#awkward 4x08

[awkward-sultana]

Magnificent Century + Before vs After Mehmet's Death (requested by @skynerd157)

[chocolatecake47]

Rex Igneous just gives SUCH jealous jilted ex vibes who never got over anything, i think Zubeia dumped him for Avizandum and no one can tell me you don't get those vibes too because they are THERE

[cyclone-rachel]

Alex is alone.

Of course, in the middle of the day the DEO is not empty. There are still agents present, walking through the command center, busy doing research, etcetera.

But none of them are close to Director Danvers, Querl notes as he walks in, toward her. Nobody seems to notice her, standing with her arms resting on the table, her hands fidgeting with something. Nobody sees the look in her eyes, no doubt remembering a time when other people she trusted stood around the table with her.

Querl has studied the records- he knows who else has been here. The former director, J’onn- who she seemed to consider a second father. Her own father, Jeremiah, before she knew who he was truly working alongside. Winn, for a time. Others have come in and out, like her ex-girlfriend Maggie, and even Mon-El and Imra, along with himself before he knew his stay in this century was indefinite. She misses all of them, he’s sure.

But he knows there is one she’s specifically thinking of. One she was supposed to protect, who became her strongest ally when she learned of the organization’s existence. One who she would literally not be here without.

One who, now, has been forced out, though not by any fault of her own.

(“From now on, the DEO will require full transparency from all of its assets”, Haley had said. How much longer until his own identity was under scrutiny as well?)

That, however, was a lower priority. And he would, theoretically, have time to plan for a way around it.

This… he hadn’t calculated. Even when Lockwood was shouting at her, he hadn’t considered it would lead to the President arriving at the DEO, asking that Kara reveal her secret.

And yet that was exactly what had happened.

He didn’t blame Kara for her decision, and he expected Alex didn’t either. It still hurt, however.

So it was with that in mind, that Querl approaches her, and as much as he could say in that moment, nothing seems adequate for the situation.

Instead, he simply places a hand on her shoulder, and she looks at it briefly before gently patting his hand, and letting out a sigh.

“Thanks.” She says.

“Of course.” He answers. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too.” She tells him. “I tried to prevent it…”

“I know. But…”

Alex lets out a sigh again.

“You probably saw this whole thing coming, didn’t you?”

Her tone is more accusatory, and takes him back- mentally, at least- to a time when she would have never let him put his hand on her shoulder, or get as close to her in any way as they are right now.

“No, actually.” He says. “Not these specific circumstances.”

Alex nods.

“So I guess you don’t know what we should do next.”

“No, that much is clear.” He says. “We keep helping Supergirl, as much as we can. Like you always have.”

She smiles, just a little bit, when she finally turns to look at him.

“Like we have.” She corrects. “That, I can agree with.”

He smiles back, just as briefly, before continuing.

“What is she doing now?”

“She said she was going on vacation, visiting her cousin and Lois Lane on their family farm for the holidays.” Alex answers. “I certainly don’t blame her. If it was me… well, I’d certainly want to take a vacation too, but I don’t think I could have shown that much restraint.”

Restraint is practically second nature for me, he thinks, the inhibitors holding back how strongly he feels about their current predicament, but considers that such a statement would sound like bragging, so he avoids it.

(He also avoids any comments about hopefully getting to meet Superman and his soon-to-be wife, because those would definitely be insensitive in this circumstance.)

“Me neither.” He says, attempting to reassure her. “Then I suppose we should plan for what may happen when she returns- Agent Liberty getting out of prison, if the protesters on television have their way, or any number of new rules Haley could impose on the DEO.”

“Yeah.” Alex answers. “Somewhere other than here, though.”

“In private. Indeed- lead on, Director.”

She looks more confident now, as she begins to stride away, and in what is becoming a habit for them now, he follows soon behind.

“Certainly, Agent Dox.”

[izloveshorses]

everyone watching abby smash the radiation chamber

[m3r1m4r5u333]

Btw I NEED TO ramble about the scene in which Buck comes out to Maddie and why it just makes me love her even more than I did before. Maddie is my freaking GOAT ❤️❤️❤️

Why? Well, because she already KNEW. She TOTALLY KNEW. And still pretended to be surprised!!

Why do I say she knew? Well. Because it's 100% canon that Buck rambles about his boy crushes, a lot. A LOT. To everyone!!!

I can't remember how much I've talked about this, but Buck totally had a crush on Albert at one point. There's an whole storyline about it, episodes 4x07 and 4x08.

Here's a recap of how it goes:

Buck goes on a date with Veronica. The date goes BADLY. It lasts for about 90 minutes and Buck leaves humiliated, never wanting to see her again.

Albert is Buck's room mate. Buck comes home, rants about the embarrassing date, announces that he never wants to see Veronica again... Goes to take out the trash, and runs across Veronica, realising that she's their neighbour, lives in the same building. Buck runs home and urgently tells Albert that they have to move!!

Then... Buck knocks on Veronica's door, trying to reconciliate. He does not want awkwardness between neighbours. They agree that the date was terrible, and then... Albert walks out of the shower in a towel.

Next... We see Buck and Taylor (she's a reporter) at work. They're watching a guy who's having a meltdown on a low roof. The emergency is taking forever, Taylor and Buck talk... Or rather.. Buck does!!

Not only does he rant about Albert and Veronica to Taylor, he also talks about them to a random first responder. Albert in a towel!!! has certainly left Buck reeling. It's super obvious that the one Buck actually fancies is Albert. The one date with Veronica was terrible, they definitely weren't ever in a relationship -- but Buck is sputtering about "breaking of bro code!!" and Albert in a towel?? Yeah.

They're not the only ones hearing about Albert. There's also a scene (can't recall which episode) where Chimney and Maddie enter a karaoke bar. Chimney says something about this being nice reprise because he's heard enough about Albert lately...

Anyway, back to Veronica/Buck/Albert/Taylor. Buck invites Taylor on a double date - without telling her it's a double date. Taylor arrives, takes in the queer love square she's been pulled into, very pointedly says that she's heard A LOT about Albert because Buck keeps talking about him... And then she's like "Actually I'm off, this is ridiculous.", and storms off (go queen 👑!)... (Then she and Buck reconciliate. Her capacity to forgive is unparalled, just saying.)

Anyway, back to WHY I LOVE MADDIE. (And Chimney!!!)

The crush on Albert isn't the only obvious boy crush Buck has, is it?

Eddie... The way they meet and Buck goes nuts trying to impress Eddie. The peacocking (mutual peacocking!!!!) is absolutely ridiculous. Chimney watches this mating display dance, shakes his head, rolls his eyes, chuckles to himself... Chimney can tell what's going on, for sure.

Then there's that famous scene in which Buck rambles about Eddie and Chris, is apparently elbows deep online researching for ways to help Eddie with Christopher... Maddie finally asks if the boy crush on Eddie means that Buck is over Abby.

... And there is of course also that scene where Buck assumes that when Maddie meets Chimney and says "he's so cute!", Maddie is talking about Eddie... Even though Maddie and Chimney are before line that seen talking and flirting like they're totally in their own bubble.

Anyway - then let's jump to season 7. Buck is rambling on and on about Eddie and Tommy, and how they've hit off. Apparently has for a good while. Buck is super bothered by their friendship, it's clear he's pressing Chris for intel, snooping around the Diaz home trying to find more information... Maddie listens to this absolutely ridiculous, clueless prattling. And she knows. She totally knows.

Buck is GLASS. He's absolutely transparent. This man isn't straight.

And she's not the only one who knows.

Chimney enters the room. Maddie looks at him "NO! Don't you dare say anything!!!" But Chimney can't resist indulging himself with some subtle teasing.

He jumps in, praising Tommy. "That Tommy's SO COOL 😍!!" Basically just adding fuel to the fire, getting under Buck's skin.

