#also LET BUCK AND EDDIE HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT THIS GOD

[that-was-tedious]

The fact that she did this is the most unhinged thing EVER. like that is some soap opera shit. You know what would have been a better idea Kim? Suggest that he go to Shannon’s grave and talk to her. But nooooooooo. You had to be psycho. I hope your friends ask you why you changed your hair, you tell them the truth, and they help you with your mental health

whyyyy do people always want to gloss over the reality that eddie did in fact come clean with kim and break things off, and that what christopher walked in on was an inexplicable situation where kim showed up looking like shannon and despite him repeatedly asking her to stop, she pushed at him until he broke? like, just bc other characters have assumed the worst about what occurred doesn’t mean you need to also be ungenerous with him like, we actually have all the facts!!

[saveyourblood]

Pretty Boy - Ch 1 (Evan Buckley x Reader) (Eventual Evan Buckley x Eddie Diaz x Reader)

Summary: You can feel Buck staring. When your eyes meet his, you realize he’s staring at your hand, which is still on Eddie’s knee. You slowly retreat, which makes Buck turn his attention to your face. You smile softly. He just looks out the window. The one where you're an advanced paramedic, Buck and Eddie are firefighters, and you think you might be in love with both of them. Originally posted to AO3

Chapter Summary: Your new(ish) co-worker has a special talent: getting on your nerves.

A/N: This is such a niche story and I am desperate for validation, please tell me if you enjoyed reading! Word Count: 3.5k Warnings: Swearing (if that even counts).

You’re ending the first half of your 24-hour shift the same way you always do—dinner with the team. Well, at least that’s how you try to end the first half of your shift. Of course, that’s also assuming that both the fire and medical teams are actually at the station and not on a call.

All things considered, this probably only happens once a week, if that.

When it works out, though, it’s a good time. You already spend a lot of time in the rig with Hen and Chim, being an advanced paramedic and all. When it comes to the firefighters, though, you aren’t as well-versed, so it’s nice to have a weekly ‘getting to know you’ session. It seems like these days, it’s a 50/50 shot if they’ll make it to next week's dinner.

The firefighting crew at the 118 is a revolving door of macho men. When you first started, it was Chim, Tommy, and Sal. Chim became a paramedic, so he didn’t exactly ‘leave.’ Sal got relieved of duty, so he didn’t really have a choice. Tommy left, but for something better. Maybe it isn’t so much the job that makes people leave; maybe being a firefighter at the 118 is a stepping stone for bigger and better things.

There is one firefighter that, if he left, you wouldn’t be heartbroken. In fact, it would probably make your shifts a whole lot better.

Evan Buckley, aka ‘Buck.’ God, even thinking his name makes you want to gag a little.

He’s a decent kid, but he’s just that: a kid. He’s a Probie; he’s only been on the job for about 4 months, and no one would assume otherwise. His heart is in the right place, but his brain hasn’t caught up yet. You’re starting to fear it never will.

“I know exactly what that polite, distant smile means: she’s bored,” Chim says as he leans over the counter, pulling you right out of your thoughts and back into reality. “This woman is so far out of my league, but she’s once-in-a-lifetime… I can’t let her go.”

“Lots of fish in the sea,” Bobby, your captain, chimes in. He leans over to pull something out of the oven.

“Not with the bait he’s using,” Hen remarks as she walks by. Her arms are full of dishes to set the table with.

“Amen, sister,” you agree, hot on her heels. She gives you a small smile and hands you the plates, which you accept with a smile of your own.

“Cruel, but true,” Chim sighs. “I met her on this new dating site, just for cops and firefighters, RomancingTheUniform.com. She’s an adrenaline junkie, so foreplay is me telling her stories about running into burning buildings and jumping into icy lakes and…”

“I’m sorry, wait,” Hen interrupts, “remind me: when was the last time you ran into or jumped over anything?”

“...I embellish a little.”

“Oh, noted.”

“So is she a cop or a firefighter?” You ask.

Chim gives you a look. “Why would she be?”

“Well, you said the website is for cops and firefighters,” you repeat. “Doesn’t that make her a cop or a firefighter?”

“Okay, it’s not just cops and firefighters,” Chim cedes, “it’s also for people that want to date cops and firefighters.”

“Ohhh,” you smile, “so cops, firefighters, and badge bunnies. What could possibly go wrong?”

“I’m telling you, the uniform is a major aphrodisiac,” Chim continues as he brings a salad to the table.

“Yeah, hence the term ‘badge bunny,’” you remark.

The conversation is interrupted by one of the engines backing into the station. You probably should have noticed it was gone, but frankly, as long as your rig is in the bay safe and sound, you don’t care what the meatheads are up to.

Speaking of meatheads…

“Oh good, PB is back,” you remark sarcastically.

‘PB’, aka ‘pretty boy,’ aka Buck. You started calling him Pretty Boy his first day, and over the months, you shortened it. He jogs his way up the stairs and dips a finger in the communal spaghetti bowl. You roll your eyes and take a sip of your coffee.

“Wash your hands!” Hen scolds as she pulls the bowl out of his reach.

“What if there’d been a call?” Bobby asks as he brings the last dishes to the table.

“I was in the neighborhood!” Buck defends himself. He takes one of the plates from Bobby’s grasp, but instead of passing it around like a normal person, he starts eating the food off the plate with his dirty hands. Sometimes, you wondered if he was raised by a pack of stray dogs.

Bobby starts lecturing Buck, and you smirk with a little satisfaction. Bobby’s going to write him up, and truthfully? It’s a long time coming.

“First infraction, two more, and you’re out,” Bobby says as he steals back the plate. “Wash your hands.”

“You know, you're not helping him by going easy on him,” Chim says once Buck is out of earshot.

“He just needs a little direction,” Bobby replies.

“I’ll remind you of that when he gets us killed,” you mumble.

The alarm bells start to sound through the station. Everyone groans, including yourself. So much for dinner.

Chim decided to catch a ride with the boys in the truck, so that leaves you and Hen in the rig.

“I’m sorry, dispatch,” you say into the radio, “118 RA responding: did you say the baby is in the wall?”

“10-4, 118,” the dispatcher responds. “Caller reports hearing a baby crying in his walls.”

“Copy that, 118 RA clear,” you say before hanging the radio back up. “Well, this will be fun.”

“You think you can play nice with Buck?” Hen asks, a smirk on her face.

“Hey, I’m always nice,” you reply.

“Not to him!” She laughs. “Don’t think I didn’t see you roll your eyes the second he got back to the station.”

“I can play nice and still think he’s a raging idiot,” you defend. “Besides, since when are you his biggest fan?”

“Trust me, I’m not,” Hen chuckles. “And I love you, but you don’t know how to play nice.”

“Why be the bigger person when you can be the bigger problem?”

That remark gets a full belly laugh out of Hen. “Yeah, that sounds like you.”

Hen parks the rig behind the engine in front. The boys come pouring out immediately, grabbing various tools and equipment. You make your way to the back of the ambulance, tossing Hen her med bag before picking up your own.

You follow the rest of the crew upstairs, and before you know it, the five of you are standing in some random guy’s apartment, listening for something that probably isn’t real.

“Look, I'm telling you, I heard a baby crying,” the man says. “Someone flushed a baby down the toilet.”

Hen picks up a bong off the counter and gives the man a look.

“I’m not high.”

You both raise your eyebrows.

“Okay, I’m pretty high, but it’s Sativa,” he says. “It makes you happy. It doesn’t make you hallucinate.”

“It could’ve been a rat,” Chim shrugs. “Sometimes rats get stuck in the walls.”

You frown. At the end of his sentence, you swore you heard a cooing sound.

“Shh,” you say to everyone, walking over to the bathroom. “Did you guys hear that?”

They're hot on your heels, watching as you take your stethoscope from around your neck and put it into your ears. You place the bell on the wall and wait. When you hear nothing, you begin rapping your knuckles on the tile until you do. Once again, it’s a faint cooing sound, not unlike a baby.

You then knock your knuckles on the wall until you hear a hollow sound. You take a marker from your pants pocket and mark an ‘x’ over it, knowing the space behind it is hollow. You take the stethoscope out from your ears.

“We need to open up this wall,” you say, pointing to the ‘x.’

“No, we’re being punked,” Chim disagrees. “It’s a tape recorder or something.”

“Maybe not,” Hen says, stepping forward. “Maybe a mother gives birth on the toilet and flushes it.”

“Okay, first of all, that's awful,” Chim says. “Second, do you know how pipes work?”

“If the baby is premature, its bones can bend and compress like sponges,” Bobby mentions. “We need to get in there.”

“Stand back, I got this!” Buck says, swinging his fire axe over his shoulder.

He runs up towards the wall with full intentions of swinging. Hen and Chim move out of the way and shout while Bobby tries to grab him. Ultimately, you’re the one to stop him, and you do it by placing both hands on the axe.

“Hey! Did you even stop to consider that you might hit a baby?!” You shout, adrenaline pumping through your bloodstream.

Buck just stares at you with wide eyes.

“Yeah, didn’t think so,” you spat, pushing the axe out of the way.

“Buck, go get the saw,” Bobby directs.

“Try to find some common sense while you’re down there,” you call after Buck as he walks out.

“Nice catch,” Bobby says, looking at you.

“How nice of me to save the baby from one of the LAFD’s finest first responders,” you reply bitterly.

You can’t help but look at Hen, who quickly looks away. Her avoidance gives you a small sense of victory because this? This shit right here? This is why you can’t play nice with Buck. His head is screwed on backward, and it can get people killed. Playing nice isn’t going to fix that.

Thankfully, Bobby takes the saw from Buck once he brings it up. He makes a few small cuts in the wall before he and the other boys are pulling at the drywall. They quickly expose a massive pipe running behind the toilet.

“That thing is huge,” you remark to Hen.

“It probably connects a bunch of the toilets in the units above this one,” Hen returned.

“So… even with the water turned off…” you start, a sense of dread filling your stomach.

“If someone above us flushes the toilet, it could drown the baby,” Hen finishes. Almost before she finishes the sentence, she’s running into the hall, yelling for people not to flush their toilets. The boys make a few cuts into the pipe, and in no time, they’re taking it to the floor.

“Guys, I can see the head,” you say, joining them on the floor.

They make a few more cuts until the pipe is one straight segment.

“Get the head out,” Chim instructs.

“Yeah, you gotta push from below,” Buck chimes in.

You try that, but the baby isn’t moving. You look to the corner, then at Buck.

“Bring me the defibrillator,” you instruct clearly.

Buck scrambles over, picking up the case.

“Just the lube, Buck,” you rephrase, but he’s already coming back with the whole thing.

“Take it, take it,” Buck says, passing it off to you.

You let out a frustrated sigh before grabbing the lube out and tossing the rest of it to the side. You pour some lube on the baby’s head, then down by its feet.

“Work that in,” you tell Chim.

You move your index finger around the circumference of the pipe, brushing the baby’s legs with lubricant as you do so. Then, you gently apply pressure to its feet, and slowly, you can feel it move forward.

“This is gonna be a scoop and run,” you mumble.

