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Everyone was gathered at the Grant-Nash household for one of Bobby’s cook outs. It had been a long week at work, and everyone was glad for the time to decompress. It was later in the night, and all of the children had been put to bed. The drinks had been brought out, and everyone was at least pleasantly buzzed. With the promise of everyone staying on a couch or guest bed, it seemed that the alcohol was flowing more than usual. Everyone was letting loose, and that was leading to them all acting up a bit.
It all started with Hen daring Chim to try and convince Maddie he had a secret third brother. Chim failed, because Maddie had not drunk anywhere near as much as he had yet. In return, Chim dared Hen to text Karen, who had stayed home to watch Nia, the lyrics to I Want It That Way for as long as possible until she noticed. She got 4 lines in before Karen called Chim and asked exactly how drunk Hen was. Chim was laughing so hard he couldn’t respond, and that really was all the answer he needed. Hen decided that others needed to get involved, and she knew that Buck was up for pretty much any dare. She dared Buck to go call Athena mom. He rolled his eyes, but got up to do it anyway.
“Love you mom.” Buck said while pulling her into a hug.
Athena rolled her eyes but hugged him back. “Either you’re really drunk, or you did something stupid. For both our sakes I’m going to hope it’s the former.”
Buck only called Athena mom when something was wrong usually. It wasn’t even the first time that week he had called her that though. The two had a rocky start, but they really did have a mother-son relationship.
It only escalated from there. The alcohol kept flowing, and the dares got more risky and outlandish. Maddie ended up calling Josh asking for help hiding a body. She ended up laughing too early and gave it up. Eddie ended up streaking down the road. Hen ended up somehow wearing Chim’s underwear outside of her pants. Everyone knew not to try and get Bobby or Athena to partake, or it would probably get shut down. Buck had stayed out of most of it, helping Bobby Athena cleaning up after dinner. When they finished, Athena turned in for the night. She had work in the morning, and wasn’t trying to stay up drinking with the others. Eventually, they moved out into the backyard. Bobby took over creating a fire in the firepit. Buck was on drink duty, since he was the only one with any bartending experience. Whenever it was going to be his turn to get dared, he went in to make drinks, and everyone forgot about it by the time he came back with drinks.
Buck handed out the last round of drinks. They were all non-alcoholic and had been for a while, but the others didn’t seem to notice. He cut them all off from full drinks fairly quickly. He didn’t want anyone to be any further than the right side of too tipsy. He sat down next to Eddie on a bench, the only spot that was left open. They seemed to have switched seats several times.
“Buck, the council has selected that you do another dare. You’ve gotten off for too long.” Hen gestured at everyone sitting around the fire pit.
Buck didn’t know when they had decided that they were a council, but it was easier to go with it. There was a chance none of them would even remember what had happened that night. “Haven’t you all exhausted the good dares?”
“Nope, we saved this one just for you. We dare you to kiss Eddie.” Hen gave Buck a look, almost daring him to say no. Buck knew how this worked, Hen had something that he definitely would not want to do stored up if he said no.
Buck resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but he slid over and gave Eddie a quick kiss on the cheek.
“You didn’t specify the kind of kiss.” Buck gave as his defense. The others clearly were not having it, protesting against it.
“That wasn’t a real kiss!” Hen mock shouted. She kept her voice down to not wake the kids, but still wanted to make her annoyance known.
“You can do better than that.” Chim chimed in.
“I didn’t know you were a middle schooler too scared to ask his crush out.” Maddie was trying to egg him on.
Buck knew they weren’t going to give up on this. The station hadn’t exactly been subtle about trying to get him and Eddie together. They had tried pretty much everything at this point. They even tried to set them up on a date by saying there was a group dinner and the others just didn’t show up. This seemed to be a last ditch attempt to make it happen. Buck knew that the others wanted a show, so he was going to give them a show. Buck moved across the bench so that he was sitting on Eddie’s lap. He felt Eddie’s hands hold onto his hips, holding on tight. Buck put his hands on Eddie’s cheeks, feeling the stubble underneath them. Buck knew that he wasn’t going to want the beard burn from this. Buck gave Eddie enough time to stop him if he wanted, but there was no resistance. It wasn’t the most amazing kiss ever, Buck putting more effort into making a scene than making it the best, and they were both slightly tipsy. He could taste the pineapple drink he had given Eddie.
He wasn’t entirely sure how long they had been kissing, time seeming to slip away. He pulled back when he heard Bobby clear his throat.
“I’m going to make sure all the beds are set up, you should all go to sleep soon.” Bobby made a hasty exit.