Maddie, in the background is making a face like:

"jdjdkkeke CHIMNEY 🤦 ...Ugh, thank you, darling. 🙄👌You've done it. I'll be here all day, listening to this absolutely brainless jealous meltdown. Fucking great!"

So...

Why won't they say anything, talk to Buck about how ridiculous he's being? Sit him down and spell:

YOU AREN'T STRAIGHT. YOUR BOY CRUSHES CAN BE SEEN FROM OUTER SPACE. Wake up!!

Well... Because they are being patient. Because they are being considerate, because they do not want to press him, because they're letting him take his time, figure it out at his own pace.

Because they know that confronting someone who isn't ready to face their queerness can go badly.

Forcing someone to confront their queerness can backlash, it can make that person retreat further inside the closet.

It can be embarrassing and traumatizing for the closeted person to be pressed about this inner conflict. The closet is a maze, it is scary, and confusing, and the denial can be powerful enough that the closeted person doesn't even have any idea that hey, I'm queer, I'm closeted.

So Maddie and Chimney are being sensitive. They see that Buck isn't ready to talk about his sexuality - he's obviously not even aware of it.

So Maddie and Chimney are giving him the time he needs to come to term with it. They may indulge in some gentle teasing, maybe try to give him the occasional hint to help him along, but mostly they're just waiting, listening, letting him be.

So!!!!

What about Maddie's (my GOAT, I love her ❤️) reaction to Buck coming out? Why did she pretend to be surprised by Buck's attraction to men?

Because she was being KIND. Considerate. Because she loves her brother and realises that this moment... It's not about her. It's about him. It's about the reaction Buck needs, to feel supported.

It's not the time to embarrass him. It's not the time to GLOAT about how smart she is, to have realised, ages ago, that Buck is clearly into into men, too.

She did see it coming, and because she is the BEST sister ever... She prepared. She researched this shit, how to react to someone's coming out in a positive way.

And if this is new to you - pay attention now...

Many queer people say this about their coming out;

It sucks if the person you're coming out goes "I KNEW IT! I CALLED IT! I SAW THIS COMING! YOU WERE SO OBVIOUS!!"

Because it totally belittles their struggle. It can be humiliating to learn that when you were scared, and stressed, and confused, and trying to hide your vulnerable underside... Someone was watching you, and thinking "Pffft. You're so freaking obvious. You're fooling nobody. Just come out already."

This gloating "I knew it" reaction isn't just bad because it makes you feel stupid, embarrassed, to learn that you were being transparent. It's like you have no privacy anymore. They saw your performance and gave it one star.

This "Oh I knew"... It makes you anxious because then you wonder... Who else already knows? Who else am I obvious to? What else am I obvious about?

Learning that they knew... It can be traumatizing. Embarrassing. Scary. Because nobody wants to learn that they're easy to read.

Maybe... you aren't ready to come out to everyone, and this reaction makes you terrified that you won't have the option to get ready, that they will realise what you're hiding, and force you to talk about it.

Because maybe... you're still freaked out abour people knowing you're queer. Maybe you fear people spotting it and lashing out.

Or maybe... You aren't afraid of a hateful reaction, but panic at the idea of even a supportive talk about your sexuality with someone. Sexuality is an universal taboo, talking about is awkward and stressful to almost everyone.

And also, when you come out and the person you told tells you they already knew, that your queerness was obvious, and they were expecting you to come out..?

It can be a shock in another way. Maybe your queerness was something you, at some point, were desperate to hide from others... And clearly, you failed that mission. What else are you failing to hide? Because everyone has something they're insecure about!!! Secrets, traumas, embarrassing moments, vulnerable parts. We all try to guard something.

So being told that your poker face sucks? It can make you feel totally paranoid. You think... Omg. I thought I was hiding this. I tried so hard to hide this.

But clearly I wasn't hiding. They saw right through me. Am I always so easy to read?

Do people know all my secrets, everything that makes me nervous and embarrassed, and scared? Do they just look at me and think "They're so dumb to put up that front, we can totally tell how you really think and feel."

Do people look at me and laugh? Do they joke about me behind my back?

And so on.

Basically, when someone comes out to you and you go "Thank god! ABOUT TIME!!"... You're being a prick.

They're opening up to you. They are being vulnerable. They are trusting you with something.

This moment... Your reaction is important. If you want to be a good ally, and support this person coming out to you.

Your job is to provide reassurance. Support. A listening ear. Your love.

Your job isn't to gloat, or dismiss their fears. Your job is not to induce panic, paranoia, or humiliate them by making them feel dumb.

They may be scared of your reaction. Respect that fear, however irrational it is. It doesn't matter if you're queer too, or think you're the best ally in the world, this moment can still be something they've been nervous about. Don't shit on it by smugly gloating about your excellent queerdar.

Yes, you can be honest, if they desperately want to know if you suspected anything. You can gently tell them that you saw some signs. But really, this moment isn't the time to humiliate them or freak them out. Be sensitive.

....

.... Oops sorry, got lost in the ramble 😅😅!!

Uh... Where was I? Yes.

Basically what I wanted to say with this post is that...

Maddie. Freaking. Buckley!!!! You are the love of my life, does not matter that you are fictional. You're my freaking GOAT anyway. I'm... weak.

Because her reaction to Buck's coming out?!!!

Jdjdjjdjdbndnd.

It actually makes me emotional. It was so perfect. It was so full of love!!!

Because yes, she totally knew, had known for years...

AND she kept that knowledge to herself!!!!

Because she'd seen Buck, the closet he was so lost inside in, and she loves Buck... So she wanted to be there for him.

And she knew that it's not easy to come to terms with one's queerness. That it can be tough and scary.

So she thought "What can I do to help? How can I do my best to support my queer brother?"...

And rolled up her sleeves. She researched this. She found out it's not helpful to press someone, that it's important to be patient. She looked up the experiences of queer people coming out. What is helpful! What isn't! She came up with a plan.

Yes, she totally did. I'm telling you, she fucking studied for this test. To make sure her reaction would be freaking perfect, and help Buck on this journey.

Because she did everything right. She realised that letting Buck know how obvious his bisexuality was to her... Might be detrimental to his well-being, and their relationship.

She understood that it wasn't important that she'd known.

That it wasn't her time to brag about how clever she was, to have seen this coming, but to be sensitive of this struggle, to respect this struggle.

So when the day finally came... She was surprised, yes, to realise Buck had been on a date with a man.

I mean, it came out of the blue, right? Buck had been so oblivious to his closet. She'd missed the moment Buck became aware of the closet, and immediately ran on a date.

She thought Buck was still in the dark, so him suddenly going on a date with a man never even entered her mind as an option.

Then she realised... OH. He IS there? He has figured this out. He's coming out to me, now?

Okay!!! Let's follow the game plan then.

Be sensitive. Don't act like you were totally expecting this day to come.

The identity of the date? That was the real surprise. I mean, just watch the previous scene in which Buck talks about Tommy and Eddie with her.

He does rant about Tommy, but c'mon... It's really Eddie's attention Buck craves.

It's basically a re-telling of Buck's love tangle with Veronica, Taylor and Albert. Buck told himself he wanted Veronica, and that's why it bothered him that Albert "broke the bro code".... In a towel! Except, the one who Buck wouldn't shut up about... Was Albert.

And Maddie sees that it's happening AGAIN. Wow... Her brother really has no idea WHO he is actually crushing on.

Okay, she thinks. Does not matter now! The coming out is the important part, so let's roll with it. Focus, Maddie! Get it right.

And she did. She was patient. She was supportive. She sae that Buck was trying to run from the topic of sexuality like it was a total nonevent that he'd been on a date with a man...

So she was like "Hey, let's just slow down a bit. Let's acknowledge this moment. I now know that you were on a date with a man. You don't need to continue this pronoun game.

