Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Buck is man enough to admit to himself that he might have a teensy bit of regret over being a jerk to Eddie for the alpha’s whole first shift with the 118.

He was being petty. Well, maybe even a little more than petty, actually. Downright immature and rude might be a better description of how he was acting.

Not that he’d ever admit it aloud. God, no.

His insecurities about his place at the station had shown through in an ugly way and Buck isn’t exactly proud of that part of him even existing in the first place. There was no reason for him not to give Eddie the benefit of the doubt on his first day (everyone else had), but Buck had been feeling threatened by the man’s presence in their established pack and he’d reacted accordingly.

It’s embarrassing to own up to. That’s a big part of the reason he hadn’t apologized yet.

Buck knows his purpose in life is to be a firefighter and he knows he’s been filling the spot of ‘tough young guy’ at the station… If Eddie’s there— with his Silver Star and impressive army medic resume— why do they even need Buck? Hell, Eddie’s an alpha too. Buck has had to work twice as hard to get his position and not have strangers assume he cut corners or warmed a supervisor’s knot to be in this field.

Why bother with Buck when Eddie is everything he is and more?

Eddie, who’d taken over on one of their first calls and used his experience to do Buck’s job without breaking a sweat. Eddie, who’d barely reacted to Buck’s jabs about calling him by a different name. Eddie, who could easily push Buck out of the station’s pack just by being better than him and causing less trouble.

Eddie’s a natural hero and he fits in with the 118 easily… and Buck hadn’t exactly helped the situation either by acting like an asshole.

So yeah, Buck has some lingering guilt over his childish actions. He isn’t sure Eddie will be getting an actual apology any time soon, but the alpha hadn’t seemed particularly bothered by his posturing either.

And yet, Buck is still apprehensive over seeing the new alpha for their next shift together. If Eddie had time to go home and really think it over, maybe he’d return with a different perspective and make a formal complaint against him. It would be well within his rights to do so.

God knows that it wouldn’t take much for an omega to get fired from this job either, especially when Buck was clearly in the wrong. The city only begrudgingly allowed omegas to hold non-desk first responder positions in the first place. Everyone knows there’s still a lot of prejudice against omegas, even in a state as open-minded as California.

He could be fired over a silly temper tantrum. And wouldn’t that be the cherry on top of the fucking sundae? Losing his job because of an alpha.

It’s all Buck can think about when he goes home. Even after the shock of Maddie showing up out of nowhere last night and distracting him for a bit with their catching up, Buck still has plenty of energy to worry about it the next morning on the way into work too.

As it turns out, his fears were not well founded.

Instead, Eddie returns to the station on day two with an extravagant bouquet of vibrant flowers in hand and beelines straight for Buck in the locker room. Neither one of them has changed out of their street clothes yet, but they’re both a bit too early for the shift anyways.

B-shift must still be in the bunks with how deadly silent the station is. Buck notices as he slings his duffel bag to the floor that it’s just the two of them alone in the locker room.

Buck is admittedly confused by both Eddie’s presence and his flowers.

Was Eddie waiting for him to arrive or something?

Are the flowers some sort of peace offering? Should Buck have brought something to show his sincere remorse too? Or is this all some weird prank as revenge for his borderline hazing behavior the day before?

He tries not to pull a face at the idea of making a complete fool out of himself two days in a row, but decides to confirm his suspicions before overreacting to his own imagination.

“What are those for?” Buck asks with a choked laugh, a little afraid of the answer.

Eddie keeps flashing that carefree smile at him, seemingly unaffected by Buck’s blunt question. He holds out the bouquet towards him, clearly trying to give them to the omega.

Buck doesn’t move to take them. Nothing in life is free. He learned that a long time ago.

“They’re for you, Buck. I kind of assumed flowers were the standard first gift everywhere, but I will happily get something else if these aren’t correct.”

It still doesn’t process. Eddie might as well be speaking another language.

“Correct for what?”

The corners of Eddie’s smile dip only slightly. Buck can hardly breathe.

“Well, for impressing you, sweetheart. I want you to be mine. Hence,“ Eddie nods pointedly at the flowers still in his outstretched hand, “the courting present. Do— uh, do you guys do courting differently in Los Angeles? I assumed all this stuff was pretty universal.”

Courting.

Eddie is… trying to court Buck?

No, that doesn’t sound right. He must have misunderstood what Eddie was saying. Nobody has ever approached Buck about courting before. Not seriously anyways.

He’s not the kind of omega that alphas want to court.

Kiss, fuck, have a good time with? Yeah, sure. Buck’s had his fair share of meaningless flings and casual sex with both strangers and acquaintances. That’s no secret to anyone. But there’s been no offer of a lifetime commitment as serious as exchanging genuine mating bites. His silly dreams of finding a partner and having a family with them have been put on a tall shelf where he won’t let them distract him all the time.

He’d almost let himself hope for something real with Abby, but she still hasn’t come home from her trip and Buck is starting to believe she has no intention of it either.

If she couldn’t love Buck, why would Eddie want him?

On top of the sheer absurdity of anyone wanting to court Buck, he’d also spent their whole first shift together being a complete nightmare of a coworker to Eddie. He’d made his disdain for the alpha very clear and while that’s something he’d like to fix in the future (purely for the sake of his job), Eddie has only experienced what is quite possibly the worst version of Buck.

Nothing is adding up here.

“You want to court me?” Buck tries the strange new words out on his tongue.

They taste weird, but not particularly bad.

Eddie nods slowly, his eyes lighting up with thinly veiled amusement now. Buck tries not to assume the humor is at his expense, but it’s hard not to feel that way when he’s the one who’s been caught off guard and unaware.

After all, this could still be a prank.

“I spoke with Bobby last night after our shift ended. Cap mentioned that you didn’t have an official alpha for me to seek permission from, but he gave me his blessing and made sure there weren’t LAFD rules against it as long as we do things by the book,” Eddie explains patiently. “So… I guess this is my attempt to court you properly.”

Well, he’s certainly correct about one key detail.

Buck hasn’t spoken to either of his parents in years and he would never expect his estranged father to permit a courtship on his behalf, alpha or not. Maddie’s technically a familial alpha too, but she just came back into his life and hardly knows him anymore. It wouldn’t even be fair to bring her into all of this. From what he can tell, her own mate has been enough trouble.

Bobby is the closest thing Buck has to an alpha and father figure. He’s the one who looks out of him. And apparently he okayed all of this.

Alrighty then.

Maybe this really isn’t a prank. He can’t imagine Bobby ever setting him up to be humiliated in such a particularly cruel manner, no matter how immature he’d been the day before.

“You want to court me?” Buck asks again, making sure the emphasis is on the right part of the sentence.

Thankfully, Eddie doesn’t laugh at his repeated question. In fact, all humor leaves his handsome face and his gaze seems to soften as he stares down Buck, as if he’s fully taking the omega in for the first time and analyzing the deepest depths of his soul.

Buck is a little afraid of what he might see there.

“Yes, Buck. It would be my honor if you’d agree to enter into a formal mating courtship with me. With the intent of becoming my future bondmate, of course. I’m aware that we just met and it feels like we may have gotten off on the wrong foot, but there’s just… something about you that I can’t get out of my head. I can’t explain it and maybe I don’t fully understand it myself. I only know that I’d regret it for the rest of my life if I didn’t ask you to give me the chance to prove myself to you.”

“I was a complete dick to you yesterday,” Buck blurts out, unable to keep ignoring the elephant in the room any longer.

Eddie’s eye crinkles are back as he reacts to the statement with a relaxed smile, seemingly undeterred from his mission.

“You were,” Eddie agrees lightly, taking a step forward and damn near cornering Buck against the wall behind him. “But I happen to like my omegas with a little kick to them. You’re gonna have to do a lot more than some childish games and name calling to drive me away. Hell, you can keep ‘pulling my pigtails’ if you really want to, but it won’t have the effect you’re aiming for there, darling.”

Oh. Apparently his behavior wasn’t a dealbreaker.

Buck’s face feels hot and he struggles to compose an intelligent response.

He can’t remember the last time anyone truly managed to catch him so off guard. While he’d fully anticipated and prepared for the possibility of Eddie being mad at him today, he’d never have thought the alpha would interpret his jealousy and insecurities as flirting of all things.

It certainly throws a wrench in his plans to drive the alpha away and reclaim his spot.

“I don’t know how to respond to that,” Buck admits in a whisper, suddenly realizing that their proximity leaves little space between them. They’re damn near the same height and being almost toe-to-toe with only flowers between their bodies makes it so they’re practically breathing shared air.

Some might even consider their positions scandalous as an unmated alpha and omega with no chaperone in sight.

Eddie’s eyes wander down to his lips briefly. Buck licks them, self conscious of how dry they might be from his mouth hanging open in shock for most of their conversation.

“You can respond however you like, sweetheart. There’s no pressure to make a decision right this minute either. The ball is in your court. Or, well, the flowers are in your court anyway.”

He's making a joke. A basketball joke? Truthfully, Buck hates the sport, but it’s nice of Eddie not to assume that just because he’s an omega. His hatred of basketball has nothing to do with his secondary gender and everything to do with the sport itself.

Oops. He’s off topic and Eddie’s waiting on a decision.

It’s up to him. It’s Buck's decision. And Eddie looks so earnest about the offer. This doesn’t seem to be some weird revenge plot to embarrass the omega for his shitty behavior the day before, although stranger things have happened in his life.

Eddie appears to be genuinely interested in pursuing him and Buck— well, Buck actually might be the tiniest bit interested too. It’s… possible that some of his general prissiness from the previous shift could be chalked up to territorial hormones and the need to claim what his inner omega was seeking out subconsciously: a compatible mate.

But who could say for sure?

“Okay.”

Eddie looks pleasantly surprised when he confirms, “Okay, as in…?”

Buck takes a long breath. He doesn’t make direct eye contact when he clarifies his decision, locking his gaze over Eddie’s shoulder as a way to stay focused.

“Okay… you can— you can, uh, keep giving me courting presents for now and then I’ll decide if you’ve earned the right to officially court me, Eddie. Convince me to change my mind about you and I will happily accept your mating proposal.” Buck pauses for a moment to let those words sink in before he throws a few more in Eddie’s direction as he ducks out of the locker room before the alpha can stop him, “And for the record, I prefer roses!”

He fully expects Eddie to give up on his fruitless endeavor after that interaction. His bitchy attitude and refusal to accept the fancy bouquet should’ve put the alpha off entirely.

No alpha in their right mind would pursue an omega like Buck to be their mate.

Edmundo Diaz is not in his right mind apparently.

Instead of becoming discouraged by Buck’s challenge like any normal person, he’d seemed amused by Buck turning down the flowers and by the time they return from their first call of the day (a burst water pipe that was flooding a suburban cul-de-sac), a huge bouquet of classic red roses is waiting at the station instead.

In the middle of the flowers, there is a simple note underneath Buck’s name that reads ‘better, sweetheart?’

In addition to not acknowledging the flowers, Eddie offers no explanation for how he managed it or even when he found the time to arrange a replacement for his rejected gift, but Buck has to admire the commitment to their game. Buck also has to dodge many questions from other members of the 118 and pretend he doesn’t know who left them for him.

Bobby just looks at Buck knowingly until the omega has to turn away to hide his blush from the man who already knows too much about his love life as is.

He plans to just avoid Eddie after that. If they don’t purposely spend time together outside of calls, they can’t really court. Foolproof logic.

Only, then they have it out in the gym during their solo workouts too.

It starts with Eddie offering some ‘helpful’ advice about his selfie lighting, to which Buck tells him where he could shove his phone in return. Chim simply watches the whole argument like it’s a highly entertaining spectator sport until Buck gives him a look that sends the laughing beta on his way.

He doesn’t exactly mean to snap at Eddie again when the alpha asks what his problem is, but Buck lets out something aggressive about how he should be more respectful of his elders and less comfortable in their station as a newcomer.

And yes, Buck immediately regrets his harsh words when Eddie sincerely apologizes and says something that hits a little too close to home.

“Look, I— uh, in no way meant to be too familiar or step on anybody’s toes. And I know you’ve been going through some personal stuff, Buck,” Eddie says with hands raised in a gesture of peaceful surrender.

“What personal stuff?” he scoffs.

Eddie answers honestly, not backing down from Buck’s challenge.

“I know your last alpha abandoned you and you’re still coming to terms with that. That must be rough. I can only imagine what you’re going through and how much that must have hurt you.”

Buck feels like he’s been gutted open.

His voice is shaky when he says, “No, I’m not coming to terms with anything. She— she didn’t abandon me. Who told you that?”

Eddie backtracks a bit, skillfully avoiding the question about who was spilling details of Buck’s life to him.

“I’m just saying that I’ve heard you’re a good guy and I’m sorry you’re going through that pain, but you don’t need to take it out on me if you’re hurting, sweetheart… I’m not a threat to you or your pack.”

Why does Eddie know any of this? Buck hasn’t breathed a word about Abby around Eddie, but this new alpha has apparently already got his life story and all the gossip on him elsewhere.

He wants to defend himself— defend Abby, but what could he possibly say that would make her leaving sound any better? Eddie’s right. She did leave him here. She barely talks to him beyond updating him of her location and her promises to come home to Buck have dwindled off into complete silence.

Abby isn’t coming back. He knows that. He’s become a glorified housesitter.

Because Buck isn’t the kind of omega you make a home with.

“We’re not broken up,” he insists, unable to truly tell if he’s trying to convince Eddie or himself.

The distinctive broken whine of a distressed omega leaves his own lips and Buck prepares to run far away from Eddie and all the emotions he’s not ready to deal with.

He’s only stopped by the sudden warmth of strong arms wrapping around him and pulling his body into a sweaty hug. It’s unexpected, to say the least. But then the realization that Buck’s silently crying in the middle of the gym and clinging tightly to Eddie’s hold on him is even more surprising.

“Fuck, I’m so sorry, Buck. I didn’t mean to upset you like that. I was told that the thing between you and her was well and truly over. They said you were taking things hard, but I shouldn’t have assumed that meant you’d want to talk about it with me,” Eddie coos at him, rocking them both back and forth slowly as he continues to embrace the omega.

He’s mortified by his own reaction, but not so mortified that he wants Eddie to let go of him. As he glances around, it doesn’t seem like anyone else is hanging about to see them anyways.

“It’s fine,” Buck mumbles embarrassedly.

Eddie nuzzles at the top of his head, managing to fold Buck under his chin in a way that should be less comfortable for his stature. Somehow it’s a perfect fit.

“It’s clearly not fine or you wouldn’t be crying because I was careless. You don’t have to lie to make me feel better. I hurt your feelings and that’s not how omegas should be treated— especially not one I’m trying very hard to woo.”

Buck snorts at that, unable to stop himself.

“Woo, huh? What am I, some delicate lady at the ball waiting for a suitor? I know the whole courting formality is a bit antiquated, but I can hardly promise an enticing dowry or show you my needlepoint work, Eddie,” he teases, laughing harder when the alpha pokes his side in return for his sass.

Eddie then loosens his hold just enough to wipe at Buck’s cheeks with his thumb, quickly removing any evidence of his emotional breakdown without further comment. He uses the same hand to gently grip Buck’s chin and put them eye-to-eye once more.

Buck can’t ignore how handsome the alpha is when they’re this close together. It’s a miracle he remembers to keep breathing when Eddie’s looking at him with such a focused stare.

Eddie shakes his head with a smirk.

“You’re too much of a brat to ever be mistaken for a lady, Buck. Proper ladies don’t pick fights with alphas.”

It’s clearly a joke about his mischievous track record from the past two days, but the words lodge themselves in between his ribs just the same as if they were entirely serious. The sudden need to prove himself as capable of being worthy of Eddie’s attention sneaks up on him.

“They don’t,” Buck agrees softly. “I can be good though... when I try,” he adds on, not sure why he so badly needs Eddie to know this.

“I know you can, baby. I’d even go so far as to say that you want to be good. You just need me to earn it first.”

A gentle rumble emanates through the alpha’s chest and spreads through Buck’s from where they’re still pressed close together. It’s comforting, if unfamiliar.

When’s the last time anyone held him like this— like he deserved to be held?

The realization that Eddie’s offering him this affection so freely should scare him enough to run away. Buck’s doesn’t know how to accept affection any more than a stray dog on the street does. He eats love out of any open hand that will feed it to him, desperate for a scrap of attention and starving for it all the same.

There’s never been a time in his life that his parents offered him love without a myriad of binding strings attached and he’s pretty sure that has done some considerable damage to his inner omega.

Eddie’s actions bring to mind a pressing question: Could it be like this all the time?

If Buck walks into the biggest fire he’s encountered yet (Eddie’s courting offer) and braves his fears, will the alpha show him what real love feels like?

Even momentarily lost in his thoughts and the sheer warmth of Eddie’s hold, a pointed cough startles them both enough that they break apart instantly, scurrying to seperate sides of the room in their efforts to appear casual.

Bobby’s staring at the floor politely, but Buck still feels heat redden his cheeks at being caught by his pseudo father in such an intimate embrace. Eddie had said their courting was more or less allowed, but Buck is also sure there are rules in place about public displays of affection and keeping professional boundaries whilst on shift.

