Work Text:
The restaurant is sleek and modern, all tinted glass and white stucco with black iron work around an outdoor seating area. There’s a pink neon sign hanging over the door with the name of the place, Bites, shining brightly in the dusk of twilight. Personally, Bites sounds like a ridiculous name for a restaurant, and this isn’t the type of place that Eddie would ever suggest going to for dinner, even if that means he’s an asshole for making snap judgments.
Really, he’s an asshole about a lot of things, even if he generally keeps that somewhat hidden behind a bland smile. Not liking a certain type of restaurant isn’t necessarily an asshole thing anyway. He just prefers places that don’t look trendy and modern because the food in these types of restaurants isn’t usually that great. There’s a reason so many restaurants open and close so quickly in LA, after all, and why the places that survive are usually focused on good food instead of atmosphere.
At least, the places he can afford to eat on a firefighter’s salary, since he doesn’t have experience eating at the eateries geared towards the ultrarich.
The parking lot is full, lots of people entering and leaving, laughter and camaraderie in the air. People will pay for atmosphere, he knows, especially in this city where image is everything, desperation is rampant, and so many people hide behind the perfect façade whenever they get the chance. Despite his personal dislike of fame and popularity, the thirsty need that so many who move to LA seem to possess, the obvious divide between the Haves and Have Nots that exists everywhere you turn, he does love living here. It’s just expensive as hell, and he hates fakeness, but it makes finding the genuine things even more precious.
“If you keep scowling, your face might freeze that way,” Buck teases as he backs his Jeep up into a parking spot recently vacated by a Jaguar. “What’s up, buttercup? You’ve got your cranky face on, which I have to tell you is even more grumpy looking with the mustache.”
“I’m not cranky,” Eddie denies, looking over at Buck. Buck is one of the most genuine people that he’s ever met, never really putting on an act with Eddie, not since the first couple of shifts they worked together, always content to be himself. Well, that’s not entirely true, since Buck does try to conform to the image that whoever he’s dating has in mind, but he finally seems to be growing out of that considering how things ended with Tommy last month.
“Eddie, you’ve been frowning since we pulled into the lot,” Buck points out. “We don’t have to eat here if you’d rather not. I can send Ravi a text, and we can go somewhere else.”
“No, it’s fine,” Eddie says, rolling his eyes when Buck snorts. “Seriously, it’s whatever. Ravi chose the place, so I should have been expecting something sleek and modern instead of somewhere actually good. I bet they put foam and baby food on the plate and call it fine dining, though.”
“You’re such a snob,” Buck says, laughing as he turns the Jeep off. “I took a look at the menu after Ravi sent me the address because I know how much you hate food that isn’t substantially filling. It’s basically a tasting menu from what I could tell, so plan on grabbing some tacos from Garcia’s truck on the way home.”
“What the hell is a tasting menu?” Eddie grumbles, unfastening his seatbelt and opening the passenger door. “It makes it sound like we’re going to be eating cardboard. Don’t tell me; let me guess. This place has only been open for, like, a month, and it’s on some trendy list that Ravi must have seen somewhere on social media.”
“That’s a pretty good guess, but I have no idea where he found out about it,” Buck says cheerfully. “Hey, it’s a free meal, Eddie. Ravi’s paying, so let’s just enjoy it for what it is: bites of food that will leave us still hungry when we’re done. I’m sure there’s a bar, so we can drink on his dime, at least.”
“It’s a free meal because he wants to talk to us about something that he refused to mention ahead of time,” Eddie reminds him. “Not only wouldn’t he say what’s so important that he wants to take us to dinner to discuss, but he acted really weird when inviting us. What if he wants us to help him hide a body? I like the kid, but you’re the only person in my life that I’d help hide a body. Chris is too smart to ever kill anyone and end up with a body to need to dispose of, so he doesn’t count.”
“I can’t really see Ravi inviting us out to an extremely busy restaurant if he needs help hiding a body,” Buck says solemnly, but Eddie can see him biting back a smile. He bumps his shoulder against Eddie’s as they walk across the parking lot. “But I’m glad to know you’d have my back if I decide to become a murderer. Back at you, buddy. I’ve always got your back.”
“Luckily, I don’t have plans to kill anyone,” Eddie says, bumping Buck’s arm with his elbow before he slyly smiles. “By the way, your parents aren’t visiting anytime soon, right?”
“You’re so stupid,” Buck groans, laughing as he catches Eddie’s gaze. “I know you hate my parents, but they aren’t worth going to prison over. Now, your mom, on the other hand, might tempt me into committing a crime.”
“Nah, she still isn’t comparable to your parents, man,” Eddie says, shaking his head. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m still pissed that she and my dad came into my house and took Christopher away with them without even giving me a chance, but parents fuck up sometimes. We all do, so I can’t say any of that is worth hiding a body over. Your parents, however, fucked up the entire time, and I don’t really think they ever did anything right, so they’re still on the table for future murder plans.”
“Noted. I’ll make sure to keep you away from my parents whenever they’re in town to see Jee,” Buck says, his cheeks flushing a shade of pink lighter than his birthmark. “Because you know they don’t ever come here to see me or Maddie. It’s always about Jee.”
“They stay away from me on their own, Buck,” Eddie says smugly, remembering the little chat he had with them years ago after they made Buck feel like he was born just to save his brother and was worthless when he wasn’t able to do that. He’d been overly polite but firm, and Hen swore afterwards that they had been terrified by his verbal evisceration of their lack of parenting skills.
