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The 118’s shift that sunny August day had been qu-, um, slow. They had a sum total of three calls all day, and all of those had been minor incidents. One fender-bender, one kid stuck up a tree, and a teen stuck in a baby swing. Dinner had been eaten, everything had been cleaned, and there was nothing to do.
Eddie threw himself down on the couch beside Buck and let out a long, weary sigh, throwing his head back until he was staring at the ceiling.
“Hey.” Buck said softly, glancing around in case anyone else was watching them. He had been desperate to tell them about their relationship, but Eddie had reasoned that they should keep it secret for now, just until they knew where they stood. And Buck had agreed, because Eddie needed time. He had just come to terms with being gay, he hadn’t come out to anyone except a few people, and to tell people that they were together, well, it was a lot. He seemed to be more comfortable now than he was at the start, though. He’d actually held Buck’s hand at the grocery store yesterday, so progress.
“Hey.” Eddie whispered back, shuffling over until their bodies were pressed together, stretching his arm across the back of the couch, just behind Buck. “Tell me a story.”
“A story? You’re that bored?” Buck laughed. “What kind of story?”
“A love story.” Eddie replied. “Can’t think of anything else to do. I’ve read, I’ve played pinball, I’ve cleaned, there’s nothing on TV...” He trailed off. And Buck thought for a moment before taking Eddie’s hand and placing it on his lap. Stroking the back of it gently, he pressed their heads together, and cleared his throat ever so slightly.
“OK, so, once upon a time, there was a handsome prince, dark hair that usually had far too much gel in it, but looked way better first thing in the morning when it was all fluffy and sticking up, and beautiful brown eyes with the cutest freckle dotted underneath it. He ruled the entire kingdom, and he thought he had everything he ever wanted. He loved his role, he loved his son, the young prince, and he had lots of friends who would support him no matter what. But when he lay alone at night, he was sad. He wanted someone to love him the way he deserved, but no one had ever filled that role.” He paused, and Eddie turned his hand to thread their fingers together, squeezing gently.
“So one night, the handsome prince decided that he’d had enough of being lonely and went to a bar. And there he met a lot of beautiful men who asked him to dance, but none of them seemed to appease him. They were either too pushy, too young, too old...You see, the prince was fussy when it came to mates. No one was ever good enough for him.” Eddie’s free hand whacked Buck on the back of the head, which made the taller man laugh slightly. “He was all ready to give up and go home when a drink appeared in front of him, as if by magic. And he was all ready to hand it back, when a shadow appeared behind him. The tall, good-looking, ripped man leaned down-”
“Think a lot of yourself, don’t you?” Eddie teased.
“Shush, this is my story. So anyway, the gorgeous man leaned down and said ‘You look lonely, would you like to dance?’”
“And the prince was about to say no, until he looked up and saw the face of the most gorgeous man he had ever seen.” Eddie went on, resting his head on Buck’s shoulder. “And he didn’t know how he hadn’t seen it before, but he knew right then that he did want to dance with him. Because this man was his best friend, and he loved him, he just didn’t realize how much until then.”
“So, the prince nodded and let the gorgeous man take his hand and lead him to the dance floor. He showed off moves that had never been seen before outside of his bedroom. And then they drank and danced the night away until the lights came up. It was time to go home. The gorgeous man suggested sharing a carriage home, and the prince agreed. They arrived at the palace, and the man was about to tell the driver to take him to his own little shack until...”
“Until the prince told him to stay the night.” Eddie supplied, smiling at the memory. “And before they got through the door, they kissed on the porch. It was true love’s first kiss.”
“You soppy bastard.” Buck exclaimed, brushing his lips against Eddie’s hairline. “But it was magical, and it was what they’d been looking for their entire lives.”
“And then...”
“And the rest isn’t suitable for a bedtime story.” Buck reminded him, memories of them falling into bed together filtering through his brain. “But, like all good fairytales, they lived happily ever after.”
“I hope so.” Eddie sighed, angling his head up for a kiss.
“I know so.” Buck countered, pressing his lips to Eddie’s, not caring at that moment if anyone saw. “They’re going to be together forever, get married, be their own little family.” Eddie immediately sat upright and stared at Buck, who had a smile playing on his face.
“Are you asking?” Eddie managed to ask quietly. Buck just nodded. “Then I’m accepting.”
“You two are sickening, you know that?” Chimney’s voice came from behind them, and Buck didn’t even turn around, just used his free hand to stick his middle finger up at his brother-in-law.
And from his place in the doorway, Bobby just smiled, pushing down the thought of the sheer amount of paperwork he’d need to get through following this revelation. But he knew that the story he’d just heard would be retold to Athena when he got home.