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It starts like this.
Christopher is at a sleepover. Eddie finally has a night off and for once, has no other plans to hang out with Buck or Tommy or anyone else for that matter, and it’s been so long since it was just the two of them.
Alone. They’ve been dating for four months now, and yet it feels like she barely knows him.
So, Marisol suggests dinner and Eddie suggests the restaurant.
“Buck recommended this place a while back,” Eddie explains when they’re in the car, and Marisol looks out her window and rolls her eyes because of course he did. “It’s just like pizza and pasta, but apparently the food’s pretty good and he’s been wanting to try it out.”
“Uh huh.” Nodding along, Marisol decides then and there not to set her expectations too high. Not that it matters, not really. She cares more about finally finding the time for a date night more than the restaurant itself. She’d be happy with burgers if it meant actually spending some quality time with her boyfriend.
So she’s pleasantly surprised when they step into the restaurant, the bells above the door jingling brightly to announce their arrival.
The lighting is soft and warm, the space mostly lit by ropes of fairy lights and flickering tea candles on the tables.
It’s pretty romantic.
The soft hum of conversation swirls around them as Marisol laces her fingers with Eddie’s and they follow one of the wait staff through the dining room and over to their table.
She stumbles, almost tripping as Eddie suddenly tugs her off to the side.
“Buck!’ He calls out, his voice so loud and excited it echoes above the general buzz, drawing the attention of the diners around them. “You two guys are here together?”
He doesn’t wait for a response, closing the gap between them.
“Marisol, you remember Buck, right?”
She almost laughs, like Eddie doesn’t mention his best friend at least once a day, but before she can mention this she catches Buck’s eye and the deer-in-the-headlights stare he’s giving them.
Huh.
“What are the chances?” Eddie grins. “I mean, Buck was just telling me about this place the other week, but I didn’t expect to actually run into you. And definitely not together.” He laughs, casually leaning against Buck’s chair, oblivious to the way his friend has gone rigid beside him. “So what, you guys are finally friends now?”
“We, uh—”
Marisol watches as Buck swallows, his eyes darting back to look at Tommy.
”Yeah, I guess you could say that.” Tommy’s mouth twitches like he’s trying not to laugh as he meets Buck’s gaze, and—
Oh.
Oh.
Cosy restaurant.
Soft mood lighting.
It doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together.
This is a date, Marisol realises with sudden, dawning clarity. Does Eddie know this is a date?
“Well, it’s about time,” Eddie tells them. “Working out how to hang out with you both was getting exhausting. Hey, why don’t we pull another table over?”
Oh god, Eddie doesn’t know this is a date.
“Eddie,” Marisol says, tugging on his arm. “Maybe we should go find our own table? Just the two of us.”
“What? You guys don’t mind us joining do you?” Eddie asks, and Marisol resists the urge to facepalm. It could not be more obvious that they’re interrupting something. Buck still hasn’t regained any colour in his face, that weird red birthmark by his eye standing out.
Like a stop sign.
Or a traffic light.
That Eddie just casually plows through. 3 dead and 47 injured.
Marisol meets Buck’s gaze, wondering if she can communicate ‘ I’m so sorry’ in Morse code but all she remembers from middle school is SOS, which still feels appropriate in this situation.
There are now two tables pushed together, and any coded message is lost in the dance of shuffling seats so Buck and Tommy can sit on one side with Marisol and Eddie on the other.
Marisol genuinely does not understand how Eddie cannot see that this is a date. Both men are dressed up, sitting together at a rather fancy and romantic restaurant. She’s not just embarrassed for Buck and Tommy, but also just a little frustrated for herself. All she wants is just one night. Just one night, alone, with the man who is supposed to be her boyfriend. But, once again, that’s apparently not on the cards.
Silence sits heavy over the table as they all regard each other.
“So—” Marisol offers, to break the tension. “How did you two meet?”
“W-work.” Buck stammers.
Marisol nods for him to continue and nothing comes. After a beat, Tommy rescues them with, “we stole a helicopter together, and then flew it into a hurricane.”
”What’s this we?” Eddie cuts in, amused. “Technically you stole the helicopter. Buck and I were just along for the ride.”
