Archive of Our Own ^beta

“I can’t believe we’re out here at the break of dawn hiding eggs .” 

“Suck it up, Buckley, and hand me that other basket.” 

Buck grumbled under his breath, but didn’t dare retort to his sister’s remark, and did as she said and handed her the second basket of Easter eggs. When Bobby and Athena had arranged their annual Easter cookout, May had the bright idea to host an egg hunt for the kids. And who better to be recruited than the largest kid of them all. 

Buck had stayed at the Grant-Nash house overnight, as he had been doing since the lightning strike. Sometimes it was to keep the loneliness from taking over his mind, sometimes it was just to make sure that Bobby was still alive and well and Buck could see it for himself, not rely on a text. A couple of months after the incident at the top of the ladder truck, Buck still had nightmares. While they were getting better with the help of therapy and talking with Eddie (who at this point could be a damn therapist himself). 

Still, when he decided to spend the night at Bobby and Athena’s last night, getting up at 5 in the morning wasn’t something he had agreed on.

“You could have at least brought coffee,” Buck grumbled, placing some of the eggs lower so his favorite niece would be able to find them. 

“I asked you if you wanted coffee,” May retorted. “It’s not my fault you read the message and didn’t reply.” 

“You text me at 5 in the morning! Did you expect me to be bright eyed and bushy tailed?” He cringed at his choice of words. “No pun, of course.” 

May stopped and glanced over at him with a weird expression. “Is that a Pennsylvania thing or something? What’s that even mean ?” 

“It means you're awake and alert, which I’m currently not. ”

“You’re a firefighter , Buck, isn’t that something that’s basically in your DNA?” 

“Not on my weekend off, it's not,” he grumbled. 

“Help me finish these two baskets, and I’ll go get you Starbucks,” May replied, shaking her head. “I swear, maybe I should go get you an Easter basket, and you can search eggs with the kids.” 

“Are you calling me immature, sister of mine?” 

“I mean, if the shoe fits.” 

Buck threw one of the plastic eggs at her. “Brat.” 

“You’re just jealous Mom and Bobby love me more.”

“They like to let you believe that, but let’s be honest, Maddie and I come in a package, so in some weird way, I brought them a pseudo-grandchild.” 

“Yeah, I don’t think Mom is ready to be called ‘Grammy’ anytime soon from me or you,” May replied. “Though if you count Christopher…” 

“Just because Eddie appointed me to be Chris’s guardian if something happened to him, doesn’t make him my son,” Buck replied. 

May scoffed. “Are you kidding me right now? How many times have you been mistaken for Chris’s dad? You do everything with Eddie and are basically coparenting his kid.” 

Buck was thankful that the sun was just now coming up, and the shadows of the backyard hid the blush that was creeping up his neck. 

“How did we get on this subject?” Buck asked, dumping the remainder of the eggs in his basket around the bushes in the corner. “There, the last basket is done. I believe you said something about Starbucks?”

“Why are you wanting to change the subject, oh brother of mine?” May asked back, tossing the last of her eggs around the yard and looking over at Buck with an amused expression. 

“No reason,” Buck replied too quickly. 

“Mmhmm.” May gathered all of the baskets and placed them on the patio by the door. “Come on, go get dressed. I’ll leave a note for Mom and Bobby, so they don’t think their precious boy disappeared on them.” 

“Ah, so you admit they would be worried if they thought something happened to me,” Buck said with a grin. “See, I am the favorite.” 

“Shut up, Buckley, and get ready before I change my mind.”