Work Text:
i.
Hen was pretty darn observant. It came from a need to know what was going on around her, to always identify the problem before the problem could find her. And normally, her observation meant she understood everything better.
But this she didn’t understand.
Buck and Eddie were bickering after a call. Buck had done something that could be considered reckless. And even though he didn’t get hurt and didn’t get a lecture from Bobby, Eddie seemed annoyed by his decision.
“You’ve got to say something before you do something stupid.”
“It all worked out.” They were in the kitchen of the station, Buck grabbing an apple and Eddie tailing after him. Hen was sitting at the kitchen table, pretending she was studying, when the only thing she was really studying was her two favorite idiots.
“I just…” Eddie’s face twisted as if he was trying to find the right words. But then he sighed. “I hate you.” Hen raised an eyebrow, wondering if she was about to see grocery store round two.
But then, Buck’s face lit up. A small crossed his face and Hen could’ve sworn she saw Buck blush.
“No, you don’t.” Eddie huffed but there was a smile on his face. Buck walked off, happily munching on his apple. Eddie sighed, the smile still on his face before following after Buck. Once they were gone, Hen just shook her head.
“Clueless idiots,” She mumbled before going back to her schoolwork.
ii.
It wasn’t that Chimney liked drama. He thought most of it was kind of stupid. But drama between Eddie and Buck? Chimney ate that crap up. Buck and Eddie bickered with the best of them and they had since they met. And while most people walked the other way when they bickered, Chimney watched it like a tennis match.
And if he also reported it back to Maddie at the end of the day, then that was his business.
Buck and Eddie were going back and forth in the gym, bickering over who could deadlift more than the other. They had been going back and forth for the last few minutes, while Chimney pretended he was getting an ab workout in and not wishing he had a bucket of popcorn for this silly match.
“No way you can deadlift that much,” Eddie said with an eye roll. “You’ll throw your back out.”
“Listen here, old man.”
“I am barely four years older than you Buck.”
“I can hear you over the bones in your back popping.” Chimney fought back a snort at that one. Eddie just gave Buck a look, who smiled cheekily.
“You’re an ass,” Eddie said with a shake of his head.
“Yeah, yeah,” Buck said, grabbing the weights for the barbell. “I hate you too.” Chimney raised an eyebrow, his full attention to the two of them now. He was expecting a solid quip back from Eddie. Instead, he saw a soft smile cross Eddie’s face.
“No you don’t.” Buck just grinned back at him and Chimney raised an eyebrow. However, the moment quickly passed as Eddie’s phone started ringing. “It’s Chris. Do you want to say hi?”
“Duh,” Buck said with a happy smile. “Gotta check in with my favorite Diaz.” Eddie rolled his eyes, but sat down on the bench taking the call. Buck immediately sat down next to him. Chimney watched the two of them for a moment, before shaking his head and going back to his workout.
iii.
Bobby didn’t go searching for details about his crew. He appreciated them as people and wanted there to be an even amount of trust between him and the people he oversaw. But he didn’t actively ask about their lives. He was their boss, he didn’t need to know these things.
Of course, they all confided in him anyways.
Chimney was always asking for help, be it with cooking or advice on his relationship. Hen sometimes asked for advice, but it was usually work-related since she was more likely to confide in Athena (which Bobby was totally fine with). Other crew members came to him as well; Anderson paced in his office for weeks when his wife was getting closer to her due date. Wells had asked for his opinion about moving departments, since the 118 was too far from his new house.
And then, there was Buck and Eddie.
Buck came to Bobby about pretty much everything; work, family, cooking, sharing random facts. In fact, if Buck didn’t talk to him, then Bobby was more worried. Eddie, however, needed a little goading to talk. He played things close to the vest, which Bobby understood after years of keeping things to himself. But Eddie also needed to open up. And as time went on, he was more comfortable opening up to Bobby and even to everyone else.
The point was, both of them talked to him when something was up. But clearly, they were keeping something to themselves.
