Rated G
At AO3, or under the cut!
“Oh, I am going to murder the new guy,” Buck hisses under his breath.
Taylor looks up from the paperwork on her newest sale with an arched eyebrow and sighs.
“He’s literally just doing his job, Buckley. Like I’m trying to and like you should be.”
“He stole her right from under me!”
“You mean he smiled at her when she walked in, and she made a beeline to him?” Taylor asks, smirking.
“Oh, Eddie, what a handsome boy you are! My granddaughter would love you!” Buck mocks in an irritated whisper.
“Buck,” Taylor sighs. “I know you have an appointment in ten minutes that you haven’t printed anything for. And I also know that you’re just jealous you aren’t the only pretty boy on the block anymore.”
“I’m not a pretty boy,” Buck says, pouting prettily.
“Go away and let me finish this,” Taylor says. “You’re never going to win that contest if you spend all your time whining about how Eddie is better at his job than you.”
“Oh, I’m winning that SUV,” Buck says darkly. “It’ll be the best wedding gift for Maddie and Chim, especially with the baby coming.”
“You know,” Taylor muses dryly, “If you’d been even half this determined in our relationship, we probably would have dated more than two months.”
“Low blow, Tay,” Buck scoffs. “Low blow.”
Taylor just glares.
“Ok, ok, I’m going!”
He hurries off to the back to print the welcome packet for his next appointment, the image of Eddie’s annoyingly charming smile burned into his brain.
“What’s that for you, Diaz?” Buck asks as they’re all headed out for the night. “Two today?”
Taylor looks between them for a moment before rolling her eyes and striding for the door, leaving Buck to his weird one-sided pissing contest.
“I’ve told you to call me Eddie,” Eddie says calmly, ignoring the baiting tone. “You know that. And it was three, actually. Mrs. Allen bought that little red Nissan for her husband’s birthday.”
“I hope they get full coverage,” Buck says, frowning at the memory of Mr. Allen test-driving a few of their cars previously.
Eddie laughs and shakes his head, remembering the same day. “I hope she makes him go to the optometrist.”
Buck smiles for a moment before remembering he’s annoyed at the man, and scowls again.
“I’m still going to win that contest,” he says. “You’re good, but I’m in the lead.”
Eddie just gives him an unphased look and shrugs easily.
“There’s still two weeks left, Evan,” he drawls. “I guess we’ll see who comes out on top.”
He holds the door open for Buck as they leave, biting back the amused grin that wants to spread onto his face as Buck stomps out the door like he has his own personal raincloud hovering above his head.
“Drive safe,” he calls out to Buck’s retreating form, just like he does every other night.
And just like every other night, Buck ignores him.
Buck spots them coming in a few days later, an easy sale if he’s ever seen one, and speedwalks as inconspicuously as possible to the door. An older but stunning Hispanic woman looks around as she enters, a young boy moving along with the aid of arm-crutches by her side.
“Welcome!” Buck says as he approaches, giving her his sunniest smile. He waves down at the boy. “Hey, buddy. You look a little young to be buying a car already!”
The boy giggles, looking up at Buck with bright blue eyes beneath his red plastic eyeglasses.
“I’m not buying a car,” he says, somewhat stiltedly but clear. “I’m here for my dad.”
“Oh?” Buck asks, straightening back up and looking at the woman. “Who’s dad? I can track him down for you.”
“I think we’ll be ok,” the woman says warmly, looking over Buck’s shoulder at someone. “He found us.”
Buck turns, and just barely stops himself from scoffing. Because of course it’s Eddie.
“Tia?” Eddie asks, with a concerned look. “Is everything ok?” He holds his arms out for his son and scoops the boy up, swinging him around until he shrieks before holding him against his side with one arm.
Buck narrowly dodges one of the swinging crutches, but finds he can’t be mad when the kid looks so happy.
