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Eddie’s had a rough few weeks since Buck’s breakup.
And maybe that’s an odd choice of event to measure time by; but it’s pretty relevant to Eddie, at least.
Mainly because the day Buck’s boyfriend broke up with him was the same day a hot priest began changing the course of Eddie’s life forever.
Eddie wonders sometimes—if he’d never met Father Brian—whether he’d have ended up here.
Here, in love with his best friend, but unable to tell him to his face because said best friend has announced he wants to spread his wings and experience the dating scene as a freshly single bisexual man.
Eddie doesn’t want to get in the way of that.
He wants Buck to have his freedom and enjoy himself and—
God, he hates it.
He hates it with a passion.
But he’s not sure if Buck would be interested in him even if he did say something, so he stays silent, deciding he’ll wait and only tell Buck if it seems like the right time.
Yeah, he can do this.
He’ll be fine.
Date #1: Derek
“So, how’d the date with Derek go?” Hen asks excitedly as Buck shows up in the change room right before their shift is due to start. “It was last night, right?”
Eddie tenses a little.
He already knows that the date was last night, and he was kind of hoping not to have to hear about it. Because knowing Buck is out dating people is one thing; hearing about it is another.
Looks like he’s not so fine after all.
Part of him hopes Buck will brush Hen off and refuse to give any details.
But of course he doesn’t have that kind of luck.
Buck flushes in response to Hen’s question. “Yeah, it was last night.”
“Well?” Chim asks, closing his locker door. “What was he like?”
“He was sweet,” Buck says, and Eddie resists the urge to scoff. “We got dinner, went to see a movie, and then he dropped me home.”
“That sounds nice!” Hen exclaims, nudging Eddie. “Right?”
Eddie clears his throat to stall for time, but it only buys him a few seconds.
“Yeah,” he eventually manages to force out. “I guess that sounds nice.”
Hen starts asking Buck more questions, and Eddie takes the opportunity to sneak off.
He hates this so much more than he thought he would.
Date #2: Jack
“I don’t understand,” Hen says, brow furrowing as she stares at Buck. “What do you mean you’re not seeing him again?”
Buck shrugs. “I just wasn’t feeling it.”
Hen and Chim exchange a look.
“You just said he was perfect,” Chim points out, looking over to Bobby. “Right? That’s what he said?”
Bobby shakes his head. “I’m staying out of it.”
Eddie also very carefully does not let himself get involved.
“Jack was perfect on paper,” Buck attempts to explain. “But in reality? I don’t know. He just wasn’t right for me.”
“But what if you—”
“Chim, trust me, it wasn’t gonna work out,” Buck says, and Eddie experiences a split second of joy before Buck proceeds to rip it away. “Besides, it’s too late. I’ve got another date this weekend.”
Eddie briefly wonders if his suffering is his own fault.
A punishment for not telling Buck he’s gay?
Maybe.
Not that it matters, since he doubts Buck would be interested anyway.
Date #3: Claudia
“She really didn’t like the lasagne?” Bobby asks as they’re on their way to a call the following week. “You stuck to the recipe, right?”
Buck chuckles. “Yeah, I didn’t modify it this time.”
Bobby frowns.
“Not sure that’s a good sign, Buck,” Hen pipes up. “If she doesn’t like Cap’s lasagne she’s gotta have something wrong with her.”
Eddie’s inclined to agree, for many reasons.
Mainly because he strongly believes there’s something wrong with all these people Buck’s dating.
“You’re being harsh,” Buck attempts to defend his date. “Claudia said she wasn’t a huge fan of Italian food, that’s all.”
“She doesn’t like pizza?” Hen asks, and Buck shrugs. “That’s criminal.”
Eddie’s on Hen’s side.
Who the hell doesn’t like pizza?
“She was a nice person!” Buck insists, pausing for a moment. “But it doesn’t matter. I’m not seeing her again.”
Hallelujah.
“What?” Chim asks, ruining Eddie’s internal celebration. “Why not?”
Literally who cares.
Eddie’s visibly thrilled when he sees they’ve arrived at their destination, and he ignores Hen’s calculating look as he throws himself out of the engine. Anything to ensure he isn’t forced to sit around and wait to hear Buck’s reasoning.
Date #4: Joy
When Buck goes on a date with a woman named Joy, Eddie feels like the universe is mocking him.
Stupid hot priest tells him to do something that makes him feel joy, and it’s ironically a woman named Joy who proceeds to rip the joy out of his life.
Okay, maybe he’s being a little dramatic, sue him.
“And she really embodied her name, you know?”
Eddie tunes back into Buck’s post-date commentary, avoiding eye contact with Bobby as he washes the lettuce.
