#his conversation with maddie all but directly said that

[sakuravalelp]

Ellie(Dani) didn't realize how dangerous Danny's home was for him until he was more worried about her when she got her own home. - Prompt I think(?)

Ellie wasn't sure how to feel when Danny excitedly animated her to accept Arthur's invitation to live in Atlantis.

"Just if you want of course, but you'll get a stable home, and Frostbite said living underwater might be good for your water cores stability."

She had already been planning to accept the offer. Once she gave the guy an opportunity to have some sort of conversation, the guy was pretty chill, and the castle was pretty cool. So yeah, she was going to accept the offer.

But for some reason Danny's eagerness for her to go with Arthur hurt. It felt like he was trying to get rid of her.

She knew that was ridiculous, she didn't even live with Danny. He looked out for her, and was always a call away but, as much as Danny parents her, he was just a child like her. It made sense he was happy to give away the responsibility of taking care of her.

So when Ellie moved into Atlantis, she was expecting to hear less from Danny. After all, she had settle down, and he didn't need to worry about her adventures anymore. That was Arthur's and Mera's job now.

Weirdly enough, it was the complete opposite.

Now that Ellie was living with adults, Danny seemed MORE worried for her. They went from a call once a week or so, to almost daily calls in the afternoons. He would be more insistent about her telling him if anything was wrong.

He would ask specifics about the food she was eating, and her activities of the day, and her room, and the castles security...

Sam had told her that it was because he used to be able to monitor if she was eating well through the transactions of the debit card they had given her. Tuck had told her that he used to evaluate how safe she was through the phones location, and the hotels receipts.

And well, maybe she underestimated how much attention Danny put on her before, but the way the calls went made it seem like he thought she might be in more danger now that she had a stable home.

Which made no sense, because unlike him, she didn't even need to hide her ghostlines. Anything that was out of normal for Atlanteans was excused with meta-abilities, she didn't need to worry about being classified as a non-sentient species.

That was when it caught up to her. Danny was worried now that she was in a stable home because his stable home had always been dangerous for him. It isn't even a think of it being dangerous now that his a ghost, it has been dangerous ever since he was a child. She remembers all of Jazz's rants about how unreliable their parents have always been.

The food has always been contaminated. The security now attacked him directly, but there had always been a possibility of it malfunctioning and hurting the residents. Him and Jazz had always had the responsibilities of not only keeping the house clean, but the lab as well. If she tops it with the house security system attacking him, and his parents been ghost hunters...

Ellie hadn't found it too dangerous back then, Danny mocked Jazz rants with her, and Jack and Maddie were kind when they interacted with her in her human form. The Fentons neglect seemed liberating in comparison to Vlad overly controlling nature. But thinking about it now, after two months living in Atlantis, she doesn't like the picture.

She doesn't like the idea of Danny being somewhere so unsafe, but where would he go? He doesn't have a water core like her, and even if he had gotten sorta used to shapeshifting, he isn't good enough to live in a second form, which isn't recommendable either way. So he wouldn't be able to move underwater with her.

More so, she doubts that Danny would like to leave his Amity, he had taken the sole responsibilities of dealing with the whole humans - ghost conflicts. With the anti-ecto acts, there's no way he would leave the portal unsupervised.

What should she do now? Should she talk with Arthur about it? He said he was part of the heros friend group, what if they already know about the anti-ecto acts and are okay with it? What if they change hoe they act with her when she tells them she isn't actually an atlatean meta?

[buddiebitch]

genuinely confused why so many people are saying things like “i’m tired of the will they won’t they i wish they would just tell us if it’s gonna happen or not” (kinda defeats the purpose of will they won’t they?) or from the bummy stans “i wish they would shut down buddie fans once and for all” (both real posts i saw)

just wondering how y’all think watching a show is supposed to work? they aren’t going to come out and say either way until it happens in the show, don’t know why you would think it should go any other way.

they aren’t going to do an interview about episode 7 just to say “yeah tommy’s here for now but don’t worry he’ll be gone and we’ll get buddie going” like that’s not how it works, interviews in the middle of a season are purposefully vague and sometimes intentionally misleading, that’s kinda the point. this isn’t the type of show they want you to be able to predict, of course they’ll mislead us on purpose when they get the chance.

it’s very unlikely that any interview will reveal where the show is taking this, and no interviews yet have said strictly one way or the other so i’m not sure why people are acting like they have

[inawickedlittletown]

Coming Out is Easy - 7x06 coda

Buck felt the kiss down to his toes. He just couldn’t help himself because seeing Tommy, especially a Tommy fully decked out in gear and covered in soot, it suddenly made it click for Buck. The thing that people had about firefighters. Although maybe it was just Tommy because Buck saw firefighters covered in all kinds of things all the time and it had never brought out this reaction before. It had taken Tommy to get that out in Buck, and so as Tommy strode towards him, talking about the fire in a tired and apologetic tone, Buck walked towards him and kissed him. 

Tommy kissed him right back and it was an assault on his senses. There was the smokey smell that lingered on Tommy and neat slick slide of their tongues meeting and the feel of the short hair at the nape of his neck. Buck could taste him too, a hint of coffee, likely the only thing keeping him standing after so long a shift. 

Buck held onto him even after the kiss ended, his hand still at Tommy’s neck and his other around his waist. They breathed the same air and Buck just smiled and pressed closer, wanted nothing more than to stay there together until they were forced apart. 

“I can’t believe they got married at a hospital,” Tommy said eventually. 

“They didn’t want to wait,” Buck said with a smile. 

Maddie’s call had had everyone rushing a bit, but they had all been happy to be there for her and Chim even if it wasn’t the wedding they had planned and agonized over for the last few weeks. 

“Come on, I know you’re tired so you don’t have to stay long.”

Buck turned and he started heading away, but Tommy grabbed his wrist. 

“Bathroom first.” 

“Why? You don’t need to clean up, Chim and Maddie won’t mind.” 

Tommy chuckled. “Not for me, Evan. You look like you’ve been kissing a chimney sweep.” 

“I doubt you fit in a chimney,” Buck said, a little playfully and incapable of not grinning. 

Tommy chuckled again. “Just, if you don’t want them to have questions, maybe wash your face first.” 

“And what if I want them to have questions?” 

It wasn’t like the invitation to the wedding hadn’t been, in a small way, Buck’s way of just telling everyone without needing to have individual conversations. His sooty beard would more than clear things up and Buck wouldn’t even have to say a word. 

“I’m not going to stop you,” Tommy said. 

“Then let’s go.” 

No one said anything to him or Tommy directly, but there certainly were reactions. His favorite was his parents being both shocked and confused followed closely by Athena’s perfectly arched eyebrow and Hen’s knowing look. They stayed long enough to eat cake and no one said anything when Buck left with Tommy. He was sure, considering they were in a hospital, that everyone would start leaving soon anyway. He had no idea how long the hospital staff would allow it to go on. 

“You really do nothing by halves, do you, Evan?” 

“You’re not complaining, are you?” 

“No. Not at all.” 

Buck reached for his hand, lacing their fingers together and when he looked to Tommy, Tommy was already looking back, his scrunchy smile in place.

[gregorygerwitz]

Tommy was nowhere to be found when Buck was in the gym though. That was 100% about Eddie. As was the Christopher thing because he didn't want to be replaced in Eddie and Christophers lives by anyone, for any length of time. The only time I really felt him trying to get Tommy's attention was their first scene together. But that was purposeful by the writers. They wanted to have it both ways and needed Buck to want both of their attention but have no idea why.

I've sat here for almost a full day wondering how to respond to this, and honestly, I very nearly deleted it without responding because... I barely go here. I just shifted over to 911 as my main fandom. I was a One Chicago blog a little over a week ago and yeah, one well timed rewatch might put me back on that train.

I just came over here because I watched the show, enjoyed it, and wanted to have fun with other fans. My posts are my opinion and my observations, and are obviously not meant to speak for all of canon or even any faction of the fandom besides myself (and maybe Kit, but our opinions vary sometimes too, and we live together). I just pointed out what I noticed, and the trends that I picked up on, and how I thought they were intending to establish Buck wanting Tommy's attention - which, in my opinion, they did really well.

So, I'm just gonna put a screenshot of the post this is referring to right here:

Here's the thing. If you watch every single episode of the show looking for Buddie moments whenever Buck or Eddie is on screen (and I saw a lot of that after last night's episode to the point that I'm getting exhausted and annoyed), then that's all you're going to see, even if that's not what they're trying to show us.

It's been especially bad since 7x04 and the BuckTommy kiss. Everyone is looking at his canon queerness through a Buddie lens and ignoring everything else around it. They're making his coming out to Maddie about Buddie, and they're making his attraction to Tommy about Buddie, they're making episodes we haven't even seen about Buddie.

In reality, none of that is about Buddie or confirming future Buddie or anything of the sort. He and Maddie mentioned Eddie in that scene because the conversation started when he said he felt like he was lying to Eddie and he didn't like it. Yes, Eddie and Tommy are similar, and I understand joking about Buck having A Type, but that doesn't make his attraction to Tommy any less genuine. And we don't know anything about 7x06 yet, but everyone is talking about Buddie getting drunk and sleeping together, or Tommy seeing them interact - as he's already seen because the three of them have had scenes together and he's canonically spent time with Chris - and immediately stepping back from the relationship because there might be something there.

Buck is going to his sister's wedding with Tommy. Buck told Maddie and Eddie about Tommy. Buck wants to dance at the wedding with Tommy. He wants to try for something with Tommy. Eddie encouraged him to go call Tommy and work things out. Buck is going to be out to everyone at the Madney wedding because he wants to be there with Tommy as his date.

I don't know. It's just frustrating to see this really good queer relationship tossed to the side because it's not the Popular Ship. Just because you don't ship it or you aren't looking at it directly, it doesn't mean it's not still there.

[nerdofspades]

Continuing from this post, with some more details being pulled from this reblog.

When Phantom sees Batman hanging out on a roof in Amity Park (where he can be seen easily, but only by someone who can fly) the first thing he does is sneak up on him.

For Phantom, it's easy. Invisibility, intangibility, and flight make it ridiculously easy for him to not make noise while approaching someone. He just needs to not breath too loud while he approaches. (Or speak. Both of these things are also easy for a ghost. Or a half ghost like him.)

So Phantom does that, and if it's pay back for all the times Batman startled him while he was working. No one needs to know.

The first thing he says is that Batman looks like he's looking for a fight. Batman does not jump or look startled in anyway. Danny is disappointed.

(Danny did manage to sneak up on Batman. Bruce just has excellent control over his reactions to maintain his persona. He also knew Phantom to be mischievous and was expecting this.)

So, Batman doesn't skip a beat and tells Phantom it's just a precaution. Mostly for if a less friendly ghost spotted him first. He wasn't going to start any fights.

Phantom gives a nod and says "good, you're learning."

Which sets off Batman. Because Phantom was not supposed to know. Danny scrambles and manages to brush it off. Batman has Fenton tech. He clearly got it from someone and if it were Jack and Maddie, Batman wouldn't be having a conversation with Phantom. Jazz has never been particularly good at the tech and hunting stuff, but she's got an interest in ghostly psychology. That leaves Danny, and that kid has been in and out of town all summer. That and with the only consistent access to the ghost zone in FentonWorks, it pays to have friends inside the house. And Phantom uses Fenton tech too. Gotta get it from somewhere.

While everything Phantom says is technically correct and factual something about the way he says it (the panicked rambling) doesn't sit right. Batman decides to "make polite conversation." With Phantom about the Fentons.

The more he asks and the more Phantom talks the more concerned he gets. Jazz has basically become Danny's parental figure in any situation where Jack and Maddie aren't technically required. Sure she inherited their genius, but at least half her drive to succeed is tied to getting out of there. They don't have safe food to eat and the entire house has been contaminated with ectoplasm due to Jack and Maddie's lax lab safety. (Phantom off hand mentions that the ecto-contamination will probably have effects on the kids that aren't constantly wearing jumpsuits.)

And the amount of things Jazz and Danny do that Jack and Maddie apparently just don't notice is astounding. Both kids sabotage or steal particularly nasty ghost weapons on a regular basis. Danny sneaks out more nights than not and his parents notice less than five percent of the time.

(Phantom specifically does not mention why he knows all of this, but it is obvious to Bruce that he and Danny do not have a professional relationship. He doesn't have it actually figured out, but he probably thinks they're dating.)

Batman wants them out of that house. Now. It's only when Batman directly brings that up that Danny realizes he's fucked up and said too much. He debates back tracking and trying to play it down again. But. By now he's spent enough time with the League to know about his adoption tendencies and has spent enough time listening to Jazz, Sam, and Tucker to know that he's actually right. That house is fucked up. Trying to cover it up now would just make Batman more convinced he needs to take them in.

So Danny does the opposite. He tells Batman that trying to move them now would be worse. They don't want to be separated and one or both of them would immediately sacrifice everything to help the other if separated from their parents.

The only way to make sure they stay together would be for Jazz to take custody of Danny. So, either she gives up Harvard and stays in Amity so Danny can finish high school with his friends, or Dannt gives up Amity so Jazz can stay at Harvard. Even if Danny manages to convince her to go to school, she now would need a full time job to take care of them on top of needing to pass her classes as a full time student to maintain her scholarship. Doing both would likely be impossible.

They will not thank him for intervening.

(Danny does not mention his obsession. He does not say that leaving Amity is not an option for Danny. That it would mean so much more than just leaving his friends and support network behind.)

Bruce hates it, but concedes. In this case. For now. He quietly resolves to get as much money into Danny's bank account as he can without making it obvious. No need for the League to know about that.

He also suggests that Danny and Jazz get therapy. Offers up a League contact that they can meet at the Watchtower if they don't want to visit anyone local. Especially with their relationship to Phantom. (And now the League.)

