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spencer-sweets · 2 months

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9-1-1 Fic Recs | Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz

there are definitely better compilations of fics out there for this ship but im gonna throw my two cents into the pot anyways. these are just my personal favorite fics that i remember from my most recent stint into this fandom and is by no means attempting to be the end-all-be-all of buddie fic recs.

still by brewrosemilk Teen+ 9,367 For the first time, Buck longs for a bullet wound to treat. Dirt to dig at. A door to break through. Something. There’s nothing. “Your guess was correct, Diaz,” the bomb technician tells them, as he gestures to the orange circle. “You’re standing on a large sensor plate, wired to a detonator. It’s incredibly important that you don’t move. Don’t shift. When you put your weight down, it was like cocking a gun - you take your weight off, this thing is powerful enough to take the entire house with it." Inspired by Castle, S05E22: Still

ugh the angst and the 'one person thinks the other is about to die' trope - hit me hard.

There’s an ache in you (put there by the ache in me) by goforeddie Mature 50,109 ‘’Do you believe that being here is a mistake?’’ Those are the first words their therapist, Stephanie, has said in the last ten minutes. Before that, complete silence. The room has a dimmed light on, the walls are a lovely beige, and there are two couches, one directly in front of the therapist’s chair and the other across the room next to the door. It’s the couch you go to when you only observe a session as a guest. When you’re not here to dig inside your brain and spill guts out. Buck and Eddie are not seated on that couch. They’re on the other one, the big dark navy one with the two pillows on it. They’re not here in support of someone else or anything like that, they’re here for them. They’re here because approximately ten weeks ago, Eddie got shot. OR : the buddie couple therapy fic where, following the events of Eddie getting shot, both him and Buck are forced by the department to go through mandatory couple therapy.

im glad someones sending them to therapy. both of them need to learn how to communicate - even if there are some bumps in the road.

gave me no compass, gave me no signs (were there clues I didn't see) by Kwills91 Explicit 55,596 Eddie Diaz is finally opening himself up to the idea of dating again when a call ends with a building collapse and trapped inside with Buck, both men have realisations about how they want to move forward. But as Buck helps Eddie recover can either of them find the courage to tell the other how they feel. *** Takes place shortly after the events of 6x14

hurt/comfort + feelings realization + getting together = a good time

like a dog with a bird at your door by fleetinghearts Explicit 51,169 The kid with blood pouring down his shins is not so far from the dog lonely enough that he thinks breaking his housetraining is worth it for the ten minutes of berating that come with it, the ten minutes of undivided, if reluctant, attention. Buck thinks, sometimes, that at least he wasn’t the kind of puppy that gets put in a sack and drowned at birth. He wasn’t always unwanted. And he isn’t anymore. or, evan “i love you like a dog” buckley has only ever known how to love like, well, a dog, but maybe eddie diaz is the kinda guy to give a flea-bitten mongrel a forever home

buck introspective fic on the way he experiences love for those around him and how he often feels unfufilled in his relationships - until eddie.

let the world have its way with you by fleetinghearts Explicit 54,477 “It’s just that—I died,” Buck continues, voice unsteady enough that Eddie wonders if this is the first time he’s acknowledged that out loud. “I died, and there’s so much more. There’s so much more I want to do, things I don’t even know I want to do yet, and I almost had the chance to have and live them taken away. I don’t want to die and regret missing out on everything else, Eddie.” “So let’s make a list,” Eddie says. “Let’s do them.” or, a bucket list that’s really about buck needing to make a change and an eddie who’s ready to do anything to see him fall in love with life again. it takes some crossing off for eddie to realise—the thing at the top of the list in his own heart? it’s been right here all along

i really enjoyed this bucket-list fic and how much love eddie puts into fulfilling buck's wishes.

Evan Buckley & The Coma-Verse of Madness by Daisies_and_Briars Explicit 57,964 After being struck by lightning on a call, Buck experiences a plethora of alternate realities showing him different directions his life could have taken. Fighting hard to get home, Buck learns what, or who, is important to him in every lifetime. Inspired by a mix of Marvel multiverses and The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.

this is my all time favorite buddie fic - and it is also my favorite its a wonderful life fic. i think this did a good job of addressing buck's insecurities and self deprecation through showing him the reality of what he thinks he wants or what he thinks is best. each place teaches him something and he really does grow by the end.

every single thing to come (has turned into ashes) by imdarlenescousin Mature 66,631 “Don’t you want to get back out there, though?” Buck asked. “I mean, you kept asking about my couch, but what about you?” “I’ve had a couch this whole time,” Eddie countered. “A metaphorical couch.” “The hell is a metaphorical couch?” Chimney asked Hen and Ravi under his breath, earning only a shrug and raised eyebrows in response. - Or, Eddie starts dating, makes some friends, makes some realizations, and makes a serious offer.

demisexual eddie, friends to fiances trope, and couch metaphors...

Next To Me by emquin Teen+ 93649 Buck and Eddie started off in different places but eventually they ended up in the same. Eventually, they ended up in love. Told from Buck and Eddie’s perspectives, a canon-compliant take on Buddie and how they could realistically get together. - Buck had never had a friend like Eddie before. Someone that burrowed under his skin and wrapped around him and became a part of him — like an extra limb, someone he couldn’t do without. - He loved him. Eddie loved him. Eddie was in love with him. With Buck. With his best friend. But it didn’t matter…loving him meant that the only thing that mattered was being able to keep him in any possible way even if that meant that Eddie could never tell him.

this fic has eddie coming to terms with his sexuality and also has a good dose of the diaz family in it as well.

The Space Between Sleep by Tattered_Dreams Teen+ 111,697 As weeks pass after the Tsunami, Christopher has Eddie to help him deal with the scars it left behind. He also has Buck. Buck's dealing with his own demons, but he has both of them. Eddie's trying to keep them all together and finding out his family might not be as small as he thought. The 118 have their few cents to add, too, because don't they always. | Canon through 3x03 | Complete | Depictions of trauma, some more detailed than others |

nice post-tsunami fic with tons of christopher - who am i to complain.

