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“You still coming out for drinks, Chim?” Buck asks, putting things into his locker.
Chim blinks, looking unfocused, and then focuses. “Y-yeah, yeah.”
“You good?” Eddie adds, from his own locker.
Chim looks at him for a moment. “Yeah, I’m fine. I have to get something from my car, but then I’ll meet you here and we can go.”
“Alright, see you,” Hen says from her own, and watches him go. Once he’s gone, she turns to them, the only other two in the room. “He’s twitchy. I feel it. Are you going to say anything tonight?”
Buck grins at Eddie, and honestly, she’s putting it down to the fact that Chim’s maybe been around their whole vibe too long and hasn’t had her experience at clocking other queer people, that he hasn’t picked up the fact they’re together. Because if you’re aware of that, it’s so blatantly obvious even just in the way they look at each other – where Buck’s eyes light up, and Eddie’s look ten times warmer – that it’s become kind of a private running joke with her and Karen that they look at each other like that and they have so much of their lives together and yet they’re somehow not together yet. Except they are now. And she has kept her word and didn’t tell Karen until she was able to tell Eddie she knew and he told her it was ok – which was tough because she desperately wanted to say something – but she’s hoping they’ll tell people tonight.
“Yeah, we were thinking it might be the right time tonight. Saying something at work felt – weird, I don’t know,” Eddie admits. “Thanks for keeping it quiet for now.”
Buck takes Eddie’s hand loosely and squeezes it. “You sure you’re ok to do this?”
Eddie smiles at him. “Yeah, it’s time.”
Hen can’t help but smile too. As much as she thinks it’s wild it took them this long to get here, she’s also aware that things like this can take a while. She was aware of herself from her teens, but it still took her till her thirties to meet the love of her life, so she shouldn’t judge.
Honestly, looking at them, she’s just happy they’re happy. They deserve it.
They drop hands as they see Chim headed back to them, looking down at his phone.
He gets back to them and looks around. “We…ready to go?”
Hen can tell he’s suspicious again, even if he doesn’t say it. But it’s pretty funny that he thinks they’re planning a prank or something without him, so she very obviously raises her eyebrows at Buck like she’s trying to signal something without letting Chim know.
Buck seems to pick up on this immediately and nods a little.
“What?” Chim asks.
“Nothing,” Buck says. “Is Bobby ready?”
“He’s just finishing up upstairs,” Eddie replies. “Are we all taking his car or are we uber-ing?”
“What’s going on with Ravi? He not coming?” Hen asks.
Buck shakes his head. “He’s coming, he just has to run an errand so he’ll meet us there.”
Chim looks distinctly put out.
They leave the locker room and Hen tries not to smirk too much. Is it mean to torment Chim? Yes, but given that all will be revealed soon enough anyway, she doesn’t think it’s so bad.
Eddie is nervous, admittedly. It’s not like he thinks that anyone would have an issue with them, but more it’s just scary telling anyone who you are. They’ll see him just slightly differently, and he has to be ok with that because it’s not necessarily a bad thing.
It’s just – he’s a little nervous.
But Buck keeps brushing his knee under the table, pressed up next to him, warm and steady enough that Eddie isn’t too worried. This isn’t just Eddie telling everyone his secret and having to feel alone in that. This is them telling people together. They’re in this together.
There’s an easy lull in conversation, and Buck gives him a look. Hen smiles at them.
“Ok, what is it?” Chim says, finally, putting his beer down. “I know there’s something you guys are keeping from me, and it’s all very fun to make me feel crazy about it but please, I’m begging you, put me out of my misery!”
Ravi looks confused. “Am I part of this?”
Chim frowns. “You could be.”
“He’s not, believe me,” Buck corrects, to Ravi’s further confusion and Eddie’s amusement.
Bobby also looks faintly amused, sipping his orange juice.
Buck smiles at Eddie, and Eddie feels a line of warmth go through his stomach.
Hen nods at them. Chim watches them all curiously.
Buck turns his head so he can say something quietly to Eddie. “Do you want me to say it or you?”
Eddie considers it. They hadn’t exactly decided who would actually explain it, just that they were going to. “I can,” he says, knocking a knee against Buck’s. Buck smiles at him so proudly that Eddie is tempted to announce it by kissing him soundly in front of their friends, but he decides against it. Narrowly.
“Ok,” Eddie says to their assembled friends. He takes a breath. “So, just to update you, I’m gay. It’s complicated but that’s the long and the short of it.”
Bobby looks proud, if not – entirely – surprised. Eddie tries not to be offended. It’s not offensive, exactly, he is happy with who he is. He’s certainly never been happier. But he did think he was passing more than he apparently was, which means no one will be shocked by what he has to say next.
“Thanks for telling us,” Bobby says, warmly, like he’s sensing there’s more. “If it’s ok…can I ask what – changed, for you?”
Hen has a little smile at this, like she knows where Bobby’s going with this. Ravi looks pleasantly surprised. Chim looks happy, if not a bit like he didn’t expect the conversation to go in this direction.
