Work Text:
Dark and kitschy, Buck looked around the club as he waited for his drink. He wasn’t sure about the decor, but the vibe was good and the room was packed. People were milling around, the dance floor writhing. He was itching to join the throng of swaying bodies.
The bartender slid a glass of bourbon into his hand and Buck gave him a broad grin before dropping a note into the tip jar and wandering away.
Finding a spot near the dance floor, Buck sipped his drink and scoped the room. A few pretty bodies caught his eye, a couple of men snagging his gaze and throwing him smiles. Grinning back, Buck drank, and waited. It had been a while since he’d been to a gay club, and he wanted to enjoy it.
The music called to him, inviting him to the dance floor. The DJ was a foppish, emo-type, grooving as he worked. Knocking his drink down, Buck dropped the empty glass on a nearby table and moved forwards, melding with the sea of people as he found a space on the sticky stretch of parquet and began to wind his body to the rhythm of the pounding bassline.
Within the span of a single song, a young man had wriggled his way into Buck’s space, catching his fingers in one hand as he moved in close. His eyes were made-up, his smile lascivious, but he wasn’t Buck’s type. Or at least, he wasn’t the type Buck was hoping to find.
They shared a dance, a Pitbull song that thrummed inside Buck’s bones, echoing against his eardrums, and then Buck gently pushed him back with a dismissive smile, and spun deeper into the throng.
He was welcomed by the crowd, bodies shifting to make space for him, some trying to get closer. Buck danced and tried to enjoy the carousel of eager men apparently willing to make his acquaintance, but something about it wasn’t quite working for him. His mind was too fixated on the one man he wanted to forget.
Thinking that he might have been better off going to a standard club and pulling a woman instead, Buck excused himself from his current partner—a rugged man showing off his dark skin in a fishnet top—and shrugged his way free of the clustered dance floor.
Sweating, he shook vaguely at his shirt, trying to get some air flowing over his heated body. Buck checked the time on his phone as he wove his way through the busy club back to the bar. He’d been dancing for an hour, and while he wanted to hook-up, he also wasn’t sure he was in the right mind-set for it. He’d have another drink, he figured, and then decide whether to cut his losses and head home alone, or try his luck on the dance floor again.
Wanting something cold to refresh himself, Buck ordered a beer and retreated to an empty table to rest. Taking a grateful swallow, he idly scanned the crowd again.
He froze.
Blinking, Buck planted his elbows on the table and leaned forward, his eyes glued to a man standing at the edge of the dance floor, hands resting on his belt as he held an awkwardly shouted conversation with a tall guy with platinum-dyed hair.
It was Eddie.
Impossible.
And yet, it was. It was definitely, indisputably, Eddie.
In a gay bar.
Buck’s mind reeled. Raising his beer, he took a stabilising gulp and simply stared.
“Hey,” a voice called over the music, near to Buck’s ear. “Mind if I join you?”
“Uh,” Buck didn’t look over as he flapped a dismissive hand. “Not right now, thanks.”
“Snob,” the voice said, and Buck blinked but did not glance away from Eddie.
It looked as though he was flirting with the bleach-blond man. Struggling to wrap his head around what that had to mean, Buck’s mind ran wild. It wasn’t possible that Eddie wasn’t straight. There was no way Buck, after so many years, wouldn’t know that.
Rooted to his seat, Buck was too slow to look away as Eddie suddenly turned and, looking slightly bored, let his gaze rove around the room.
Their eyes met.
Buck’s heartbeat went mad, stampeding against his ribs as a flash of panic shot through his brain.
Staring at him for a moment, shock glanced across Eddie’s face before a blank expression draped over his face. There was no recognition in his eyes. He looked at Buck as though he wasn’t even there. But he did not turn away.
Time slipped past as they watched one another, not looking away even when people crossed between them. Bemused, Buck threw Eddie a quizzical glance and was immediately annoyed when he did not react. Scowling, Buck jumped to his feet and stalked across the room.
Wariness flashed across Eddie’s studiously empty face, and he broke eye contact, snapping his gaze around the room as though looking for an escape route. Buck reached him before he could find one.
“Hey,” he called over the music. “You’re the last person I expected to see here.”
Eyeing him sideways, Eddie crossed his arms hard across his chest. A muscle in his jaw twitched as he replied, “Likewise.”