“Hen, get the ambulance ready,” Bobby tells her. You’re not sure when she got back, but when you look up again, she’s gone again.

Slowly, the baby’s head emerges from the pipe, and the rest of her body follows.

“She’s not breathing,” you quickly note, “starting CPR.”

You place your index and middle finger in the center of the baby’s chest and press down fast and hard. “Looks like her airway’s obstructed.”

“Buck, get the bulb syringe,” Chim demands. A few seconds pass. “Buck, come on!”

“I’m coming!” Buck barks back, clearly in a panic.

“Come on, pretty girl,” you say quietly as you continue compressions. “Come on, sweetheart.”

Buck returns with the bulb syringe and uses it, but it doesn’t help.

“Dammit,” you curse. “You’ll have to try a blind finger sweep.”

Buck looks at you, then Chimney, then the baby, then back at you. “Me?”

“You gotta learn somehow,” you remark. “It’s easy: just turn her head to the side, curl your pinkie, and see if you can scoop anything out.”

Buck is hesitant initially, but he eventually does as you tell him. It takes a few seconds, but he manages to clear the obstruction, and the baby begins crying. Everyone laughs with relief.

“Let’s get her wrapped up,” you say, reaching for a towel.

The four of you rush down the hall, you with the baby in your arms. The pit in your stomach returns.

“No one held the elevator?!” you yell.

“Dammit,” Chim curses.

“Give her to me,” Buck says, nodding to the stairs.

You stare at him.

“Come on, I’m twice as fast,” Buck pleads.

“Screw this up, and I’ll kill you,” you threaten before carefully handing her over.

Buck takes off down the stairs, but you follow after. There’s only so much that can happen in a few flights of stairs, but you aren’t willing to risk it.

“I got you,” Buck says to the baby, “you’ll be okay.”

A faint smile crosses your face. Maybe Buck isn’t so terrible after all.

“Come on, move it!” Buck shouts as you both make it out of the lobby and out to the rig.

You climb into the ambulance with him, but before either of you can even sit down, you hear someone yelling to wait. It’s not just anyone: it’s LAPD Sergeant Grant, or as you’ve heard Hen calls her, Athena.

“Wait, is that the mother?” Buck says, looking at the young woman with blood-stained pants in someone’s arms. “Yo, screw her! Look what she did!”

Never mind. Buck is still terrible.

“Sit down and shut up!” You yell at Buck. “This is not your call! She is a child, and she’s bleeding out!”

“Look what she did!” Buck repeated.

“Come on, let’s get her up here,” you say to Athena and the man carrying the young girl, disregarding Buck’s protests.

Bobby and Chim made it down, so they help haul the young girl up into the rig. Chim stays at the head while Bobby sits next to Buck, the spot you were about to sit in mere moments ago.

“If this baby dies, it’s on you,” Buck says, staring at Athena.

“Stop talking, Evan,” you snap as someone closes the ambulance doors.

Using his actual name seems to shut him up.

“What’s your name, honey?” You ask the baby’s mother as you cut away her shirt to place EKG leads.

“Marika,” she whispers. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“I know you’re scared, Marika, but you just have to keep breathing for me, okay?” you say. “My friend Howie is going to start an IV so we can give you fluids and medication. You’re bleeding a lot, so I have to do what’s called a fundal exam, okay? I have to press on your stomach to make sure your uterus is contracting back down normally.”

She stares at you, eyes filled with tears, before eventually nodding.

Using one hand to stabilize over the pubis, you begin pressing down the other into Marika’s stomach, a few fingerbreadths below her belly button. She lets out a few whimpers. You don’t feel the fundus, or the top of the uterus, like you should.

“Marika, you’re bleeding a lot because your uterus isn’t contracting. I have to make it contract by doing a fundal massage. It won’t feel that good, but it could save your life.”

Once again, Marika looks at you before nodding. This time, she closes her eyes.

Using firm and consistent pressure, you push one hand down where the fundus should be and make small circles. Marika lets out a few more cries of pain. You notice that, after a few minutes, the bleeding starts to slow, and her uterus firms up beneath your hands.

“Hospital ETA 5 minutes, hang in,” Hen chimes in from the ambulance's cab.

“Something’s wrong,” Buck says, staring at the baby in his arms.

You quickly move over to him. “Put her in your lap so I can see.”

Buck listens, moving away the towel so you can look at the baby. She’s cyanosed around the lips. You flip open a compartment and pull out the neonatal ambu bag. You hand it to Bobby, and you don’t even have to tell him to start bagging.

“I’m so sorry,” Marika says. “Is she gonna be okay?”

Bobby squeezes the bag every other second, delivering a breath to the baby. Her color is starting to look better, but she isn’t very responsive.

“Here, let me try something,” you say.

You gently pick up the baby and set it on Marika’s bare chest. After a few moments, the baby begins to move and cry out.

“Oh my god, why did that work?” Marika asks, wrapping her hands around her baby.

“Skin-to-skin can help babies regulate bodily functions, like temperature and breathing,” you reply as you place a towel over them.

You look over to the men sitting next to you. Bobby gives you a nod, and Buck avoids eye contact, but you can tell that he’s pissed. Fuck him, he doesn’t know his head from his ass anyways.

Once the rig pulls into the ambulance bay, you and Chim help the ER staff get the gurney out of the ambulance. Bobby and Buck follow suit, only Buck tries to follow them into the hospital. Bobby stops him before he does.

Bobby gives Buck some lecture about how we did our jobs, and now it’s their turn; it’s the speech every overly excited first responder gets at least once at the start of their career.

A cop car pulls up, and Athena comes out. She clearly found the person she was looking for, because she starts yelling at Buck.

“You do not get to choose who lives and who dies,” she lectures.

“Really? Because I was under the impression that kind of was my job,” Buck retorts.

You could seriously slap him.

“That mother was no less of a child than her baby,” Athena continues yelling, pointing a finger at the hospital. “You’re gonna get someone killed.”

“Well, maybe, but not today,” Buck says with a cocky head tilt.

You laugh humorlessly. “You know what, Pretty Boy?” you say, turning to Buck.

Fuck it. Bobby won’t put him in his place, and Athena isn’t allowed to, so you take matters into your own hands, literally.

Before you even fully comprehend what you’re doing, you’re wrapping a hand around Buck’s throat and pushing him against the ambulance. You aren’t choking him, but you don’t move your hand because keeping it there is your only leverage.

“I’m getting real tired of this tough guy bullshit,” you growl, your face only an inch from his. He’s quite a bit taller than you, but when you bounced him off the rig, his footing faltered, so he’s crouched at your eye level. “You wanna get real, Evan? You didn’t do a goddamn thing today except get in the way. While we were busy saving lives, you were shitting your pants and dropping the ball, not exactly what a tough guy is supposed to do.”

“Okay, enough,” Bobby says, trying to break it up. You’re far from finished, though.

You move your hand from his neck, but only so you can point it in his face. “You aren’t a god — you don’t decide who lives! You didn’t even save a life today: we did, because you kept fucking up. And if you keep fucking up like you did today, you definitely will kill someone, and your little jokes and midday booty calls and your shitty little grin won’t change that!”

Bobby ends up physically pulling you away while Athena makes some room between the two of you.

“Aren’t you going to arrest her or something?” Buck says, rubbing his neck. “She assaulted me!”

“She didn’t say anything that wasn’t true,” Athena counters. “I promise you, Buckley, the next time you screw up? It’ll be your last.”

Athena casts Bobby a glance before she walks away.

“You,” Bobby says, looking at Buck, “in the truck. Now.”

You start to walk over to the passenger’s side of the cab when Bobby calls after you.

“I want you in my office the second we get back,” He orders.

You clench your jaw. “Yes Captain.”

Ch 2

[flavored-soda]

I've said this before in tags but now I feel the need to make a post about it.

Some of you are creepy little fuckers when it comes to Buck and it only got worse when he came out as bisexual.

I don't know if it's because y'all aren't queer or have ever been around queer people. Or maybe it's because you've never had someone call you out on your bullshit (or maybe you have and y'all just cry and play victim idfk). But the entire reaction to the BuckTommy scene is really telling for a lot of you.

Let's get some things straight here:

Buck turned the conversation away from emotional vulnerability

Buck was the one who started the flirting

Buck was the one who insinuated a fucking daddy kink, Tommy just confirmed it.

"We both have daddy issues." "I don't." "But you think I do?" "God, I hope so." Y'all, Buck said the first line with a little fucking smirk on his face and then smiled all goofy like when Tommy said "God, I hope so." You're delusional if you think he was uncomfortable.

Tommy making a joke or a comment about his kinks to his BOYFRIEND is not fucking weird. have none of y'all ever been in a relationship??? ever??? you're allowed to joke about sex with your own fucking partner. ya know the one you are having said sex with???

Like I'm sorry you can't be the one to fuck Buck. I'm sorry Eddie isn't the one to fuck him either. But Jesus fucking Christ Almighty on a Stick. The rhetoric you are using, the shit you are saying is harmful and homophobic as all hell. And if you can't recognize that, it's fucked up. especially if you are queer yourself. you're internalized homophobia is showing, baby and it's fucking disgusting.

And I will also say this again: Buck is a 32 yr old man who was a SEX ADDICT. Let me say that again, SEX ADDICT!!!

He's not a sweet little precious innocent baby. I'm sorry if kinks and just general talk about sex makes you uncomfortable. But then genuinely why the fuck do you like Buck so much because that's a pivotal part of his character???

Not to mention, sex gets boring when it's the same thing over and over again. Buck probably has been pegged before, or been to kink clubs or over kink-friendly spaces, or had wild, nasty sex himself. You can plug your ears and act like it's not real and you don't want to hear it all you want, but the fact of the matter is it's true. Buck was a sex addict, that's a pretty big fucking part of his character, and I doubt talking about sex with the person he's actively in a relationship with is going to make him extremely uncomfortable.

So no, I don't think Buck was uncomfortable during that scene and I don't think Tommy is a bad guy. I do think you're uncomfortable with seeing male/male sexuality and romance. especially when it's between two guys who built as fuck because then you can't really make one of them the girl now can you?

[achilles-rage]

thirteen crows: epilogue

summary: some insight on how they treat you weeks, and months later.

word count: 1.8k

previous chapter

series masterlist

a/n: i wasn’t gonna post an epilogue to this, but i sort of liked the idea of looking at their dynamic months later, so i decided to write this short little drabble-type thing. enjoy<3

warnings: stockholm syndrome(??), controlling behaviour, no use of y/n, fem!reader, plus size!reader, race inclusive!reader

three weeks later

You leave your boss’s office with tears in your eyes, keeping your head down as you walk to the kitchen to catch your breath so no one can see the sadness written across your face. You were barely in his office for 10 minutes, and he wasn’t that upset with you, but you’ve never been good with confrontation.

He had pulled you into his office before you started your shift and showed you some reviews that he found online about the Thirteen Crows that day. There were two reviews with your name specifically added, ranting about how bad your service was and how rude you were to them.

Your boss wasn’t necessarily mad; he knows that you usually have no problems with customers, but he was still rightfully worried about the reviews.

