Title: Boldly Go Somewhere Magic
Series: Just a Little Magic
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: No Warnings Apply
Fandom: 9-1-1
Relationships: Eddie Diaz/Evan Buckley
Tags: Magical AU, Fluff
Summary: Bold didn't even begin to cover what he thought of his animals.
Word Count: 6,970
Beta: Grammarly



Eddie let himself into Buck's house. He had Chris behind him. He wasn't worried about something happening; he just didn't want Chris to take off without him.

Buck was expecting them. The thing was that Eddie had no clue where Buck was. Probably in the backyard, but that wasn't a guarantee.

The first date was done and over with now; it felt like they could get through anything, given that they hadn't been so nervous that they fucked everything up on the first date.

There was, of course, the matter of the whole Buck had magic and had a magical menagerie of creatures in his backyard that Eddie had never known about.

Magic was hidden, but it wasn't unknown. People had been using it for centuries, and then it had started to fade, and it was put up to people learning science, but Eddie was pretty sure it was magic itself taking itself out of the world because humans were horrible.

"The Diazes!" Buck cried out from down the hallway. He stepped out of the kitchen area and had a big grin on his face. "Perfect timing. It's time to feed some of the herbivores some snacks. I have it all cut up. We just gotta get it outside."

"And the non-herbivores?" Eddie asked. He herded Chris down the hall.

"In their pens and still stay there while Chris is here. They would never go after me; they are all sapient and only eat what I give them but exposing Chris will be in short and small bursts until I make sure they are not going to hurt him.'

"But not me?"

"You have enough magic they would never touch you. All attacks by magical creatures and beings over the years are on non-magicals. Chris hasn't hit magical maturity yet. He will soon, and then it will come in, and he'll be safe as long as one of us is there with him." Buck disappeared into the kitchen just as Eddie and Chris got to him.

"Can I feed them?" Chri asked.

"You sure can. I have a lot of them here, actually. Most don't want anything to do with the world, even others of their kind and magicals. They are world-weary, and so I protect them."

"That's cool. Dad's got a book I've been learning from about a lot of creatures. Is Sir Fluff here?"

"Yes, waiting on you. I think he wants to show you around after I get done with the herbivores. He'll protect you as well but never go into the pens without your father or me. Fluff would never suggest it, but he might give in if you asked enough."

"I won't ask."

Eddie wondered if that would be right in the long term. He would see. He would hate for something to happen to Chris, but he also knew that he couldn't protect him from himself. There would be a lot of life where Chris chose things on his own. Eddie had to set him up for it.

"Ready?" Buck asked. He held up the massive bag of stuff that had been by the door that led into the backyard.

A few bunnies were hopping around in a pen just off to the side. That had never been there before. Eddie was pretty sure he would have seen that if it had been hidden by magic.

Eddie waved his hand toward the pen.

"Oh, they are Miracle's pet rabbits from down the street.

"Can I pet them?"

"Afterward, yes. I just fed them, and they will bite you if you play with them after they eat. Miracle is away for a few days visiting a sick family member. I told her I would watch her pair of bunnies."

"Later." Chris walked up to the pen and looked down at them, but they were not worried about him at all.

Buck headed toward the back fence and touched a bit of paneling of the fence that had a few bits of paint on it. Most of Buck's fence was painted a variety of colors; Eddie figured that if he took some of the paint off, there would be runes hidden everywhere. Protection hid in plain sight all over. Eddie had runes etched into the wall behind pictures and bookcases. A set on the underside of the rug. Painted under Chris' bed. There were many places to hide them from plain sight.

It was something Eddie had learned at a young age.

The fence opened up when Buck pulled on it, showing off the grass that wasn't on the other side of the fence in the world. The grass was red. It was the kind of grass Eddie knew well. He had always seen it in drawings of some of the magical areas hidden from the world.

"This was powerful to make," Eddie said as he stepped across. Chris followed behind, his head moving around so much; Eddie hoped that nothing came underfoot and tripped him up. It would be easy for it to happen.

"It was needed, and the creatures helped me. They wanted a place, so they gave up some, and most still fuel this deeply. The magic they throw off by just being them is strong, and I collected that using a siphon system. It was needed, so I did it."

Eddie could see that. He could see Buck just doing what was needed without thinking any more about it. Even if it hurt him.

"So, Chris, who do you want to see first?"