Okay. Let's talk about it being a first date with a man, and what this step means to you. You can tell me."

Really, she was so lovely. She didn't gloat about already knowing, she didn't stress him out by being overly emotional - by acting like this was the biggest event to happen on Earth.

She calmed him down.

She made sure to let him know that this didn't scare her, or make her feel awkward.

That she wanted him to talk about this with her. That she was excited for him, and supportive, and wanted to know more, and that it was okay to date a man.

That she would want to know about Buck's relationships with men just like she'd wanted to know abour her relationships with women.

She let him know that she was there for him, ready to listen, and glad to hear he'd been on a date with a man.

That this didn't change a thing, that she would accept and welcome Buck's male partners just as she had always accepted the women he'd dated. The gender made no difference, she was fine with whoever Buck chose to date.

And she also made sure the mood didn't turn too heavy. She let him know that this was great news, something worth celebrating. That she was excited to see him enter this new chapter in his life, and experience new things.

And that she wanted to learn of it, she wanted him to share this new stuff, let her in his life. So tell me more about this hot pilot!

Jdjbdbdnndnd!!!

Really, she was fucking fantastic. This was such a lovely scene. I love Maddie, she's my favorite. I need a tissue, I'm crying.

Oh and also. It wasn't just great writing. The acting here just blew me away. I love them. So skilled, so lovely, so funny, so human. Brilliant, beautiful, both of them. Fucking impeccable.

[smalltownrobin]

Guys I've figured out a totally simple way they could have fixed rovickie in s4 and it's to do with a deleted scene.

SO we are all aware of the teeny tiny insignificant plot Robin and Vickie (Vickie in particular) had in s4; Robin likes Vickie but she's nervous, sees Vickie has a bf, Vickie sees Robin and has an internal bi panic, Vickie dumps bf and has a little gay stare with Robin while making sandwiches, boom done. But what did Vickie having a boyfriend actually do for rovickie's plot?

Short answer: nothing. Literally nothing. Robin was sad, yeah, but she got over it SO quickly and just decided there was bigger shit to deal with, job done. Her crush having a bf didn't affect her state of mind or her reason to fight, it just made her sort her priorities a little (which, considering Vickie wasn't even mentioned after the start of episode 2, she already had her priorities sorted). It gave them a little awkward meeting at the relief centre, but ultimately it did nothing to actually get them together.

Now if you have not seen this yet, lemme show you an official unused dialogue between Robin and Vickie that would have taken place during 4x08 at war zone:

I made this transcript from somebody's leaked audition tape for Vickie (which was posted in 2021 and included the pb&j scene word for word, so it's legit). It's not long, but oh it gives us a lot, SO much more than a longing jealous stare. Robin being an awkward disaster, beautiful. Vickie actually giving an explanation as to why she was even there and what her situation has been since the Vecna murders started, brilliant. And to top it all off? Vickie telling Robin to STAY SAFE. JUST BEFORE SHE GOES TO BATTLE VECNA IN THE UPSIDE DOWN.

Do you see DO YOU SEE how much better this is? They actually speak to each other, we get an insight into what's going on with Vickie herself, and it ends so tragically poetic with Vickie not even knowing what danger Robin was about to head into. This exchange could have given Robin a new reason to go into this battle, knowing how it's directly affecting the safety of someone she really cares about. Vickie also would have been able to fully take in Robin's post-upside down appearance, seeing her buying gasoline and weapons and being worried that this girl she probably perceives as so sweet and harmless (see the line "especially not you") is resorting to violence and maybe even suspecting she's more involved than she's letting her believe.

In the audition tape the pb&j scene stays exactly the same, so Vickie does still have a boyfriend here. But I don't think we need him at all (she doesn't need to go from dating a boy to a girl to count as bisexual, you know?). Their meeting at the relief centre could have been them silently and awkwardly feeling glad that each other is okay, Vickie could have rambled about the state of the town and her family's supposed overreaction to everything, they still could have had their cute peanut butter on peanut butter gay stare moment!!

This also could have lead well into s5, with Vickie coming to terms with her bisexuality and the fact SHE LIKES ROBIN, as well as her wanting to become more involved and help out and understand wtf is going on. All of this lack of build up could have been fixed with one little exchange THAT THEY WROTE THEMSELVES and just decided not to use.

And yeah I wish Vickie was still in the rest of the season more (I still firmly believe Vickie should have been at the library when Robin and Nancy showed up) or at least brought up every so often, but this 'what if' is already miles better than what we actually got.

Well here's to hoping s5 isn't just a painful repeat of this or else I might do something drastic.

[cringengl]

The two van scenes- Steve's self centered 'love' versus Will's selfless love.

The thing that I've only realised upon rewatch is the similarities between Steve's love confession to Nancy in 4x08 and Will's love confession to Mike, also in 4x08 (aka the van scene). Although we usually use parallels to show how similar the ships are, suggesting that they may have similar fates (such as jancy & byler parallels and mleven & stncy parallels), I think these two scenes are similar to show how different stncy and byler are.

So what are the similarities???

First off we have the fact that they take place in the same episode (roughly 25 mins apart) and exsist in a van. There's other similarities such as they both have a "Yeah?" "Yeah." scene:

Which really draws the parallels. Furthermore, both Mike and Nancy feel like they're losing El and Jonathan.

Although Mike confirms these fears more explicitly than Nancy, it's clear that her and Jonathan are drifting apart when neither of them go to visit eachother over spring break, which clearly upsets Nancy. Jonathan's college plans only confirm for the audience that they are drifting apart.

Finally, both Steve and Will give a 'gift' of sorts: Will's painting, and Steve's vision of his future (that he implies he wants Nancy to be a part of).

Will's love for Mike is selfless and generous.

The whole point of the van scene is that Will sacrifices and disregards his happiness as he believes that Mike would be happier with someone else- El, and so he uses his love confession to strengthen their (mleven's) relationship.

Steve literally does the opposite of this.

Steve's love confession is all about him. What he wants. He wants 6 little nuggets and a massive camper van for holidays and that's great for him, but it's not what Nancy wants. Steve is not considering what Nancy wants. It has been shown multiple times throughout the show that Nancy is ambitious and wants a career in journalism. It's what drives her to the trailer park where she learns about Victor Creel and it's why she wants to go to Emerson. I'm not saying that you can't be ambitious and have children, but children is clearly not a priority for Nancy. She literally says it right here:

Showing the difference in Steve and Will's love for their respective Wheeler. Whilst Steve is enforcing unwanted expectation onto Nancy, Will is doing the opposite- "ripping off the bandaid".

Even when Will envisions a future with Mike and tells him, it involves things that they have bonded over and enjoyed in the past together:

Will also gets Mike to talk to him, and share his insecurities. They have several other heart to hearts throughout the season where both Mike and Will talk honestly with eachother, whether that's about Mike's issues with El, being different and how scary it can be to tell other people and working together against Vecna.

Stncy at best has Steve talking about how he is crawling forward and working to be a better person, but not only is that in an effort to somewhat win Nancy back, Nancy never divulges her insecurities with Steve, their 'heart to heart' isn't mutal.

If we go back to the "Yeah?" "Yeah." parallel, you can see that's it's less of a parallel than you may originally think. The person who's asking "Yeah?" Is reversed in these situations, with stncy, it's the 'confessor', Steve, trying to see if Nancy agrees with him, but with byler, Will is instead the "Yeah.", and is helping Mike overcome his insecurities with El, and reaffirming Mike's new found confidence through Will's painting. Steve is again revolving the conversation around himself, where as Will is being as selfless as you can get.

Although it can be argued that maybe stncy isn't having as many heart to hearts and that the reason Nancy isn't responding similarly to Steve being vulnerable just yet is because they're exes, it's awkward, and Nancy is dating Jonathan.