You try to finish your shift with a smile; desperate to not receive any more negative reviews about your service, but it’s difficult. Either Eddie or Buck has been by your side for the last few weeks; ever since you found out who they really were, and while they make butterflies erupt in your tummy sometimes, they also scare the hell out of you, which doesn’t help your nerves.

They told you they wouldn’t hurt you, not if you follow the rules, and you want to believe that, but you feel on edge every time you’re with them. Which is most of the time. You’re afraid to do anything; afraid that something you see as harmless will send them into a rage.

You also know that there’s no escaping them either. You know why they’re with you all the time outside of work; they won’t let you leave them.

When Buck finally picks you up from your shift, you stay silent in his passenger seat, eyes focused on the passing scenery as his thumb rubs gentle circles on your exposed thigh. Buck can sense your unease; it’s different than usual. 

You tried to speak to Tara after your shift; she’s noticed the way you’ve shut down in the past few weeks, but you don’t talk to her. You don’t know how they find out, but they always know when you speak to anyone in a way that’s not just merely being friendly, and they do not like it.

“How was work, sweet girl?” he asks after a few minutes of silence. You blink a few times as you snap out of your daze, then look over at him, chewing on your lip. You don’t want to tell him about your boss and the reviews. God knows what he and Eddie would do. 

They’ve continued killing, although they haven’t told you anything about it. They monitor your screen time, and everything else you do, so you don’t know the exact details. You’ve heard people talking about it at work, though, and you’re sure it’s more of the people they’ve met through work that have “deserved it.”

“Good. Long night.” you speak in a quiet tone, shrugging. His eyes dart from the road to you for a second, inspecting your face. His eyes narrow, like he doesn’t quite believe you, but he doesn’t push any further. You’re thankful for this, because you really do like your boss, even though your conversation with him has you on edge.

When you get back to Buck’s apartment, he helps you get ready for bed, and then you’re off to sleep, but not before his head is between your thighs yet again, desperately chasing the taste of your release.

The next morning, Eddie comes to pick you up and takes you to your apartment to pick up some more of your things, then brings you to his house for dinner. He sits at the dinner table while you prepare dinner, and when he, you, Buck, and Christopher sit down to eat, his smile is wide. He loves seeing you like this; his little family, finally complete.

You spend the night at Eddie’s house, your back pulled firmly against his chest, and while you’re not completely relaxed, you sleep soundly. You know Eddie wouldn’t dare do something with Christopher home, and these kinds of nights are the most relaxing for you.

six months later

You gasp softly when someone runs into your shoulder and makes you drop the can you’re holding. You turn quickly and look up to the man that’s run into you, and he looks down with an apologetic smile, raising his shoulders slightly.

You scramble to pick up the can and put it into your cart as he murmurs an apology, but you shut him down immediately.

“It’s okay, I wasn’t looking.” you tell him, although you know that he’s the one that ran into you. You’re so used to immediately backing down that it’s become second nature.

His eyes glance down at the dented can in your cart, and he licks his lips before he speaks again.

“You really shouldn’t buy that one; it can make you sick.” he tells you, stepping a little closer and ducking his head to speak in a quieter voice. With the gleam in his eye and his smile, you’re pretty sure he’s trying to flirt, even though the actual words don’t seem especially flirty.

You give him a smile as you feel your cheeks heating up. Of course you know that already, but this interaction surprised you, and you barely had time to think about your actions.

“Right. Thanks.” you tell him, trying to keep your body language disinterested. You know how Buck and Eddie would see this, and you don’t want anything to happen to this handsome stranger because they felt unnecessarily threatened.

You also don’t want them to take away your outings. They finally rewarded you with unsupervised time outside of the house to run errands, and it took months to finally gain their trust. You don’t want to do anything to ruin it now.

“I’m Will, by the way.” he says, seeming not to get the hint. You give him a tight-lipped smile and grip the handle of your cart, beginning to walk further down the aisle.

“I should really go.” you tell him, and while his brows furrow in confusion, he doesn’t try anything else. You let out a shaky breath once you’re out of the aisle, trying to stop the shaking in your hands as you create more distance between you and the man.

You don’t bother with the rest of the list. You’ve already gotten most of the items, and you don’t want to risk anything else happening. 

You pay with the cash Eddie gave you before he dropped you off, and you make sure to keep the receipt and the change in a safe place until you can give it to him. They keep track of your finances, and ever since you lost your job, you have no choice but to rely on them completely.

When you get to his truck, you get right into the passenger seat and let Eddie put the groceries in the back. When he gets back in the driver's seat, he reaches across the centre console and pulls your head toward him, capturing your lips in a chaste kiss.

He sees your nervous expression when he pulls away, and he narrows his eyes as he keeps a hand on your cheek. He doesn’t have to prompt you though, as the words tumble from your lips before you can even think. It’s better to tell him than for him to find out later.

“There was this guy in there, he bumped into me. He apologized, tried to talk to me, but I walked away. I didn’t want to talk to him, I promise.” He smiles at your last sentence, tilting his head to the side as he looks into your wide eyes. They’ve trained you so well.

“It’s okay, sweet girl. You didn’t do anything wrong, did you?” he asks. His voice is soft, but there’s a hint of condescension as well. 

You shake your head quickly, frowning, and he smiles wider. He rubs his thumb along your cheek, and you let out a small sigh, leaning into his gentle touch. You can’t help but relish in his soft touches; they’re the only ones you’ve really interacted with since you got fired from your job 4 months ago, and if it weren’t for them, you’re sure you’d be going stir crazy.

They leave you at Buck’s that night, all cuddled up in Buck’s bed with your favourite show on and promise they’ll be back soon. They give you sweet kisses and tender touches before they go, knowing that you won’t leave while they’re gone, not anymore. And when they come back, they know you won’t ask about the specks of blood on their clothes, or the glints in their eyes, even though you know about everything.

They’re always especially worked up when they get back from nights like this, and you’ve learned not to ask questions. They happen less often now that you’re with them all the time, but they still have this desire to go out, just the two of them, and have some of their own fun.

You know they’ve done something; you know it has to do with the man from the grocery store, and you know they won’t tell you a thing, which you’re thankful for. You thought you’d be more used to their actions after so long, but it still makes your stomach churn when you think about it.

You let them lay you down on Buck’s bed anyway, and although you hate knowing what they’ve just done, you like how much attention they pay to you when they get home. They’ve showered by the time they touch you, so you tell yourself that what they’ve done is gone. Their slate is clean, their actions are washed away; down the drain and never to be thought of again.

As they pay attention to your neck, and your pretty chest, and your plush tummy and thighs, they’re so glad they thought of their plan months ago. You’re completely dependent on them without your job, and that’s exactly how they want you.

It was easy to make those fake reviews; they knew that the original two weren’t enough, so they kept adding new ones until your boss had no choice. And although they knew you’d be upset about the harsh words, they also knew that they’d be able to make you feel better. You’d forget all about your shitty job when you’re completely taken care of by them, and they’ll make sure to give you anything you want as long as you keep being their sweet girl.

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[biasbuck]

BiAsBuck’s ficrec Fridays

Happy Friday 13th everyone! Oh my gosh, two weeks to go, I'm so excited. Here's another round of the fic I've been reading when not actively losing my mind over all the buzzy promo landing. You can find previous rec lists here.

13 September 2024

the wayward son by @gayhoediaz had me GRIPPED. As the author summarises: 'Eddie misses his son, grows a mustache, pines after his best friend, and becomes a regular at a gay sex club. That last part is either an indulgence or an inevitable, somewhat self-destructive conclusion to several decades worth of compulsory heterosexuality and catholic guilt. Don’t ask him which.' The result of this is a scorchingly hot voyeuristic thrill ride with an absolutely aching emotional heart along as a passenger. I felt so much for Eddie as he self destructed and built himself back up again, truly throwing himself in at the deep end, and then Buck there to catch him when he falls. This fic gave me every emotion and was so incredibly satisfying. I already know it's gonna be one to go back to time and again.

had a feeling i could be someone by @butchdiaz of course I had to include the butch dyke Hotshots on XYZ inspired Eddie contemplating shaving her head fic. This one resonated with me so much, and was such a lovely take on the themes we're seeing in personhood and self actualisation and ownership of image versus what your parents intended for you. I love this character study of Eddie reclaiming her butch identity and expression, and Buck's sweet support in her journey. Make sure to check out the gorgeous fanart by @iinryer it was inspired by and it inspired if you haven't already seen it!

whatever you like by @clytemnestraaa 'hello mr performance anxiety meet mr desperate to please' sums it up perfectly. In which established relationship Eddie and Buck are having sex, but they still need to work on their communication. Buck wants to know what Eddie likes in order to give him that experience, but that's easier said than done when you're not really sure what exactly it is you want, or how to go about it. I really loved this exploration of a misalignment in sexual experience, the resulting cross purpose conversation, and the non-judgemental openhearted hand extended in order to find your way together. Or 'two 30-something men inexplicably put through an episode of Sex Education.' Sympathetic, sweet, and funny too.

But God, I love the English by @starlingbite this au tickled me for the sole reason of having watched several seasons of the show before someone told me Oliver is from London, and not having picked up on that accent slippage despite ALSO BEING FROM LONDON. Chimney and a British Buck take part in a six week cultural exchange programme with Chim going to London to stay with Maddie and work at a fire station, whilst Buck joins the 118 in LA. Eddie is instantly besotted by the handsome stranger, and fun linguistic hijinks aside, Buck fits right in. How will they manage long distance when it's time for him to go home? So much fun, and with sweet background Madney too!

it's leading me on, every time we touch by @bisexualbellamyblake in which after Eddie mentions to the team that he's having a little back trouble, Maddie lets slip that Buck once trained to be a massage therapist during his career jumping youth! As an almost certified professional of course it wouldn't be like Buck to not offer his services. And Eddie has no reason to turn him down. Does he? This oozed with sexual tension, whilst also being really lovely moment of friends getting to know each other better. Really excellent character voice and internal dialogue from Eddie.

all of the girls you loved before by @wildehacked back again with yet another banger...literally. Let me tell you, I read this one on public transport and had to school my expression with all my decades of fic reading experience in full force. Dragged out to team drinks on their evening off, the tipsy conversation turns to the team's top sexual experiences. When Buck finds out Eddie's is from years before, he can't help but dwell on just exactly how he could fix that. And he finds narrowing down his own top five a little tricky. With flashback cameos from Abby, Taylor and Tommy, this 5+1 fic was hot as hell.

P.S. Insert plea for Madney and Henren friendship/extended family fic here...I think I'm gonna need it! As usual feel free to self rec! And please share and reblog :) See you next week.