Tia relays something to Eddie in rapid Spanish that Buck can’t really keep up with, his limited Spanish language skills stalling out after basic bar talk. But he knows the words for both hospital and grandmother, and he’s frozen in place awkwardly as Eddie’s face darkens with worry.
They seem to be arguing about something now, and Buck still doesn’t understand most of it, so he busies himself by making silly faces at the boy, who also doesn’t seem to be getting most of the conversation. The boy is too old to play peekaboo, but he still makes silly faces back, laughing as Buck pulls out his old party trick of wiggling his ears.
“Buck,” Eddie says, and Buck startles, looking over at him sheepishly.
“Sorry,” he says. “I was just goofing around.”
“No, it’s fine,” Eddie says, looking harried. “My abuela fell off her porch, and I need to get to the hospital. Do you think you could take my last two appointments for the day?”
“Don’t you want to reschedule?” Buck asks before he can help himself. “You’ll lose the commission.”
“I don’t have time to call them right now,” Eddie sighs, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. “I need to tell Bobby I have to leave, and might need a few days off, too.”
Buck wavers, looking at the clock on the wall, knowing he has nearly a full hour until his next appointment is even there, and knowing Taylor will be more than happy to snag any walk-ins that come their way.
“Get me the names,” Buck says, finally. “I’ll call them and reschedule for a week out if they’re up for it. You talk to Bobby and then go take care of your family, man.”
“Wait, really?” Eddie asks, stunned. “I’m basically handing you two sales here.”
“Are you complaining?” Buck asks, only a little testily.
Eddie shakes his head and hands his son off to his aunt before clapping Buck on the shoulder.
“Thank you,” he says sincerely. “I’ll grab the sheets when I’m in the back office.” “I’ll be right back,” he says to his aunt, leaving her and his son standing with Buck.
“I’m Buck,” he says, giving them a little wave.
“Pepa,” the woman introduces herself, before jiggling the little boy. “And this little man is Christopher.”
“Nice to meet you,” Buck says. “I, uh, I didn’t know Eddie had a kid.”
“My nephew can be private,” Pepa says. “Annoyingly so, sometimes,” she adds with a resigned sigh. “But Christopher is his world.”
“I’m sure,” Buck says, smiling at the adorable boy. “I bet you’re what, twelve years old?” he asks with a completely straight face.
That sets the boy off into giggles as he shakes his head. “I’m seven!” he says.
“Well, you fooled me!” Buck says, grinning.
“Come on, Mijo,” Eddie says as he gets back to them, taking him from Pepa and giving Buck another appreciated nod along with his contact sheet as they head off.
“Thanks again, Buck,” he says, and Buck just waves them off, feeling suddenly wrong-footed and not sure why.
Buck is surprised when Eddie is back the next day, and even more surprised when he spots Christopher beside him. He watches from the break room counter as Eddie gets the kid set up at one of the tables with assorted snacks and an ipad, before speaking to him quietly and kissing him on the head as he straightens up and meets Buck’s eyes.
Buck, caught staring, manages a strained smile and takes a long and very hot sip of his coffee to avoid having to speak. Unfortunately, Eddie heads for him anyway, facing the counter as he pours himself a cup of coffee. Buck suddenly regrets standing so close to the damn thing, as he can practically touch Eddie’s arm with his own.
“Thanks again for yesterday,” Eddie says quietly. “Bobby said Chris could hang out here until I get a better babysitter situation for the rest of the summer.”
“No problem,” Buck says. “It’s good that you’re back. I’d hate to win the sales contest by default.”
“Liar,” Eddie says with an amused scoff. “You’d still love it.”
“Yeah, well,” Buck says, fighting off a grin. “It wouldn’t be as fun as winning fair and square.”
“You know,” Eddie says with a growing grin. “I bet the soccer moms would love to see how well their Chris-sized kids fit in the minivans…”
“Cheater!” Buck gasps. “You can’t use an adorable face to sell cars for you!”