Tommy shrugs, his gaze sliding over to Buck. “What can I say? I’m all about grand gestures. “ His hand slips beneath the table. “Especially when I’m trying to get someone’s attention.”
Buck goes red, spluttering into his beer.
“Jesus, Buck.” Chuckling, Eddie passes over a napkin. “What is it with you and choking at restaurants?”
“I’m not—“
”I swear, I can’t take you anywhere,” Eddie teases, handing over more napkins to mop up the mess. “You end up wearing more than you eat.”
”Fuck off,” Buck mutters, but he’s smiling now, staring down at the table.
“S0–“ Marisol cuts in over them. “Helicopters. That’s uh— that’s cute.”
“What’s cute about stealing a helicopter?” Eddie asks, genuinely confused by her comment.
“You know, it’s just— never mind,” she trails off to take a long sip of her table water.
At this point she’s just praying for the ground to open up beneath them. An earthquake or some other natural disaster to take her out of this situation. She just cannot understand how Eddie can be this oblivious.
“So, what other hang-outs have I not been invited to?” Eddie asks, his tone teasing as he leans forward in his seat.
”Just this one,” Tommy says, and there’s a record scratch in Marisol’s head.
Because this…
This is a first date.
They’re on a first date.
Is death by secondhand embarrassment a thing, because she’s pretty sure she’s dying right now.
And here’s the thing. She likes Eddie, she really does, but even she’s starting to re-think her long-term compatibility with someone who is either this clueless or this intentionally obtuse.
“But I’m hoping Evan will want to do this again sometime,” Tommy says, leaning back to sling an arm around Buck’s shoulders. “But next time, I suggest the restaurant.”
Marisol’s lost for a second, because who’s Evan, before realising that Eddie’s frozen beside her.
She turns, catching the exact moment that Eddie realises what’s happening, and what he’s done; that he’s crashed their date.
A series of emotions that she can’t quite parse wash over his face, his expression finally settling into shocked disbelief.
Finally he gets it , she thinks, exasperated. And it’s only taken 13 agonising minutes. At least they haven’t ordered yet.
Eddie’s mouth opens, then shuts, then he says, “You’re not gay.”
Real smooth Eddie , Marisol thinks, resisting the urge to hide her face in her hands.
“I’m bisexual,” Buck says, his voice almost a whisper. “I think? Maybe? I’m not actually sure yet.”
“Right.” Eddie nods, like he’s not quite sure what to do with this information. “I, uh—“ he stands suddenly, knocking into the table in his haste. “We should go. I’m sorry for— we didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Hey, it’s fine,” Tommy starts. “We still on for Muay Thai on Thursday?”
Eddie stares at him. “I uh— “ he starts, before bolting from the restaurant.
Marisol stands. “I’m so sorry,” she says, glancing back towards the doors as Eddie disappears through them. “I’ll talk to him. I, uh— I hope you have a nice night.”
Neither of them say anything until they’re in the car.
Eddie’s gripping the steering wheel, his knuckles white, but he makes no move to start the engine.
Minutes pass in dead silence.
“Are you okay, Eddie?” Marisol shifts, turning in her seat to watch him. “You know, I completely understand,” she says when he still doesn’t respond. “It must have been a bit of a shock to see your two best friends dating each other.”
“I don’t get it,” Eddie murmurs. “Why didn’t he tell me? He’s my best friend. I thought— I tell him everything and he couldn’t— I don’t even know how long this has been going on for.”
Marisol nods, but says nothing. Clearly this is something Eddie needs to get off his chest.
”Like, has this been going on the whole time? I can’t— they hated each other, or— I thought they did. But he should have told me. Buck always tells me when he’s seeing someone.”
Eddie’s hands tighten on the wheel again, the leather creaking beneath his fingers.
”And why wouldn’t he tell me he’s into guys? He’s never said anything. Not that that’s a problem—”
”Of course not,” Marisol reassures him, reaching over to lay a hand on his arm.
“—because he’s my best friend, and I’ll love him no matter what—“
Huh?
“—but because we tell each other everything! We trust each other! I mean, I thought he trusted me. Did I do something? God, I was such an idiot in there. He probably thinks I’m homophobic—“
“Yeah, a little,” Marisol admits gently, giving his arm a pat.