[stevethehairington]

okay so, maddie pov fic where maddie has just managed to f i n a l l y get buck to admit to her that he has feelings for eddie (and, like, she's tried to tiptoe around it — as much as one can tiptoe around a giant ass elephant that sits square in the center of every single room, incredibly obvious and ridiculously hard to ignore).

she's been trying to let buck come to her with it on his own time, at his own pace... but she's getting impatient. she knows that buck is aware of his feelings now — there had been a time, a l o n g time, where he hadn't, long enough that maddie had tried to, like, give him little nudges towards it, to prompt him into realizing it for himself, only he'd n e v e r taken the bait. he'd always just continued on, oblivious as ever. it had driven maddie positively crazy.

but now. NOW, she is sure that he knows. and her sister sense are tingling, because she also knows that he wants to talk to her about it — but he's scared. if maddie had to take a guess it was because these are, like, the realest feelings buck has ever had. she's seen him in love before, but not like this. this is something way bigger than love, really. and maddie gets that, she does. it had felt that way with chimney, for her. she'd spent so long avoiding facing her feelings head on, trying not to say it out loud because that made it real and when it's real that's when bad things can happen. that's when it gets scary.

and so she'd let buck sit with it for a while, let him have his time to jump that hurdle himself. only now it's been weeks, over a month, really, and enough is enough. maddie feels, maybe, just a little bad to just confront him with it, to say it point blank to his face... but then again, that's what buck did with her and chimney, so she really can't feel too bad.

BUT. ANYWAY. buck f i n a l l y tells her that, yes, he has feelings for eddie. except immediately after he says it, he bounces. drops some super lame excuse and is out her front door before maddie can even blink. and god, that was like pulling teeth, but maddie did not spend all that time suffering silently under the weight of her own knowledge for it to cumulate in a ten second conversation — barely even a conversation, actually.

so maddie pulls out her phone to text buck, to tell him this isn't over, he can run but he can't hide from her, they WILL be talking about this some more. and, idk, maybe maddie just got a new phone, or it updated on its own, and somehow all of her message threads got wiped, so she has to start a new one. she has buck in her phone as 'evan' for whatever reason, and so she types in 'e' and hits the first contact that comes up — because buck is the only favorited 'e' contact she has, and that automatically bumps him to the top of the rest — and she types out the message, "buck!!! we are not done talking about your feelings for eddie!!!" and sends it without a second glance.

a few minutes later she gets a response, and at first she's confused. staring back at her from her screen is either a string of ???? or a 'i don't think you meant to send this to me...' and that's when maddie takes the time to finally look at who, exactly, she did send it too and oh.

oh.

oh no.

she didn't send it to buck. she sent it to eddie.

because — that's right, buck was hanging out with christopher the other day, and maddie had tagged along, and buck had insisted on taking a picture of the three of them to send to eddie, only his phone connection was shit, and the photo wasn't sending, so he made maddie give him her phone so he could plug eddie's number in and send it to him from hers (and, unbeknownst to her, buck had favorited eddie's contact too, because if eddie is buck's favorite, then of course he'd be his sisters favorite too. duh.) and because 'ed' comes before 'ev', eddie's name had jumped to the top of maddie's contacts.

so, she had not, in fact, hit buck's contact like she'd thought, but eddie's. and now she's just spilled her brother's b i g g e s t secret to the very object of it.

shit.

and then, of course, eddie's like freaking out on his end because holy shit is that real, could it really be true? does that mean he actually stands a chance? that his own feelings aren't totally hopeless? and maybe he tries to like press maddie about it, to get her to confirm that it's real and isn't some like totally massive super mean prank or anything (or that they weren't talking about some other eddie or something), and like he goes so far as to show up at her door to talk to her about it — which is how maddie catches onto eddie's (returned) feelings, because no man would be that desperate for an answer unless that answer was something he really wanted to hear.

and maddie's like caught between a rock and a hard place, because she doesn't want to make things worse and spill everything to eddie because that is not her place! shes already messed up bad enough. but also... now she's sharing a room with EDDIE'S big ass elephant of feelings, and she knows that if she does tell him that it's true that might be the push he needs to do something about it. (because every time she suggests he just talk to buck about it, eddie pushes back with a 'but is it true?')

and blah blah, eventually, in the end the truth of it all has to come out and buck finds out that maddie fucked up and hes upset until he isnt becuase that did finally prompt eddie to come clean about his feelings, and so "really, buck, it's a good thing i sent that message! you two would've been dancing around each other for who knows how many more years if i havent!"

[spidermans-l-o-v-e-r]

Strawberries and Cream Presents: ✨Garden Variety✨

Pairing: Eddie Diaz x Reader

Word count: 3k

Notes: You ever just…. Stare into the distance, while eating chicken fried rice and go… “Imma right another mini episode instead of finishing six”

Eddie is lying on his back in the driveway, it’s the morning so no one is really home anymore so he can make some noise. He’s got everything laid out neatly, all his tools in order, a little sample of your favorite shade of pink paint, and the instructions in hand. 

Too bad the instructions are stupid.

It’s all pictures and very minimal words and you’d think that would be great! But it’s not because do you put the little disky thing first or not

“Good morning Edmundo!” 

Eddie sits up, flipping his sunglasses back down over his eyes as he gets up off the ground 

“Good morning Mrs. Bennett” Eddie waves as he walks over to the older woman. They’d been his neighbors since he’d moved into the place and they were sweet, very nice, and helpful. He’d had dinner at their place often. Not to mention Mrs. Bennett was the only person he knew who called him Edmundo. 

“What’s going on here?” She gestures with her cane and Eddie sighs, putting his arm around her waist to hug her but also steady her a bit. 

“I’m trying to put together a raised garden bed for my….uh friend. She’s moving in today and I just thought this would be a nice little housewarming gift. I know how she feels about her plants” 

“Your “friend” huh?” She scoffs “That little thing we’ve seen coming in and out of here in Buck’s Jeep?”

The Bennett's loved Buck. Even he’d come over for dinner sometimes. 

Eddie’s cheeks flush and he rolls his eyes playfully 

“Yeah, my friend and coincidently Buck’s cousin” 

She huffs at the word friend again and he chuckles under his breath 

“A pretty girl like that, and you’re calling her a friend” she scolds him and he facepalms 

“Well I really do have to be getting back to work,” He says sassily, purposely ending the conversation and she hits his leg with the tip of her cane 

“Go get your lawn chairs for me and William I’ll be back” She turns to walk down to her house and Eddie follows her 

“No really it’s okay, I hate to “ 

“You’re not gonna be able to put that thing together by yourself. Go do what I told you to do”

She wiggles her cane threateningly at him and he puts his hands up 

“Alright alright I’m going” 

Eddie is just setting up a pitcher of lemonade and three glasses on a mini table when the Bennetts come walking about his driveway. Honestly, he’s surprised they’re both almost in their 80s when they barely look 70. Mr. Bennett is a bit more spry than his wife but god she makes up for that in attitude. 

“Good morning Eddie” He waves as he helps his wife walk up the driveway, she fusses at him to let her go but he doesn’t and it makes Eddie’s heart flutter

They’re cute sometimes. 

He’d bought these lawn chairs specifically for them actually, they were high enough that neither of them had to sit very far down and comfy enough that you all could sit there for hours talking, just like they liked. 

“Good morning Mr. Bennett” 

“My wife tells me you’re failing at putting together a flower bed for your girlfriend? Man we thought you’d never get a girlfriend” 

“Eliza!!” Eddie yells and she cackles while grabbing her lemonade cup 

“She’s not my girlfriend! She’s my friend”

“You mean that pre-“ 

“Yes! That “pretty little thing” that comes in and out of here in Buck’s Jeep is his cousin and my friend” Eddie finishes Mr. Bennett’s- William’s sentence and stresses friend again. God, they love to roast him constantly 

“His girlfriend’s moving in today so we better get started,” Eliza says and whacks Eddie’s butt with her cane. He sits on the ground, handing the instructions to William because he knows these two and there is absolutely no fighting them

“Tell us all about her! And why neither of you has introduced her yet” 

“You can meet her today for sure. And we didn’t mean to not bring her over, it’s just been kinda go go go these last few weeks you know? Ever since I met her there’s not been a dull day” 

Eliza and William look at each other as Eddie grabs a couple more boards 

“She’s so funny and very intelligent, I think you’ll like her. And I swear she’s the sweetest girl I’ve ever met, that's why I call her Sugar Cube. I’m a little excited about her moving in… I like being around her you know? Things are kind of brighter when she’s here. She also has the biggest attitude I’ve ever had to deal with in my life. She acts all shy and demure and then karate chops me out of the way for the last slice of pizza”

The Bennetts watch the way he talks about you, sharing a look with each other. 

Yeah. You’re totally not his girlfriend. 

“Have you made enough room for her in your closet? You’re gonna have to utilize your spare room closet that’s for sure” William says as he hands Eddie the hardware in the right order and his mouth drops open 

“She’s not moving into my room! She’s using the spare room!”

“Why would you put your girlfriend in the spare room” William asks 

“Maybe they want to make sure they have space. Moving in is a big deal” Eliza answers him and Eddie grumbles as he drills the two boards together 

“She’s got her own room because we are not dating” William hands him another set and he keeps working “Buck doesn’t exactly have the space for her… and I do”

“Get ready for her to redecorate your entire house” William snickers and Eliza glares at him 

“I don’t care if she does, I’m sure it’ll look good anyway. She has good taste”

“She’s dating our boy, of course, she has good taste” Eliza pats his shoulder and he lets his head fall against the boards 

“Yup! She is! And she’s got great taste!” He gives them a thumbs up, completely giving up on trying anymore. 

“So have you decided what flowers you’re gonna get her?” Eliza asks as she looks over the pretty pink paint 

“I thought she’d want to fill it on her own, she’s got like a tiny forest at Buck’s place” 

William shakes his head as he holds the boards in place for Eddie and Eddie’s eyes wander over to Eliza who’s giving him a hard stare 

“Is that… not what I should do?” He looks at them and she shakes her head 

“Hurry up with this we’re going to Home Depot when you’re done” 

“Yes ma’am” 

After putting it together, which actually was easy once William got him on the right track, Eliza helps him paint it while William puts the tools away 

“I hope she likes this shade, I know she wears it a lot” 

“She’ll love it. It’s pretty cute! Have you thought about putting something on it?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“William and I have some white paint left over from when we all painted the den last month. It’s in the garage, go get it for me” 

She takes Eddie’s paintbrush from him as he goes jogging over to their house. He steps into the garage, finds the can pretty easily, and grabs an extra brush from the work table before walking back over. William and Eliza are whispering about something and he narrows his eyes 

“What are you two planning?” He asks as he sets the can down and sits back down on the ground, accepting his brush from Eliza 

“Oh, nothing. Just married stuff, none of your business” Eliza tells him, finishing up her sides of the bed. William gets to work finishing installing the lining and Eddie finishes painting the legs 

“Alright, when we get back I’ll finish up with the white. Go wash up Eddie and meet us over at our house once you’re done”

“Yes, ma’am” Eddie salutes her as he heads into his house. 

Eddie sits in the backseat of their Toyota Highlander, their car is nice and very clean. He has no leg room but it’s a short drive anyway. He always enjoys their company, he even teaches William how to hook his phone up to the Bluetooth system at a longer red light. 

They pull into the parking lot and Eddie opens Eliza’s door, helping her out. She takes his arm and they walk straight to the home and garden section while William goes to find a cart 

“Now we’re only gonna get a couple, just as little starters for her so she knows you care about plants too. Even though you clearly don’t, I’ve seen your hostas” 

“Hey! I take care of them!” 

