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Ask anyone on the planet earth and they will agree on one thing.
That Evan Buckley is one beautiful man. With golden blonde locks, blue eyes so blue you could be lost in them, tall and muscular figure making him looks like a sculpture of a Greek god, and not to mention the birthmark. Some may say that it's ugly, some may even say that it's an imperfection and some may agree that both of those things are true. But to Eddie, it's one of the most beautiful thing he's ever laid his eyes on.
And he's not saying that the man is only beautiful physically, no. Evan Buckley is so much more than just a pretty face. He has a big, beautiful heart and a kind soul. Always so happy to help people, eager to give a hand to those in need without expecting anything in return. He's also a big ball of sunshine. He has this bright energy that can light up a room in an instant and bringing joy to people everywhere he goes. It's a gift, really, to have that kind of power.
He doesn't know when it started, doesn't remember the exact moment he began to feel something more for the man, but he likes to think that it's always been there, buried deep deep down in his heart. Just waiting to rise to the surface and be acknowledged.
And after years and years of pretending that it's nothing and ignoring the constant ache pooling in his chest, it finally bursted.
It's time for him to take some actions.
—
They just got back from their last call of the day– a minor pileup over at Melrose Avenue– and the team, except for Bobby, is crammed inside the locker room changing into their casual clothes and getting ready to head home. They do their own things silently, just making small talks with each other and recapping today's calls to fill the time.
Eddie looks around, glancing over at his co-workers slash friends and he bites his lips, suddenly conscious of his surrounding. He really doesn't wanna do this with them in the same room, knowing damn well that he'll be make fun of, but he needs to do this now. He needs to move fast before he lost his chances, before this newly found bravery of his fades away. Ever since he figured out about his feelings for Buck, he's been thinking of how to tell him, finding the right moment to do it and the right words to say.
But to no avail, he came up empty and curses himself for not being a romantic. Seriously, he's so bad at this. During his time with Shannon, she was always the one who initiated things, always the one to take the first steps and he just followed her lead, trusting the woman more than himself. And with Ana, it was the same. But Buck– Buck is different. He's Eddie's best friend, his partner, co-parent, his other half and the second most important person in his life. He's his everything. With that thought in mind, he assured himself to be the one who's taking the first step this time.
And so, he decided to make it simple and casual. Maybe over dinner and a movie, something that they do together a lot, nothing too big and excessive. Christopher will go to Abuela's straight from school, Tiá Pepa picking him up and he will stay there overnight– on his aunt's order, not his– so it'll be just him and Buck tonight. Perfect.
After taking a few deep breaths, he turns to look at Buck, who's currently gathering his things into the bag, and starts, "So, any plans tonight?" with what he hopes sounds casual.
Buck looks over to him and shakes his head, "Nah, think I'll just stay home. Order some takeouts and finish the series I'm watching." He replies, then after a moment he asks, "Why?"
Eddie shrugs, acting nonchalant even though he's a nervous wreck inside, can feel his heart beats so fast he's almost afraid it'll break his ribcage. But still, he remains calm and as casually as he can manage, he says, "Well I figured if you don't have any plans maybe we could have dinner together. Y'know, just– just the two of us. At my place"
From the corner of his eyes, he can see Hen raises both her eyebrows at that, seeming amused and Chim's eyes widen, with a knowing smirk slowly making it's way on his lips. Meanwhile Ravi is looking at both him and Buck like a tennis match, also with wide eyes and amusement on his face.
But he doesn't pay them any attention, just ignores them wholely and focusing on the man in front of him.
Buck turns to look at him properly and smiles, dimples showing when he says, "Yeah, sure. You know I'm always happy to spend time with you Eds", and briefly squeezes his shoulder.
And Eddie– Eddie is trying so hard not to blush and melt at the soft gesture and the genuine if not soft tone of Buck's words but one quick look at the three other people in the room, he knows he fails miserably.
"Yeah, uh– I'll see you tonight then", he manages to reply, voice a bit breathless but he doesn't have it in him to care, still thinking about the feel of Buck's hand on his shoulder.
Buck just grins at him brightly and squeezes his shoulder once again– he really needs to stop doing that before Eddie fucking combust– then with a promise of "see you later" and bidding him goodbye, he makes his way out of the locker room.
"So-"
"Shut up, Chim"
—
After a quick stop at the grocery store, he made it home and immediately goes straight to the kitchen, preparing the ingredients for dinner. He had decided to make Buck's favorite– spaghetti with meatballs– and some garlic bread, simple and easy. Everyone always make fun of him for being a bad cook, calling him a disaster in the kitchen but if he's being honest with himself he's getting better at it. He makes a mental note to send both Bobby and Linda a gift basket each for their help.
Folding his sleeves and making sure everything is ready, he begins to get to work. He starts with the noodles, cooking them in the boiling water and adds some salt– just a pinch– then moves to make the sauce. He chops some onions and put them in the pot, and together with minced beef, he stirs them until they're golden-ish brown and pours the sauce next. After adding some salt and seasoning, he finally adds the meatballs. See, totally simple and easy.
Satisfied with the taste, he turns off the stove and checks on the noodles. Once deciding that they're cooked enough, he rinses them under the cold water, moves them to a bowl and put it on the counter. Now all that's left is to make the garlic bread.