But at the start of season 4, we see that byler are also in a rocky position in terms of their relarionship and Mike is literally dating El.

And yet, time and time again, we as the audience are shown how strong their relationship is and how much they care about repairing it, whereas stncy has had no such thing.

So what is the point of paralleling these van/confession scenes in the first place??

Personally, I think it's to show how pure and selfless Will's love for Mike is compared to Steve's, and what it's like for a confession to fall flat.

The byler van scene is full of beautiful cinematography, rising music, gorgeous lighting and powerful emotion, whereas in the stncy van scene, you can still here the rumbling of the van and the song 'Fire And Rain' by James Taylor, which presumably is from the radio, in the background whilst Nancy hesitantly agrees with what Steve is saying, making it feel less important and almost anti climatic.

Therefore, despite the initial, surface level similarities, these scenes show how vastly different byler and stncy are. Stncy will never be endgame because Steve's love is presented as self centered, whereas Will's love is beautiful and selfless. Byler is endgame as both Will's confession and Mike's reaction are telling of how strong their connection is and how deeply they love each other.

[lover-of-mine]

What is your sunlight theory about?

Hi, baby, buckle up, because this one is crazy. I don't know if you're familiar with the construction on sunset theory, I'll link some posts that will explain that better than I can here and here, but basically, you have the way everything about Ana in season 4 and the beginning of that relationship, happens around Sunset Boulevard, and you have the way Eddie is late coming back from the date in 4x08 because "there was construction on sunset" and he had to take a detour and then Buck and Eddie proceed to have one of the most domestic buddie scene in the show, all that after the most awkward date ever with Ana, created this whole "Ana was a detour on Eddie's way to Buck" (particularly, I love this as someone who views the shooting as Eddie's oh moment, and I know the show is gonna take that away from me, but it will be my truth until they do) and considering we as a fandom like to take things and run with them, that became a whole thing because Eddie has some sun imagery attached to him when it comes to relationships, which is definitely not just about Buck, even more with the way he's sitting on the sunset reading Shannon's letter, but like, we have the painting on Pepa's house behind Vanessa, stuff like that, but we also have things like Buck using sunset colors to draw his heart on the "I misunderstood the assignment" scene. I have been curious about the sunlight of it all since I wrote this post, because with one episode, and the fact that we don't know if the sun is setting or rising during the locker scene, I couldn't really create a pattern that would lead me anywhere. Then the loft stills leaked. Because then we would have 2 scenes where the sun seems to be important a few episodes apart, but I hadn't really thought about the construction on sunset angle until this picture.

Because paired with the sunset light on Buck's bi awakening, and the sunset light here, I'm making the executive decision that yeah, the sun was setting in the locker room.

I don't want to say Tommy is a detour, Tommy started a huge discovery for Buck that Buck wouldn't realize alone, but an anon pointed out how maybe they hurt Eddie so that he couldn't show up at the loft so that we could have the Tommy, so they quite literally had some detour happening during a sunset, like what the fuck?

But I'm really interested in the blue aspect of the scenes. @stagefoureddiediaz has some really interesting color and costume metas, including one on the use of yellow and blue in season 5, that talks about how yellow is a color used for communication and blue is a color used for, like, introspection, which could mean something interesting is cooking here. Because Buck's shirt in the basketball is blue, his shirt on the loft is blue, Eddie's shirt in the locker room is also blue and Buck's jacket also has blue detailing.

We know Buck and Eddie will have an important conversation, but that associated with the sunset theory, and they were literally on the sunset, I think the sun is finally actually setting now. No more detours. Only the discoveries they need to have in order to work as a couple. Buck's bisexuality is huge on that front, and I don't wanna say Eddie is gonna suddenly look at Buck after he comes out and be like 👀👀👀, but at the same time Eddie "questioning his place in the world" could very much be Eddie looking at Buck and being like "oh, that's an option?" especially if he's having trouble connecting with Marisol (random addon but with the sunset being a detour for Eddie, I think is hysterical that Marisol is named Marisol, because her name sounds like "Mar e Sol" and that's literally "Sea and Sun" in Portuguese, Spanish too but I don't really speak Spanish so it wasn't my initial connection there, and the sun setting on the sea it's a thing, and I feel insane for typing this out, but it's there, her name is the detour), this could mean they are gonna talk, and work through things, and get closer the way Ryan and Oliver keep teasing and reach the conclusion they are meant to be together.

Okay addon you don't know it's an addon because you're seeing this post as a whole thing at once but I hadn't thought to look at other buddie conversations until right now, but that particular pattern of light being present in 2 scenes where we see them finally be honest with each other makes it even more interesting to me really.

Because if you look at Buck's bisexual awakening as a moment of Buck being honest with himself and the locker room as Buck being honest about why he got in the relationship with Natalia, the sun behind Eddie, if it's only behind Eddie, could sparkle Eddie into some honesty himself and about himself, and that's what they need, open and honest communication. Because if yellow is used for communication, the sun could be being used for honesty.

But that's just a theory. A game theory. (sorry I said it out loud and had to add it oskaoskaoskas)

Anyway, that's all I have right now, if you read this I love you 🫶

[theawkwardanglophile]

What are your top 5 episodes??

I should have seen this coming! 😂 Thanks for the ask, Sarah, and I’m sorry I didn’t get this out sooner. My brain was mush the past couple of days and I wanted to give this my full attention when I made my decisions. And, man, I DELIBERATED on this! My criteria were episodes that were Chenford-heavy, so some eps that have like one big amazing Chenford scene (4x18 for example) were left out. And I'm sure this might change at some point, but I feel pretty good about where everything landed for now. So here we go….

5x12 Death Notice This ep just has EVERYTHING: the end of their era of riding together, being flirty at work, ridiculous married vibes (the lint picking??), LUCY LESSON (how did it take them 5 years to come up with the greatest term to counter Tim Tests? Bring back Lucy Lessons in S6!), the lengths they both will go to for each other, Tim's talk with Grey, and of course, NAKED TIME. And that doesn't even cover all of it. I just love it to pieces.

5x10 The List The absolute high this episode gave me, after a full month of bliss already with them being canon. The most delicious rom-commy cold open that I could have hoped for, trying on their entire closets and then being so painfully, adorably awkward on their date. Then Tim and Lucy being ANYTHING but subtle at work, which is just so hilarious considering they can be so stealthy when needed on the job, but trying to hide their relationship? Umm, y'all weren't fooling anyone. Maybe Nolan. And the precious first/second date at the end. The GRANDKIDS, the SMILES, the KISS. Perfection!

4x09 Breakdown An Eric Winter master performance. I just wanted to hug Tim throughout the ep. Luckily, Lucy was there for that job, and what a hug it was! Tim lets go completely and sinks into her, all his walls down. He felt so safe with her. I love how her opinion of him means everything, and she was quick to offer reassurance (I truly believe her words in 4x08 were just a slip of the tongue). But I also love how Lucy is just doing life with Tim, the things that matter. Where was Ashley, hmmm? It's Lucy that's there helping with such a significant job of remodeling Tim's childhood house, and doing some wonderful future sister-in-law bonding with Genny. Also, Tim and Lucy power-walking through the station in plain clothes? A VIBE.

4x12 The Knock The most insane double date ever? My gosh, this ep has so much fun stuff in it, so many little details, that even though Lucy started dating Chris, and Ashley decided to turn a blind eye and continue dating Tim, after watching this I had never been more convinced that Chenford was endgame. Every part of the double date is gold, and Tim and Lucy's scenes on the job beautifully showcase how seamlessly they work together (and their total lack of personal space). LOVE IT.