Not that he’s officially made a decision about the courting yet or anything…

“Boys,” Bobby greets them kindly. Neither of them speaks. Buck doesn’t dare to spare a glance in Eddie’s direction lest he incriminate them both. “Lunch is just about ready if you’d like to get washed up first.”

“Thanks, Cap,” Eddie says with a nod, practically fleeing from the gym like it’s a crime scene.

Okay. Ouch.

Buck goes to follow suit, hopeful that he can get out of having ‘a talk’ with Bobby about any of this. He’s not that lucky though.

As he makes for the exit, Bobby’s hand lands firmly on his shoulder.

“Not so fast, kid.”

Damn. Worth a shot.

“I’m sorry. I’ve learned my lesson and I swear I won’t do it again,” he blurts out.

Bobby’s eyebrows pinch and he lets out a confused sound. Maybe Buck didn’t know what Bobby was going to say after all.

“Do… what again?”

Buck huffs quietly.

The quicker he can get out of this conversation and onto his next meal, the less mortifying this will be. As much as he loves a good life changing conversation with Cap, Buck isn’t even sure what to say at this point. If Bobby asks him what the plan is, he himself is still wondering the same thing.

Sure, Eddie has shown that maybe Buck misjudged him a bit, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to hop into a lifetime commitment with the alpha. There's still a lot to consider.

“I don’t know, Bobby. I assume you wanted to say something about Eddie and I. Whatever you’re here to say, just say it.”

Bobby looks amused by Buck becoming flustered.

Mean. Practically the definition of workplace bullying, in fact.

“Do you know why I accepted Eddie as a new recruit, Buck?”

“No, I can’t say that I do,” he admits.

Where is he going with this?

Bobby gestures to the empty weight bench nearby, clearly wanting Buck to take a seat for the wisdom he’s planning to unload upon him. Buck plays along, even leaving enough room for the alpha to join him.

“Any time I have to make decisions that will affect the whole station, I have a lot of things to consider. My primary duty as captain is always keeping this place up and running so we can be an effective team. Above that though, I must keep our pack safe. That means that everyone here was brought into the pack after a great deal of consideration and thought.”

Seeing Bobby so solemn isn’t entirely new to Buck, but having that energy completely directed towards him is a strange feeling.

“That makes sense,” he agrees.

He still isn’t sure what point is being made.

Bobby’s arm raises to wrap around Buck’s shoulder, bringing him into a loose side hug. This feels more serious.

“When I looked over all of Eddie’s records, I did more than skim over his academy scores and letters of references, Buck. I conduct my own in-depth research into our applicants before they even have an interview, so that I know exactly what might be walking through those doors and whether they’ll fit into our pack.”

“So Eddie passed your test then?” Buck guesses.

Bobby chuckles, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze that says Buck hasn't entirely understood the point of this lecture yet. Unfortunately, Bobby really enjoys telling stories and Buck is starting to get hungry.

“I fought for Eddie Diaz to join our station because I believed he’d make a good partner for you, Buck.”

He recalls there being some discussion yesterday of Eddie becoming his partner in the field, but Buck had chalked that up to the pack’s teasing and trying to get him all riled up. It had sounded more like some joke at his expense than an actual plan.

Bobby doesn’t wait for his input.

“On paper, he looked like a strong candidate with a solid background. No red flags or reason to question his character. When I met him in person, I could immediately tell that he was respectful, caring, and honest. The kind of alpha that you’d want your own kid to bring home one day.” Bobby pauses to chuckle at his own words. “I didn’t know how literally I’d mean that, but my point stands. Eddie is a good man and a trustworthy alpha. I wasn’t afraid he’d do anything to hurt my pack and I was willing to bet our family on it.”

Translation: Buck, you’re the only omega in the pack and I have to vet any alphas I hire because I need to protect you.

Now, Buck feels he can interject.

“And that’s why you gave him your approval to court me?”

Bobby smiles at Buck in a way that makes the omega silently wonder why his parents didn’t love him when Bobby makes it seem so natural.

“I could tell that the two of you would make a great match even before I knew you’d have actual chemistry with one another.”

Buck bumps his shoulder into Bobby’s, sending him an exaggerated look of disbelief.

“Chemistry? I almost stabbed him in the jugular yesterday, Cap.”

Bobby ruffles the back of his hair affectionately and Buck can’t help but to lean into the familiar touch, even if it means he’ll have to put more hair gel in before they eat lunch.

“Maybe I’m getting older, kid, but I could’ve sworn the two of you looked pretty cozy when I walked in here earlier. Do I need to make an eye appointment or were you and Eddie finally finding some common ground? That didn’t look like a rejected courtship offer to me.”

His blush returns full force and Buck’s no longer hopeful he can write it off as the result of his intense workout. It was naive of him to believe they’d gotten away with their earlier actions unnoticed.

“Don’t get your hopes up. Nothing’s set in stone yet, old man,” he concedes halfway.

Bobby hums thoughtfully at that. Despite Buck downplaying things, the alpha still looks pleased at the small confirmation about what he saw.

“I won’t meddle in whatever is going on between you and Eddie as long as it doesn’t interfere with our job. You’re old enough to make your own choices. Just do me a favor, kid? Promise that you won’t wait around for something that isn’t coming back. If you spend too long looking behind you, you might miss what’s right in front of you.”

Buck tenses up at that.

It takes every ounce of self control he has not to bite back something unkind in response. His gut reaction to anyone speaking poorly about Abby has become anger and even knowing Bobby has his best intentions in mind, Buck can’t help but feel snappy about his relationship with her being examined too closely.

At the same time, Eddie’s the one vying for Buck’s attention, holding him, and telling him how wanted he is.

Abby’s gone and Bobby’s right.

Eddie is here. Right in front of him.

“I will… keep an open mind,” Buck compromises.

“I just want you to be happy, Buck. Whatever that means, you know that I’ll support you,” Bobby vows in return, standing with one last hair ruffle to the omega’s head. “Now go clean up so we can eat already. You stink, pup.”

The rest of their shift is uneventful enough that Buck forgets he won’t see Eddie for a couple days. His next shift is a forty-eight over the weekend, but Eddie’s shift schedule doesn’t quite match up with the rest of the team’s yet since he’s at the mercy of the new-hire requirements.

That means Eddie won’t be there. It should be a relief.

Despite having some time to begin thinking things over, Buck still doesn’t have a solid decision yet and not having to work side-by-side with the alpha should be a weight off his shoulders.

Instead, he comes into work with an emotional rain cloud over his head. Even Maddie had noticed his pissy mood the last few days and managed to get the truth out of him about Eddie’s courting attempts.

If he’s being honest with himself, Buck knows that not getting to see the enigma of an alpha is contributing to his generally snappy attitude. After their first few encounters being all over the place, he’d started to look forward to continuing their sparring matches that felt a lot like foreplay.

By the time the team has been on half a dozen calls and are finally returning to the station for restocking and recuperating, Buck is in pretty low spirits without Eddie around.

He finished their last call of the afternoon with an untimely shower, courtesy of some automatic sprinklers, that leave him with drenched hair, a damp uniform, and the pressing need to reapply his scent blockers before they leave for their next call.

Buck’s so preoccupied silently debating whether it makes more sense to shower off the day and restart his whole routine (since he’ll need to restyle his hair too) that he almost misses Eddie’s unexpected presence at the station.

To be fair, Buck’s never seen the guy in his everyday clothes. Most of them tend to come to work in comfy outfits so that they aren’t stuck in anything too dressy or stiff at the end of a long shift.

Eddie’s wearing a shirt with actual buttons and everything. His hair’s a little less tame too with more strands coming out of his usually styled ‘do to fall in his face in an effortlessly artful way.

He’s really hot. That thought catches Buck by surprise for some reason.

Nearly bumping into the alpha in surprise, Buck catches himself in time just to rudely blurt out, “What are you doing here? It’s your day off.”

Eddie laughs at that, as if Buck’s question was a joke and not a genuine inquiry.

“Thought you guys could use a little something to brighten your spirits today.” The alpha pauses to look Buck up and down. His amused smile doesn’t dim in the slightest as he assesses Buck’s waterlogged appearance with open curiousity. “Although it looks like you’re more in need of a towel than homemade cookies.”

If he was a dog, Buck is sure that his ears would’ve perked up at the mention of baked goods. As it is, he whips his head around, eagerly looking for the aforementioned treats and not seeing evidence of their existence.

The shower can wait. If there are cookies around, Buck isn’t passing up the chance to grab one before the rest of the station gets their hands on them and leaves none left for him.

Eddie’s jubilant laughter echoes throughout the station and Buck has the decency to at least feel embarrassed by his own overeager reaction.

“They’re upstairs, along with someone who really wants to meet you,” Eddie explains, one of his hands finding Buck’s lower back and confidently guiding them both in the direction of the loft.

He doesn’t question the cryptic statement about meeting new people, figuring he’ll find out in about thirty seconds. Buck should, however, tell Eddie that he can find the cookies without physical assistance, but Eddie’s warm hand does feel rather nice against his damp back, so he ignores it.

“Alright, Diaz, you better show me where the cookies are hiding or I’m gonna—”

Buck’s sentence stops abruptly as he catches sight of a little boy seated by himself at the table.

The pup can’t be more than a young elementary school age. Glasses that might be almost too big for his face, soft curly hair, and a sweet smile that makes Buck’s inner omega practically melt with the need to wrap him up in a fluffy blanket and stick him in a nest for safekeeping.

“Hi, there,” Buck greets the boy quietly, immediately dropping to a knee in front of the pup to make himself less towering and intimidating. “My name is Buck. What’s yours?”

In times like these, Buck always wishes he fit the omegan stereotype of having a petite frame and softer features. He’s been told many times over the years that he has a non-threatening vibe for someone so large, but being over six feet tall contradicts his gentle nature.

The pup gives him a tiny smile, clearly shy about talking to him.

Luckily, Eddie follows right behind Buck and makes his way to the child. The alpha places a reassuring hand on the pup’s shoulder and that seems to give him the confidence to answer.

“Christopher,” he practically whispers back. “My name is Christopher Diaz and I’m seven years old.”

His words are slow and careful, like he’s practiced this introduction and wants to make sure he says it perfectly. In turn, Buck smiles and nods reassuringly at Christopher to let him know that he did a good job.

And then it clicks. Diaz. Eddie Diaz and Christopher Diaz.

“Are you…?” Buck isn’t sure how to phrase it politely, not wanting to guess about the nature of their exact relationship.

Eddie bends down to pop a kiss to Christopher’s hair and scent the pup affectionately in a manner that answers Buck’s question before Eddie even speaks.

“Buck, this is my son, Chris. And Chris, this is Buck,” Eddie says this fact like Chris has already heard about Buck and should be connecting his name to other information, which makes the omega a little anxious.

For one, Eddie has a pup.

That’s like a whole extra layer of complication on whatever the hell strange mating dance they’ve been doing. Not that Buck is upset or anything! He absolutely adores pup. Pups are amazing and the fact that Eddie’s a dad is sort of really attractive for some reason.

But adding a child into their situation means Buck isn’t just messing around with an alpha consequence free. If he screws this up, now there is a child— a very adorable Christopher Diaz, to be exact— who will be affected by Buck’s choices.

Buck tries not to let the internal panicking show on his face.

“Do you like cookies, Buck?”

Christopher’s question knocks the omega out of his silent spiraling. He can spiral at a later time. There is a cute pup offering him a tupperware container of messily decorated heart-shaped cookies and Buck is going to have to focus very hard in order to not tear up about it.

“I love cookies. Wow! Those are amazing. Did you help your dad with these, Chris? They look so yummy. I can’t wait to try one.”

Chris looks pleased as punch by Buck’s exaggerated excitement. The truly scary thing is that Buck’s only barely exaggerating.

The pup nods a little jerkily in agreement and Eddie’s expression is practically shining with pride behind him. Buck is surprised he didn’t notice the family resemblance right away.

Their happy faces are so similar, it’s uncanny.

Buck finds himself smiling just as wide as them. Their joy is infectious.

“I’m not allowed to touch the oven yet, but dad let me do the frosting and sprinkles!”

In the back of his head, Buck knows that he really needs to take a shower, complete his hair routine again, and reapply his blockers before Bobby puts their team back online for calls (he’d give them about an hour to restock and regroup). He also knows he’d rather see Chris smile than change out of his damp uniform at this moment.

So Buck accepts the offered open container, picks a slightly neater cookie from the top of the batch, and takes a huge bite.

It’s not half bad considering the mouthful of sprinkles he ends up with, but Chris’s reaction makes it ten times as sweet.

The pup lets out a tiny trill of satisfaction, a sweet little noise Buck has never had directed towards him from a young child. He’s heard pups in movies or on television create the noise when they’re overwhelmingly pleased, but Chris’ instinctive reaction reaches into Buck’s chest and tugs hard at his heartstrings.

“These are delicious. Thank you, Christopher,” Buck tells him very seriously once he’s chewed enough that he can swallow without almost crying.

“You’re welcome,” Chris chirps back.

He assumes that’s all the pup wants to say to him, but then Chris gets a curious look on his face and he’s reaching forward to touch the top of Buck’s head. Tiny fingers gently run through his hair, only tugging a little bit at the strands where his pomade had been half washed out by the sprinklers and half removed by the towel in the truck he’d attempted to dry off with.

Buck isn’t sure what’s happening, but he waits patiently to find out.

“We have the same hair, Buck,” Chris finally comments, his toothy grin on display to show how he feels about this revelation.

He nods in agreement. It’s such a sweet, child-like observation, that Buck is a little lost for words.

When Eddie joins in their conversation again, Buck almost jumps. He sort of forgot the alpha was still there for a moment, too lost in the magnetic bubble of Christopher Diaz.

“The curls really suit you, Buck. You should wear your hair like that more often.”

Buck’s usual response to being complimented on his natural hair almost slips off his tongue before he remembers who he’s speaking to (and speaking in front of) and he just manages to stop himself.

Whenever someone comments on his curls, Buck gets… defensive.

His curls are a cruel reminder of his childhood in a way he’s never quite managed to get past. Years of being told his hair is unruly and needs to be tamed have left their mark. Countless snide remarks from his mother about how he looks like a slob when he doesn’t slick his hair down properly, verbal jabs from his father telling him he’d never amount to anything if he can’t even look like a polite omega with good grooming.

It’s all added up to a knee-jerk reaction of lashing out in pain.

But Chris is watching.

Chris, who seems to like that he and Buck have the same hair. Chris, who has a loving dad who would never treat him with the cruelty the Buckleys showed Buck. Chris, who has no reason to hate his curls if Buck doesn't give him one.

He has the chance to choose. Whether Buck continues or stops the chain of hurt, here and now, is entirely up to him.

“Thank you,” Buck chokes out. “Maybe… maybe I will.”

Chris gives him a soft little pat on the top of the head as if Buck’s his obedient dog, which helps him turn his sadness into a bout of laughter. The pup then takes advantage of the fact that Buck’s still kneeling in front of him and reaches down to wrap his arms around Buck’s neck in a sloppy attempt at a hug.

Buck returns the embrace without question, only briefly glancing up to see Eddie watching them both with an unreadable expression.

“You smell really good. Like a cookie,” Chris announces, grabbing his attention once more as he pushes his face into Buck’s neck shamelessly the way that pups do.

The sheer amount of honesty coming out of this child might kill Buck if the overwhelming cuteness doesn’t already do it. Pups have notoriously sensitive noses and Chris’ words actually mean a lot since few people ever get to smell Buck without his scent blockers on.

Before he can even attempt to compose a response to the sudden compliment, Christopher is whispering to only him in secret, “My daddy thinks you’re pretty. He told me.”

Oh.

It doesn’t entirely surprise him that Eddie has spoken about him to Chris before. Between the way he introduced them and the fact that he’s trying to court Buck, it makes a lot of sense that Eddie would talk about Buck to his son.

But the fact that he told Christopher that Buck is pretty is a whole different surprise.

Omegas like him don’t get compliments like that. Sure, he gets told he’s strong, handsome, and fit. Unlike other omegas though, Buck doesn’t hear the usual words affirming his beauty or charm.

It’s nice to be told that someone finds him pretty, even if it’s Chris ratting out his father.

Luckily, he’s saved from having to react to this statement too by Eddie clearing his throat and saying loudly, “Alright, buddy. Let’s give Buck some space now. Why don’t you ask Hen if she’ll show you the pinball machine. You love pinball, don’t you?”

Buck isn’t sure if Eddie’s sudden insistence is because he overheard Chris’ remark, but the alpha is definitely acting strange all of the sudden.

He looks across the loft to see Hen glance up from her book and give Eddie a deadpan expression that says she knows she’s being used as a buffer, but she smiles just the same when she gets up and tells Chris, “C’mon, kid. I’ll show you how to unplug the machine so we can get a new high score.”

Christopher’s face lights up once more and he releases Buck from the hug. Instead of standing up right away though, he reaches for something propped against the table next to him.

