Chapter Text
Buck woke up before the alarm.
For one terrifying second, he forgot why.
Then he rolled over in bed and saw Eddie asleep beside him and immediately remembered:
Oh.
Right.
Wedding day.
Buck stared at the ceiling for a full ten seconds trying unsuccessfully not to have a complete emotional collapse before eight in the morning.
Failed immediately.
“Okay,” he whispered to himself. “Cool. Totally normal.”
Beside him, Eddie made a sleepy sound without opening his eyes.
“You’re spiraling.”
Buck looked over sharply.
“You’re awake?”
“One eye open counts as awake.”
Buck laughed weakly and flopped dramatically back against the mattress.
“I’m getting married today.”
Eddie finally opened both eyes slowly.
Warm brown.
Soft with sleep.
Still unfairly beautiful after two years together.
“Yeah,” Eddie said quietly.
And there it was again.
That calm certainty Eddie always carried into Buck’s chaos.
Buck turned onto his side fully, looking at him.
No collar.
No walls.
No fear anymore.
Just Eddie.
His fiancé.
For another few hours anyway.
Buck reached over automatically, fingertips brushing lightly against Eddie’s jaw.
“You nervous?”
Eddie huffed softly.
“Ask me again when Chimney inevitably loses the rings.”
“Hey.”
Both men looked toward the bedroom doorway instantly.
Christopher stood there already dressed in slacks and suspenders looking deeply unimpressed.
“You guys are disgusting before coffee.”
Buck grinned immediately.
“Good morning to you too, best man.”
Christopher rolled his eyes.
“Dad’s been awake since six pretending he wasn’t anxious.”
Traitor.
Eddie looked offended.
“I was meditating.”
“You cleaned the kitchen cabinets.”
Buck barked out a laugh while Eddie glared at his son.
Christopher pointed at both of them warningly.
“And if either of you cry before the ceremony, I’m leaving.”
Buck sat upright immediately.
“You’re definitely crying.”
“I absolutely am not.”
“Christopher,” Eddie deadpanned. “You cried during a dog food commercial last week.”
“That dog found his family!”
Buck laughed so hard he nearly fell off the bed.
God.
This.
This right here.
The easy warmth of it.
The home they somehow built together.
Two years ago Buck thought loving Eddie would destroy him.
Instead it rebuilt him completely.
The venue overlooked the ocean.
Not huge.
Not extravagant.
Just warm lights, white flowers, soft music, and people they loved filling rows of chairs as the sun slowly started setting gold over the water.
Buck stood hidden near the back entrance adjusting his tie for the fifteenth time while Maddie watched him fondly.
“You’re shaking.”
“I’m aware.”
Maddie fixed the collar of his suit gently.
“You okay?”
Buck laughed weakly.
“I think I might throw up.”
“That’s actually reassuring.”
Buck blinked.
“What?”
“If you weren’t panicking at least a little, I’d assume you were possessed.”
Fair.
Buck exhaled slowly before glancing toward the ceremony setup again.
Rows of chairs.
Soft candlelight.
And there.
Front row.
One empty chair.
A framed photo of Bobby rested carefully against the seat.
Bobby smiling warmly in his dress uniform.
Buck’s throat closed instantly.
“Oh.”
Maddie’s face softened beside him immediately.
Athena had brought the picture herself earlier that afternoon.
Didn’t say much while placing it there.
Just touched the frame once gently and whispered:
“You better behave today, Bobby.”
Buck swallowed hard.
Because he should be here.
God.
Bobby should’ve been here.
Helping Buck with his tie.
Pretending not to cry.
Embarrassing him somehow during pictures.
A hand touched Buck’s shoulder gently.
Athena.
Like she sensed the spiral from across the venue.
“He is here,” she said quietly.
Buck looked down hard for a second trying unsuccessfully not to lose composure completely before the ceremony even started.
Athena squeezed once.
“He’d love this, baby.”
That nearly wrecked him.
Because yeah.
Bobby would’ve adored this.
Would’ve loved Eddie.
Loved Christopher.
Loved seeing Buck finally loved the way he always deserved.
Buck laughed shakily under his breath.
“He’d definitely make some embarrassing speech.”
Athena snorted softly.
“Oh, absolutely.”
Karen Wilson stood beneath the flower arch holding a binder and smiling like she already knew this entire ceremony was going to emotionally destroy half the guests.
Which honestly felt accurate.
Hen sat in the front row openly crying before things even started.
“Baby,” Karen whispered fondly from the front.
“I’m emotional!”
Chimney looked equally bad beside her.
Ravi already had tissues out.
Buck laughed softly under his breath from where he stood waiting.
Then the music changed.
And Eddie appeared.
Everything else disappeared instantly.
Always.
Eddie looked devastating in a dark suit, curls carefully styled for once, expression softening the second he spotted Buck waiting at the end of the aisle.
Christopher walked beside him.
Taller now.
Older.
Still carrying that same warmth in his smile.
Buck’s chest physically hurt looking at them.
His family.
Somewhere in the front row Maddie started crying harder.
Athena handed her tissues without looking away from Buck once.
The ceremony blurred after that.
Not because Buck wasn’t paying attention.
Because every time he looked at Eddie, his brain just sort of stopped functioning.
Karen smiled knowingly after Buck completely missed an entire section of speaking.
“You with us, Evan?”
Buck blinked once.
“…No.”
The guests burst into laughter.
Eddie laughed too, eyes crinkling warm at the corners.
God.
Buck loved him so much it still scared him sometimes.
Karen shook her head fondly.
“Well luckily this is mostly about love and not listening skills.”
Buck heard maybe half the vows he’d written.
Not because they didn’t matter.
Because Eddie looked at him like he hung the moon.
Like every hard thing in Eddie’s life somehow led him here.
To this.
To Buck.
Eddie’s voice roughened slightly during his vows.
“You taught me that love isn’t something you hide from,” he admitted quietly. “Even when it terrifies you.”
Buck immediately started crying.
Christopher groaned softly from nearby.
“Oh my God.”
The guests laughed through tears.
Buck wiped at his face helplessly.
“You started it.”
Eddie smiled shakily.
“Probably.”
Then Buck took Eddie’s hands fully in his own.
Warm.
Steady.
Home.
“I spent most of my life feeling like too much,” Buck whispered. “Too loud. Too emotional. Too broken.” His voice cracked slightly. “And then you loved me anyway.”
Eddie’s eyes filled instantly.
Buck smiled through tears.
“No, actually worse.” He laughed shakily. “You loved me because of those things.”
Complete silence wrapped around the ceremony.
Soft ocean waves in the distance.
Wind moving gently through flowers.
Buck glanced briefly toward Bobby’s chair.
Then back at Eddie.
“And I think Bobby would be really happy I found you.”
Athena broke completely in the front row.
Chimney handed her tissues blindly while crying himself now too.
Karen smiled softly through tears before finally closing the binder.
“Well,” she said warmly, “as somebody who has personally witnessed these two idiots pine for each other across multiple years, emotional crises, and one deeply concerning priest phase…”
The entire crowd laughed.
“…I think we’ve waited long enough.”
Buck laughed helplessly through tears while Eddie shook his head fondly.
Karen grinned fully now.
“Evan Buckley and Eddie Diaz— it is my absolute honor to pronounce you husbands.”
Buck didn’t even wait.
He grabbed Eddie’s face immediately and kissed him hard while the crowd erupted around them.
Cheers.
Laughter.
Hen openly sobbing somewhere nearby.
And through all of it—
Buck could swear Bobby would’ve been laughing the loudest.