Oddly enough, Danny takes the offer. Jazz does too, but that wasn't too much of a surprise. Danny knows that Jazz can't actually be his therapist because of their relationship, and the main reason she's been toeing that line is because Danny didn't have other options. Now that he has one he can take some stuff off her plate and even get her some help off loading all the crap from their parents and taking care of him. So yeah. They take the therapy offer.

(This does nothing to curb the League's belief that Danny is one of Bruce's kids. Jazz gives them a little confusion, but it's not like Bruce hasn't taken in kids with families before.)

(Bruce does remember to handle his actual business before leaving. He was there to give Phantom a League communicator so they could call him for major ghost problems outside of Amity and he can call them if he gets in over his head. While Danny is good at what he does, Batman does not want to call a civilian child to a battlefield if he can help it.)

Dinah (Black Canary) takes them on as patients. Because neither one is directly connected to the League and Dinah spent minimal time with the ghost gear stuff, she doesn't have any concerns about being able to stay professional. She does tell both of them that if they have concerns about that, or if Danny becomes more involved in the League, they can tell her or Batman and they'll work to find a suitable replacement or address those issues in another way.

Neither of them talks about Phantom at first. Jazz opens up much faster, but she also has an easier time obfuscating the relationship between Phantom and Fenton.

Danny doesn't talk about Phantom at all.

Both of them raise a million red flags for Dinah regarding their family life, but both of them reiterate that they would rather not bring it to court.

Slowly, eventually. Danny feels safe. He's still slow and hesitant. He asks a few questions to verify that even the nosiest League members don't know what he tells her. (Manhunter has gotten several talks about not digging into Dinah's memories and if he has to, staying away from any that take place in this room. There is no camera and everything is hard copy. If Bataman were to try and open that door, it would set off an alarm. The walls are lined with lead and so on and so forth.)

Then Danny tells her outright that he and Phantom are the same perosn. They tall for quite awhile about the accident, hero work, his parents, and more. At the end of the session Dinah can tell this is something Jazz has been avoiding with the gift of hindsight and Danny says he'll tell Jazz she can open up about it.

Things look good for them.

[angelllbby222]

Conflicted Chapter 20🎀:

Maddy P.O.V :

I stormed out of the bathroom, heading directly for Axl.

He told everyone in the band, which was different than telling his girlfriend something so personal about me.

And Izzy’s ex…that was where I drew the line.

“Axl!" I yelled, watching him pause in the middle of a conversation with their manager and turn his attention to me, lifting an eyebrow at my grumpy attitude.

“You told your girlfriend that you’re in love with me?!?”

"What are you saying Maddy? And keep it down," he clinched his teeth as he led me into a secluded area away from the crowd.

“Angela told me that Erin knows that you're in love with me," supposedly." I scoffed, angered by his casual demeanor, knowing he was the one propagating our private secrets out to the general public.

"I never told Erin anything, Maddy. I swear. I'm not sure why she would say that," he murmured to himself, standing there with his hands on his hips, wondering what he had done to make Erin feel that way.

I stormed away, unaware that Erin was watching us, perplexed, given the fact that they claimed the two were good friends, but based on their recent chat, it seemed as though the two were a couple fighting only adding to her theory.

Which was that her boyfriend was in love with the bassist’s sister.

“Maddy where have you been." Duff asked, already on his fourth drink of the night, banging down on the bar counter for more.

“I've been gone. Not that you would care." I spat, irritated by his intoxicated conduct and the fact that he couldn't even hold a conversation with me, let alone Steven and Slash, and then there was Izzy, wait, there wasn't.

Where was Izzy?

"Hey have any of you seen Izzy?" I inquired with the three boys, who were completely wasted.

"I-z-zzz-y?..why are you t-two goin-g to fuck-k again?" Slash mumbled, smirking wildly at his choice of words,Duff barely noticed until he realized what he had said about his sister and Izzy.

“Shut the fuck up Slash!” the bassist shouted, immediately sobering up.

"Sweetie. Izzy is just over there." Steven pointed to a small area of the pub at a booth where Izzy was sitting with none other than Angela?

The way she giggled and slapped his chest made it seem like the two were having a funny conversation , and he smiled the entire time, not realizing how clear it was that she was flirting with him.

Angela instantly noticed me staring, which prompted Izzy to shift his head, but Angela caught it and kissed him forcefully, prompting him to back off and jump out of the seat.

"Maddy," he murmured to himself, noticing me observing the two and assuming the worst of what I saw.

He instantly raced over to me and explained what had happened, and I nodded, knowing he had done nothing wrong because I was actually standing there seeing Angela be a slut.

"Why does she like you so much? Why doesn't she go see Axl or Slash?" I wondered why she was constantly drawn to Izzy.

"She's been in love with me for a long time and I didn't feel the same way, so we became fuck buddies, but I got bored of her quickly, so I called it out, and she became heartbroken," he explained casually, as if it wasn't his first time leaving a female unhappy as a musician

"Oh." I responded instantly, feeling awful for the girl because I could easily be in the same situation.

It's possible that I'm already there without realizing it.

“I know what your thinking and no just drop it." He sighed, having dealt with enough, and approached his three wasted pals to participate in the fun.

I saw Axl emerge from the scene, an empty arm that no longer served Erin Everly, and he excitedly walked to his bandmates with a sneer on his face.

I had no choice but to join the guys because I had no other friends at all in the big city and I only knew them.

“The brat has joined us.” Axl scoffed, nonchalantly sipping a cool beer in direct contradiction to his drunken bandmates, notably Izzy.

He fell over the counter, almost dropping to the floor, when I caught him and moved him to rest his head on the counter.

“You'll be taking care of him like that for the rest of your life if you keep this relationship going," he whispered, taking little sips from his drink.

“What makes you say that?”

“He’s an addict and he’ll ruin your life too with his drugs.”

"Izzy's not an addict and I can take care of him perfectly fine." I naively defended, smoothing Izzy's hair away from his sweaty face.

“Yeah right.” he scoffed slipping off his stool to found someone to dance with.

"Izzy. Wake up, let's go home." I said to him, feeling his cheeks warm up to my touch and slumped over body.

"N-no just go without m-me." He murmured, fumbling over words and pushed me away with a rough hand.

“Baby, you don’t look so good. I think it’s better if I take you home.”

“Stop touching me!" he yelled, pushing me, causing me to trip on the liquid drink previously spilled on the floor and fall on the hard ground of the bar.

I shrieked, a crushing discomfort running through me and tears forming in my eyes, unable to hide the pain, looking up at Izzy to extend a hand, but he was so high on his drug of choice for the night that he didn't care.

"Maddy! "Are you ok?" I heard Axl call out to me, rushing up to pick me up.

“What happened!" Duff shouted and hurried over to me after seeing Axl kneeling down on the floor.

"I'm fine." I said, tears streaming down my cheeks, as I returned my gaze to Izzy, who was firmly placed on the counter, unconcerned about how he had treated me.

"That bastard. I'll fucking kill you for hurting my baby sister," he roared, grabbing Izzy's shirt and dragging him up to confront his towering frame.

“If you kill me, you'll hurt your sister even more," he replied, grinning at me.

“Fuck you motherfucker.” the bassist growled punching his band mate and knocking him down on his drunken state.

“Duff!” I squealed as I crouched down next to Izzy and his newly slit brow, which was streaming with blood.

"Leave him alone, Maddy. Let's go. Axl said this as he dragged me away from Izzy and picked me up in his arms.

"You just want to fuck her." Izzy mumbled under his breath, amused at Axl's concern for the girl he allegedly dislikes.

The Indiana native may not have heard because he did not intervene, but if he had realized his long-time friend was making such a statement about the sweet girl, he would have knocked him out for good.

“That is it! I've seen enough today. You are not to see Izzy again, and I forbid you from going out with him or any other fucking musician from now on!" Duff yelled, and I could only nod, unable to find the correct words to explain what Izzy had just done.

We all got into Duff's car, Axl and I in the back, as Duff drove us to Axl's apartment.

I felt Axl interlace his fingers with mine, holding my hand in his while I slipped into sleep on his shoulder.

What I didn’t realize was that when I would wake up the next morning, Duff would have my things packed and a flight back to Seattle set out for me.

[canonicallyobserving911]

Buck & Eddie and Thomas & Mitchell - Parallels

Buck met Thomas in 2x8 “Buck Actually” while the 118 was on a call and they had a conversation about love.  Thomas told Buck that all he and Mitchell ever wanted was to go together and after Buck said he hoped that he could find something that good one day, Thomas replied, “You don’t find it son, you make it!”.  Buck was supposed to learn that he could love whomever he chooses and they could build a life together the same way Thomas and Mitchell had done but Buck misunderstood the assignment. 

Buck and Eddie’s lives parallel with Thomas and Mitchell’s lives in a lot of ways. First, Buck is like Mitchell and Eddie is like Thomas; therefore on the day of the accident, Buck was talking to Thomas who was like Eddie which could be the reason why he misunderstood the assignment.  It probably would have been different if he had the conversation with Mitchell instead of Thomas because he would have been able to relate to him since they were so much alike.  Second, when Thomas called 9-1-1, he told Maddie that he couldn’t lose Mitchell because he was his heart and his everything.  Reminder, Eddie’s heart is Buck and he can’t lose him either.  There have been several heart references that relate directly to Eddie over the past four and a half years and those references always related back to Buck and Eddie’s relationship.  Third, Thomas said Mitchell was the risk taker and he just wanted to follow along.  That sounds familiar doesn’t it because Buck is the risk taker too and Eddie has followed Buck into danger during rescues several times like he did in 3x16 “The One That Got Away” and the same way he did in 3x18 “What’s Next?”  The fourth parallel includes the one who always drives. Every time Buck and Eddie are in the car together, Buck is the one who drives and the same thing happened with Thomas and Mitchell.  Mitchell always drove while Thomas rode in the passenger’s seat.  The fifth parallel includes their height differences because Mitchell and Buck are both taller than Thomas and Eddie.  The sixth parallel includes the way they flirted with each other.  Buck and Eddie flirted in 3x9 “Fallout” the same way Thomas and Mitchell did when they were younger.  The seventh parallel includes the way they hugged each other.  In 3x1 “Kids Today” Eddie placed his hand on Buck’s waist when he hugged him and Thomas did the same thing when he and Mitchell were younger while they were dancing together in a club.

It’s important to note that Buck and Eddie were both on the scene that day but Buck is the one who talked with Thomas and he’s also the one who saw Thomas’ and Mitchell’s life together when he looked at some of their photos that had fallen out of the photo album/memory book Thomas was planning to carry with them that day.  Even though Eddie was there too, he didn’t talk to Thomas and he didn’t see the photo album.  All he saw was Buck’s devastation, Thomas holding Mitchell’s hand after he died and how their deaths affected Buck. Eddie comforted Buck and he’s continued to do that for him even after he was shot by a sniper because Eddie’s main concern before he went unconscious for the last time in 4x14 “Survivors” was if Buck was ok and he asked him, “Are you hurt?’ while they were in the back of the 133′s ladder truck.

The parallels between Buck and Eddie’s relationship and Thomas and Mitchell’s relationship do not appear to be coincidences.  Actually, it seems like Thomas and Mitchell’s relationship was shown to foreshadow Buck and Eddie’s relationship.  Will there be even more parallels between Buck and Eddie’s lives when compared with Thomas and Mitchell’s lives in 6B?  Only the showrunner(s), writers and producers know the answer to that question.

GIFs: 2x8 (8), 2x1, 4x13, 3x9, 3x1, 2x4

[sporadicfangurl]

Between the stills and the sneak peek that dropped of Buddie (which I haven't and won't be watching as am waiting until I see the episode to see but have kinda seen through gifs) I now have a lot of thoughts about how I think things will go for the buckley-diaz family in this season finale and I just need to write it out before I join Eddie in a mental spiral.

So, for starters, I think the Buddie sneak peek will be the first scene for both Buck and Eddie. I could see there being a scene before this with Eddie knocking on Chris's door begging him to open up/ apologizing for the night before and getting no response from Chris. But, because of all the plotlines going on/needing to get wrapped up in this episode I don't think we'll get a scene like that before the sneak peek scene. Now when it comes to the sneak peek scene, I believe this is the morning after the Kim debacle the night before. Seemingly after Marisol (and Kim) left, Chris locked himself in his room and hasn't spoken or seen Eddie since. Concerned for Chris, but not wanting to overstep or force himself on him, Eddie immediately resorts to pulling out his big guns; aka calling in Chris's Buck. Because if there is one person Chris will let in at a time like this—it's his Buck. I think this scene will end with Buck agreeing to try and leaving to go to Chris's room and as Buck is exiting, Eddie hears a knock on his door and when he answers his parents are on the other side.

We know from stills from the episode that Eddie's parents will be in this episode. Personally, I don't believe either Chris or Eddie called them. I think this will be a surprise visit with them having already been in town and maybe this is there last day in LA, and they just wanted to see Chris and Eddie before going back to Texas. Although there is a small chance that Chris called them although given that I believe Buck was Eddie's first call to help him fix the mess he made I don't think he called his parents. Regardless, once he invites them inside, Eddie takes his parents to the kitchen, and it is in the kitchen that he fills them in on all the things going on with regards to his dead wife's doppelganger and all that went down the night before. During this conversation, Eddie is going to show them a picture of Kim on his phone which is what I think is happening in the still down below.

While Eddie is talking to his parents, I believe Buck and Chris will be having a parallel conversation that will be intercutting with Eddie's scene as Chris expresses his feelings and perspective to Buck about everything. At some point, Chris and Buck's conversation will get interrupted by someone (Maddie, Chim or Hen) calling to tell him that Bathena is in the hospital. Buck will apologize/excuse himself from the talk with Chris and go to the kitchen to tell Eddie about Bathena. Interrupting the conversation Eddie is having with his parents and the reason why Helena's face looks so screwed up/upset.

