if you told the me who sat through bucktaylor saying i love you to each other that a few years later oliver stark would be confirming that buck turning around and “whatta man” playing as he saw eddie for the first time was, in fact, buck being attracted to eddie and not knowing how to process that emotion i would’ve dropped dead like a victorian child after shotgunning an energy drink
honesty is the best policy (unless it’s your brother’s secret)
Before she’d really noticed, her marriage to Doug was filled with small lies.
The mug she’d broken, hastily shoved to the bottom of the trash and swiftly replaced. The well-meaning neighbor had stopped by for some sugar, instead of asking about her bruise-ringed wrist. That her shift ran late instead of admitting that she’d sat in her car, unwilling and unable to bring herself to drive home.
She must have told dozens of them throughout their relationship, so many that she can’t even remember most of them. But no matter how many lies she told to Doug, they’re still not as bad as the lies she told herself.
She told herself that Doug didn’t need to know. That she was being a good wife by protecting his peace of mind. That married people tell little miss-truths all of the time. She said it to herself over and over until the bitterness was all she could taste.
And then she left and met Chimney and she no longer needed to fear what might happen when she was honest. So when she and Chimney got engaged she promised herself that she was going to be completely honest and open with him. No secrets this time.
But sometimes, that’s easier said than done.
“Was Buck here today?” Chimney asks, as he’s collecting Jee’s toys from the living room. Somehow she managed to pull out every single item she owns - or so it felt like - and scatter them around the room in between dinner and bed.
“Yes,” Maddie says slowly, as he drops a bright pink teddy bear into the basket that he’s holding. They’d divided the chores - he tidied up while she put the clean dishes away. “Why?”
“No reason,” Chim says, completely unaware of the turmoil within her as he begins collecting lego pieces. She’s drying the plate so furiously that she might just wear off the enamel. “Just wondering what the hell is going on with Buck and Eddie these days.”
oliver: i can absolutely see that some of those early moments [buck’s jealousy in 2x01] where they were kinda butting heads, there was some kinda feeling there that buck didn’t understand