It takes Buck a long moment to realize that they’re crutches of some sort and he watches in interest as Chris uses them to push himself up and slowly follow Hen to the far side of the loft.

He’s sure he’s pulling a confused face because Eddie gives him a quick head shake over Christopher’s shoulder that says he shouldn’t ask. The alpha then jerks his chin to the opposite side of the kitchen where they’d be even further from Hen and Chris.

Buck complies with the nonverbal instructions to stand up and follow Eddie over where they won’t be overheard by anyone else.

They stand in silence for a second before he finally breaks it nervously.

“So you have a kid.”

It’s a simple statement with no inflection or emotion, but it seems to be enough for Eddie to begin unloading what he planned to say to him.

“I do. And I wanted you to meet him because Christopher is… well, he’s the best thing to ever happen to me. He’s the most important person in my life and his mom isn’t in the picture, so he doesn’t have anyone else. I—” Eddie breaks their eye contact, as if he’s scared to finish his explanation. Buck grabs his hand without thinking, squeezing it in quiet reassurance that he’s not running away. “I will understand if this is a dealbreaker for our courting, but I won’t compromise when it comes to my pup. I really like you, Buck, but my pup’s not going anywhere. Will that be a problem for you?”

Part of Buck wants to laugh.

At the idea that Eddie thinks Chris would deter Buck from doing anything? Or maybe from the fact that he and Eddie aren’t even officially courting, yet he still has the urge to explain that Eddie’s love for Chris is the most endearing thing he’s ever experienced?

Seeing that Eddie is capable of this sort of care and love for his child, Buck finds himself a bit enamored with the alpha.

He hasn’t agreed to a relationship, but he’s mentally planning their family now. Would Eddie want more pups with Buck? Buck has always wanted a big close knit family of his own. Eddie’s clearly a good father and he’s devoted. Could they have a future together, full of pups and happiness?

Eddie’s confession has only prompted more questions of his own, but he knows he has to put the alpha out of his misery first.

“Christopher is the furthest thing from a problem, Eddie. Your son is wonderful. I couldn’t ever see him being a dealbreaker for anything.” Buck pauses, unsure how to phrase his most pressing question in a way that isn’t rude. “But— um, the crutches he was using… is he okay?”

Eddie squeezes his hand in return, silently returning the reassurances and making it clear that Buck hasn’t stepped over an invisible line by asking about Chris.

“He has CP.” Buck has no clue what that means. “Cerebral palsy,” Eddie clarifies when he notices the omega’s lost expression.

Buck has vague knowledge of it, but he makes a mental note to do in-depth research later. He won’t claim to be a medical expert, especially with his limited paramedic duties. From what he does know, it’s a lifelong condition that comes with a lot of challenges. It explains Chris’ movements and speech a little more and also why Eddie would be worried about bringing a potential partner into their lives.

What if Eddie courted someone and then found out they resented his son for something he has no control over? The idea makes him irrationally mad, though he has no right to be.

His inner omega’s adoration and protectiveness over Christopher only grows stronger by the minute.

“Well, he seems like a great kid. He’s funny, smart, sweet… he just needs a little extra help. It must be a lot to handle by yourself, but I’m glad he has you as his dad. Whatever the two of you have gone through, Chris is turning out to be a spitfire and you should be very proud of him,” Buck says honestly, allowing himself to have this moment of vulnerability with the alpha who clearly needs it as much as he does. “He’s quite the baker’s assistant too. Those cookies were pretty good. I’m assuming he knows they were a courting gift?”

Eddie uses the hand that isn’t still holding Buck’s own to cup the back of his neck. It’s an overly intimate gesture since his whole palm covers the omega’s neck, and thus his bonding gland too.

Buck permits it without argument, even letting himself melt into the gentle touch just a bit more than he should.

“Yeah, he knows. Too perceptive for his own good, that one. Like you said, Chris is very intelligent. I can’t get away with anything around him. He saw me buying flowers at the grocery store and asked me where I met someone. I didn’t even get a chance to ask you first, but he badgered me until I gave in and told him a little bit about why I wanted to court you. Then he was begging to help make you some cookies,” Eddie explains with a fond look in his eye.

It’s directed towards Buck, but he recognizes it as the same loving way he was looking at his son earlier.

“I love kids.”

It’s not a good response to Eddie’s explanation, but Buck isn’t sure how else to express his feelings at this moment. He hopes it’s at least confirmation to the alpha that Buck isn’t going to freak out over him having a son.

Eddie nods, his soft smile staying firmly in place as he leans in just a hair closer.

Just like the day in the locker room, there isn’t much space between them. However, unlike the day in the locker room, Buck isn’t sure he wants there to be any space. It feels like he could crawl into Eddie’s skin and live there comfortably.

“Before you go on the next call, make sure you shower and apply more of the heavy duty scent neutralizer. Chris was right, you smell damn good and I don’t need all of Los Angeles challenging my courting claim.”

Eddie’s being overly possessive and protective. It should annoy him that an alpha is being so blatantly territorial over him, but Buck’s fighting back a genuine purr of happiness about it instead.

“Why are you so concerned with what I do when you’re not even around?” he challenges the alpha. “I still haven’t agreed to you courting me yet. You can’t tell me what to do,” Buck reminds him with a teasing smirk.

The alpha doesn’t bat an eye at his taunts. In fact, Eddie leans in so close that Buck can taste his words.

Neither of them budges.

“Watch your mouth, brat. I’ve made it clear that I take care of what’s mine and I expect you to do the same.”

He slides his hand further around the back of Buck’s neck until his wrist is fully in contact with Buck’s mating gland. It sends a jolt throughout his entire body. Eddie wastes no time rubbing their skin together gently, shamelessly scenting the omega in such a claiming manner.

A bold move for someone who was just told that they’re not courting.

Buck shivers at the touch, frozen in place. He’d sooner die than ask Eddie to stop.

“There... Now you either have to cover up properly or you’ll smell like me for the rest of your shift. I know which one the station mandates, but it’s only a matter of time until I can make sure you always have my scent on you off-duty,” Eddie promises. His voice has dropped to a low rasp that has Buck’s head getting dizzy.

Buck nods a bit stupidly.

“Good boy.”

Two words of praise is enough to have his breath catching in his lungs.

Eddie doesn’t wait for a verbal response. The alpha presses a quick kiss to his cheek and lets his hand brush against Buck’s mating gland one last time before he pulls away completely.

The spot on his face where Eddie fleetingly kissed him feels warm.

He can only watch in silence as Eddie heads towards his son and Hen, the alpha pasting a perfectly normal expression on his handsome face as if he hadn’t just reduced Buck to a puddle of stunned omega.

“Hey, little man. Say goodbye to Hen and Buck. We have to get going now and they need to get back to work.”

Christopher pouts at his dad, but gives a farewell to Hen before he turns to look at Buck with the same wide grin as earlier.

Buck meets him halfway, dropping down to give the pup another hug.

“Bye, Chris. It was nice to meet you, bud.”

The pup trills back at him sweetly, rubbing his face against Buck’s neck once again.

“Bye, Buck. Will I see you again soon?” he asks hopefully.

As much as Buck would like to mess with Eddie, he wouldn’t do it at the cost of upsetting Christopher. He says what he sincerely prays is the truth.

“Yeah, I think so. Take care of yourself, Chris.”

Eddie and Christopher leave the station with matching waves to Buck on the way out. It sort of makes him feel like the most important person to ever live, which is a bit frightening when he stops to consider why that might be.

He doesn’t allow himself to dive too deeply into that thought.

Instead, he follows Eddie’s command and takes a thorough shower. Buck takes the time to wash off the sprinkler water, hair product, and unfortunately, Eddie’s scent, too. The department mandated scent neutralizing soap and heavy duty scent blockers manage to strip away any semblance of humanity, but they’re vital to working in the field around other alphas and omegas.

Buck’s made it all the way through dousing himself in scent blockers and getting dressed in a clean uniform before he gets a chance to realize he hasn’t touched his hair yet.

Looking in the mirror, he sees a version of himself with messy curls staring back. Without his hair being slicked back and tamed to the point of stiff control, Buck thinks he looks much different. Younger, even.

Happier, maybe?

One moment, the fancy pomade Abby bought him as a gift is resting in his hand, ready to apply. And the next, it’s in the trash.

That’s not who Buck wants to be anymore.

It’s terrifying to imagine, but he thinks he might really want to be Eddie’s omega.

Chapter Text

Buck is left with a lot to ponder for the remainder of his long weekend shift.

Daydreams of pups and family and a future together swim around his head until he’s a bit dizzy over the idea of even seeing Eddie again. No amount of house fires or search and rescues or medical emergencies can seem to break him out of his trance.

Now that Buck has seen exactly what life with Eddie might be like, it’s hard to stop thinking about it. His brain won’t shut off.

Does Buck want what the alpha is offering him? Will taking a chance on Eddie lead to the sort of happiness that he’s never dared to hope for himself? Should he stop playing games and just… give in?

He assumes he’ll have at least a few days to figure out what it all means since he isn’t scheduled on shift with Eddie again until the middle of the week. It would make sense for them to have some space, especially after the alpha came in on his day off to see Buck already.

Buck turns out to only be half correct. He doesn’t see Eddie on Sunday.

It’s not until the very end of his forty-eight hour weekend shift, bright and early on Monday morning when the sun is barely out, that he finds the man waiting by his car. Eddie has situated himself casually leaning up against the Jeep’s driver side door, almost looking more exhausted than Buck feels.

His disheveled appearance makes no sense.

The guy has had all weekend away from work to rest, but he looks like he’s coming off an even longer shift than Buck. Dark circles under his eyes, messy hair, unshaved face, and a worn-out sweatshirt complete the picture of sheer exhaustion.

Buck barely stops himself from starting the conversation by asking Eddie why he looks like he’s on death’s doorstep. It seems like a rude way to greet him, even if it’s the truth.

Instead, he catches sight of what’s in the alpha’s hands and chooses to comment on that, assuming it’s a safer topic than whatever the hell is going on with Eddie.

“Good morning… You— uh, you know you already did the ‘food gift’ part of our courting, right?” Buck teases with a half-assed laugh, dropping his heavy work duffel on the ground as he gestures towards the muffin and disposable coffee cup Eddie’s holding. “I already accepted your cookies. And ate some, might I remind you. I mean, the leftovers are in my bag to bring home, but I’m not sharing.”

It might be presumptive to operate under the assumption that Eddie is intending to give more gifts to Buck, but he can’t see why else Eddie would be up so early and waiting by his car if not to present him with another courting gift.

The alpha cracks a crooked smile, a bit of light shining through his heavy gaze and settling some of the unease lingering in Buck’s chest. Whatever may be going on, Eddie is apparently doing well enough to appreciate his bad attempt at a joke. It’s a promising sign.

“You’re right. But I didn’t think you’d turn down breakfast, considering you probably haven’t eaten anything yet. I get the feeling you don’t do a great job of taking care of yourself without help.”

Eddie’s uncanny way of seeing right through him scares Buck more than he’ll admit aloud. Mostly because Buck is well aware that he doesn’t always meet his own needs, but he’s usually too busy worrying about everyone else to even care.

Defensiveness creeps up in his bones again and he’s speaking before he can think it through. A common occurrence when it comes to Eddie.

“Well, I can’t drink coffee right now. If I do, I won’t be able to sleep when I get home. I’ll be hopped up on caffeine for hours and... Wait, don’t you have a shift later today?” Buck points out stubbornly, wanting the attention to be back off him.

Eddie’s head tilts slightly to the side in amusement and he holds up the paper coffee cup like he’s making a toast.

“It’s not coffee, it’s Sleepytime Tea. Y’know, the one with the bear in a nightgown and red sleeping cap on the package? Always puts Chris right to sleep when he tries to fight me about his bedtime. It will help you get some good rest,” Eddie muses, undeterred by Buck’s attempts to redirect. “So were you going to skip breakfast entirely then? I distinctly recall us having a talk about you taking care of what’s mine.”

Buck breaks their eye contact, caught off guard once again.

How is he supposed to maintain any semblance of control when Eddie insists on putting him under a microscope and dissecting him piece by piece? Nobody should ever see Buck this up close and personal.

“I was planning on going home and rolling right into bed,” Buck admits plainly, hoping his honesty will get Eddie to drop it. Then he pivots, back to the question Eddie already avoided once, “Shouldn’t you be in bed right now too? You work this afternoon and you look like you’ve not slept in days, Probie.”

Eddie exhales loudly. He doesn’t deny the accusation or complain about the nickname, which is actually more troubling to Buck than if he’d argued about up a storm.

“I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

Buck raises a questioning brow, silently inviting the alpha to explain himself further.

Eddie turns to unload his arms, carefully setting his gifts onto the hood of the Jeep. It’s then that Buck catches sight of a paper bag that was tucked under Eddie’s arm. He hadn’t noticed it earlier in addition to the tea and muffin. There’s nothing especially interesting about the plain bag, but he finds himself curious about its content nonetheless.

The alpha runs his now free hands over his face like he’s willing away his exhaustion.

“I baked you muffins,” Eddie continues quietly, putting himself in close enough proximity to Buck that the omega finds his heart beating a little faster once more.

“Okay…”

Buck nods for him to keep going with his explanation.

“I tried to go to sleep last night, but my inner alpha couldn’t stop obsessing over whether or not you would eat breakfast after your shift if Bobby wasn't there to remind you. Before I knew it, I was getting out of bed at midnight and baking blueberry muffins from scratch in my kitchen. I’ve— uh, I’ve actually never made them before and I have no idea if they’re even edible, but the idea that you might get hungry was driving me insane and I had to do something about it. Then I was going to leave them on your doorstep. That seemed creepy though because you never told me where you lived and I didn’t want to come off as a stalker or whatever. So I stayed up the rest of the night and waited for you to leave work instead… which doesn’t sound any better now that I’m saying it out loud.”

Oh. Holy shit.

The disheveled appearance suddenly makes a lot of sense, but Buck’s brain has shut down entirely because all he can hear is ‘Eddie hasn’t stopped thinking about you either.’

“Eds… you could’ve just texted me to ask if I was going to eat breakfast. I would’ve answered you,” Buck whispers, afraid that raising his voice might make Eddie realize exactly how vulnerable he was being with his stream of consciousness confession.

Eddie nods once, chewing his bottom lip thoughtfully. He only looks mildly embarrassed, but he won’t make eye contact either.

“Right. I— I realize that now. If Chris had heard me making a mess of our kitchen like that, he probably would’ve knocked some sense into me, but the need to make sure you were provided for sort of had me in a chokehold, sweetheart.”

Buck has a bone-chilling realization at the reminder of Eddie’s pup.

“Oh god. Wait— where’s Christopher? Is he still at home? Did you leave him by himself?”

His hands fly up in a panic, as if there’s something he can do about this potential problem by flailing around in the firehouse parking lot.

“Shhhh… No, he’s fine, baby.”

Eddie cuts him off curtly by pulling him into a tight hug, not allowing his anxiety to escalate beyond a surface level worry that the alpha’s pup might be alone. He gives Buck a quick squeeze that relaxes his muscles immediately and has him burying his face in Eddie’s neck, his lack of scent neutralizers soon becoming apparent the deeper he inhales.

“Chris is safe?” he confirms quietly.

The alpha takes advantage of his relaxation and positioning to return the impromptu scenting, dragging his nose along Buck’s neck slowly, softly. The ghosting of touch is just enough to drive his inner omega wild.

“He spent the night at Abuela’s place. We’re trying to prepare him for when I have to be away for the longer overnight shifts. It’s not a permanent solution or anything, but I don’t have a better childcare option at the moment. Which means Chris wasn’t home to watch me lose my mind over muffins.”

Buck continues to inhale the comforting scent of warm musk and cinnamon, his own arms slowly raising to return the embrace he’s found himself captive in. Getting a mouthful of Eddie’s full scent is intoxicating.

And knowing Chris is safe, Buck can breathe easily again.

Hell, he would happily drown in the alpha’s untempered essence at the moment, now that he knows the pup isn’t in danger and Eddie’s apparently equally obsessed with him.

God, it’s been so long since Buck did anything like this.

Sure, he platonically exchanges scents with his packmates on a regular basis, but that’s usually done with a quick brush of wrists and only for convenience sake. Less personal or even remotely romantic. There are never necks involved, those are saved for mates.

Even Abby has never scented Buck in such an intimate way. She hardly gave anything of herself to him and she certainly never let him leave any sort of mark on her. Scent or otherwise.

His most serious relationship and she wouldn’t even scent him properly, lest he start to get too attached. That awful thought lodges between Buck’s ribs, aiming for his heart and almost getting deep enough to puncture it.

A reminder that he was easy for her to leave behind.

“Chris is safe,” Buck repeats aloud to himself, trying desperately to stay focused on the present. The present is where Eddie and his overwhelmingly wonderful scent are.

Neither of them moves, perfectly content to stay how they are. Wrapped up in one another once again. Somehow they keep finding themselves attracted together as if by magnets.

Eddie hums a soft noise of agreement.