Eddie will likely initially be conflicted on whether or not he should go to the hospital because of everything going on with Chris, but his parents will usher him to go telling him they'll stay and watch/talk to Chris while he's gone. Buddie goes to hospital together directly from Eddie's house which is why they are wearing the same clothes.

Now am not sure what the hell is going to happen at the hospital, but I will say that I don't think Bobby is either going to die or wake up from the coma in this episode. I think whatever ultimately ends up happening with Bobby we won't find out until the first episode of season eight. Regardless of what happens at the hospital, after everything is said and done, Buddie will part ways with them both going home to their own homes. At Buck's place, I think Tommy will already be at Buck's when Buck arrives home. Maybe Buck left Tommy at his place before he left to go to Eddie's as they potentially woke up together and Tommy just never went home, or maybe Tommy has a key and let himself in. However, it is that Tommy is in Buck's place, he is there, and he prepared/set up Bummy date night. More than likely, either through Buck telling him or the firefighter grapevine, Tommy knows about Bobby being comatose in the hospital and wanting to do something nice for Buck (possibly to help take his mind off of things) he made/maybe order them dinner. Given that Buck is smiley and looking all content in the still below, I do not believe again that Bobby will die in this episode. I just don't see Buck being able to be this happy in a moment with Tommy if Bobby/his real dad dies some time that day.

Moving on to Eddie, when he returns home, I think his parents will be waiting to have a conversation with him about Chris and how they think he should come with them back to Texas. Eddie while obviously be taken aback and a bit defensive about this as this will be last thing he wants. However, I think Eddie's parents will make it clear that this isn't like last time where they wanted to take Chris from him permanently but instead this will just be a temporary thing. Possibly one that Chris said he wanted. Which if they tell him that Chris wants to go with them back to Texas, I think Eddie will resign himself to it.

Which, as hard as this is going to be for Eddie, I personally think it's for the best and the only way that our Diaz boys can finally start to truly grieve and heal from Shannon's death. The truth of the matter is that both Chris and Eddie hide their feelings from one another when it comes to Shannon as a means of protecting each other feelings. When Chris was having nightmares about Shannon in 3x04, he kept it hidden from Eddie because he didn't want to make Eddie sad by bringing it up. And I feel like Eddie has been using his relationship with all these different women as a way to mask his true feelings about Shannon to both Christopher and himself. Dating all these women gives the illusion that he's okay and moved past Shannon, but that is clearly a bold face lie as we can see by the Kim of it all. All that to say, if Eddie and Chris are going to heal from Shannon's death and the feeling of abandonment, she left behind in her wake; they need to be able to feel all of their feelings and pain which neither will do if they're together because they'd be too worried about how their feelings would affect the other. This is gonna hurt, but it's gonna be for the best. Which takes us to the next two and last stills:

Buddie says goodbye to their kid! As much as I wanted Chris to go stay with his Buck that way, he'd at least still be with one of his dads then; he's clearly gonna be going with his grandparents. In what will probably be Eddie and Chris's one and only scene together—THERE GONNA BE SAYING GOODBYE! And as Chris leaves with his grandparents, Buck will be there to comfort and support Eddie through the shitstorm he made for himself. Those are my thoughts and thanks to Hulu not dropping episodes until 5 in the morning I have a whole extra day to just think about all the ways this next episode is about to hurt. Thanks so much for that Hulu. You're just the best.

[bubblepopsims]

Evan picked up the phone and called Rafa. Checking his pink nail polish he waited for him to pick up.

Rafael : “*sighs* he was bound to call at some point..”

Rafael answered the call with a sigh  “So now you decided to call me, while I am at work huh?”

Evan: “Well I could call you back but then you’d be with Maddie so I am pretty sure now it’s best. Don’t you agree? I wouldn’t want to interrupt you two. So Rafa I’m sorry I haven’t called in a while and I could make up some excuse but I know I didn’t call because you would give me an earful about my jokes. Also I know you probably look hot as fuck right now, all serious at your desk maybe a turtleneck?” Evan chuckled lightly “Sorry, I can’t stop myself”

Rafael continued to pace in the same area, shifting side to side while he listened to Evan speak his words. Rolling his eyes dreadfully slow and sighing, lightly tilting his head when he came to the agreement in his head that Evan was actually right for once. “You make a good point here. On all accords, Besides one thing.” He finds himself taking a seat at his desk.

Rafael: “No turtle neck. But let me guess you are probably currently admiring something new you did. Mmm? Tramp stamp perhaps? Maybe the nails, what did you do this time? Pink. perhaps, it is in rotation.”

Evan: “You know me so well, pink nails. Look I called to tell you that all jokes aside I really miss you and you are one of the best people I know. Courts reminded me I should tell you more often. I haven’t been a very good friend lately and you have been going through some major changes. That pic with Maddie and the ring. If I know you well enough I’d say you have fallen pretty hard for her. I see her charms and honestly you two look like a good fit. She is bubbly and extroverted, not to mention very hot.”

Rafael let out a huff and then a sigh “Don’t even worry about it. You are not a bad friend Evan. Self-pity doesn’t suit you. Very Unattractive.”  before his lips creeped up into a smile at mentioning of Madalyn only to fall minutes later. Evan was right, Rafael has been going through quite major changes, including opening his heart up again when the thought of having someone truly fit him was left in the past. Rafael: “It is a promise ring. Madalyn talked about it quite frequently so I took it upon myself to buy her one. She has in a sense flipped my whole life upside down. But it’s good. It’s good. She is good. Fantastic actually. But there is one thing that troubles me.”

“What are you talking about? I am always attractive!” Evan bursted out laughing “Thank you Rafael, you are not a bad friend either”. Evan pondered what to say next, this was some serious matter that Rafa wanted to talk about, he could feel it in the tone of his voice. “I know you, she could have insisted as much as she wanted but you wouldn’t have bought the ring if you didn’t want to. You don’t tend to be a people pleaser nor someone that avoids arguments or serious conversations. So, go ahead, ask away.”  “Evan, come to the bedroom please” Courtney called him so he got up and started making his way towards her.

Rafael sometimes disliked how much Evan paid attention. He knew him... Knew him well enough that the words he was saying were aligned with Rafael's characteristics. He pushed his office chair back and began to pace once more. Trying to figure out the right words to say or even how to say it. Never did he think he would be in this situation.. Especially with Evan. So instead he brought the phone away from his ear and directly spoke into the phone. Rafael:“When did you know.That Courtney was the one? -he sighed deeply and pushed his hair out of his face- I know the definition of love in verses ways, how to describe it, what it looks like without seeing it. But to know is different, to experience it.. it is different. You know me, Evan. As you said, I don’t do things irrationally. But Madalyn -he huffed and let out a small laugh- she.. just has a way of making me feel like I am learning new things about myself. And yes I know, a relationship should be that way. But when did you know? What was it that made you say she is it?”

Evan felt the heaviness of Rafa's words, this wasn't the time for jokes. "Ok, when did I know..."He took a deep breath, kept it in for a couple of seconds and exhaled. "It took me a while but one night we were out with friends, having dinner at a restaurant. I went out for a smoke, I had a bad day, I was feeling wrecked and yet I was putting up a show, I wasn't feeling like I wanted to have so many people around me. Uni was proving difficult, I never had a thing for studying yet I was trying to make my parents happy, not that they ever forced me to do anything but you know..." Rafael: "I know how you felt about yourself Evan, you wanted to prove yourself you were more than what you think everyone thought of you"

"You remember the prank the twins pulled where they glued all of my underwear together? It was that day, it was payback because I got dad to give me his Mustang; well Courtney followed me out of the restaurant me soon after, she hugged me and told me -You know you can be sad- then she tightened the grip and I hugged her back. I thought how the fuck she could read me so well. It happened more often than I liked but that night I understood that she could see me. She could read me and she cared for me. I realized I could be myself with her and that I wanted to hold on to her. I wanted her to keep looking at me like that, she can cut through all my bullshit. Just as I can see through her"

Rafa was silent still, thinking about what Evan just said. This was Evan's chance and he seized it "...well that and the fact that I wanted her to ravage my ass so badly". Shock and horror, it's like Evan could hear Rafa's disgusted face through the phone. "I got you didn't I?"

Rafael listened intently, hearing the tone shift until he noticed Evan’s smile through the phone. Remembering their first discussion about Courtney. His tone has not change. He paced a little more until he stopped dead in his tracks and felt his face scrunch up in disgust. Rafael:“You always have to ruin a good moment between us don’t you.” Rafael groaned and plopped down on the couch staring up at the tall ceiling of his office. His brows bunched up and his chest tightened up. Rafael:“Evan. I am really starting to believe that I lov- His words were cut short when the door to his office opened and in walked Madalyn. His eyes widened, wandering over the outfit she had so gracefully presented. “Holy shit.”

Evan:“Hey dude are you ok? I can call you later…” Courtney was being very clear about her intentions, in another situation Evan was ready to hang up on Rafa but he was being very honest about his feelings and asking for his help so he was hoping that Rafa would cut the conversation short. 

Madalyn raised a brow as Rafa mouthed to her that he was on the phone with Evan. She took it upon herself to get comfortable. Rafael: “Yeah. Sorry I thought I saw something outside.” Rafael scrunched up his face as soon as the lie left his lips. But Madalyn insisted on him not mentioning her. Rafael:“How is Courtney by the way? Madalyn told me she was feeling a bit under the weather recently. Which makes Madalyn want to visit her more. I quite frankly have to hide my wallet so she doesn’t randomly buy plane tickets” he laughed lightly as Madalyn hit him playfully and frowned giving him the look of: fuck you.

Evan: “It was one of those moments where she needs to be alone, well alone with me you know, it happens sometimes. Nothing that lots of cuddles can’t solve.” Courtney started stroking him, he had to keep a moan in, Rafael wouldn’t take it well if he knew what was happening.”Look Rafa, it seems to me that you love Maddie, I bet you think about her always even now that you are working and you are a workaholic” Evan let out a small hiss and motion Courtney to take it slower. 

Rafael smirked as he saw the devious grin creep up along Madalyns lips for a moment he didn’t quite hear what Evan was saying. The sight of her was mesmerizing, from this Angle the length of her body to her heels was doing things to him, and before he knew it she was unzipping his pants.  All he heard was the words “love her” and his head turned to the side. Rafael:“You don’t even know the half of it.  She quite literally is driving me crazy. No woman has done that before” he stated letting out a sigh as he felt her hand brush along him.

Rafael didn’t dare to look at her after stating that knowing it will only fuel her. But once again Madalyn took him by surprise and he felt the warm embrace of her mouth. Rafael: “Mmm…-he had to clear his throat- I am really thinking… m-very large with her.” His eyes reverted back to Madalyn clutching her hand that was squeezing the inner part of his thigh. Gesturing her to take it easy.

Madalyn chuckled but went right back whispering quietly, trying to keep the lewd sounds to a minimum, but how could she when he was expressing such adorable facial expressions  “just be sure to not let him find out.. or he might get jealous” she giggled. 

........................

Evan: “Rafa, what are you doing? You seem unfocused…” Evan stayed quiet for a moment and motioned Courts to stop for a second, a very difficult request. Something was off, Rafael was never the type to get distracted unless…UNLESS! “Rafa, where is your dick now?! You dirty nasty hypocrite always telling how lewd I am” Evan looked at Courts, they both started laughing he covered the phone mic and whispered to Courts “This is pure gold”. Not wasting anymore time Courtney started working on Evan again doing her best to make Evan slip and reveal that he too was in the middle of sex. Evan: “I will hold this against you fore *cough* forever” he managed to disguise a guttural growl into a cough and looked over at his love and felt like just closing the call with Rafa but he pushed through. He needed to hear Rafa's reaction.

Rafael was beginning to cave in. The sensation of Madalyn’s mouth was overwhelming, from the warmth to subtle sounds and soft moans that escaped her muffled mouth. It was getting to close, he didn't know how much more he could take until he heard as clear as day Evan’s words. “Excuse me?” Rafael stopped Madalyn briefly receiving quite an unpleased expression but he gave her a reassuring look that he would make it up to her. 

Rafael:“Where my dick is, is none of your business and I told you I was at work. Sounds to me like you are becoming quite forgetful at this moment,” he stated not letting Evan have this over his head. “Sure you are not up to something.”  But while he was trying to recover from his slip up Madalyn had taken it upon herself to reveal what was under her coat. Nothing but her nude skin was exposed to him. Rafael’s words escaped him, and his eyes couldn’t help but crawl up her body until they landed on those vibrant blue eyes. He could see it in them. Madalyn wasn’t always the one to be overly aggressive but over this time period being with Rafael, he was getting more unbearably irresistible to her. Maybe it was the hormones maybe it was the fact that she was just genuinely happy with him. But she wanted him. Didn’t matter that they had sex just that very morning.. It was a sense of need for their touch. And that was exactly what Rafael saw in her eyes.  Slowly she straddled him settling on his lap while she gestured to the phone. Rafael knew quickly what she meant. Rafael:“You know what Evan. I have something very important that requires my attention. I am going to have to call you later.”

Evan: “I know WHO the important thing is, you don’t fool me!” The call was over before he could finish the sentence.  He let the phone go and turned his attention to Courtney not before taking a mental note of calling Maddie in the evening.

written by the truly amazing bean @fl0pera (Evan) and yours truly >:) (Rafa without one line but who gives a shit XD we had fun i'd say )

[extasiswings]

Do you think it is indeed a choice that means something, or do we buddie shippers just need to start thinking that maybe it won't be happening? I really really hope you are right, but if they keep keeping them apart this whole first half of the season, I just wonder if we need to start being realistic? However why would they start the season with that kitchen scene then... I'm sorry this sounds negative and it is def not, I'm still hopeful, I just wonder if other people feel like this :)

Very simply: yes, it’s a deliberate choice, and not only is it not a cause for concern it’s necessary and should be exactly what leads to Buddie canon.

