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1.
Hen likes to think of herself as a very observant person. To be fair, as a paramedic, she has to be.
Hen has worked with Buck for a long time. She remembers his first day at the station, nervous and wide-eyed and cocky. She remembers thinking awe, Cap got the station a dog after all. Buck’s golden retriever energy is infectious on even the most mind-numbing of shifts. Five years later and he’s still the same, lovable Buck.
And because she’s worked with him for five years, she’s always aware of how affectionate Buck is.
He’s a very tactile person. Always up for a hug, offering pats on the back, and nudges on the shoulder. She knew this, she was used to it. But his touches were always friendly, always brief, never made you uncomfortable. He likes to show you he cares about you in ways other than words – so that you know he’s there.
And so, Hen never really paid attention when Buck started including Eddie in those touches. Just the latest addition of Evan Buckley’s ever-growing list of people he cares about.
She’s not sure how she missed this though.
It was a normal week at the station, they had gotten a few mundane calls this shift – someone dangling from their roof after a ladder mishap, a small accident on the freeway, broken leg at the skate-park. They were getting out of the truck, shedding off their turn-out gear when Hen clocked it.
Buck and Eddie, side by side, chatting idly as they get changed. Which isn’t anything out of the ordinary at all. Hell, if they weren’t changing together and teasing each other Hen would be worried. But it was when Buck placed a hand on Eddie’s shoulder to balance himself as he took off his boots that stood out to her.
Because as Buck struggled out of his boots, Eddie’s hand had reached out and settled itself on Buck’s waist to steady him.
Hen’s eyebrow raised on its own account, that’s new.
Even when Buck’s boots had come off and he was back to standing on his own two feet, their hands didn’t drop. Hen even spotted Eddie’s thumb rubbing casually over the side of Buck’s ribs. They stood there together for another moment before Bobby yelled that lunch was ready and they finally dropped their hands to head upstairs.
But not before she saw Buck squeeze Eddie’s shoulder.
She fell into step beside Chimney as they headed to the loft and leaned in close, “Do Buck and Eddie seem more… BuckandEddie to you?”
Chim smacked his gum and shrugged, “what do you mean?”
She pursed her lips as she looked at the two of them sitting next to each other at the table, “I don’t know.”
And Chim nodded as if he knew exactly what she was trying to say.
2.
Anyone who tells you that Howard “Chimney” Han can’t keep a secret is absolutely correct. He resents it, but at least he’s man enough to admit it.
He loves gossip, sue him.
And so ever since Hen planted the seed in his head, well, he just had to see for himself. Next shift, Chimney watched Buck and Eddie like a hawk, observing their mannerisms around each other, their facial expressions, their conversations.
If that made Chim creepy then oh well.
Chim observed them that shift, and the one after that, and the one after that. The two of them seemed normal to Chimney, well normal being a relative term for best friends who were attached at the hip and clearly in love with each other but either too oblivious or repressed to acknowledge it.
Until finally Chim caught a glance of what Hen was talking about.
He was in the kitchen refilling his coffee and Buck and Eddie were at the island, seated in the stools huddled over a map of some kind.
“Whatcha guys looking at?” Chim asked.
Eddie glanced up, “Buck and I are taking Chris to Disneyland for his birthday.”
Chim nodded, “And the map?”
“ Someone wanted to make a game plan of the park before we tell him,” Eddie rolled his eyes, but Chim could tell it was laced with fondness.
“Eds I’m just looking to see where the accessible areas are and where we might need to get fast passes for. That way Chris will be able to enjoy the entire park without obstacles.”
The look that Eddie gave Buck made Chim’s teeth rot. It was so sweetly adoring. As if every time Buck did something for Christopher Eddie just couldn’t believe it. But again, not out of the ordinary.
It was the hand that Eddie placed on Buck’s wrist that pulled Chimney’s eye. Chim tracked the movement of Eddie’s thumb over the skin of Buck’s wrist and watched as a shy smile settled over Buck’s lips.
What the hell?
Without excusing himself, Chimney made a beeline to the lounge where Hen sat, medical textbook in her lap.
“Okay I think you’re onto something,” Chim said, coming to sit next to Hen on the couch.
“Right?” She said looking up from her book.
“Do you think they finally figured it out?” Chimney leaned closer, careful to keep his voice low.
Hen shrugged, “I don’t know…could just be another oblivious addition to their friendship.”
“Should we update the bet?”
“Absolutely.”
3.
“Fine then what is your love language!”