“No honey, I do” She pats his arm as they walk through the large rows of flowers. She points out a few that are pretty and some that will come back yearly 

“Hey, what about this?” Eddie walks over to a pretty hibiscus bush, it’s literally not anything they’re looking for but he just seems so enamored by it “Oh she’d love this” He says softly, holding one of the blooms in his hands “They’re her favorite and I know she doesn’t have any…”

He picks it up, looking it over“Maybe I can put it next to the bed for her. You think she’d like that?”

William and Eliza are standing together, watching him and how happy he looks hugging the giant plastic pot to his chest 

“Yeah, I think she’d really love that,” William says, putting his arm over Eliza’s shoulders 

Eddie puts it carefully in the cart with the other dozens of flowers (some that Eliza is sneaking home for her own garden) and goes off to look for a cute pot to put it in 

“I don’t think I’ve seen him that in love in all the years we’ve known him,” William says as he kisses Eliza’s head 

“No, I don’t think I have either” 

Eddie is kind of starting to get into this, and he picks flowers for his own beds too, ones that he wants to leave to plant with you so you guys can have something to do together. He knows how much you love gardening. They fill the cart with all kinds of different colors and types, and he learns way more plant-based things than he’d ever thought he’d know in life. 

But it makes you happy, and he’s more than happy himself to learn to take care of things you love 

Once they all get home they pull into Eddie’s driveway and he smirks. As much as this shopping trip was for him… it was definitely also for Eliza, who gets a playful scolding from William.

As soon as they’re done hauling Eliza’s plants over to her front yard and Eddie dumps the soil bags into the bed, he checks the time, wiping his hands on his pants 

“I don’t know if I’m gonna finish in time… I’ve gotta get to Buck’s soon”

“You let us worry about this, you’ve done enough. Go wash up and wear something nice, show a little skin 

“Oh my god” 

“I still have to add the white anyway, and I’ll plant the flowers for you because lord knows they’ll be dead if you do it”

“It’s literally putting flowers in the dirt!” Eddie protests and she pats his shoulder, steering him toward his house 

“I know honey. Now go get washed up” 

Eddie comes out of the house again a half hour later and walks over to the Bennetts. William is planting the flowers while Eliza is panting on the front of it 

“Is this to your liking?” He asks sassily as he holds his arms out, doing a little spin for her. 

They both look up at him and William chuckles, breaking up the soil pod on the geraniums. 

Eddie has on a black tank top, it’s not tight like he normally wears, it hangs on him, showing off his arms and more of his chest than normal, his black sweatpants hang low on his hips but they’re tighter on his legs. He puts his hands in his pockets 

“I feel like a slut” 

“Perfect”

“Eliza!” Eddie groans and gestures to William 

“I didn’t marry her 'cause she was tame,” he says, carefully planting the geraniums. 

“I’m leaving now” Eddie rolls his eyes and turns away, walking over to his car. 

“Thanks, guys… honestly” he waves and they wave back 

“Anything for you! Go get your girl!” 

Buck pulls into the driveway just as Eliza and William are finishing planting the flowers in a corner of the bed. He hops out of the car, literally leaving it running, and goes running over to the Bennetts 

“William!! Eliza!!” He yells as he hugs them both 

“I haven’t seen you guys in weeks!!” He puts his hands on his hips and William chuckles, patting his shoulder  

“That’s because you stopped coming over” Eliza scolds him and he puts his hand on his chest 

“Don’t blame me!! Blame Y/N! She has my car constantly!! Has Eddie introduced her yet?” 

“No, he hasn’t,” Eliza says in a cheeky tone. “Already yelled at him for it too!”

“He says they were just friends?” Buck asks in a low voice and Eliza nods 

“Didn’t believe him for one second” 

“Watch how he introduces her” Buck giggles as he offers his arm to Eliza and they walk over 

You’re still in the back seat, giggling about whatever Eddie said. He’s holding the frame of the car and leaning in, kissing your nose 

“Whatcha guys doin'?” Buck says cheerfully and Eddie pulls away fast, turning around 

“Ummm nothing” He steps aside and helps you from the car, and you brush off your shorts, standing in front of him. He shuts the door and puts his arm around your waist

“Y/N these are my neighbors and close friends, William and Eliza Bennett! Uh… guys this is my second “ he looks at Buck who nods happily “Best friend, Y/N” 

“Hi!! It’s nice to meet you” You back into Eddie a little shyly and he smirks down at you, holding you a bit closer to him Buck rolls his eyes sighing loudly 

You shake their hands and talk for a little, it’s very pleasant and you’re happy to meet them, though admittedly it feels like meeting Eddie’s grandparents. 

“So you’re dating our boy?” Eliza asks and Eddie pinches the bridge of his nose. You freeze a little, feeling your cheeks flush, and Buck snickers 

“Uh n-no! We’re totally just friends” You put your hands in front of you, shaking them “We are just friends” 

“Right… right” Eliza nods and Eddie’s mouth pops open. 

“Oh come on! You’ll believe her?!” 

You giggle and stick your tongue out at him and he swats your butt, your mouth drops open and your eyes nearly pop out of your head with how wide they go 

“Edmundo Diaz!!” You hit his chest and he takes your hands, laughing as he holds them to his chest. Buck walks by with a box in his hands 

“I literally have to deal with this daily you guys. Eddie can you show her your surprise so she can help me unpack the Jeep” 

You perk up, beating on his chest for an entirely new reason “Oh yeah!!! My surprise!! Can I see it? Please, please, please?!” 

Eddie turns you around, covering your eyes with his hands 

“Alright come on, walk forward” 

“How do I know you’re not gonna try and kill me” 

“Literally why do you think that every time” He walks you over to where they’ve placed the flower bed and kisses your head 

“Alright ready?” 

“Ready!!! Come on!!!” You squeal and he chuckles 

“Alright, you big baby” he uncovers your eyes “Surprise!” 

You stare at the pink flower bed, with beautiful white swirls and flowers painted on… and the name Diaz in large calligraphy right across the front 

“Oh Eddie it’s beautiful” You whisper, you’re eyes tearing up a little and he blushes deeply, scratching the back of his head 

“Hey, I can’t take all the credit. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the Bennett’s”

“Nonsense,” Eliza says behind you both and you turn around 

“It was all completely Eddie’s idea! I just happen to write better than he does” 

You hug her and Mr. Bennett anyway, thanking them both profusely, and turn around, walking over to it. You get on your knees and take a closer look at the details. They’re so pretty. You smile at them and turn around when something catches your eye 

“Oh my god!!!” You screech and Eddie flinches 

“Jesu- What??” 

“A hibiscus?!?!!” You cry as you crawl over to it and hug the pink pot to your chest 

“Oh my god, I totally forgot I bought that”

You get up and run over to him, jumping into his arms and knocking you both down, he laughs loudly as he holds you tightly to him while you pepper kisses all over his face 

“You’re the bestest friend I’ve ever had in my entire life” You squeal and Buck barks out a laugh as he piles another one of your boxes into the front porch 

“Yeah! Because I tackle my friend over and kiss him when he gives me gifts!” He shouts over to you two and Eddie tilts his head back looking at him 

“Buck, you literally do this all the time! You did this like last week when I bought you new sunglasses as a gift because you broke your old ones”

“Oh yeah…okay never mind this was a terrible example Carry on” 

Eddie sits up with you in his lap, squeezing you tightly 

“You really like it? I just wanted you to feel at home”

“I love it!!!” You hug him back just as tightly and kiss him passionately, mussing up his hair and he grins against your lips, loving the way you tug gently 

You pull away and nuzzle your nose against his “I already love living here, thank you” 

“Well fuck if you’re gonna kiss me like that, I need to give you presents more often” 

Buck puts his hands on his hips, staring at you two in the grass 

“Okay. Well, now I know I sure as hell didn’t kiss you like that!!” 

[of-a-chaotic-mind]

911 Characters React to "Don't tell anyone"

I want to preface this by saying that I genuinely believe that if you entrusted any of them with a secret, they would take it to their grave. If you're doing something you're not supposed to... that's a different story. Anyways...

Buck: Oh, I swear I won't tell a soul. *10 Minutes Later* Buck: *realizes he's half way through info dumping to Tommy about what he wasn't supposed to tell* Buck: *slaps his hand to his mouth* Tommy: What? Buck: Let's pretend you don't have a soul for a second so I don't feel bad but you can't tell anyone else *proceeds to finish info dumping*

Athena: Oh honey, I won't. *later that evening* Athena: Girl, you ain't gonna believe this. Hen: Oh my god, tell me now. Karen: I wanna know too!

Tommy: Does Evan count as anyone? Person: Uh he's your boyfriend right? Tommy: *proud grin* yup Person: Then yes, he counts. Tommy: Then, I don't wanna hear what you have to say, goodbye. Tommy: *walks the fuck away like a badass*

Eddie: Oh I make no promises. Chris & Carla both love a good sip of tea. Eddie: But go ahead if you wanna risk it.

Bobby: I won't, I promise. Bobby: *has his fingers crossed behind his back & is already planning on calling Athena as soon as person walks away*

Hen: I won't *already itching to tell Karen* *hours later* Hen: *drops her go bag at the front door & races through the house in search of Karen* Karen: *scared shitless when Hen suddenly enters the room yelling her name repeatedly* What? Where's the fire? Hen: *tries to catch her breath* You gotta hear this.

Maddie: *smiles innocently* I won't. *Meanwhile, Chimney has also just been told the same* Chimney: I would neverrrrr. *later that evening* Chimney: *comes home to find Maddie already pouring two glasses of wine* Chimney: Boy do I have a story for you. Maddie: *hands him a glass of wine* Maddie: Oh, oh me first!

Ravi: read 2:41 Person: Ravi this is a face to face conversation, you can't leave me on read. Ravi: Oh I can & I will *walks away*

Karen: Depends on how interesting this conversation is about to get. Person: *yap yap yap* Karen: *in her head* Hen & Athena are gonna eat this up.

[watchyourbuck]

Oh god okay here we go

Why must I go into heavy detail you ask? Well, I am actually unable to shut up so here it is them 10 TOP “there’s no chance this is a straight friendship” MOMENTS

“You can have my back any day” aka the enemies to lovers speedrun. The immediate feeling we’re supposed to get from the screen is jealousy. Buck is jealous of the new recruit because he’s hot, a medic, a veteran, whatever. I’ll give it to you children, he WAS jealous. But then they go on call and they get into immediate danger bc 911 is a drama and then Eddie’s very keen on being Buck’s partner. Nothing queer til then right? WRONG. Eddie’s line is pretty normal but the way Buck reacts isn’t. I have had my fair share of “huh this person I didn’t like is actually cool” moments but nEVER have I once sucked in a breath, forgot how to blink, rushed in my words OR stared at said person like I’d like for them to be my lover. Three points to Gayfindor.

