A Convenient Wedding

Title: A Convenient Wedding
Fandom: 9-1-1
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Pairing: Evan Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Occurs during and mentions the pandemic, though does not dwell on it. Can be read as anti-Maddie.
Author Note: Mentions events at the end of season 4 and alludes to things revealed in season 5, none of which are needed to understand the story. Wedding vows from a wedding vows site, and attributed by them to “iammisanthrope” (no idea who that is). There are inaccuracies in how same-day weddings work in California (I don’t really care… lol. Procedural inaccuracies are the hallmark of the procedural. I’m on brand!)
Timeline: between season 4 & 5
Challenge: Big Moxie, Q1-2024, Marriage of Convenience
Word Count: ~10,300
Summary: Eddie and Buck are getting back to normal after the shooting. Both of them are out of ill-advised relationships, their friendship is rock solid, and Eddie is close to ready to return to work. Eddie is starting to think maybe they’re ready to move on to something a little more when Sophia barges into their morning coffee ritual with an utterly bizarre request.

A Convenient Wedding

Eddie loved morning coffee with Buck. Whenever Buck was on shift, provided he’d had any reasonable amount of sleep, he’d pick up coffee and breakfast after the shift was completed and head over to Eddie’s house.

If Chris was home, it was usually centered around whatever Chris had going on—be it his schoolwork or finding something to entertain him on the weekends. As much as Eddie loved those family days, his absolute favorite times lately were when Chris was out at a sleepover, giving him and Buck time to reconnect one-on-one.

Things had gotten rough after the sniper had nearly killed Eddie, but they were finally getting back to being them, and Eddie wanted to revel in it. He’d do it every morning if the job would allow it.

The summer had begun with Buck and Eddie each in their own relationships but deeply focused away from said relationships as Eddie felt the only person he could trust as he recovered from his injury was Buck. Then Eddie started feeling guilty for neglecting Ana and had put some distance between them to accommodate his girlfriend’s sensibilities.

Things had started to go downhill from there, and Eddie hadn’t been able to figure out how to fix anything. His recovery felt glacial, Christopher was miserable, and he was barely seeing his best friend—a situation he knew he had caused, and therefore felt like he couldn’t even complain about.

Then, one day, Taylor had swept into his home, told him off about practically everything, taken Christopher out for a day of outdoor fun that was as COVID-safe as possible, and told Eddie to talk to Buck.

It hadn’t taken Eddie long to crack his best friend like an egg and find that his best friend had spiraled into a bad mental place when Eddie and Maddie had both basically cut him off. Taylor had decided to jump into the Maddie situation and discovered Maddie in a state of severely under-treated and hidden postpartum depression.

Eddie had found out about it all after the fact, and he knew it had been a complex problem. The end result was that Maddie had ended up with in-patient treatment, Chim had been in weekly therapy sessions after a serious chewing out by Hen and Athena, and Buck had been temporarily taking care of Jee-Yun while Chim focused on his own mental health and helping Maddie. Shortly after, Chim had taken custody of Jee back.

Meanwhile, Taylor did a piece on the dangers of postpartum depression and the stigma of mental healthcare, which wound up getting her attention from a major news outlet in New York.

When she’d barreled into his home that fateful morning, after ripping apart everything that was wrong with his relationship with Ana, dressing him down for his failures as a best friend, she’d told him something that made no sense at the time. “He’s staying for you; stop being an idiot.”

Eddie found out later that she’d asked Buck to go with her, and he’d refused. The relationship had been over before Taylor had even stepped foot into Eddie’s house that day.

Having Buck back in their lives on a near-daily basis made everything click back into place. They’d talked about a lot of things, but there were still some topics that felt too sensitive, both of them tacitly agreeing to let things settle back into their normal rhythm before poking anything painful.

The one thing Buck had seriously told Eddie when they were talking things out was that Eddie needed to not be that guy. The kind of guy who couldn’t be in a romantic relationship and still have his friends. If Eddie was indeed that guy, Buck would rather know he was relegated to a convenience friend than be made to think he was family and then pushed away.

That simple statement had so devastated Eddie, because he hadn’t realized that’s what he’d done, that he’d sworn not to let a romantic relationship get in the way of his friendships again.

The jolt of painful reality had forced him into some deep introspection about why he’d felt like he had to make the choices he had. He hadn’t had any good answers, so he’d reluctantly thrown himself into another attempt at therapy, this time with much better results. He’d started to see the destructive cycle he was in with both wanting his parents out of his life while still trying to please them.

Ana was never a choice he’d made for himself; she was a choice for his parents.

That realization made it easy to end the relationship and move on. Her chafing at Buck’s renewed, steady presence in his and Christopher’s life was all the extra proof he needed that she didn’t belong.

Now, he was close to ready to return to work and as he watched his best friend laugh through anecdotes about yesterday’s shift, he wondered if he wasn’t close to ready to broach something more between them.

Eddie sputtered a laugh at what Buck just said, choking a little on his coffee, more than a little of his enjoyment the normality of the situation.

Buck was grinning at him, eyes bright with mirth. “Careful there, Eds. I’m not making another coffee run.”

“I see how it is. Your precious coffee is more important than my lungs.”

“My precious time is more important than your lungs,” Buck countered.

“Ass.” He took a drink of water to clear his throat. “So, she really just grabbed his ass right in the middle of the rescue?”

“Yep. I was in the middle of cutting the door hinges off, and Chim was checking her vitals, and then her hand was unmistakably groping him. I mean, I shouldn’t laugh, because that kind of thing isn’t really funny, but Chim has always wanted that kind of attention from women, even if it was in the middle of a rescue, and now that he’s got it—”

“He’s completely unavailable,” Eddie finished with a grin. “He has a kid, might as well be married.”

“Yep.”

“How’d he react?”

“Worst case of deer in the headlights I’ve ever seen.” Buck sprawled back in the kitchen chair, looking comfortable and at ease in a way he hadn’t in a long time. “Hen had to step in and pry the woman’s hand off Chim’s butt.”

“Dios.”

“Right?”

Eddie sighed. “I miss being out there with you guys.”

“You’ll be back soon, man. Your recovery has been lightning-fast; just be patient a little longer. Don’t give me that look; I know I’m a raging hypocrite about being patient when it comes to injury recovery, but…” Buck paused, then reached out and squeezed Eddie’s arm. The arm that led to the shoulder where he’d been shot by a sniper just a few short months ago. “I’m just glad you’re here to be complaining about how slow your miraculously fast recovery is.”

“Me too,” he said softly. “And I’m glad things are getting back to normal with us.”