Buck smiles, leans into him just slightly.
“Uh,” Eddie starts, with a thrill of affection. “Well, I guess I realised it talking to Buck recently. And uh, now we’re together.”
Buck takes his hand and squeezes it, looking so happy he could burst. Hen looks thrilled, nodding at him again. Bobby looks at them, like a proud dad before a school dance. In some ways, he kind of is, Eddie thinks. Like, he thinks of Bobby less like his dad and more like a mentor, but he really is kind of like Buck’s. And either way, he’ll admit he’s relieved Bobby seems happy to have found out.
“I’m sorry we haven’t said anything yet, it really hasn’t been that long, but we’ll do whatever you want us to do with disclosing it.”
Bobby nods, still smiling. “Of course. I’ll have to check, but I think it’s just a simple relationship disclosure and I have to give you the uh, talk about – appropriate professional behaviour.” He seems slightly awkward at this, and then Eddie’s brain engages on what Bobby means by professional behaviour, and he feels like he should win some sort of an award for remaining calm in the face of Bobby and everyone now thinking about inappropriate behaviour. Horrible. He’d just as soon have the sex talk with his dad again, this time about boys.
Buck snickers.
Bobby continues valiantly, as much as Eddie wishes he wouldn’t. “Obviously, I know you understand, but I don’t know if Buck might need a reminder.” His mouth ticks slightly up at the end of this.
“That was five years ago, and it was one time!” Buck protests, ears already going scarlet. Eddie loves how quickly he goes red from drinking or embarrassment, he’s so pale. It’s extremely cute.
“It was more than once, and more than it should’ve been,” Bobby says, but Eddie can tell from his tone he’s just teasing. “Anyway, I’ll caution you against any firetruck stealing on our next shift, and we can work out what to do from there.”
Buck groans and lies his head down on the table. His neck is also red. Eddie rubs it fondly, only feeling slightly odd that he can be this openly affectionate around everyone. Then again, he supposes, it’s not that far off how they normally are.
Chim looks at him, and almost looks – guilty. “Can I just – one, I’m really happy for you guys, you really – deserve this, and two, I’m sorry, I’ve been an idiot, I fixated on the wrong thing and I’m sorry if I made you feel like you had to – “
Eddie shakes his head, smiling warmly. “Hey, you didn’t make us do anything, we were already planning to do it tonight. Sorry we didn’t tell you earlier, I was – working up the courage. Not because I don’t – trust you guys, of course I do, it’s just. Well.”
“I know,” Hen says, supportively. “There’s no timeline. But I’m glad you’ve told them.”
“You knew! I knew it!” Chim explodes and then looks embarrassed again. “Sorry. Obviously, I get it. And I can’t keep secrets.”
Buck chuckles. “Yeah, honestly, I thought you’d figure it out sooner. We haven’t been all that subtle.”
Bobby, Hen and Ravi nod in agreement.
“Yeah, Chim, I’m surprised you didn’t get there when you saw me and Buck talking,” Hen teases. “And they’ve been more them recently, you even picked up on that!”
“They’ve always been insanely affectionate!” Chim protests, to Buck’s laughter. “For five years it was like, this is just what two best buds are like, obviously! I’m like the frog being boiled slowly but the water is your extremely co-dependent friendship!”
Everyone is laughing now, but not meanly.
“Yeah, well imagine how I felt,” Eddie adds, and everyone cracks up again, even Chim this time. “I also thought it was normal to see my best friend that often. And do weekend chores with him. And be jealous when he was dating other girls – “
Buck smirks at him. “You were jeaaalooous,” he sing-songs, at the same time Hen fake-coughs something that sounds like Taylor Kelly.
He’s so annoying. Eddie is so embarrassingly in love with him. “So were you! You never tried to hang out with Ana and us!”
Buck laughs.
“Oh, that makes that one time I met her make so much more sense in context,” Ravi breathes, tipsy, and Hen laughs very loudly, and then everyone else laughs too.
“Yeah, that does actually make me feel better,” Chim admits. “You guys were in it, and you thought friends just did those things until now.”
Buck rolls his eyes. “Oh you wanna go there, Chimney? You know how much my sister used to talk about you and how much she liked hanging out with you and how cute you were –“
“Ok, at least we got it together within two years – “ Chim retorts to Buck’s indignant gasp. He smirks. “Also, I recall something Maddie told me about the first time she met Eddie and I and she told you I was cute – “
“Oh no,” Buck says, grinning and blushing. Eddie looks at Chim, with interested amusement.
“You have to tell us all now,” Hen says, smirking.
“So, she says Eddie and I went to go get something, and she said to you, he’s so cute, and of course, she meant me but you were like – “
“Chim –“ Buck groans, but he’s still grinning. “You can’t use this against me! It was a simple misunderstanding! I barely knew him!”
Chim cackles. “You said, oh yeah and you should see his kid, and she was like, wait, he has a kid?”
Hen cackles as well, and everyone laughs.
