Chapter Text
Buck packed up everything as quickly as he could, keeping his head down and trying not to make contact with Eddie as he carried boxes out into the portable storage locker that the moving company would move from Eddie's driveway to a storage facility where it would stay until Buck could find a permanent place to live, if he ever did. He'd thought he had found somewhere to rest for a while, a place to make his own and finally feel at home in his own bones. He'd even brought Tommy over as a way to christen the place, letting himself enjoy the act of loving a man loudly in a space where he could spread out, and not just any man but the one man that he wanted more than anything. He'd thought that he'd be able to settle in himself for a little bit, but here he was, putting his belongings back into boxes, and slinking back out of the house as if leaving the scene of a crime.
Eddie didn't say anything to him, and he didn't say anything to Eddie in return, just loaded up the Jeep with his clothes, his toiletries, and the special coffee pot that Tommy made fun of him for that he'd loaded in a box labelled "coffee maker" because it made him smile a little, all the stuff he'd need in a new apartment — if he could find one on such short notice.
"If I left anything, just let me know, I'll swing by and grab it after a shift one day," Buck finally said, closing the storage doors and latching the lock, pocketing the key to add to his key rings. He pulled the protective cover down over the storage container, and checked in with the app for the storage company, clearing the pick-up whenever they had him on the schedule. It confirmed quickly that they'd be picking up the box at the edge of the day. "And the box will be out of the way by six tonight."
"Buck," Eddie started to argue, but Buck shook his head.
"I'll get out of your hair now, don't worry. I'll see you around, man."
He climbed into the Jeep and pulled the door shut behind him loudly, letting the slam speak for itself and speak for him. He made eye contact with Eddie as he started the engine and put the Jeep in reverse, and let him watch as he backed out of the driveway, and left the home he'd had for far too short of a time.
( "hey Ravi, can i catch you for a quick sec?"
"sure, Buck, what's up?"
"you know how Eddie's back, and i was staying at his place, and i — I need a place to stay."
"you're not staying with me, Buckley."
"oh, no, no. uhm, I was thinking, maybe, if you wouldn't mind, i'd be interested in renting one of your properties. you know i'm good for it, you can see all of my paychecks and whatnot, it's just that my credit isn't that great, and i need a place right now."
"i don't have an apartment open right now, but i think i have something that will work. meet me after my shift tonight? how's that sound?"
"you're a prince, Panikkar." )
Ravi led them from the 118 and drove in a caravan of two until they arrived at a small house near Buck's new station. The house itself looked like nothing special, a two-floor home with dead grass that was also somehow overgrown, a crooked mailbox, a front porch that was dipping in the middle, and at least two of the visible street-facing windows were covered in cardboard.
"Uhm, Rav?" he asked as they got out of the cars to face the house.
"Okay, hear me out. I don't have anything open right now, but what I have is this fixer-upper. You don't have good credit or a lot of options, but you do have experience in construction and renovations, right? So, we make a trade. You can stay here. It is liveable, it just needs cosmetic help, and a couple things that need to be brought into the modern era. But besides that, you can stay here, and fix it up in your spare time, and I'll consider that rent."
"Ravi, you'd really let me live here with no payment except manual labor?"
"Yeah, well, I think that's a better deal than letting you go homeless and letting this house rot. Don't you?"
"Yeah, I guess, but —"
"Just say yes. We'll sign some paperwork so you can feel secure that I'm not going to just renege this deal on you. But say yes, Evan, and you can move in today."
"Really?"
Ravi stuck his hand out and smiled at Buck.
"Really."
Buck took his hand and they shook on it.
"C'mon, let's go inside. I'll show you your new place and we can talk about what needs work."
"Yeah," Buck said, looking up at the house, at the path leading to his new home, and he could already see the ways he'd give it attention, from a fresh coat of paint to the restructured porch. He smiled to himself. "Yeah, let's go inside."