Buck’s smile turned a little softer as he released Eddie’s arm, glancing down. “Yeah, that too.”

“Who knew what we needed to get ourselves straightened out was your ex-girlfriend?”

Buck huffed with good humor. “I’m not sure what possessed Taylor, but I’m grateful.”

“You heard from her lately?”

“Yeah, she’s good. Tearing New York up like a boss.”

“Never doubted it. And how’s Maddie doing?”

“Good. She wants to stay in the hospital for a while longer. I think maybe she’s using it as a bit of a crutch at this point, but as far as crutches go, a mental health facility is not a terrible one. And it’s her doctor’s job to call her on avoiding her life if it comes that, not mine.”

“Chim handling being a temporary single parent any better?” Aside from his worries about Maddie, he’d understandably struggled with such a young baby on his own.

“Eh. I offered to come stay with him, but he doesn’t seem to want to lean on me more than he’s already had to, and Taylor gave me an earful about Chim’s inadequacies, and that I just have to let them be and not let them turn into my insecurities.” He gave Eddie a wry smile.

Eddie sort of resented Taylor’s wisdom, but he also couldn’t find fault with it.

“I miss the time with Jee, but there’s nothing I can do about it.” He lifted one shoulder. “He’s moved in with Lees for a while, so it’s him and Albert staying with his adoptive parents, and they’re all chipping in on taking care of Jee.”

“And where do you fit in?”

“I don’t really. And that’s okay,” Buck hurriedly added.

“They’re your family.”

“Are they?” Buck’s smile was a little sad, which Eddie hated after the happiness from earlier. “I think I’ve had some illusions about my relationship with Maddie. She cuts me off whenever there’s something she doesn’t want me to see, keeps toxic secrets, yet feels free to step all over my boundaries.”

Buck shook his head. “I don’t want to get into it and ruin our Saturday, man. Just… I think I’ve been holding on to the relationship I had with Maddie when I was seven, and that relationship doesn’t exist anymore because I’m not willing to be the seven-year-old to her adult, know-everything, older sister routine. And she isn’t willing to compromise. Chim isn’t even the issue. Maddie is. I miss Jee-Yun, but she’s their daughter, and I’m not going to make us all miserable trying to force my way into Jee’s life when her parents don’t want me there.”

Eddie wanted to protest on Buck’s behalf, but what could he say? “Well, you’ve got us.”

“And that’s the family I really need, so I can deal with the rest.” Buck smiled, not quite as bright as Eddie would have preferred, but it went all the way to his eyes, so he’d take it.

“I know we already talked about it but, again, I’m sor—”

“No. Don’t go there. We did talk about it, and I get it. Parents and their shitty expectations can fuck you up; I know that as well as anyone. I just… I need you and Chris; the rest of it doesn’t matter, okay?”

“Okay.” Before Eddie could shift the subject, there was a noise on the porch and the scrape of a key in the lock.

Buck gave Eddie a surprised look. “Sophia?”

“Has to be.”

There were exactly six people who had a key to Eddie’s place, more than he’d ever had before in his life, and yet there was only one person who could be trying to come in right then.

Bobby had a key for work emergencies.

Abuela, Pepa, and his cousin Hector had keys for family emergencies and issues related to caring for Christopher. Since Eddie was home, and Christopher was at a sleepover at Hen and Karen’s, there was no family emergency.

Buck had a key and could come in whenever he chose, but Buck was sitting across the table.

That left Sophia with a key and the only person besides Buck who was likely to enter without knocking. Though even Buck, Eddie’s best friend, tended to give a cursory knock, whereas Sophia usually didn’t.

Sophia had moved to Los Angeles in late 2019, intending to move her budding wedding planning business to the larger and perceived better market. Truthfully, she’d been miserable in El Paso and hoped her company would take off in LA. She’d had a couple of promising small weddings early in 2020, and then the pandemic had hit.

She’d been forced to move out of her apartment and moved in with Abuela, since the wedding industry took a nosedive for the last year and a half.

“I thought she had a big wedding today?”

“Me too,” Eddie said with a shrug. Weddings were finally opening up again, indoors with a lot of restrictions, but outdoor weddings were booming right now, and the weather was good for it. Sophia was supposed to have a big outdoor wedding today, the only type that had reasonable attendance numbers.

“Guess we’ll find out.” Buck took another drink of his iced latte.

Sophia had hooked a minor celebrity for what she’d hoped would really launch her new business; she’d been solely focused on it for weeks. Eddie had gotten to the point where he was tuning her out on any sort of wedding talk.

A few seconds later, Sophia came tearing into the kitchen, dressed to the nines in a pale green pantsuit, hair up in a sleek bun, but looking frazzled in a way he hadn’t seen in years.

“I need you two to get married.”

Buck choked, somehow managing not to spray coffee everywhere, only getting a few drops on the table. He grabbed a napkin, dabbing at his face and watering eyes, then blotting at the table before staring at Sophia. “Excuse me?”

“Married. I need you to get married.”

“To who?” Eddie managed.

“Each other!”

Buck stared at Eddie in bewilderment. “Is she making sense?”

“No.”

Sophia threw up her hands and started to pace in the limited area around the kitchen table. “Those entitled prima donnas canceled at the last fucking minute. They’re still on the hook for the financial costs, but you don’t know what they’ve really cost us.” She pressed her palms against her temples, and Eddie knew she was aching to drag her hands through her hair.

“If you’ve got the money…” Eddie ventured.

“Edmundo,” she snapped, halting her pacing, “it was about the exposure. And the rate we gave them was pretty damn phenomenal. I don’t know why wealthy people are always trying to get such a damn bargain on everything, but whatever. The contract was ironclad about cancellation terms, and they even agreed on voice recording that they were forfeiting the entire cost of the wedding, but that doesn’t help me!

“Every single vendor was a small or new business planning to leverage the exposure from this! No matter who we get to stand in, we’ll be getting less exposure, but we need something. I can’t not have a wedding today. All of our business plans for months to come rely on the damn photos that would be taken today.

“The wedding photographer is pretty new to the game, but he’s so damn talented. You should see some of his nature work. I just… I need this.”

“And how does this translate into us getting married?” Buck asked tentatively.

She waved a hand. “You’re both hot, you have great chemistry, and this is California, so a gay wedding is great advertising in a whole different way than a celebrity wedding would be. It’s just a show ceremony. Show up, go through the motions, have a good time, attend a party, blah blah blah. None of our future clients will ever know you two were pretending.”

Eddie’s eyebrows were climbing higher and higher on his forehead. “Soph.”