"I want to see Sir Fluff!" Chris was looking around like he was looking for the unicorn.

"Since he wasn't right here, I assume he's with the rest of the herd I have here. Mostly, it's mothers with their ponies. They will be excited to see you. Once you are done with that, we will feed the rest, and you can have fun with whoever wants to play with you for hours. Eddie and I can visit the dangerous ones you are not allowed to see right now."

"Why not?"

"Well, I have a few injured creatures that kill anyone, really. This is the safest area in LA for them to get better, so they are transported here. I watch them and feed them, and others come and take care of making sure they are healing up. They track by sight and by smell, so I don't want them smelling you on your own."

"That's kind of cool that you protect the ones who don't know any better."

"Well, it's just like a tiger. Only more deadly as some of them use magic to hunt."

Buck waved for them to head to what looked like a massive paddock. On the other side was Sir Fluff, along with a large group of unicorns. It looked like there were at least twenty of them there.

"I have never seen so many." Eddie figured that it was part of the magic that protected the rest. The unicorns would put off more magic in a few days than Buck used in a month.

"Well, some come to visit their kids. The dads, that is."

"They can come and go?" Chris asked.

Buck opened the gate and waved for them to head inside. He shut it when they were inside.

"Yes, there is a door to their main area where they live in the US, just to be safe. If this place were to be attacked, everything inside would be transported there, the pens and all. It's a good way to make sure they stay safe. The magic that protects this is very delicate. Someone curious who needs to know everything and just break down the wards would kill everyone inside without knowing it or meaning to do it."

"And that's why you have the door like you do," Chris said.

"Yes." Buck pulled an apple out of a pocket that wasn't big enough to hold it and held it out to Chris.

There was a baby unicorn coming at Chris. It looked like it wanted that apple.

Buck cupped Eddie's hand and pulled him back toward the fence, setting down the bag of food at the same time he leaned against the wooden fence.

"He's never going to want to leave; you know that, right?" Eddie asked.

"Oh, I figured. He's got a bedroom here, and you know it."

"We just started dating," Eddie pointed out.

"We did, but we live in each other's pockets. No one is going to say anything about you moving in already. I mean, they already think we are dating even before we actually started to date. So, yeah. It's a thing. You have your own bedroom as well. I don't expect you to move into my bed."

"No, I wouldn't anyway, and you know it. So, how about we just take this as it comes, and if I start to spend more time here, we can discuss it. Is that what you wanted to talk about?"

"Well, no. I wanted to make you aware that you might be taking home something today."

"What?" Eddie looked at the unicorn that was still there with Chris, now rubbing its face on Chris'.

"Not a unicorn; that would be impossible to hide. How are you with lizards?"

"Lizards? I think that I'm fine with them. How big are we talking?" Eddie looked around, and he couldn't spot any cages that would have magical lizards in them.

"Not much bigger than a kitten when fully grown. It'll take care of itself, feeding and making waste. It's a good little friend for Chris."

"You aren't calling it a lizard now."

"I just asked how you were with lizards; I didn't say it was a lizard."

Eddie turned to glare at Buck for a few seconds, but Buck just had this smug look on his face. He was about to say something when the sound of small flapping wings filled the area. Eddie started to look for the bird that was coming toward them when he heard Chris making all kinds of noises. He turned back to look at his son and found there was a creature sitting on the back of the unicorn Chris had been playing with.

"That's not a lizard," Eddie said.

"Nope, as I said, I didn't say it was a lizard. A small family of Drakes came to stay with me because one of their newest offspring's person was here in LA, and they wanted me to help find them. Then the other day after the whole Sir Fluff stuff, when you two came over for dinner and a movie, that little guy snuck out and found Chris."

"Chris dreamed a cat crawled into bed with him. It was the Drake?"

"Yes. She left before he could wake up but was attached from the first look. I've kept her pretty calm on everything, but she wants to go home with him now."

"She will take care of herself?"

"Outside of Chris and you needing to help her a little bit when she sheds her scales as she gets bigger. She's got two, maybe three, growth spurts left in her. She'll let you know."

"And she will feed herself?"

"Well, she'll eat what you are eating. Magica has made it to that you don't have to worry about poisoning her. She's pretty happy just munching on whatever she can hunt in the backyard, though. I've been working on making sure she can pass outside for a Bearded Dragon. Magic will cloak her and protect her. I think there was a breeding boom in the world to make more to have them bond with children, again to help usher magic back to people."