An Exercise in Patience by Klaerenn Mature 133,032 Instead of quietly accepting Eddie's decision to leave the 118, Buck decides to do everything he can to make him change his mind and come back, even if it means waiting at his door every other day of the week until he accepts. Meanwhile, Eddie is frantically trying to hold on to the last bits of control he has over his life as his old coping mechanisms fail him. He's left to manage his son's needs and Buck's reaction and eventually has to wrestle with the fact that he can't keep it up forever. As they both realize that healing takes time, Buck and Eddie have to learn to navigate their new normal and to deal with their lives apart and together.

a great fic about healing and growth and how those processes aren't always linear - and how sometimes you hurt each other during the process.

What's love got to do with it? by ColorMeParanoid Explicit 134 079 "Hear me out," Buck said. "Clearly, both of us are sick of dating other people. And we're a good fit, in pretty much every way that matters. So what if we're not in love? We don't need to be in love to be happy together." Eddie frowned. "So basically, we'd be boyfriends, without benefits?" "Yes!" Buck snapped his fingers. "Like platonic boyfriends! We'd get all the benefits of a relationship and none of the heartbreak." And maybe Eddie had finally lost his mind, or maybe it was from all the alcohol clouding his judgment, but the idea of it didn't sound half as crazy as it should have. *** After Buck’s and Eddie’s dates both end with disasters – proving once again that maybe dating just wasn’t meant for them – they decide to simply settle for each other. If there was one person in the world they'd ever trust with their hearts, it was each other. And who was a better person to date other than your very own best friend?

this fic was cute and a fun read. the pining and lack of communication is great in this reverse friends with benefits (boyfriends with no benefits???) situationship they have going on here.

Hold Steady, Hold Steady by thetalee Mature 172,701 After Eddie's bombshell announcement on Christmas, Buck runs away and finds himself back on his first day on the job. A time-travel fix-it fic of sorts, ft. a stranger that totally just wants to help, honest.

this was a really good time travel/alternate dimension fic that actually managed to wrap up well. as i said in my bookmark, "one of the best buddie fics I've ever had the pleasure of reading. really a mindfuck sometimes and I was anxious I wouldn't like the ending but I loved it so much."

i may come back and update this in the future - especially once s8 comes out.

originally posted: 8/13/2024

#911 abc #911 show #buddie #evan buckley #evan buck buckely #evan buckey x eddie diaz #evan buckley/eddie diaz #eddie diaz #fic rec

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jiminthestreets-bonesinthesheets · 2 years

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Operation Christmas Miracle

Fandom: 9-1-1 Rating: General Pairing: Buddie, Eddie Diaz x Evan ‘Buck’ Buckley AO3 Masterlist

Summary: The team is tired of watching Eddie and Buck endlessly pine over each other, and decide that this is the year those two are finally going to get together. So they make a few bets on how exactly they think that might happen, and it all comes down to who will be right, or will Buck and Eddie continue to be as clueless as ever?

*** MY WORK IS NOT TO BE POSTED ON ANY OTHER SITE WITHOUT MY EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION. THOUGH REBLOGS AND COMMENTS ARE SUPER LOVED AND APPRECIATED! THANKS FAM!***

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A/N: Merry Christmas Everyone!!! I hope everyone had the best Christmas, I hope you were all spoiled and also did some spoiling in return. Tell me in the comments if Santa was good to you, I’d love to hear how everyone’s day went <3 And this is the last of the Buddie Ficmas 2022 prompts! It has been so much fun writing these and sharing them with you guys. And, since it was well received I was considering the possibility of a Valentines day series, so if anyone is interested in that please let me know. As well, if you have any prompts you’d like to suggest for it add them to the comments, or if your shy send me a DM or drop it in my ask box. I also write for many other fandoms, so if there’s something you’d like to suggest for another pairing, let me know which one and I will let you know if I write for them. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed Buddie Ficmas 2022, and as always, thanks for reading <3

~~~~~~~~~~

“It's happening guys,” Chim said from where they were all standing in the kitchen, watching Buck and Eddie getting all close and cuddly on the couch, “if they don't get together this Christmas, I'll eat my turnout gear.”

“They have been extra touchy feely over the last few weeks haven't they?” Hen added.

“And it's only been getting worse as it's gotten closer to Christmas.” Chimney continued to watch them as he leaned his elbows onto the counter. “You know, I bet it happens when they decorate the station's Christmas tree next week. It'll probably happen when Buck goes to put the star on top, walks up the ladder a few steps, he'll reach up with the star and just as he hooks it into the top of the tree he'll lose his balance and fall back. But Eddie will be there to catch him. And while they're staring into each other's eyes, the lights on the tree will turn on just as they lean in and finally kiss. It'll be so romantic.”

“Nah,” Hen shook her head as she leaned forward onto the counter top to join him, “I think it'll happen under the mistletoe. Buck walking one way, Eddie walking the other, and then oh! What's that above their heads but a sprig of mistletoe? And now they have to kiss because it's a Christmas tradition. So as the platonic friends they think they are, they'll both lean in for a simple, meaningless peck on the lips. But then as their lips touch they'll feel the spark that's been between them all this time, and they won't be able to resist pulling back in for a kiss filled with such passion, and they won't be able to keep their hands off each other after that.”

“It's going to happen when they decorate the tree, hands down, there is nothing more romantic than that,” Chim said, pointing a finger at where Buck had just leaned even further into Eddie to lay his head on his shoulder, “mark my words, Hen.”

“What do you two say we make this a little more interesting?” Bobby asked.

They both turned to where he was now leaning on the counter beside Hen, who asked, “Like a bet?”

He nodded and both of them seemed to light up at the idea, so he stood and gestured them away from the counter and said, “Secret meeting in my office, now.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Alright,” Bobby said, waving the marker in his hand and gesturing to the white board behind him, “we have filled out our guesses on the whiteboard as to how we think Buck and Eddie are finally going to get together this Christmas. The guesses are as follows. First up we have Chimney.” He pointed to the far left side of the board written in green marker. “Chim has guessed that it will happen when they decorate the tree, at our station Christmas potluck on the twenty-second, or when the whole team goes ice skating next week.

“Next up, Hen.” He moved to the right to point to the writing in orange. “For Hen we have under the mistletoe, the ‘Toys for Tots’ fundraiser, or Christmas movie night at the Wilson’s place.

“Next, Athena, because I called her and she wanted in.” He moved again to point to the blue writing. “She thinks it'll happen either at the Christmas parade or the day we work at the shelter helping to feed the homeless.

“And last but not least, me.” He pointed this time to the red writing on the far right side of the board. “I’m guessing gingerbread house competition or when they open each other's gifts.”

Hen and Chim both looked over the board with a satisfied nod, then Chim said, “If one of us doesn't get it right with a single one of these guesses, I'll also eat my hat.”

“It's gotta be one of these, and it has to be this year,” Hen agreed, “cuz I'm getting tired of watching those two endlessly fawn over each other.”

“Now, for the rules,” Bobby said and turned away from the board and back to them, “if Buck and Eddie are put in one of these situations we have written down, and nothing happens between them, your guess gets scratched off the board and you surrender twenty dollars to the ‘Operation Christmas Miracle’ jar.” He pointed to a jar on his desk that had those exact words roughly scrawled across it in black marker. “And if someone gets it right and Buck and Eddie finally get together in the situation of one of the guesses on the board, then the person who made that guess gets all the money in the jar. But it has to happen before Christmas, or no one gets the money. Are we clear?”

They both nodded, then Bobby quickly added, “And Buck and Eddie cannot know about any of this, or the whiteboard. Otherwise we'll be looking at another three hundred and sixty-five days of pining and heart eyes from the both of them, and I really don't want to deal with that for another year.”

“Agreed,” they both said in unison.

“Alright,” Bobby put the marker down and clapped his hands together, “then let Operation Christmas Miracle begin!”