“I need this, Eddie,” she whispered.

“And where are you going to get wedding guests?”

“That’s the next problem. First, I need a couple to get married. And if it’s you two, I figure you know some firefighters who wouldn’t mind free food and booze. And there’s a lot of booze, plus, part of the contract included Uber service after the wedding for anyone who drinks too much.”

Buck opened his mouth, looking like he was torn about what to say. Eddie knew his friend and knew he would want to help, but this was a big ask.

“Give us a second,” Eddie said, getting to his feet. “Buck, let’s talk.”

“Eddie—” Sophia began.

“You’d be expecting us to be on your promotional materials. It sounds like several companies’ promotional materials.”

She sighed. “Yeah.”

“You can’t seriously expect us to agree to this without talking about it first. You can spare ten minutes for us to give you an answer.”

Her shoulders slumped, and she nodded. “Can I finish your coffee?”

“That’s not going to help your nerves, but sure.”

Eddie led Buck back to the master bedroom.

As soon as the door was shut, Buck gave him an incredulous look. “No one will know it wasn’t real? Is she serious?”

“I don’t think she’s aware of how big your profile is with the LAFD.”

“Not just mine anymore,” Buck countered.

“Fair, though you’re on the actual LAFD recruiting materials, not me. And you have fan pages,” Eddie shot back.

“Eddie, we have fan pages. I just never told you because I thought it would embarrass you.”

Eddie instantly felt his cheeks go warm. “Us as in…?”

“Us working together. Some hashtag that started when we were on a rescue together our first year working together.”

He opened his mouth to ask but then shook his head. “You’re right; I don’t want to know.”

“The point is that she can’t seriously think we can do a sham wedding. She can use us as models, I suppose, but she can’t pretend like we were actually clients of hers and get away with it. That will come back to bite her in the ass.”

Eddie nodded. “Yeah. She’s just very focused on her area, and not too aware of how things are for us in the LAFD and for people who pay attention to the goings on of first responders.”

Buck blew out a breath. “I want to help her out, I really do, but I’m just not sure it’d really be a help in the long run.”

“Yeah.” Eddie dragged his hand through his hair. “I’ll tell her the reality, see if she wants to try to just use us as models and put it in the fine print that it’s not a real wedding.” He gave a laugh that sounded fake to his own ears. “Though the problem remains either way that we’d have to be able to sell it.

Under his breath, so low Eddie could barely hear it, Buck muttered, “That wouldn’t be a problem for me.”

Eddie froze, hand on the doorknob, then pivoted to face his best friend. “Buck?”

Buck’s cheeks went red and then abruptly pale. “Forget you heard that.”

Eddie took a deep breath. “And if I don’t want to forget it?”

Buck frowned. “Eddie?”

Eddie took a step closer. “Look, I’ve been waiting and working my way up to, well… Let me rephrase. I wanted us to get back to normal, to be back like we were before anything changed again, you know? But I’ve been hoping maybe how I feel isn’t just one-sided.”

“How you feel?” Buck echoed, looking like someone had hit him upside the head with a Halligan.

“Yeah, like I never want you to go home again. Like I wish this was always your home.”

“Oh.” Buck scratched the back of his neck, cheeks flushing again. “I really hate going to the loft. If I knew I could have gotten away with staying, I’d have sold it in a heartbeat.” He held up a hand. “I just can’t even have this conversation if it’s not serious, Eds. I—”

“My realization in therapy was that living my life for myself meant waiting for you. Or, at the very least, it meant waiting until I was ready to ask you so you could give me an answer one way or another.”

“Oh.” His gaze flicked to the door. “Seems like we’re skipping some steps here, Eds.”

“Yeah, maybe. Probably. I think we were skipping steps the minute we met. You in?”

Buck smiled—the bright happy smile that Eddie loved. “Hell yeah.”

* * *

Buck waited for the call to connect, aware of Eddie sitting pressed to his side. The surreal vibe of the whole conversation hadn’t abated in the last fifteen minutes that they’d been talking over how to proceed and their contingency plans.

They’d given Sophia a quick answer, though she still thought it was a pretend wedding. Then they’d left her the kitchen to make a few phone calls while they rounded up the guests, promising they’d let her know ASAP how many of the three hundred guests they could fill in at short notice.

“Hey, Buck, what’s up?”

“Hey, Trish. I have a favor and an invitation.”

“Hit me with both. I owe you, and I’m always down for an invitation.”

“How long would it take to get a wedding license?”

“In general or for you?”

“For me…?”

“Wow. Well, we’re doing licenses by appointment only, and there’s a bit of a wait, but Monica would— Wait, how quickly were you thinking?”

“Today?”

“Damn. Hold on.”

There was a long pause while Eddie was busily texting Hen, making the arrangements to come and get Christopher early without revealing anything of why.

Then Trish was back on the line. “Monica will squeeze you in after her afternoon docket.”

“Can we get married without the license?”

“You mean the ceremony?”

“Yes.”

“Eh. Not exactly but sort of. Want to fill me in on the details?”

He quickly gave her a rundown of the situation.

“Here’s what I’d recommend. Stop by here on your way and sign some paperwork. Then go through the ceremony, exchange vows or whatever, but be aware that it’s truly ceremonial, not legal. The legal bit is the consent to wed, which you’ll need to come here and do before a judge since you don’t have your license yet. Instead of going to sign the license, which most couples do right after the ceremony with the officiant, before your reception, stop by here, sign the final paperwork, and do the consent to wed before a judge here at the courthouse.

“Oh, wait. Is this invitation to the wedding today?”

“Yes.”

“Great, I have half the day off anyway. And if I could bring Monica along…?”

“Well, yeah, of course she can come.”

Trish made a squeeing noise. “Hold on.”

Barely a minute passed before she was back. “Perfect. Monica is coming with. She’s thrilled. We always knew you two were meant for one another.”

Buck felt his face heat.

“The wedding officiant won’t truly be marrying you, of course; you’ll have to do the consent to wed in front of Monica. But if you can sign the paperwork for me before the wedding, I can bring the license with us.”

Buck and Eddie exchanged a look, and as always, they were on the same page. “If the judge is sure her docket is light enough, we’d be happy to change officiants and have Judge Boyd do the ceremony if she were so inclined…?”

The squee this time broke the sound barrier, and Buck had to pull the phone away from his ear. “Hold!” She was back in thirty seconds. “Monica says yes! She’ll issue a whole afternoon of continuances if she has to; it’s just Zoom court anyway, but she won’t have to. Seriously. Light day. Have the wedding planner text me whatever the judge needs to know about the ceremony. I’m so excited! Dress code?”