“Is your son REALLY the reason you don’t date?” This line and the dialogue that follows makes absolutely no sense from the non-queer glass. Alright he asks bc he wants to know why two girls practically launched themselves at him and he declined (such a kind offer lmao) but… why are you standing so close? Why do you bump shoulders with him as you walk? Most importantly, what the FUCK does Eddie’s smirk mean after “they’re not my type either… not anymore.” Idk about you guys but when I’m not on the market I’m actually not in it 😀 and I don’t go around looking at my best friend like I’d consider fucking her (I’m actually kinda yikes about that thought bc she’s like my sister). Bottom line is: if you’re willing to fuck your best friend, there’s attraction. That scenes oozes attraction and I’d be willing to white glove challenge a body language reader.

The Tsunami. YES okay, there are far many moments in between but I also need to make this a somewhat readable list so here we go. We’re gonna pretend for a hot second Buck wants to save his best friend’s son, and not the child that he considers his own bc I’m tired. Let’s skip to the far end of this (be GrAtEfuL I’m skipping the whole sacrifice that this episode entailed. Buck was willing to die, to never sit down again if it meant looking for Chris [& the utter fear he has to face Eddie]. It’s a lot). Now, I do not OWN a child (thank god) but if I did, I wouldn’t be particularly comfortable with a simple friend from work taking care of them. They could be my very best friend from work and I’d still feel a little icky -at least nervous- about it. Yet Eddie not only takes Christopher back A F T E R the tsunami (Chris could’ve died and Eddie is nothing short of apprehensive), but he says ‘there’s no one I trust with my son more than you’. Um. Not his wife. Not his family (CHRIS’ family), not Abuela, not Tia Pepa. Buck. Who he… just met? Surely it isn’t bc he’s uncle buck… I don’t believe even Maddie has said that to Buck, where he’s actually, yknow, UNCLE BUCK. Co-parenting is not something done between a parent and a friend, and I know this shit bc my mom raised me with a few of her friends and guys,,, she never said that to any of them. Also Chris is practically never seen with anyone else from the 188firefam alone.

The Kitchen Scene™️. I have gone on rants about this before but truth be told THIS is the scene that conveys the MOST canonically sexual tension between them. We can joke about it all y’all want but this scene is unhinged. I don’t think Oliver and Ryan were aware that they should’ve been friends in this scene. The way the conversation shifts from apologetic sad puppy eyes to “you’re throwing your punches at the wrong guy” to I CAN TAKE YOU (???) you can what? “Oh you think?” “Oh I know” HELLO? Pls don’t even get me started on how Buck approaches Eddie, the way he’s puffy-chested, his hand on his belt, eyeing him up and down, nearly biting his lip, cocky grin,,,,, explain to me in hetero. I’m waiting😐 guys c’mon exPLAIN IT TO ME IN HETERO. The way Eddie glances to the side bc where’s Chris? And h o w he sips his beer right after, smirking, tiLTING His head. I’m sorry this is not straight in any way. I’m sorry you’re gonna have to accept this.

Clipboard Buck. Alright u got me!!! This one’s a lil silly, but so is my life, so it’s fair game. Clipboard Buck is annoying as fuck, he’s so fucking annoying. The entire firefam picks up on this, no one wants to be around,,,, except Eddie. You could argue that it’s bc he likes him as a friend and he’s just indulging …. 👁️👄👁️ sure but he also hides from Interim Captain Han soooo anyway what’s fun about this is how willing Eddie is to comply with everything he says. He’s basically twirling his hair, kicking his feet, smiling & blushing and “check!” 🧍🏽‍♀️ buck is kinky (that is canon e.g the ring cutter) and he gets high on authority and Eddie does backflips to meet his kinks. Exhibit 5 complete.

The Lawsuit Arc acka the first divorce era😔✊🏼. This one makes me rage a little bit because I get really upset at Buck for acting recklessly. Like baby let yourself HEAL. Anyway,,,, onto what brings us here 🥷🏼. It’s canon that the entire team is mad at Buck, they don’t really wanna bump into him, can’t really speak to him,,, but Eddie? Eddie’s filled with wrath. I cannot stress enough the fact that he uses Chris as an excuse “do you even know how much he misses you? how could you! you’re not here”. The way he expresses himself, and we’re choosing to ignore the fact that he HIMSELF misses Buck,, that’s how you talk to someone who has a responsibility with the child, not the fun coworker that randomly shows up @ your house with pizza every once in a while. “I couldn’t even call you to bail me out of jail”. He’s so u p s e t that for the first time they know each other he can’t rely on Buck when he’s hurting and in danger. And pls for the love of Jesus Christ my lord & savior don’t tell me that it’s a 118 thing bc he calls Ronda Rousey to come pick him up ���🏻 that grocery store scene is.. interesting.

Eddie Underground. Alright we’re getting serious now guys,,, might as well put on your thinking caps on this one. We all know the story, this isn’t a latest ep recap soooo The wAY Buck’s the ONLY ONE who desperately calls Eddie’s name when he’s fallen underground, amidst the heavy rain and dirt. Listen to me: he starts digging with his hands. With his bare hands I tell you!!!! 😩 Bobby has to physically pull him back as he cries on his lap. Buck is a smart man, he wouldn’t do something that’s completely illogic, he knows he can’t dig him out but he’s so desperate. His voice breaks, he can’t breathe, he becomes impulsive, reckless, impatient. Do I need to remind y’all the reason he wasn’t the one getting strapped to go underground??? “You’re not going down there. So we can have two cut off ropes?” Everyone knows he’s willing to sacrifice his integrity for Eddie bc his life doesn’t make sense without him. “We’ll get him back for you”

The Shooting + “I’ve made u my son’s dad lol”. When Eddie gets shot the world freezes for Buck. He’s left standing there, staring as Eddie’s blood splatters on him. He has to be tackled down. Even then, he’s unable to move, to breathe. He just looks as he bleeds out, and theN he snaps back into reality, bracing himself to go under the truck (foregoing his own trauma - I’ve said this before) and preparing for the amount of strength it’s gonna take to pull him under it. He screams at him to hold on, and later when he manages to pull him inside the truck he tells him he needs him to hang on. He rips his uniform open, he cries and screams,,, then Eddie wakes up, and he asks BUCK if HES okay. Bc he saw blood :( also as @butraura pointed out, he can’t die if Buck’s dying bc what about Chris? He only lets himself drift off when he knows Buck’s okay. Then we got The Will Reveal™️ also so unhinged. “You knew I wouldn’t turn it down” right what is this guys??? That was a year ago. He added him to his will A yEaR aGo. Idk about y’all but I haven’t added my friends to my will😀 also Buck’s the one who tells Chris ??? (I’m being very brief on this subject). Also “Because, Evan” shut up🧎🏽‍♀️

& 10. The Lightning Strike + “She sees me”. I’m doing these together bc I haven’t watched this episodes yet but I’m an addict so I’ve spoiled myself to the brim. The way Eddie screams Buck’s name, the way he saves him, “do more” h e l l o ?? The absolute PAIN in Eddie’s eyes, “you died Buck” “3 minutes and 17 seconds”, “his humor hasn’t changed” & the fact that he listens to Buck on his super genius math theory. And then Buck goes and says “I feel like Natalia sees me” ok. I mean my feelings mean nothing but Eddie’s face ??? That’s a man that knows he’s waited too long.

I rest my case. I’m missing a lot of scenes (like a lot omg Abby comes back, Buck under the Truck, Buck vomiting blood, the Taylor Arc) & y’all can argue in the comments about them, or add shit or try to dismantle mine, honestly the floor is yours idc wHat u do, just know you won’t convince me otherwise 🤸🏽these two are in love & that’s pretty much that on THAT. PERIOD.

[notadamnmermaid]

Baked Alaska

Eddie Diaz likes to think he’s a good friend, when he wasn’t actively sabotaging his own life. He gets along decently with Chimney; plays cards with Hen and Karen at their standing ‘parents of teenagers’ meet ups; has a regular pool game with Bosko whenever their schedules lined up; and he enjoys pick-up basketball game days with Tommy. All of this to say, he is a pretty good guy to most people.

But here’s the thing about Eddie: he might like to think he’s a good friend, but he knows without a question that he is Buck’s best friend. So when Buck shows up at his doorstop, forlorn and scowling with a six pack of beer, of course Eddie is going to help him get over his breakup. He turns the music back up and dances, and he urges Buck up to join him. They dance and they drink and they laugh until Buck looks less like he’s going to break down.

Later that week, he helps Buck pack up the few things of Tommy’s that are left around the loft. Maddie and Chim have just dropped off Jee-Yun, so Eddie picks up the bag. He knows that Tommy should be at his station today, so he can drop it off before heading back to Buck’s baking frenzy.

“I mean yeah, Evan’s hot, but he was also, like, really just not my type.” Eddie’s ears prick up at the sound of Tommy’s voice. He’s just walked into Harbor station. He moves silently up the stairs to see Tommy holding court, his back to Eddie. Donato is there, along with Hicks and Gomez, listening to Tommy with a barely perceptible sneer that turns to malicious glee as she sees Eddie stalking up with a finger to his lips.

“But I hooked up with someone at this nightclub in WeHo last month who’s way more my speed,” Tommy continues on obliviously. “An absolute hottie and I can have a fully coherent conversation without him going off on, like, fifteen different tangents. And just the tightest little ass, like my god—“

Eddie thinks he blacked out for a few seconds, because two weeks ago, Buck and Tommy were still dating. But a month ago, Tommy did what?

What?

Here’s the thing about Eddie Diaz: he likes most people well enough, but he loves Evan Buckley, and Eddie will be damned before he lets a raggedy bitch like Tommy get away with hurting him, even retroactively.

“What the FUCK are you talking about, Kinnard?” Eddie’s emphatic voice from directly behind him prompts a jump spin from Tommy. Eddie watches his face pale with hard eyes and his jaw set. From the corner of his eye, he sees Donato take out her phone.

“Ed-Eddie,” Tommy stutters out, eyes darting across his face nervously. “What are you doing here?”

Eddie tosses the bag to the floor at his feet. “Well, I was trying to be kind to my best friend since his ex broke up with him a few days ago; I didn’t think it’d be a good idea for Buck to have to go through some bullshit handoff, when I— being his best friend and your friend— could just bring it over peacefully.

“But back to you: what the fuck did you just say? Did I just hear your bitch ass admit to cheating on my best friend? Was that what I just heard?” Eddie prowls up to the older man and pokes him hard in the chest. Tommy looks like curdled milk as he tries to back away.

“Eddie, listen, please—“

“Oh fuck that, puto,” Eddie snarls, balling his fist up into Tommy’s collar and dragging him down to eye level. “Buck is one of the best men I know, you fuckwit piece of shit coward. What, you didn’t want to tell him the truth, so you broke up with him? Said he would break your heart eventually? What a fucking joke; Buck is the kindest, sexiest, coolest person I know. You don’t deserve to have that type of goodness in your life. And he doesn’t deserve a prick like you taking advantage of him.”

Abruptly, he releases Tommy with a hard shove, completely disgusted by even the idea of being around the other man any longer. He turns and walks off, kicking the bag lightly out of the way.

“There’s all your stuff,” he calls over his shoulder, “now you can lose Buck’s number, and lose mine too for that matter.” He stops for a moment, cocks his head, and looks over his shoulder with a mean little smile.

“But thanks for getting him those Lakers tickets; I’ll make sure he has a real good time.”