“Why?’ Eddie laughs, “you do it all the time. I’ve seen those little old ladies literally pinch your cheeks.”
“Better than my ass,” Buck says, cringing as he thinks about the hassling Taylor has dealt with since she joined up. “Tay kicked a guy right in the balls once though, before you were here. It was great. He threatened to sue.”
“How’d that go?” Eddie asks, delighted.
“Bobby dragged him over by his ear to watch the security footage of him grabbing Tay, and told him if he ever stepped foot in the building again, he’d have his wife arrest him.”
“Damn,” Eddie says with appreciation. “Nice.”
One week before the contest ends, Buck checks the board in Bobby’s office, finding that Eddie is just one sale away from tying his lead. He glares at the board for a long moment, as if the smudged white plastic somehow made the numbers up instead of just recording them. Shaking his head, he decides he needs more coffee before he can deal with the day.
“Hi Buck!” Chris calls out from his usual place in the breakroom as Buck walks in, waving at him excitedly.
“Hey, buddy,” Buck says, heading over to the table and sitting down across from Chris. “What are you working on?”
“Paint-by-numbers,” Chris says, frowning down at his ipad, stylus in hand. “It’s to try and help my motors.”
Buck watches him fondly as he swipes with the stylus with determination, worrying his lip in concentration.
“You mean your fine-motor skills, maybe?” Buck asks.
“Yeah,” Chris nods, “that was it.”
“Your dad with a customer?” Buck asks, realizing the room is empty besides the two of them and wondering where Eddie had vanished off to.
Chris shakes his head, still looking down at his ipad.
“He’s on the phone outside,” he says, looking up briefly to give Buck a sad look. “He doesn’t want me to hear him yell at the army people again.”
“Army people?” Buck asks.
“He got hurt in a war,” Chris says. “So they made him come home, and now he’s angry at them all the time.”
“Oh,” Buck says, quietly. He doesn’t know the whole story, sure that Eddie will have given Chris only the abridged, child-friendly version, but it’s enough to make him frown in thought. “Well, I know he’s happy to be back with you, even if he’s angry at the army.”
“Maybe,” Chris says, shrugging without looking up, and Buck feels his heart breaking for the kid.
Eddie reappears in the break room before Buck can say anything else, face flushed red with irritation that he’s trying to smother as he heads towards his son.
“How’s it going, baby?” he asks Chris, a forced lightness to his voice as he peers down at the ipad painting.
“The leaves are tricky,” Chris frowns. “They’re really small.”
“Just do your best,” Eddie says, ruffling his hair. “It’s ok if you can’t do everything all at once.”
“That’s a good lesson,” Buck says, ostensibly to Chris, but starting right up into Eddie’s surprised brown eyes.
Eddie drops his gaze, avoiding Buck’s eyes, and pretends to watch Chris painting until Buck finally looks away.
“No Chris today?” Buck asks the next day when Eddie shows up alone.
“Pepa has the day off,” Eddie says. “So he’s hanging out in his pajamas on her couch instead of at one of our shitty lunch tables.”
“They are so wobbly,” Buck agrees.
Eddie hums, heading to the back room to grab the paperwork for his first appointment. Buck follows before he realizes what he’s doing, and leans against the wall by the printer as Eddie waits for his documents.
“Chris said something about the army yesterday,” Buck says, “you got hurt?”
Eddie sighs tiredly but nods.
“Yeah,” he says. “Fucked up my shoulder pretty bad, among other things.”
“Shit,” Buck says. “I’m sorry.”
“At least I made it home,” Eddie shrugs with forced nonchalance. “Now if only the VA would actually help me with the kid they made me leave. That would be great.”
“Is Chris ok?” Buck asks with concern. “He told me he has C.P. but he seems basically alright, all things considered.”
“He’s great,” Eddie assures him. “He just needs to find a school that will actually be able to accommodate him and still give him a decent education. And that shit is so expensive.”