~~~~~~~~~~~

First up was Chimney’s guess. The day after they had initiated Operation Christmas Miracle, Buck and Eddie were scheduled to decorate the tree together. So Chimney was obviously standing back and watching them, not so stealthily hiding behind one of the trucks in the bay. He didn't care that there wasn’t even any money in the jar yet, he just wanted to be right.

“Who taught you how to decorate a Christmas tree?” Eddie asked with a laugh.

“What's wrong with it?” Buck asked, waving his hands at his designated side of the tree. “I think it looks perfect.”

Eddie stepped over to Buck’s side. “You have to spread it out, you've got it all clumped together in one spot.” Then he pointed to one particular branch in the middle. “And you've hung two ornaments on the same branch.”

“I…” Buck looked to where he was pointing and laughed, “Yeah, okay, I see it. But I think it still looks great, the most perfect Christmas tree there ever was.”

“Buck, spread it out,” Eddie laughed and reached over to grab an ornament from his side but Buck stopped him, grabbing him from behind and lifting him up and away from the tree.

“How dare you touch my side of the tree!”

The two of them were giggling hard as Eddie kept trying to reach for the tree while Buck held him back. Eventually Eddie just gave in and let Buck decorate his side of the tree in pure chaos, a giddy feeling bubbling up inside him everytime he looked over at Buck.

Once all the ornaments were placed on the tree, Eddie looked inside the box and pulled out the last thing, the star. “Buck, you wanna do the honours?”

“I sure do,” he smiled and reached for the step ladder.

Chim watched from his place hidden behind the truck and couldn't believe his eyes. It was happening, just as he had said it would, these two idiots were going to finally realize they were in love and he was going to win the bet! But first, Buck needed to fall so Eddie could catch him and the sparks could fly.

He looked around to make sure he was alone, and thankfully found no one, so he started slowly sneaking forward. Buck was just reaching up to put the star on top, Eddie's hands hovering just behind his back, it was all lined up so perfectly Chim couldn't believe his luck. As soon as Buck let go of the star and was just about to take the two steps back to the ground, Chim made his move and gave the ladder a gentle nudge as he walked past, effectively knocking Buck off balance and landing him perfectly in Eddie's arms.

Chim stood back again and watched. The two of them were staring at each other, leaning closer and closer, they were so close, almost there-

“That tree looks great you guys!”

Chim turned to the source of the interruption to find Carla and Chris walking into the station, and immediately Buck and Eddie pulled away. Buck dropped from Eddie's hold and they both walked over to Chris and Carla, the moment having passed.

“Son of a bitch… I was so close.”

“So close and yet,” Bobby said, walking up to stand beside him with his arms crossed and a smirk, “no cigar. And now I believe you owe the jar twenty bucks, as per the rules.”

Chimney just grumbled as he pulled out his wallet and angrily shoved a twenty at Bobby, who took it with a smile, then walked off to his office to add it to the jar and scratch the first casualty off the white board.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Then there was Hen. Her original guess was that their first kiss would happen under the mistletoe, and who was to blame her if she gave them a little bit of a push in the right direction.

The first thing she tried was putting mistletoe in every doorway of the station that she could find, now she only had to get them to cross under it at the same time so she could call them out on it. Easier said than done apparently.

The first time she tried did not go as planned. She found Eddie upstairs, sitting alone on the couch, and a quick look over the railing found Buck in perfect position in the locker room, sitting on a bench. Now all she had to do was maneuver them strategically into place under the mistletoe she hung on the locker room door, so she plopped herself down on the couch beside Eddie.

“Hey, Eddie, Buck’s looking for you,” she said as innocently as she could manage to sound, even though she was already giddy with her inevitable win incoming.

He put his phone down and looked up to her, “Alright, I'll go find him, thanks.”

“He's in the locker room.” Eddie nodded to her, then walked past her and down the stairs.

As soon as he was out of sight she whipped out of her seat and knelt down to watch over the railing, trying not to get caught. She waited until Eddie was almost down the stairs and about to cross the bay, then she called Buck. He picked up on the second ring.

“Hey, Hen, what's up?”

She could still see him sitting in the locker room with his back to her, and Eddie was almost there. Perfect timing. “Eddie’s looking for you, he's up in the kitchen waiting.”

“Alright, I'm coming.”

He hung up and Hen sat back to watch the magic happen, two more seconds and they would both be under the mistletoe.

“Ah, Eddie.” Bobby walked across the bay toward Eddie, and Eddie stopped, then turned away from the locker room to head toward Bobby. “I might have a solution for that problem you mentioned to me, we can talk outside.”