Maddie, Chimney, Buck, Eddie, and Albert were at their usual badge and ladder bar, enjoying a rare child-free night off. Jee-Yun was with the Lees and Chris was sleeping at Eddie’s Abuela’s house allowing for them all to take a night for themselves.
Which brought them here, diving down Buck’s latest research binge rabbit hole. He had recently become obsessed with the idea of love languages and wanted to know all of his friend’s so that he could better show his appreciation.
Maddie thought it was sweet, Chimney found it annoying, Albert found it interesting, and Eddie from the looks of it found it endearing.
It made Maddie smile.
“Uh, easy physical affection,” Buck retorted.
Maddie was satisfied with the answer and was about to bug Albert about his when Eddie snorted.
“No, no, you show love through physical affection and acts of service. How you feel loved is words of affirmation and quality time.”
Maddie was taken aback. Eddie sounded so sure of himself, like he knew Buck like the back of his hand and there was no way he was wrong. Like he had seen those actions in effect, like he knew exactly how to love Buck.
Maddie watched as her brother turned a lovely shade of pink and ducked his head, “okay Mr. Gift Giver.”
Eddie reached out and rubbed a hand into Buck’s hair which could have easily been a playful, teasing gesture between best friends. Except it absolutely wasn’t the moment Eddie’s hand lingered, beginning to stroke through Buck’s hair and scratch at his scalp.
Maddie watched as Buck’s entire body relaxed under Eddie’s touch. Her brother turned to goo beneath his best friend’s fingers, his face melting into something soft.
And… oh.
It's like she physically needs to keep her mouth from dropping open. Her eyes flicker across the table to meet Chimney’s on their own accord and find him already staring back at her. Her face must be saying something obvious because Maddie finds a very pointed look that says Right?!
Clearly both boys showed love through physical affection.
4.
Ravi liked working A Shift. Sure, B Shift was a little more lax, he missed working alongside Serrano but being under Captain Nash wasn’t too bad. He liked hanging out with Buck, Eddie, and Hen, and Chimney. He liked the little family dynamic they had, and he liked even more how they had welcomed him into it.
What he didn’t like was all the inside jokes he apparently would never be privy to. Like the looks the others gave each other when they thought Buck or Eddie couldn’t see.
Ravi wished he knew what happened there. He had heard rumour about a lawsuit and he figured that could get messy but Buck and Eddie seemed fine. Far more functional and amicable than any other divorced couple he’d ever met. They seemed to have co-parenting down pat and they also still seemed beyond in love with each other but Ravi wasn’t going to pry. No matter how much he wanted to.
So Ravi minded his own business, stayed out of whatever bet Chimney and Hen had going, and just went about his days.
Until he rounded the ladder truck one afternoon and found Eddie and Buck washing the truck.
Well. They were doing a good job at pretending to wash the truck.
Both had a deep red flush that stretched up their necks and settled on their cheek bones, the tips of Eddie’s ears the same colour as the firetruck. Ravi probably wouldn’t have even noticed anything was up if it wasn’t for Buck’s index finger that was looped through one of Eddie’s belt loops.
And even then it was only noticeable because Buck’s right handed and the way he was washing the truck with his left was clumsy and awkward at best.
Huh. Ravi thought as he kept his head down and continued past them to where Hen and Chimney were restocking the ambulance.
“When did Buck and Eddie get back together?”
Chimney and Hen stared at him for an uncomfortably long minute, faces both stuck somewhere between shock and confusion.
“Sorry what?” Chim asked.
“Buck and Eddie…they are back together…aren’t they?” And man Ravi hoped so or else he was going to feel like a massive idiot.
“Ravi,” Hen started slowly, “Buck and Eddie were never together.”
Now it was Ravi’s turn to be confused, “What?”
“Buck and Eddie have never been together.”
Okay, what? “They’re not divorced?”
Chimney crows at that, “Divorced! Oh, my god, wait until Maddie hears this.”
Hen seems to take pity on him, a warm smile laced with amusement on her face, “No, Ravi, they aren’t.”
“Then what was…I saw…y’know what? Nevermind.”
5.
Bobby was just coming out of his office to start on lunch, when he noticed Buck and Eddie already in the kitchen. They were hovering by the coffee maker, two mugs out on the counter but they weren’t fiddling with the machine. Their attention was on Eddie’s phone in his hands as he tapped at the screen.
It wasn’t that that made Bobby pause, it wasn’t even the close proximity they were standing. What made Bobby practically stop walking was Buck’s chin perched on Eddie’s shoulder, watching him text and speaking softly.