Buck knew the fire would hide any blush that had risen on his face. He turned around in Eddie’s lap to face the others. “There, would you consider that a kiss?” He felt Eddie’s arms wrap around his waist, keeping him there on Eddie’s lap. Eddie rested his chin on Buck’s shoulder in order to see the rest of the gang. He watched as Chim’s eyes flicked down to Eddie’s arms, and Chim’s face lit up when he realized what was happening. Chim opened his mouth to start to speak when Buck cut him off. “Nope. Chim, I don’t know what you’re thinking but no. Everyone’s cut off, it’s bed time for you all.”
“Boo, you’re not fun. Eddie’s a grown man, he can do what he wants.” Chim full well knew what he was doing, Eddie wasn’t going to say no now. “I dare you to give Buck a hickey.”
Hen snorted into her drink at Chim’s words. “Chim, that’s just cruel, you know Eddie won’t do that.”
Buck could not see Eddie’s face, but he knew that it was going to have a look of determination. Buck sent a pleading look Maddie’s way to save him, but she was already half asleep against Chim. At least she wouldn’t see this and make fun of him later. He felt Eddie move behind him, the older man’s warm breath against his neck. Buck stared at the fire, and did his best to keep his face schooled. He wasn’t going to let the others know how it actually made him feel. His breath caught in his throat when he felt Eddie’s lips against his neck. He had to hold in a shiver when Eddie’s gently bit him. Between the blood thinners, and the enthusiasm Eddie was putting into this, it was clear Buck was going to have a fairly large hickey. Buck had to keep thoughts of cold water running though his mind, he was not going to get hard while on his best friend’s lap. That would not end well for either of them. He felt Eddie’s lips leave his neck, and placed a small kiss before resting his chin back on Buck’s shoulder.
“Take that Chim.” Eddie sounded smug, and Buck didn’t hate it. He knew Eddie had a jealous streak a mile wide, so it wasn’t entirely surprising that he was at least a little possessive.
Before Eddie could get to giving Chim a dare, Bobby returned. He let out one of his sighs where he wasn’t disappointed in the group, but he still couldn’t believe this was the group he was in charge of. “All the beds are ready, and I think it’s definitely time for you all to go to sleep.” Bobby spoke in his tone that there wasn’t any room for arguing.
Everyone managed to stand up and make it to their rooms. Chim and Maddie got one of the guest rooms. Buck had said he would take the couch, but Hen didn’t want to share a bed with Eddie or Buck, so she took the couch. Her argument was that Buck was too long for the couch and he wouldn’t fit. Buck knew it was an argument that he would lose, so he guided Eddie to the other guest room. Bobby had already put both their bags in there, seeming to anticipate how the rooming situation would work out.
“I’m going to take the bathroom first.” Buck made sure that Eddie was sitting on the bed before heading in to get changed and brushed his teeth. Looking in the mirror, he could see the bruise that had formed on his neck. It wasn’t bad yet, but certainly would be in the morning. He exited the bathroom, and let Eddie have his turn. Eddie stared at Buck’s neck as he walked past, seeming to be admiring his work. Buck chose not to even think about why Eddie looked proud of making a mark on Buck’s skin. Buck took the time alone to process the rest of his thoughts as he went about plugging his phone in and getting into bed. He knew Eddie preferred sleeping on the side closer to the door in case Chris needed him.
Buck was unsure how to process what had happened. He and Eddie had always danced around the tension between them. But tonight blew through any barriers they had put up. He had to make a decision on if they would speak of this, or add it to one of the things they just didn’t talk about for fear of ruining their friendship. If it was a decision that was just on Buck, he knew what he would do. He didn’t know what Eddie would do and that worried him. He couldn’t make a plan, especially when really it wasn’t just the two of them. Chris had to be taken into consideration. If they dated, and it ended badly, it could be devastating to Chris. Buck didn’t want to disappoint any more people.
Buck didn’t get to finish his spiral of reasons as to why he and Eddie shouldn’t be together because he felt the bed shift as Eddie got in. Eddie leaned out to turn the lamp off, plunging the room into darkness. Neither wanted to be the one to break the silence. It seemed like both of them wanted to wait until the morning to discuss. The darkness of night led to confessions, and neither wanted to spill everything. Daylight brought clarity, something they both needed. While waiting for sleep to overtake them, the two scooted closer together until Eddie’s front was pushed against Buck’s back, their limbs tangled. The touch helped quiet the thoughts running through both men’s heads, allowing them to finally fall asleep. No matter how the talk went in the morning, it was clear that they were going to take a step in the right direction. It wasn’t how they would have intended to get together in this way, but it seemed like the nudge they both needed.