This season kicked off by throwing down a gauntlet that Buck is missing what is right in front of his face (a conversation that took place while he was literally looking at Eddie and Christopher and cooking for them like a whole-ass husband), that he’s searching for happiness in the wrong places because he can’t see what he already has (or thinks he can’t have it). They proceeded to send him off on a journey about fatherhood specifically (but only the illusion of it—donor, not dad) because of the Diaz Boys of it all, because Eddie and Buck still haven’t talked about the shooting, haven’t talked about the will, and are very much not on the same page about Buck’s actual role in Christopher’s life (aka to Eddie, Buck is Christopher’s other dad, to Buck, he’s only a contingency plan if Eddie dies).

Similarly, we also just got a giant flashing neon sign with Tomorrow—Henren’s queer love story (with shooting parallels galore), in which both of them ended up with a life and new dreams that looked nothing like what either of them originally intended or expected for themselves. The trajectory is LOUD.

The separation of arcs is simply because Buck and Eddie are different characters and because their arcs need to be a little bit separate right now while they’re both figuring things out. It’s partly to increase the dramatic tension and draw it out, but also partly for practical reasons. On one hand, there’s the fact that this is an ensemble show and they have other stories they’re telling and other characters—so they laid the groundwork, pivoted over to Hen for a few episodes, and now they’re pivoting back. On the other, there are legitimate plot and character reasons why they haven’t been involved in what we’ve seen so far (which, to be clear, is really just Animal Instincts). Buck is keeping this a secret deliberately. He went to Hen instead of Eddie deliberately—on a character level, because she has some experience with IVF etc and is a good friend, but also because this is not something he can talk to Eddie about. (By contrast, Eddie wanted Buck to be involved in his issue with Chris—Buck’s his co-parent, Buck is always involved, but Buck was the one pulling away and not letting himself get involved).

Eddie’s going to find out about the sperm donor thing. Probably in the very next episode (Cursed). As far as we can tell, he’s going to be the main (perhaps the only) significant person in Buck’s life to be involved in this storyline directly going forward (since Jen said Maddie hasn’t been involved with it at all). Which makes sense, because they’re on a collision course regarding all things shooting/will/Christopher/feelings-related. So they’re not separated entirely.

If I’m right, Eddie’s going to feel some kinda way about it. And Buck will feel some kinda way about Eddie reacting to it. And that’s what will set the stage for where we’re going in “What’s Your Fantasy?” With “Uncle” Buck babysitting (again, explicitly not being a parent) left once again to think about what he really wants in his life, while Eddie is going through a parenting first with Christopher (and Carla) in a scenario that is a perfect opening for them to circle back to what exactly Carla meant when she told him to follow his heart/what (who) Eddie’s heart really wants.

I strongly suspect we will have a canon confirmation of one form or another (because what it means to “go canon” is entirely subjective to everyone but whether that’s a kiss, some sort of confirmation of feelings (to a third party or otherwise), or whatever is all the same to me) by the midseason or very shortly thereafter, but they won’t actually get together officially until late in 6B (or the finale itself because Buck babygirl we have GOT to get you back in therapy)—which would be very S2 Madney of them. Regardless though, it’s happening. Everything they’re doing points to it happening. We are only 1/3 of the way through the season and this is a season-long arc—just be patient and enjoy the ride, because it’s shaping up to be some damn good storytelling.

[oblivious-aro]

Friends in strange Places Ch. 6 Pt 2

What if Vlad was good instead of evil? Link to chapter 1:

Friends in Strange Places Chapter 1, a danny phantom fanfic | FanFiction

FANFICTION.NET

Summary: With a little encouragement from Vlad, Danny works up the nerve to tell his parents. Sam and Tucker realize they have some things to discuss.

Word Count: 8600

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By the time Danny managed to get the thespian ghost into The Thermos and fly back home, Vlad had already left. Danny was disappointed to have missed him, but he did get a play-by-play of the entire visit from his parents over dinner.

"...and it turns out Vladdie hasn't had any luck designing an ecto-based adhesive either! But thanks to his input, we should be able to increase the efficiency of The Spectre Speeder tenfold!"

"That's fascinating Dad." Jazz deadpanned "So you and Vlad have been breaking the ice okay then?"

"Yup!" Maddie smiled "Oh, I'm so glad Vlad decided to open up to us. It's been so nice working with him again."

"Wow," Jazz said "Vlad sharing his secret with you two really seems to have made a difference in your relationship. Even if he was scared to do it, it certainly seems to have been worth the risk."

Danny glared at Jazz.

"You said it Jazzy!" Jack beamed, oblivious to the secret conversation between his children "Now that we know what's been going on with Vladdie all this time, we're closer than ever before!"

"You don't say." Jazz stared directly at Danny as she spoke.

"I'm done eating, I'm going to my room now." Danny pushed his chair back and began to walk towards the stairs.

"Sorry Danny," Maddie grabbed his shoulder as he passed her "You and your father are on dishes tonight."

"What? But I did them last night!"

"Yeah?" Jazz put the stack of plates in the sink "And who did them the last two nights in before that?"

"That was only because-" he'd had to leave halfway through dinner to deal with Skulker's newest (not to mention very destructive) 'toy'.

"Because what, Danny?" Maddie cocked an eyebrow.

"Nothing." Danny grumbled.

"See you in the lab, Hun." Maddie gave Jack a peck on the cheek "I want to get started on archiving today's data."

With that, she disappeared down the basement stairs.

"Come on, Danno," Jack gave the pouting Danny a pat on the back "The sooner we get this done, the sooner it'll be over. You washing or drying tonight?"

"I'll dry." Danny said. His father had an unfortunate tendency to put dishes away in the wrong places, and Danny did not feel like dealing with Jazz's complaining tomorrow morning.

"So," Danny asked as his dad handed him a plate "How are things going with Vlad? It's really not awkward with his whole, you know...'ghostly' situation?"

"Nonsense Danny!" Jack waved his hand "We barely even talked about it."

Danny wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

"I mean," Jack continued "We did sit down and discuss the situation when he first got here, but it didn't take long for us to get back into the swing of researching together just like old times. In fact, the data we collected today has given me a great idea for a new weapon! I call it The Fenton Ghost Gooer!"

"You're not like, married to that name, are you?" Danny scrunched his nose.

"It's gonna be great!" See, your mother and I haven't had much success with ectoplasmic based adhesive in the past, but after studying its behaviour at high velocity under varying degrees of impact force..."

Danny rolled his eyes. It could be so difficult to get his father to stay on a topic that wasn't whatever his latest ghost invention was.

"Dad, would it bother you if you saw Vlad using his ghost powers?" Danny interrupted his rambling.

"What do you mean, Son?" Jack frowned.

"I know you and Mom don't hate Vlad or anything for being half-gho-"

"Of course we don't hate Vladdie!" Jack made an offended expression "He's our best friend!"

"Yeah I know, but I mean like, wouldn't it wig you out to see him flying around or sticking his arm through something? Like, how'd you feel when you first saw him transform?"

"Well I suppose it was a little startling." Jack said "But Vladdie had only really told us about his powers less than a minute ago, so you can't really blame me for being shocked. Your mother and you kids were pretty shaken too, if I recall correctly. Heck, you and your friends barely said a word the whole drive home!"

"Uh...yup! That's right! Totally shocked!" Danny laughed nervously.

"But once your mother and I talked things out, and I got a good night's sleep to think it over, I was able to...what's the word Jazz uses? 'Process' the situation. Sure, it's a little strange that Vlad's got ghostly abilities, but the fact is he does and he's our friend, so we're just going to have to get used to it. Simple as that. The lesson here Danny is that when your problems seem too strange and impossible to figure out, get a good night's sleep. That's something my father taught me. Your brain does amazing things while you're sleeping. Can't tell you how many times I've gone to bed thinking I'd have to scrap some glitchy invention, only to wake up knowing exactly how to fix it!"

Danny wasn't sure he believed his dad. How could Vlad turning out to be half-ghost be so simple for him? Seeing your best friend using the same abilities as the creatures you've hated and hunted obsessively for years had to be a weird, right? Like, at least a little?

"What's got you asking about Vladdie so much anyway, Son?"

"Oh uh, no reason. Just curious."

Jack smiled softly at Danny and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Danny, if Vlad's ghost powers freak you out, you should know you have nothing to worry about. I know he might have looked a little intimidating when he fought that lake monster, but looks are just looks, and despite how Vlad might have looked, he's isn't actually a ghost, so-"

"Ew Dad, you're soaking through my shirt!" Danny pushed Jack's soapy hand off of his shoulder "And I'm not scared of Vlad. I haven't even been scared of ghosts since I was seven."

"Well that's good to hear then." Jack gave Danny's back a strong pat before resuming his scrubbing. "Because there's absolutely no reason to be afraid of Vladdie. And there's gonna be absolutely no reason to be afraid of ghosts anymore once I finish The Fenton Ghost Gooer!"

Danny smiled as his dad started to explain his latest invention.

If nothing else, Jack Fenton was genuine. If he said he didn't have a problem with Vlad's ghost powers, then he meant it.

So why was some small part of Danny still so hesitate?

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"Aim left! Left!" Tucker cried.

Their entire view was obscured by an explosion before a metallic skull appeared on the computer screen with the words Game Over overlaying it.

"Okay, that might have been a little too left."

"Y'know," Valerie said "I just don't think this game is for me."

"Aw come on, you were way better that time."

"Was I?"

"I mean, you almost made it past level one. That's an improvement!"

Valerie did not look impressed.

"You know, I really thought your ghost hunting skills would translate directly to DOOMED. It's basically the same mechanics."

"What're you talking about? Aiming a real blaster is waay smoother then trying to line up your sight with that thing." Valerie pointed at the computer mouse like it was something offensive.

"Aw well," Tucker shrugged "Can't say you didn't try."

"Indeed." Valerie checked her watch "I'd better get going. Sorry DOOMED didn't work out."

"S'all good." Tucker waved his hand "I still got Danny and Sam to play with. We've got loads of other stuff we can try doing together."

"Alright, but I'm choosing the next date activity." Valerie smiled.

"Sounds good." Tucker frowned "Wait, this was a date?"

"I'm pretty sure this counts?"

"Oh, if that's the case, I feel kind of bad making you spend a date playing a video game you didn't enjoy."

"I mean, I did enjoy watching you freak out every time one of those robot bat things showed up."

"They suck up your health! It's imperative to get rid of them as fast as possible before they become too beefy! Sure, they're pretty harmless if you kill them right away, but it's insane that the developers put an enemy that's capable of getting so powerful at level one!"

"See that," Valerie smiled as she swung her backpack over her shoulder "That's weirdly charming. Now I really got to go. See you tomorrow."

"See you!" Tucker called back. Valerie had officially been over enough times that he didn't need to show her out anymore.

And now that she was gone, it was time for DOOMED with Danny.

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Pow! Pow!

"Oh my gosh it's satisfying watching an enemy actually get hit." Tucker said over the voice chat. His parents had gotten him a mic set for his birthday.

"I take it DOOMED with Valerie didn't go well?" Danny's asked.

"Dude, she is so bad! Uh, don't tell her I said that."

"Ha ha, I won't. It's weird, though. Considering her ghost hunting skills, I figured she'd be great at this game."

"I thought so too, but nope! It was like that time we watched my little cousin play Mario at my eleventh birthday party."

"Ugh, why'd you bring that up? That was a genuinely painful experience."

"So was watching Valerie play!"

They continued to play in near silence for a while, only talking to warn each other of an approaching enemy.

Just as Tucker was getting ready to call it, Danny spoke:

"Thanks for hanging out tonight, Tuck. I think I needed this."

"Hey, no problem man. Is something going on?" Tucker asked casually. He very much knew that there was a lot going on with Danny, but he figured between Sam and Jazz, Danny didn't need another person smothering him.

That being said, Tucker was still worried about his best friend. He could hardly help it.

"I'm just stressed about telling my parents." Danny paused to blast an approaching spider "I know they're gonna accept me, but the idea of actually telling them is still pretty terrifying. I know it's not a big thing, just two sentences or whatever, but it still feels like the most monumental thing I've ever done."

"Honestly, I think that's pretty reasonable. I know you know they'll be cool, but this is still the biggest secret you've ever kept. Makes sense you're wigged out about finally letting go."

"Yeah, ha ha. I'll figure it out eventually, though. Hopefully. Anyway, one more round?"

"Sure thing Dude."

They were interrupted by the notification sound effect of another player joining.

"Hey, poetry slam ended earlier than I thought it would. You two still playing?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, but we're just doing one last round." Danny replied.

"That's fine. Still gives me enough time for me to hand you both your own butts."

Tucker was pretty sure he could hear Sam's smug grin through his headset.

"Don't think your victory's so assured, Sam." Tucker said "I've been working on a new strategy that'll knock your socks clean off!"

"Ooh! I'm shaking in my rank three crusher boots with bonus spike damage."

Despite Tucker's trash talk, he'd gotten used to losing a while ago. It was just fun to pretend he might one day outrank Sam.

Mostly he was just happy that Danny was getting a break.

...and also the opportunity to test out his new poison upgrade.

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Danny sighed with relief as he dropped the last of the rags into The Fenton Washing Machine. Not all of the ectoplasm from his parents catapult experiment had made it into the The Containment Tank, and Danny still wasn't having any luck convincing Jazz to swap chores with him.