Hen watched them walk out through the bay doors together, then back over to where Buck was walking through the locker room. “No, no no, this wasn't supposed to happen!” She whined, and then the opportunity was lost, both Buck and Eddie were walking in opposite directions and the plan was a failure.

She slowly sunk down against the railing and sulked for a moment. Damn, she thought she'd had it.

“Hen…” She looked up and saw Buck standing over her, one brow raised. “Where is Eddie?”

Oh, right, she did tell him Eddie was in the kitchen. “He left.”

“Do you know what he wanted me for?”

She just waved him off as she stood and headed for the couch. “I don't think it was important, baby, I wouldn't worry about it too much.”

The second time she tried really didn't end up going much better then the first. This time she tried using the ambulance as bait. She had both the back doors open with some mistletoe hung on the top, now she just needed the boys. And as if it was a gift from the heavens, both of them just so happened to be walking by.

“Hey, do one of you mind doing me a favour?” She asked them with a smile, and both of them walked over to her, none the wiser to her ulterior motives. “Can one of you just reach in there and grab that basket on the right side?”

“Sure thing,” Buck nodded and reached in to grab the basket, and Eddie started to walk away towards the stairs.

“Eddie, could you also reach in and grab the glove dispenser so I can refill it?”

“Yeah, no problem-”

“I can get that for you, Hen, I'm closer than Eddie.” Her eyes darted around to see Chimney slinking up beside her and leaning into the ambulance with Buck. This was not what she wanted, why did he have to be so goddamn sneaky. Eddie was right there, all he had to do was stay out of the way and this whole bet would have been over. But of course, Chimney the oblivious had to get in her way.

“Uh…” Hen turned back to Eddie who was looking up with a very confused look on his face, mixed with a bit of… was that jealousy?

Hen followed his gaze and realized he had noticed the mistletoe hanging from the ambulance… which was now situated right overtop of Buck and Chimney. She quickly reached up and grabbed it away, hiding it behind her back. Eddie shot her another confused glance and she just shook her head and walked away.

The third time, you'd think, would be the charm. Such was not Hen’s luck it would seem. This time she decided to go simple, to literally take matters into her own hands. So now here she was, with the boys exactly where she needed them, so it was now or never.

Buck and Eddie were sitting on the couch, much the same as they always were lately with Buck’s head resting on Eddie’s shoulder, and Hen was slowly creeping up behind them. She had a sprig of mistletoe in her hand, and if she couldn't catch them under the mistletoe by literally holding it over them, then she quit.

She was just a few steps from the couch, about to lift her arm and make the announcement that they now had to kiss, when the damn alarm went off and both of them jumped off the couch and ran down the stairs.

Hen threw the mistletoe up in the air and threw out her hands, “That's it, I surrender!”

“No such luck, huh Hen?” Bobby said from where he had been watching from the kitchen. “And I do believe that's another twenty bucks for the jar.”

She tossed him a twenty from her pocket as she also ran downstairs to hop in the ambulance. Damn, this was going to be harder than she thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Chimney was up again with another guess of his coming up, ice skating. Every year Bobby rented out an ice rink for a few hours so the team could enjoy some skating time with each other and their families.

Buck and Eddie had both spent the first half of skating helping Christopher. Buck had run off and gotten one of the skating aids from the rink employees for Chris, and Buck had skated behind Chris the whole time, making sure he didn't fall, while Eddie pulled them around the rink. Chris had a blast, the entire team loved watching him laugh and skate around with everyone, but skating was a tiring event. So after about an hour Chris opted to head back to the dressing room with Athena and some of the other kids, happy with the promise that after they had all changed out of their skates, Athena would buy them hot chocolate and cookies.

That left Buck and Eddie time to skate on their own, and now that the skating aid had been returned to the rink employee and Buck was no longer able to secretly use it to hold himself up while helping Chris, he was suddenly looking like Bambi on ice.

“Buck, come on,” Eddie waved to him where he was now heavily leaning on the boards.

“Yeah, yeah, I'm coming, one second,” Buck smiled back at him, trying to push himself back up to be fully standing, then pushed himself softly away from the boards. But to everyone's amusement both of his feet flew out from underneath him, and he was on his back before he even knew what had happened.

Eddie couldn't help but laugh, and he was in such hysterics that he couldn't even reach a hand down to help Buck up. “Do you want me to go get the skating aid back for you?”

“Oh, ha ha, very funny,” Buck said as he sat up, his back now sore and cold.

“Were you using it to hold yourself up the entire time you were helping Chris?”

“Maybe,” he answered, a bit of pink to his cheeks that wasn't from the cold of the rink, “I'm not good at skating, alright. Why do you think last year I just opted to hang out with the kids who didn't want to skate.”

“Why didn't you just tell me?” Eddie reached down to help him up and guide him over to the boards for some extra support.

“It's a little embarrassing. I’m good at everything, as you know, and skating should be easy but it's not.”

“It is easy, Buck. Here, I'll teach you,” Eddie said, then backed up a bit to hold his hands out to Buck, “take my hands.”

Buck slowly and cautiously took Eddie's hands one at a time, worried he was going to fall again and make an even bigger fool of himself, then Eddie was guiding him along the rink. “All you have to do is push side to side and then glide. Super easy.”

Buck tried, and epically failed, landing himself on his butt again and almost managing to take Eddie down with him. “Yeah, super easy,” Buck repeated sarcastically, “except for the whole balancing thing.”

“Okay, up and try again.” Eddie helped him up and resumed his position holding Buck’s hands. “Push and glide.”

Buck took all of two steps and nearly face planted that time, thankfully Eddie's solid body caught him before he did. He tried a few more times after that, each one ending in disaster or close to, before Eddie gave up and moved positions to try another tactic.

“Alright, let's try it this way instead,” he said, then rounded Buck to stand behind him. Then suddenly Eddie was pressing himself firmly up against Buck's back, one arm wrapping around him to keep him steady and the other coming to rest on his hip. He spread his legs so his feet were on the outside of Buck’s, in a way almost straddling him from behind, and his chin lifted up to rest on Buck's shoulder. Buck's stomach was filled with so many butterflies he was sure he was going to burst. “Okay, now push off with your right leg, and bend your left leg a bit to let it support your weight, then switch legs. Just let your feet follow mine.”

