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Buck and Tommy had been dating for just under three months and everything was going good. Even better than good. Everything had been amazing.
However, Maddie and Eddie were the only ones who knew about the pair. It’s not that Buck didn’t want to tell everyone else, it’s just that nobody’s asked and he thought it was completely unfair that there’s an expectation to come out. So he didn’t. Tommy was completely understanding and never pushed Buck to ever do anything he was uncomfortable with. Because he’s incredible, as Buck had told Maddie when recounting the story.
Of course his friends wouldn’t be his friends if they didn’t know something was up. They could tell that there was someone new in Buck’s life. He had started walking with a pep in his step and constantly smiling at his phone whenever he wasn’t busy. The group had prodded for information but it was new and he didn’t want to buck it up, telling the group such. So they hadn’t asked about the new ‘girl’ since. Their own fault, really.
Although today, he was pissy. Leave it to Buck to forget about a shift thus having to cancel his lunch date. His usual cheery skip into the firehouse was replaced with an annoyed stomping as he huffed and puffed his way to his locker. Nobody could miss the way that he had slammed his locker shut a little too hard and the way he trudged up the stairs to grab a cup of coffee. And if the group weren’t sure before, the way that Buck had practically slammed his mug onto the table was the perfect indication of Buck's irritated mood.
“What’s got you in a mood?” Hen asked, just on the fence of tiredness to be dealing with Buck’s loud sighing.
“Had to cancel my date,” Buck grumbled, sipping from his cup.
Chimney perked up from where he was sitting next to Hen, taking any chance he could to pry. “Was this a date with the mystery girl from a few months ago?”
Buck hummed as he took a big gulp of coffee, deeming it cool enough.
“So you didn’t buck it up?” She gently teased.
“Are you going to tell us who it is?” Chimney poked, getting straight to the point.
Buck thought about it for a little. He could simply tell them, he was more than happy to tell them about Tommy. But then again…
“Nah, it’s more fun to watch you go a little crazy over it,” Buck grinned, finishing his coffee off at record speed and already reaching to make another cup.
Hen eyed Eddie, suspiciously, who was sitting opposite them on the table, eating one of the pastries that Bobby had brought and mindlessly scrolling on his phone. “Why aren’t you more interested? I would’ve thought you’d want to know all about Buck’s new girl.”
Without looking up from his phone, and with a mouthful of half chewed food Eddie answered. “It’s because I already know who it is.”
Hen rolled her eyes, more surprised that she wasn’t able to guess that herself. Though, Chimney had quite the opposite reaction as his eyes almost bugged out his head.
“What! I’m almost your brother-in-law, I deserve to know. Who else knows? Does Maddie know?”
Buck looked at Chimney sheepishly. “She may have been the first person I told.”
Chimney looked like he was about to argue over how Maddie knew but not him but the siren started blaring, cutting his rant short. Of course, that doesn’t stop Chimney from demanding answers on the drive there. Buck just chuckles, finding the situation very amusing.
“What do you want to know?”
“How come you never told us,”
Buck felt a little bit bad when Chimney asked but he had enjoyed having this to himself and there was less pressure on him when it was just them. “You never asked.”
Hen couldn’t contain her own intrigue and decided to join in on the pestering.
“Where did you meet her?”
“Technically, on a call…” Buck knew his answer was a bit misleading, especially as he avoided eye contact with the questioning pair but it was fun to mess with his friends so sue him.
Chimney groaned “Buck I thought you stopped picking up girls from calls.”
“I have!” Buck was containing his grin as much as he could as he saw the look of utter confusion across on Chimney’s face.
“She’s also a firefighter!” Hen looked proud of herself, as if she had solved an unsolvable riddle. This was where Bobby decided to chime in, after opting to stay outta Buck’s business. Of course he’s interested but Buck will tell him when he’s ready for it.
“We’re not going to have to sign any HR forms, are we?”
Buck shook his head before remembering that Bobby couldn’t see him from the front seat.
“No, no. Different units.”
“Do we know her?” Chimney piped up again.
“Yup.”
Eddie’s grinning in his seat next to Buck, also enjoying watching the pair try to guess and not catching onto one very key detail. Chimney was about to ask another question but much to his chagrin, they had arrived at the scene and he looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel.
Saving Chimney from an aneurysm, the scene was quick and easy; just some kids starting a campfire in their garden without knowing how to look after it but were smart enough to call 911 before it got out of hand. The drive back, though, was full of teasing from Chimney, Hen and Eddie as Buck smiled like a lovestruck teenage girl at his phone. Tommy was texting to reschedule their date. Buck paid them no mind, all thought focused on his boyfriend. Boyfriend! The idea still made him giddy.
The rest of the day went by quickly, though was still filled with Chimney asking every question that came to mind as he tried to guess who the mystery girl was. Most of his questions weren’t very useful to him though.
“How tall is she?”
Eddie and Buck tried to keep their best poker faces as Buck answered, “6’2.”
“What!” Hen and Chimney yelled out in unison. Tommy later told Buck that in all of his updates of the day, this was the part that had him cackling his head off.