Danny had just turned the washer on when his ghost sense went off. With a loud groan, Danny turned and glared at the portal. He felt every muscle in his body relax when Vlad floated out.

"Do you somehow just know when I've just finished cleaning the lab?" Danny was too exhausted to muster up a polite greeting "If you're looking for my parents, they're actually out right now. My dad realized we were out of fudge after dinner, and he almost died when he saw we weren't stocked up on baking ingredients."

"I can practically hear Jack's panicked voice." Vlad grinned "But it's actually you I'm after." Vlad said.

"Oh. Really?"

"Yes. Although Jack and Maddie seem relatively comfortable with my ghostly side, I don't think it'd be a good idea to just fly into their lab through the portal as a ghost. I don't think I'm ready for that yet."

"Fair. How'd it go with them yesterday anyway?"

"Rather well, all things considered. Being so open about my abilities with them has certainly been a...mental adjustment after decades of secrecy and hiding, but as I said they really do seem to have taken it rather well."

"That's good to hear." Danny smiled. Hearing Vlad say that made him feel lighter inside. "So what'd you want to talk to me about?"

"I wanted to inquire about your plans to tell your parents about your accident." Vlad said. The lightness in Danny vanished "I assume you haven't already?"

"Uh...no, I...have not done that yet." Danny hoped Vlad couldn't tell how dry his mouth was.

Vlad frowned.

"You seem rather perturbed Daniel. Do you...not want to tell them?"

"I do!" Danny said quickly "Really! It just...never seems like the right time, I guess."

"You guess?"

Danny sighed.

"You know, things aren't terrible right now." Danny rubbed the back of his neck "I guess it's just...I don't really know what will happen when I tell them. I mean, I know they won't banish me to The Ghost Zone or dissect me or whatever, but things are going to..be different, you know? And honestly, that kind of scares me. I guess I was too busy worrying about what could go wrong to think about what would happen if things went right, so I really don't know what to expect."

Vlad's eyes softened with sympathy.

"As they say, misery is comfortable."

"What? No, that's stupid. I hate being miserable, everyone does."

"Daniel you just told me that a part of you would rather live in a house with two people who are trying to hunt you, surrounded by hazardous devices, than tell your parents about your ghost part."

"No, that's- I mean...huh."

"I do understand how you're feeling." Vlad said. "Now that your parents know about my powers, I was more than a tad nervous to come down here yesterday, and there is a reason I stalled telling them until the end of the trip. But, as someone who's been where you are, I can confidently say things are better now that they know. Even with all the unknown elements."

"I know things'll be better," Danny said "It's just so weird to think how much one little conversation can change."

"Things are going to change. It might be a bit awkward with your parents at first, I won't lie. The idea of being in my ghost form around Jack and Maddie still makes me...apprehensive, and I'm not sure I'll feel comfortable with it any time soon. For all I know, I may never."

"Well that's comforting."

"But I'm not scared of my best friends shooting me anymore, so that's a plus." Vlad grinned "Kind of outweighs having to deal with the awkwardness, if you ask me."

"Yeah," Danny laughed half-heartedly "I suppose it would."

"You want my advice? Tell them tonight."

"Tonight!?" Danny almost had a heart attack

"Yes tonight. Not telling Jack and Maddie sooner has been my biggest regret. You know you want to do this. Save yourself the unnecessary worry and just get it done."

Danny thought about it. He supposed Vlad's logic was sound, and if there was anyone he should listen to for tips on telling his parents they were half-ghost it was him, but the thought of doing it so soon made him dizzy. He knew he'd been stalling, but he needed a little more time to prepare than that.

"I'll do it tomorrow night." he said, sounding much firmer than he felt.

"Well I say never put off till tomorrow what can be done today," Vlad shrugged "But the decision is yours. Good luck Little Badger!"

With that, Vlad flew backwards through the portal, leaving Danny alone with his thoughts.

--------------------------------------------------

Tucker had to stop himself from cheering as the lunch lady finished scooping the casserole of the day onto his tray. In his opinion, it was insanely cruel of the faculty to schedule his biweekly PE period right before lunch. As if gym class wasn't long enough!

He quickly found Sam in their usual spot and took a seat across from her.

"Where's Danny?" Tucker asked before shoving a large spoonful of casserole into his mouth. It was tomato and ground beef with macaroni noodle today.

"Give you three guesses and two of them don't count." Sam replied.

"Ah." Tucker swallowed "Was it The Box Ghost again?"

"Nah, I'm pretty sure it was Klemper. Danny said something about frozen toilets."

"Ooh, maybe Danny should let him keep going for a bit! I think they have to cancel school if the toilets don't work."

"Tucker, broken plumbing facilities in a building with over five hundred people could pose a serious problem. Do you know how many students here have bladder issues?"

"Okay jeez, I was only joking."

There was a brief silence as the two of them started to eat their lunches.

"I really could've used you with Danny the other day, you know." Sam said "It's like you don't even care that your best friend's about to tell his parents the biggest secret of his life."

"What? Sam, of course I care. I'm worried about Danny too, but there's no point in pushing him if he's not ready yet."

Sam was about to angrily retort, but she stopped herself, the conversation with Danny replaying in her head.

Why was she so angry at Tucker? Sure, it was kind of annoying he hadn't backed her up, but she had to admit his logic wasn't totally unreasonable.

"I guess." she relented. It felt weird admitting Tucker was right so easily.

Wait, why did that feel so weird? They were friends, best friends. It shouldn't take so much restraint just to agree with each other about something so minor.

Danny was right. Something was wrong.

Not that it was all Sam's doing, Tucker could be annoying and insensitive. A lot of the time, in fact.

But was Sam maybe...not always interpreting his intentions in the best light? Just maybe?

A lot of mixed thoughts were going through Sam's head, but one thing she knew for sure was that if they wanted to fix what was going on, someone had to start somewhere.

"Hey, um, I just wanted to say I'm...sorry I teased you about Valerie so much. You told me to stop and I didn't, even though I should have."

Tucker blinked, completely taken aback by her sudden apology. It probably didn't help that she'd been giving him the gears less than a minute ago.

Admittedly, that might have been a weird place to start, but it was the first thing Sam thought of, and Sam was the kind of person who liked to start fixing a problem as soon as possible.

She just hoped Tucker wouldn't make fun of her apology for revenge.

"Uh...no hard feelings." Tucker said, his shocked expression morphing into a grin "In fact, since you apologized, and I'm such a gracious friend, I promise I won't make as much fun of you when you get your embarrassing first crush." Tucker winked and did finger guns.

Sam felt a flash of annoyance. Of course, Tucker didn't know she was aromantic, chances were he didn't even know what 'aromantic' meant, so Sam knew it wasn't fair for her to be mad at him.

Well, she had just decided she wanted to fix the kink in their friendship, and an important part of friendship was being able to trust your friends with your secrets...

"Actually...I don't think I'll ever get a crush." Sam said.

"Aww, come on. I know being gloomy's your thing, but I'm sure someday you'll-"

"No Tucker, I'm aromantic."

"Oh. Um, what's that?"

"It means I don't get crushes, and I'm never going to fall in love. Ever." Sam crossed her arms "And before you try to give me another pitying platitude, I'm actually quite happy with this development."

"Okay, but how do you know you'll never fall in love?" Tucker asked.

Anger burned in Sam.

"Ugh!" she threw up her hands "This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you!"

She knew this would happen! She knew Tucker wouldn't take her seriously! She knew he'd-

"No no no no wait, I totally believe you!" Tucker threw up his hands defensively "I just meant, like, how'd you figure it out? I'm sorry, I didn't realize how that would sound! I didn't mean it like that, I promise!"

The fire in Sam instantly died.

"You...really believe me?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"Because people are never taken seriously when they say they aren't interested in romance. I've lost count of the number of movies I've seen where someone says they're happy being single, but by the end they've started a relationship with someone and everyone's acting like they're 'fixed' now." Sam unconsciously clenched her fists. She'd never realized that that trope bothered her so much until right now. "Plus you specifically never take anything I say seriously."

"What? Yes I do! What are you talking about?"

"Well you weren't exactly the most supportive of my menu update at the start of the year."

"Sam, you literally forced everyone in the school to change to a very niche diet. You gotta admit that's a little extreme."

"Okay fine, maybe that wasn't my best idea. But it feels like ever since then, you've never tried to help me with my world-improving projects. You don't even really listen to my ideas. Like, the world's on fire, and all my friends, family, and fellow students ever seem to want to do about it is laugh at me for trying to fix things!"

The passion in Sam's voice sobered Tucker's normally humorous attitude.

"I didn't think you cared what other people said about you." he said.

"I don't." Sam looked defiantly into Tucker's eyes "I'm an activist to try and make the world a better place, I'm not interested in this for personal glory." Sam gaze shifted away from Tucker's face and she crossed her arms over her body "But y'know, I...might care a little bit what my best friends say about me."

"Oh." Tucker looked away too. "I...I guess that makes sense."

There was a long silence.

"So...how did you figure it out?" Tucker asked "I mean, if you like girls then you figure it out by liking a girl and vice versa, but there isn't really a sign if you don't like anybody, so how do you know you won't like anybody ever?"

Sam raised an eyebrow at Tucker.

"N-not saying you're wrong about saying you're aromantic! Or that anybody else is! I'm really just curious, I swear! Actually you know what, you don't have answer that. I probably shouldn't have even asked."

Tucker proceeded to shove an entire handful of tater tots in his mouth. Sam was pretty sure it was to stop himself from rambling any more. It was a very Tucker thing to do. She might've laughed if Tucker's question hadn't been making her think so hard.

Sam wasn't offended by the question, she knew Tucker was a curious person who meant it genuinely, it was just a difficult question to answer.

"I don't know." Sam admitted "It just...feels right. I don't know how to explain it any better. The idea of not falling in love feels like it fits better than the typical romantic ideas everyone's always pushing, and like, when I read about some of the experiences of other aromantic people I've found online, it just feels so right. Like someone finally gets it. I can't really explain it much better than that, but I just know it's true that I'm not going to fall in love."

"I guess it's like getting a crush." Tucker mused "You can't really explain it, you just kind of know."

Sam frowned. She didn't think it was exactly like that, but she could see that Tucker was trying to be understanding. Not to mention she had just told herself she was going to try and be more civil with him.

"Uh, maybe." she said "Honestly, the idea was kind of weird at first, but the more time goes on, the more I actually really like knowing I'm aro. It's great. Figuring that out feels like scratching an itch I didn't even know I had."

"I definitely get that."

"You do?"

Tucker felt his heart skip a beat.

"I...think I might be bi." Tucker said.

"Yeah? Good for you." Sam gave Tucker a small but genuine smile.

Tucker felt his whole body relax.

Wait, why was he so relieved? He hadn't felt this tense when he was telling Danny or Valerie.

Maybe Danny was on to something about him and Sam...

"You okay over there?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, just uh, thinking about some stuff. You don't seem surprised."

"Tucker, remember the drive in Danny's RV to Vlad's cottage?"

"Oh yeah. I kind of hoped everyone had forgotten about that nightmare."

"I mean, I had planned on never mentioning it again ever, but I don't think I could forget it if I tried. But hey, at least I figured out my romantic orientation. So that's pretty cool." Sam shrugged casually.

"I wish I felt as confident about being bi as you do about being...what was it?"

"Aromantic. Aro for short."

"Aro, got it. I mean, I'm warming up to the idea of being bi, but it's been quite the adjustment for my brain. At first it felt like I maybe wasn't even allowed to call myself that."

"Why not?"

"I mean, I for sure do get crushes on guys sometimes, but it really isn't a lot of the time. I'm really mostly into girls, so sometimes it kind of feels like I'm trying to claim something I'm not sure I have any right to."

"So what? You gotta like 'this many' boys to be bi? And who exactly is checking that?"

Tucker laughed a little before continuing.

"Yeah, I know it sounds kind of ridiculous. I have been feeling more comfortable calling myself as bi the longer I've thought about it, but I still can't quite shake this feeling that at some random moment someone's gonna jump out and call me out on it."

"Don't worry," Sam picked up her milk carton and drained the last of it "If anyone even tries to imply you're not 'bi enough' or whatever, I'll just have a nice little chat with them."

Sam finished her statement by crushing the empty milk carton in her hand, all five of her nails leaving gashes in cardboard.

Tucker was going to laugh at Sam's joke, but the carton-crushing demonstration ad actually been genuinely intimidating (Sam was pretty good at being intimidating), so the noise he ended up making was somewhere between a laugh and a yelp.

Sam nearly jumped out of her seat.

"How did you even make that sound?" she asked.

"I don't know, and I don't think I could make it again if I tried."

Sam laughed.

It was actually really nice hearing her laugh like that. Tucker couldn't recall the last time Sam had laughed at one of his jokes.

That might have had something to do with the fact that a lot of his jokes were made at her expense.

Like, a lot of them.

Tucker honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd really gone out of his way to be nice to Sam. Not since the meat incident.

This was not a comfortable realization.

"Hey Sam," Tucker wasn't exactly sure how to say what he wanted to say, but he knew he had to say something "I'm sorry I haven't been taking you seriously lately. I know I haven't exactly been the best listener. Don't get me wrong, some of you ideas are insane and I want no part in them, but I'm gonna at least start trying taking them seriously now. I'll start taking you seriously, I promise."

Sam was slightly taken aback. She hadn't expected an apology from Tucker, and she hadn't realized how much she'd wanted to hear that until he said it.

"Wow," she started to say "I really-"

"Hey, sorry I'm late." Danny suddenly appeared and sat down beside Sam. Tucker genuinely wasn't sure whether they just hadn't notice him approach, or if he'd snuck in ghost-style.