He quickly and easily makes them, having practice on making those a thousand times before once Bobby had taught him how. Seeing how both meals are both a success, he can't help but to feel proud of himself, mentally patting himself on the back for the effort and he hopes that Buck would appreciate and enjoy them.
After cleaning the kitchen and taking a quick shower– now dressed in a green button up shirt and black jeans– he found himself in the living room, basically redecorating the whole area and wiping away the dust on some furnitures. A notification sound stops him in his track and he opens his phone, seeing that he has a text from Buck.
'be there in ten'
The text says and he rushes to the kitchen, setting up the dining table and bringing out the brand new bottle of red wine he just bought. He's in the middle of heating up the sauce when he hears Buck's voice calling out to him.
"Eddie?"
"In the kitchen!", he calls back, hoping that his voice wouldn't show how nervous he is. Fuck. This is really happening. There's no turning back now, this is it. This is the–
"Hey." Buck's voice startles him out of his thought and he turns to his left, almost chokes on air as he takes in the view in front of him. Buck looks– gorgeous. Just like Eddie, he's also wearing a button up shirt but his is blue that makes the color of his eyes pops out and he's wearing a pair of denim jeans, which makes his thighs looks almost sinful for how tight they are. And Eddie is only a weak, weak man so sue him for looking at his best friend for a moment too long.
After what feels like forever, he finally finds his voice and says, "I'm heating up the sauce, should be ready to eat any minute now."
Buck raises both his eyebrows at that and asks, "You cooked?", with mock surprise displaying on his face but Eddie can see the corner of his lips twitching a little.
He just good-naturedly rolls his eyes and shoots out, "Don't sounds so surprised, I'm not that bad and you know I'm getting good at it."
"Yeah, yeah", Buck waves him off and just laughs when Eddie glares at him.
Turning off the stove and plating the sauce in a fancy looking bowl he didn't even know he has, he makes his way to the dining room with Buck in tow and says over his shoulder, "Come on, dinner's ready."
—
As they take their seat across from each other, Eddie can't help the anxiety slowly creeping up to him, making him nervous and jittery. What does he do now? What does he say? But before he can even think to do anything, Buck's voice speaks.
"This is a date, isn't it?"
Fuck. So Buck knows this is a date. Maybe he's not as oblivious as Eddie thinks he is, or maybe he wasn't being subtle as he thought.
"Uh-" , he croaks out, bringing a hand to the back of his neck and rubs it up and down, looking at anywhere but the man across from him.
"This is definitely a date", Buck continues, tone a bit smug but Eddie can hear a smile behind it too. "You asked me to have dinner, you cooked my favorite, you're wearing your good shirt and the table set up– oh my god this is date. We're having a date right now!"
Buck sounds so giddy and happy that Eddie can't help the fond smile forming on his lips as he lifts his head and finally looks at him. "Yeah, yeah, I was uh– I was hoping this could be a date", he admits shyly and then he adds, "Been thinking to ask you out for awhile now actually."
The blonde looks surprised for a second at the admission then his expression morphs into something soft mixed with amusement. "And you decided to ask me out in the locker room? How romantic."
Eddie rolls his eyes at the teasing. "Shut up", he says rather fondly and Buck huffs out a laugh at that. "I don't wanna wait anymore, don't wanna hold back and pretend that this–" he gestures between the two them, "–is just platonic, when we both know it isn't", he ducks his head and says the words quietly, feeling like he already said too much but not enough at the same time.
Buck stays silent for a moment and then, voice soft, he agrees. "Yeah, it isn't. And I'm glad that you're not holding back, that you're making a move on us." He offers him a smile and grabs Eddie's hand that's laying on the table, squeezing it once and Eddie does the same, both of them staring at each other fondly.
"I'm gonna kiss you now", Eddie declares aloud because he wants to. He aches to do it. With Buck looking gorgeous, them basically just confessed to each other and this being a date, he can't take it anymore.
So he makes a move.
He gets up from his seat and makes his way over to Buck, standing in front of him and tugs on his wrist slightly to tell the man to do the same. Buck complies effortlessly and now they're standing so close to each other they can feel the other's breath.
"I'm gonna kiss you now", he repeats, slowly and softly this time, one hand making it's home in Buck's waist and the other moving up to cup his cheek. Buck nods silently and Eddie doesn't wait any longer to finally press their lips together.
Buck kisses him back instantly and it is better than he ever expected. They kiss slowly, tasting each other and moving in perfect sync. He tilts his head to deepen the kiss and the sound the younger man makes at that is downright sinful and it makes him feel a little lightheaded. Fuck, this is the best first kiss he's ever experienced and he never wants this to end.
Eventually, they pull away from each other, needing some air, and rest their foreheads together with twinning dopey smiles on their faces.
"The food's getting cold", Buck gasps out, lips parting and looking more pink than it already is that makes Eddie wants to kiss him again. And he does just that.
"I don't care", he replies between kisses, "We can eat them later." He pulls Buck impossibly closer to him and kiss him again and again. Now that he's got a taste of it, he can't seem to stop.
"Yeah that– that sounds like a good idea", Buck agrees. And they spend the rest of the evening just kissing and feeling each other, food now long forgotten.