“I honestly don’t know yet. Just keep all the details on the down low, okay? At the start of the ceremony, everyone is probably going to assume we’re just doing Sophia a favor by standing in for the photographs.”

Trish blew a raspberry. “Baby, no one is going to assume that, but, sure, we’ll keep quiet until you tell us otherwise.”

Buck flushed again, vowing to have a stern talk with his blush response lest he be beet red for the rest of the day. “We’ll text you the details.”

“I’m so looking forward to this! Monica is going to be bragging for months that she got to marry you two.”

“Gawd.”

“Seriously… the two hot firefighters who saved LA Women’s Judicial Conference when their lunch venue went up in flames.”

“It wasn’t just us.”

“It was you two who dragged them all out of there.”

“We were doing our jobs.”

“And doing it very well. Text me when you get here for the paperwork, then I’ll see you for the wedding!”

Buck hung up and shared a glance with Eddie. They’d decided to keep the real nature of this to as limited an audience as possible, deciding if the vow exchange felt weird, they’d just not sign the paperwork and let the pretend thing stand as the official story.

“This is already bigger than I was expecting,” Eddie muttered.

“Too much?”

Eddie shot him a look. “I’d rather marry you in the courthouse and take off for Hawaii with our kid, but that doesn’t solve Sophia’s problem.”

Buck couldn’t help the smile. They hadn’t said the words, and he realized they really needed to. “I love you, you know?”

Eddie cocked his head. “Yeah, I do know. I’ve only ever been sure of love from a very few people in my whole life, and you’re one of them. I just didn’t know the kind of love you felt until today.” He nudged Buck with his shoulder. “I love you as well. My only regret is we didn’t get here sooner.”

Buck dropped his head on Eddie’s shoulder and took a breath to get his emotions and his heart under control. They were on a tight timeline, so no time to dawdle with feelings.

Eddie’s fingers carded through his hair.

Okay, maybe a little time.

“The only person who needs to know the whole deal ahead of time is Chris, so keep making calls.”

He dialed Bobby’s number, barely having to look at his phone to get that done.

“Hey, kid. Everything okay?”

“Hey, Bobby.” Buck didn’t lift his head from Eddie’s shoulder. “Athena home today?”

“Yeah, let me put you on speaker. The kids are with Michael and David, so we were trying to figure out what a day for adults might look like. Something up?”

“Want to go to a high-end wedding? Lots of food, there is an open bar, but I’ve been informed there are a few alcohol-free tables.”

There was a beat. “Whose wedding?”

“Umm… Mine?”

There was a long pause before Athena’s voice demanded, “Explain, Evan Buckley.”

“Well, you see, it’s like this…”

A few minutes later, after Buck had finished explaining the plan, except not the whole plan, there was dead silence over the line. “This is the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard,” Athena said dryly. “You’re practically famous in first-responder circles, and Eddie’s damn close to the same level. She’s going to tank her whole business.”

Buck sighed.

Eddie started laughing. “I told you Athena wouldn’t buy it. Athena, we’re playing along, but we decided to take the opportunity to get a free wedding and get married for real. No one but Chris, and now you guys, will know it’s really us getting married. We’ll tell everyone later. No pressure to get gifts. Well, the judge knows too.”

Another long silence. “Well, that changes everything. Of course we’ll be there. Your little marriage of convenience just brightened up my whole day. And you say only Bobby and I will know…?”

“Well, I might be coming clean to my abuela, because if she gives me the look, I’m gonna cave, but for the most part, yeah. However, we don’t really have guests yet.”

“How many guests and when?”

“Three hundred by three. I guess the original couple had some thing about three.”

“Give me Sophia’s number. I promise, between our contacts in the LAPD and LAFD, we’ll fill the seats. And I swear it’ll be people you’ll know at least secondhand.”

“Sure, fine. Less people for us to scrounge up. Just be sure she keeps enough seats for family.”

“She’s not going to want to invite family to your pretend wedding.”

“Right. Hell.”

Bobby chimed in, “I’ll contact Isabel and make sure the right people are there. She’ll tell Sophia it’s to lend an authentic feel to your wedding. In the meantime, she’ll ensure your aunt and whatever people from her family are available are there. We’re definitely going to have to tell her, though.”

“Right, just don’t…” Eddie frowned. “I don’t know. Just let the Diaz madness play out how it will. I can’t control this runaway freight train. Sophia started this; she can endure it if her wedding of convenience becomes less convenient.”

Bobby laughed. “Smart move. You’re making a really bold choice here, so if you’re going for it, just go for it. You need to tell the important person now, so let us do the rest of the work, and go get that done!”

“Gotcha.” Eddie’s posture relaxed, and Buck thought he looked happy.

“Wait,” Athena said. “What about Maddie?”

“Nothing I can do about it. No time to get her out of the hospital.”

“Chim?”

“I’ll leave that up to you. I don’t want his drama, Bobby. This isn’t about him or Maddie, but if you think he’ll be cool about things, invite him. I’d like you to invite Albert if you can, though.”

“Yeah, I can manage it. I think Ravi and Albert are friends, and I’ll run the Chim thing by him. Don’t worry about this. We’ll take care of it.”

“And whatever the decision about Chim,” Athena added, “we’ll be sure Hen’s on board. Karen will help!”

“Right.” Buck really hoped it went down that way. “Thanks.”

They hung up and stared at one another. “All right, let’s go get our kid,” Eddie said.

Buck knew his smile was goofy. “Yeah.”

When they were in the living room, they called out to Sophia, “We’ve gotta go get Chris!”

“Wait!” She barreled out of the kitchen. “Athena just started texting me, saying she thinks she’s got the guests covered, asking for wedding details…?” She waved her phone around in emphasis, her expression conveying shock.

“Yeah, just talk to her. Between her and Bobby, they know a lot of LAPD and LAFD who would come for just the free food alone.”

She looked stunned. “Right, okay. So, we’re doing this?”

They both nodded.

“But you can’t go yet. I need to know what you’re wearing! This is going to be in our publicity photos, boys. You can’t just wear your turncoats.”

“Dios, Soph. Turnouts.” Eddie glared at her.

“You still can’t wear them, no matter what they’re called!”

“We both have black suits,” Buck offered. They had to have them in the event of a funeral for any type of first responder.

“No. It’s an afternoon wedding in summer.”

“And I have a navy suit—”

“Also no.”

“Would you quit interrupting? There’s also a lighter blue,” Buck finally got out.

“Where is it?”

“Sheesh, Soph. He doesn’t keep his suits in my closet. It’s at his loft, of course.”