"It's all good du-" Tucker paused when he noticed the apprehensive look in Danny's eyes "You okay? You look like something's up."

Danny took a long breath.

"Are you two free to come over tonight?"

--------------------------------------------------

Walking down the basement stairs felt like walking through molasses. Not because it was slow, but because each step seemed to take a monumental amount of effort. The journey was actually over surprisingly quickly.

Danny wondered if there was any way he could have lengthened it.

His parents hadn't noticed his descent, both of them deeply absorbed in...whatever giant metal contraption they were working on. Danny didn't really care right now.

He walked up to his parents and loudly cleared his throat, causing them both to snap their heads up.

"H-hey Mom, Dad."

"Hey Danny!" his father set his wrench down to wave at him "How was school?"

"Uh, g-good. School was good."

"Did you need something, Sweetie?" Maddie frowned, sensing his nervousness.

Danny rubbed the back of his neck.

"Um yeah, I kind of...have something to tell you. It's...about the accident I had with the ghost portal."

Jack and Maddie's faces immediately turned serious.

"Danny," Maddie said gently "

"Yeah, I know, I know. That's not it though. It's..."

Danny took a deep breath.

And just jumped in.

"It made me...like Vlad."

"Like...Vlad?" Maddie raised an eyebrow.

"Half-ghost. The portal made me half-ghost. I have ghost powers like Vlad."

There was a beat of silence. Maddie and Jack looked at each other briefly and turned back to Danny.

"Now Son," Jack smiled "I know you two both had ghost portal accidents, but there's no way our portal affected you in the same extreme way. Sure, maybe you've been having minor side effects-"

"That you should have told us about earlier." Maddie cut in sternly.

"What your mother said. But there's no way you could have been affected as drastically as Vlad. You don't even-"

Jack was cut off by two blinding rings of light splitting around Danny's waist, turning him into the ghostly version of himself.

The sight made both of his parents go slack-jawed.

Maybe it had been a bit much to transform without warning, but after weeks of stalling and months of hesitation, Danny had run out of patience.

"I'm half-ghost like Vlad." he repeated, summoning the rings and transforming back.

It was shockingly easy to say. Although walking down the basement stairs had been torture, once he'd started talking, it had felt weirdly natural to just keep going, like he was just telling them what score he'd gotten on a math test. Danny had expected more resistance.

Telling Jazz had been harder.

"Y-you really are like Vlad..." Jack's voice was almost a whisper.

Oh right, their reaction. The beating of Danny's heart instantly washed away the peace he'd been feeling.

This was actually much worse than telling Jazz.

"Y-yeah?"

"Danny?" Maddie's voice was strained "How long have you...been like Vlad?"

"Since the first day." I...walked out of the portal looking like that. I just managed to transform back before you and Dad came back."

"Jack," Maddie put a hand on the work bench to steady herself "I thought you said you tested thoroughly for any mutations or contaminations!"

"Of course I did, Madds! I did a DNA test and everything and couldn't find any indication of..."

Jack suddenly stopped talking. He and Maddie snapped their heads to Danny as if they'd suddenly remembered he was there.

"All those months..." Maddie pulled down her hood, revealing eyes filled with horror "Listening to us going on and on about capturing and dissecting ghosts...oh! No wonder you didn't tell us! You must've been scared half to death."

Danny almost laughed at his mother's choice of words, but he was still too tense to move. He knew his parents weren't going to hurt him, but for some reason he felt like he was in trouble.

"Oh, baby." Maddie wrapped Danny in a hug. She kissed his forehead and rubbed his back.

"Y-you guys aren't mad?"

"Mad?" his father said. "Danno, I don't blame you one bit. I'd have been scared out of my britches too if I was in your position and I heard my parents talking about ghosts the way your mother and I do."

He came over and wrapped his arms around Danny and Maddie.

"We love you kiddo." he said "And we're both so proud of you for telling us."

Maddie squeezed Danny harder.

Danny felt his muscles relax and his heart slow back to normal.

He'd done it. He'd really done it.

Honestly, Danny didn't know how he felt right now. It was weirdly quiet in his head.

But one thing Danny knew for sure was that it felt good to finally have to stop hiding.

This was good.

Danny smiled and hugged his parents back.

--------------------------------------------------

Sam, Tucker, and Jazz all sat at the kitchen table, none of them daring to speak. They'd all been counting the seconds since Danny had gone down the stairs. It had only been two minutes, but it had been a very long two minutes.

The only sound being made was Tucker tapping his knuckles on the table. Sam very much wanted to ask him to stop, but she also didn't want to be the first one to speak.

"Do you think we should go down and check on him?" Tucker asked, his hand finally stilling.

"I'm sure he's fine, just be patient." Despite her grounded words, Sam's anxiety leaked into her voice.

"Sam's right." Jazz said firmly "We're all worried, but this is Danny's moment, so it's our job to be his support and remain fluid enough to react to what he needs depending on which way the situation goes. The best way to do that we have to remain calm and-"

The basement door began to open. Jazz was on her feet in an instant.

"Where's Danny?! Is he okay?!"

"Calm down Jazz, everything's good. Great actually."

Danny's voice was light and full of joy. He didn't even sound annoyed at Jazz's excessive worrying.

Jazz's shoulder's instantly relaxed and she went over to stand by her family. Sam and Tucker awkwardly followed.

"So they...all know?" Maddie said, gesturing to the room.

"Yeah." Danny smiled "No more secrets."

Despite how nice a moment this was, it was also kind of an awkward one. Everyone appreciated how hard it had been for Danny to get here, and they were all feeling the relief, but the question of 'now what do we do?' went unspoken amongst them all.

"I...brought a cake." Sam said.

"Really?" Danny asked, surprised.

"Well, if you don't want it..."

"No, I definitely do, I just...why did you get a cake?"

"Well I didn't really know what the proper protocol was for when your best friend tells his parents he's half-ghost, but a cake seemed like, maybe appropriate?" Sam shrugged.

Danny went over to the white box on the table and lifted the cover.

"Congratulations On The Thing With Your Parents?"

"Tucker's was in charge of the writing."

"I didn't see you pitching in any ideas for a tasteful message that would fit on a cake and not attract suspicion from the cake decorator."

"My contribution was paying for the cake."

"Aw, that was such a lovely gesture, you two." Maddie beamed "Jazz, could you get the plates out? Let's serve this bad boy up!"

"I call the first piece!" Jack said.

"Now Jack, considering the occasion, I think it's only appropriate that Danny gets the first piece."

"Oh, alright." Jack smiled at Danny and patted his shoulder "I suppose that's fair. But I get the second piece, since I called it!"

"Jack..." Maddie said disapprovingly.

"Dad can have the first piece. I don't mind, I know how he gets." Danny said. He was just glad that things were still normal. Sure, his parents probably still had some adjusting to do, but they still saw him as the same Danny he was before, and that was big enough of a relief. "But I'm getting a corner piece."

Honestly though, Danny could've had to give away the entire cake and it wouldn't have killed his mood.

It was finally over. He didn't have to hide or make his friends lie for him anymore. Not to the people who mattered, anyway.

Danny continued to stare at his mom after she handed him a piece of cake and began cutting one for his dad.

He was still nervous abut what the future held for his family's dynamic, but for the first time he also felt excited to find out.

But for now he was just going to enjoy his cake.

[captain-hen]

I was rewatching the coma episode before the finale and specifically with the fact that all the people in the dream were intended to be different parts of buck’s subconscious. Daniel reflected his insecurities, his parents reflected his desire for familial love, specifically his dad with his parents and his mom with children (im still incredibly 👀about margaret comforting buck (her kid) by telling him its okay to “go upstairs and sleep” (die), then buck being reminded of chris and likely the promise he made him to never leave, and then margaret looking at the ferris wheel and saying “it doesnt match what I picked out but if you like it then I love it”) hen and chim are his “guides” and specifically hen was the same as real life, reflecting the role she was playing in his life in his s6 arc. And then bobby was the teacher/lesson giver, also similar to real life. But he also reflected the familial love buck already has (the get well card) so yeah eddie not being there is a choice especially when the only people who did not play a role in helping buck were maddie and eddie (and margaret/phillip), but instead he imagined the worst possible scenario for those two: maddie is in her abusive relationship, and eddie lost chris to his parents which buck knows eddie never wants to happen. And then at the end of the dream the things that try and stop him are him finding eddie, him helping maddie leave doug, and his wish for a relationship with his parents. And he dreams the worst for the people he loves most (including bobby OD) and if bobby is his dad and maddie is his sibiling/mom then eddie is … ??? And Im still thinking about how they chose to parallel maddie and eddie so hard in 6x11 and then contrast them in 6x12 like that was also a choice they made ! (Anyways I just have a lot of thoughts about the coma dream lmao)

this is SUCH a good analysis! i really have so many thoughts about margaret being the one in 6x10 to refuse to even consider the possibility of buck having a child, then in his dream, she's the one to accidentally imply that he has kids, and then she makes a comment about the ferris wheels—that represent chris—not being what she picked out. and holy shit, i never connected the part about her telling him to go upstairs and sleep? that is such a disturbing metaphor.

about maddie and eddie—not only were they the only ones to not help buck escape his dream (margaret and philip didn't, like you said, but they're a moot point here for obvious reasons), they were also the ones in real life to distance themselves from buck's comatose body. we only saw maddie inside the room when her parents were. we only saw eddie in the room when chris was. neither of them were able to look at him directly. and all of this is really something, given that they're the two people whom buck ends up having a significant conversation with the next episode about how the lightning and dying affected him. and, like you said, maddie and eddie are also blatantly contrasted, with eddie knowing buck in a different way than maddie does.

tldr: there's just SO much to analyze and unpack in these episodes skdkdkd

[wanderingwomanwondering]

buddie spec 6b

I’m betting that eddie will have a moment with chim in 6b about buck’s (recently revealed secret) sperm donor storyline that mirrors buck’s similar moment with chim in 2a (Merry Xmas) where buck questions eddie’s clandestine relationship with shannon.

That would highlight eddie and chim’s friendship while also making it clear that eddie misses buck and maybe feels cut out of an important decision in buck’s life, one that he would have expected to at least aware of as buck’s bestie.

A moment like that with eddie and chim could also be an interesting way to bring back past conversations those two have had about the importance of being honest with romantic partners loved ones. I’m mostly thinking about eddie telling chim to tell maddie he loves her and also eddie telling chim in 6a to not avoid the morning after conversation with maddie. I know those were highly specific bits of advice but the heart of them is to be honest with the people you love, and we know that eddie is likely salty that buck didn’t do what friends do and talk to him about a major life thing aka the sperm donor situation.

Here’s my trail of breadcrumbs about Eddie actually being upset with Buck:

604 Animal Instincts - the ep where Kameron and Connor asked buck to be their donor & where Chris was keeping a secret from Eddie that Buck knew nothing about, an exasperated Eddie asks “Buck, where are you going?” while on a call. This feels like the beginning of Eddie being pointedly aware that Buck is out on his own making it really hard for Eddie to keep his explicit 201 vow and implied 309 vow renewal to have Buck’s back (and vice versa).

605 Home Invasion - the ep where someone on a call thought he could do repairs on his own, at the end of the ep we got Buck’s “We thought maybe you could use a hand with some repairs.” and Eddie’s “Yeah we heard somebody really destroyed your house.”

607 Cursed - the ep where the sperm donor decision is revealed - Bobby “What’s with the green juice?” then Eddie doing his best to seem chill when everyone looks to him as the one person who should know, “I don’t know.” When Eddie finds out Hen knew, he plays it for a joke but I think his question “How long you been holding out on us?” was an honest one. He was uncomfortably in the dark about it all and his awkward display earlier in the firehouse when they were all eavesdropping made that super clear.

609 Red Flag - the ep where the sleepdriver rolls a car into the firehouse and eddie notes that she could have hurt herself or the firefam. After that, on the roof when buck joins, eddie chides buck “would you prefer an announcement?” -- the way eddie said that directly to buck, almost as a private side conversation, makes it really feel like it’s about something else. He wanted to be included or considered in some way but he also knows it is quite a personal decision so I think he’s struggling (like Bobby in 414) to make sense of why his partner shut him out!

More 609 Red Flag - also the ep where buck announces that Kameron and Connor are pregnant, only after first making it a point to call eddie. eddie clearly makes a face, chim says congrats then says he’s not sure that’s the appropriate response then eddie chimes in with his signature facial expressions and tone saying “I don’t know. It feels weird to congratulate him.” Again he downplays he struggle with how to feel and what to do with Buck’s decision to leave him (of all people) in the dark.

I might be dreaming but I feel like an eddie and chim conversation in 6b could be just what eddie needs to make him initiate a conversation with buck about the great buddie divide of 6a. It could be a solid catalyst for buck and eddie to have a meaningful conversation of their own. At this point in s6 maybe I’m so starved for buddie to talk about literally anything of import to their relationship that I’m willing to pimp eddie and chim’s friendship to get it. *shrugs*

[canonicallyobserving911]

Buck & Eddie: Their love is in the looks they share

The love they have for each other is in the looks they share with one another.  Buck's and Eddie's true feelings for each other were shown from the beginning and they were and have continued to be VERY LOUD. They started intensely looking at each other in 2x1 "Under Pressure" during their first argument on Eddie's first day and it happened inside of the firehouse gym.  Buck was breathless while he stared at Eddie and Eddie bit his lip when he stared back at Buck.  The looks they shared between them only intensified as time progressed including the ones they shared later in the same episode while they were both inside and outside of the ambulance dealing with the grenade Charlie had in his leg.  They intensified even more and as a result of that intensity, their looks have morphed into one of the ways they communicate with each other and includes their silent conversations. 