Eventually, the shift was over and everyone was tiredly chatting as they packed up their belongings. Until a voice could be heard by the entrance.
“Evan?”
Everyone turned to see Tommy wander into the firehouse and look around for where Buck could be hiding away.
“Oh hey?” Buck yelled out, “I’ll be out in a second!”
Tommy nodded and left to wait for his boyfriend outside.
“Bro’s night?” Eddie teased, though to Hen and Chimney it seemed a lot more genuine than Buck knew it was.
“Yeah something like that,” Buck muttered out as he finished packing, in a rush to go greet Tommy.
Any tensions that Buck hadn’t realised he held onto from the day just about instantly seeped out at seeing the sun shining on Tommy leaning against the wall, phone in hand. Buck felt like he was dreaming.
“Hey,” Buck whispered, not wanting to break the moment of him watching Tommy just exist. Tommy looked up and grinned at seeing Buck, kicking himself off the wall to greet him.
“Hey,”
Buck peeked at the door behind him before he grasped Tommy’s face to plant a kiss on his lips. Tommy smiled into the kiss, more than happy to reciprocate. What the pair hadn’t realised in their kiss was that the other had walked out, because believe it or not, Buck wasn’t the only one going home. Their presence was quickly made known when Eddie wolf whistled at the couple, who flew away from each other in surprise. Buck with his back still turned to his friends, looking up at Tommy who was able to look over Buck’s shoulder and make mildly uncomfortable eye contact with everyone.
“Sorry babe, you’re not getting out of this one.”
Buck could hear Chimney surprisingly whisper-shout “babe?” at nobody in particular, as he turned on his heel to face the group.
Chimney’s jaw was practically on the ground; Hen was grinning, bordering onto smug; Eddie was very blatantly smug about his interruption; and Bobby was trying his best to hide his shock.
“Hey guys,” Buck dragged out his vowels, clearly feeling a little awkward at being caught kissing his boyfriend.
“You had me guessing all day, and it was Tommy this whole time!” Chimney threw his hands up in the air, exasperated. Buck wasn’t exactly sure what to answer so he kept his eyes on the ground and rocked on on his heels as he slowly nodded. Bobby cleared his throat, trying to alleviate some of the tension in the air.
“Well Tommy, it’s been a while. I also never properly thanked you for saving my wife and I,” Bobby stepped forward and Tommy met him in the middle to shake his hand, before wrapping an arm around Buck’s shoulders.
“I was just doing my job, no need to thank me,” Buck scoffed, lovingly, at Tommy’s modesty, ever the humble one.
“Now if you’ll excuse me,” Bobby straightened out his shirt as he reached for his phone in his back pocket. “I have to call Athena for a completely unrelated background check on someone equally unrelated.” And with that Bobby left, phone already up to his ear. Buck just groaned and threw his head onto Tommy’s shoulder as Tommy’s deep chuckles reverberated through him.
Again Chimney starts up with the questions. “Why didn’t you tell us,”
“Tell you which part exactly? That I’m going out with a guy or that the guy is Tommy?”
Chimney thinks for a moment, seeming like not even he knew what he was asking. “...Both?”
And Buch shrugs and gives him the same answer as before. “Never came up.”
Buck was trying to maintain a cool facade, pretending to be carefree but in reality he was terrified. He wasn’t worried that they wouldn’t accept him but more worried that he wouldn’t be taken seriously; that he’s reverted back to Buck 1.0 and that this is all an experimental phase, which it most definitely wasn’t. He knows it’s only been a few months, but Buck could genuinely see a future for himself with Tommy - thought that both excited him but also scared him. Just a little. But that was why he was in no rush to tell everyone.
Normally, he’d be jumping at the moment to tell his family about a relationship that had been going this well, barring the first date, especially given his track record with shitty relationships. But he wanted to be one hundred percent certain that this was actually working out before he said anything, funnelling all his excitement at Maddie and Eddie.
Hen pulls Buck in for a hug. “What Chimney means is that we’re happy for you. You’ve basically been glowing these past few months, he’s good for you.”
“Yeah, what she said. But I’m expecting a full run-down tomorrow!” Chimney chimed in, with a cross of his arms.
Buck huffs and rolls his eyes but he’s grinning through it all and absentmindedly agreeing. Soon, Buck is waving goodbye to Hen and Chimney as they make their way to their cars, Chimney typing furiously on his phone, no doubt to Maddie.
Buck turns to face Tommy who’d stayed quiet through the whole interaction, allowing Buck to have his moment. Buck snaked his arms around Tommy’s waist, who in turn wrapped his arms around Buck’s neck.
“Glowing?” Tommy smirked.
“Shut up,” Buck mumbled, already ever-so-slightly standing on his tiptoes to meet Tommy in a kiss - the most effective way to shut him up he’s found.
“Ugh I’m still here guys,” Eddie interrupted, again. “You’re going to be insufferable now that everybody knows, aren’t you?” It was a silly question that Eddie already knew the answer to, he wasn’t entirely sure why he asked, really.
“Absolutely.” Buck answered, beaming, not bothering to look at Eddie, deciding that his boyfriend’s face is more deserving of his attention at that moment.