“He’s been badgering me all weekend about setting up another ‘play date’ with you, asking questions about you ever since we left the firehouse. Doesn’t fully grasp the whole concept of a mating courtship yet or what it means if we bond, but Chris knows he wants to see you again and show you his entire Lego collection. He really likes you, Buck.”

Those affirming words pull a contented chirp straight from his soul and Buck finds that his heart simply can’t contain all of the powerful feelings he has at the moment.

His body practically itches with the need to find a better way to express even a small fraction of it and Buck finds himself instinctively pressing a quick kiss to the side of Eddie’s neck where he’s been absentmindedly nuzzling.

It’s a light and fleeting press of his lips that doesn’t last more than a second, but it feels right and satisfies his urge to show Eddie just how joyful he is.

The kiss also happens without consideration for any romantic implications or how the alpha might actually react to such a spontaneous show of affection.

Eddie freezes almost immediately, his entire body still pressed against Buck’s going completely rigid. Which then forces Buck to think in the aftermath of his reckless actions, rather than beforehand.

A typical Buck move.

Kissing Eddie like that wasn’t intended as a declaration of any kind, but it might be viewed that way. After all, an unbonded omega kissing a potential alpha pretty clearly reads as an acceptance of a courtship offer from any angle you look at it.

Well, fuck.

Buck practically tears himself away from the embrace, his limbs uncoordinated in his efforts to just pull back and hastily create distance.

He can’t think of a more efficient way to remedy what he’s done and he fumbles to come up with the correct words to undo things, but seeing the way Eddie’s eyes lock onto his lips with a look of sheer longing makes Buck regret this choice too.

Because if he didn’t know any better, he’d be sure that Eddie is about to kiss him for real. Not a peck on the cheek, a brief smooch to the neck, or any other imitation or variation of what they’ve been teasing back and forth, but a genuine and tender meeting of lips where their noses bump and they don’t know care to figure out where one body starts and the other stops.

Buck’s face twitches, his panic manifesting as a slight flinch backwards.

He can’t bring himself to willingly put further space between them, but it wouldn’t take more than half a step for them to be touching once again, for them to be back how they were… or even closer.

He waits with bated breath to see what Eddie will do, how he will proceed.

And nothing. He does nothing.

It’s not until Eddie’s shoulders slump infinitesimally and his tired gaze returns to Buck’s own and the moment has quietly passed that Buck even realizes he’s disappointed. Eddie didn’t kiss him. He was clearly going to, but Buck apparently did something that stopped him.

He knows right away that Eddie must’ve caught his accidental flinch.

It’s devastating and the reason for his distress is so obvious that he feels more than a little bit stupid for not seeing it before.

Buck wants to be kissed by Eddie.

Gone is the calm and the pleasant feeling of relaxation that existed in him just moments before. Now he’s got regret and doubt and guilt building up until they’re choking him mercilessly. Instead of accepting Eddie’s bonding proposal and allowing himself to be with an alpha who wants him, Buck’s found himself stuck in the past once more.

He almost let Eddie kiss him while he’s still technically dating Abby.

She’s made it clear that she isn’t coming back, showing him with all but her words that they’re done and over. Her letters have tapered off. Her minimal affections have grown silent and more obligatory than sincere. They’re just two people with a threadbare string connecting them, ready to snap at the lightest breeze.

He’s just been too afraid to let go already, to move on from what he thought they had.

Buck was too terrified to risk being alone again that he forgot he could risk falling in love instead.

And now he’s enamored with someone Abby could never compare to. Eddie hasn’t done anything to make Buck question where they stand or whether Eddie would change his mind when it wasn’t convenient anymore. Eddie has been upfront about his intentions and honest in the way he’s pursued the omega’s neck in courting.

Part of him is so mad at himself. Mostly for not breaking up with Abby the moment Buck even considered accepting a courtship from another alpha. But then he’d also imagined Eddie would give up before things between them could get serious.

And now they were serious.

Eddie almost kissed him and Buck had wanted him to.

He knows what he has to do now and although he’ll never claim to be perfect, Buck also knows he owes both Eddie and Abby far better than his current avoidance of handling his issues. Abby deserves respect and honesty, enough for him to finally call the time of death on their relationship and not keep grasping at straws for a love that isn’t there.

Maybe it never was.

And Eddie… Eddie deserves to have an omega who isn’t attached to another alpha and won’t accidentally flinch away from a kiss that they both desperately crave.

“Buck?”

“I’m so sorry.”

Buck isn’t sure which specific incident he’s apologizing for this time, but he knows Eddie’s heartbroken expression and disheveled appearance is entirely because of him.

Was it kissing Eddie’s neck without meaning to? Leading him on and then flinching away from his advances? For sending the alpha mixed signals about their courting and continuing to play games despite the fact that the stakes have become real now?

He’s been hurting both of them with his indecisiveness.

Eddie nods his acceptance of the sad excuse for an apology, exhaling softly. His posture relaxes just the slightest bit, but his face is still stiff and pinched like he’s in pain.

“I know,” Eddie murmurs softly. He clears his throat before continuing on with, “Your hair really does look nice like that, Buck. I’m glad you left it that way. It’s pretty.”

His hands twitch at his sides, as if he’s resisting the urge to touch Buck again. Buck can empathize with the familiar need. He’s buried his own hands deep in his pockets, trying to control himself and not do anything else stupid this morning.

“Thanks.”

Eddie gives him a sad smile before turning and taking a step away from the Jeep, away from Buck.

He can’t leave. Not like this.

Buck squeaks out a frantic, “Eddie, wait—”

The alpha looks back to where Buck’s reaching out for him, his hands unable to stay tucked away when Eddie’s departure could mean the end of their courting. He hasn’t gotten to explain himself yet and he just needs a chance to make things right.

“Go home and get some rest, sweetheart,” Eddie cuts him off, eyeing the omega with an unreadable look. “Then you should take some time to think about what you really want here, for both our sakes. I know I said that you didn’t need to decide anything right away, and I meant that, but… shit, Buck, I’m so in love with you already. I don’t want to get my hopes up any higher if this is never going to happen between us.”

Eddie’s in love with him. He’s in love. With Buck!

And Buck is… well, he’s watching Eddie continue to walk away while he’s frozen in place, unable to do more than silently gape like a fish caught on a hook.

He’s not even sure what he would say to that declaration if he could speak, but Eddie’s sudden confession feels like a blast of unexpected lightning shooting up his spine. It shocks his whole body at once, simultaneously filling him with energy and jolting his nerves into paralysis.

Eddie drives out of the parking lot in his truck and Buck doesn’t move for a few more minutes. None of it feels real and he can’t convince himself to stop ruminating on what he now knows.

The alpha who loves him drove away because Buck is a shit show. He’s determined to fix it though and that goal reboots his brain enough to move.

By the time he’s collected himself enough to finally go home, he's almost forgotten about Eddie’s presents. Buck plucks the tea, muffin, and paper bag off the hood of the car and brings them into the Jeep along with his duffel.

He drives to Abby’s place in silence, not daring to touch the radio and break the solemn mood he’s floating along in. When Buck makes it inside, he finally allows himself to take stock of everything Eddie gifted to him.

The tea is ice cold. He sips at it anyway, wanting to obey the alpha’s request for him to rest. The muffin is dry, but edible. Buck assumes Eddie over-mixed the batter (probably from his frantic baking) like Bobby has specifically warned him against doing. Truthfully, he has other food in the apartment, but he eats it anyway, wanting to make Eddie proud that he’s taking care of himself and finding comfort in eating the breakfast made for him by his alpha.

Pure curiosity has him reaching for the paper bag next, reaching in to find two more sealed plastic bags inside. Buck opens the first and pulls out a t-shirt with a U.S. Army graphic on it.

It’s old, soft, and reeks of Eddie’s musky scent. He sets it aside, not letting himself bury his face into the fabric the way he aches to.

The other bag contains a small teddy bear. It’s missing fur in some spots, clearly well loved and has been through a lot. When he unseals the plastic bag to examine it more closely, he’s hit in the face with the distinctly milky and cottony scent of a pup.

Christopher’s scent.

Buck peeks his head into the paper bag, searching for an explanation of what he's been given and he finds a small note sitting at the bottom. It must’ve fallen there.

On it are the words, ‘For your nest —Love, the Diazes.’

Buck writes the letter as soon as he wakes from his nap that afternoon.

It’s not particularly long or overly apologetic, but it’s polite and honest. He expresses his thanks to Abby for helping him grow into a better man and for the happy moments they shared, but he also explains that it feels like they haven’t truly been in a relationship for several months.

Buck wasn’t built to sit in an empty home by himself while his partner is off living a seperate life. He knows that now more than ever when being without Eddie for even a day feels like too long.

Part of him stubbornly insists that he doesn’t owe her a full explanation for why he’s choosing to end things since their arrangement obviously hasn’t been working, but Buck mentions Eddie anyway in the spirit of full transparency.

He writes briefly about how the newcomer at the station gives him butterflies and that he believes their courtship is a good one. Buck doesn’t want Abby to think he’s not being taken care of and if Buck can manage it, he has every intention of repairing what he’s broken with Eddie.

Finally, he finishes his letter by saying that he’ll move out of her place as soon as possible and hand over the keys to the apartment complex for safekeeping. It’s just another thing he will have to deal with shortly, but not something he wasn’t anticipating.

Buck wishes Abby well in her travels and her life, signs his name, and drops it in the mailbox.

By the time Maddie returns home that evening, he’s got himself curled up on the couch with Chris’ teddy bear in one hand and Eddie’s t-shirt in the other. Both scent tokens are held close to his face, allowing him to inhale as much as he wants in order to give himself some much needed comfort.

“Oh, Evan…”

She sits on the couch next to him, not hesitating to run a soothing hand through his curls like she did when he was sick as a child.

The loving gesture from his big sister pulls an ugly sob from him and she silently responds by grabbing a fluffy blanket off the back of the couch and wrapping it around Buck before pulling him fully against her side.

It feels like being a little kid again.

“I broke things off with Abby today,” he sniffles into her shoulder. “I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to tell you first. It— uh, it means we’re both going to need a new place to stay.”

Maddie shakes her head dismissively, like it’s no big deal that she’s about to lose her temporary residence in Abby’s home too.

“I’m not worried about it. I started looking at some other options once I realized we were living in your soon-to-be ex-girlfriend’s apartment. ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ didn’t exactly paint the picture of a stable relationship even before your boycrush, Eddie, came along.”

Buck shoots her an unamused look for that. She knows him better than he knows himself, but she doesn’t have to be so smug about it.

“Does that mean you’re planning to stick around then?” he asks, afraid of what he’ll do if she once again claims to just be passing through.

Another three years without his sister sounds like hell.

She hesitates for only a moment before answering with, “I want to stay here and be a part of your life. Maybe even put down some roots again. This is where I belong… with my family, Evan.”

“What about Doug? You said that things with him got worse. If staying here puts you in danger…”

Her scent turns sour.

It does that everytime Buck brings up his sister’s husband, but he still hasn’t gotten the full story from her. Her safety is more important than his personal feelings about having his sister nearby though and he can’t ask her to stay if it will hurt her.

“The asshole who kept me from my baby brother when you needed me and threatened to kill me if I left him? I couldn’t care less what happens to Doug. We’re done. Besides, I don’t think he even knows that you live here. That means he would’ve had to pay attention to anything I told him,” Maddie explains with a shaky exhale that says she’s about to cry with him if he pushes this conversation any further.

Another time then.

Buck moves the blanket to cover both of them, wrapping his arms around Maddie’s side and returning the comfort she’d offered him. They’re both a mess it seems.

“I’m so proud of you, Mads. I don’t want you to leave again. I want you to stay in L.A. where I can protect you. If Doug comes looking, I’ll kill him myself. I don’t care if he’s an alpha. He hurt my sister. And— and I can help you get a nursing job at one of the hospitals—”

She cuts him off with a quick shake of her head and he panics for a moment that she’s rejecting his offer to rebuild their relationship.

“No. I really miss helping people, but I can’t do that job everyday. Looking over my shoulder and wondering who’s walking in that door. I actually… may have also looked into the L.A. dispatcher training program today,” she admits.

“You did?” Buck asks, too much surprise in his voice. He clears his throat and tries again, this time making sure he sounds pleased with her decision, “You did? That— that’s awesome, Maddie.”

She nods in agreement, her eyes looking too wet still.

“It’s a new start and I think it will be good for me to focus on other people’s problems for a while.” Maddie lets out a watery laugh. “So what about you? You finally broke up with Abby. That was a big decision. Does this mean things are going well with Eddie?”

He also almost managed to forget his own troubles for the moment in the face of Maddie’s larger ones.

Buck winces at the memory of Eddie’s heartbroken face that morning and the guilt comes rushing back to him.

“I fucked up pretty badly,” he confesses in a shamed whisper.

She seems unsurprised. Maybe his crying and pathetic curling up on the couch was a dead giveaway to how he was doing.

“Okay, well, how are you going to fix it then? Do you have a plan yet?”

“I don’t know. I think I really hurt Eddie’s feelings and I’m not sure how to show him that I do want this… He’s a good alpha and I want to be his mate, but I’m scared,” Buck explains, running his hands nervously over the teddy bear and t-shirt that have fallen into his lap now.

Maddie’s gaze locks onto them and her sad eyes are full of sympathy.

“You’re in love with him already, aren’t you?"

He bites his lip to hold back another ugly sob and nods.

Without caring about how embarrassing he’s being in front of his sister, Buck brings the scent tokens back to his face and pulls his knees up on the couch, making himself as small as possible. It’s not easy with his stature, but he manages. A cheap imitation of what he actually needs.

Maddie’s fingers return to the top of his head, gently detangling his curls.

“Evan,” she practically whispers, trying to get his attention. He hums in acknowledgement. “Honey, you know you’re allowed to build a nest again, right?”

A sound of pure anguish leaves his throat.

He hasn’t built a nest since his first heat where Margaret Buckley had promptly destroyed it and made her feelings on the matter quite clear. If Buck wasn’t going to be a proper omega, he might as well not be one at all.

“I can’t…”

“She’s not here to criticize it or tear it down,” Maddie responds, as if she can read his mind. “Nobody will take that from you if you need it.”

She still lived at home when Buck presented as an omega. He was fairly young and it was shortly before Maddie moved out to be with Doug. The whole family was well aware of the cloud of shame that descended over the household when it happened.

An omega’s first heat is a combination of agitation, fever, and seeking comfort.

There was nothing sexual about the changes happening to him and Buck had only wanted to feel at ease in his too-tight skin when he instinctively pulled the pillows and blankets from his bed to the floor of his closet in order to create a rudimentary nest.

Buck then stole a few choice pieces of clothing from his parents and sister, not caring about their monetary value when he tucked them messily into the open spaces of his first and only nest.

His mother and father had been furious when they found him and they stripped it all away. They'd been so disgusted with his designation that they took the bare bones of the nest he’d created and commanded him to never attempt such an abomination ever again in their household.

He’d been devastated by the loss.

Since then, Buck had learned to get by without one. The shame they instilled in him about being an omega and becoming bound by his desires never fully went away. Sure, he learned to embrace some select parts of his secondary gender.

He enjoyed sex. Maybe even a little too much for a while there, but it helped him accept that his own body could be desirable for others.

His instincts were sometimes an asset at the 118, helping him track down injured pups by scent alone and keep them safe when his omegan nature gave him an extra boost of strength from his desire to protect.

There were advantages to being an omega. Buck just didn’t allow himself to enjoy all of them. He doesn’t deserve it.

“I don’t need it,” Buck lies.

“Okay.”

Maddie begins shrugging off her cardigan without challenging or even otherwise acknowledging his claim. She hands it to him and he accepts it silently with shaking hands, adding it to the handful of scents he’s grasping tightly.

Before he can hug her, she’s up and moving about the apartment.

Maddie disappears into Buck’s bedroom (it was Abby’s bedroom, but it doesn’t even smell like her anymore) and returns a short while later with a couple of feather pillows from the bed and a thick comforter.

Buck doesn’t speak, doesn’t dare ruin the moment that’s happening between them with something as insulting as insufficient words of thanks.

He accepts each item as his sister brings them to him, tucking them around the couch until he has an amalgamation of familiar scents and textures cocooned around him, easing both his tense body and troubled mind with the softness and comfort they provide.

Maddie doesn’t enter or even touch his nest without permission, simply handing him things and letting him decide where they belong. She’s a smart alpha and she knows better than to intrude on Buck’s personal safe corner, even if they are family.

And once it finally feels right, Buck extends a hand in invitation, placing Maddie where she belongs in the nest too.

They hold one another tight, the Buckley siblings reunited and safe for the first time in many years. After everything they’ve been through, they’ve found home once more.

“You’re a good sister, Mads.”

“I love you too.”

Buck spends days agonizing over what to say to Eddie when he sees him again.

He practices his speech in the bathroom more than a few times, telling the mirror exactly how he feels about the alpha and declaring his intentions to the towel rack until he can articulate himself without stuttering over every other word.

There are sentiments of genuine affection in every version that he composes, explanations for Buck’s hang-ups, and all the reasons he wants to be with Eddie.

