Work Text:
When Eddie knocks on Buck’s front door at 7am sharp, checking his phone to see if there are any traffic alerts for their route into work, he doesn’t expect to come face-to-face with Buck dressed in everything other than trousers. It takes him a second to confirm that this is indeed real life and that he is definitely not imagining this, blinking confusedly at the other man, before finally finding his voice again.
“Buck – where are your pants?”
When the other man just huffs and walks away, leaving the front door open, Eddie follows him inside and shuts the front door while dropping his bag next to it, still looking at Buck with a confused expression. He makes his way further into the apartment to join the blonde in the kitchen, eyeing Buck's bizarre choice of clothing and the disgruntled expression on the other man's face.
"So…" Eddie trails off, unsure if he should ask again despite Buck's obvious displeasure about being asked about it the first time but also floundering about how he's supposed to overlook it and successfully change the subject. He glances at the clock on the oven, already knowing they have time but not enough to hang around too long but reconfirming it anyway just to focus on something - anything - else.
"I thought I was running late." Buck eventually breaks the increasingly awkward silence between them.
"Okay…" Eddie nods, waiting to see if Buck has anything else to add or if that is all the explanation he's going to get. Thankfully for Eddie’s sanity, Buck chooses to offer a little more information to explain himself.
"I accidentally left my phone charging down here when I went to bed last night and didn't read the clock on my bedside properly when I was half asleep this morning so I was panicking about being late." He pauses to glare at the coffee machine on the side, making Eddie wonder what the poor machine did to him but figuring that Buck will get around to explaining it in a second since he seems to be on a roll now and he's right with that assumption. "I rushed through getting ready and was making coffee for my thermos when the stupid machine went haywire and split coffee everywhere."
As much as he would love to pass comment about the fancy coffee machine that Buck previously insisted is the best thing ever and is now complaining about, Eddie holds back from further angering the man. "You didn’t get burnt, did you?"
Buck finally turns his attention away from the offending piece of technology that has apparently further ruined his already terrible morning and meets Eddie’s gaze, softening in the face of Eddie's very real concern. "No, I'm fine; had to take another shower and find new clothes since the ones I had on got thoroughly covered, but I managed to somehow come out of this stupid morning unscathed. So far."
"So, where are your pants, exactly?" Eddie asks his initial question again, motioning to the clear absence of them on Buck's body. "You said you found new clothes to put on but, unless you've got really short shorts on under there, something's missing."
Buck reluctantly motions to the laundry closet where his washing machine and dryer sit. "Apparently, I'm further behind with my laundry than I thought so I had to wash some first."
Eddie blinks, turning his gaze from the washing machine and settling it back on the blonde with an incredulous look. "And, you didn't think of texting me?"
"What could you have done? Other than laugh at my expense," Buck rolls his eyes. "It's bad enough that it took me as long as it did for me to realise that I still had more than enough time and that I was panicking for nothing. I'm so stupid."
"Buck," Eddie sighs, shaking his head at the other man with a fond expression. "For one, you're not stupid, you've just had a rough morning. Secondly, if you'd texted me, I could have brought you a pair to put on instead of waiting for those to be washed and dried."
"What?" Buck turns a wide-eyed gaze to him.
"You've left a whole range of clothes at mine from when you've stayed over, and I've just been throwing them in with our laundry whenever I find something new. It's all laundered and put away in one of my dresser drawers for whenever you need them or want them back." Eddie shrugs, biting back an amused smile as Buck's blush intensifies the more he talks.
"I have my own drawer?" Buck asks quietly.
"I mean, that wasn't the point in that whole spiel but, yeah. I figured it would just be easier to keep them all in one place and I wasn't using that drawer anyway, so-"
Eddie is cut off as he ends up with an armful of Buck, the other man hugging him tightly and mumbling his repeated thanks for the simple gesture. Eddie hugs him back easily before shifting slightly uncomfortably as reality catches up with him.
"Umm, Buck?"
"Yeah?"
"As much as I enjoy our hugs, you still don't have pants on and it's really hard to focus on anything else right now."
"I'm sorry." Buck instantly pulls away, cheeks as reddened as ever.
"It's fine." Eddie smirks before motioning towards his bag by the door. "I have a spare pair of sweats in my bag - clean since I actually did my washing on time - that you can borrow until we get to work and change into our uniforms."
"Yes, thank you, Eddie." Buck perks up instantly, rushing over to switch off the washing machine for now before taking the sweats from Eddie who had made his way over to grab them from his bag. "You're the best."
"Hey, I promised to have your back and I take that promise extremely seriously." Eddie smiles as Buck laughs at his statement, automatically steadying the blonde when he almost tips over while putting the sweats on.
He's always got Buck's back, like he knows Buck always has his. Inevitably, they make a pretty good team - even in the weirdest of circumstances.