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It was a quarter to twelve and you were fresh off your long eight-hour shift at the station. Normally, you would be heading straight home to your warm bed, but instead, you were going over to confront Eddie after being told some startling news by Buck.
To say you were pissed at what you’d been told one of your closest friends had done would be an understatement. You were livid, outraged, and ready to tell him off like nobody ever had before.
It was the first time you’d ever been so upset with the man, and you hoped it would be the last, as you truly didn’t enjoy feeling such intense negative emotions. Any attempts at calming yourself down in the fifteen-minute drive over there were useless, Buck’s words only echoing louder and louder in your head as you pulled into Eddie’s driveway.
You slammed your car door behind you a little harder than necessary, not paying much attention to it as you stormed up to Eddie’s front door. You held yourself back from knocking too loudly however as you didn’t wish to wake his son up.
Eddie answered the door half a minute later, already in pajamas looking half asleep as he ran a hand through his messy chocolate brown hair. He eyed you in a mixture of confusion and surprise.
“___, what are you doing here? Is everything okay?” He asked, fighting away the tiredness in his voice as he searched your face.
“No, everything is not okay, Eddie.” You fumed, “Please come outside so we can speak. I don’t want to wake up Chris.”
His eyebrows furrowed at that and he shook his head once, “He’s spending the night over at Abuela’s with his cousins. Just come in.”
“Fine,” you muttered as you walked past him, relieved to hear you could speak freely.
You walked over to the green floral couch in the living room and sat arms crossed.
If gazes could kill, you were sure Eddie would be about six feet under as you regarded him right now. He seemed unfazed though as he took a seat on the brown recliner across from you, eyeing you with questions in his eyes.
“So… Are you going to let me know what’s going on?” He prompted after a moment.
Eyes narrowed, you crossed your arms over your chest.
“Oh no, it’s you who’s going to do that, Eddie.”
He scratched his head at that. “Uh, I’m lost.”
Well, you would just have to enlighten him then.
“I had a very interesting conversation with Buck earlier.”
That seemed to click something in his mind, and he shifted uncomfortably in the chair. His jaw tightened and he averted his gaze from yours.
“Oh?”
“Yeah, he told me that two of you went out with some of the crew from the 121 last night. Said things got heated between you and one of their firefighters, Drew.”
“Now hold up a second,” Eddie quickly spoke up, already knowing where this was going as he leaned forward with a look mingling with guilt and frustration, “I’d had a few beers that night and I wasn’t thinking straight.”
“Really?” You scoffed, bitterness soaking your tone, “that’s your excuse for telling Drew ‘back off, she’s mine’? We’re not together Eddie, I am not yours. Don’t you remember? I told you how I felt about you, asked you on a date, and you rejected me.”
The memory of the night you’d finally got the courage up to ask Eddie out only a month ago still stung.
You really thought he was interested in you considering the two of you flirted all the time and hung out nearly every day outside of work. But then he’d rejected you so completely, and now had the nerve to claim you were his, which pissed you off more than anything.
“I only said you were mine because I had to alright?” He defended, standing with his fists balled at his sides, “I mean you should have heard the way he was talking about you! Like you were just some piece of meat he was dying to get a piece of, honestly had Buck not been there to calm me down, I probably would have punched the guy.”
You stood up too, not baking down at all. Sure, this Drew sounded like an absolute asshole, and you wanted nothing to do with him, but you were determined to call out Eddie on his bullshit.
“That’s no excuse for what you said, in my opinion, you’re acting just as worse as him.”
“I am not!” He said, outraged. “I was trying to protect you from that creep.”
“I don’t need your protection, Eddie. I’m an adult perfectly and capable of looking after myself.”
He sighed, “I know that.”
“Then why?” You pressed, trying to figure out why he did what he did. A part of you suspected the answer, but he needed to say it, not you.
He opened his mouth to reply, unknown emotions smoldering in his eyes, only to stay quiet.
You waited, hand on your hip for him to say something, anything to explain his unreasonable behavior.
However, he simply looked away, his face unreadable, not offering you an explanation in the slightest.
“Whatever, I’m leaving,” you huffed, turning around and heading for the door.
If he didn’t want to tell you why then you weren’t going to stand around and try to force him to.
Eddie seemed frozen for a second, not moving until the thud of your footsteps shook him out of his own thoughts.
“Wait, ___. Please don’t go, stay,” Eddie begged, hurrying forward and grabbing your wrist. His grip was loose enough that you could easily pull away, but you decided not to, instead stopping like he’d asked, but refusing to turn and face him.
“Why should I?”
Your words were short and distant, but you would give him one more chance to make things right between the two of you.
“I’m sorry, okay? It was stupid of me to do that and I only did out of jealously because....” He trailed, taking in a shaky breath before he continued, “I have feelings for you.”
Butterflies fluttered in your stomach at his confession, heat flaring behind your cheeks as you fought to keep a composed expression. You knew that might’ve been why, but with all the mixed signals Eddie had given, you hadn’t wanted to hope. Still, you needed to understand fully.
“Why didn’t just tell me that?”
“I was scared alright? You’re the first person I’ve had feelings for since Shannon passed away, and I have to consider my child too and the changes it would have on our life if I started dating. But I just can’t deny it anymore. I mean everyone at the station knows I’m head over heels for you, hell even Chris has noticed it, but I know I’ve screwed things up and hurt you, and I’m so sorry.”
As he finished, he dropped your wrist, causing you to turn and gaze at him with concern. Many expressions spread across his face: apprehension, hope, shame, but most of all sincerity.
You knew without a doubt how hard it must have been Eddie to confess all of this to you, and you appreciated it more than he would ever know. You’d had no idea he was holding all of these deep feelings inside and he truly must have been hurting.
Not wanting to waste another second, you turned to him and slowly brought your hand up to his left cheek, caressing tenderly as your eyes locked. Eddie shivered beneath your touch, watching your every action with bated breath.
“Eddie, I still feel the same about you, and while I wish we could have talked about this sooner, I understand. You’ve gone through a lot and you’re a devoted father. I could never fault you for any of that.”
“Thank you, that’s more than I deserve,” he murmured, leaning into your warm touch.
“You deserve everything,” you responded simply, moving closer and closer to him until there were only inches left between your lips and his.
The kiss was sweet and slow, lips moving together gently until you both pulled away, gauging each other’s reaction, and then you were entangled again, pulling him in closer as he wrapped his arms around your waist.
By the time the two of you parted fully from the passionate embrace, you were both a bit out of breath, your foreheads pressed against each other.
“So,” Eddie started after a moment, a soft smile on his face, “does this mean your really mine now?”
You chuckled at that, “Hmm, are you asking me to be?”
“I am.” He responded a bit of nervousness in his tone.
“Then I’m all yours and you’re all mine.”