Buck sighed and pulled out his phone. “Taylor took this picture.” He handed it over.

She whistled lowly. “That’ll do. Just like that. Lightweight, cream-colored sweater under it. Other option would be a white button-up, open at the throat.”

“I’ll pick it up while we’re out.”

“Of course, this is dependent upon what Mr. Surly is wearing.” She shot Eddie a pointed look.

“I have black. I don’t normally wear suits.” He crossed his arms.

“There’s the white one you got for that white party Hector dragged you to in Palm Springs,” Buck supplied helpfully.

Eddie glared at him. “Traitor.”

“Oh. Let me see.” Sophia made grabby hands.

Five minutes later, she’d pronounced it acceptable. “Not a white shirt though. This isn’t a white party, nor is Eddie the virgin bride in your ceremony. Your shirt choices are abysmal, Edmundo.”

“Pick one,” Eddie said firmly. “I’m not taking the time out of the day to go find some shirt because you’ve decided it needs to match Buck’s suit, or whatever’s on your mind. As it is, we’re going to have to stop and get Chris something to wear.”

She huffed at them. “Light grey would be my preference, but I’ll take charcoal. Can I see it on you? Can you spare five minutes for that, please? I need to know if I need to have a tailor there. I can see from the photos that Buck’s fits him like a damn glove.” She side-eyed him. “It’s like you’re trying to give other men a complex.”

Buck laughed. “You’ve found me out.”

Eddie reluctantly agreed and shooed her out. She looked surprised at Buck staying.

Buck shook his head and blocked her view as he ushered her to the door. “Seriously, Sophia, we shower and change together every shift. Depending on what kind of awful mess we’re dropped into, sometimes several times a shift. I’ve had lovers I’ve seen naked less often than this one.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder at Eddie. “But you don’t need to see his bare ass, so we’ll be right out.”

“Seeing his butt when he was running around naked at five was plenty, thanks.” With that, she strutted down the hall.

Eddie was already skimming into the white dress pants when Buck turned back around. “You won’t be having any more lovers that you see naked.”

“Just you, right?” Buck leaned against the doorjamb and watched Eddie peel off his Henley. The man’s body was fucking work of art, but Buck forced himself to stay focused on Eddie, because this was too important.

Eddie paused and met Buck’s gaze. “Guess we haven’t really talked about much.”

“Seems like we talked about the important stuff. Being family—you, me, Chris. The rest will work out.”

“Monogamy is important to me,” Eddie said as he slipped on the charcoal button-up.

“Yep.”

“Sex is…less important to me. I can take it or leave it usually, but the monogamy still matters.” He met Buck’s gaze as he began to button. “Is that okay?”

“Yes.”

“Just yes?”

“Just yes. I like sex, not gonna lie, but if it works out, it works out. There’s always special alone time.”

“Hmm.” Eddie looked contemplative as he slid the jacket on, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt. “I guess the question is, are you willing to go into a marriage with sex being an unknown?”

“I’m feeling like taking risks today.”

“That’s a big risk, Evan.”

“Is it?” Buck shot back.

Eddie made another little humming noise and finished adjusting the perfect-fitting suit. He crossed over to Buck. “Let’s find out?” Then Eddie framed Buck’s face with both hands and tugged. “Come here.”

Their lips met. Despite Eddie’s outward confidence, it was a little tentative for about two seconds, and then it was fire.

Buck blinked, feeling dizzy, and disoriented, grasping at Eddie’s shoulders.

Then Eddie was pulling away, but gravity seemed all wrong. Buck realized he was flat on his back on the bed instead of standing by the door, and Eddie was pressed down over him, staring down at Buck with an almost unsettled expression. His gaze seemed fixed on Buck’s mouth.

Eddie cleared his throat. “I don’t think sex is going to be an issue.”

“No,” Buck managed to croak out. “Sex is good. With you. Now?”

“Wow. I think I broke you.”

“Yes.”

Eddie smiled. Soft and pleased. He dropped a light kiss on Buck’s mouth. “I’m going to splash some water on my face and then let Soph see the suit.” He scratched his fingers through Buck’s hair. “We’ve got to go get Chris. Hen is expecting us.”

“Right.”

Eddie rolled off of him, looking like he struggled to force himself to leave and go into the bathroom.

Buck just lay there and tried to get his bearings. His whole body seemed to suddenly be wired toward Eddie. Certainly, he knew his whole being was already geared that way, but this was new.

Eddie reappeared, looking put together and hot as hell in the white suit. He paused by the bed and dropped another light kiss on Buck’s mouth. “Love you.”

As soon as Eddie was gone, Buck rolled up to a seated position and rubbed his hands over his face. “Gah. I’m so screwed.” He grinned. He should be worried, but he was so freaking happy.

* * *

Eddie helped get Chris situated in the back of the pickup, listening to him chatter a million miles a minute about his evening with Karen and Denny. Chris could manage pretty well on his own save for actually getting into and out of the truck because it was so high off of the ground.

It was good for Chris to get whatever interaction he could, as his social circle was so limited these days due to school closures. The kids of the 118 A-shift were his most common social circle and those weren’t as frequent as any of the parents would like. Hector’s kids were another avenue, but they lived a bit farther away, and there was more of an age disparity.

As soon as Eddie was in the truck, Chris asked, “So, why’d you pick me up early?”

Since they weren’t moving yet, Eddie turned around and looked into the back seat—Buck had been looking back the entire time, happily listening to every word out of Christopher’s mouth. “Remember how your Tía Sophia had that big wedding today?”

“Yep. The one she’s using to launch her business, right?”

“Right.”

Chris had been paying even better attention to Sophia than Eddie had been.

“The people she was doing the wedding for canceled at the last minute.”

“Oh no. She wanted the pictures to put on her website, Dad. The ones she has now aren’t good enough to attract the right customers. She’ll have to do a whole new wedding.”

“Not really. Buck and I are going to get married instead.”

Chris’ brow furrowed. “What do you mean?” His lips tightened and then his chin trembled. “You’re going to pretend about something I wa— about something so important because some awful people are—” he scrubbed at his face, and Eddie was at a loss.

But Buck seemed to understand because he said, “It’s not pretend.”

Chris’ gaze snapped to Buck. “What?”

“Your dad and I love each other, and we’d be getting married in our own time someday, maybe at a courthouse. Weddings like this are super expensive, and probably not something we’d even want for ourselves. But we can do your tía a favor so she can have her pictures, have a really nice party, and still get to have our special day.”

Chris was frozen, then he finally asked, “And you’d be married for real?”