He drops his hands from the steering wheel, his shoulders slumping. ”God, I’m the worst friend ever. To Buck and Tommy.” He straightens suddenly, turning to face her. “But also, like, Tommy?” He asks. “I mean, I like the guy, but Tommy? Sure, he’s better than Taylor, but literally anyone is better than her.”
“Uh,” Marisol doesn’t know how to respond to that. She honestly cannot figure out why Eddie is getting so worked up about all of this. “I mean, I thought Buck and Tommy seemed good together.”
Eddie’s head jerks up.
“You don’t know Buck like I do,” he insists. “Buck is— Buck could have anyone. He’s kind and he’s thoughtful and he’s so hot, and he’s always thinking of others, you know? He is literally the perfect package. And I hate that he never thinks that he’s worth anything. But he’s worth everything. ”
Marisol is speechless.
Eddie continues. “Buck could do so much better. He deserves someone who sees him, you know? Who sees the way he loves with his whole self and loves him back. He’s so easy to love.”
Suddenly, everything clicks together for Marisol in perfect clarity.
Eddie is in love with Buck.
Marisol can’t even be mad with Eddie for leading her on, because he clearly doesn’t realise it himself.
She massages her temples against the headache she can feel forming. She wonders, not unkindly, if Eddie’s previous relationships didn’t crash and burn for this exact same reason. Nobody wants to be the third wheel in any relationship, and clearly, she’ll never compare to Buck.
“Also,” Eddie barrels on. “Who the fuck does Tommy think he is, calling him Evan? Does he even know how complicated that name is for him? Only I get to do that!”
”The audacity,” Marisol mutters under her breath.
She has enough self-esteem to know she doesn’t want to deal with this. She’s not exactly excited to kick him while he’s down, but also doesn’t see the point in dragging this out. It’s not fair to either of them.
”I’m going to be honest with you, Eddie,” she says, “I think we should break up.”
Her words stop him in his tracks and he blinks, lost. “Wait, what?”
Marisol turns, reaching for her seatbelt. “Can you please just drive me home?”
Tommy is fairly certain he’s just witnessed Eddie have a complete meltdown.
And look, they’ve all been there. They’ve all had that moment where they’ve gotten irrationally jealous over their best friend dating someone, and not been able to —or abjectly refusing to— pinpoint exactly why it’s so upsetting.
The whole situation should be hilarious. It would be hilarious, if Evan didn’t look like he was about to cry.
“Hey,” Tommy reassures him. “It’ll be fine. I think we just surprised him a little.” Or a lot. Probably a lot.
Evan stares up at him. “You think?” He scrubs a hand down his face. “I shouldn’t have suggested this place.”
“There’s no way you could have known he was going to show up,” Tommy points out, casually draping his arm back across Evan’s broad shoulders.
“I should have guessed, knowing my luck.” Evan groans dramatically. “This is the worst first date I think I’ve ever been on.”
“Really?” Tommy asks, incredulously. “Worse than the one where you nearly died?” He smirks at the indignant expression on Evan’s face.
”Where did you even hear about that?” Evan splutters. “And yeah, worse than that.”
”Should I be insulted by that?” Tommy asks, mouth twitching in a smothered laugh.
”It’s not funny,” Evan grumbles, crossing his arms.
“It’s a little funny.”
Evan cracks, his lips lifting in a grin and they’re both laughing, and god he’s beautiful, Tommy thinks.
“Maybe I should check on him,” Evan says, after a moment, his hand reaching for his phone. “Make sure we’re okay.”
”Or,” Tommy suggests, plucking Evan’s phone from his fingers and laying it on the table, “we could get the bill and get out of here. You could come back to my place.”
Evan frowns, but doesn’t move to take his phone back.
”You’re his best friend,” Tommy reassures him. “You guys will figure this out.” And maybe they’ll eventually figure out their feelings for each other too.
Tommy’s not blind. He knows this thing between him and Evan isn’t going to go anywhere in the long run, but he’s hot and sweet and Tommy is just happy to see where this goes.
“Come on, come back to my place.”
Evan smiles. “Yeah, okay. I’d like that.”