Buck is prepared to make amends.

But when the time finally comes for their next shift together, Eddie doesn’t give him a single opening.

There are no courting gifts waiting in front of his locker or at the dining table. Eddie doesn’t seek him out in the weight room or even acknowledge his presence more than a curt nod of greeting in the morning when they have a pre-shift huddle with Cap.

For all intents and purposes, Buck is basically ignored.

As the shift goes on, the lack of usual warmth and affection he’s come to expect from his field partner starts to wear him down. Of course Eddie still talks to him during calls and communicates when it’s necessary to their job, but that’s all it is: necessary communication.

No petnames, no touching, and no longing glances.

Every non-work related conversation Buck tries to start with the man is met with a blank stare or Eddie’s back as he walks away. It stings a lot more than he thought it would.

Buck is even beginning to think he imagined the events of the past week until Chim passes by him after yet another awkward failed interaction with Eddie and comments under his breath, “Wow, it sure is icy around here today. I should’ve worn my mittens.”

He’s right. Eddie is basically icing Buck out. His undelivered and over-prepared speech does fuck-all for repairing the cracks between them, least of all because now they’ve widened into a chasm.

It’s frustrating beyond belief and he finds himself wiping away bitter tears from the corner of his eyes before they can fall.

By the end of their shift, Buck is almost grateful for the high priority call about a man with a detonated grenade in his leg. Obviously it’s not ideal for the grenade guy, but it’s something to occupy his hands and mind and even pass the remaining time.

Apparently the unfortunate man is a collector of military memorabilia and he touched something he wasn’t supposed to when he was cleaning the practice round. Buck isn’t that interested in all the weaponry talk, even if Eddie looks mildly intrigued.

The femoral artery bleed is much cooler if you ask Buck.

He’s also fairly sure the medical emergency aspect of the call will get him out of riding in the ambulance with Eddie since both Chim and Hen are more skilled paramedics than he is… at least until Bobby ruins things for him with his meddling.

“Buck, I want you to travel with him to the hospital. Keep him stable.”

Buck resists the urge to roll his eyes at the obvious set-up. Bobby is his captain and disrespect does not fly, even if Cap is purposely putting the two of them in a small space together.

“Copy that, Cap,” he grumbles.

“Hey, you gotta learn how to play nice. It’s one team, Buck.”

The omega huffs at the reminder that should be directed at a different member of the team, but pulls himself up into the ambulance where Eddie and ‘Charlie the grenade guy’ are waiting without any further argument.

Bobby promises their patient that he’s in good hands with them and then closes the doors, leaving the three of them trapped in what feels an awful lot like hell on earth to Buck.

“I guess you’ve seen a lot of shrapnel wounds,” Buck comments idly, doing anything to break the silence as he begins assessing the status of the leg wound in front of him.

“My share,” Eddie answers shortly before continuing to work as if Buck’s not even there.

He’s still acting like giving the omega more than a couple syllables might kill him. If Eddie continues pretending as if he didn’t confess his love for Buck just a few short days ago, Buck may actually kill him.

“You ever seen a guy with a length of rebar stuck through his skull?” he asks. It might be a threat as much as it is a question.

Eddie’s calm facade finally cracks and Buck almost cheers aloud.

“What are we measuring here, Buck?”

The implication sends a hot blush to his face. There’s no competing with an alpha in the field he’s suggesting. Buck may be ‘well-endowed’ by omega standards, but that’s not saying much when Eddie is an alpha. A hot-blooded, physically fit, relatively young, and very attractive alpha.

Alphas as a designation have notoriously sizeable cocks and impressive knots to match, designed by nature to be optimal breeding machines. He has no doubt that Eddie isn’t an exception to the rule, even if Buck lacks the proof to back that assumption up… yet.

Charlie groans, breaking the mood.

“Am I interrupting something?” he questions them.

Panicked by the fact that he almost forgot about their patient, Buck responds, “He’s got a Silver Star.”

It’s not his most eloquent response, but Charlie groans louder, this time obviously in pain and it gets both their attention back on the patient once more.

“Need to change those dressings. They’re soaking through,” Eddie tells him offhandedly.

Buck grabs fresh supplies from the shelf obediently, intending to change out the bloody ones. He doesn’t need the guy hemorrhaging out before they get to the hospital. It would probably just make Eddie’s stupid face more smug.

“I’m just saying, working the streets of L.A. is not exactly stress free. May not be the same kind of pressure you have in a war zone, but…”

Charlie grabs at his dressing and Eddie reacts quickly to stop him.

“Oh, come on,” he says in exasperation. Then a heavy pause as the alpha leans in closer to the exposed wound, assessing it thoroughly. “Hold on. I thought you said this was a practice round.”

Charlie confirms, “It is.”

Eddie’s intense gaze is locked on the mangled leg and he actually looks scared now. Buck's never seen him so visibly shaken. That realization jolts any pettiness out of Buck and he struggles to find the cause for Eddie’s fear.

“Uh, what-what-what’s going on?” Buck stutters out.

His heart is racing because he knows if Eddie’s panicking he probably should be too.

“You see that cap?” Eddie points. “Practice rounds have blue caps. Gold caps are live.”

Ah, shit.

“Pull over!”

None of this was in Buck's speech.

Chapter Text

One long explanation from Eddie about the difference with live rounds and how they fire, a frantic call to the bomb squad, and a scan of Charlie’s leg later… Buck doesn’t feel any better about the present circumstances.

Unfortunately, witnessing Eddie’s confidence in his area of expertise also reignites Buck’s desire for the alpha once more.

Despite the man’s obvious plan to continue mostly ignoring him, something about the alpha speaking so knowledgeably on a subject Buck knows little about is admittedly, frustratingly, hot.

It’s sort of like the excitement of reading a cool new fun fact on a popsicle stick, except the ‘popsicle stick’ could be bending Buck over and fucking him into the ground right now if only Eddie would just stop being so damn stubborn.

Buck really does try to focus on the situation at hand, but it’s difficult.

He’s only human. An omega with needs, at that.

It’s not until the bomb squad outright refuses to help them that it fully clicks how Eddie’s intelligence is also a fucking curse.

They’re going to send Eddie in to handle the extraction of a live grenade. Eddie— who is retired from the military and has no business being the one to handle explosives that could keep him from returning home to his pup— definitely should not be the one pulling a grenade out of this man’s leg.

But the moment Eddie says, “I can do it,” Buck already knows he’s got no choice but to dive in right after him.

If Eddie’s volunteering to take on this potentially fatal mission, then they’re going in together. Not exactly how Buck was planning to resolve their differences, but maybe it’s an opportunity he can’t waste.

“I’m in,” Buck speaks up.

Bobby gives him an unsure look, which Buck was more than expecting.

He’s not expecting the subtle glare from Eddie’s direction, but he accepts that too. A pissed off reaction is better than no reaction at all. It’s more emotion than he’s shown to Buck all day, so it’s a win.

If Eddie thinks he’s going to get out of courting Buck by dying, he’s got another thing coming.

“See you inside,” Eddie grumbles as he passes by Buck.

The alpha’s already suited up and has his instructions on how to proceed with the extraction. Apparently he doesn’t feel like waiting a whole extra thirty seconds to just wait for his field partner.

Jackass.

Buck sighs, going to follow him, but he’s intercepted by Cap.

Naturally, Bobby is going to attempt to talk Buck out of it once they finally have a moment alone. Not entirely surprising considering he treats Buck like his own son and worries about him just the same, but his mind is already fully made up.

“Alright listen, Buck. You don’t have to do this. You have nothing to prove to anyone.”

There’s no way that Bobby hasn’t noticed the unresolved tension between Buck and Eddie all day, but he’s been polite enough not to ask or comment on it, unlike the rest of the station.

Still, he’s the one who insisted that Buck give his field partner a chance off the field too.

“You think I’m gonna let the new guy have all the fun? Besides, you wanted us to bond one way or another. We might end up real close,” he jokes.

Bobby does not look amused by Buck’s jokes, but he doesn’t argue either. He nods, gives the omega a grimacing smile and fatherly clap on the back, then lets him continue on his way to the ambulance.

The omega finishes securing his own protective gear in place just as he reaches Eddie. They all know a measly bulletproof vest isn’t going to do shit if the grenade actually goes off, but it’s nice that they can pretend it offers some real protection.

Just before they enter the ambulance together, Eddie stops him by grabbing his shoulder to get his attention. Buck gives the alpha a deadpan stare in return, payback for earlier.

“Cap’s right, you shouldn’t be doing this. I have experience and I know what I’m getting myself into here, but there’s no reason for you to follow me into this mess. It’s too dangerous, Buck.”

Buck shoots Eddie his signature cocky Buck 1.0 smile.

The last thing he’s going to do is let an alpha tell him what he can and cannot do. Especially one who’s been ignoring him all day.

He also knows that if he waits on the sidelines for this he’ll be powerless to help Eddie. Buck will be worrying about the alpha the entire time regardless. Inside, he can at least be of some assistance.

The choice is clear.

“You’re my partner. I go where you go and if you want to argue about that, save it for later when we actually have the time. For now, you do your job and I’ll do mine. Let’s just try our best not to get blown up today, Probie.”

Buck doesn’t allow himself to dwell too much on the secretly amused expression on Eddie’s face as they enter the ambulance once more.

Whatever game the alpha has been playing, his fondness for Buck is still showing through.

“How ya feeling there, Charlie?” Eddie greets their patient once again.

Buck can tell Eddie’s slightly nervous, even with the confident front he’s putting on for their present company. It’s understandable. After all, Buck himself also feels his blood pounding faster in his ears.

“Like a world-class idiot. My wife, if she was still alive, she’d be here now saying ‘I told you so.’ Well, maybe she’ll be able to tell me in person in about a minute,” he laments.

They both wince at Charlie’s lack of optimism.

“Well, that conversation’s gonna have to wait. Nobody’s leaving this life tonight,” Buck assures him chippily.

He means it.

There’s no way he’s letting his well-rehearsed bathroom speech go to waste after all the effort he put into it. Eddie’s gonna hear Buck out if it’s the last thing they do, which means the last thing they do can’t be this.

“Start the drip,” Eddie tells Buck as he primes a bag of saline to hang. “What branch did you say you were in, Charlie?”

Buck follows his orders whilst silently admiring the way Eddie continues to make small talk even during their dangerous mission, doing what he can to distract all of them from the fact they’re face-to-face with a deadly grenade.

“I didn’t. I always wanted to be a marine. I tried to enlist during ‘Nam, but I was 4F, an enlarged heart. So instead, I spent the last forty years teaching seventh grade.”

Ah, so Charlie chose a different war to fight. Middle schoolers may rival enemy soldiers in terms of ruthlessness. Brave man.

Eddie politely tells him, “See there, Charlie? Not all heroes serve on the battlefield.”

“That’s very kind of you to say that.”

Poor guy. His head rolls back and they both know the clock is ticking.

Buck catches the alpha’s eye, making sure they’re both on the same page about starting the hardest part of their task. They have to be in sync now or all three of them are going to suffer the same explosive fate.

“You ready?” Eddie asks with a piercing look.

“Yeah.”

Buck licks his lips, trying to slow down his brain and force himself to focus. There’s no room for error here and he’s not just worried about his own survival here if he fucks something up.

He carefully lifts the blood soaked dressings from the wound, allowing them to properly visualize the round in Charlie’s leg once again.

“He’s losing a lot of blood,” Buck states.

“Keep pressure on it.”

Buck follows his orders by framing the wound with both hands and pressing down, but apparently not well enough for control freak Eddie.

“Not— not too much pressure. There it is,” the alpha directs Buck as he adjusts his hands accordingly.

Once it’s to Eddie’s satisfaction, he begins the actual extraction.

They both stare intently at the place where Eddie’s attempting to remove the grenade. He’s got a good grip on it now, but it’s not going nearly fast enough for Buck to feel overly confident about their chances of survival yet.

Every single second feels like a lifetime, a silent countdown.

“Alright. So— so pull it out. Come on.”

He doesn’t mean to rush Eddie, but the sooner they can be done with this, the sooner he can yell at Eddie in private for being a jerk all day. Not being near an active round would also be nice.

“I got to… be careful,” Eddie explains through clenched teeth. “The sensor measures the distance traveled based on how many rotations the shell made after the launch. The key is not to turn the shell while we pull it out.”

The way Eddie manages to keep his cool despite the lines of sweat dripping down his face and the tense muscles of his arms straining in an effort to safely keep his hold on the grenade… Well, it locks something firmly into place for Buck.

Buck can admit it: he’s impressed.

And he really wants to mate with Eddie.

It doesn’t hurt that Eddie’s sweating straight through his military grade department-issued blockers and his musky alpha scent is filling up the whole ambulance, sending heavy doses of warmth and comfort straight to Buck’s omega forebrain.

He tries not to breathe too deeply, lest he become accidentally intoxicated on the job.

“Okay, yeah, so don’t turn it. You got this,” he encourages the alpha.

Buck’s calm now matches Eddie’s own even temper, courtesy of the hit of alpha scent.

“Gonna have to just… a bit…” It finally pulls free. “Get the box.”

Buck holds out the specially reinforced container and watches anxiously as Eddie carefully places the grenade inside. They both let out a shaky exhale in unison when it’s safely in place and the lid is closed.

The triumph of their victory has him looking up to see Eddie’s eyes locked on his. Their faces are already so close, tempting him, but he knows this isn’t the right time.

They’re not done yet.

Getting Charlie out of the ambulance and away from the grenade happens in a matter of seconds. Now that their goal is accomplished, he can be taken into the hospital and the doctors can attend to his wound properly.

If he’s lucky, he’ll even get to keep his leg.

When two other paramedics take over pushing Charlie’s stretcher, the air is clear again. After the crash in adrenaline from the life and death situation, it’s a bit like floating untethered to anything.

They both remove their bloodied gloves and bulletproof vests in unison and then Buck stands there, wondering whether he should try to start a conversation with Eddie about what just happened.

The alpha beats him to it with an unrestrained smile on his face.

“You’re a badass under pressure, baby,” Eddie states like it’s an inarguable fact.

Oh. Alright then. Not only is Eddie apparently speaking to Buck outside of work-related things again, but the affectionate petnames are suddenly back too.

An interesting development. A potentially promising one too.

“Me?” Buck can’t help but chirp with pride.

Hearing the praise from someone as skilled as Eddie feels like a genuine compliment. Buck was faking at least half of his confidence in that ambulance and relying on Eddie’s own bravery for the other half.

“Hell yeah. You can have my back any day.”

He only hesitates for a moment at that.

No one else is close enough to them to fully hear their conversation and there’s no time like the present. If Eddie rejects him, Buck can even go home after this since their shift ended already.

It’s now or never.

“Yeah. Or, y’know, you could… you could have mine. As my mate?”

Eddie’s eyes widen dramatically and his mouth hangs open, processing the statement with obvious shock.

The alpha lets out a nervous laugh after a moment, but Buck can tell it’s not at his expense. He watches patiently as Eddie runs through a wide range of emotions from skeptical to pleasantly surprised before finally settling on an expression of hopefulness.

Maybe Buck hasn’t ruined things yet.

“You really mean that?” Eddie almost whispers.

“Yeah, Eds. I thought it over like— like you told me to and I know what I want now. So I’m accepting your courtship. I want to be your omega— if the offer still stands, that is…”

He can’t contain the shy smile that fights to break out across his face.

Buck’s laying his heart on the line and it’s the scariest thing he’s ever done. He would rather remove ten more active grenades than confess his feelings, knowing Eddie has the power to destroy him with a few words.

He doesn’t though.

“I’d love that more than anything, sweetheart.”

Eddie takes a step closer and his eyes go soft as he gently cups the omega’s cheek. Buck knows he’s finally going to kiss him and he can’t be bothered to care who even sees it. He leans in, his own eyes fluttering closed as he anticipates the feeling of finally being kissed by the man he’s embarrassingly in love with.

“Ahem.”

Except Bobby clears his throat before their lips ever meet, shocking them both into freezing in place. They don’t move very far apart, but they create polite distance, not touching anymore.

Their captain apparently witnessed their latest interaction and there’s no getting out of the conversation this time.

“Nice work, fellas. I’m glad you both made it out of there in one piece and apparently with some good news to share too,” he laughs at their matching expressions of embarrassment.

Buck swallows down his mortification. He knows Bobby won’t hold it over him. At least not forever. It’s not like he can talk since Buck’s caught the subtle glances between his father figure and Officer Grant. Buck’s just been nice enough to wait for an official announcement from them.

“The guy’s a professional, Cap. I was never really worried. About the grenade or… or about us.”

Eddie gives Buck a sappy look of adoration right as the grenade blows up the ambulance behind them, sending metal shrapnel and fire through the sky and around the parking lot.

Whoops. Maybe they just had good timing then.

It’s actually funny how even with the explosion always looming over them, Buck had never felt truly unsafe because he was with Eddie.

“You guys hungry? Because I’m starving. Buck, why don’t we go talk about dinner… somewhere else,” Eddie says nervously, clearly trying to give the two of them an excuse to be alone together.