2x13 Follow-Up Day This ep was an early fave, and still holds a special place. TIM GAVE UP A PROMOTION FOR LUCY. Way before Court Liaison there was THIS. Lucy is his biggest cheerleader this whole ep (and, you know, always), and Grey's knowing looks during the test score scene is *chef's kiss*. And the scene outside the bakery is everything. Their faces say so much! They were being such flirts in S2, to the point that I originally wondered if they might actually start something later that season. THAT'S how powerful that scene was.

Honorable mentions:

2x11 Day of Death I know, I know, and part of me feels like it should be in the top five. I mean, it is without a doubt one of the best episodes, if not the best, they ever made. It's so powerful, and was the turning point in my shipping, because I'd only been mildly intrigued by Chenford in a few S2 eps, but DOD cemented me as a full-fledged shipper (little did I know it would become my best shipping experience of all time). But it can be a hard one to watch, and I just love those others a tiny bit more.

5x08 The Collar There are so many moments to love in this ep. It truly changed everything with Tim and Lucy, and the more I've seen their talk outside at the end, the more it grows on me. It really is so them. Even though they become CANON in this one, I think because there is so much clueless Chris, and the tough scene with the first bomb victim, it just didn't quite make it to the top 5.

3x09 Amber Anyone who was around when this aired knows we all lost our minds pretty good with this ep. It grew on me more and more over time, and I love it so much. The whole confession scene still might be the longest uncut Chenford scene...ever? Just them talking in the shop. It's insanely wonderful! And this ep gave us Parking Garage Face and the beginning of a brand new chapter with Tim and Lucy.

5x01 Double Down Editing to add this one, because I started questioning everything, and it did NOT feel right to leave this one out. What a fantastic collection of moments. The airplane kiss is top tier, HANDS, the gorgeous shots of them in the car in Vegas, it doesn't feel like pretend, etc. And even though I'm so glad they didn't cheat, I'll never be over the fact SHE OPENED THE DOOR FOR HIM AND HE WENT IN.

[winderlylandchime]

Btw, dad’s reports to the chosen episodes are in and unfortunately (actually scratch that, fortunately) his reactions are way more calmer. We finished with our watch because my brother made us sit and watch the episodes all day. Not that I’m complaining but also I swear this is the most I’ve watched qaf in years. So the reports are in: 2x04: he absolutely loved the pride episode. He really loved the ending. He thought that this is where it starts to show even more that Brian cares about him a lot (keep in mind we skipped the 3rd ep so he didnt see the ‘you love him’ scene bc my brother has some flaws).

2x09: my dad was LIVID almost the whole episode. He almost died of second hand embarrassment because of Mikey. He loves Emmett even more. He fucking hated Brian’s mom. Did i mention he was livid? His only comment about the episode was ‘oh this explains a shit ton about Brian’ Highlight tho: the date night opening happens and my brother goes ‘oh…yeah this is sort of awkward for a family night’ for some reason neither of us thought this through. But the best part was my dad going ‘hey, dudes be fuckin’ while doing a shrug towards my brother.

3x08: he was very confused why we skipped so much, he was also confused about them breaking up. He absolutely loved that Justin decided to be a stalker but at least got a little better since the pilot. He really liked their reunion. And then after it was done, my brother went ‘okay now you gotta watch it again so it hits harder’ and then replayed the reunion scene.

3x09: his only reaction was ‘yeah it fucking is’ when Ben called it the most historic reunification since Germany. He is absolutely tired of Mikey though. And he really liked how in the end they have this open relationship that clearly both are aware of how it goes. If only he knew..

3x10: he is very confused over who stockwell is. My brother gave him zero hints cause ‘maybe if you picked up my calls last year, youd know.’ He likes that at the end when they put posters up together, you can tell that Brian has been a big influence on Justin as in he goes for what he wants but Justin is a huge influence on Brian as in ‘he helps him figure out how to get his head out of his ass’

3x11: he really fucking lived that scene in the GLC and he just went ‘oh they planned this shit together.’ He loved the scene with Debbie and Brian but he was also a bit upset about it cause he’s still mad at her from the beginning of S2. And he was absolutely obsessed with the scene where Stockwell finds them with the posters.

3x12: only takeaway: he really enjoyed the scenes with Justin, Brian and Hunter. He likes how Britin has their own little banter and inside jokes that in his opinion Brian doesn’t have with anyone else. When they had that hustler/100$ bit going on, he went ‘Michael would hate this cause he wouldn’t be able to join in on the joke’

3x13: he was so fucking delighted with that scene where Hunter asks Brian if he has a boyfriend. And the you fucked a murderer scene was again a big hit. And his love for Brian grows every episode.

3x14: Brian is now his favorite person alongside Justin. The last scene made my dad cry and my brother cried as well. My dad turned to him teary eyed and went ‘fuck’ and my brother went ‘i know right?’ And he loves Britin more and more.

4x07: he is completely heartbroken over Vic. He’s really sad about Brian’s cancer diagnosis. And he is absolutely horrified with Justin’s haircut. He was so fucking confused when he popped up on screen that he actually screamed. And my brother went ‘oh yeah i forgot, he got a haircut..rude, right?’ When that little office scene where Brian loses it and then comes back to hug Justin came up my dad declared that Brian is deep deep in love.

4x08: completely heartbroken over seen Brian is such a bad shape. He thought it was cute how Brian took him to school cause he missed him even tho he felt like shit. He thinks this is where Brian started to reconsider some stuff cause of cancer. And once again LIVID with Michael.

4x13: confused because where the fuck did Rage the movie come from. Annoyed because Brian and Justin could have little bike trip together. He really likes Brian being a stubborn little shit tho

4x14: he is absolutely obsessed with Brian. He loved that moment where Brian explains why the bike race is important to him and he cheered him on like he was watching a soccer game. And the last moment with Britin made him absolutely love them both so much. He was smiling the whole time and then went ‘it’s nice that he got his head out of his ass and finally allowed himself to be happy and in love’

And then after the episode ended, my brother turned off the tv and went ‘doesn’t it end nicely?’ And my dad goes ‘isnt there some proposal and another season’ and before he could even finish his question, my brother goes ‘absolutely not. It got canceled after season 4 so i guess we’ll never know how they wanted to end it. Sad.’ And then he just left the room. And my dad stared at me and went ‘but your mom said that the finale was’ and he couldn’t even finish before my brother yelled from the bedroom ‘NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO’

I AM DYING at your dad’s reactions to the episodes. I adore that he loves Brian just as much as we all do.

“Dudes be fucking” is going to be my response to any pearl clutching about drag, queers, transes, etc that I see this year.

The Michael would hate this (everyone being in on the joke) observation is so right. Poor Mikey. But not really. Get a sense of humor that isn’t TUMS spelled backwards.

I am also glad that he appropriately appreciated the “fucked a murderer” scene.

He correctly dislikes the Pink Posse haircut. And realizes that Brian is in deep.

ALSO thank you. Someone should believe that the series ends at the end of S4. Brian asks Justin to move in. Period. End of show. “It’s nice he got his head out of his ass and finally allowed himself to be happy and in love” is correct. HAPPY ENDING. Done. Sorted.

[awkward-sultana]

"You remind me of someone I used to know a long time ago. Someone who came to this palace years ago..."

[themattress]

OUAT Observation

I want to conduct an experiment and list every major character (so important characters to the plot and/or characters whose actors had “Regular” status) who dropped out of the show, and then see how often they were referenced again or appeared again in any capacity.

Graham Humbert/The Hunstman: Wow. Following 1x08, the episode after his death, Graham was never mentioned again for the remainder of the season, and only showed up briefly in the finale as the Huntsman in a flashback. He fares no better in the later seasons, only getting one flashback appearance in 2x17 and one offhand mention from Emma in 4x03. I’m inclined to believe this is because of how awkward it would make Regina’s redemption if the circumstances behind his death were ever revealed, but it seems ridiculous given that Emma wouldn’t have her position as Sheriff of Storybrooke if not for him. He deserved better.