“For real.”

“For real, for real?”

“As real as the laws of the State of California can make it.”

A few tears spilled over, but Chris’ smile was blinding as he nodded furiously. “Yes!”

And Eddie knew this wedding was happening no matter what. Not that he’d had any real doubts, but they’d left themselves an out, an out that had just been closed to them.

“You’re okay with this, then?” Eddie clarified.

“Yes, as long as Buck stays forever.”

“Of course I’m going to stay. That’s the whole point of becoming a Diaz.”

Eddie blinked and raised a brow. “Evan Diaz?”

“Evan Buckley Diaz, no hyphen, new middle name?” The question was faint and just for Eddie.

Eddie grinned. “Yeah, sounds perfect.”

Chris was doing a little dance in his seat.

“We’ve got to take you to get a suit, though. The wedding is at three, and you need something to wear so you can walk up there with us.”

“Sweet!”

Buck laughed, the sound as bright as Christopher’s

* * *

While Chris was in the changing room, Eddie watched Buck tapping intently at his phone. “What’s going on?”

“Sophia’s sending updates.”

“Why is she sending them to you?”

Buck shrugged. “She said I’m more likely to reply.”

“She’s not wrong. Listen…” Eddie moved closer and sat next to his soon-to-be husband’s side. “We left ourselves a little loophole in all this, just in case it felt wrong once we were up there saying those vows.”

“Yeah, we did indeed say that.”

“But, Chris…”

Buck nodded. “We’re getting married, Eddie. No loopholes. We do our best to make it work.”

“Our best is usually plenty.”

Buck knocked their shoulders together. “It’ll be fine.” There was a pause. “But if it’s not, we figure out how to live together in platonic bliss for the rest of our lives, because I’m not giving up my family, Eds. We can be roommates and share a kid, but we can’t be nothing, all right?”

Eddie stared at Buck for several long moments. “Weirdly, I think that’s the most romantic thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

“So, you’re saying no one’s ever said anything romantic to you…?”

“Assuming he agrees, want to adopt a ten-year-old?”

Buck looked toward the changing area and hollered, “Can I adopt you?”

There was a pause, then an indignant, “You weren’t already planning on it?”

“I was planning on how to break it to your actual legal parent!” Buck yelled back.

“I take it he said yes, because if he gives you any trouble, I know where he sleeps!”

Eddie just stared.

“That a yes?”

“This conversation is almost as inane as ties.”

“You don’t have to wear a tie, Superman.”

“Great! To both! Yes to adoption, no to ties! Life is perfect, and I look amazing!”

* * *

Buck glanced out of the tent that had been allocated to them and looked to where the people were filling in the three hundred-plus seats. “I think I saw Chief Alonzo and Chief Adamson.”

“Seriously?” Eddie looked stunned. “The head of the LAFD and his second is here?”

“Yeah, and pretty sure they’re with the chief of police.”

“This is getting out of hand.” He looked to Chris, who was sitting on a table, swinging his feet. His suit was pale pink with a white shirt, and he was rocking it. “Should we elope?”

Chris stared at him, appalled. “Did you see the cakes? We’re staying.”

Buck laughed. “Hashtag-priorities.”

They’d arrived early and been immediately appropriated by the wedding photographer, though there’d be more photos later with whoever they could rope into being the official wedding party. Right now, the photos were just of the three of them, and a lot with Buck and Eddie as a couple. Buck, getting a good feeling about the photographer, had decided to read him in on the secret—and the reasons why they were keeping Sophia out of the loop. As a result, there were a fair number of photos taken of them kissing in the botanical garden, which he doubted had been on Sophia’s original photography plan.

Eddie had had to rein Sophia in a little to keep her from ruining this whole thing for Chris; he’d told her to either treat this as an actual wedding for Christopher’s sake, or they’d leave.

She’d taken a deep breath, gotten some perspective, apologized for being neurotic, and had been actually pleasant to be around since. Buck absolutely wanted her business to succeed, but neither of them wanted Chris to have anything but a good time today.

Suddenly Eddie asked. “What are we doing about rings?”

“Bobby’s bringing them,” Buck replied absently, staring out the tent flap again. “That’s why he’s running late. I sent him our ring sizes and some idea of what to get. I also asked him to pick us up some silicone rings for work. Thought maybe we could talk about tattoo rings down the road.”

That gave Eddie a warm feeling low in his belly. “Yeah,” he whispered, moving close to Buck, curling an arm around his waist. “We should definitely talk about that.”

Buck gave a little start of surprise, but then leaned into him. “Like that idea?”

“I love your ink, but more than that, I’m pretty sure I’m going to be obsessed with the idea of you wearing my ink.”

“Yeah, well… likewise.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Chris asked.

“Our rings,” Eddie called back.

“Oh.”

Buck turned around and offered, “When we do the adoption, I thought maybe we could get you a bracelet or a medallion or something as a symbol of the adoption ceremony.”

Chris grinned. “Yeah!”

The tent was suddenly invaded, and three silhouettes stood backlit by the sun. The figure in the front was very small compared to the other two.

“Uh-oh,” Chris whispered sotto voce. “USS Abuela incoming.”

Buck snorted.

Abuela entered the tent and stared between the three of them. “Pepa, take Christopher to get some water, please.”

Pepa grinned at Eddie and held out her hand to Christopher. “Come, ángel. Mamá wishes to twist Edmundo’s ear.”

“Awesome. I want to be out of the line of fire!” Chris happily abandoned them and went with Pepa to get something to drink.

Hector laughed at them. “So, I hear you two are doing this wedding thing for the sake of Sophia’s business.”

“Right,” Eddie said dryly. “Sophia’s had a run of bad luck, and she can use the help.”

“Uh-huh. You two are just going to pretend to get married in front of all these people?”

“They know it’s—”

“They know it’s you two,” Hector said with a grin.

Eddie glared.

Hector laughed.

Abuela stood with her hands on her hips. “I talked to Robert. I’ve said nothing to anyone else, but I wish to hear the truth for myself, Edmundo. What is this?”

Eddie chose his words with careful precision. “It’s a marriage.”

Abuela’s eyes narrowed, and she stared at him and then at Buck. She nodded sharply. “Good.” She stepped up to Buck and reached up to pat his cheeks. “Take care of my boys.”

“I promise.”

She nodded, pulled him down to kiss both cheeks, did the same to Eddie, then left the tent to take her seat on the front row.

Hector shook his head at them. “You know almost no one buys this stand-in wedding nonsense, right? I’m not sure why Soph believes it.”

“Tunnel vision?”