When he walks back in to Buck’s apartment, strong hands push him up against the door. Eddie has half a breath to take in the fevered look in blue eyes before those same strong hands cradle his face for a kiss. His own hands move automatically, clutching at broad shoulders and fisting in curly blond hair. A moan rumbles through his chest.

They eventually part, air still being a necessity, foreheads touching. “Lucy sent me a video,” Buck murmurs, eyes wide and smiling broadly. “I’m the sexiest person you know?”

Eddie huffs out a laugh. “And the kindest, coolest, funniest, sweetest, most irritatingly beautiful man I know. Mi sol,” he declares, “Mi amor. Te amo. I’m sorry it took me so long to realize.”

They’re both smiling, tears glinting in their eyes, as they move together for another kiss, and then another, and then another. They part reluctantly as Jee-Yun starts calling for attention from the living room. Fingers laced together and sides bumping playfully, they make their way over to her.

After all, there will be time for more later.

[nqueso-emergency]

You’re constantly calling out “bestie boos” for being irrational, so let’s see if you can take what you dish out. Why does a 30-something, able bodied white man need to be coddled and wrapped in a blanket every time he has an unpleasant thought? And why is it the responsibility of others, be it Eddie, Bobby, or Maddie (who, btw, have all comforted him LOADS of times since the beginning; these said characters receive it…almost never). I think the fact that his teammates aren’t indulging his every negative emotion is a good thing. Buck, god love him but not surprisingly, is making something that has nothing to do with him about himself and is again seeking external validation. His friends aren’t evil incarnate for not dropping everything to hold his hand.

Plus, I could counter that I sure didn’t see Buck comforting Eddie in that last episode! Instead he threw his best friend into a dangerous situation within 24 hrs after a rough conversation with his son and mother. But I’m not saying that because I have media literacy, I don’t baby any of these grown adults, and know what a healthy best friend dynamic looks like. It’s not about keeping score, it’s about knowing each other. Buck needs to learn how not to spiral and scowl because he doesn’t have a boss for the time being who considers him his own child—that doesn’t happen in the real world.

I’m blocking you now, because up until recently I thought you were entertaining and funny; you also said you genuinely like Eddie, but I’m not seeing it and you seem very hostile toward a generally good long-standing POC character for the sake of a baby ship and woobifying the one of the shows few white dudes. I know you probably couldn’t care less about my feedback and are just going to say something snarky, but if it makes you self-reflect even a little bit, I figured why not. Best to you

Why do people think they have to tell me they're unfollowing me or blocking me? Idc.

Since you allegedly blocked me, I'm not going to answer because what would be the purpose??

[buddieism]

okay so one thing i like to do for fun is speculate about potential 9-1-1 scenes that i'd really like to see play out next season and naturally one of the obvious ones to do that with is buddie's first date.... so walk with me for a second while i elaborate on my vision.

now first and foremost i am a #believer that the buddie first kiss will be a very heat of the moment type thing like ideally right after some crazy near-death experience and it's all dramatic and passionate etc etc. like i just think that would be so much fun and also a good way to set up their relationship because it's like they're so caught up in the adrenaline and then they're like oh my god what did we just do. also because i see this being like a major mid-season finale cliffhanger like it just makes perfect sense that we get the classic mid-season crisis of sorts -> buck and eddie bruised bloodied battered just falling into each other's arms and then making out sloppy style -> hiatus where we all inevitably go insane

so alright they've kissed... what now? i feel like the logical next step is that they’ll have some sort of Tricky Conversation where they’re like well what about chris/is this worth risking our friendship over/are we in a relationship now because stuff can't ever go smoothly in the 9-1-1verse but obviously they work it out and decide fuck it let’s give it a shot... which brings us to the actual date!

naturally, buck is going to be the one planning it because he wants to woo eddie #right so he makes reservations at a restaurant and i think it could be cute if pre-date we have buck sort of anxiously ranting to maddie because he's super nervous and she's like please be calm it's literally eddie. and he's like yeah you're right what could possibly go wrong 😊 <- famous last words. so they're at the restaurant and in typical 9-1-1 fashion it either a) it goes horribly wrong à la madney date where someone starts dying at another table or b) it’s very awkward and silly at first becayse they’re freaking out about the pressure they’ve put on themselves but ultimately by the end of it everything's good 👍

and then buck drops eddie home in his jeep (duh) and he walks eddie to his door and eddie's like aww what a gentleman all flirtatiously and buck's like to be honest i've been thinking about doing that all night...well actually there’s also one more thing i've been thinking about and eddie’s like *doe eyes* yeah? and buck leans in and kisses him and it’s super cute and chaste and they’re both grinning like idiots and then buck's like okay i guess i’ll let you get some rest and there’s a heavy pause and then eddie’s like well... it’s not like you haven’t slept over at my place before and then BOOM they’re crashing through the doorway making out hands all over each other stumbling onto the couch et cetera and we get a tasteful fade to black… and the next scene is them waking up in eddie's bed together and buck's like i gotta say this is a lot comfier than sleeping on the couch and eddie's just horribly fond and then we hear christopher yelling eddie's names and Shenanigans ensue and maybe there's a parallel to eddie kicking out shannon except this time he's like you know what actually we should just tell him (because i really do not want them keeping their relationship a secret from chris... that poor kid has been through enough)

[stagefoureddiediaz]

what if we've missed some major Eddie foreshadowing???

What if we all followed the red herring and missed a massive clue the show has given us about Eddies arc?! I'm going back to season 7 - 7x05 to be exact and the conversation Eddie has with Marisol when he gets back from Bucks.

The scene plays out like this;

Marisol: I should have told you, about the nun thing. Eddie: Why didn't you? Marisol: Because no man has ever looked at me the same after he found out. There's two types of guys, the ones that get freaked out by it and the ones who get a little too into it. Eddie: Maybe theres a third? The kind of guy who just needs a minute. Marisol: You don't need to slow walk it. If you're not ready for this... Eddie: Yeah. I don't think I am. Yet. so here's something you don't know about me. This moving too fast. I do it a lot. I just go with my gut and let my head catch up later.

Obviously the literal meaning is obvious - the reality of relationships as experienced when something that has been kept secret is revealed. The meaning of the words said can be taken at face value but thats doesn't have to be the only meaning and fandom explored the subtext.

Now I don't think our theorising about the subtext of Eddies storyline in that episode and that scene being about catholic guilt and it setting up Eddie's reckoning with the catholic faith is wrong - I think it very much is about that. But what if there is a second subtextual meaning hidden underneath the catholic guilt and the set up for a catholic faith arc. One that is part of that catholic faith and Eddie arc, but is also its own thing separate from it?!

I know I always read those lines and the idea of a third guy being a play on the idea of people falling into three categories - religious, agnostic or atheist. The third guy being the agnostic as it sits in the middle of that spectrum. Eddie sees himself as catholic and therefore religious. Even though he is lapsed and therefore agnostic is something he hasn't really grasped about himself because he hasn't needed to. until now.

The conversation preceding the Eddie-Marisol conversation above is also really key for this scene - because it sets up the idea of a third way. There is plenty of subtext and metaphors in that scene - Eddie not wanting to go home is a metaphor for the house of god - the church. Eddie at this point in the scene thinks his only options are to go home - to religion - to be fully practicing, or to not return at all - become atheist. Buck revealing he and Tommy were on a date is a metaphor for the third way - agnostic.

This is still a valid way to view the meaning of the scene and sets up Eddies arc for the rest of the season and going into season 8 really well.

But...

The Eddie - Marisol conversation takes place immediately after Eddie’s chat with Buck - when Buck comes out as bi and Eddie says nothing is going to change between them. A loaded line that make it clear that things have already changed between them and that they will continue to do so.

What if it’s also a metaphor for sex in a more literal sense.

'The ones who get a little too into it' are the ones who enjoy and have sex regularly (we're shown and told that is who Marisol is in this episode multiple times) - we'll use hypersexual as the term here

'the ones who get freaked out by it' are not interested in/ don't want or need sex and don't have it - are ace.

Those are the only two guys Marisol describes and that is key. It is Eddie who suggests a third way and describes what that third way is - 'The guy who just needs a minute' - doing this means that this is who he is - he is the third way which is a metaphor for demi sexuality - needing a minute is short hand for needing a connection - needing a bit of time to build up that connection that then allows sex to become part of the conversation. It’s foreshadowing- hinting at Eddie’s demi-sexuality and setting up his s8 arc. 

Eddie also talks in that scene about really getting to know each other, that line works on all the various levels of subtext as well - Marisol gives eddie that minute and they are shown 'getting to know each other better' getting to know each other better is also a reference to the idea of Eddie seeking out religion again and getting to know that aspect better but it also plays into the idea of demi-sexual Eddie. Him getting to know himself better and not going with his gut without paying attention to his brain. Figuring out that giving himself that time to see if sexual attraction does develop - rather than starting out with sex early on and then panicking when it doesn't.

This plays into what happens later in season 7 with Kim - it gives him the parallel of Shannon - who he was friends with first - which is why he had sexual attraction to her when their friendship turned romantic. Things with Marisol are not following the same pattern - he isn't finding that connection with her. But he's still learning and figuring things out so when he comes across a doppelgänger of Shannon it allows him to test things out further on that front and not just the not being having let Shannon go of it all.

The fact we see nothing remotely sexual for Eddie in the rest of the season with Marisol, and the decision of the show to go with Eddie hugging Kim rather than kissing her along with the Adam and Eve and snake imagery we get with Kim (her hair is up in a snake knot bun) is really interesting.

Whilst the time we see him spend with Kim can be read as being dates (which is the intention and technically what they are) they can also be read another way because of the lack of romance and sex we see when it comes to Marisol. Marisol is the representation of the church - of catholicism. Kim is the opposite end of the spectrum - she is atheism which is why she has the snake knot bun and the leather outfit and also the dark lighting. she is the snake in the garden of eden tempting Eve (Eddie) to eat the apple. If they had kissed in the later scene then it would have represented him eating the apple - him not doing so means he didn't - that he resisted temptation where Eve did not. Its the play on the religious meaning, but its also a play on the sexual spectrum meaning as well - catholicism v atheism v agnostic.

Buck is very heavily connected to all of this narrative. not only because of the scene preceding the scene about three types of guy, but also because it is him Eddie drops Chris off with before he sees Kim and he is the person Eddie opens up to about Kim. He is always the middle ground. He is the representation of agnosticism in the religious subtext and demi-sexuality in the sexual subtext (what Bucks position on the sexual spectrum is is irrelevant - he represents the connection needed to feel sexual attraction in this context)

There is a third subtextual reading as well (again a subtext that is foreshadowing) - that has only become more clear as we've started season 8. They do like their threes in connection with Buck and Eddie!!

Eddie is going to reckon with/seek advice from the church - so he is going to explore his faith which sets up another 3 way situation- this time it’s the religious agnostic and atheist metaphor from a sexuality standpoint- religious = straight - heteronormative, agnostic = bi and atheist is gay - the opposite of heterosexual! 

