sometimes sweetheart

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/35380684.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: Gen, M/M
Fandom: 9-1-1 (TV)
Relationship: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV) &
Original Character(s)
Character: Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley, Original Characters
Additional Tags: Established Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Secret Relationship,
Drunken Confessions, Drunkenness, Eddie Diaz Loves Evan "Buck"
Buckley, Friendship, Army Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Old Friends, POV
Outsider, Relationship Reveal, Drunken Shenanigans, Soft Eddie Diaz
(9-1-1 TV), Eddie's Army Friends, Light Angst, this is pretty much just
eddie ranting about buck, me too eddie, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Collections: TDH 9-1-1
Stats: Published: 2021-11-28 Words: 2530

sometimes sweetheart
by TheyReapWhatWeSow

Summary

||

“Hey, let him go. He's got a kid at home. I'm sure he has to let the babysitter go.” Alexi
reasoned picking up her own phone to check the time and whistled. “It’s getting hella late
for the rest of us too.”

“I don't have to let the babysitter go, I have to let the- get the babysitter in, in my bed.”
Eddie slurred, smiling goofily as he rambled.

“DIAZ!” Rahul asked, scandalized, “Did you get yourself a hot nanny?”

||

OR

Eddie goes out with some old friends, and reveals a bit more than he meant to.

Notes

yall idek what this is- i just wanted drunk eddie showing off his boyfriend
 do not ask me any more questions

happy reading!

See the end of the work for more notes

Bzzt!

Eddie fumbled for his phone, quickly flipping it over to confirm the sender before he huffed and
put it facedown back on the table. This was the twelfth message in as many minutes, and Eddie
wasn’t gonna give in to the temptation to check the content of the text.

Rahul next to him shoved at his shoulder, waving his arm, and the drink in it, precariously over the
table. The rest of Eddie’s group shouted at him, as they watched the full pint of beer swing over
their snacks, but thankfully, the food was spared.

“Is that the missus, calling you back home already?” Rahul asked, draping himself over Eddie’s
shoulder. Eddie wasn’t usually one for all the physical affection he’d been buried in today, but
something about training and serving with folks for multiple years breaks down walls you didn’t
know could be touched. This group of guys had been with him through the worst of the worst, had
been there when he’d gotten the news that Shannon was pregnant, and had helped him drag his
broken ass home after he’d been discharged and feeling hopeless. They knew each other’s deepest
darkest secrets and were often the only people that they felt could understand what they were really
going through.

“Rahul!” Mikey said sharply, and the man hissed, carefully extracting himself from Eddie and
apologizing quickly. “I didn’t mean it like that man, I straight forgot. I’m so sorry,” Rahul cringed.

Eddie waved off the apology, and pushed a shot towards Rahul, “You’re all good man, but let’s do
another round so you can get over yourself.” With a cheer, the rest of them raised their own
glasses, and they all threw back their drinks. Eddie laughed loudly, surrounded by some of his
oldest friends, and felt glad that he could let loose.

Buck was at home with Christopher, and they’d made big plans for a personal pizza and movie
night. He’d checked in with them often when he’d first sat down, but with both teasing from his
friends, and Buck pushing him to socialize, he’d eventually turned off the notification sounds, and
let himself have fun.

A couple of hours later though, Eddie realized that maybe he’d had a bit too much fun because it
was getting near half-past one, he'd downed too many drinks to count, and the bar was a blurry
spin of colors. Buck had promised that he could watch Christopher all night, but the homebody in
Eddie just wanted to get home and curl around his boyfriend in bed.

“I think I need to go home,” Eddie drawled from where he was slumped over the table. He’d been
eating from a plate of fries earlier, but now he was wrapped around it, and occasionally licked a fry
into his mouth.

“No! Are you kidding me? Come on, you used to be out until dawn, Diaz. What happened to you?”
Mikey teased, reaching past Eddie’s arms to grab at a fry, and Eddie smacked the thieving grasp.

“Hey, let him go. He's got a kid at home. I'm sure he has to let the babysitter go.” Alexi reasoned
picking up her own phone to check the time and whistled. “It’s getting hella late for the rest of us
too.”

“I don't have to let the babysitter go, I have to let the- get the babysitter in, in my bed.” Eddie
slurred, smiling goofily as he rambled.

“DIAZ!” Rahul asked, scandalized, “Did you get yourself a hot nanny?”

“I got the hottest nanny, guys.” Eddie sat up now, suddenly alert and excited, and swaying with
emotion. “So good with Christopher, makes the best food and- and- let me tell you a secret: he
loves me so much. Told me so. Aaaand I love him too!” Eddie was too drunk to see the look of
surprise on the faces of his friends, and he kept going without interruption, “He's my favorite
person and he's so hot and he's so smart! He knows so many things! And he's so good at his job- he
does the same job as me, but he's so good at it! I have his back and he has mine…”

The group was silent for a bit, as Eddie seemed to finally wind down his expositional piece on his
partner? Boyfriend? They hadn’t known that Eddie was interested in men, but the way he was
going on about this guy clearly showed how far Eddie was head over heels for him. The three
watched in fascination as Eddie geared up again, apparently finding his second wind.