Buck just nodded, he wasn't quite sure his mouth wouldn’t betray him if he opened it to try and speak, and he let Eddie lead him around the rink. Slowly, one step at a time, Buck was starting to get it. He had a few stumbles and near misses, but by their second loop of the rink Buck was less following Eddie's lead and more just letting his feet take him away. But even though Buck wasn’t seeming to need as much help anymore from Eddie, he still remained plastered behind Buck, locked in place by his arm still firmly wrapped around Buck’s waist. When he turned his head slightly to the left, Eddie's face was so close. So close that he could feel Eddie's breaths puffing out against his cheek.

Hen and Chimney had both stopped their own loops of the rink in favour of watching Buck and Eddie. They both saw how Eddie was wrapped around Buck and both of them thought it was only a matter of time before it happened. And when Buck turned his head, and he and Eddie were just mere inches away, Chimney was lined up for the win. Then Bobby…

“Hey, Buck! Looks like you're getting the hang of it!” Bobby shouted as he aggressively skated past the two of them.

“Uh, yeah, Cap, thanks.” Buck answered and the two of them moved apart.

Damn Bobby! Then Hen and Chim watched as Buck and Eddie opted to skate around the rink holding hands instead, and once again the moment had passed.

“Well, at least they're holding hands,” Hen said with a shrug, “that's good progress right?”

“Normally, yeah it would be, but for them isn't this just normal?” Chimney said. “Last week I’m pretty sure I saw Buck sleeping with his head in Eddie's lap on the couch in the station, hand holding is weak compared to that.”

“Damn these two,” Hen shook her head, “I’m getting ready to just knock their heads together.”

“At this point that might be our only option.” Chim said, then as Bobby made his way to them he reached into his wallet and held out another twenty, Bobby took it as he breezed past.

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Looks like I'm up.” Athena said as they were all standing by the 118 fire truck, everyone getting ready and just waiting for the parade to begin.

“Don't get your hopes up, Athena,” Hen rolled her eyes, “those two idiots are more oblivious than we thought.”

“Well parades are a magical time for everyone, so maybe today will be the day,” she smiled and playfully pulled down her sunglasses, “and unlike you fools, I was smart and called in reinforcements.”

Hen made an ‘oh’ face at her just as the officers that were in charge of starting the parade gave Athena the signal to head out, so she bid them farewell and hopped back in her patrol car to get things rolling. The 118 was right behind her, being driven by someone from B-shift, following soon after.

The parade went fairly well. Everyone had a great time, handing candy and fire hats out to the kids as they went, Buck and Eddie running around with their Santa hats on. But still neither of them had made any indication that today might be the day. Then Athena's voice came over the radio that Bobby had clipped to his belt just in case. “Reinforcements coming in hot!”

They looked up to Athena’s patrol car in front of them, and saw her point her finger out the window and over to the crowd. And oh, she might just be playing dirty with this one.

“Dad! Buck!”

The two of them stopped their jumping around in front of the truck and turned to see Chris and Carla. They both ran over, all smiles and tucked a handful each of candy canes into Chris's jacket pockets before anyone could see.

“Hey, buddy, enjoying the parade?”

Chris laughed, “It just started Buck.”

Yeah” Buck shrugged, “but you've already seen the best part of the whole parade, me and your dad!”

“Buck!” Chris swatted at Buck’s arm when he sat on the curb beside him, with Eddie on his other side. “The best part of the parade is Santa!”

“Well, you've got me there, Santa is pretty great,” Buck laughed.

“Hey, why don't I get a picture of you three all together?” Carla said, then backed up into the road a bit to take a picture with her phone. “Squeeze in together, a cute happily little family.”

They did as she said and she snapped the picture. Then she said, “Okay, how about one where you two kiss each of Chris's cheeks?”

They also did that, effectively making Chris giggle as they did and Carla snapped the picture.

“Hey Carla,” Chris said, “why don't you take some pictures of just Dad and Buck in the parade?”

“That's a great idea, Chris!” Carla said as she returned to her place behind Chris, and Buck and Eddie walked back over to stand on the road to pose for them. “What poses should they do Chris?”

“Hmm…” Chris made it look like he was thinking really hard then said, “What if they wrapped their arms around each other?”

“Yeah, that sounds like a good one,” Carla said and the boys leaned in, arms around each other, “okay, what next Chris?”

“What about a funny one now?”

Carla nodded and the boys both leaned in close, making funny faces at the camera and reaching behind each other to throw up some bunny ears. Both Carla and Chris laughed, then she said, “Okay, one more Chris, then your Dad and Buck should keep going.”

“Okay, a kiss on the cheek then, like my picture.”

“You heard the man,” Carla said and waved her hands at them, ushering them to get closer to each other, “a kiss on the cheek for the last picture.”

Both Buck and Eddie complied to the order, but much to each of their surprise, they both compiled at the same time and ended up nose to nose. They both froze in place, Eddie’s hand on Buck’s waist and Buck's hand resting on his arm. Eddie's eyes glanced down to Buck’s lips when he darted his tongue out to slide across them, and Buck's breath hitched when Eddie took the smallest of steps forward. Then Eddie smiled, closed his eyes and gently rubbed his nose against Buck’s before leaning and saying softly, “Here,” and moved his head to the side to place a chaste kiss on the corner of Buck’s mouth, not quite touching his lips but it was still enough to have Buck all shades of red.

Once he heard the click of Carla’s phone indicating she had taken the picture, he backed away from Buck, held his eyes for a moment, then turned to Chris and Carla. “Okay, buddy, we better get moving before we get left behind.”

“Yeah,” Buck added, sounding a little strained suddenly, “if we finish on time we'll try and make it back so we can watch Santa go by with you.” Then they both gave him a quick hug and skipped off to rejoin the parade, and Carla and Chris both shook their heads in defeat.

Back on the parade route, Chim, Hen and Bobby had all watched the almost kiss unfold, each of them holding their breaths then releasing them in dramatic sighs when it just as quickly fell apart.

“Wow,” Hen shook her head, “these two knuckleheads are insufferable.”

Up ahead of them Athena threw her hand out her window and up in the air in defeat, then called over Bobby’s radio, “I'll give my contribution for the jar when the parade route is over. Damn, I really thought I had it.”