Bobby gives them a meaningful look before gesturing towards the empty truck on the other side of the parking lot.

“I remember what it was like to be young and in love, so you’ve got about fifteen minutes before we’ll all be on the truck again and headed back to the station. Use those fifteen minutes wisely and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Just— just don't repeat the probie Buck truck situation, please. I already filed all the paperwork about your courting with HR this morning, but you still have to follow the county rules about proper conduct on shift.”

Buck’s grabbing hold of Eddie’s arm and ushering them both towards the truck before Bobby’s even done speaking. Their captain basically just gave them permission to fool around in the firetruck and they aren’t going to waste it.

He mentally files away Bobby’s comment about already filing their HR paperwork for later, but he’s not entirely surprised. He and Eddie might’ve been a little too obvious.

The line between hate and love is razor-thin for them.

“I really want to know what the ‘probie Buck truck situation’ is, but I’m afraid to even ask at this point,” Eddie tells him as they’re climbing into the truck and shutting the doors behind them.

Buck doesn’t want an audience for the things he plans to do with Eddie. They’ll try to behave enough not to do anything too scandalous, but hormones are running wild and Buck can’t make any promises.

It’s not like Bobby fired Buck for long last time and that was back when his captain barely tolerated him.

He practically pushes Eddie into his seat before situating himself right on the alpha’s lap shamelessly. What’s the use in pretending when he knows he’ll end up there anyways?

“Oh, I stole the firetruck twice as a probie to have crazy sexcapades and I got fired for like half a day when I got caught,” he explains quickly.

Eddie presses a soft kiss to his throat, dangerously close to his bonding gland.

“Twice?”

Buck giggles at the scandalized tone. He knows that Buck 1.0 was a whole experience that can’t be easily explained to newcomers. Maybe it’s for the best that Eddie wasn’t around for that version of him.

He probably would’ve chewed Eddie up and spit him out. Forget a courting, Buck would’ve just ridden him ‘til the wheels fell off.

“Yeah. I learned my lesson though and Bobby forgave me for it eventually. Any more questions?” Buck’s own question ends with a small gasp when Eddie lightly nips at his throat where he’d just been kissing.

He’s going to have the prettiest bruise there tomorrow.

“Honey, I have so many, but I think they can wait until later when I don’t have a lapful of beautiful omega practically begging for me,” Eddie says as his hands move to hold Buck’s hips in a firm grip.

More marks. Eddie’s staking his claim on his omega.

The urge to grind down against Eddie and find some friction is strong, but that feels a bit too premature considering they’ve yet to even kiss or fully clear the air between them.

Shit. They’ve still not kissed.

Buck grabs Eddie’s face with both hands, pulling him away from his neck so they’re at eye level once more.

“Kiss me,” he demands.

Eddie, patient alpha that he is, doesn’t tease Buck for his rudeness or tell him that an omega has no right to be giving out orders the way he is. He instead leans in, pressing their foreheads together so they’ve no choice but to slow their breathing to match one another.

“I love you, Buck.”

This time, it’s not said as he’s walking away and leaving Buck behind. Eddie doesn’t sound like the confession is being painfully dragged out of him. The words don’t make Buck nauseous or have him questioning what he’s doing with his life and whether he deserves to hear them.

This time, Eddie’s declaration of love is perfect, the timing is right, and it’s accompanied by a kiss so soft that Buck wonders whether he’s actually been kissed by anyone else before this.

He practically melts into the gentleness of Eddie’s affections.

It only lasts that way for a moment and then Eddie’s deepening the press of their lips, stealing the air from Buck’s lungs with the way he’s easily taking control of the kiss and leaving Buck feeling inexperienced and off balance.

Buck may be an omega, but he’s never had someone else take control in bed. His partners had always expected him to be in charge as the bigger partner, so he had been.

Omega or not, Buck’s never been asked to submit.

Eddie’s not even giving him a choice. He’s taking what he wants (what they both want) and making sure Buck knows who the alpha in the relationship is.

Buck might be addicted to the feeling already.

He moans into the kiss when Eddie grips his chin, keeping him firmly in place as he thumbs the omega’s bottom lip down and his mouth open. The alpha’s tongue wastes no time acquainting itself with Buck’s, exploring the crevices of his mouth with enthusiasm.

The powerlessness Buck feels does something new to his head.

It’s dizzying, but not in an unpleasant or concerning way. He doesn’t feel like he’s going to pass out per se. It’s more like stepping off a roller coaster and not knowing how to work his legs anymore. Exciting and thrilling and completely off balance all the same.

When Eddie finally breaks the kiss, there’s a line of spit connecting their mouths. Buck can’t help but find it a little charming when Eddie licks it up midair.

His pussy throbs at the subtle demonstration of how Eddie’s good with his tongue. He wonders whether his mate-to-be will put his mouth to good use elsewhere.

“You okay there, sweetheart? Still with me?”

Buck nods, a dopey smile on his face that he can’t quite shake. He’s sitting on Eddie’s lap, getting kissed by him. It’s everything he could ask for at the moment.

“Uh-huh.”

The alpha chuckles affectionately, leaning in once again so their noses bump one another.

“Y’know, just because we finally kissed doesn’t mean I forgive you for following me into such a dangerous situation today,” Eddie comments off-handedly. “Was it really worth putting your life at risk to prove a point?”

Drama queen.

Buck scoffs at the accusation.

“What do you mean? That wasn’t dangerous at all.”

Eddie shakes his head in disbelief, swatting lightly at Buck’s ass and surprising him into letting out an unmanly squeak. He might’ve liked that more than he’s willing to admit to anyone.

“Just because we lived doesn’t mean it wasn’t dangerous,” he reminds the omega.

“Well, I don't know about you, but I was with my alpha,” Buck argues matter-of-factly. He watches as Eddie’s eyes soften in realization of what he’s implying. Every word is the truth. “I meant what I told Bobby about not being worried. You wouldn’t have let anything happen to me, Eddie. You love me.”

Eddie gives the omega that adoring look once more that says Buck chose correctly.

“I really do.”

Buck swallows hard.

His rehearsed speech has basically been thrown out the window in the face of their unexpected circumstances today, but there are words he hasn’t spoken yet. Words that Eddie needs to hear in order for them to be on the same page.

“That's good because… I happen to love you too. I would’ve told you that this morning, but you were being a jerk all shift and avoiding me.”

Eddie doesn’t miss a beat.

“You mean kind of like how you were a jerk to me for my whole first shift, Buck?” he asks sarcastically, his bright smile betraying his true feelings about Buck’s confession. There’s no real animosity behind his words. “At least it wasn't your first day on the job.”

Oops, yeah. Buck had probably earned Eddie’s behavior after the way he tormented the alpha relentlessly on his first day.

“Oh, so you’re admitting that you did it on purpose?” Buck accuses with a finger pressed against Eddie’s chest.

The alpha just gently grabs his wrist to pull it away, then intertwines their fingers so they’re holding hands instead.

Sappy romantic shit.

Buck loves it.

“Sort of. I— uh, mostly just wanted to give you space to work things out on your own and not force you into anything you didn’t want. You were sending me some very mixed signals and I figured if you weren’t interested, then it was better to keep things professional between us since we’d still be working together.”

That actually makes a lot more sense, even if Buck personally hated Eddie putting up a wall between them all day. He thought Buck indecisiveness was a rejection and didn’t want to push his boundaries.

So chivalrous. Or whatever.

“And if I was interested?” he asks curiously.

“I'd do this, of course.”

Eddie leans in for another kiss, but this one doesn’t linger. He drags his mouth across Buck’s cheek to find his jawline instead, pressing light kisses all over his neck and around his mating gland that make the omega chirp contentedly.

He instinctively tilts his head to give Eddie full access, not caring how inappropriate it is to allow an imitation of a mating bite ritual in public like this.

“You really thought I wasn't interested?” Buck questions pointedly through a whine of pleasure.

Eddie answers between kisses, his words spoken right into the omega's heated skin, “I thought maybe I was—” Kiss. “—pressuring you into our courting. You said you were—” Peck. “—still with Abby and I was worried that—” Smooch. “—what we had was all in my head.”

It takes him a moment to piece together Eddie’s full explanation, in no part helped by the many physical distractions.

Buck starts to laugh out loud, jarring the alpha from his current task enough to sit upright and give him a questioning look. Eddie probably thinks he’s lost his mind.

“I went home after we spoke in the parking lot and officially broke up with Abby so I could stop feeling guilty for being in love with you too. I honestly thought she’d come back for me eventually, but you made me realize that wasn’t love, Eddie. Our relationship had been over for months, I just couldn’t see it. What we have is different and it’s already made me so much happier than I’ve ever been,” Buck confesses. “So if it’s ‘all in your head,’ then it’s in mine too.”

Eddie gives him a lop-sided grin, looking very proud of himself.

“Great, so you’re saying we’re both insane… Now why are we laughing again?”

Oh right.

Buck groans at the reminder of what’s half funny and half annoying about the Abby situation.

“I have to go apartment shopping because of you. I was a live-in house-sitter for Abby while she was away, so now I’ve got no place to stay. Do you have any concept of how hard it is to get a half-decent place in Los Angeles when your credit is shit?” he groans. “I’ll probably be driving three hours to work every day.”

“Move in with me then.”

He’s sure he misheard Eddie. There’s no way.

“What?”

Eddie takes both Buck’s hands in his own and looks him in the eye, leveling the omega with a sincere look when he repeats himself.

“I want you to move in with me.”

Buck doesn’t get past opening his mouth to protest before Eddie’s barreling onward.

“What’s the point in signing a new lease on some place that you won’t be living in anyway? I’m the reason you have to move and you said you wanted to accept my courtship offer, right?”

He nods begrudgingly. Technically Eddie is correct.

“Yeah, but—”

“Then let’s make this easier on everyone, honey. Move in with Christopher and me. What’s the point in waiting a little longer just to make you move twice? I want you as close to me as possible, Buck. I want you watching TV with me on the couch every night, I want your clothes hanging next to mine in our closet, and I want you laying beside me in our bed so I can sleep soundly knowing you’re safe with me. I want all of it because I love you, sweetheart.”

If this is what it feels like to be truly wanted, Buck doesn’t think he’ll ever get tired of it. Nobody has ever openly told him that they want him to be close to them.

Normally, it’s Buck clinging desperately as everyone else gets tired of him and finds polite ways to shake him off.

“You’re sure that’s really what you want?” he asks in a whisper. The vulnerability makes him feel small. “You won’t regret this later once I’m actually in your space and annoying you all the time? I can be really messy, Eds. I leave laundry in the dryer for days at a time when I forget about it and I don’t always remember to soak the dirty pots and pans after I cook.”

Buck doesn't want to start getting excited about this if Eddie isn’t confident it’s really what he wants.

“Buck, you—”

The alpha begins to speak, but he cuts himself off abruptly and his face lights up like he’s suddenly remembered something very important. Then he’s letting go of Buck’s hands to reach beneath his own shirt collar until he pulls out a metallic chain with something silver at the end.

It takes a moment for him to realize that Eddie has his dog tags in his grasp.

He watches in silent curiosity as the man carefully takes them off his own neck and holds them out towards Buck in his open palm as an offering.

The last courting present to an omega is traditionally fine jewelry, the most serious and expensive gift that signifies a formal mating proposal. After the long day they had together, Buck honestly forgot that Eddie never actually officially proposed to him.

“Buck, baby… I know it’s not a big fancy ring or diamond bracelet like you deserve, but I want to give you my dog tags as a token of my devotion to you. I don’t have a lot of money and I can’t say that things will always be easy for us, but I promise to love you every single day and fight like hell to keep you. I promise to care for you, protect you, and cherish you, no matter what. I’ve been through hell before, but being with you is the first time I've been able to glimpse heaven. You are everything I’ve ever wanted and I’d be honored to be your alpha.”

His sentiments are beautiful and Buck wants so badly to accept the mating proposal, but there’s just one small problem.

“Did you mean for there to be a question in there somewhere, Eddie?” Buck reminds him with a cheeky smile.

Eddie blushes hard at that, but it doesn't dull his smile. He clearly just got too excited and forgot to actually say the key words to make things official.

“Marry me, Buck? Be my omega, my partner, and my bondmate.”

Buck nods excitedly, a few overwhelmed tears slipping out in his eagerness to convey just how happy Eddie’s mating proposal has made him. He didn’t think there would actually come a day that someone he loved would ask for forever.

There’s so much wrong with Buck, but none of it seems to matter in the face of the most right person asking to marry him.

“Yes. Yeah, of course I will!”

Eddie slips the chain around Buck’s neck and gently slips the cool metal beneath the omega’s shirt where it’s hidden close to his heart. When he’s satisfied with how it’s safely tucked away, Eddie grabs his face with both hands and kisses him once more.

It’s soft and sweet, breaking for a moment just for the alpha to tug him back into another one that’s entirely too much teeth from the way they both can’t stop smiling into it.

“I love you, Buck.”

He’ll never get sick of hearing that. Maybe Buck will ask Eddie to record a voice memo for him so he can listen to it any time he wants.

“I love you too, Eddie. I can’t wait to be yours.”

Engagements are just a formality when weddings and mating bites are the ‘true’ signs of marital commitment to the world, but it’s the sweetest formality Buck has ever taken part in.

By accepting Eddie’s courting presents and proposal, the dog tags mark him as Eddie’s intended omega. All he’s missing is an official bonding bite on his neck to seal the deal.

“You’re already mine,” Eddie counters, kissing Buck's neck once more. “But my bite right about here sure would look pretty on you.”

The concept of having Eddie’s permanent bite mark on him fuels Buck with renewed energy. He’s usually exhausted at the end of his shifts, especially a high stress one with urgent calls like today’s fiasco, but being in his fiancé's lap and wearing his dog tags— knowing that he’s loved— flips the correct switch in Buck’s omega brain and now he’s well aware of his proximity to his alpha’s cock.

It wouldn’t take much to press his body even closer against Eddie’s and kick things up a level from just their gentle kisses and hesitant touches.

He kisses Eddie again, throwing himself wholeheartedly into it in an attempt to distract the man enough so he can just grind against the alpha’s crotch in a subtle way.

Evidently, he’s not as subtle as he thinks he is because Eddie pushes him away gently and curls a hand around the back of Buck’s neck to keep his attention. The alpha gives him an amused look, evidently not too upset about Buck’s obvious scheming.

“We’ve only got about five minutes left until everyone else is back on this truck with us, baby. If you want to start something that we can’t finish, then you do it my way. Otherwise there will be consequences. Would you rather wait until later or do you want to show me you can follow instructions like a good boy?”

‘Good boy’ goes straight to his pussy.

“Wanna be your good boy,” he whines desperately, rocking his hips down in a desperate attempt to make contact with Eddie’s bulge once more.

Eddie tsks in disapproval, grabbing Buck’s chin and forcing him to look his alpha in the eye.

In return, Buck lets out a distressed whimper at being deprived from what he really wants.

“Use your words, Buck. I already told you what would happen if you couldn’t follow the rules. So let’s try this again, brat… Do I need to spank you or can you behave?” Eddie warns him.

Oh. That’s certainly an interesting threat.

Buck’s never been spanked before, but if Eddie’s the one offering to do it, he’s pretty sure he’d let his alpha try just about anything at least once. Maybe not right this minute though.

He swallows his frustrations, mustering the correct words to explain why he’s so horny that he might actually die.

“I need more, alpha.”

The primal honorific slips out, but Eddie looks like it’s the opposite of a problem for him. Buck plans to use that information for nefarious purposes later, but he already has a full agenda.

“I can’t wait until our shift is over. I’m pretty sure I’ll die before then. Please help me?” he begs.

Eddie raises a skeptical brow, clearly not believing Buck’s bullshit. Still, he puts on an overly sugary sweet voice to respond with, “Since you asked so nicely, I’ll give you a hand— or rather, a leg.”

The joke doesn’t make sense at first, but then Eddie takes hold of his waist and physically moves Buck’s entire body so he’s perched on the alpha’s thigh instead. A rush of blood quickly migrates south at the reminder that Eddie is strong enough to manhandle him like this with such ease.

Then Buck freezes up at the realization of what he’s expected to do.

His reaction is apparently highly amusing to Eddie who starts smirking in turn.

“Something wrong, sweetheart? You were all gung ho to get yourself off a second ago. Don’t tell me you’re getting shy on me now? I was expecting a show from you.”

There’s not enough time to tell Eddie to fuck off, apologize for being a brat again, and get off before the rest of the crew returns, so Buck speedruns the interaction and accepts the credibility of Eddie’s threat of ‘his way or no way at all.’

Eddie’s warm hands settle on his lower back, silently encouraging him to continue his earlier actions with the… change of scenery.

For the first time in maybe Buck’s entire life, he actually feels shy about a sexual encounter. Grinding down against Eddie with the intent of getting them both off was one thing. Being told to rut against his alpha’s leg like a bitch in heat is an entirely different challenge.

“You really want me to…?” Buck can’t even finish the sentence.

Eddie stares him down unflinchingly, making it clear that he’s already given his instructions and won’t be repeating himself.

