going to look like a dork trying to keep up with my rhythmically gifted husband. Awesome. Love that for me.”

Chris giggled. “Just stand on Dad’s toes. That’s what I used to do when we’d dance in the living room, then I didn’t have to do any of the actual dancing!”

“Is that an option? Sweetheart, can I just stand on your toes while you waltz us around?” Buck asked.

“Baby, it’s a little different waltzing my son around on my toes. You’re a grown man. I don’t think that’d work,” Eddie said.

Buck’s bottom lip jutted out. “Is that your way of telling me to lose weight?”

“Oh my god, no,” Eddie insisted, crossing the room to Buck. “I would never. I’m just saying–”

A shit-eating grin lit up Buck’s face. “I knew what you were saying. I just had to mess with you.”

Instead of responding with words, Eddie plucked the spatula out of Buck’s hand and tossed it on the counter. He then grabbed one of Buck’s hands, linking their fingers, and set his other hand on the small of Buck’s back before dipping him backwards.

Buck yelped, instinctively tightening his grip on Eddie’s hand. His other hand flew up, grasping onto Eddie’s shoulder. His eyes grew wide. “Jesus.”

Chris squealed with delight. “See! I told you Dad knows how to dance, Buck!”

Eddie pulled Buck back upright. He pulled Buck close for a moment before pushing him back and spinning him. Buck followed the movements blindly, just letting Eddie guide him. He drew Buck back in, still holding one of his hands while the other settled on Buck’s waist.

“See? You can dance,” Eddie murmured, smiling up at Buck.

Buck let out a breathless laugh. “I’m just following your lead.”

“That’s what dancing is, baby. I’ll lead, you follow. Ready? Step back with your left foot.”

Buck did. Eddie stepped forward with his right.

“Okay, now step forward.”

Buck stepped forward as Eddie took a step back. For a second, their feet brushed together, but then Buck found the rhythm and matched Eddie’s movements.

“You’re doing it, Buck!” Chris shouted. “You’re dancing!”

Buck looked over his shoulder at Chris before dropping his gaze to his feet. “I’m dancing?”

Eddie grinned. “You’re dancing.”

Buck lifted his eyes to Eddie’s, beaming. “I’m dancing. And I haven’t made a fool of myself yet!”

“I knew you could do it, baby,” Eddie murmured. He spun Buck again, just to see the bright grin it brought to Buck’s face. “I didn’t doubt you for a second.”

Buck stopped their movements, lifting his hands to Eddie’s cheeks. He dropped a light kiss to Eddie’s mouth.

“Best teacher ever,” he whispered.

“No,” Eddie mumbled back against his lips. “That's you.”  

“Is dinner almost ready?” Chris asked. “I’m hungry.”

“Oh god,” Buck muttered. “I forgot we were in the middle of making dinner. You are very distracting.”

“Hey, you started this,” Eddie snorted. He dropped his hands off of Buck and went back to the tomatoes he’d been slicing.

It was quiet for a few minutes. Eddie went back to slicing tomatoes, Buck went back to the stove, and Chris sat happily at the table with his coloring pages.

Then Buck said, “Okay, next item on the list. What song are we going to dance to?”

____________________

It was six weeks until their wedding day.

By now, most of the planning was done. They had their venue. They had the menu finalized, both dinner and specialty cocktails. They’d asked Bobby to officiate their wedding, which Bobby had been delighted with. The flowers were ordered, the invitations were sent. They’d picked up their tuxes two weeks ago after the alterations were done.

It just kept becoming more and more real with each day that passed.

Eddie was in the locker room, changing from his uniform back into his civvies. It’d been a long twenty-four hour shift with hardly any downtime, but Eddie was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement.

“How?” Chimney grumbled. “How do you still have energy after this shift?”

Slipping into his jeans, Eddie grinned. “We’re going to pick up our marriage license today.”

Hen chuckled. “Ah, no wonder you’re so…bouncy.”

“Dude, I can barely keep my eyes open,” Ravi muttered. “Like, I’m crashing the second I get home and not leaving my bed for the next twelve hours, and you’re telling me you have to go back out into the public at some point today?”

“I would’ve had to anyway, Rav. How else would Chris get home from school?” Eddie quipped.

“Wait,” Chim interrupted. “Chris is at school, but Buck isn’t? Doesn’t he have a class to teach?”

“He used a vacation day. He had a few left and this was the only day we could get an appointment at the court house to get our license.” Eddie finished buttoning his shirt and hoisted his duffel onto his shoulder. “Anyway, I have to go. We have to be there in an hour.”

Bidding them all a goodbye, Eddie bounded out to the truck and crawled in, luckily managing to avoid the morning rush hour traffic.

When he got home, he parked the truck and made his way inside. The house was oddly quiet, even with Chris already at school for the day. Usually, Buck had music or something playing on the tv while he was home, just for some background noise.

“Buck?” Eddie called into the silence. “I’m home.”

“Back here,” Buck called back, but something was off. It wasn’t the usual bright cadence Eddie was so used to hearing.

Following the sound of his voice, Eddie hurried back to the bedroom. He pushed the door open and found Buck curled up on his side, the covers pulled to his chin. There was an envelope resting on the pillow, right next to his face. Eddie could see dried tear tracks on his cheeks.

Eddie lowered himself onto the mattress, resting a hand on Buck’s hip. “Hey, baby. Are you okay?”

Buck sniffled, turning his head on the pillow to face Eddie. His eyes were red-rimmed. “The envelope,” he muttered. He jerked his chin toward it, giving Eddie permission to look.

Eddie grabbed it and flipped it around to look at the front.

Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Buckley.

Eddie’s heart dropped into his stomach. He pulled out the contents of the envelope, the wedding invitation and the RSVP card. His eyes darted to the bottom of the RSVP card.

Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Buckley politely decline their invitation.

No way.

There was no way Buck’s parents had declined their invitation to their son’s wedding.

“They’re not coming,” Buck whispered, his voice thick. “I should’ve known.”

Eddie felt his heart crack.

“Baby…” he murmured, tearing his eyes away from the invitation and looking at Buck. “I–I’m so sorry.”

Buck shook his head, fresh tears springing into his eyes. “It’s fine. I should’ve known not to get my hopes up.”

“No, Buck, don’t say that. They’re your parents. They should want to be there. They should want to see their son get married.”

Letting out a laugh that had no humor in it, Buck pushed himself upright. “I haven’t been their son for a long time, Eddie. I shouldn’t have expected this to change their minds about me.” He laughed again, his tears running over. “I just thought–I thought maybe it’d be different this time.”

Eddie dropped the invitation onto the floor. He reached out, grabbing Buck’s hand tightly with his own. “Baby, you’re not wrong for getting your hopes up, okay, this isn’t your fault.”

“No, this is my fault, Eddie. I knew they didn’t care about me and I sent the invitation anyway,” Buck argued. He blinked rapidly, but it did nothing to stop his tears. “It’s just–they’re my family, them and Maddie. They’re the only family I have and they don’t want to be here.”

Thinking about Buck’s parents opening the invitation, realizing it was a wedding invite for their son, and still choosing to decline it made Eddie’s blood boil.

When they first started dating, Buck had told Eddie that both of his parents were only children. That meant there were no aunts and uncles, no cousins, no other family. It was literally only Phillip, Margaret, Maddie, and Buck. Eddie knew that they’d once been a family of five, but then Daniel passed and it’d changed their family dynamic forever.

And the fact that Buck still tried to extend an olive branch, he still sent the wedding invite with the hope that his parents would set aside their differences for one night…

God, Buck had really spent his entire life loving people who never loved him back.

But, Buck saying that Phillip and Margaret were his only family…well, that simply wasn’t true. Not anymore.

“Baby, look at me,” Eddie said, gentle but firm.

Buck lifted his head, meeting Eddie’s gaze.

Eddie held Buck’s hand with both of his, squeezing it. “Your parents are not your only family, Buck. You have us. Chris and me. We’re your family.”

Buck's nose scrunched, still trying desperately to stop his tears. “I know that, Eds, but I–”

“No, let me finish because I think you need to hear this,” Eddie interrupted. “You also have everyone at the station. Bobby and Athena. Hen and Karen. Ravi. Maddie, Chimney, Abuela, and Pepa. My parents. All those people. They all love you. They all choose you. I choose you. And I'm going to keep choosing you for the rest of our lives, baby.”

A quiet sob slipped from Buck’s mouth. He tipped forward, his forehead dropping against Eddie’s shoulder. Eddie wrapped his arms around Buck, holding him as he cried into Eddie’s shirt.

“I love you so much, baby,” Eddie whispered into Buck’s curls. “So many people love you and want you in their lives.”

Eventually, Buck’s tears slowed and came to a stop. He pulled away from Eddie, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cry like that,” Buck mumbled. “It just…I opened it after dropping Chris off at school and it just hit me, I guess.”

Eddie dipped his head, catching Buck’s eyes. “Don’t apologize, baby. It’s okay to be sad about this. And for the record, I am really sorry.”

Buck shot a wobbly smile at him. “I’m really happy I met you, Eds. Thanks for sharing your family with me.”

Eddie softened. He leaned forward, brushing his hand along Buck’s jaw, and pulled him into a kiss. Buck’s lips were salty and a little chapped.

“You’re never going to be alone, Buck,” Eddie whispered after the kiss broke. “Never again.”

Nodding, Buck closed the distance between them this time. He kissed Eddie softly once, twice, three times before sitting back.

“I love you,” he murmured.

Eddie grinned, swiping his thumb under Buck’s eyes and brushing away the lingering tears. “I love you too. You gonna be okay?”

“Yeah,” Buck nodded. “I’ll be okay.”

“Alright. What do you say we go pick up our marriage license, then? Your parents don’t get to steal this day from us,” Eddie said. “And then after that, I'm going to treat my beautiful fiancé to breakfast at his favorite spot.”

Buck lit up, his blue eyes shining behind the redness. “Angelina’s?”

“Angelina’s,” Eddie echoed.

By the end of the day, Buck was smiling again. It wasn’t the usual bright grin that Eddie loved with the hurt of his parents rejection still lingering, but it didn’t seem to weigh on him as heavily as it had this morning.

And as they worked on writing their vows next to each other on the couch, Eddie made sure to include that he would always, every day for the rest of their lives, choose Buck.

____________________

A few days later, Buck came into the house, carrying the mail in his hands. 

"Hey," he started, handing an envelope to Eddie. "It's from Adriana."

Eddie's stomach sank. He took the envelope and started at it for a long moment, preparing himself for her rejection. 

"Do you want me to open it?" Buck asked softly, sitting on the couch beside him. He set his hand on Eddie's knee, brushing his thumb back and forth. 

Clearing his throat, Eddie shook his head. "Uh, no. I can." He ripped the envelope open and pulled out the contents. His eyes flicked to the bottom of the RSVP card.

Adriana Diaz graciously accepts her invitation.

Eddie blinked. And then he blinked again.

The card still said the same thing.

Adriana Diaz graciously accepts her invitation.

Eddie turned to Buck, showing him the card. "Does that–am I reading that right?" His voice cracked. "Did she really accept the invitation?"

Buck nodded slowly, looking between Eddie and the card. A slow smile grew on his face. "Yeah, sweetheart. She did."

"She's coming," Eddie breathed. "Adri's coming to our wedding. Holy shit."

Holy shit.