Chapter Text
Buck has never thought of himself as traditional. But starting a relationship from the end is unconventional even for him. Usually you date someone before you get married.
Then again, nothing about Buck and Eddie's trajectory has ever been traditional.
Buck and Eddie are still Buck and Eddie.
Buck stays at their house, makes pancakes, picks up Christopher, they grocery shop, they bicker, they go to work together, they go home together. All the things they did before.
Now; Buck gets the added bonus of manhandling Eddie onto the kitchen counter and pushing him down onto the bed, finding all the places Eddie is sensitive as Buck's mouth explores avenues of skin and witnesses new frequencies of the man's vocal range. It’s amazing.
They decide to keep their relationship to themselves, just for a few days. It’s not really a secret, they’re still married and somehow going to have to explain that to a lot of people. But they can hold off for a little while, basking in their own existence and bubble for a tiny bit longer.
Their bubble lasts exactly 45 hours after they get together, and six hours into a shift before Buck gets hurt.
“You’re okay.” Hen says, stabilizing his shoulder where a piece of debris landed on it. She’s gentle and she helps him into the sling and he tries to keep his grimaces to a minimum. It hurts like hell but he's trying to make her feel better about it. He knows logically she can see through his poorly designed masculinity but she's humoring him. Hen’s nice like that.
They’d been recusing a couple of tradies out of a building they were doing construction on. When Buck was getting one of them out, the roof had collapsed on him. Pieces of the roof only got his shoulder and nicked his eyebrow, but the shoulder needed to be set and in a sling for a few days while it healed up.
Overall while it hurt, he’d had much worse.
Buck is sitting on the edge of the firetruck as Hen tends to it, Ravi standing around waiting for the rest of the team to finish up.
“Does it hurt?” Ravi asks, arms crossed as he stands there watching Hen patch up the man.
“Not really.” Buck lies. It hurts.
“Buck!” Eddie's panicked voice rings through the air and Bucks head snaps up to see Eddie barreling towards him, a look of pure concern on his features. Chim and Bobby trailing behind him, looking considerably less concerned, but worried.
Eddie hadn’t been there when it happened and Buck is sure from the frantic look directed his way, someone has just mentioned to him that Buck had been hurt. No details given.
“What happened?” Eddie demands, a little too harshly directed at Hen if her face is anything to go by. Eddie either ignores her looks or hasn’t registered them as he looks the man up and down, just about ready to do his own assessment as a medic.
“I’m fine. Some roof got my shoulder, but it'll be fine with a little TLC.” Buck assures him with his trademark cheeky grin to try and deescalate the situation. Eddie looks far too concerned for a simple banged up shoulder, but Buck doesn’t blame him for overreacting. This is all new territory for them, with the added label they’ve given their relationship. Besides, Buck knows he’d be much worse if it was Eddie sitting here getting patched up.
Eddie looks about ready to strangle the grin off Buck's face for good measure, but upon looking at the man again and seeing that he truly is fine, he simmers right down. Deflating like a balloon.
He knows Eddie needed to see he was fine with his own two eyes. Just like Buck would have needed to if it were reversed. Even before they got together, he knows how important that was.
Eddie leans forward, stepping into the gap between Buck's legs. It’s frighteningly simple, the movement, but there's a vulnerability Buck isn’t used to. Eddie is asking for the care, allowing himself to feel centered by Buck's presence and Buck would never deny Eddie something so important. Instead he uses his good arm to elope him and bring him forward. Crushing their bodies together.
He feels Eddie's lips on his forehead, brushing lightly. And he feels so loved. And safe.
“I’m good babe.”
Babe is a new one for them but it feels right coming out. It continues to feel right when he feels Eddie breathe out and lean in closer.
“Excuse me?”
Fuck. Buck forgot they had an audience.
Their little moment is ruined and Buck feels Eddie freeze and tense in his arms. Buck hates it.
“Ugh.” Eddie tries to step out of Bucks embrace but he holds on tighter, not letting the man go.
They’re outed now. Might as well go for it.
“Did you just say babe ?” Hen asks incredulously.
“Well.” Buck starts but Chim cuts in loudly. “I knew it! I fucking new it!”
“No you didn’t.” Hen argues outraged. “You absolutely did not.”
“I predicted it. Did I not? I
knew
the marriage would push them together.” Chim says with glee. Like a kid in a candy shop that's just been given permission to go get anything he wants.
For reasons he can’t quite place, Buck is offended. He knows it’s probably warranted but he's not entirely sure why.
“You don’t even know it's the marriage that got them together.” Hen argues vehemently back.
“It had to be, right?” Chim turns back to them. Demanding clarification.
Eddie looks like a deer caught in headlights, tips of his ears tinting pink, but Buck just chuckles and leans his good shoulder into Eddie's stomach.
“We’re happy for you boys. Seriously.” Bobby pushes past the arguing Hen and Chimney to clap Eddie on the shoulder. Looking as proud as ever. “You’ll need to fill out some forms when we get back though.”
Buck chuckles, and with one last look he turns back to ensure everyone is all set up and Chim and Hen continue to bicker quietly about who owes who money. That went surprisingly well. Almost a bit anticlimactic if anything.
Ravi, however ,is still looking between the two thoughtfully.
“You good probie?” Buck can’t shake the habit of the nickname. Nor does he particularly want to.
Ravi’s forehead creases even more, arms wrapping tightly around his middle thoughtfully. “So, are you guys sure you weren’t dating before?”
Buck frowns. “What?” He feels Eddie tense defensively and he pulls him in even closer. His shoulder doesn’t ache as much when he has Eddie close to him, and he wonders if now that everyone knows he can convince Eddie to take a nap with him later on the couch. He always sleeps better when he can feel Eddie's heartbeat.
“It's just, I always figured you guys were together. You come to work together and you have a kid. Nobody ever said anything.” Ravi shrugs.
“What?” Buck repeats dumbly. He was expecting a lot of things from Ravi, but not that.
“What did you think when we got married in Vegas?” Eddie asks, even more confused.
Did this guy just walk around for years thinking him and Eddie were together and not say anything?
Ravi shrugs again. “I was happy for you, it seemed like you’d finally made it official. Got your shit together. Then you were weird about it and I was just confused. I was too afraid to ask anyone about it.”
Fucking probie.