They were finishing up on a call, one that was medical. Hen and Chimney were loading the patient into the ambulance as Buck and Eddie stood by the firetruck.
“I still don’t see what’s wrong with vodka sauce on pizza.” Bobby glanced at Buck and Eddie, wondering if this was just Buck saying something random or if they were going to start bickering as they often did.
“It’s just weird,” Eddie said wrinkling his nose. “Pizza should just be red sauce and cheese.”
“You just haven’t been eating the right pizza,” Buck said with a fond shake of his head. “I’ll bring by some delicious but slightly adventurous pizza tonight.”
“Chris might not like that.”
“Christopher loves everything I do,” Buck said, puffing his chest a little as he spoke. Now it was Eddie’s turn to shake his head, but there was a soft smile on his face.
“I hate you.” Bobby raised an eyebrow, very confused by Eddie’s response. But his confusion only grew as a grin crossed Buck’s face.
“No you don’t.” Then Buck got into the truck, Eddie following after him.
“I’ve noticed it too, you know.” Bobby turned his head, seeing Hen as she closed one of the ambulance doors. Bobby raised an eyebrow and Hen smirked. “The weird ‘I hate you’, ‘No you don’t’ thing. They’ve been doing it for a few weeks now.”
“Huh,” Bobby said, trying to not get too involved in whatever this was. If Buck and Eddie had tension or if something had changed between them, Bobby knew they’d tell him eventually, both because they often confided in him and because he was their boss.
“Not that I haven’t noticed the thing as well,” Chimney said, poking his head out of the side of the ambulance where the door was still open. “But we should get a move on.” Hen chuckled but nodded as Chimney went back into the ambulance and she closed the door.
“Whatever it is,” Bobby said, glancing at the firetruck. “They’ll tell us when they’re ready.”
“Those two idiots?” Hen asked. She laughed before heading towards the front of the ambulance. Bobby chuckled before going to the firetruck and getting into the front passenger seat. As the truck started to move, Bobby glanced back at Buck and Eddie. Eddie was talking about something to do with Christopher, Buck listening with rapt attention.
Yeah, if anything had changed, they’d tell him eventually.
+1
“I hate you.”
“No you don’t.” Buck smiled at Eddie’s response, his heart beating a little faster when they had this exchange. They had agreed it wouldn’t be too obvious, that they would just look like they were acting like normal.
“Alright, what’s going on here?” Buck glanced over at Hen, who was sitting on the other couch. Chimney was standing behind her, his arms crossed over his chest. Buck glanced to the side, seeing Bobby watching them as well.
“What do you mean?” Buck asked, glancing back at Eddie, who had pursed his lips.
“You two keep telling the other that you hate them,” Hen pointed out. “Which is fine, I guess. But then you both keep looking at each other with these dopey smiles.” Buck looked at Eddie, who just chuckled as he shook his head.
“I guess we’re not that slick,” Eddie said with a shrug.
“Definitely lasted longer that I expected.” Hen raised an eyebrow as Buck’s fingers interlaced with Eddie’s.
“Did you two finally pull your heads out of your asses?” Hen asked. Buck glanced at Eddie, who simply smiled fondly at him. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Yeah, about a month ago,” Eddie said, squeezing Buck’s hand.
“Well I’m glad,” Hen said with a smile before getting up. Buck smiled before glancing at Chimney, who was typing out a text.
“Tell my sister I said hi,” Buck said. Chimney rolled his eyes before walking away, a slight chuckle echoing after him.
“You two owe me some paperwork,” Bobby called from the kitchen. “And keep it professional.”
“Copy that,” Eddie said, gently releasing Buck’s hand. Buck looked at Bobby, who just gave him a nod, a slight smile on his face. “That went better than expected.”
“Definitely,” Buck said with a smile. He looked around the loft. Hen and Chimney were gone and Bobby was facing the stove. Buck leaned closer to Eddie and gently kissed him. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” And the two just beamed at each other, glad that they could finally say what they meant.