August W. Booth/Pinocchio: After Season 2, August received no mention in Season 3. He then showed up again and played an important role in Season 4B, only to go without mention once more in Season 5. He then appeared in back-to-back episodes 6x11 and 6x12, then disappeared for the remainder of the show. Maybe he should’ve stayed gone the first time...

Albert Spencer/King George: Following his arrest in 2x07, he received mention in the flashbacks of 2x10 and 2x20 and appeared in the flashback of 2x13. Otherwise, he only got mentioned in the Season 3 finale and briefly in 5x15, and only ever appeared again in 6x12.

Cora Mills/The Queen of Hearts: Cora died in 2x16, but was still constantly referenced by other characters for the remainder of the season. She then showed up in the flashback of OUATIW’s 11th episode, referenced throughout Season 3B and even appeared both in flashback form and as a ghost in 3x18, was mentioned occasionally throughout Seasons 4 through 6, showed up in the flashback of 4x20, and appeared in 5x12 and 5x19 where her character was definitively sent off. Despite all of this, Season 7 only referenced her twice, in 7x06 and 7x11, adding to the feeling of disconnect that season had to the rest of the show.

Ruby Lucas/Red Riding Hood: After just up and disappearing following 2x17, Ruby had mentions in 3x07 and 3x09, and then in 3x11 there was often an open slot in crowd shots where you swear she was meant to be digitally inserted in but wasn’t for some reason. Then in 3x12 she really was digitally inserted into a crowd shot, then had a brief cameo in 3x13. A waitress that was possibly her is seen from the backside in 3x17, then she played a major role in the two-part season finale. Following this, she disappeared again only to resurface in 5x09, which explained her disappearance and was later followed by her send-off in 5x18. Megan Ory is great, but her character was more important and should’ve just been recast.

Malcolm/Peter Pan: Pan was mentioned quite a lot following his demise in 3x11; coming up in 3x15, 3x16, 3x17, 3x20 and 3x21. He wasn’t mentioned much afterward in Season 4 and the first half of Season 5, only to then return in a major recurring role in 5B across 5x12, 5x14 (voice only), 5x17 (visual cue), 5x19 and 5x20, and given mention in 5x23. In Season 6, he was referenced in 6x11, 6x16 and 6x17, and appeared in his adult form in 6x19′s flashback. His Wish Realm counterpart appears in 7x21, mainly as fanservice since he does nothing.

Neal Cassady/Baelfire: Given that this character was a major driving force across the first three seasons of the show, it’s understandable he was referenced a lot afterward; in 4x01, 4x03, 4x04, 4x05, 4x08, 4x17, 4x20, 4x21, 4x22, 5x03, 5x05, 5x06, 5x08, 5x10, 5x11, 5x16, 5x20, 5x22, 5x23, 6x01, 6x06, 6x08, 6x09, 6x10, 6x11, 6x12, 6x17, 6x19 and 6x22. He also appeared in person in 5x12, and in the flashbacks of 5x14 and 6x13. In Season 7, however, he was only off-handedly mentioned in 7x04, 7x09 and 7x21. There’s that disconnect again!

Ingrid/The Snow Queen: Following Season 4A where she was the Big Bad, Ingrid is only mentioned in 4x12, 4x19, and 5x02. Ultimately, she didn’t really leave much of an impact.

Elsa: 4x15. That is the first and last time Elsa was mentioned beyond Season 4A.

Maleficent: Despite Season 4B building her up as a major permanent presence in Storybrooke going forward, Maleficent was never seen again afterward. She received mention in 5x02, 5x09, 6x21, and 7x16....and none of these refer to her directly by name.

Lily Page: In one of the most notorious instances of a character receiving a lot of build-up for being important and then just disappearing without closure, Lily was never seen again after Season 4, the season that introduced her and built her up, and she was only mentioned in the final episode, 7x22, with her dangling plot thread reduced to a joke. (Seriously? Zorro!?)

Will Scarlet: In another one of the most notorious instances of a character receiving a lot of build-up for being important and then just disappearing without closure, Will literally dropped off the face of the Earth without further mention after Season 4. As a result, everyone has come to agree that OUATIW takes place after Season 4 rather than before as was planned, as this perfectly explains his sudden disappearance without contradicting any hard facts.

Isaac Heller: While the position of the Author remained important, the prior Author himself wasn’t spoken of again following his arrest in the Season 4 finale and subsequent 5x01 until reappearing in 6x16 where he was let out of jail in exchange for revealing a major plot point. 

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: Following his death in 5x01, we see him in 5x07′s flashback and in the Underworld in 5x15, plus hear references to him in 5x05, 5x06, 5x11 and 5x13. Additionally, his Wish Realm counterpart appears in 7x21 and gets to play a significant role.

Merlin: He dies in 5x10, and then is referenced in 5x13, 5x15, 5x17, 5x23, 6x08, 6x16, 6x18, 7x01 and 7x21. But here’s the thing: all but one of those (5x17) has him referenced as “the Sorcerer” rather than by name and is generally tying in with Henry’s position as the Author. This gets me asking...in the end, what was the point of the Sorcerer being Merlin? Why not just make the Apprentice the Sorcerer, given that he ends up with a more lasting presence? No wonder Elliot Knight was pissed off after leaving the show; his character got screwed!

Violet Morgan: Despite being Henry’s first girlfriend and a recurring character in Seasons 5 and 6 (and an adorable one, at that!), Violet only receives an offhanded mention in 7x20. 

Hades: The Big Bad of Season 5B only gets brought up in 6x01 and 6x18 afterward.

Robin Hood: While dying in 5x21, Robin still gets brought up in the two-part season finale, and then in 6x01, 6x09, 6x10, 6x11, 6x12, 6x13, 6x14, 6x18, 7x10, 7x11, and 7x14. His spirit makes an appearance in 7x21, while his Wish Realm counterpart appears in 6x10 through 6x14 and has a brief voiceover in 6x22. And so his legacy, however dubious, was honored.

Mr. Hyde: Remember in the Season 5 finale, where it looked like he was going to be a major villain going forward? Well, after dying in 6x04, he only gets mentioned in 6x05, 6x06 and 6x09. He ultimately ended up being as pointless as the Land of Untold Stories he came from.

Gideon: Despite so much of Seasons 5B and 6 being dedicated to this fucker, he only appears in 7x04 and is mentioned briefly in 7x18. The disconnect...it’s so disconnecting!

Fiona/The Black Fairy: She is never referenced in Season 7 at all. Yes, really. The villain that A&E hyped up as the Ultimate Evil, the creator of the Dark Curse who was thus billed as the one behind almost everything that went wrong in the show...and she is totally forgotten.

Belle: While she dies in 7x04, the show never lets you forget about her as she is now Rumple’s primary motivation and thus comes up in 7x06, 7x08, 7x09, 7x15, 7x17, 7x18, 7x20, 7x21 and 7x22, the last of which also having her appear one final time in spirit form. Given that she wasn’t initially meant to be a major character and the writers clearly gave up on making her interesting by the end, it’s bizarre that so much of the final season and Rumple’s characterization ends up being built around the memory of her. It just feels off.

Victoria Belfrey/Rapunzel Tremaine: After perishing in 7x11, she is brought up again in 7x12, 7x13, 7x14, 7x15 and 7x20...although all things considered, I wish that she wasn’t.

Ivy Belfrey/Drizella Tremaine: After she leaves in 7x15, she’s mentioned in 7x16 and 7x18.

Nick Branson/Jack/Hansel: He gets brought up again in the episodes following his death...and then isn’t at all in the two-part series finale, because really, who cares about this guy?

[vole-mon-amour]

4x05, part 1.

Literally MCU.

I am SO tired of her. One of the most annoying characters in the show, ever. She just can't shut up, can she? Somebody please help her to shut up.