"You ever wonder why it's starting?"

"I assume that the people who were killing magical left and right are small enough to not be a threat anymore. It's a pretty good thing in my eyes. I'll be happy to be out and about without having to hide it. Kids like Chris will be the ones who make it to where magic is just a part of life again. We can all do our part, like us coming out to the rest of the 118. Which I think was another thing about Sir Fluff just appearing there in the middle of the city, making people think they were tripping. It's not hard to understand why being out and about was something he wanted."

"The world is going to go nuts for a while, but outside of the people who think the Earth is flat, most know that magic was in our history, so there being those who have it still shouldn't shock them. The religious ones are going to be the worst."

"Well, they are the ones that started it but knowing that it's safe again makes me feel a little better. I wouldn't be shocked if magic found its way into those families. I might be looking at it with a rosy outlook, but I hope that nothing too big happens."

"Well, given what I heard Bobby talking about with the people who are slowing coming forward to their captains, each station has at least one person on each shift. That's a lot of people, and I want to say that it's going to be the same for the LAPD as well."

"Huh, that'll make it easier. I wonder if that's the same all over the world? Or at least the US. We are the ones who are more apt to freak the hell out about this."

"Let's go see my new pet," Eddie said.

Buck laughed, and he snagged a slice of what looked like a pepper strip from the bag before he followed behind Eddie.

"Dad, she picked me."

"Yes, that's what Buck was telling me."

"She's why I dreamed a cat snuck into Buck's place and got into bed with me. She said she's going home with me today, is she?"

"Yes, mijo, she is. She's your friend now. Buck's going to make sure you know how to take care of her, and I'll figure out a place for her to sleep and make sure that Carla's aware of her."

Buck crouched down to be level with Chris, and he grinned. He held out his hand, and the Drake crawled into his hand. "She'll look like a Bearded Dragon to people who don't know about magic. I haven't figured out how magic does that, but it's good. Of course, some can bypass that if they want to and make even normal people see them for who they are."

"She said I could name her and that her parents have been just calling her girl. It's weird, right?"

"Well, they pick up our language, and none of them are ever named by their parents; they either pick for themselves or, in this case, where the Drake knows where their human is, they allow them to name them."

"If the parents have humans, where are they? Aren't they worried?"

"Drakes have just one child for each parent. It's a one-to-one type of thing. The other is too young to head off and find their human. They only create their family once their life is lived. They have been alive for over a hundred years, Chris. Your Drake will follow you for all of your life and then, after, head out to find her mate to have children. Then once that's all done, she will die as well. But you'll be long gone at that point. And it could take her upwards of fifty years to find her mate since her mate could be matched with someone decades from now."

"Oh, wow. I need to think of a good name for her. Daddy, I need a baby name book like you bought for that lady down the street."

"I'll see about getting you one." Eddie didn't want to laugh, but he was pretty sure that Chris was going to be taking this more seriously than he thought.

"Can we see the others now?"

"Sure. Let's do that." Buck said. He grinned at Eddie and then walked back over to pick up the bag of veggies.

---

Eddie wasn't sure how Buck did that kind of thing daily, or at least on the days when he didn't work. Chris had gotten a little bored by the end with the feeding part and just wanted to play with the creatures. All of which were loving toward Chris. Eddie knew that Buck wouldn't show Chris any animals that would harm him. Still, there were a lot of ones that were massive and could hurt him without meaning to. Eddie wasn't sure if any of them had been around a human child before.

Now Chris was headed back into the house area with his Drake, and they were chatting. Eddie hadn't gotten used to the way that the Drake spoke into his mind, though it made sense on being able to hide as something else.

"My mother hates lizards. She's going to be pissed off that I let Chris get one. She'll never set foot in the house." Eddie wasn't sure where they were going, but he felt the wards as they allowed him through each area.

"Are your parents magical?"

"No. My mother is a firm Catholic, and while my father is mostly lapsed, he goes to church with her to make her happy. They both know that I'm magical, and if they had been able to survive the stigma of giving me up, I would have gone to live with Abuela full time, but I was a good kid who never did anything wrong, so it wasn't like they could call me a hellion. It would have damaged their reputation to give me up like that. So every summer, I was sent to learn from her. We don't talk about it. I am not sure what my mother is going to see."