“You could just tell her you’re really getting married.”

Eddie waved that off. “Nah, you know Sophia. Then she’d start to think she was infringing on our actual wedding, she’d freak out, and call the whole thing off. We’re in it now. Do your part, Hector.”

“Right. I guess my part is to pretend to Sophia’s face that you two haven’t been obliviously in love since like two weeks after you met.” He gave them a narrow-eyed look. “What about that fanclub of yours? This is going to get out sooner or later and then Soph will know.”

Buck smiled. “I figured I’d sent them a picture so they’d know sooner.”

Hector threw back his head and laughed. “I’d almost pay to see Sophia’s face when her site blows up. Yeah, all right. You still owe me.” He waved over his shoulder as he headed out of the tent.

“There’s a huge cake and top-shelf tequila!” Buck called after him.

“That’s not payment! I want babysitting!”

They had a few seconds to themselves, and Eddie was just about to ask if Buck wanted to run away and elope, when Bobby and Athena arrived with the wedding rings, followed by Sophia.

“I saw the chiefs here. Didn’t think they’d actually come,” Bobby muttered.

“But you invited them, right?” Buck asked, sounding bemused.

“Yeah, Chief Williams said we should.”

“Why?”

Bobby shrugged. “Who knows why the chiefs do anything. Let them have their little…whatever that is. She gave me the list of chiefs to invite, and I did as directed.”

Sophia seemed pleased. “It’s actually really nice. They’ve all said they don’t mind being in any of the candid wedding photos. So the photographer is already making plans on how to include them. Also, I can’t believe Monica Boyd is officiating for you! When you said you were supplying your own judge, I had no idea you meant a judge who had almost a cult following in this town. She said you two saved her life.” She came over and gave Eddie a hug. “This is going to help so much. Thank you.”

Eddie patted her back. “Sure thing, Soph. Now, tell me who the guy is that recently arrived and has been making moon eyes at you.”

She blushed. “Just this guy I’ve been seeing.”

“And…?”

“His name is Don. He’s with the FBI. You can meet him later, okay?”

“I’d better get to meet him later.” Eddie hesitated. “Listen, weird request maybe, but I’d like a few pictures with you in them today.”

“Oh, but I wouldn’t be in any of the real wedding photos…”

“Yeah, but you’d be in my wedding photos, and you don’t have to put all the damn pics on your website, Sophia. Just step out of your wedding planner mode for a while, eat dinner with us, and be in some pictures, give us some memories of a fun family party. Bring your boyfriend too. We’re doing this thing all afternoon, all dressed up, and I’d like you in the family pictures.”

Her expression softened. “Of course, Eddie. You’re right. They’re going to take thousands of photos, so what does it matter if I’m in some of them.”

“And take your hair down. You’re not trying to please me as a client, so there’s no need to look like an uptight party planner trying too hard to be a not-guest, okay?”

She smiled. “Yeah, all right.” She looked at her watch. “We’ve got about fifteen minutes. Nice choice on the rings. I’ll be back in ten minutes, okay?”

As soon as she was gone, Bobby shook his head, smiling. “It’s almost charming how oblivious she is.” He passed the ring box over, and Buck showed them to Eddie.

They were a high polish titanium with some etching around the edges. Simple but stylish. Eddie figured the titanium was because even out of work, they tended to be hard on watches and jewelry, so Buck so doubt wanted a tougher metal than gold.

“You two sure about this today?”

“Positive,” Eddie said firmly. “Abuela, Pepa, Hector, and his family are sitting as the wedding party on my side with Hector as my best man. Will you two sit as the wedding party on Buck’s side?”

“Of course?” Athena said immediately. “We’d love to. Once we told Michael and David what we were up to, they changed plans, and they’re bringing the kids here, and should arrive any minute. So, we can round out more numbers if you need it.”

“We do. Let Sophia know, would you?”

Athena nodded and darted out of the tent.

“And would you be my best man, Bobby?” Buck asked.

Bobby looked choked up. “I’d be absolutely honored, Buck.”

“Thanks.” Buck passed the rings back. “If you’ll keep ahold of these? Find Hector and give him one? I have no idea what we’re doing. Sophia gave us the plan via text, so there’s been no rehearsal or anything. We’re winging a lot of this.”

“You two pick vows, or are you going with something standard?”

“Chris picked them out while we were in the truck.”

Bobby laughed. “This is so crazy, but I love every bit of it. Just relax. If something awful happens, like someone falls on their face, no one cares. Just enjoy each other, enjoy the day, and love the memories you make.” He hugged them both and walked out.

“You nervous?” Eddie asked.

“Weirdly, no. Maybe it’s too surreal for nerves.”

“Maybe it’s too right for nerves. I mean, the trappings are ridiculous, but if I’d married you at the courthouse a couple of hours ago, I wouldn’t have been nervous then.”

Buck got a sappy grin on his face. “How could we be here now when we weren’t here yesterday?”

“You sure we weren’t?”

Buck opened his mouth, then closed it again. Then he shrugged.

Eddie reached out and smoothed his hand over Buck’s chest, which was covered in the lightweight, cream-colored sweater ordered by Sophia. “Put your coat on. It’s almost time.”

“You too.”

Eddie sighed. “I can’t believe I’m wearing white.”

* * *

They’d walked down the aisle together, Christopher leading the way, Hector and Bobby waiting for them with Monica, aka Judge Boyd, at the honeysuckle covered arch.

They stood facing one another with Christopher opposite Monica, leaning on his crutches, close enough to touch, part of the ceremony that was the first major step in legally making them a family.

They held hands, and it suddenly felt intensely real in ways the bizarre day hadn’t until that moment.

“Eddie, do you consent to be wedded to Evan?” Monica asked, her voice conveying her delight.

“I do,” Eddie said with all the deep love in his heart.

“Evan, do you consent to be wedded to Eddie?”

“I do,” Buck said with all the joy and love in his.

“Please recite your vows.”

Together, they read the vows Christopher had chosen for them that they’d agreed to.

You were my reason then,
my reason now,
my reason every day.

You strengthen my weaknesses,
bring focus to my dreams.

Here and now, I pledge my life to yours,
that your dreams become my dreams.

No matter where life leads me,
I know that as long as you are there,
that is where I am meant to be.

Bobby and Hector simultaneously handed them their rings, and they stood poised to put them in place, staring into each other’s eyes. Then they both glanced at Christopher, who was grinning like mad. With soft smiles, they slid the rings into place. They’d chosen to exchange rings in silence.

Monica intoned, “By the power vested in me by the state of California, I pronounce you married. You may now greet your new partner in life.”