Buck blushes, even though he’s smiling so much too. “It wasn’t insane for me to assume she meant Eddie! He’s objectively very hot!”
“Yeah, but also you weren’t attracted to Chim,” Hen says, and Buck shivers in exaggerated horror.
“OK,” Chim says, half-indignant. “You’re not my type either.”
“Why are you offended?” Buck asks, laughing.
Chim laughs too. “I’m not, I just think it’s funny that you immediately heard her call someone cute and immediately assumed she was definitely talking about one of the two firefighters you’d just introduced her to. The one you thought was hot.”
Hen laughs. “Yeah, Buck, I can’t believe you didn’t realise it for so long.”
“Honestly, I thought you guys were together when I met you. Or had been and were just really amicable about your break-up,” Ravi pipes up, and Hen and Chim screech with laughter.
“We weren’t that bad!” Eddie says, but he’s laughing as Buck’s leaning into him and laughing into the dip in his shoulder and neck and he thinks maybe they were actually. Maybe he owes everyone on this shift and maybe even B-shift a note that says, sorry we’ve apparently been obnoxious this whole time we didn’t realise we were in love, please accept this edible arrangement as an apology.
“You absolutely were. But I assumed maybe only Hen knew and was protecting you out of queer solidarity. Which I get,” Ravi replies, warmly.
Hen smiles at him, affectionately. “If I had known about them earlier absolutely.”
“She absolutely guessed first,” Buck says. “Can’t put anything by her.”
Hen laughs. “You weren’t exactly subtle. They were all just too used to your nonsense.”
“Thank you!” Chim says. “Honestly, it wasn’t much different to this. I’ve been dealing with that for five years, no wonder I didn’t get it immediately.”
Eddie turns his head, and maybe because he’s a little drunk he leans against Buck’s forehead. “Why don’t we give him something new to deal with,” he whispers, smiling.
“Here?” Buck whispers back, a little drunk too. “You sure you want that?”
“Just one?” Eddie asks, beaming. “You’re so cute.”
Buck preens. “You are.”
Eddie leans in and kisses him – really just a brush of lips, nothing super risqué with all their friends here – but it makes their point.
There are cheers and wolf-whistles from the rest of the table.
“Can’t believe I couldn’t repay the favour by embarrassing you guys from the loft,” Chim says, fondly.
Buck chuckles. “Well, someone is about to tell me I’ll get fired again if I try anything at work.”
Bobby grins. “Heartless, I know.”
Eddie grins and leans back into Buck’s side, who keeps his arm around Eddie’s waist and kisses the side of his head lightly.
“God, you guys are gonna be worse than before, aren’t you?” Chim says, with a sigh.
“Oh yeah,” Buck says, with a glint in his eye that makes Eddie wonder how soon they can leave without seeming too obviously like they’re going off to have crazy good athletic sex. Or crazy good schmoopy embarrassingly romantic sex. Or both. “Revenge, Chim. You and Maddie were so sappy when you got together,” he says, not sounding serious at all.
Chim groans, but he looks happier than he’s pretending to be.
At the bar, when Chim and Eddie have been sent up to get drinks, Chim turns to Eddie.
“Hey, I know I already said it, but I’m sorry if I made your thing about me the other day at the diner,” he starts, a little drunk. “I feel like you might have been trying to talk to me.”
Eddie shakes his head, also a little drunk. “No, you were fine! I thought you might have figured us out when you said me and Buck were both suspiciously happy right now.”
Chim laughs, sheepish. “I got stuck on the prank idea.”
“Would be wild if this was the prank,” Eddie jokes.
Chim laughs again. “If it was, you’d be going pretty far to sell it. And the joke would end up being on you guys because everyone believed it so quickly with very little explanation needed. It’d be like one of those movies where people pretend to be in a relationship and then end up accidentally falling for each other.”
Eddie laughs too. “I didn’t know you were a fan of those kinds of movies?”
“I’ve dated enough girls to know the genre,” Chim handwaves.
“Buck’s huge into romcoms, and I think it’s your fiancée’s influence. He’s always picking cheesy movies,” Eddie says, dreamily. He’s at the level of drinks where he’s thinking maybe everyone is also drunk enough that they won’t notice him sneaking Buck off to the bathroom to at least make out with him a little. Bobby’s gone home anyway, and people are going to start leaving soon probably.
Chim grins. “We’ve been watching a weird mixture of kids movies and horror movies lately. Obviously more of the former than the latter, and never when our child is awake or around but she never used to like them and she’s starting to get into the genre.”
Eddie nods. “That’s interesting. Buck hates horror, and really I’m not the biggest fan either. I think I’ve spent enough time being scared.”
“That’s very cool of you to admit,” Chim says slowly, genuinely.
Eddie smiles. “Oh, I thought you were gonna mock me.”
Chim makes an exaggerated noise of disbelief. “Me? Mock you? Never.” He grins. “I’ll admit I also like some of the lovey-dovey stuff. I’m a romantic, what can I say?”
“There are worse things you could be,” Eddie says, and then the bartender comes over to them.