The looks they gave each other in 3x9 "Fallout" while they were in Buck's kitchen were not only intense, they were filled with a lot of sexual tension.  Buck putting his hand on this belt buckle while he deeply stared into Eddie's eyes illustrated exactly what he "wanted" to do to and with Eddie.  Then he escalated the sexual tension when he asked, "Do you want to go for the title?".  Eddie showed that he was all in and he agreed with it when he slightly nodded his head while he sipped his beer.

One of their most intense looks happened in 4x14 "Survivors" while they were in the back of the 133's firetruck.  It was a CHOICE to have Eddie look directly into Buck's eyes before he went unconscious.  It was almost like he was telling Buck, "I love you" with one final look because he thought he was never going to get the chance to tell him.  Remember, Carla told him to follow his heart but he waited too late and almost missed his chance.  Buck's responding look was just as intense as Eddie's look because he was looking right into Eddie's eyes right before Eddie went unconscious for the last time.  Buck's heart shattered into a million pieces. It was like the ground underneath him opened up to swallow him whole and he knew he wouldn't survive if Eddie died.  He returned to his catatonic state after they got Eddie to the hospital and he remained that way until he made it to Eddie's house to talk to their son, Christopher.

In 5x1 "Panic" while they were in the loft of the firehouse, playing pool with the rest of the 118, the way their eyes met while no one was looking also included one of their silent conversations and it was easy to see how Buck was jealous because Eddie's relationship with his girlfriend was getting serious. Based on Eddie's responding look, it seemed like Eddie might have told Buck his relationship wasn't serious and it may have happened during one of their off-screen conversations.

The look Buck gave Eddie in 5x5 "Peer Pressure" after he said he was putting in for a transfer was filled with sadness and anguish. He was talking to Ravi but he was looking at Eddie the entire time that he was talking.  It was like he wanted Eddie to know that even though he was planning to leave the 118, he wouldn't be leaving him and Eddie's responding look was like he was telling Buck, 'I've baby trapped you and you're not going anywhere'.  But after he asked Buck, "Who replaces me?" and Buck said it would be Cap's decision, Eddie ran his hand over his face like he wanted to say, 'Buck, we just talked about Maddie and Chimney so WTF happened after I left your loft?'  The audience knows what happened and it was TK's advice that confused Buck because he was fine after he talked to Eddie in 5x4 "Home and Away".

They've always been tactile with the way they communicate with one another and they've continued to touch, smile and look at each other but the intense looks they've shared had to be intentional.  Some of the main cast members have mentioned during interviews that there's little to no improvisation during filming.  Therefore, Buck's and Eddie's deeply intense interactions were either already included in the scripts and/or the person directing the episodes was told by the decision makers to capture them so that they would be included in the final edit of those episodes. It appears decisions were made and they continued to make them throughout 6A even when it seemed like Buck and Eddie were being purposefully separated and not allowed to talk to each other on-screen.

Let's be real, people who are best friends, bros, platonic friends, in bromances and are work partners DO NOT LOOK AT EACH OTHER THE WAY BUCK AND EDDIE LOOK AT EACH OTHER.  The looks they share are of two people who are madly in love and who can't live without each other.  Will their intense and sexually tense scenes increase in 6B? Only the showrunners, writers and producers know the answers to that question.

GIFs 1-8: 2x1 Under Pressure

GIFs 9-10: 2x4 Stuck

GIFs 11-12: 3x9 Fallout

GIFS 13-14: 4x4 9-1-1 What Your Grievance?

GIFs 15-16: 4x5 Buck Begins

GIFs 17-18: 4x14 Survivors

GIFs 19-20: 5x1 Panic

GIFs 21-22: 5x5 Peer Pressure

GIFs 23-24: 6x1 Let the Games Begin

GIFs 25-26: 6x9 Red Flag

[viky2318]

Reminder for myself and any content creator: when you start taking the rythm and (almost) post regularly DON'T SAY IT OUT LOUD. you'll get punched by lazyness and procrastination in 0.002 seconds and you'll take a month for something that needs less than a week. with this said, HAVE A SPIDER.

This wasn't what Muffet expected or hoped for. She had been so close to finding Sam, and now that she was ready to deal with them… they were either gone or coming by themselves. She didn't want the others to have to deal with them. She couldn’t risk it. She quickly grabbed Grillby by the arm-

Or at least she tried. He wasn’t there anymore, and neither was Maddy. Even Flowey was gone without her noticing it. Suddenly she felt something pulling her upwards, and she found herself thrown in the white infinite sky. Her strings were all gone, so she had nothing to hold on to. Her “going up” became a “falling down”, as if gravity inverted direction, and she soon fell hard on a huge field. Somehow (miraculously) her bones were intact and she had no bruises or wounds, but her back hurted a bit. She slowly got up, wary of her surroundings. The sky was now of a normal cyan, there was a sun slowly moving in it, and she was surrounded by trees on one side and a huge mountain on the other.

“Sorry for the initial mess, I was experimenting a bit”, a well-known voice explained. Muffet turned to face Sam, throwing at them a magic string and trapping them. The human gave her a friendly look, raising then a brow. “Seriously? I still didn’t do anything”, they commented, making the strings disappear as if nothing. “Where are we?” Muffet asked, keeping her eyes on the human as if they could disappear any moment. They smiled quietly, apparently not minding her almost hostile stare. “This is the Void. not the old man’s Void, of course. It’s surprising how easily it can be shaped at will, right? I’m having so much fun messing around with this place’s codes. It’s like modeling fresh clay. So simple and interesting”, they explained cheerfully. “Where are the others?” the spider asked without hesitation. The human shrugged. “They’re fine, you shouldn’t worry”, they shortly replied. Their simplicity made Muffet only more wary. “I feel like I shouldn’t trust you, you know?” she commented, frowning a bit. Sam looked at Muffet in silence for a moment, then sighed quietly. “... yeah, I never gave you a good reason to trust me…” they admitted. The two remained silent for a moment, a slightly awkward tension in the air. Sam broke the silence, tilting their head on a side. “... sooooo… aren’t you gonna ask why you are here? You know, just for conversation”. “You either want me to get out of your way or to join your murderspree again, and both are things I’m not planning to do”, Muffet shortly replied. Sam smiled more widely. “Ah yes, that’s why I like you, buddy. You’re a smart girl” they commented, taking a step towards the spider. “Anyway, it’s the second one. You’re a professional murderer, quick and merciless but not too aggressive. You can perfectly work alone, without risking other people's lives. The most efficient of the three, in my opinion”. Something tingled in Muffet’s mind at their words. “And what would happen to Maddy and Grillby if I accepted? Would they get discarded? Abandoned in the multiverse without a place to stay? Or would you directly kill them?” she asked with a stern look. The human’s eyes widened a bit in concern, but his smile remained. “What? You really think I would do something like that? I’m not such a soulless being. After all, you wouldn’t even think to come with me if I did”. The spider couldn’t help not trusting them. “What about Flowey? Where is he?”, she asked. At this question, you could clearly see Sam’s smile dropping a bit, his face morphing into a more annoyed one. They clearly didn’t have a good relationship with the flower… “he’s fine. For now. I still have to speak with him, but I'll do it right after I finish with you”. Muffet took notice of the human’s evident hostility against the flower, but decided to not say anything about it for now. Something felt clearly off. There was something in the back of her mind yelling at her that she had no control over the situation, that no matter what the human will do what they wanted without giving weight to her words or actions. Maybe Grillby and Raehel really were right, maybe she really couldn’t do what the smiling man asked her… But she wanted to give it a shot. Just because she could. If needed she could always kill him, right? 

“I’m not going to kill people for you again. It’s unuseful and you know it”, she stated. Sam’s annoyed expression didn’t change. They probably expected such an answer.

“It’s not unuseful, it will only take time. Also, the murder part is just one of the many things that we can do to change the multiverse. With my abilities I could learn to change the universes themselves one by one, and for the better. We’ll eliminate only what is rotten by the root, and the rest will develop in a more joyful way!” Sam explained patiently. But Muffet didn’t like how it all sounded.

“... let me guess. You will decide what to change and how to change it. You will decide what is rotten. You will decide how the worlds will develop. You know, it sounds a bit like a dictatorship or something on the line. You can’t control all the hundreds of timelines of all the universes. You should be always everywhere, and you aren’t Core Frisk. And by the way, not even they can always intervene everywhere”, the spider replied. But Sam didn’t seem to fully listen to her.

“That’s why I said it will take time. I can’t be everywhere, so we’ll have to work on all this bit by bit. It will take a while, maybe a few decades. And for the “dictatorship” part- don’t see it like that. Of course it sounds bad if you picture it as something bad. I don’t want to be a ruler or anything like that. We’ll do what is necessary, and when the situation becomes stable we will leave it as it is. You could find home in a quiet timeline and forget about everything! Wouldn’t it be nice?”. Muffet remained silent for a moment. Sam sounded a bit like some mindless idiot. Were they even thinking about their words?

"... You really think that in the end this all will "stabilize" and keep going the way you decided? Sam, think about it. It all started nice, with those lovely worlds where the important thing was making everyone happy. Underswap, Underfell, Outertale… they were all like that. You know it better than I do. Then, the creators started to create sad stories. It's something normal, that probably was impossible to prevent. Even if you miraculously succeed, and everything actually goes as you said, and for some godforsaken reason everyone is happy, one day the creators will again create pain. You can't avoid it. You will work your whole life on something impossible that you'll never reach, and when you'll die it will all be for nothing". Something in the human's expression changed a bit the more they thought about her words, some sort of bad aura around them. Or were they just getting tired of discussing? After a moment, Sam spoke again.

“... I see. I'd rather avoid using this card, but you really don't seem to listen to me. Remember I said Maddy and Grillby were fine? You were right. I lied. They aren’t. One is trapped in an empty timeline and the other one is dead. But… I can bring them all back. I can erase their memories and send them back to their timeline, perfectly unhinged and happy with their old families. I’ll even spare the flower, if you really want. Only if you help me finish what we started, of course.”

“The choice is yours”.

DO NOT TRUST TH- ...

START PREVIOUS NEXT

[strandbuckley]

The Family We Choose

Buck and Eddie's Thanksgiving options are less than ideal. Deciding to avoid the drama, they take a last-minute trip to Austin for Thanksgiving with the 126

As promised, a 100% self-indulgent, plotless fluff Thanksgiving fic

Read on ao3 here

Los Angeles, California; October 20th

The conversations about their Thanksgiving plans began in mid-October. The Buckley parents had extended an invitation to Maddie and Chimney, with a tacked-on message to bring Buck along if they wanted. Buck did not appreciate feeling like an afterthought and he knew his parents would be less than thrilled for him to bring his boyfriend and son along. So in place of a proper response to his sister’s forwarding of the message, he’d simply replied “no”.

Eddie was completely on board with avoiding his future in-laws at all costs. He really didn’t want to be putting on literal or metaphorical fires on his day off. This was the exact reason he had also dodged his parents’ invitation to come down to El Paso. 

They had at least texted him directly and openly invited Buck to join. He and his parents were on better terms, but he firmly believed that distance made the heart grow fonder and that spending a holiday with them would certainly destroy any fragile peace they had established.

“So we have no plans,” Buck had surmised when they hashed it out over dinner.

“Yeah looks like it.”

“Would could always go to Texas,” Buck said thoughtfully, pointing his fork at Eddie.

“I thought we agreed that we would be staying far away from the Diaz side of the family.”

“Is nine hours far enough for you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” Buck paused to take a sip of his drink as if he was trying to up the anticipation. “I was talking to TK the other day and he was telling me that he and Carlos were having a lot of trouble trying to split up holidays between their families, especially since TK’s brother is in New York with his step-dad. So then I mentioned that we were having the opposite problem, as in trying to dodge making plans with our families and he said that we were welcome to spend Thanksgiving with him and Carlos.”

“That’s a nice gesture Buck but won’t that make them arranging a time with their families even harder?”

“Nope. TK texted yesterday and said that they had solved the holiday conundrum. Carlos’ parents are saints apparently and decided to have their family Thanksgiving the Saturday before so that TK and Carlos could be with TK’s dad and the 126 crew on the actual day.”

“What about the brother and stepdad?”

“The brother is a baby, so instead of coming down twice in a short amount of time, they’re going to skip Thanksgiving and instead come down for two weeks at Christmas.”

“Why is everyone’s family agreeable other than ours,” Eddie asked, throwing his hands up in a slightly overdramatic way. 

“Because we’re just that unlucky babe,” Buck scrunched his eyebrows in a way that made Eddie want to kiss his forehead and smooth away the lines. “So what do you think? Thanksgiving in Austin?”

“I’ll have to run the idea by Christopher first.”

“Naturally. He is the boss.”

“He thinks he is,” Eddie chuckled. “But I think it’s a good idea. Just double-check with TK and Carlos first?”

“I will. As soon as we get the Chris stamp of approval.”

Christopher had been thrilled with the idea of going out of town on Thanksgiving, mostly because Gavin in his class was going to Disneyworld and he wanted to brag about going somewhere cool but Eddie counted it as a win.

Carlos and TK had also confirmed their invitation, TK sending a separate, private message to Buck to laugh about Carlos buying new sheets for the guest bedroom because he was a control freak. 

By Halloween, they had purchased plane tickets and made their travel arrangements. The date and time of their flight were written in black Sharpie on the calendar and circled four times in pink highlighter. Eddie would never let Buck live down the time he thought their flight was at 3 am instead of 3 pm. 

The Friday before the holiday, the 118 crew gathered for their own Thanksgiving celebration at Bobby and Athena’s house since they would all be going their separate ways that year. Buck, Denny, Harry, and May were all involved in a cut-throat game of touch football in the backyard, Bobby half-playing referee and half-yelling anytime they got too close to the grill. Eddie was watching them with his phone in one hand to record any spectacular tackles made by the boys on Buck and Jee-Yun balanced on his knee with the other. She was content to sit with him as he bounced her occasionally and point and yell at her Uncle Buck every time he passed. 