Eddie stared into Buck’s eyes and murmured, “Partner in all of my life.”

Buck smiled, cupped Eddie’s cheek, and leaned in.

Eddie easily met him halfway, sealing their vows.

* * *

“Edmundo!”

Eddie jolted awake, feeling Buck do the same. He collapsed back onto his partner, groaning at being awoken so abruptly. “I swear, I’m taking back her key.”

Buck mumbled his agreement into Eddie’s hair, his body going lax as if he were already falling back asleep.

Eddie nudged the sheet up a little higher just moments before Sophia charged into their room in full rant.

“I’m going to be ruined! Why haven’t you two been answering your phones? Do you have any idea what’s been going on?”

“No idea,” Eddie mumbled into Buck’s chest. “What are you doing here, Soph?”

“My business is blowing up, Eddie!”

“Huh?”

“The website can barely contain the traffic; I had to upgrade my hosting plan. I have so many appointments I’m going to have to hire another assistant. This is a disaster!”

“Why is that a disaster? Didn’t you want a high-end wedding to draw in business? Sounds like you have business.” He snuggled closer to his husband, knowing he should get up and be decent, but he was on his honeymoon, dammit. The chief of the whole damn LAFD had arranged for Buck to have ten days of sex leave. He called it honeymoon, but same difference.

“Eddie! You two apparently have fans, and when they find out this was all fake, I’m going to be— Wait. Why are you two in bed together?”

“Because we’re on our honeymoon, Sophia,” Buck said dryly, arm tightening around Eddie’s waist. “Please go away and enjoy your booming business while we enjoy our…intimate time together.”

“What in the world are you talking about? You two aren’t married.”

“We most assuredly are,” Eddie said firmly. “Applied for the license on the way to the botanical gardens, and we signed everything with Monica after the wedding was over, just like a perfectly normal couple.” He draped himself more over Buck. “He’s all mine now. Go away.”

There was a long silence. “Are you saying you actually got married?” Sophia’s voice was barely a whisper.

Eddie cracked an eye open and peered at her. She looked devastated.

“He knew you’d react this way,” Buck said on a sigh. “He said if you knew we were really getting married, you’d call it off and insist on planning our dream wedding.”

“Damn right! You two deserved to have your perfect day, not some entitled rich bitch’s perfect day.”

“You talked entitled rich bitch into a pretty nice wedding,” Buck shot back. “Three wedding cakes seemed like a bit much, but other than the subtle reoccurring pattern of three in the wedding, there wasn’t a damn thing wrong with it. It was a wedding of convenience, but so what? You know what else is a wedding of convenience? A courthouse ceremony.”

Sophia gasped in horror.

“Yeah, and that would have been a high probability for us, so let it go, Sophia. We got a nice wedding we didn’t have to stress out over or pay for. You got the publicity you needed. It’s a win.”

“Except…it was your wedding, and I wasn’t really there. Adri wasn’t there,” she sniffled.

Eddie sat up, sheet pooling around his waist as he scrubbed at his face, trying to fully wake up. “Why do you think I insisted you join us? Why do you think I wanted you in the photos? Mom and Pop wouldn’t have been welcome at my wedding, Soph, you know that. And Adri would have pitched a royal fit at me not inviting them.

“If left to my own devices, I’d have married this one in the courthouse, with just you, Abuela, Pepa, and Hector’s brood present for my side. Then we’d have had a cookout in Pepa’s backyard.”

Sophia looked scandalized.

“You’d have been horrified the whole day, and probably not enjoyed a minute of it. There was no way you were going to get an Eddie Diaz wedding that you were going to enjoy, so you got a wedding by Sophia Diaz that Eddie Diaz most assuredly did enjoy. It’s a weird distinction, but I’m okay with it. Can you be okay with it?”

She gave him a crooked smile. “Yeah, I guess I can be.” Her gaze drifted to Buck, and her cheeks flushed bright red. “Ay dios, Edmundo, he’s naked.”

Eddie twitched the sheet up, which was riding very low on Buck’s abdomen. “Soph, we were having sex up until an hour ago. If your timing had been worse, you’d have gotten quite the eyeful. You need to learn to knock.”

She put a hand over her eyes. “I think I’ll be going.”

Chuckling, Eddie pulled on his robe and followed his sister to the front door. “Sophia, just enjoy your success, and do not feel a smidge of guilt, okay? We decided to turn your pretend wedding into our real marriage. I knew you’d drop the whole thing if you knew and, honestly, once I got him to agree, I wanted to put a ring on it as fast as I could.”

She smirked. “Solid choice.”

“Right?”

She gave him a hug. “Be happy, Eddie. No matter what, that’s most important.”

“I am happy. Can you be happy?”

“I think I’m going to be busy. How did I miss that you two are some sort of LAFD social media celebrities?”

“Buck understands it all better than I do.” He gave her a concerned look. “You’re not going to angst about the wedding, are you?”

“Probably for a bit… I’ll kick my own ass that I was at my brother’s actual wedding and didn’t realize, but I’m happy for you. And I guess I’m happy that I was a part of getting you two to this point.”

“Yeah, I think it all worked out the way it was supposed to.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in fate?”

“I don’t. But I do believe in Buck.”

“The romantic look on you is a good one. I approve.”

“Says the wedding planner.”

“Says the apparently very successful wedding planner. You should check out my website. You two look amazing. I do great work.”

Eddie laughed and showed her out, then he went back to the bedroom.

Buck had rolled over and was sprawled out on his stomach, half of his ass now showing, his breathing deep and even. When Eddie climbed into bed, he stirred and rolled to his side, lifting his arm and letting Eddie curl into him. The position had become nearly automatic, which was weird after only a couple of days.

“Sophia okay?” Buck mumbled against Eddie’s hairline.

“She’s fine. She’ll angst a bit about being at our wedding but sort of missing it, and then I’ll send her that photo album I asked Darren to make for her. Good job getting him in on it.”

“Mm. Sophia had it all in place; just took advantage of her convenient wedding.” Strong arms pulled Eddie in tighter.

Eddie relished the closeness he’d been missing for too long. “How much longer do you want to sleep?” he finally asked.

Buck cracked an eye open. “What’d you have in mind?”

Smiling, Eddie pushed Buck onto his back, then slid over to sprawl on top of him. He stared down at his husband, brushing back the rumpled curls. “Love you, Evan Buckley Diaz.”

Looking more awake, Buck smiled. “Love you too.” He pulled Eddie down into another kiss that made him forget which was was up or down, and made him wonder why they hadn’t done this years ago.

The End.