“So, uh … did you know what this place was when you came in?” Buck asked, his curiosity overriding any sense of tact.
Eddie’s chest rose as he took a slow, deliberate breath in. He turned his body towards Buck and lifted his chin defiantly. “Yeah, Buck. Did you ?”
“Oh yeah,” Buck said, unconcerned. “Josh recommended it, but I’m not sure it’s my scene, to be honest.”
Eyes bright and calculating, Eddie stared at him. “Me neither,” he finally said. “Kinda … garish.”
“Right,” Buck said, though he wasn’t sure he knew what the word meant. He pressed his lips together before asking the question he really wanted to know the answer to. “So … why are you in a gay club, Eddie?”
Defensive energy rolled off Eddie in waves, his muscles tight, face closed off. “Why do you think , Buck?”
“But, aren’t you,” Buck swallowed before finishing the sentence. “Straight?”
Eyes dropping shut, Eddie shook his head and said nothing.
Understanding bloomed across Buck’s mind—not just the realisation that Eddie was not straight, but a recognition that he was clearly uncomfortable admitting it. He reached one hand out and rested it on Eddie’s shoulder, gave him a reassuring squeeze.
“Hey,” he said, moving a little nearer, leaning in so Eddie would hear him above the throb of a new song. “Eddie. Don’t be … you know, nervous about this. I’m here, too.”
Eyes floating open, Eddie stared at him again. Slowly, he nodded. “Yeah, I guess you are. So you’re…?”
“Bi,” Buck said. Eddie’s expression didn’t change, so Buck added, “Uh, bisexual?”
Eddie’s mouth shaped the word, ‘oh,’ but Buck couldn’t hear him.
“D’you, uh … wanna go somewhere quieter?” he called. “So we can talk?”
Nodding, Eddie dropped his arms and gestured for Buck to follow him as he skirted the dance floor and led the way to a smoking garden. The night air slapped against Buck’s skin, a blanket of ice laced with tobacco. Wrinkling his nose, he trailed behind Eddie to a quiet, sheltered corner. It was dark, cast Eddie’s shape into baroque shadows.
Buck studied the tautness of Eddie’s body, the watchful glow of his eyes catching the distant lights. He took a slow pull on his beer, then murmured, “Eddie, are you okay with me knowing that you’re …” He trailed off, unsure what word to use.
“Queer?” Eddie supplied, voice low and rough. He sighed and rolled his head back, breath disappearing into the darkness on a misty cloud. “Yeah. It’s okay. It has to be.”
“Hey,” Buck said, forcing a light tone for Eddie’s sake. “This is something we have in common.”
Eddie nodded slowly, but didn’t speak.
Buck hastened to fill the silence. “Why haven’t you ever said anything?”
Eddie twitched one shoulder. “I didn’t want you to know.”
Stung, Buck tilted his head. “Why not?”
“Because,” Eddie breathed, avoiding his gaze still. “I didn’t want you to know that I’m attracted to you. Things are gonna be weird between us now.”
Buck froze with his beer halfway to his lips. “You’re what?”
Rolling his head forwards, Eddie finally looked at him, expressionless. “Buck, c’mon.”
“Since … Eddie, since when?”
“I don’t really wanna talk about this with you, Buck.”
Staring at him, Buck passed his tongue across his lips and reached for Eddie. Moving slowly, he gave Eddie a chance to stop him from touching, but he did not waver as Buck curled his fingers around one elbow. “Eddie, it’s not weird. It’s fantastic.”
“Fantastic,” Eddie muttered, but the darkness in his eyes softened a little. “How’s that?”
“Because.” Buck wanted to move nearer, but forced himself to stay still, not wanting to put more pressure on Eddie than he was already feeling. “I’m into you too, Eddie.”
“Buck, if this is a joke—”
“It’s not!” Buck’s fingers bit into Eddie’s arm. “I wouldn’t do that to you. This is for real, Eddie.”
Glancing down to where Buck’s hand curled around his elbow, Eddie paused a moment before asking, “It’s for real?”
“Really for real,” Buck repeated. He shuffled his weight, desperate to move closer, not quite daring to.
Eddie looked back up at him, the edge of his mouth quirking with soft hope. “So what do we do now?”
“We go back inside,” Buck murmured. “Hit the dance floor. See where it leads.”
Nodding slowly, Eddie’s mouth pulled into a full grin. “Let’s see where it leads.”