Stay, For Me

Fifteen

*Eddie's P.O.V*

I sat with Buck on the front porch of the house. It was after 2 a.m., but neither one of us felt very tired. Buck had his head resting on my shoulder, and his legs were curled up under him on the bench.

"Do you ever wonder what's out there?" Buck asked as he vaguely gestured towards the sky.

"Yeah sometimes," I answered, "but I prefer to focus on the more important things in life, like you and Christopher and the rest of my family."

"You big sap," Buck said playfully, "it's adorable, though."

"I know," I replied, "but you love me."

"Always," Buck whispered.

"Anyways, why are you asking about the stars?" I questioned.

"I'm just thinking." Buck responded.

"About anything in particular?" I asked quietly.

"About you," Buck stated, "and about our future. My life with you and Chris is perfect, and I wouldn't change that for the world. No matter what the future holds, I know that our stars have always been intertwined and always will be."

"Yet you call me the sap," I said with a chuckle.

Buck shrugged and nuzzled into my side. I rubbed Buck's arm with my thumb, and he hummed quietly.

"Something on your mind, babe?" I asked softly.

"N-no," Buck answered quickly, "you just make me happy."

I smiled and pulled Buck against me.

"You make me happy too, Evanito," I whispered.

It was obvious that there was something on Buck's mind, but he seemed happy, so I decided not to dig too much into it. I absent-mindedly rubbed circles on Buck's side as the two of us sat quietly. After a while, Buck let out a quiet yawn before he nuzzled into my side. I looked at my watch and realized it was almost 3:30 am.

"Let's get you to bed, mi amor," I said softly. "we can keep cuddling inside."

"Okay," Buck mumbled despite not making any efforts to move.

"Oh no, you don't," I stated softly, "you're not falling asleep out here. Come on, up you get."

I slowly stood up, taking Buck with me in the process. He groaned sleepily and leaned lazily against me. I sighed and supported Buck's weight as the two of us ventured inside and headed to bed. I helped Buck out of his clothes and easily shrugged out of mine. The two of us crawled into bed, and Buck curled up against my side. He almost immediately nuzzled into my shoulder and started falling asleep again. I placed a gentle kiss on the top of Buck's head as he was just about to fall asleep.

"Buenas noches, mi amor," I whispered softly, "duerme bien y dulces sueños."

I had the perfect plan for when I proposed to Buck, and I couldn't wait to make them happen. The only problem was that the jeweler hadn't gotten back to me, saying the ring was done. I let myself succumb to the pleasant quietness of sleep.

The next few days went by in a dull blur. For the most part, I was stuck on autopilot going through the motions of my daily routine. Somehow, I'd managed to convince Buck not to pull any pranks for April Fools Day. It probably had something to do with me telling Chris that pranks often got taken too far, or the fact that Buck had spent the entirety of his 16-hour shift dealing with pranks that had gone wrong. Finally, on Wednesday, just as I was starting to worry, I got the call that I'd been waiting for since March break. Larson Jewelers called to tell me that Buck's ring was ready for pickup. I hurried over and picked up the ring before high tailing it to Hen's place. Just as I pulled in, Hen came out the door.