“Damn Diaz, when did you get a boyfriend?” Alexi asked and Eddie happily told the story about
how he'd finally confessed his feelings after his Buck had helped him recuperate from being shot.

“You've been with him ever since then?” Mikey gaped, that was years ago, how had Eddie
managed to keep this under wraps for so long?
“No, this is the other time that I got shot,” Eddie waved off nonchalantly, and the entire group did a
double-take, Alexi choking on her sip of beer.

“Did you forget to tell us that you got shot again?!”

“I was on the news and everything! I was bleeding out all over the Internet, how did you guys miss
this? I could have sworn I told you.” Eddie explained slowly.

“Well, clearly you didn't because damn!” Rahul said, finally breaking out of the shock.

“It’s fine, it’s aaaaall fine now. He made it all better.” Eddie slurred, grinning and happy again.

“We so have to meet the guy who is putting that stupid happy look on your face right now.” Alexi
waggled her eyebrows, and flicked Eddie’s forehead, wobbling him backward from where he had
his head perched in his hand.

“Yeah, we should definitely meet him. What's his name?” Mikey asked.

“Oh, it's Buck. His full name is Evan Buckley, but he goes by Buck. And sometimes sweetheart.”
There were hearts in Eddie’s vision, but maybe it was just the liquor hitting him again.

Mikey and Rahul faked a gag at the love-sick tone in Eddie’s voice, but Alexi connected the dots
and asked, “Buck? As in made-him-the-guardian-of-your-kid-without-even-asking Buck?”

When Eddie nodded, “Okay in hindsight, I feel like we should have guessed at that point.” Mikey
said, but Rahul added, “It's not our fault that Diaz keeps his feelings locked up tighter than a
lockbox.”

“I'm good at hiding,” Eddie said quietly, a little morose now, “I'm supposed to be hiding. I like
showing Buck off, but I can't do it because-” Eddie trailed off into silence, but they could guess
what was coming next. They all knew about Eddie’s family, and as much as they loved him, the
Diazes were super traditional, and it wasn’t too far a jump to see why Eddie would be pressed to
keep his relationship a secret.
A general silence fell over the group again. They knew that Eddie wasn't one to share such personal
things easily. This likely wouldn't have come out either had he not been so absolutely shitfaced.
They hoped that Eddie didn't come to regret this in the morning but they'd be sure to show as much
support as they could without making it too obvious, as was their standard.

“Okay I think it's time we get all of us into cabs and headed home,” Mikey said but Rahul threw
himself back on top of Eddie and grabbed his face with both hands.

“Bro, I am so glad you told us, bro. I thought you were going to die alone and don't tell me that it
doesn't count as alone if your kid is there because even your kid has more of a life than you do.” he
rambled, making intense eye contact with Eddie the whole time.

Eddie smacked at Rahul, trying to be angry but far too gone to pull himself together enough,” I am
not going to die alone!”

“Yeah, it's a good thing Buck took pity on your ass and decided to go out with you because there
was no hope for you otherwise.” Mikey crowed, and Eddie threw himself across the table to reach
a hand far enough to smack Mikey too.

Eddie's phone buzzed again from where it was lying on the table and this time Rahul picked it up.
“Who is it that won't leave you alone all night?” He put the phone up to Eddie's face, using the
face ID scanner to unlock it, but when he turned the phone back to himself Rahul's eyes widened
before he blushed fiercely and slammed the phone back down onto the table. “Ah- haha, damn
bud, good for you.” He said quietly, throwing back the last of his beer.

Mikey, never one to let up an opportunity to tease some of his best friends, jumped on the chance
and grabbed the cell phone too. It took him a second longer to give up as he scrolled through the
recent text history, but he too cleared his throat uncomfortably and patted Eddie solidly on the back
as he put the phone back on the table. “That a hell of a peach you’ve got there,” he couldn’t help
commenting, and snickered over a fist bump with Rahul.

Alexi had been ordering Ubers from the other boys’ phones in the meantime, and she finally turned
to Eddie and deemed him too wasted to drive as well. She squinted at the red faces of Rahul and
Mikey and decided to brush it off as the boys being stupid again, but regretted the decision as she
grabbed Eddie’s phone and was welcomed by a picture of someone's extremely attractive bare ass.
“Oh, shit- that’s a butt.” At that, Eddie lit up and grabbed the phone from Alexi.
“Oh my gosh, that is a butt. This is Buck, see?” Eddie proudly flashed them all again, and
everyone stared for a second too long before looking away. Mikey reached a hand out and pushed
Eddie’s phone down, commenting, “Bud, that’s not quite the thing people wanna see when they
ask about your boy-”

“Speak for yourself,” Rahul mumbled, stuffing a soggy nacho into his mouth, and the rest of them
shot him a look.