Eddie won’t need the third way here (or maybe he will - perhaps the show is going to make Eddie Demi and bi - it would be kind of amazing rep if they did. Or maybe Eddie is going to to be Demi and bi initially because he thinks that’s what he is because of Shannon, Ana and Marisol but will ultimately figure out he’s gay when he is shunned by the church for dating a man (metaphorically speaking - it is his parents who would most likely be the representation of this!) 

I don't know how this became so long and how it went off on a tangent I didn't mean it to but here we are welcome to my brain 😂😂😂

[ravi-is-my-beloved]

My 8x06 Thoughts

This won't be a summary, because I just have a lot of feelings of this episode. Even now I'm still kinda laughing.

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT!

I want to start with Eddie, because I had been so excited for his storyline this episode.

The confession with Eddie and Father Brian (we finally got his name) was still so heartbreaking to watch, even though the sneak peek we had gotten yesterday had showed us most of that scene. Eddie saying "That's it?" when Father Brian gave the amount of Hail Marys and such that he had to do... Oh that hurt. Him basically running out of the confessional booth because he doesn't think he deserves forgiveness also hurt.

I do think it's funny that Father Brian and Eddie managed to bump into each other at the juice bar and that Father Brian was like "I'm going to ignore the fact that confession is supposed to be anonymous and confidential."

But anyways, Father Brian's correct assumptions that Eddie's mustache is a disguise and that Eddie is still punishing him were good. I really like his speech about how God has forgiven Eddie. And I love that he still let Eddie set his pace, to deal with his own feelings of needing to be punished while also telling Eddie that he can't punish himself forever. Eddie eventually has to forgive himself and let himself be happy.

And while we didn't see Eddie doing what he had been told by Father Brian to do to atone for his sins, we did see the aftermath. We saw Eddie shave off the mustache (though I do think it's weird that he did it with no shaving cream) and then we see Eddie in just a shirt (same color shirt as the shirt he wore to the bachelor party in the previous season) and his underwear.

The song of choice that they used during the scene where he's just having a dance fest was so funny, but I don't think I could tell you why it's funny because it's something that you just have to know why it's funny. Anyways, I loved seeing Eddie so care-free after he spent so long punishing himself was honestly so good, I was vining with it.

Now, onto the Madney of it all.

Maddie saying "Maybe we should give Jee a sister or brother" during dinner and being so casual about it, was lowkey funny. Of course Chimney had his reservations, because of Maddie's postpartum depression after she had Jee. They both had good arguments and I'm glad Chimney realized that it shouldn't stop them from trying again.

And turns out, Maddie is already pregnant!! I'm so excited for them!

Maddie really hit the nail on the head when she said that they shouldn't go into this pregnancy thinking Maddie is just a bomb waiting to go off of. Because that can have negative effects on the environment they're raising the baby in and it's just not good for anyone, least of all Maddie.

I saved Buck's storyline for the last because God, the reason for his spiraling made me cackle.

His and Tommy's six month anniversary dinner being ruined (in only Buck's eyes) by Tommy saying that he almost married Abby was funny only because I couldn't believe everyone who said that not only Tommy would have a past with marriage (or an almost marriage) but also that the writers would have Tommy by Abby's Tommy. I just had to laugh at that, couldn't help it.

Buck's conversation with Josh and Maddie was nice. I did like how Josh said there was obviously a difference between Tommy's experience as a gay man and Buck's experience as a bisexual man, since they realized their sexual awakenings at different times when the acceptance of LGBT+ people was different.

I did disagree a little bit about Josh saying that you can't judge Tommy for what he did in the past while still hiding himself, but whatever.

(Side note: I loved the reappearance of the running joke of Buck not knowing pop culture in the form of Buck having never seen Glee.)

The loft scene where Buck reveals to Tommy that he was the "Himbo" who dated Abby after Tommy broke up with her was a whirlwind.

Like they went from Tommy learning that they shared exes, to Buck telling him to move in. Which I also had to laugh at, because it reminded me of the original BT. Like Buck just was going to rush into moving in with Tommy.

And then Tommy is breaking up with Buck in the most vague way where Tommy goes to leave and Buck has to ask if they just broke up. That's so wild to me, it was the vague breakup.

The last thing that happened, right after Eddie's little dance, was Buck going to Eddie (after the breakup) and the episode ends with them sitting on the couch and drinking. Like I just love that the first person Buck thought of to go for comfort was Eddie and the way Eddie not only didn't bother to put on pants, but he also didn't need Buck to tell him what happened.

Overall, I liked the episode. It was a better episode than I was expecting, because I had gone with lowered expectations. I can't wait to see what happens next for the firefam.

[biasbuck]

BiAsBuck’s ficrec Fridays

shhhh pretend you do not see what day of the week it is (dear brain, please get back into a routine!) Happy Frunday? Back again with another round of the fic I've been reading this month. Deep in my 'Chris' away, now what' feels. You can find previous rec lists here.

14 July 2024

not a demon, there's a reason by @ithilien-writes oooooh my god I love 'kid learns about their parent's past' fic, and the Chris season 8 set up is just a gold mine for it. Here's an absolutely incredible entry into the fic canon, in which Chris, bored and lonely in Texas, stumbles upon Eddie's teenage diary. He reads it as a conduit to learning more about Shannon than his Dad has ever told him, and in doing so comes to understand Eddie like he never did before. (I would also recommend reading other fic from this author for some lovely interconnected story telling and further insight into some of Eddie's teenage secrets.)

kid, you better come home by @wildehacked is a short one shot with Buck's POV on Chris being away, navigating calls to him, established but relatively new bucktommy, and how Buck copes with all that whilst looking after Eddie and nurturing their queerplatonic family set up. A really interesting exploration of Chris and Buck's relationship with the basis that 'Every other time Chris has fought with Eddie, he’s gone to Buck.' I love Chris' voice in this, it's so well captured.

i’ve seen a couple suns that set forever by @cal-daisies-and-briars '“So?” Chris asks. “You’ve said things are going to change before, and it always ends up with people leaving, and me feeling terrible all over again. How is it different now?”' in which Chris and Eddie go to family therapy, and Eddie comes out. Really wonderful exploration of how not everything is fixed so easily, and Eddie working to repair the damage whilst Chris works on understanding his Dad and coming to a place of forgiveness, whilst dealing with his own abandonment issues. Luckily a conversation with Bobby helps him look at his Dad in a new light.

my home is your body by @coldbam 'This is Buck’s first Pride. Sue him, he’s excited. He’s going all out.' After Buck and Tommy have a rather acrimonious split during Buck's first pride out, he discovers Eddie has had a very different night. There as an ally, Eddie embarks on some steep self discovery learning curves. Exploring grindr leads to a serious friends with benefits situationship, but of course there's no miscommunication over feelings here...right? Oh Buddie...what are we gonna do with you. A delightful comedy of errors whilst also being hot. Loved this!

let the world have its way with you and thousand times (which isn’t half enough) by @shitouttabuck in which Eddie convinces Buck to seize the day post-lightning strike by making a bucket list and helping him make his wishes a reality, from the smallest hopes to the biggest dreams. With a heaping of Buckley-Diaz family and firefam time, so much pining and longing and heart...and the most sweetly loving tree root metaphor I've ever read. Now with a gorgeous follow up fic to answer some of those lingering questions!

so far away but still so near by @exhuastedpigeon yes, yessss Eddie and Lucy and Ravi bestieism. In which, based on Frank's advice, 'Eddie Diaz learns who he is outside of being a father, builds some new friendships, and loves his best friend.' I really loved the dynamic that Eddie built up here, his tentative steps into finding friends outside of the support system he'd previously relied on, and the way it peeled back new facets of himself in order to love his loudest. Gorgeously written as always! Ravi and Lucy are just absolute bestie goals.

I know the words, I know the sounds by @try-set-me-on-fire in which 'Buck and Eddie dance at Tommy’s wedding.' Oh yeah, I see you SalTommy shippers, and I absolutely get it. As does Buck...sometimes the heart just wants what it wants, and what are you gonna do? Exploring the 'what if Tommy's the one to run off with his best friend' prompt to hilarious and heartwarming ends.

good pretender by @likeshipsonthesea an oldie but a goodie circa season 5, in which Buck and Ravi are secret fully platonic friends with casual sex benefits, Eddie pines A LOT, and everyone is just failing to communicate. I love the introspection here, what each character learns about themselves along the way, and how everything is eventually worked out. Give me season 8 Ravi main please show, I'm begging.

That's it for this week but I'm once again putting out a call for any Hen POV or henren ficrecs (please feel free to self rec), buddietommy, and canon compliant Tommy POV because I've fallen out of the loop!

[colonoscopys]

yes i did mean what drink they were and i still don’t know why bc the only drink i know is a sangria. little do you know i yap enough for two friends!!! anyway new question what would everyones biggest fear be hashtga halloween

my god had a LONG drawn out conversation about this and then promptly forgot to fucking answer. forgive me forgive me forgive mee

bobby: i think (other than needles), because his son is Certified Bug Boy, bobby is a little afraid of bugs. i think buck is the little guy whos like 'bobby a PRAYING MANTIS. LOOK AT HIS LEGS' and bobby is like oh yes son... you both have the same amount of legs... lets look over there. i think he's 100% calling athena to get her gun to shoot a spider in the bathtub, clutching a towel daintily to his chest while he runs.

hen: i think its got to be like. ET. I think hen is rational at all times but one time her and chimney watch an alien movie and hen is like. what the fuck is this. and then she goes home and tells karen about it. and karen is like ms. rocket scientist like. There have been reports of the extraterrestrial. and hen just sits at the counter and waits for karen to finish cleaning the kitchen so that they can hold hands to walk up the stairs. she clings onto karen very tightly in the bed later that night like 'DONT LET THEM TAKE ME!!!!' and karen is sitting there like 'if they fucking take you theyll somehow rip out my spine the way youre fucking holding me'. denny comes in the room a little later. hen starts screaming karen says 'THAT IS OUR CHILD"

chimney: crows, obviously. but also i think its the dentist and demons. he hears a shifty noise outside and he grabs a rolling pin and stands in front of the door like 'MADDIE BABY I WILL PROTECT YOU!!!!'. maddie holding jee staring at the damn door like honey that is the mail man. please god. i also think he is 100% raising the type of kid that would go 'daddy, who's sitting in the corner of the room?" and chimney starts screaming and then maddie comes in and fist bumps jee

eddie: eddie would be vaguely uncomfortable by clowns. also with jumpscares i think he just wrinkles his noses. but i think one time him and buck go to a haunted house and theyve got one of those screens that move eerily and its like a live version of karen from spongebob and hes fucking shivering and shaking. i also think he plays up on the jumpscare thing to plaster himself to bucks biceps like a koala. he would be like "HELP ME IM SO SCARED (grabs bucks boobs) THIS IS HELPING ME!!!!!"

buck: i think he's scared of dolphins (they're Scary. and he knows so much about Them.) but also he's a huge conspiracist theories. i think he listens to a podcast and starts telling eddie about it in the drivers seat, wide eyed and blue, and he's like 'RFK JR. EVIL. EDDIE. WE NEED TO GO." and eddie just nods with his sunglasses on and says 'okay, let's go get iced coffee first'.