“It was a good try, honey.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

Athena was up to bat again with her last chance at winning. The station gingerbread house competition, and she was determined to get those boys together this time.

“Okay!” Bobby clapped his hands together when he came up the stairs to join them all. “Thank you all for coming in on your day off to participate in the annual gingerbread house competition. So, the rules. We are going to break off into teams of two, which is why Athena agreed to graciously join us today so we could have even numbers. I will pick the team names out of the hat, and once everyone is partnered off we will have two hours to build our gingerbread houses. You can use any of the supplies that come in the kits that have been placed at each of the building stations, or anything that can be found on the kitchen counters. Once the two hours are up, B-Shift will judge, and the winning duo gets a giftcard for a movie night out. Good?”

Everyone nodded their understanding, then Bobby grabbed the fire hat from one of the tables and started pulling names for teams. “Okay, for the first team we have Hen and…. Athena.”

Both women cheered and high fived, then turned and headed for the building station set up on the table in the middle.

“And for the second team we have Eddie and…” Bobby reached in to grab a second piece of paper, and when he opened it the name written on it was Chim. Now, he could just say Chim’s name and have him pair with Eddie since the gingerbread house competition day was not his guess on the whiteboard, but it was his wife's guess and he was a damn good husband. “Buck!”

Buck and Eddie also high fived and then ran to the station on the right side.

“So that leaves me and Chim,” he said and walked over to his table with Chim on the left, “alright, time starts now!”

The initial start of the competition was a bit of a mad house. All three teams ran to the kitchen counters, fighting over the candy, the hersey kisses, the M&M’s, the food colouring. But soon enough everyone was back at their tables, heads down and hyper focused on their tasks at hand. Well, everyone except Athena.

Hen was currently working on putting icing shingles on the roof of their gingerbread house, but Athena had her eyes on the team beside them. Buck was using icing and licorice to put clothes on their gingerbread people, and Eddie was building a peppermint chimney on their roof, but of course neither of them was paying any attention to each other.

Athena shook her head and waved a hand at them. “Completely oblivious idiots, the both of them. How are we going to get those two together?”

Hen looked up and over at the two of them. “I'm starting to think it's never going to happen.”

“It has to happen,” Athena said, “it has to be one of us two girls that win, and this is my last chance. So if I don't win today then it's all up to you.”

“Okay,” Hen said, placing the piping bag of icing on the table, “so what's the plan then?”

Athena took a moment to look around, trying to find something to give her an edge in this competition, then her eyes landed on the icing sugar bowl in front of Hen. Hen followed her line of sight down to the bowl, then looked back up and matched Athena's devilish smirk as she caught onto the plan almost immediately. Athena reached a hand over and coated it in a generous amount of icing sugar, then snuck around Hen to get behind Buck.

Both Buck and Eddie still had their heads down, so neither of them were paying any attention to the other two teams. Which also meant that they didn't notice Athena slip in quietly behind Buck, then rear her hand back and slap it hard on Buck’s left butt cheek, before quickly darting back to her table to act as if she had been there the whole time. Both her and Hen quickly put their heads down, pretending to be hard at work on their own gingerbread house, but really they both had their eyes locked on the two boys beside them.

Buck yelped when a hand smacked hard on his butt. He twisted his body to look down at the offended butt cheek and found what looked like a large muffled white handprint now caked into his black track pants. Then he instantly turned to look at Eddie beside him, eyeing him incredulously. “Okay,” Buck started, a smirk covering his entire face, “that's the game you wanna play?”

Eddie looked up from his now finished peppermint chimney and raised a brow at Buck. “What?”

Buck didn't say anything or clarify Eddie's confusion. Instead he just turned back to the table, finding their own bowl of icing sugar, and dipped both of his hands in and got them nicely coated.

Eddie's eyes widened when he realized what Buck was doing and began to back up a bit. “No, Buck, no!”

Buck just continued to smirk and nodded his head, and when Eddie turned to make a run for it he took his chance and reached out both of his hands to smack both sides of Eddie's butt, ending it with a little squeeze before he pulled back.

Eddie stopped dead in his tracks, then slowly turned back to Buck. “You know what, Buck, yeah, I do wanna play this game.”

Before Buck could so much as blink Eddie had grabbed the entire bowl of icing sugar from the table and dumped it over his head. He was completely covered, his blonde hair now snow white, his eyelashes clumped with it. His shoulders shook as he began to laugh, the icing sugar falling like snow off of his shirt.

“Fine, game on!”

And very quickly the war began. They were blindly grabbing from their table and flinging whatever their hands touched. Piping icing, candies, licorice, peppermints, sprinkles, stray pieces of gingerbread. By the time the two of them were bent over laughing and out of breath, they looked like they had been dipped in icing and dragged through a candy store.

“Alright, alright!” Eddie laughed, hands in the air. “Truce?”

Buck nodded, completely out of breath and holding his now aching stomach. “Yeah, truce.”

They walked over to shake each other's hands, but when they met in the middle, the mess made from their epic battle caused Eddie to slip in some icing and fall backward. His feet swept out from underneath him and in turn he took Buck down with him, landing on his back with Buck ending up directly on top of him. Both of them couldn't help it and once again gave into the giggles.

When they were able to stop laughing and finally get their breathing under control again, Buck found himself very, very close to Eddie. He was still straddling Eddie’s hips, his hands placed on either side of Eddie's face, and Eddie's hands were rested on Buck’s hips seemingly holding him in place. Buck’s breath caught in his throat at the sight of the man beneath him. Even though he was currently covered in about thirty different kinds of candy and a rainbow of icing colours, Buck couldn't deny that he still didn't look as handsome as ever, maybe even more so.

In a moment of bravery Buck decided to lean in, moving closer to Eddie’s face, their noses brushing together and whispered, “You have some icing on your face,” before leaning down to close the gap, his tongue darting out to lick the smudge of icing off the corner of Eddie's mouth. He heard Eddie's breath hitch, felt his hands around his hips tighten, and Buck pulled back to smile down at him, just in time to catch the blush as it crept up Eddie's neck and filled his cheeks.