“Just such a happy, joyous person,” Buck continues, slicing some tomatoes for the salad they’re preparing for dinner. “I haven’t met anybody that full of positivity in a long time.”
Eddie rolls his eyes when he’s sure nobody’s looking.
“Are you gonna see her again?” Hen asks, and Eddie tries not to look like he’s listening too hard for the answer to his question.
Luckily, Buck shakes his head from side to side. “Nah, she’s heading off to Europe for a few months. Said she didn’t think it would be fair to ask me to wait around.”
Good.
Riddance.
Eddie can’t help but let a sigh of relief escape him.
Hen definitely notices his reaction again, but she only raises an eyebrow in response instead of calling him out verbally.
“It’s okay though,” Buck continues after a moment. “I’ve actually got another date this weekend. He seems really nice, and we’ve got a lot in common. He’s a firefighter, and—”
When the alarm blares, Eddie resists the urge to cheer.
He really doesn’t want to hear about Buck’s next date if he can avoid it.
Date #5: Eduardo
It turns out he can’t avoid it, because of course Chim asks how it went on their very next shift after the weekend.
And it’s not good.
Not good at all.
In fact, the fifth date ends up being Eddie’s breaking point.
Because Buck’s fifth date is with a man that Eddie swears could be his own twin.
Buck’s date also has almost the exact same name as Eddie.
And Buck, nor anybody else besides maybe Hen, seem to see anything wrong with this.
So he takes things into his own hands, cutting Buck off midway through his sentence where he’s singing his date’s praises.
“I’m sorry, did you say his name was Eduardo?” Eddie asks incredulously, and Buck nods as Hen and Chim look nervously at each other. “Are you kidding?”
Buck frowns at him. “No? What’s wrong with Eduardo?”
“Seriously?” Eddie presses. “You don’t see anything odd about you dating a guy named Eduardo who looks exactly like me?”
Buck flushes.
“Eddie—” Hen attempts to interrupt, but Eddie cuts her off.
“No, I can’t do this anymore,” Eddie says as he stands up from the table, speaking directly to Buck. “If you want to date me so badly, just do it already! You’re making us both suffer at this point!”
And with that, Eddie storms off in a huff, giving Buck zero chance to respond.
+1
Later that night—after Eddie spends the rest of their shift carefully avoiding everyone—Buck shows up on his doorstep.
Because of course he does.
Eddie sighs as he looks through the peephole, knowing that if he doesn’t let him in, Buck will probably just use his key.
Damn it.
“You said both,” is the first thing Buck says as he makes his way past Eddie to take a seat on the couch.
Eddie’s not entirely sure what point Buck’s trying to make.
Until he continues by clarifying, “Back at the station, you said I was making us both suffer.”
Eddie slowly closes the front door, turning around to face Buck.
“I did,” he responds.
Buck stares at him. “Are you going to expand on that?”
Eddie rolls his eyes.
“I think I was pretty clear,” Eddie throws back at him, crossing his arms and refusing to join Buck on the couch. “Which part is confusing you?”
“Eddie!” Buck exclaims. “You’re not making any—”
“Sense?” Edide cuts him off. “What doesn’t make sense is why you’re wasting time with these losers when you could open your eyes to what’s in front of you instead!”
“How are they losers?” Buck exclaims, looking at him incredulously. “Almost all of them have been lovely people!”
“Well, whatever,” Eddie huffs, and Buck gapes at him. “They’re not right for you. They don’t take you on the dates you deserve, and they don’t know all your favourite things, and they don’t see how wonderful you are, and—”
“You sound jealous,” Buck points out.
Eddie huffs out a dry laugh.
“Because I am!” he responds. “I want to date you. And I want to kiss you, and I want you to move in here eventually and keep building this life we’ve already been building together.”
Buck looks like he’s about to cry, but Eddie isn’t about to stop until he’s sure Buck understands him.
“And I want to cherish you,” he continues, taking a step forward until he’s able to sit next to Buck and take his hands in his. He looks Buck right in the eye as he says, “I want to love you better than anybody ever has, and I will, I can promise you that. I already love you so much more than I ever thought was possible. You’re the most amazing person I know, and I know I’m not good enough for you, but I want to be. So I—”
“Shut up,” Buck finally says, interrupting Eddie mid-sentence. “Don’t ever say that again. You’re good enough, Eddie, and I feel so lucky to have you sitting in front of me and saying all these sweet things about me.” Buck pauses for a moment. “I’m so sorry I didn’t realise you were hurting.”
“Buck—” Eddie attempts to interrupt, but Buck’s not having it.