Buck sighs, resigning himself to the inevitability of the demeaning display.

He leans down to wrap his arms around Eddie’s shoulders first though, smooshing his face right against the alpha’s so he doesn’t have to look him in the eye when he starts to rub his cunt wantonly on Eddie’s knee.

It would be significantly more mortifying if it didn’t feel so goddamn good.

The seam of his pants manages to press just right along his center, his leaking cocklette finding the perfect friction the harder Buck grinds down against his soon-to-be mate.

A breathy moan leaves his lips without permission and Eddie lets out a deep growl in response. Apparently Buck’s not the only one getting off on this, even if his alpha is just being used as the equivalent of a human scratching post.

“Fuck, you look so gorgeous like this,” Eddie comments low in his ear.

The scent neutralizers that he’d been sweating through earlier are clearly barely clinging to him for dear life because the truck is quickly smelling of musky arousal, making Buck’s own problems grow troublesome.

“You smell amazing,” Buck whines, turning his head slightly so he can run his nose along the sweat of Eddie’s hairline.

Eddie’s hands drift lower, grabbing his ass and pushing in sync with the omega’s frantic rutting to encourage him. If he keeps that up, Buck will finish with time to spare.

“That’s a real compliment coming from the one that smells like a batch of freshly baked cookies.” Eddie pauses to let out an almost pained groan. “Jesus, you’re slicking all over my pants, baby. Need it so badly that you’re leaving a puddle on me. How are you gonna explain that to everyone?”

Buck knows damn well that it’s too dark in the truck for anyone to notice a stain on Eddie’s dark pants, but the idea that they might see how well he’s marked his alpha with his slick is still appealing.

Eddie’s his alpha and everyone should know.

“I’m gonna—”

The hands on Buck’s ass are suddenly back on his waist, abruptly stopping him from moving once again. He was so close to finishing and now Eddie’s giving him a look of sympathy instead.

What the fuck?

“We ran out of time, so now we have to make ourselves presentable before we have company,” Eddie explains softly, obviously trying to be mindful of the fact that he just ruined Buck’s entire life. “Grab the neutralizer spray behind you.”

Buck’s eyes start to water, frustrated tears springing up as he processes what’s happening even as he follows Eddie’s instructions and hands him the spray.

“Eddie…”

The alpha sets aside the spray to wipe his thumbs underneath Buck’s eyes in an attempt to stop his tears before they start. It’s no use. His drop in hormones are fucking with his head and making the disappointment hard to cope with despite his own understanding of why they can’t continue right now.

“Oh, I know. I know how much you want it, honey. I’ve got you. We just have to clean up in here and then act normal until we make it back to the station. Can you do that for me, Buck?”

He bites his lip, wanting to put on a brave face despite how awful that sounds.

“And then shower?”

Eddie seems to understand what he’s asking.

“Yeah, we gotta shower when we get back. We’re gonna wash off all the grime and scent neutralizers, but then you know what’s going to happen after that, sweetheart?” Buck shakes his head pitifully. “I’m gonna take you home with me and show you how much I love you. Christopher is with my Tia Pepa tonight and I happen to have an empty bed where you belong.”

The alpha kisses him on the forehead sweetly. It soothes some of the ache.

Eddie grabs the neutralizer spray and gestures for Buck to stand up. He does so on shaky legs and allows his alpha to spray him down thoroughly before he sprays his own pants. It’s not long-lasting, but they keep it for emergency situations and it will hold out until they return to the station.

“Sit over here, baby.”

He obeys, tucking himself into the corner of the truck next to Eddie. It will keep him from having to interact with most of the team. Knowing Eddie, he’s just being possessive and trying to keep his omega away from anyone who might look at him too long.

That thought makes him incredibly pleased.

“What are you smiling about?” Eddie whispers, leaning against Buck’s side to maintain contact with him.

Anyone who comes in now won’t be able to tell what they were doing just a few short minutes ago, but Buck needs the constant reminder that Eddie loves him or he’s gonna start crying again.

“Thinking about you,” he confesses honestly.

Eddie takes Buck’s hand that’s sitting on the seat and intertwines their fingers once more, giving it a brief squeeze that says a lot without any words.

“Don’t think too hard or the neutralizers are going to wear off,” the alpha jokes. “Actually, speaking of neutralizers… Can you do something for me when you shower?”

Buck can’t wait to hear where this is going.

“Uh, sure?”

“Don’t wash between your legs,” Eddie states bluntly.

His eyes go wide in surprise. Not exactly what he was expecting Eddie to say. It’s really a good thing the truck is so dimly lit or the flush on his face would be much more noticeable.

“Why? I’m really we— I mean, you know why I need a shower right now,” he squeaks. “I can’t just leave it.”

Eddie chuckles, leaning over until his lips are brushing Buck’s reddened ear.

“Because it belongs to me. I earned that slick. You can wash everywhere else and I promise to scent you from head to toe as soon as I have you in my bed, but leave your cute little cock and pussy alone. I want them ready for me.”

It’s a very good thing that Eddie’s a trained medic because Buck’s fairly sure he’s going to have a heart attack any second from hearing his alpha talk about such vulgar things in such a sweet tone.

“That’s so gross,” he chokes out.

Eddie pecks his cheek.

“And yet you’re going to be my good omega and do it, aren’t you?”

He doesn’t make eye contact when he nods in agreement.

Buck keeps one hand in Eddie’s and the other over his heart, holding tightly to the alpha’s dog tags through his shirt for the entire ride back to the station.

It’s unusually quiet in the firetruck with none of the usual post-call chatter and Buck’s absolutely positive that Bobby must’ve told the rest of the team to shut up because they don’t make any comments about the sight of Eddie and Buck already cuddled up in the truck upon their arrival.

Beyond their curious looks, they behave themselves.

Buck is also well aware that he’s going to be in for a slew of questions, comments, and cat-calling when they’re back to work in a few days. He looks forward to celebrating with them once the news has settled a little more.

Tonight, he’s too amped up to do more than follow Eddie out of the truck and practically run towards the showers with him so they can scrub down as quickly as possible and change into fresh clothing.

They both agreed to make sure to get every hint of neutralizer off them, knowing what their plans are for the evening.

Despite his initial hesitations, Buck follows his alpha’s filthy request too. He washes everywhere except where he probably needs it the most. There’s no way to avoid rinsing his skin with water, but the runoff isn’t enough to alleviate the distinct sensation of slick arousal clinging between his thighs.

Even the cooling sensation of the shower isn’t sufficient to dampen the burning heat of lust for his alpha and he leaves the shower still amped up.

Buck dries off quickly, half-assedly toweling over his body and curls without caring how they look as he rushes to get dressed. What’s the point in styling his hair just to end up with sex hair after Eddie’s through with him?

“Ready to go?” Eddie asks smugly.

His shower must’ve been even more frenzied than Buck’s since he has both of their duffles already hefted onto his shoulder, clearly eager for them to leave as soon as the omega’s done tugging a clean shirt on.

Buck avoids eye contact when he nods in agreement, following his alpha out of the firehouse without saying goodbye to anyone. They’ll give him shit for it later, but that ship has already sailed.

He hops into Eddie’s truck, silently appreciating his future mate’s strength from the way he tosses both their heavy bags into the backseat without so much as a grunt from the weight.

“Please tell me you live nearby,” Buck says a little more breathily than he’d like.

Eddie glances over at him as he leaves the parking lot.

The good news is that it’s late enough at night that traffic shouldn't be too terribly bad. The bad news is that they still live in Los Angeles and ‘no traffic’ isn’t a thing, regardless of the time of day.

“Settle down, baby.”

A large hand lands on Buck’s upper thigh, giving it a light squeeze before resting there. This is what makes him realize that he’s apparently been bouncing his leg in anxious anticipation.

He lets out a shaky exhale, trying to focus on the road in front of them and silently grateful that Eddie hadn’t asked him to drive. They’d be wrapped around a telephone pole by now.

The fact that Eddie can safely maneuver through traffic and keep Buck calm at the same time is actually quite an impressive feat if he’s being honest. He can’t even sit still in the passenger seat.

“Almost there,” Eddie reassures him, letting his hand drift even further up Buck’s thigh until his pinky is just ghosting along the joint of the omega’s thigh.

He chokes out a whine of need.

It earns him another sideways glance of amusement from Eddie.

“You’re being such a good boy right now. Just a few more minutes, honey.”

Buck squirms in his seat, inadvertently jostling his alpha’s hand as he rubs his thighs together to relieve some of the growing ache.

The whole day has been building up to this and the fact that he’d been so close just to have it ripped away back in the firetruck didn’t help things.

He loves Eddie, but all he can concentrate on is alleviating the itch beneath his skin. It demands that Buck should be naked and presenting for his alpha right now, rather than restrained by both a seatbelt and societal expectations that say he can’t start stripping his clothes off in the car just to entice his fiancé.

If he doesn’t find relief soon, Buck is going to lose my mind and—

“Home sweet home,” Eddie announces, already unbuckled and reaching over to release the omega’s seatbelt as well.

How long had they been parked?

Buck practically races out of the vehicle, almost fumbling his landing on the concrete when his limbs forget that Eddie drives a truck and not a Jeep. He doesn’t bother to look back and see where Eddie is, damn near sprinting to the front door as fast as he reasonably can.

Without thinking, he tries to turn the handle. It doesn’t budge. He tries again, shaking the knob a little harder.

“Oh Buck, you’re so cute when you’re horny,” Eddie says with a chuckle, sauntering up the front steps and holding up his housekeys in a silent reminder of what Buck forgot. “If you really want to break down the front door, you can, but I feel like this might be quicker.”

Buck rolls his eyes, taking a step back and gesturing towards the door impatiently. If Eddie doesn’t hurry up, he may indeed find himself front door shopping soon.

The alpha rests a settling hand along Buck’s lower back as he moves in front of him to unlock the door.

As soon as it’s open, he’s tugging Buck inside, slamming the door shut behind them, and pushing Buck’s back up against it in a move that leaves the omega a little awestruck.

Before Eddie, he never knew that being manhandled was even possible, let alone that it would make his legs feel like jello.

“Hi, pretty boy,” Eddie greets him with a ravenous look in his eye.

He clenches his thighs together, trying desperately to delay the new slick from ruining his clean pants. The fresh underwear he’d put on after his shower are already a lost cause.

“Eddie, please,” he whines.

The alpha leans in close enough that he can smell the minty mouthwash Eddie must’ve used after their shift.

“What do you need, Buck?”

Before Buck can actually answer the question, Eddie’s got a hand down between the layer of his sweatpants and his panties, his warm hand cupping the omega’s sex entirely.

Words fail him and he’s reduced to shaky panting instead. He spreads his legs wide open, not fighting against his alpha’s intentions.

Eddie fingers slowly rub along his middle, pressing the damp fabric against his sticky skin like he has all the time in the world to do this. He ignores Buck’s aching cocklette that’s begging for attention, primarily focusing his caresses on the omega’s clothed hole where he’s extra slick.

“So wet for me, baby,” he comments with a soft rumble.

Buck throws his arms around Eddie’s shoulders, needing both the added support and the physical touch to ground him so he doesn’t slide to the floor from how lightheaded he feels.

The alpha takes advantage of his proximity to Buck’s exposed neck and latches his mouth next to his bonding gland, pressing bruising kisses there as he continues to tease the omega’s pussy mercilessly.

When Eddie gently tugs his panties to the side and slides a finger right into him with no warning, Buck almost takes them both to the floor.

He’d be more embarrassed about the fact that he’s not a dainty omega, but Eddie’s laughing affectionately in his ear and using his free hand to tug Buck’s leg up and around his hip as he presses him harder against the front door.

Another finger slips inside and Buck grinds into the feeling as much as he can. It’s been a while since he’s had sex and even this much feels like a stretch, albeit a satisfying one.

“Eddie, alpha, please, I can’t— I need—”

The alpha’s teeth catch just below his bonding gland and he yips at the nip of pleasureful pain it causes.

“You know I imagined you just like this on my first shift?” Eddie muses, not speeding up the agonizingly measured push-pull torture of his long fingers. “You kept making the bitchiest faces every time you looked at me, like you couldn't even stand the sight of me, and I knew then how pretty you’d look underneath me, begging for my cock with your face all pinched up with need. You were trying so hard to get me to quit and all you did was make me fall in love with you, baby.”

Eddie’s fingers crook forward, finding that sensitive place even Buck has a hard time hitting by himself, and it’s too much for him to keep fighting off the build-up of sinful pleasure assaulting him from both Eddie’s praise and actions.

“Oh, fuck—”

With his legs unable to close, he can’t stop the way his body releases a gush of slick all over Eddie’s hand and into his panties.

Buck buries his face in Eddie’s shoulder, gripping onto the alpha tightly so he doesn’t lose his balance once more as he shakes through the aftermath of his unexpected orgasm.

“There you go, sweetheart. So good for your alpha, Buck.”

The scent of a pleased alpha in his nose helps calm his brain as he comes down from the crash of pleasure, inhaling Eddie’s musk deeply and telling his inner omega that he’s being cared for.

Eddie’s fingers slowly withdraw from Buck and he starts to let out a whine of discontent, but then the alpha’s gripping the back of his other leg and helping Buck get them both wrapped securely around his waist.

And holy shit. Eddie’s carrying him through the living room.

He tightens his hold on the alpha’s shoulders, internally panicking that he might be too much weight for Eddie to really manage. Yes, Buck is aware that his fiancé is a big strong firefighter and he’s personally witnessed the guy lifting impressive amounts in the gym, but that’s different and he’ll be mortified if he’s too much for Eddie to carry safely.

“Stop wiggling around. I’m not gonna drop you, Buck.”

Eddie taps him on the ass lightly. A gentle warning.

“I wasn’t even—” he starts indignantly, but he’s interrupted by a harder spank that pulls a surprised squeak out of him.

“Yes, you were. Be good or you won’t like where I spank you next, brat.”

At the threat of another spank, Buck silently concedes the argument.

Instead, he uses his time to peer over Eddie’s shoulder at the house they’re making their way through. It’s decorated, although not overly so. He can’t remember if Eddie’s lived in Los Angeles for very long, but there’s enough signs of life in the place that he and Christopher are at least settled in.

A few pairs of shoes in two different sizes are tucked away near the front door, some throwblankets are laid over the back of the couch, and a couple crayon drawings are secured to the fridge with magnets. It’s clear a happy family lives in this place.

He briefly wonders what he could even add to the space that isn’t already there.

“I promise to give you the full tour in the morning, but right now the only room you need to see is our bedroom.”

Our bedroom. Because it’s going to be Buck’s bedroom too.

A quiet purr of contentment starts in his chest and he knows Eddie feels it because the alpha pops a quick kiss to his cheek as he takes them through a hallway and into what’s presumably the bedroom.

He’s admittedly a little surprised when Eddie sets him on his own two feet instead of doing some macho alpha shit like throwing him on the bed and ravaging him, but then Eddie looks sheepish when he says, “No shoes on the bed.”

It’s such a jarring contrast to the ravenous animal of a man who was just finger deep in Buck’s pussy in the front entrance of the house. He doesn’t even laugh when he toes off his shoes at the same time as Eddie and kicks them to the side.

Buck sends the alpha an exasperated look that says, ‘Good enough?’ and then Eddie practically tackles him into the bed.

He laughs when Eddie pins him down and starts kissing down his neck, hands pushing up Buck’s shirt so he can explore the omega’s heated skin.

“You kept smiling at me like we were friends,” Buck states aloud.

Eddie pulls back to give him a confused expression that says he has absolutely no clue what Buck’s referring to.

Oops. Buck’s internal train of thought may have run off the tracks on that one.

“On your first day,” he clarifies, burying his fingers in the back of Eddie’s hair, “I— I thought you were playing mind games or something, trying to psych me out so you could take my spot on the team. But you were imagining me naked the whole time?”

Eddie doesn’t laugh.

He does, however, push his hand further under Buck’s shirt until his large palm is spread out along the omega’s trembling abdomen. His stomach jumps at the heated contact in such a vulnerable place.

“Not the whole time, but the only game I was playing was seeing how quickly I could get you to present for me. I told you already, your prissy attitude just made me want you even more, honey. Submission only does something for me if I’ve earned it.”

Eddie leans down to kiss him deeply, stealing all the air from his lungs until they’ve no choice but to break it off and catch their breath once more.

They take that moment to quickly pull their shirts off, helping each other remove them until their bare chests are pressed together.

“Well, have you?” Buck challenges.

Eddie’s distracted by his current task, which is yanking down both the omega’s pants and underwear in one fell swoop that leaves Buck completely naked in front of his alpha.

“Have I what?”

“Have you earned my submission?” he asks innocently.

Eddie looks up and his answering smile is that of a hungry predator ready to devour his prey in a single chomp. Buck feels sufficiently prepared to become his next meal.

“God, I can’t wait to just sink my teeth into you, omega. Leave my mark on your neck so you never forget who you belong to, never forget how much I love you. Everyone will know who your alpha is,” he threatens with a growl.

It sounds more like a promise to Buck.