Eddie looked slightly disappointed at that, but then fiddled with his phone, and they heard the
ringing of a Facetime call.

“Hello?” A rough voice came through the phone.

“Heyyy, sweetheart!” Eddie drawled, gazing into the phone, and presumably his boyfriend’s face,
with eyes full of adoration.

“Hey, Eds,” the voice on the other end mellowed as well, “You planning on coming home anytime
soon? I texted you to check in earlier but it looks like you’re way gone tonight, huh?” There was a
light laugh at the other end of the call, and Eddie pouted into the camera.

“I wanna come home right now ! Because I miss you! But I can’t drive because of safety first and
so I have to wait for the Uber to come get me so I can come back.” Eddie looked like he was ready
to wax poetic about his boy for another hour, so Alexi grabbed his phone from him, pushing away
his weak attempts at getting it back. She giggled as he fell over into the booth, and didn’t
remember the man on the phone until she heard a confused voice,

“Uh? Is everything okay?” Alexi turned back to the phone, which she was holding the wrong way,
and nearly dropped it trying to flip the camera the right way.

“Oh hi! You’re Buck, right? Eddie’s Buck?” Alexi watched the man flush, and although he must
have just woken up from sleep, he still looked extremely handsome, what with his sharp jaw, full
lips, bright eyes, and gorgeous curls. She looked back at Eddie, lying face down in the booth now,
moaning about something, and then at Buck, and asked, “How on earth did he bag you?”

Buck laughed again, a warm sound, and ran a hand over his face, “I was the one who got lucky.”
“Debatable, but okay. Hey, Mr. Lucky, could you maybe come pick up Eddie? He’s been whining
about you for a while now.” Mikey hooked his chin over Alexi’s shoulder, squinting at Buck as he
asked.

“I habf ‘ot!” came the muffled sound of Eddie’s voice, who seemed resigned to lie there. Rahul had
fallen over too and was half lying on Eddie’s legs.

“Sure,” Buck said, and the camera moved with him as he pushed up and out of bed, “Chris is down
for the count, and it’s only a fifteen-minute drive out there. Can you pump some water in him until
I get there?”

“We can try,” Mikey snorted, and Buck promised to be there soon before he hung up.

They waved a waiter over to ask for water and to close out their tabs, and the man gladly rang them
all up. Rahul and Mikey dragged Eddie out of the booth, who’d decided that the sticky seats were a
perfect place to take a nap. After they confirmed that none of them were going to be driving home,
the four of them stumbled out of the bar, giggling at nothing as they shivered a bit in the wind of
the late night.

Soon, a gray jeep pulled up to the curb, where they sat, leaning on one another for support. Alexi
and Rahul were both cuddled into Eddie, and Mikey sat next to Rahul, and they all looked up at the
sound of a door slamming shut.

Buck stood above the drunk friends, smiling to himself as he saw Eddie, open and happy with his
friends, even if he was three sheets to the wind.

“Sorry to break up the party guys, but it’s time for Eddie to head home.” Buck said and
immediately was met with a chorus of “nooo!”.

Eddie, however, jumped to his feet, unsteady and wobbling, and pulled Buck into a tight hug. “I
missed you so much, babe.”

Buck laughed, but he hugged back, “It’s only been a couple hours Eds, and you’re the one who
wanted to leave.”

“I’m never leaving you again, I-” Eddie started in on what was an impassioned speech.
 “Alright sweetheart, that’s enough for you, huh?” Buck cut in, and gently guided Eddie to the
passenger side of the car.

Mikey, Rahul, and Alexi, who’d managed to right themselves after Eddie had toppled their
precarious cuddle pile in his excitement, all waved goodbye, promising to meet up soon, and that
they had lots of stories to tell Buck.

“Do you guys have rides coming?” Buck asked once he’d managed to get Eddie into the car.

They checked their phones, confirming that their Ubers would be there any minute, and so with a
final goodbye, Buck and Eddie left the parking lot, Eddie waving back out of the window.

As they pulled into the driveway at home, Eddie flopped his head over to face Buck.

“I love you so much, you know? I want everyone to know that.”

With a soft smile full of affection for his cuddly-drunk boyfriend, Buck replied,

“I love you too Eddie. No matter who knows.”

End Notes

Eddie regrets everything he remembers from the night before when he wakes up in the
morning, except for finally telling his friends about him and Buck.

___

what can i say, the muse took over?

(i added like, 400 extra words for driving safety. Don't drink and drive y'all!)
 if you liked that, feel free to leave a comment, kudos, bookmark, or whatever you'd like!
if it's 4am and you're too tired to think of a comment, leave me a for a little bonus
kudos!

thanks so much for reading! i'll see you guys next time!

byeeeeeeeeeee

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