"Ah, yes, the ones who like to stick their head in the sand and hide behind a religion that doesn't actually say a thing about magic."

"What? It does."

"No, it has lessons on dark magic, the kind meant to hurt. Jesus was magic, Eddie. The books have been twisted for a long time, but some scholars have found intact copies over the last couple of years that have proven that things changed a lot over the course of about fifty years by the hand of the Catholic Church, all because of a single pope."

"For someone who says you hate talking about religion all the time, you know a lot."

"I do. Religion is why we are where we are. I can't help but hate what has hurt me. It's not like people did anything against magic until the rise of religion by men who didn't have magic and wanted it, so they found a reason to hate it."

"You are way more jaded than I thought you would be." Eddie wasn't going to ask, but he hoped they weren't going deeper than the last wards had felt like they were about to reject him.

"How are you doing magically right now?"

"That last ward nearly didn't let me, though."

"No, that's just what it felt like. It's a deterrent. People who are scared would be rejected. Once I open this door, you'll meet the creatures that should never be in the area of humans."

"Sounds good to me."

Buck opened the door, and there was the scent of animals in a way that the rest of the place didn't smell like.

The first thing that Eddie got a look at was one of the first creatures he had ever met while in the military and killed. It looked like a black panther but was a killing machine in a way that nothing else in the world was. It was looking at Eddie like it wanted to eat him. Buck walked right up to it and held out a hand, and after a few seconds, the feline rubbed up into his hand.

"Buck, that's...why are you petting it?"

"Well, this guy here controls the rest of these guys. You've heard of familiars, right?"

"Yes, but no. They are...how in the hell did you get a Shade cat as your familiar?"

"That story is long and drawn out. I was in Peru, and this guy saved my life. He only stays in here when someone else is coming in with me. I just wanted you to meet him."

"You don't have a cat."

"No, he's not actually that interested in anyone but me. He would rather no one ever knows about him, but it's different with you and Chris. Not even just the dating thing, but..." buck rubbed at the back of his neck, and the Shade cat started to stretch up, rubbing its face against Buck's.

A Shade was the first alive being that Eddie had ever killed. He looked at one and saw the loss of his innocence. It hadn't made killing a human later any easier, but Eddie hated that the first kill he ever made was a creature, not a human.

"You think you have secrets; you don't. Did you know that Shade cats can see all the kills a person has ever made? It's why they are connected with death."

"Has it... told you?"

"Not in the way you think. It's emotions and love. I once heard someone in Peru say that having a Shade for a familiar was telling the world you were not to be messed with."

"No shit. They are rare in the US but around everywhere else. Why?"

"No one knows. Not even me. I wondered if it was something the native Americans had done. A kind of spellwork that protected the lands. They don't know. Magic gives them some ability to connect with humans but not that much of one. I do not want to delve into the shared memories that they have."

"What about Chris and him?"

"Yes, he. His name is Pea Blossom...peas are his favorite non-meat food, and he loves to smell the flowers, so he latched onto that name. I call him PB most of the time."

"This would change how many people see you, and I'm not sure if that's for the good or the bad."

"Oh, it would be bad for most people, especially the ones like your family. Other magicals would give me space."

"So, really, this all started with PB?"

"No. He lived in the backyard of the house I stayed in with the guys I came up from Peru. Then Sir Fluff wanted to come here, and I knew I would need a bigger place, and I worked on this. He brought a few foals with him, and then I was able to build this and protect more. It grew from there. He's the only reason I have the more dangerous stuff."

"And you didn't want Chris to ever know about him if I had an issue with it."

Buck shrugged.

Eddie could see how much that would hurt Buck. He wondered how often PB was in bed with Buck at night. Eddie would have to get used to him as they were a unit. He was pretty sure Buck had more power than he wanted to admit if a predator like a Shade cat had latched onto him. Familiars were easy to find but hard to bond with. Any animal or magical creature alive could be one.

"One of the women in my unit had a Will O' Wisp as a familiar. I never asked how and she never offered, but I will say this, she was the one used for infiltration most. People in Afghanistan didn't know what it was and usually freaked out or followed it where it would lead them to their deaths. There were times it was the only thing that saved us."

"So, you aren't that freaked out."

"No, Buck, I'm not. Let's wait until after dinner, though. Chris can have fun with his Drake and settle down a little before PB meets him."

"Or, he can meet PB's shifted form."