Huh, Bobby thought, maybe I should get that HR paperwork ready sooner rather than later.
+1.
Athena was bringing out a bowl of salad to the backyard when she stumbled upon her husband, Hen, and Chimney whispering by the barbeque.
The whole gang was over at the Grant-Nash house for dinner, spread across their backyard. Maddie was at a table with Albert and May, Karen was talking to Michael and David, Denny, Harry, and Christopher were playing some sort of game amongst the trees that littered the backyard, and Buck, Eddie, and Ravi were standing near them watching.
As Athena got near the barbeque, she heard the tail end of Hen’s sentence, “Are we even sure they’re together?”
“Who’s together?” Athena asked.
The three of them turned towards her, wide eyed and looking mildly guilty at being caught gossiping. Athena raised an eyebrow, pulling out her sternest look until one of them broke and told her what was going on.
It was Chimney who caved, “Buck and Eddie but that's the thing we don’t know if they’re together.”
Athena frowned, “What do you mean?”
“They’ve been acting very… BuckandEddie lately. More than usual,” Hen explained.
Athena blinked, “That doesn’t explain anything to me,” She turned to Bobby looking for an explanation but he only shrugged.
“I don’t know what to tell you Athena, they haven’t told us anything but from what we’ve seen…” Her husband trailed off.
She held up a hand, “Okay, okay, have you thought that maybe they’ve just gotten closer? I mean Buck and Eddie’s friendship is closer than most.”
Chimney made a non-committal sound, “I mean sure but look, does that look like something best friends do? Like sorry Hen but I’ve never wanted to do that to you.” He gestured across the yard where Buck had a hand resting on the back of Eddie’s neck, his thumb rubbing softly.
Oh, okay.
Athena watched as Buck tugged Eddie closer and leaned in to whisper something in his ear and watched as Eddie’s face split in a grin.
“Oh for goodness sake,” Athena sighed, “Either they forgot to tell us all something or they’ve reached a new level of obliviousness.”
With that she began her trek across the yard towards them. She noticed the exact moment Ravi saw her coming because his eyes widened and he quickly made himself scarce. It wasn’t until she settled in front of Buck and Eddie that they seemed to notice she was there. Buck’s hand dropped from Eddie’s neck.
Athena settled her hands at her hips, arching an eyebrow, and fixed them with a firm stare.
“Uh, hey Athena,” Buck stuttered, wearing an uneasy grin.
Athena hummed, “Did you boys forget to tell us something?”
Buck’s eyes widened almost comically but Eddie’s face remained stoic as always, “What do you mean?”
Narrowing her eyes at them she called over her shoulder, “Christopher, honey?”
Chris popped up next to her, grinning up at the three adults, “Hi Athena!”
She smiled down at him, “Chris how often does Buck spend the night at your house?”
“All the time!”
“Uh huh, and where does Buck sleep when he stays at your house?” Athena could see both men stiffen out of the corner of her eye.
“In dad’s room, they have sleepovers all the time! And then sometimes Buck makes me pancakes in the morning!”
“Does he? Wow that’s pretty special. Why don’t you go back and play with Harry and Denny, thanks for saying hi.” Athena smiled at him as he went back to the trees before she turned back to Buck and Eddie, her eyebrow raised a smirk on her lips.
Eddie’s face was bright red and he was avoiding her gaze at all costs, Buck on the other hand only looked sheepish, “We were going to tell you guys, promise.”
Athena took pity on them and let a warm smile finally take over, “Well, we’re very happy for you boys.” And then she pulled both in for a hug.
“Thanks ‘Thena,” Buck blushed.
Athena turned to Eddie, “I don’t think I need to give you a speech on what happens if you don’t take care of this boy?”
Eddie chuckled, if a little weakley, “No Ma’am.”
“Good,” Athena winked and then looked over her shoulder to where she knew Bobby, Hen, and Chimney were watching them.
“Now, you’ve got a few people over there trying to figure out what exactly you are to each other, so why don’t you clear some things up?”
Now what Athena meant was for the two of them to go over and explain to the rest of the group with words that the two of them were in a relationship. What she wasn’t expecting to happen was for Buck and Eddie to share a look with each other before Buck shrugged and then grabbed Eddie, tipping him into a dip and kissing him silly.
Athena felt her jaw drop open in shock as Albert let out a whoop and Karen wolf whistled. Composing herself and letting out a small chuckle she turned back to the others, who were all in a state of shock
“Well, now you have your answer.”
“I’m so confused,” Ravi groaned from somewhere beside her.