Butcher is just so great at agonizing EVERYONE.

Lmao.

Welp. If this ain't me.

The fact that Butcher feels awkward for Kimiko seeing him releasing the bunny and for approving his action. Butcher!! Stop it!! Be human!! Be free!! Share it with the people that still care about you!!

:)

He faced his past and all the problems and suddenly turned on the good dad thing? Why are your eyes so red? Have you been crying again?

LMAOOO. The way he looks at him. Antony, I like your acting.

"Why are we doing this?" "Because we like money."

I like how Homelander proved a point just by these simple gestures. While Ryan got to keep the Jaguar and the wallet, lmao.

"Except for you and me."

This is kinda cute, but I also don't trust him. I'm so curious now what happens in 4x08 that the fandom was crying, Homelander was crying, and the episode has a high rating.

Hehe. Also, this place feels like that farm in TUA in s3?

Frenchie, you're adorable & I love you.

LMAOOO.

I'm so not used to this Homelander that I see more of Antony in this. Calmer, charming, sweeter.

I just wanna a behind the scenes video of Antony walking around. They took the pic with the kid with actor that plays Butcher there, right?

I'm sooo not used to this thoughtful Homelander. Calm Homelander? In this universe??

THEY'RE SO CUTE??? Hey, this kind of villain I'd fall in love with immediately.

He is SO cute??? The entire fucking show I just wanted him to die, but this scene? Totally swooning over him. Antony, the actor that you are. Also, considering all the shitty things Silco's voice actor did, I think they should've rehired Antony as one. He'd nail it. He kind of should voice video games? He has a really cool voice & he knows how to use it.

[emmyrussum]

Family chaos is my status quo.

[wikiangela-fanfics]

“I will never leave you”- Buddie oneshot

I literally cannot stop writing about them now lmao 

This oneshot is basically what happened in the 4x08 but if Eddie and Buck were together, because once I saw the "you're late" scene I immediately knew I had to write something There are some lines from the episode, and honestly I feel like half of it is pretty awkward and doesn't make much sense, but I like it so whatever haha

summary: Eddie and Buck decide to finally tell Chris that they're dating.

words: 2.6k

Ao3

Enjoy ♥

***

Buck heard the car pull into the driveway. He knew it was Eddie, who was running some errands and asked Buck to watch Christopher after work. He got up and walked towards the door to greet him.

By the time he got to the door, Eddie was already inside, carrying bags with groceries. Buck leaned against the doorframe, and smiled.

“You’re late.” he said, while Eddie dropped the bags and started to take off his jacket. Eddie actually set the exact time he would be back, because he wanted to tuck his son in, and then spend the evening with Buck. But he ran a little late, and Buck will never pass up an opportunity to tease him.

“There was construction on Sunset. Had to take a detour.” Eddie answered, putting his jacked on the rack. 

“Or maybe you were on a date or something?” Buck asked teasingly, amusement clear on his face. They went through similar conversations before they got together, back when Eddie went back to dating.

“Ha. Ha.” Eddie rolled his eyes. Then, he added softly: “You know the only person I’d want to be on a date with stands in front of me.”

“Aw, you’re such a sap.” Buck’s smile widened, but before Eddie could react, he added: “But your answer is correct.” he leaned towards Eddie, who immediately understood, and leaned in to leave a quick, sotf kiss on Buck’s lips. “Missed you.” Buck murmured, as Eddie was pulling away.

“And who’s a sap now?” Eddie raised his eyebrows, a teasing smirk on his face, because they’d seen each other just a few hours ago. But he missed Buck too, to be honest. He leaned down to pick up bags with groceries that he had dropped before. “You wanna help me with those?” he asked, as he struggled to grip all of them, while Buck just kept leaning against the doorframe and looking at him.

“Not really.” Buck said and Eddie looked back at him with a disbelieving look on his face. “What? If you were on time, I’d help.” he shrugged, a smug look on his face.

“Fine. I’ll remind you of this next time you’re late.” Eddie said, finally picking them all up.

“I’m kidding.” Buck sighed and rolled his eyes, walking over to Eddie and taking half of the groceries. “Why is there so much stuff here, anyway? Did you buy a whole supermarket?” he asked as they carried it to the kitchen.

“Just some groceries.” Eddie put the bags on the counter and started to unpack them. Buck started to help, too. “Christopher already asleep?”

“No, but he’s in bed. It was tough, but we negotiated a deal. He got ready for bed, and I wasn’t allowed to turn off the light or tell him a story. He was waiting for you, but you were late.” he said pointedly. 

“I know.” Eddie stopped unpacking the bags and looked at Buck with annoyance, but there was fondness there too. That was his Buck. He could annoy him and tease him to no end, but Eddie loved him more than he could express. “Thanks for taking care of him.” he added, more softly.

“It’s a pleasure.” Buck said proudly. “He’s my best friend.” he grinned.

“What?” Eddie frowned, but he was smiling. “Then what am I?” Buck gave him a look in response, and Eddie just laughed. “Okay, fine. He’s your best friend, whatever.” he shook his head, starting to put things away to cabinets, while Buck was putting stuff in the fridge. 

“And I am his best friend, just so you know.” Buck added, his tone still teasing.

“And I’m more than happy about that.” Eddie looked at him. “I’m his dad, I can get over him liking you more than me.” 

“Good.” Buck said. 

“Actually, I’ve been thinking.” Eddie said, suddenly nervous, his gaze focused on the package of pasta in his hands. 

“Should I be worried?” Buck asked carefully and Eddie could feel his gaze.

“No, no. Of course not.” Eddie quickly said, putting the pasta on the shelf, but still not moving his gaze. “It’s just… we’ve been dating for a while. And we know that Chris loves you.” he stopped, swallowing hard.

“And you want to tell him.” Buck said slowly, basically finishing Eddie’s sentence. “About us.”

Eddie suddenly turned around, facing Buck. His eyes were wide and he was chewing on his lower lip out of nerves. Then he took a deep breath.

“Yeah, I do.” he said. “If you wanna. I mean, I think he’d take it well. He knows you and- and loves you.” if he was this nervous just talking to Buck about it, he was going to be a mess telling Christopher. Maybe he wasn’t as ready as he thought. “And he knows that you’re always gonna be there for him.” it was a statement, but there was some kind of a question hidden there, in his tone and his eyes. 

Buck walked over to Eddie and took his face into his hands. 

“Hey, of course I will.” he said. “And I am totally on board with telling him. But right now, let me unpack the rest, and you go say goodnight to your son, so that he can finally go to sleep, because he has school tomorrow.” Buck smiled fondly. “And then we will talk some more, okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, okay.” Eddie chuckled lightly, a little embarrassed at his nervousness. He shook his head and walked away from Buck, into his son’s room. They will be fine. They will tell Chris and he’s gonna be fine with them being together. Or so Eddie was trying to convince himself. But that wasn’t what he had to worry about just then. He would talk it over with Buck first, and then they would find the right moment to tell Chris. It would be fine.

***

They decided to tell him a few days later. 

Buck was constantly saying that if Eddie wasn’t ready, he was fine with waiting. But even though Eddie was really nervous, he felt like he needed to do this. He needed to be honest with his son. And he really wanted to be able to hold Buck’s hand when they all go out together, or cuddle with Buck when they have a movie night, and all the other stuff he’s not able to do now. He wanted to be able to act like he felt - like he was head over heels for Buck - and he didn’t want to hide anymore. Especially not from the most important person in his world.

So after watching a movie Friday night, instead the usual “time to get ready for bed,” Eddie told Chris:

“We wanted to talk to you about something.” 

“Okay.” Christopher answered, looking up at Eddie, who was silent for a long while, gathering his thoughts.