"Of course." Eddie rubbed the bridge of his nose. He had forgotten that all magical creatures had another form they could go into. The Will O' Wisp never went into another form, even when back at base, and it was around. Eddie figured that was the threat. "What is it?"

"Sphinx cat. He picked it out himself."

"Chris will know because there is no evidence."

"Yes, but that's different than meeting PB in his big form. This is small for him, Eds. He's big enough to ride like a horse at his biggest. He's magical, and then he got a boost as soon as he rescued me."

"Let's go inside and see how Chris does with the cat form instead of the Shade form."

PB shifted to the size of a rather large Sphinx cat and jumped up onto the fence of the paddock he was in and then up onto Buck's shoulders. Now the bigger size was understood. He fit like a shawl around Buck's neck, starting to purr.

"He's never leaving," Eddie said.

"Well, the offer stands today, tomorrow, two years from now. You know I'm into this, Eddie."

"No, I got that. I just...time. Please."

"Of course. You are worth everything."

---

Eddie lay on his back, looking at the ceiling above his bed. There was a group of small Fae up there darting around. Eddie had seen them when he had gone into the house for the first time for this trip. They were everywhere. Fed off of buck's magic but also kept the place clean for the price of food and a safe place to stay. It was a whole colony of fifteen different types. There were ones that just lived in the basement. There were ones that lived on the ceiling. There were even ones that lived in the fridge and freezer.

Buck had grilled them the day they went downtown and got Sir Fluff out of the alley. Because every single one of them knew Eddie was magical but had never told Buck. Eddie had laughed at the one that told him the story while ripping break apart to eat.

Eddie knew what he wanted. He was all in. He had been all in before ever asking Buck on a date. Moving in here and living together like this while they dated would be good for both of them. Carla would gladly watch Chris here instead of at Eddie's.

There was also the fact that his landlord had been making comments about selling the house, and Eddie didn't want it enough to commit to a home loan. Buck's place was perfect, and the size of it now made perfect sense.

Eddie sighed and laughed when one of the Fae from the ceiling dropped down to land on his chest. They looked at him with wide eyes and a curious tilt of their head.

"Hello," Eddie said.

"Hello. My name is Daisy. What is yours?"

"Eddie. Are you the bravest, or did you lose a bet?" Eddie knew that Fae weren't allowed to use names unless they were given, and as long as he never told them to call him Edmundo, he was safe. Nicknames didn't hold weight, even chosen ones like Buck.

"I lost at rock, paper, scissors. I always lose at rock, paper, scissors."

"Well, it's a mind game more than anything. Why aren't you asleep?"

"You be awake, and we know it. It keeps us awake."

"This is where you stay the most, isn't it?"

"No, we are everywhere on the property during the day, but each of us has rooms to sleep in."

"So you sleep in here. Why not in the living room?"

"No sleep there. It's a place for playing. We keep to the rules."

Eddie figured it was some kind of rule of Buck's. He wasn't sure what kind of rule it was, but he understood having rooms for certain things, but they slept up high. Eddie looked in the corners, and he could see the shimmer of hidden areas. Little places where they slept. It kind of made sense why Buck didn't want them in there. It would be distracting, and a human could sometimes see the sun glinting off magical things. People didn't spend most of the day in the bedrooms unless sick or injured, and then things could be talked about being as a result of being sick or on medications.

There was a lot that was used to keep certain species hidden from humans, and that would likely never change. Eddie knew that sometimes Fae were hunted for things they didn't do. A ring goes missing? Kill the Fae you find to get it back.

"I just have too much in my head. Do you want me to go to the living room?"

"You don't have to. Do you want to?"

"I have no clue."

Daisy looked up at the rest of the Fae all around. Most were in the hammocks that Eddie could now see all over.

Many were asleep, but there was a small handful that was hanging around looking down at him.

"I think I will go in there. Turn on something mind-numbing on the TV and just veg. It will at least allow me to rest a little bit. I think I will head in there." Eddie sat up and snagged his shirt before shrugging it on.

The house was silent. Eddie flicked on the low light in the room, and he stopped when pale glowing green eyes looked up at him.

PB was asleep on the couch or had been asleep. Now he looked up at Eddie with curious eyes.

That fear that had been instilled in him overseas filled him up, and he reached for the gun on his hip.

A chuff from PB had Eddie stopping. He wasn't afraid of PB going after him, but the sound pulled him out of the fear.