The alpha’s wandering hand catches his nipple, pinching at the nub until Buck can’t tell if he wants to lean into it or pull away. This specific brand of pained pleasure seems to be Eddie’s speciality.

Maybe that’s also why the idea of being marked as Eddie’s mate with his sharp alpha teeth sounds so appealing right now. They’re already moving in together and like Eddie said earlier, ‘what's the point in waiting?’

“So bite me then.”

Eddie smooches him gently. It feels placating.

“You don’t mean that,” he disagrees softly, clearly trying to be mindful of Buck’s feelings as he explains his reasoning. “Wouldn’t you rather we plan a proper ceremony with all of our friends and family? There’s no rush, sweetheart. You’re it for me.”

That does sound nice, but Buck also can’t see why he shouldn’t have both of those things when and how he wants them.

“Bond with me tonight and we can start planning our wedding tomorrow.”

It feels like a reasonable compromise, but his alpha doesn’t look entirely convinced yet.

Eddie almost sounds nervous when he says, “Buck, are you afraid you’ll wake up in the morning and change your mind? Why are you in such a hurry?”

Buck pulls a face that Eddie would probably describe as ‘bitchy.’ He can’t stomp his foot in the bed the way he wants to, but he would if he could.

“Eddie, I love you and you love me. What else are we waiting for? We can still host a big ceremony and celebrate with our pack later, but I love you right now and I don’t see any good reason why I shouldn’t be allowed to love you as your mate. I don’t care what anyone else thinks. I want this— I want to be yours in every possible way.”

Immediately, he can see in Eddie’s face that he’s won.

“You’re killing me, Buck,” he groans.

Buck smiles, leaning up to rub his nose against Eddie’s affectionately. Every ounce of omegan instinct he possesses seems to be so much easier to follow in his alpha's presence.

“But you love me anyway because I’m your omega.”

Eddie hums in agreement, dropping a quick kiss on his lips to seal the promise.

“What you are is a pain in my ass, but as long as you’re sure that bonding with me is what you want and not just what your needy little cunt wants,” Eddie double checks jokingly.

His hand has already wandered back between the omega’s bare legs, teasing his inner thighs with light caresses that never quite make it where Buck wants them to. It’s driving him insane.

Buck snarks back, “I think it’s kinda rude how you got on my ass for not knowing what I wanted, but now that I’m sure and telling you exactly what it is, you’re questioning me. Make up your mind already, alph—”

Thwack.

He keens, his thighs attempting to close in shock at the sudden spank that had landed where Buck’s most vulnerable. Eddie’s hand hadn’t pulled away, so all it does is trap him there.

His mouth hangs open stupidly, unable to process what just happened as the sting shoots from his cunt to his syrupy brain.

“I told you that you wouldn’t like it if you misbehaved again,” Eddie reminds him, kissing his slackened lips sweetly, as if he hadn't just spanked Buck’s pussy. “You wanna keep going, baby? Or would you rather be my good omega?”

He slips two fingers back inside Buck to emphasize the point. It’s been just long enough to not feel overstimulating.

“Hurry up already,” he whines petulantly.

Eddie gives him an amused look of warning, waiting patiently for the omega to realize what he just said and giving him a chance to fix it.

Buck takes the hint and rushes to apologize.

He’s honestly not trying to be a brat, but he’s used to getting his way on most things if he bats his eyes and pouts enough. Hell, the entire station just treats Buck like an overgrown golden retriever at this point and he’s happily accepted the perks that come with it.

“Sorry. I just— I just mean I don’t need all that. I’m not a virgin or something, Eddie. You can fuck me now, it’s fine. Besides, I wanna be tight for you...”

It’s a classic Buck 1.0 line that slips out at the end, so he’s not entirely surprised that his alpha looks wholly unimpressed. He doesn’t seem to be upset with Buck per se.

The slow and even tempo he fingers Buck open with doesn’t change either, although he carefully works in a third finger and pulls a tiny gasp from the omega in response.

“Buck, I don’t know what kind of people you’ve been with before, but I prefer my partners to be as wet and relaxed as possible. You’re supposed to enjoy sex, not just endure it. I’m not rushing this part just to get my dick wet. I could probably fist open you right now and you’d still be struggling to take my knot.”

Jesus Christ. Maybe he should add that to the list too. The list of ‘future stuff Buck wants to try with Eddie’ keeps growing longer.

“It’s that big?” he swallows.

Eddie looks sheepish, but nods.

“I would say I haven’t had any complaints, but, well… Not everyone is a big strong omega like you are, baby.”

He clamps down on Eddie’s fingers at the idea of being the perfect size for Eddie’s knot and the alpha chuckles like he can read Buck’s mind. More likely, he can smell the change in the omega’s aroused scent.

Either way, it soothes whatever doubts were still lingering in the back of his mind about not being a stereotypical omega with a petite figure. Eddie clearly likes that he’s sturdy.

A fourth finger eases in slowly, making Buck have to focus hard on relaxing his muscles. If Eddie’s as big as he claims, this is only a warm-up.

“You told me you could behave when you try. Can you be good for me, sweetheart, and let me work you open to take my knot?”

It’s time for him to confess.

“I’ve— um, I’ve never actually taken a knot before... I’ve mostly fucked omega and beta women,” Buck admits nervously.

It’s embarrassing, but it’s not like he was going to be able to hide his reaction to being knotted for the first time. He’s been able to get by thus far with a decent sized omega cocklette and a talented mouth.

But Eddie’s a real alpha with a real knot.

Eddie tries to control his surprised reaction to this information, but it still slips through in a brief pinched expression before he corrects it to be one of gentle reassurance.

“What about Abby? Wasn’t she an alpha?”

He sighs, wishing he didn’t have to open that particularly fresh can of worms.

“Abby didn’t want to risk knocking me up. Taking birth control messes with my head too much, so she’d fuck me, but she was always too afraid that I’d— Shit. What if I get pregnant? I mean, there’s always a chance. Is that okay with you, Eddie? I know we haven’t really talked about having more kids yet or anything, but I—”

It all spills out at once.

Eddie’s right there though, cutting off his panic with kisses before he can spiral particularly deep.

“Oh, Buck, sweetheart, there’s no risk. Risks are gambles. This is a guarantee. If I knot your pretty little cunt, you’re going to be pupped full. So the better question is whether you’re ready to have a baby with me?”

He’s nodding before Eddie’s even done asking the question.

“I want that more than anything. I want to be your mate and Christopher’s parent too if he’ll let me. I just want to have a big family with you. I— I mean, if that’s what you want?”

Rather than answering Buck with words, Eddie smiles and crooks his fingers one last time before removing them. He’s expecting the alpha to wipe them off on the comforter (Buck himself has pulled that move more than his fair share), but he sticks them in his mouth instead.

He lets out a satisfied hum at the taste, like he’s enjoying a fine meal and not just sucking Buck’s slick off his own fingers.

“I’m afraid I’ll pop my knot in my pants if I try to eat you out tonight too, but you’re on the breakfast menu for the morning,” Eddie announces, sitting up more to start taking his own pants off.

Buck doesn’t have a response to that other than to clamp his thighs together and try not to cum.

This man cannot be fucking real.

When Eddie’s got his pants on the floor and a grip on the band of his underwear, Buck knows he must be dreaming. The large bulge fighting against the measly restraint of his briefs is enough to have him nearly drooling in anticipation.

He thinks that, surely, Eddie can’t have every possible alpha biological advantage, but the impressive cock that’s released as he removes his last bit of clothing proves Buck wrong.

If his dick is that big, he can only imagine the size of Eddie’s knot when it’s inflated.

“Buck, honey?”

He might be staring.

“Yeah?” the omega chokes out.

Eddie smirks, but he’s kind enough not to openly laugh at Buck’s obvious reaction. He stokes his own cock whilst eyeing the omega curiously, spreading pre from the tip down the rest of his thick shaft as if he’s not holding a loaded weapon.

“Is there a position that you prefer?”

Buck wonders if there’s more to the question.

“I could present for you?” he suggests hesitantly.

It’s the most ‘omegan’ position and one of total submission that involves exposing your mating gland and allowing an alpha to have complete control. Buck isn’t particularly a fan of being face down and ass up, but if it’s what Eddie expects of him, he can be good.

“Not unless that’s what you want, baby,” Eddie reassures him, reaching down to stroke his cheek affectionately.

Normally, Buck would continue to overthink this and probably just offer to present himself anyways, wanting to please his partner, but he trusts Eddie. If Eddie is giving him the choice, then he’s going to be honest about what he prefers.

“I want to be able to see you.”

The alpha’s face softens in response. Buck apparently chose correctly.

“Okay, sweetheart. We can do that.”

How they’ve gone so smoothly from hot and heavy to slow and gentle without disrupting the mood, Buck doesn’t really care to know. The natural push-and-pull of their love feels more natural than any of the sexual encounters he’s had prior to tonight.

Eddie situates himself back between Buck’s legs, gently stroking his knees until they fall to the side.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” Eddie coos.

It sends a hot blush to his face. Every part of him is laid out bare for his alpha and being praised by his almost-mate has him feeling all sorts of butterflies in his stomach.

“Sweet-talker,” Buck accuses him softly.

Eddie snorts at that, but doesn’t deny the accusation.

He leans down to kiss Buck, pressing their lips together with enough skill to make him forget there’s anything better than this.

In the midst of their kisses, the alpha reaches between them to take hold of himself, moving slowly as he drags the head of his cock down Buck’s own neglected cocklette before sliding along his soaking lips.

His motions are teasing, just coating himself in omega slick and filling their bedroom with the powerful scent of an infatuated alpha.

Buck’s used to the scent of arousal during his hookups, but he’s not used to the new scent of all-consuming love. It’s distinctively sweeter and so dizzying he feels like he’s melting into the bed in a puddle of adoration.

“Please, alpha.”

“I’ve got you, omega.”

Eddie lines himself up with Buck’s entrance and he pauses for only a brief second before slowly easing his way inside, every inch of his thick cock filling the omega in a way he’s never been fucked before.

Part of Buck hates to compare Eddie to anyone who’s come before him, especially because none of them really can compare.

However, it’s hard not to notice the way Eddie’s girth is stretching Buck open so wide he can hardly breath, the fact that Eddie’s peppering soothing little kisses all over his face, or even Eddie’s gentle shushing noises and words of praise spilling from his mouth.

By the time Eddie’s bottomed out, almost knot-deep inside him, Buck’s too drunk on the alpha’s scent and affections to even care that he’s apparently been missing out on high quality sex with an alpha like his.

“Such a good omega. Taking my cock so perfectly, sweetheart. Like you were made for it,” Eddie murmurs in his ear, warm lips practically attached to his neck now.

He keeps kissing around Buck’s bonding gland, probably trying to keep himself from biting down just yet. It’s a commonly known fact that bonding bites usually happen at the apex of pleasure to counteract the inherent pain that comes with breaking through an omega’s skin with teeth.

“Your good omega?” Buck half slurs.

His arms wrap around the alpha's shoulders once more, wanting to be as close to him as possible. It doesn’t matter that Eddie is literally inside him right now, he needs to intertwine every single body part.

Eddie apparently takes this as permission to start moving. He only pulls back a couple inches before thrusting back in nice and deep, his motions smooth and slow.

There’s a temptation to tell him not to hold back, but Buck’s not actually sure he could handle what Eddie’s capable of, even if Eddie were to give in.

“My good omega. Fuck, your pussy feels incredible, honey.”

His words are less composed and focused as he picks up the pace, accepting the relaxation of Buck’s body as an invitation to move faster and fuck harder. It’s still not everything, but it’s more than satisfying.

Buck’s inner omega alternates between purring and chirping, an endless loop of pleasure cycling through his brain and telling him that he’s so close to getting what he needs.

“Want your knot, Eddie. Wanna be full of you,” Buck whines when the alpha’s swelling knot bumps against his entrance, never quite slipping inside.

Eddie growls, continuing to ravage the omega’s neck.

He sucks hard on Buck’s bonding gland without biting down, the sensitivity still causing him to nearly throw Eddie off him entirely.

It’s a sensation just shy of pain and entirely too much for him to process.

“Shit, sorry. Just wanna put a baby in you so fucking badly, honey. You’re gonna look so pretty when you’re pregnant with my pup, all soft and round. Let me put a baby in you, Buck, please.”

Eddie’s thrusts only get more intense and Buck can hardly catch his breath enough to agree.

The current angle Eddie’s fucking into him at has his cocklette rubbing against the alpha’s muscled abdomen. It feels near euphoric, causing him to tighten up as he gets closer to his second orgasm of the night.

“Love me, alpha. Knot me and pup me and claim me,” he begs with nails digging into Eddie’s shoulders to keep himself from cumming too soon.

Eddie’s swelling knot slips inside once, but pulls out again on the next thrust. It’s already big enough to tug at his pussy and prove that Eddie wasn’t lying. He’s soaking the bed and as stretched as he can be, but it's huge… and still growing.

“Relax, sweetheart. Let me knot you properly.”

Buck forces himself to take a deep breath, obeying his alpha and allowing Eddie to fuck into him a few more times, the knot continuing to test the limits of his body as it increases in size.

Finally, his knot grows too big to pull out and it locks perfectly inside of Buck.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

As soon his cunt has the stretch of a full knot, it reacts accordingly to clamp down and begin milking the alpha. The sensation is entirely foreign to Buck, but it feels so good that he can’t help but fall over the edge of pleasure.

There’s not much space to release another gush of slick from his stuffed pussy, but his cocklette dribbles pathetically onto his alpha’s stomach too.

Eddie’s own cock spills copiously into Buck, filling him up with fertile alpha seed behind the firm lock of his knot and making sure they have every chance of a successful pupping.

Buck’s floating so high above everything from his pleasure that he hardly notices Eddie’s mouth hovering over his bonding gland until he’s already biting down with his sharp alpha teeth and piercing through his skin.

It hurts like a bitch.

There’s no way around that, but the fresh bond also sends an immediate wave of fulfillment to the feral part of his brain that could only ever be satisfied by the love and affections of an alpha.

His alpha.

Eddie licks carefully over his mating bite, lovingly taking his time to coat the throbbing area with his spit.

It would be slightly more gross if Buck didn’t know that his mate’s saliva will help the healing immensely. The kisses Eddie peppers against it after that aren’t for healing purposes, but they do make him smile.

“God, I love you so much.”

He’s not entirely sure that Eddie even meant to say it out loud, his voice thick with emotion. Still, it feels rude not to respond to his mate, even if it was an unintentional love declaration.

“Love you too, alpha. How’s it look? Did you turn my throat into hamburger meat or can I still be a neck model?” Buck jokes with a slightly pained wince. Talking too much pulls at the raw bite.

Eddie moves carefully, clearly attempting not to jostle his knot inside the omega, and places a chaste kiss on his lips.

“I didn’t think you could get any more beautiful, Buck, but it turns out that I was mistaken. Honestly, I’m not sure I’ll be able to stay humble anymore when my omega mate is the prettiest thing I’ve ever set my eyes on.”

The alpha’s wide smile is contagious and Buck’s own matches it quickly.

“That smooth-talking mouth of yours will get you everywhere, Mr. Diaz, even if I’m fairly sure that you just took a chunk out of my flesh with that barbaric stunt.”

Eddie chuckles at his dramatics and Buck takes the opportunity to tug him down so their foreheads rest against one another. He’s not ready to give up the closeness yet, even with Eddie’s knot still plugging him full of his alpha’s cum.

“Nobody will even notice if we get you a high-necked wedding dress, Mrs. Diaz.”

Buck’s brain slowly reboots as he processes the new title and he knows his surprise is evident on his face because Eddie rushes to correct himself.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. It was presumptuous of me to think you’d want to take my last na—”

He kisses the words right off Eddie’s lips, quick to stop the nervous rambling.

“Shut up, Eddie. You called me a Diaz, so it’s mine now. You already offered it to me and you can’t change your mind. No takebacks!”

Eddie shakes his head in obvious amusement.

Poor guy had no idea what he was getting himself into by mating with Buck. Buck would feel bad for him, but he’s pretty sure Eddie is just as incandescently happy about all of this as he is.

“Honey, I can’t wait to marry you. I know we’re already mated and our life together starts now, but I need everyone to know exactly how much I love you. You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Buck, and I promise there won’t be a day where I don’t tell you and show you that.”

Buck finds Eddie’s hand on the bed and laces their fingers together.

“If we take our time planning the ceremony, we may have even more good news to share with them,” he shyly reminds the alpha, bringing their clasped hands to rest on his lower belly.

There’s a small, barely noticeable bump there courtesy of the excessive cum Eddie’s bred deep into him, but hopefully in a few weeks it will have grown into something perfect that they created together.

His alpha’s eyes look a little watery at the reminder, but Buck doesn’t call him out on it. Emotions are running high between their newly shared love, fresh mating bond, and talks of expanding their family.

It’s understandable that neither one of them is entirely rational or composed right now, although Buck thinks they’re doing a damn good job under the present circumstances.

And to think that it all happened despite Buck turning down Eddie’s first bouquet of flowers.