“No, let me finish,” Buck insists. “I should have realised, but I was too busy telling myself I needed to put myself out there again that I didn’t see it. I mean, sure, it crossed my mind a few times that you might be jealous; but I convinced myself it was impossible. Because I didn’t know you were an option until now. But now that I know, you’re the only option, and I—”
Eddie kisses him, because really, what the hell else is he supposed to do after a line like that.
Buck’s lips are gentle on his as they kiss earnestly. It’s soft and quietly exhilarating, leaving Eddie feeling like he’s lighter than air for the first time since Buck started going on his dates.
“Please don’t date anyone ever again,” Eddie begs, as they finally break apart. “I don’t think I can handle it.”
Buck huffs out a laugh, nuzzling their noses together as he presses a soft kiss to Eddie’s lips. “Not sure I can promise that.”
Eddie freezes, frowning as he puts some distance between them.
“What do you mean?” he asks. “We just—”
Buck’s eyes widen.
“No, no, no,” Buck hurries to explain. “I’m not gonna date anyone else who’s not you.”
Eddie relaxes, allowing Buck to pull him back in for another sweet kiss.
“That’s genuinely a relief,” Eddie breathes out, before adding teasingly, “I much prefer keeping you all to myself.”
Buck grins. “Oh, I think that can be arranged.”
*
“A little bird told me you had another date on the weekend,” Chim announces as everyone settles in for breakfast on shift two weeks later. “How’d this one go?”
Eddie very carefully avoids everyone’s eyes.
“Where’d you hear that?” Buck asks nonchalantly, reaching for some toast for both himself and Eddie.
Chim eyes them curiously. “Maddie told me. Said you were very nervous.”
“You were nervous?” Eddie asks, forgetting his plan to be silent. Chim’s eyes dart towards him. “I mean. Why would you need to be nervous? That’s just—that’s crazy. I’m sure it was great. Amazing, even.”
Eddie takes a big sip of his coffee—burning his tongue in the process—in an effort to stop his rambling. He swallows painfully, immediately coughing as it goes down the wrong way.
Chim looks at him in confusion.
Hen snorts into her own coffee.
Bobby shakes his head.
And Buck looks vaguely amused.
“You good?” Buck asks, and Eddie nods as he flushes a deep red. “Want some water?”
Eddie nods, thanking Buck when he passes him a glass.
He takes a slow sip—making sure not to choke this time—and accidentally makes eye contact with Hen.
Hen crosses her arms, and Eddie freezes under her gaze.
She raises an eyebrow at him.
Eddie sighs. “You know, don’t you?”
Hen smiles.
“Know what?” Chim asks, eyes darting between Eddie, Buck and Hen. “What am I missing?”
Bobby chuckles.
“So Buck,” Hen starts. “Would you say you’ll be going on a second date with this person?”
Eddie hides his face in his hands.
“Oh, definitely,” Buck says, and Eddie can hear the grin on his face. “In fact, we’ve got plans this weekend.”
“This weekend?” Eddie asks, dropping his hands.
“I’m thinking rock climbing could be fun,” Buck says, looking directly at Eddie now. “Maybe get some ice cream on the way home?”
“Sounds good,” Eddie agrees, only having eyes for Buck. “Maybe pizza for dinner and a movie on the couch?”
Buck smiles. “Perfect.”
Eddie smiles softly back at him.
“Okay,” Chim says, pulling their attention back in his direction. “Sounds great, but—”
The alarm goes off, and Eddie resists the urge to laugh at the look on Chim’s face as they all jump into action.
Luckily, Chim trails after Buck. Eddie can see him attempting to get Buck’s attention to continue his interrogation, but Buck heads straight for his turnouts by the looks of things.
Eddie goes to follow him, but Hen tugs him into a brief hug before he has a chance.
“I’m really happy for you,” she whispers in his ear.
Eddie hugs her back. “Thank you.”
“Congratulations,” Eddie hears Bobby say. He lets go of Hen to face Bobby as he continues, “I’ve been half expecting this since Buck came out, to be honest. I knew you’d both get there eventually.” Bobby pauses. “And you don’t need to worry, you’ll still be able to work together.”
Eddie chokes on a laugh. “Uh, thanks Bobby. I think I speak for Buck as well as myself when I say we really appreciate that.”
He’s really not sure what else to say. It seems it’s enough though, as Bobby claps a hand on his shoulder and the three of them join Buck and Hen in the truck.
As they hit the road, Bobby calls Buck’s name and says, “I’m very happy for you both.”
Buck smiles in response. “Thanks, I—”
“I’m so lost,” Chim says. “What the hell is happening?”
Eddie looks at Buck, and they both grin at one another. He looks up, and sees Bobby chuckling to himself as well, and Hen shaking her head in amusement.
Chim throws his hands up in exasperation.
“Come on, will someone just tell me what’s going on?” Chim begs, following them into the engine. “Guys?”