"Sorry. I can't sleep. You can head into my bedroom. The Fae in there are probably not fully asleep yet, or at least not far enough that it would mess them up if you went in there."

PB stretched before getting up. He jumped over the arm of the couch and landed before moving to rub against Eddie. He started to herd him toward the kitchen. It felt strange to allow it.

There had to be a reason, and when they were in the kitchen, PB jumped onto the island, shrinking down to a form closer in size to the Sphinx cat but staying in his black Shade cat coloration.

PB nosed at a canister on the counter. Eddie reached over and picked it up. He read over the instructions on making the cocoa that was inside. He wondered why it had to be that way, but then this was in Buck's handwriting. So there had to be a reason.

"Do you want some?" Eddie asked as he reached for the cabinet beside the sink with the mug, and he pulled out one for each when he heard a chuff from PB.

It wasn't hard to add the right amount of milk from a jug from the fridge that was labeled for hot chocolate. He grabbed the spoon labeled for it as well before starting to stir it up. He looked at the canister again and tried to figure out how to heat it up. Adding it to the mug meant microwave, and he wasn't a big liker of that. A rough tongue over his hand had him looking down at a steaming mug of hot chocolate.

"What the hell?" Eddie lifted the spoon up, and he found there were runes etched all over it.

Eddie moved the spoon to the second mug and started to stir. It was clumpy, as it should be with powder in cold milk. Then the mix started to actually mix in, and Eddie wasn't sure this wasn't sorcery of the wrong order. He stopped stirring after a few more seconds, and he lifted it and took a sip. It was the perfect drinkable temperature.

"The number of comforts that he had worked into his house would make this place a dream for a lot of disabled people."

"Just need the Fae to help power it. He's brought it up to a few people. It would work. Most Fae would kill to live in a place where their food was covered."

Eddie nodded, and it took a few seconds for him to realize that PB had spoken. He looked at the cat to see it was licking at the hot chocolate in the mug.

"So why this for this?" Eddie asked.

"The powder has a sleep aid in it, and getting too hot would make it not work."

"Of course, he's got it set up for that. I know it said sleepy time cocoa, but I wasn't expecting that. How strong?"

"Calm's the mind, and that's about it, really. Doesn't force sleep. He'll drink it when he's freaked out as well. Magic goes haywire when he's upset."

Eddie wondered if Buck was sleeping the sleep of the dead. Chris had been asleep nearly an hour earlier than normal. He had been going hard all day, though, so it was understandable.

"Let's go and find something to watch on TV." Eddie looked at the spoon to see it was clean where he had put it on the spoon rest.

The biggest thing about Harry Potter that Eddie hated was the way it showed magic. He knew it was one of those things that were supposed to be a what-if. Still, magic wasn't a fix-all. The body burned the same amount of energy to cast the magic as it would take to heal a wound. Sometimes, people had it. Sometimes they didn't. It was why Fae were needed to help control the flow of magic all around.

Eddie settled on the couch with the cup of hot chocolate, setting the one for PB on the coffee table. The cat grew back to normal size to get at it. He found something mind-numbing on the TV and settled down to watch it.

A short while later, when he was nearly asleep, he set the mug down, and PB climbed up to settle across his legs, keeping Eddie company and warm. Eddie wasn't sure how he felt about the cat on him, but he figured he would adjust because there was not a lot of time where they had been on the couch where he hadn't been in Buck's lap.

It just seemed like something he should accept and quickly.

---

"Wake up, sleepy head," Buck said.

"No," Eddie said. He wrapped his arm around PB a little more and turned his head away from the light.

PB was purring, so Eddie wasn't too worried about the cat wanting out.

"Well, I didn't sleep as deep as you, it seems. PB didn't come and join me like he normally does."

Fingers tangled themselves in what little hair Eddie had on his head. He opened his eyes to see Buck sitting on the side of the couch.

"Chris?"

"Still deeply asleep. I'm kind of jealous of how asleep he is. The Fae report he has slept all night except for getting up twice to pee. I wasn't too worried about him not sleeping. He was pretty active. I have someone coming to take care of the creatures today. A few students from a college who are taking zoology classes there."

"So we are off the hook on that. What about PB?"

"The students don't need him anymore to help them. I thought we might pack up a picnic and head to the park for lunch. Let Chris run off a little more energy. We can see how he does out and about with PB."