“Alright,” Buck said, then reluctantly stood and offered a hand down to Eddie, “we have less than an hour to finish our gingerbread disaster.”

Eddie took the offered hand and let Buck help him up, and both of them casually went back to their table to continue their work, as if nothing had even happened.

Athena stood in complete and utter shock while she watched the two of them pick up right where they left off, as if Buck hadn't just licked Eddie's face right in front of their very eyes. “Un-be-leivable! That's it, I quit,” she shook her head, turning away from them both, “I'm out. It's all up to you now, Hen.”

Hen groaned beside her, “It's useless. How do they not know they are totally in love with each other?! Operation Christmas Miracle is going to need an even bigger miracle to get this started. This whole thing is completely hopeless.”

“I'm holding out for Christmas movie night next week. I think you've got a winner there.”

“Dear god, I hope you're right.”

“Ladies,” Bobby said as he walked over to lean on the table beside Athena, “looks like we have another failed guess. Shall I take your twenty for the jar?”

Athena grumbled unhappily under her breath and reluctantly gave up her money, which Bobby quickly took and tucked into his jacket pocket before waving a hand and getting Buck’s attention, “Hey Buck, I have some information for you about that thing we were talking about last week, I printed it off for you so make sure you grab it before you leave today.” Buck nodded and gave Bobby a quick thumbs up, and Bobby looked him over once trying to hold back a laugh. “Nice hair.”

Buck gave his head a quick shake, making Bobby laugh as mountains of icing sugar avalanched out of his hair and over his shoulders. Then Bobby turned with one last smile and a quick wink to the girls before heading back to his table with Chim.

Athena looked suspiciously between her husband and Buck, pointing between the two of them as she asked, “What do you think that was all about?”

Hen shrugged, “I have no idea, but it could be anything really, Buck is always talking about some kind of weird crazy shit. Just the other day he spent an hour telling me about some kind of bird that can fly for a whole year without ever having to land. It's probably something weird like that, knowing the two of them.”

Athena hummed, “Yeah, you're probably right.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

Movie night was upon them, and Hen and Athena were both hoping they could end this right here, right now.

Athena had gone over to Hen’s place early to help set up, making sure they had laid out everything perfectly, as well as sent out texts to everyone to tell them to come over half an hour earlier than originally planned. That is everyone except Buck and Eddie, after all, they needed some time to set up their plan for the night.

“Hey guys,” Hen said as she opened the door to them, feigning her innocence, “come on in.”

She pulled them inside, took their coats, then walked with them to the living room where everyone else was already settled and waiting. “Also, I'm really sorry but it turns out I didn't have enough bean bags so there's only one left, and all the space on the couch is already taken. I guess you'll have to share, or one of you will have to suck it up and sit on the floor.”

“No problem, Hen,” Eddie answered and plopped himself down on the last bean bag, “we are more than fine with sharing.”

Eddie reached up and grabbed Buck’s hand and pulled him down into his lap. Both Athena and Hen shared a quiet high five when Buck leaned back into Eddie's chest, and Eddie wrapped his arms around Buck’s waist and rested his head on Buck's shoulder. There was a very good chance this could be it!

About halfway through the night, after already having watched Rudolph, Frosty, the Flintstones Christmas Carol, and currently in the middle of Santa Claus is Coming to Town, they hadn't gotten much from either of them. But they were surprised when it came to the end of the movie where Chris and Miss Jessica were married on Christmas Eve, and Buck reached a hand back to slowly run it through Eddie's hair then down to rest on his neck. They were even more surprised when Eddie leaned down and turned his head toward Buck, tightening his hold on him, and unprompted this time, placed a long lingering kiss on Buck’s neck. But unfortunately that was as far as it went.

Hen and Athena were both more transfixed on watching Buck and Eddie than they were the actual movie. And as much as they really wanted to win the competition, at this point they just wanted their boys to get over whatever obstacles they were facing and just be happy.

“Looks like maybe tonight won't be the night after all,” Athena said.

“I guess not,” Hen answered, digging into her bowl of popcorn before adding, “they are cute though, aren't they.”

“Yeah, I just wish they would figure that out for themselves.”

Hen agreed, then they went back to partly paying attention to the movies, but mostly watching their boys.

Movie night ended around early morning, and soon enough everyone was slowly starting to filter out of the house. Hen and Karen stood at the door, seeing everyone off, including Eddie who was all but carrying a very sleepy Buck out and toward his car. Athena and Bobby were the last to leave, and Athena stood with Hen for a moment to watch as Eddie helped Buck into the passenger side, and leaned in to kiss his forehead before closing the door and heading to the drivers side.

They both sighed and admitted defeat, and as Bobby passed her on his way out the door, Hen slapped a twenty in his hand and closed the door with a scowl.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Christmas Eve had finally arrived. Their last three guesses on the white board had been just as much of a bust as the others, so still Buck and Eddie remained no closer to getting together then they were before they started the bet. But Bobby had the last guess remaining, that being the exchanging of their Christmas gifts for each other, so this was his night to shine.

They were all gathered upstairs in the fire house, spread out between the couches and the dining table, when Bobby walked over to them. “Why don't we take advantage of the quiet night and exchange gifts?”

Everyones heads perked up and Hen pointed a scolding finger at him. “Bobby, I swear if you just jinxed us I'll be pissed. But yes, let's open presents!”

Bobby laughed but waved it off and said, “let's all grab the gifts and we'll sit at the table together.”

Everyone ran off and was all gathered around the dining table in less then five minutes. Bobby got the first round of exchanges started, everyone passing gifts around the table, Christmas wrapping paper flying everywhere. Hen was laughing at something Chim had given her, which was obviously some kind of inside joke between them, and Bobby and Eddie were shaking hands over their exchanged gifts. It was perfect.

Then Buck caught Eddie's eyes across the table, and with a smile he jerked his head off to the side. Eddie understood the signal, and while the other three were currently caught up in the handmade scrapbook Hen had made for Bobby of pictures taken over the years, they took their chance to quietly escape.

They made their way down the stairs and Buck stopped them in front of the tree he and Eddie had decorated together not too long ago. The glow of the lights made Eddie look even more ethereal then he normally did, and Buck was almost too entranced to remember what he had brought Eddie down here to do.