“And the VA doesn’t have any resources?” Buck guesses, frowning.
“They might,” Eddie says with a sigh. “But I’m so overwhelmed with it all, between the move from Texas, and finding a place for me and Chris, and starting this job, I just now started the process.”
“You’re from Texas??” Buck asks, incredulously. “How has that never come up?”
Eddie shrugs.
“No offense,” he says, “but you’ve pretty much hated me from the day I started. I didn’t think you’d want to compare backstories.”
“Oh,” Buck says, feeling all at once like an absolute buffoon. “I don’t hate you,” he says.
“Then what was with the attitude?” Eddie laughs, as the printer finally finishes collating his papers.
“It’s dumb,” Buck says, ducking his head. “But I was just jealous you swooped in here with your stupid pretty face and stole all my customers.”
“You know,” Eddie says, “Taylor did tell me you were just jealous, but I didn’t believe her.”
“I get too caught up in competition sometimes,” Buck says, sighing.
“Little bit, maybe,” Eddie says nodding. “So, you uh, you think I’m pretty?”
“Oh, we are not having this conversation,” Buck says, pushing himself off the wall and fleeing, leaving an amused Eddie laughing after him as he goes.
“Did I ever tell you about my ex, Abby?” Buck asks the next day he finds Eddie alone at the front desk. It’s a slow day, and Chris has managed to pull Taylor and Ravi into a spirited game of Go Fish in the breakroom.
“You barely spoke to me for the first two months I worked here,” Eddie says, giving him a sassy look. “So no, you haven’t told me about your ex.”
“She was a little older than me,” Buck says. “Was taking care of her mom before she died, and it was really rough on her, you know?”
“I’m sure,” Eddie says, the question of but what does this have to do with anything clear in his tone.
“It didn’t work out,” Buck says, surprised to realize it doesn’t sting as much as it used to when he says it. “But I did meet this really great woman because of her.”
“Ok?” Eddie asks, amused but still lost.
“I think you should call her,” Buck says, handing Eddie a mint green business card.
“I’m not looking for a girlfriend, Buck,” Eddie says, glaring at the card with an inordinate amount of offense, in Buck’s opinion.
“Don’t worry,” Buck says earnestly, “she’s married.”
“What is happening here?” Eddie asks with exasperation.
“She was their home health aide,” Buck explains. “She calls herself ‘red tape’s worst enemy’”, “and I bet she can get you and Chris the help you need with his school before your head explodes.”
“Oh,” Eddie says, looking up at Buck with badly disguised wonder. “You really think she can help?”
“Definitely,” Buck says, grinning. “She’s a miracle worker.”
“I don’t even know what to say,” Eddie hesitates for a moment before pulling Buck into a brief one-armed hug. “Thank you.”
“It’s uh,” Buck stammers, face flushing, “it’s nothing.”
Eddie shakes his head and claps Buck on the shoulder, leaving his hand there as he looks at him for a long moment.
“For Chris?” Eddie says, squeezing Buck’s shoulder, “this is everything.”
The bells on the door chime as a customer walks in, breaking the moment, and Buck takes the opportunity to escape to the bathroom.
Eddie can take the sale.
“You were right,” Eddie says, as Buck opens his apartment door and looks at him with bleary eyes. “It wasn’t nearly as fun to win that SUV by default.”
Buck groans, wondering how Eddie even found out where he lives, but moves back to let him in.
“It’s not my fault I got a stupid awful cold in the middle of August,” Buck sighs. “Corporate should take sick days into account.”
“Probably,” Eddie agrees, handing Buck a round Tupperware container that’s still warm. “Tia Pepa made it, it’s chicken soup.”
“You brought me soup?” Buck asks, feeling inexplicably like he might cry at the gesture. “You don’t even like me.”
“I never didn’t like you!” Eddie says, rolling his eyes. “Your beef with me was entirely one-sided!”
“Don’t be mean to me,” Buck whines, “I’m sick.”