"How do you bring PB with you?"

"Harness. He loves walking on it in his Sphinx form. People comment all the time on how well he's behaved for a cat."

"Well, no one thinks that cats like to be on harnesses. It's not something they would see on a normal basis."

"Eh, it doesn't matter. I know a lot of people who do this kind of stuff with their cats. You just gotta know the right people, I guess. I know that there are many who treat their cats like they control everything. 'Oh, I can't move; my cat just got into my lap' and that kind of thing. My cat gets on my lap, and I was about to get up; they go on the floor, even PB."

"You have had more than one cat?"

"Well, I've lived with more than one cat. I tried it once to stay with people when I was wandering the country, learning about my magic. One lady got irate when I would do that with her cat. So I just stopped letting it in my lap at all, and she got even madder. I had seen her sitting for a long time when she needed to pee 'cause the cat was asleep."

"That's like letting your pet keep you hostage. That's wrong. Even one like PB."

"PB's all about pets, don't get me wrong. He'll nip at you if you stop, but he also doesn't get into your lap without permission."

"Well, he crawled on me last night as I was falling asleep."

"That's about the only time he does that. What do you want for breakfast?"

"That thing you did that one morning at my house when you were bored."

"That was for dinner, but I wouldn't mind doing it for breakfast. That sounds good. I'll get the potatoes and sausage started. How hungry are you feeling?"

"A few eggs and a lot of potatoes."

Buck leaned over and kissed Eddie before pressing a kiss to PB's head. Eddie wasn't going to get up yet. He was okay where he was with a cat on his chest and hips. He rubbed his hand down PB's back and waited to hear what the cat was going to do. PB only settled down on Eddie more.

"Dad," Chris called out as he came into the room. "Daisy told me you fell asleep out here."

"I did. I was having trouble sleeping in the other room, but with the TV on out here, I fell asleep pretty quickly. Do you need something?"

"I just wanted to cuddle."

PB stretched a little bit before getting up off Eddie and making a few noises as he disappeared.

"He's not very chatty, is he?" Chris asked

"No, it doesn't seem that way. It's mostly a morning thing, I bet. I mean, you don't like to talk until you've started to eat." Eddie held up the corner of the blanket so Chris could carefully get under the covers.

"Bucky has his house set up like ours. I can move around without my crutches. A few of the Fae have said they will bring them into the living room soon. I didn't expect you not to be in the bedroom."

"Yeah. I didn't sleep well."

"It's okay. Yesterday was a lot. I get it." Chris seemed to go limp and gripped Eddie's shirt tightly.

Buck came into the room a few minutes later, his mouth open like he was going to ask a question, but he stopped. He just smiled and shook his head. He looked happy.

Eddie wondered if Buck was lonely. He had been in the room share with people, and Eddie had assumed it was money, but given what was going on here, he wondered if it was because he didn't like being alone. It would make sense, given how he was at work. Which meant that most of the reason he wanted Eddie and Chris there was that. His want to not have to hide who he was with people who knew him but also have people around.

"Hey, Chris. How do you feel about moving in with Buck?" Eddie asked.

"I can see the creatures every day?"

"Yes, you can."

"Will you move into Buck's bedroom?"

"Not at first. We haven't been dating that long to try that. I would stay in the bedroom, and things would be like they are right now, just us here."

"I'll stay at Durand, right?"

"Of course. Here is actually closer to Durand than our house is. We can have a lot of fun here, but also, it'll be nice to live with Buck, right?"

"He won't be as lonely. Sir Fluff was telling me how lonely Bucky is."

Eddie pressed a kiss to Chris' forehead.

"He is very lonely." Eddie realized it was what was keeping him awake the night before. The ache of loneliness in the house. It was not a shock that buck was lonely. The creatures were good friends, but people like Buck needed more.

"Then I'll tell him that we are moving in. We can figure everything else out. You have enough stuff here to last a few days, right?"

"Yes, Daddy."Chris yawned and started to drift off, so Eddie left him alone.

PB licked at the side of Eddie's face and purred before taking off. It would be interesting to see what everyone thought about them living together, but it wasn't like it wasn't something strange. With magic, there was a lot they could use as a reason beyond the fact that Eddie knew what loneliness was, and he had Chris to help him.

Buck was going to be excited and probably bounce off the walls all day long and need a nap. Eddie couldn't wait to see it.

The End