“I’m getting too old for this,” Buck panted as he flopped down on the patio chair next to Eddie, leaning over to take Jee as she reached for him.

“They kicked your ass huh?”

“Royally.”

“You’ve got to stop letting kids gang up on you Buck, it’s gonna make you look bad,” he teased.

“They’re having fun,” he shrugged. “Where’s Chris?”“In the kitchen with Karen and Athena, they have him on batter clean up.”

“So he’d going to crash hard tonight?”

“Oh most definitely.”

They stayed in their patio chairs in relative silence, other than the occasional babble from Jee, soaking in the sun and each other’s company before Bobby called them in to eat.

They made sure Christopher, already rowdy from the sugar he’d consumed, was washed up then sat him between them, helping him dish out what he wanted onto his plate.

The room was soon filled with the sounds of forks on plates and quiet side conversations. Buck was content to take it all in. Screw his family’s stuffy formal dinners, this was what he wanted for the rest of his life. When Eddie made the rounds for dessert and slid a slice of key lime pie in front of Buck without him having to ask, he almost asked him to marry him, right then and there. Eddie just grinned like he could read his mind and kissed the side of his head before settling back into his seat with his own slice. 

Eventually, the adults moved to the living room with cups of too-strong coffee, and the kids sprawled across the floor to watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Eddie was propped against his chest, Buck’s cheek pressed to the top of his head. Halfway through the movie, Christopher crawled into his lap and snuggled up between them promptly falling asleep. He was almost positive it was a ploy to get them to carry him to the car instead of making him walk, but frankly, Buck didn’t care. If someone had asked him that night what he was thankful for, he would have hugged his boys a little tighter and simply said “this”.

Austin, Texas; October 26th

TK was excited that Buck and Eddie were coming to spend Thanksgiving with them. However, the longer he spent in Target debating thread counts with Carlos, the more he wished they weren’t only so he could escape the time loop he was stuck in.

“Baby seriously,” TK hooked his chin over Carlos’ shoulder as he picked up the same set of sheets for the fifth time. “Who can really tell the difference in the thread count anyway? I’m sure Buck and Eddie don’t care, it’s only for a few nights.”

“I just want them to be comfortable.”

“I know babe and you’re so sweet for it,” TK kissed his cheek for emphasis. “But we’ve been standing here for almost half an hour so can we please for the love of God, pick a set of sheets and go home.”

“Okay fine,” Carlos turned to him. “Heads for the blue, tails for the grey.”

“Perfect,” TK whipped out his phone. “Siri, flip a coin.”

“It’s heads,” the automated voice spoke from the tiny speakers.

“Great, problem solved,” TK grabbed the sheets from his fiance’s hand and tossed them in the cart before he could question the decision. “Okay let’s get detergent and toilet paper and get out of here.”

“But what if-”

“Nope. Siri has spoken blue sheets.”

“Fine,” Carlos grumbled and he followed him to the cleaning supplies. “I’ll remember that when you get sidetracked in the candle aisle. 

Ultimately it took them another half hour to make it out of Target. TK was a sucker for fall-scented candles and Carlos was a sucker for TK. When they finally made it back to the loft, Carlos threw the sheets in the washer and TK unloaded the rest of the groceries, pausing momentarily to send a text to Buck filling him in on the sheet fiasco. Carlos returned to help him unpack the rest and then dragged him to bed for their traditional post-grocery store nap.

“What are we bringing to your dad’s for the team Thanksgiving?” Carlos asked when they woke, laying in bed, too lazy to get up and start on dinner.

“I want to try and make my mom’s cookies. She always made them for me on holidays and I want some part of her to be there.”

“I think that’s a great idea baby.”

TK grinned up at him, “I’m glad you think so because I’m gonna need your help. Enzo texted me the recipe but we all know I’m shit in the kitchen.”

“I’d love to help you, mostly because I don’t want another fire in our apartment.”

“Nope, never again.”

They lazed in bed for a while longer before Carlos finally drug himself up to heat their leftovers from the night before and TK placed a grocery delivery for the next morning with all the cookie ingredients he would need. 

In the end, it took four tries to get them right but one of the rejected batches was thoroughly enjoyed by Carlos’ family. 

Monday, November 21st

Buck and Eddie’s flight landed on the Monday before Thanksgiving. Despite the impending holiday, the airport was no more hectic than normal and they found their way from their gate to baggage claim with little to no fuss.

TK and Carlos were waiting for them, both having insisted on taking off work to pick them up from the airport in place of them ordering an uber.

“You really didn’t have to do this,” Buck insisted again as TK helped him load the suitcases into the trunk.

“It’s not a problem Buck. I covered for Judd a few times after his daughter was born so he owes me a couple of favors.”

“It can’t hurt that your dad is the captain. Special treatment and all.”

“Yeah whatever,” TK rolled his eyes and slammed the trunk. “I’m just lucky my shift’s four days off starts on Thanksgiving day.”

“Oh, nice. Eddie and I promised to pick up a couple of extras to make up for taking some of our vacation time.”

TK slid into the passenger seat with Carlos behind the wheel and Buck and Eddie wedged themselves into the back with Christopher between them.

Buck and TK kept up a steady stream of chatter on the way back to the loft, Carlos and Eddie piping up occasionally with comments or opinions. Christopher dozed on his dad’s shoulder, tired from the long flight. Eddie didn’t bother to wake him when they pulled to a stop in front of their building, just lifted him into his arms, and followed TK upstairs while Carlos and Buck took care of the bags. 

With Christopher asleep in one of the guest bedrooms, the three adults, minus Carlos who was working into the night to make up for the missed hours, lounged in the living room. They discussed the plan for Thursday’s festivities at the Ryder household, life at the 126 and 118, and just about everything in between until Christopher emerged from his nap, declaring he was hungry. 

TK escorted them to a food truck in their neighborhood that he and Carlos frequented for a late lunch/early dinner. Carlos dropped by for a few minutes during his shift to say hello and devour a bit of food before going back to work. 

They ended up staying awake much later than they normally would, the time difference throwing off their internal clocks. They were all still awake when Carlos drug himself into the house well past 1 am from his shift. TK followed him to bed, bidding Buck and Eddie goodnight and they finally decided to try and get some sleep.

Tuesday, November 22nd

The next morning, Carlos was back at work but TK had plans to spend the morning with them before getting ready for his next shift. Buck made breakfast since TK and Eddie were banned from the kitchen and they ate it together before loading in TK’s car to do all of the tourist things they could squeeze into a few hours. 

Eddie could tell that TK had asked Buck about Christopher and the things he liked because a few minutes later, they were pulling up to the Austin Nature and Science Center. His son was squirming with excitement as TK led them inside and paid for their tickets, giving Eddie a glare when he tried to take out his wallet. 

“You’re guests, so help me Diaz if you try to pay for anything Carlos will murder you and then me for letting it happen.”

Eddie relented, resolving to just hide cash around the house for them to find when they left.

The trip resulted in Eddie running after three hyper-enthusiastic children and TK and Buck fawned just as much, if not more than Christopher over the exhibits. 

They ate lunch in a nearby park, Carlos once again joining them to listen to Christopher recap their morning and scarf down a sandwich before heading back out on patrol.

TK left them after lunch to head back to the house and nap for a few hours before going in for his shift. The three of them wandered downtown Austin by themselves for a while, ducking into little shops to browse and stopping for ice cream when Chris inevitably gave them puppy eyes. By the time they made it back to TK and Carlos’ loft by way of Uber, TK was leaving for his shift and Carlos was home, standing next to the stove and chatting with his fiance as he stirred a sauce.

“I’ll see you tomorrow night,” TK said with a wave, pressing a quick kiss to the corner of Carlos’ mouth and rushing off to the station.

“Hope you guys are hungry. I made way too much pasta.”

They ate their dinner in the living room, watching some Hallmark Christmas movie that Eddie found great joy in ripping apart its plot.

Once their dishes were clean, Carlos dragged out the board games from the closet and set about teaching Christopher to play Monopoly. They ended up all getting annihilated by an eleven-year-old and decided to excuse themselves to bed before it got ugly. 

Buck tucked Christopher in while Eddie and Carlos locked up and turned off the lights.

“I’m glad we decided to do this,” Buck’s muffled voice came from somewhere under a pile of covers. 

“Me too,” Eddie agreed, hand moving down to find Buck’s hair and stroking through it gently. “It’s been so calm, no fights or drama.”

“Let’s just come here for every holiday.”

“I’m sure TK and Carlos will get tired of us,” he chuckled, sinking deeper into the pillows.

“Maybe we can invite them up to LA for the New Year, return the favor.”

“That’s a good idea baby.”

Buck went quiet after that, falling asleep with his face pressed into Eddie’s stomach. He stayed awake for a while longer, listening to the soft breathing and the sounds of the Texas night, feeling the most peace he had felt around a holiday in years. 

Wednesday, November 23rd

Wednesday was a lazy day spent at the loft, helping Carlos prepare for Thanksgiving lunch. They were lounging on the couch with bowls of popcorn watching reruns of old cartoons when TK finally drug himself back in from his twenty-four-hour shift. He grumbled a hello to all of them before disappearing into the bathroom and coming out a few minutes later with wet hair, looking slightly more alive. He wedged himself onto the couch, halfway in Carlos’ lap, and stole his bowl of popcorn, snuggling under a blanket with Chris and giggling quietly at cartoons.

“How was your shift,” Buck asked, nudging TK with his foot, too comfortable to move much from his position pillowed against Eddie’s arm. 

“Long,” TK groaned, rolling his neck against the back of the couch. “I had to patch up two grown men who got in a fight over a turkey at the grocery store and we responded to a grease fire set off by trying to deep fry a frozen turkey.”

“Every year,” Eddie chuckled. “Seriously, do they not see the videos of fried turkey gone wrong on Facebook?”

“No, because you’re the only one who still uses Facebook old man,” Buck teased. 

“And even if they did, people are not that smart,” Carlos remarked.

“What happens when you deep fry a frozen turkey dad?” Chris asked, curiosity sparked and his attention drawn away from the cartoons. 

“It explodes.”

“Gross! I wanna see.”

Buck laughed but pulled out his phone, pulling up a video for him to watch. 

After falling down a rabbit hole of one too many turkey accidents, they all excused themselves to bed.

Thursday, November 24th; Thanksgiving Day

Eddie woke to the clattering of dishes and swearing. He climbed out of bed, mildly concerned about the well-being of his hosts. He found TK in the kitchen, surrounded by a pile of Tupperware containers.

“You okay?” he asked, leaning against the kitchen counter.

“Yeah,” TK rubbed the back of his neck. “Our Tupperware cabinet is out of control so ya know,” he gestured vaguely to the mess on the floor around him. 

“Out of sight, out of mind. That cabinet is no man’s land in our house,” Eddie chuckled, kneeling down to help him clean up the mess. By the time Buck and Carlos emerged from their respective rooms, matching mused curls and confused sleepy faces, all of the food was packed up and Eddie and TK were sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee. 

“You’re never up before me,” Carlos mumbled, grabbing his own cup and pressing his sleep-warm body to TK’s back.

“Dad called at seven this morning to ask me which place settings he should bring. As if Judd and Grace don’t have stuff to set their table with and as if we care what plates we’re inhaling ungodly amounts of food off of.”

“He’s not bringing any actual food is he?” Carlos asked, looking a little sick just thinking about it.

“God I hope not. Because I’ll have to eat it to be nice and then you won’t see me for three to five business days.”

Buck dropped himself unceremoniously in Eddie’s lap and stole his coffee mug, inhaling half of it in one go.

“Good morning to you too.”

Buck just smiled and rubbed his nose against Eddie’s cheek.

They let Christopher sleep in and assisted TK and Carlos with last-minute preparations for the meal. At eleven, they set off toward the Ryder house, Carlos insisting on being early to help Grace with set up.

They were beaten only by Tommy and her girls, who TK introduced them to. Evie and Isabella practically dragged Christopher off to play games with them, both glad to have someone other than their sister to play with. 

They sat around chatting and helping Grace in the kitchen as the other guests began to arrive. The ones they’d worked with during the wildfire greeted Buck and Eddie enthusiastically, glad to see them again. 

The last to arrive, fashionably late of course was Owen. 

“Now that Cap has decided to grace us with his presence,” Judd’s voice boomed over the noise. “Let’s eat damn it”

They all loaded their plates with way too much food and gathered around the Ryder’s dining table.

“Before we begin,” Owen stood, lifting his glass of sparkling cider. “I’d like to make a toast. To our old friends and our new ones,” he tilted his glass toward Buck and Eddie. “To the family we choose. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.”

They all lifted their glasses along with Owen’s toast, then proceeded to stuff their faces. They stuck around way too long, lunch almost bleeding into dinner before they all began to take their leave. 

Carlos turned up the air a little higher than necessary on the way home to keep them all awake. They went their separate ways without saying much, depositing their food on the counter and resolving to take care of it later. 

Buck was asleep before his head hit the pillow and Eddie followed him closely, tucking an already asleep Christopher between them.

TK and Carlos stayed awake for a while longer, Carlos on his back with TK’s head pillowed on his shoulder. 

“I liked this week,” TK mumbled. “I wish Buck and Eddie lived closer.”

“Me too baby.”

“Maybe next time we can go visit them in LA.”

“I’d like that.”

“Me too,” TK nuzzled closer, voice drifting closer to sleep.

“Go to sleep baby, sweet dreams.”

“Happy Thanksgiving ‘Los.”

“Happy Thanksgiving Tyler.”