“Lucky for you, I’m a pro at dealing with sick babies,” Eddie teases, leading Buck towards the couch he spots. “Sit down, I’ll find you a spoon.”
Buck tries to glare at him on principle but finds he doesn’t have the strength. Instead he lets himself be guided to the couch and settles down, tucking his bare feet up under his criss-crossed legs and securing the couch blanket around his shoulders.
“Chris says thank you, by the way,” Eddie says from the kitchen where he’s opening random drawers to look for spoons. “For the new car.”
“Hmm?” Buck asks, tired brain failing to understand what Chris has to do with the contest.
“My old car is on it’s last legs,” Eddie explains, “and even with our discount, I wasn’t going to be able to get anything better or bigger anytime soon. But the SUV holds his security seat and gives him plenty of room to stretch out his legs.”
“I didn’t know that,” Buck says. “You should’ve told me before.”
“I didn’t want you to lose on purpose,” Eddie says as he walks over and hands Buck the spoon before settling down on the other end of the couch. “A pity win is even worse than a win by default.”
“I wouldn’t have lost on purpose,” Buck says, the lie obvious even to his own ears.
“Sure, bud,” Eddie says, smirking. “You keep telling yourself that.”
“I hate you,” Buck groans. He takes a careful spoonful of the soup and hums happily. “But I love this soup. I guess it evens out.”
“I can live with that,” Eddie says, grabbing the remote from the coffee table. “So, what are we watching?”
Buck shrugs and pulls the Tupperware bowl up to his mouth to sip from directly, breathing in the steamy goodness.
Eddie can figure out the rest.
“Why didn’t Taylor win, anyway?” Eddie asks when Buck is recovered and back at work. “She’s killing it out there.”
“Tay goes for the high-priced sales,” Buck says. “Luxury cars and stuff. She’s good at it, and she definitely makes more money than both of us. But the contest was for the most individual sales, not the overall sales amount.”
“Well, I’m glad,” Eddie laughs. “Chris loves the car, he wanted to camp out in it the other night.”
“Adorable,” Buck says, fondly. “But not great for anyone over five feet tall.”
“I told him I’d take him camping before school starts,” Eddie says casually. “Next weekend maybe.”
“That’s cool,” Buck says. “You’ll have to make smores! It’s tradition.”
“Is that what you did with your family?” Eddie asks, looking concerned when Buck’s expression shutters for a moment.
“My parents aren’t really the family activities type,” Buck says. “But Maddie, my older sister, she would camp out with me in the backyard, and we’d make smores and tell ghost stories.” He smiles at the memory, despite it all. “She’s really great.”
“Maybe you could come with us?” Eddie asks, almost shyly. “We can make smores and roast hot dogs. Chris is excited to build the fire.”
“Yeah?” Buck asks, “I wouldn’t be in the way?”
Eddie shakes his head, giving Buck a soft smile.
“Not at all,” he says, “you should definitely come.”
Buck smiles again, feeling the blush creeping all the way up to his hairlines, but nods in agreement.
“Can’t wait.”
“I can’t believe it’s nearly Christmas,” Buck says as they’re leaving one Friday night, he and Eddie locking up as they go. “Not that it ever gets cold enough to snow here.”
“L.A. cant even handle rain,” Eddie says as they head to the employee lot, “we don’t need them trying to drive in snow.”
“Truth,” Buck agrees, shuddering at the idea.
They make it to the cars that are parked side by side, each pulling out their keys before facing each other.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Buck asks, knowing full well that Eddie has been planning their planetarium trip for literal weeks.
“Obviously,” Eddie says, grabbing Buck’s shirt collar and tugging him in for a sweet kiss.
“Drive safe,” he says, like he has every other night.
Buck steals one last kiss for the night, laughing against Eddie’s lips as he finally says it back.
The End
Notes:
Honestly, what am I even doing with my life? ^_^
24 notes
·
View notes