“So,” Buck started and reached into his pocket, holding out a small wrapped box for Eddie to take, “I wanted to give you your gift, but I wanted it to be just the two of us. It's a little crazy up there.”

Eddie laughed, “Yeah, no kidding. They're louder than Christopher on Christmas morning. But I'm glad we snuck away, because,” Eddie reached into his own pocket and pulled out a small box of his own,” I wanted to give you my gift too.”

They exchanged the boxes, then Buck looked up at Eddie and said, “Okay, you go first.”

“Buck…” Eddie breathed as he stared down at the now opened box in his hands.

“It's called a signet ring,” Buck explained, hands shaking a little nervously as he did, “it's a ring that has your family's crest on it, and everyone in the family is supposed to wear one. Everyone in my family has one for the name Buckley, but I've just never worn it because… because it never really felt like family. But this ring is a little different. Me and Bobby did some research and I was able to find someone who combined our last names for the crest, so that signet ring actually bears the crest for the family name of Buckley-Diaz. I've never felt family the way I do when I'm with you and Christopher, I've never felt so loved, and this was the best way I could think of to explain just how much you both mean to me. And as the tradition goes I have one just the same,” Buck said and raised his hand, revealing the ring that Buck had managed to hide very well all shift, “and I also had one made for Chris. But you definitely don't have to wear it if you don't want to-”

“Buck, of course I'm going to wear it,” Eddie answered, a little teary eyed and slightly choked up, “will you put it on me?” Buck smiled and took the ring from the box, then took Eddie's offered hand and slipped the ring on, caressing it for a moment before letting his hand fall. “You're turn.”

Buck quickly unwrapped the box and opened it, and suddenly he found his throat so tight he couldn't have said any words if he tried.

“It's a St. Christopher medal,” Eddie said, taking a nervous step closer to Buck, “it was really hard to track one down that was the same size and on the same chain as mine, but with Bobby’s help we managed to find one exactly the same. And I know it's not the same as combining our names and making a family crest but, just as the ring does, this medal symbolizes family, Buck. You are a huge part of mine and Christopher's lives and I wanted you to know just how much. I don't know where I would be right now without you, I don't know where Christopher would be without you, and I want to make sure you're a part of our family for a long, long time. I hope you like it.”

Buck still couldn't find it in him to say anything, instead all he was able to do was reach out and run his fingers gently down the gold chain and over the medal.

“Buck…?” Eddie asked, a nervous tinge in his voice.

Buck whipped his head up, tears streaming down his face and finally found his voice, though it was rough and cracked when he spoke. “Eddie, I… you have no idea how much this means to me. Will you put it on me?”

Eddie smiled, relieved that Buck liked the medal, and reached out to take it. Buck turned his back to him and Eddie reached around with the necklace and secured the clasp at the back of his neck. Then he ran his hands across Buck’s shoulders and held him there for a moment, admiring the look of the necklace against his skin, and relished in the thought of the St. Christopher medal that matched his own hanging over Buck's heart. He leaned forward to wrap his arms around Buck, reaching a hand up to lay over the medal as he ran his lips across the chain on his neck, stopping to lay a gentle kiss on it.

“It means the world to me seeing you wear this, Buck,” Eddie whispered against his neck, “I just wanted you to know how much I love you.”

Buck froze for a moment, then turned in Eddie's arms, “You love me?”

“I do, Buck,” he smiled, moving his hands to rest on his hips, “I was just trying to find the right time and the right way to tell you, and this seemed perfect.”

Buck smiled, the tears still streaming down his face but Eddie had never seen him look more beautiful, “I love you too, Eds.”

Eddie beamed and pulled him in closer. Buck wrapped his arms around Eddie's neck and rested their foreheads together, then Eddie leaned in further to close the gap and finally their lips met in a passionate, snow melting kiss. It was everything either of them had ever wanted, and neither of them couldn't think of a happier time than right now, wrapped in each other's arms.

Hen and Chim had long since abandoned the gift exchange table upstairs in favour of leaning over the balcony to watch the scene below unfold. Finally, finally those two had gotten it figured out, it was about damn time. Then the sudden loud crack of something behind them had them both jumping out of their skin and turning around as multicoloured confetti rained down over them.

“Bobby!” Hen exclaimed with a hand clutching her chest. “What the hell was that for?! And where did you get a confetti cracker?!”

Bobby rolled the now empty confetti cracker from hand to hand and said, “I've had this for three weeks now, I was just waiting until I won today to break it out.”

“You…” Hen eyed him suspiciously, “You knew you were going to win, didn't you!?”

“Guilty as charged,” Bobby shrugged, “I may have had a hand on helping Buck and Eddie pick out their gifts for each other, so I knew that once they exchanged them tonight there was no way those two were going to be able to deny any feelings afterward. I only threw in my other guess so you guys wouldn't suspect I was up to something sneaky.”

“You cheated!” Chim yelled.

“Is it considered cheating if I just know my team so well that I can predict the future?” Bobby laughed at Chim’s exasperated expression. “I even have the workplace relationship disclosure paperwork already printed out and sitting on my desk, I even signed it already. I printed it out the same day we wrote up the whiteboard, right after you guys left my office.”

“I can't believe this,” Hen shook her head, but she was also laughing, “Chim’s right, you totally cheated. You had an unfair advantage.”

“Alright, fair enough,” he smiled and held his hands up in surrender, “how about I take the money I won from the Operation Christmas Miracle Jar, and I take all of you out to dinner next week to celebrate Eddie and Buck finally getting their heads out of their asses.”

“Fine,” Hen said with a nod, “but I'm getting lobster, just a heads up.”

Bobby just laughed then the three of them turned to look over the balcony as Eddie yelled up to them, “Hey, what the hell’s is going on up there?”

“Bobby’s taking us all out to dinner to celebrate you two finally making out!” Chim yelled back.

Buck and Eddie just made a face and looked back to each other as the three above them continued to talk about restaurant options. They both just shrugged, not really caring much about whatever was going on upstairs, and since it was clearly already out in the open, they did exactly as Chim had said and went back to their heated makeout session. In both Buck and Eddie's opinions, it was the best Christmas ever.

~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Merry Christmas my lovelies <3

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