“So.” Eddie started. “Um, I wanted to ask you…” he looked at Buck, who was sitting on the other side of Christopher. He looked back at Eddie and he knew that if he wanted to back away, Buck would be cool with it. But he needed to say it. He just wasn’t sure how, despite preparing for the last couple of days. “How would you feel about me, uh, dating-” he said very slowly, hearing his heartbeat in his ears. Before he could even say Buck’s name, Chris interrupted him.

“No! I don’t want you to date!” he exclaimed.

“Hey, listen to me.” Eddie tried, but Chris got up from the couch before Eddie could realize that he should have approached it differently. “Chris.” he said as Chris started to walk away.

“Hey, buddy. Wait a second.” Buck spoke up and Chris stopped and looked at him. Then he looked to Eddie to continue. 

“Look, the person I’m dating is Buck.” Eddie said with a smile. “It’s not some random stranger. It’s our Buck, okay?” he hoped that the mere fact that it was his best friend, whom Chris knew and loved, would be enough to make him less angry.

“No. You can’t date Buck!” Chris said, even angrier now. Both Buck and Eddie looked at each other with surprise and worry. They were hoping he would be happy about that. “You can’t! I’m mad at both of you!” he added, before walking away.

Buck and Eddie sat there in silence for a while, not moving. Finally, Eddie spoke up.

“That was so not how I expected it to go.” he said.

“Yeah, somehow I hoped he’d, you know, not hate us.” Buck said, looking at Eddie. “I’m sorry.”

“What for?” Eddie frowned. “It’s not your fault.”

“Isn’t it?” Buck sighed. “I’m the person you’re dating. And he’s your kid and he’s mad at you for dating.”

“He’s mad at both of us, if I remember correctly.” Eddie said, trying to sound lighter than he did. “He’ll be fine. We’ll be fine.” he took Buck’s hand and intertwined their fingers. 

“But if he really doesn’t want us to be together, I-”

“No, don’t say it.” Eddie interrupted. “I’m not losing you, in any way.” he said, because even if they could go back to just being friends, which would probably be slightly, or very, awkward, he didn’t want that. He knew Chris would come around. He had to. They were already a family, they’ve been a family since before he and Buck started dating. They couldn’t just… break up. “He’ll calm down and I’ll try to talk to him again. It can’t be about you.” he added with a frown. “He loves you, he wouldn’t be mad about that.”

Buck didn’t answer. He got up and let go of Eddie’s hand. Before Eddie could ask where he was going, Buck just said: “I’ll be right back.” and went towards Christopher’s room. Eddie just sat there, trusting that Buck knows what he’s doing. He’s always been good with Chris, and he had a connection with him, so surely he would be able to talk to Chris, even though the boy was mad at him.

***

First, Buck knocked on the door, but didn’t hear an answer.

“Hey, it’s Buck. Can I come in?” he asked. 

“No.” Chris said, and Buck sighed.

“Hey, I just wanna talk. Give me two minutes. No longer, I swear.”

“Okay.” the boy answered after a while. 

Buck opened the door and found Chris sitting on his bed, clearly upset. He sat down next to him.

“So you’re really mad at us, huh?” Buck asked, not sure how exactly to approach the topic.

“I don’t wanna talk about it.” Chris answered, looking at the floor.

“We gotta talk about it sooner or later. And your dad’s not here right now. Whatever you say, I promise it’ll stay between us.” Christopher didn’t answer. “Come on, we’re friends, right? You can talk to me.” he gently nudged him with his elbow. “I know that it might be a little weird at first. But not much will change, I swear.”

“I don’t want anything to change.” Christopher said. 

“What exactly you don’t want to change?” Buck asked, having a faint idea of what it might be about.

“For you to leave.” the boy admitted quietly. “Everybody leaves now, abuelita, Carla, my friends... and mom was with dad and she still left. And what if you break up and you leave too?”

“Buddy.” Buck put his arm around him. “Yeah, people go away. And it’s sad. But not everyone goes away forever. You will see your friends, Carla and abuelita soon. And I will never leave you. I love your dad. And I love you.” he couldn’t help a small smile. “We won’t break up. But even if we do…” he added as Chris was about to say something. “I will never leave you, okay? I’m not going anywhere, ever. I’m always here for you, no matter what.”

“Do you promise?” he heard Chris whisper.

“I promise.” Buck said sincerely, catching Chris’ small smile.

They sat there in silence for a while, and then Buck felt Chris move and nestle up against Buck’s side. 

“Thanks, Buck. You’re a good friend.” Christopher said. “And if you’re not gonna leave, then I’m happy for you and dad.” 

“That means more than anything, kid.” Buck exhaled with relief.

After a couple more minutes they got back to the living room, where Eddie was anxiously waiting on the couch. He looked at the smile on Chris’ face and looked relieved, but also a little confused.

“Hi.” he said, crouching down to Christopher’s eye level. “What’s that smile?”

“You and Buck are boyfriends.” Chris said happily. Eddie looked up at Buck with surprise. Buck shrugged and smiled innocently.

“What did you talk about in there?” Eddie asked, his tone surprised, a wide smile on his face.

“That’s private.” Buck said, sitting down on the couch. Eddie raised his eyebrow. “What? We can have our secrets.”

“Really?” Eddie’s gaze landed on his son again. Chris laughed.

“You don’t have to know everything.” he said and Eddie scoffed with surprise and amusement.

“I’m gonna leave that for now.” Eddie said, getting up. He had enough of arguing for one night. He was just happy that if Chris doesn’t want to talk to him about something, he’ll always have Buck to turn to. “I guess it’s time for bed.” he said. 

As Chris went to get ready for bed, Eddie walked over to Buck and kissed him briefly. “You’re a miracle worker.”

“All I did was talk to him.” Buck rolled his eyes with a smile. Eddie just kissed him one more time. He was so glad that Buck and Chris have such a great relationship. And that he had a partner, who was going to be there with him and his son.

“Thank you.” he whispered, then going to check on Chris.

Then both Eddie and Buck went to tuck Chris in and tell him a story together.

***

He heavily sat on the couch, sighing. Buck chuckled, sitting next to him, and running his hand through Eddie’s hair.

“It was an emotional evening.” Buck said.

“Yeah.” Eddie chuckled, wrapping his arms around Buck and hiding his face in his neck. “Wanna tell me what you and Chris talked about?”

“Nope.” Buck said and Eddie raised his head to look at him. “Just be happy he’s good with us now.”

“Whatever, I’m too tired right now.” he put his head back down, feeling Buck’s hand play with his hair.

“Maybe you should just go to sleep?” Eddie made a small sound of agreement. “Okay. So go, and I will see you tomorrow at work, alright?” at that Eddie sat back up with a frown. “What?”

“Why don’t you just stay the night?” he suggested with a shrug. They’ve been dating for a while, but with Chris, if Buck would stay over, they would sleep separately, just in case. But Eddie just felt like falling asleep in the arms of the man he loves, and his son finally knew about their relationship, so he felt like he could have this.

“Sure.” Buck smiled.

“And by that I mean, in my bed, not on the couch.” Eddie clarified, and Buck chuckled, rolling his eyes.

Eddie got up and took Buck’s hand, pulling him to himself. When Buck was standing too, Eddie kissed him deeply. “I love you.” he whispered.

“I love you too, Eddie.” Buck said softly, and chuckled again as Eddie yawned. “C’mon, let’s go to bed.” he intertwined their fingers and led Eddie to the bedroom. 

As Eddie was falling asleep, Buck’s arms wrapped around him, he felt happier than ever. The difficult evening had a happy ending, and now he didn’t have to hide his happiness from his son, who was fine with them dating. And he thought that maybe, sometime soon, he would ask Buck to move in with them. He was more than sure of their relationship and he knew that both he and Chris would love to have Buck around more. Besides, Eddie has never fallen asleep faster and has never been more comfortable, than with Buck in his bed.