Looking back, he feels pretty dumb for taking so long to realize that his feelings for Buck weren’t just best friends forever platonic. That’s just another thing that he never looked at too closely until he found himself alone with too much time to think about his mistakes—the way he failed as a husband and a father and the many, many, many things he’s been repressing since he was twelve and heard people at church talking about the queer son of Lucia Montes going to hell.
It’s been a rough couple of months, that’s for sure, but he’s come out the other side with a new awareness of himself that makes him feel comfortable in his own skin. And he did it all without going to therapy and struggling to talk to Frank or anyone else about things he could barely even admit to himself. Therapy is great for some people, it’s helped Christopher and even Buck in the past, and he tried it, but it doesn’t give him what he needs to really process things. Silence and too many empty hours accomplished a hell of a lot more for him than sitting in an uncomfortable chair.
“That’s what you think,” Buck says with a snort, drawing Eddie’s attention back to him. “My mom thinks you’re so handsome and have an adorable son.” When Eddie looks at him in surprise, Buck laughs. “Yeah, she got super drunk after Maddie’s hospital wedding with Chim, and I was stuck entertaining them, and all I heard was what a lovely man and partner you are while my dad asked me questions about the whole soot on my face slash Tommy debacle.”
“Yeah, well, your mom probably knows that I wouldn’t have smooched you with a dirty face and then let you waltz into the room covered in soot without checking with you first,” Eddie mutters, opening the door to Bites and motioning for Buck to enter. Even though he knows Buck’s fine about what happened at the hospital, Eddie thinks Tommy should have said something. “Have I mentioned how glad I am that you aren’t dating him anymore?”
“Not today,” Buck says, blinking at him for a moment before he grins. “He was your friend first, Eddie. Stop being a dick about Tommy just because I dated him. He’s not a bad guy or anything. We just wanted different things, and we realized early enough that neither of us was particularly invested. Anyway, you never like anyone that I date.”
“Hey, I’m not being a dick,” Eddie denies, even though he knows he totally is because he really didn’t like Buck dating Tommy. Not because he’s jealous or anything, since he knows Buck would always choose him and Christopher over anyone else other than Maddie and Jee, and, sometimes, he thinks maybe Buck might still choose them first. No, it’s because Tommy isn’t a good fit for Buck, and he had to sit and watch Buck fall into his usual cycle of trying to confirm until the day he broke the pattern and ended things. “Tommy’s fine for a game of basketball, but he just isn’t right for you. Besides, I was seriously reaching a point where I wanted to punch him every time that he called you Evan despite the face you started making whenever you heard it.”
“That always did kind of annoy me,” Buck admits, smiling slightly as he catches Eddie’s gaze for a moment. “It’s been weeks since we broke up, so let’s not talk about him anymore, alright? Since I’m pretty sure Ravi doesn’t need help hiding a body, what do you think he needs from us? I’ve been thinking about it since he asked us to meet him, and I’m still clueless about it.”
“Don’t look at me. I have no idea,” Eddie says, shrugging as he glances at the line ahead of them. Lowering his voice, he leans into Buck. “Why are this many people interested in eating at a restaurant that’s expensive and gimmicky? Is this one of those celebrity kitchens that are on Food Network or something?”
“It’s a new restaurant with a lot of marketing,” Buck whispers, his lips brushing against Eddie’s ear when a woman walking by bumps into him. Buck grips Eddie’s shoulder to keep his balance, his fingers lightly squeezing as he turns to frown after the woman who didn’t even stop to apologize. It’s not like Buck’s a petite tiny thing who isn’t noticeable. He’s kind of hard to miss, in fact. “Seriously? It isn’t that crowded around here. Talk about being rude.”
“She didn’t grope you or anything, did she?” Eddie asks, scowling as he looks behind them trying to see the woman. “Even if she was in the bar getting drunk, that doesn’t give her any excuse to just knock people over and not even apologize.”
“No, she didn’t grope me,” Buck says, huffing a laugh. “I’m more worried about her poor attitude, and you’re focused on whether or not she pinched my butt. Guess that’s why we’re such good partners, huh?”
“One reason, I guess,” Eddie agrees, looking back at the hostess stand. The lady standing there looks frazzled, and he wonders how long it’s going to take to get through this line. He nudges Buck. “Do we have a reservation? She just told that loud guy that it’s reservation only.”
“Uh, I guess we do?” Buck says, pulling out his phone and typing quickly. “I’m checking with Ravi since I haven’t seen him yet. Man, this place is fancy if it’s reservation only for dinner. That’s, like, date night restaurant style, not hanging with the bros from work.” He catches Eddie’s gaze and grimaces. Lowering his voice, he leans in closer. “You don’t think that Ravi is trying to date one of us, do you? Or, Jesus, both of us? I know he stays quiet about his personal life, but I heard him and Hen talking about polyamory before, so maybe he likes older hot guys. Ravi’s a cute guy, but he’s like my little brother, Eddie.”
“I highly doubt that Ravi has plans to try to date either of us, Buck,” Eddie says dryly. “He’s definitely more of a little brother than potential romantic partner with everyone on the team, so don’t freak out over nothing. I can usually tell when someone’s attracted to me, and I don’t get those vibes from him at all.”
“Your radar must be off because the kid definitely had a crush on you when he started working with A shift,” Buck mutters, glancing down at his phone. “He’s got a reservation, it’s under his name, and he says he’s ten minutes out. Got stuck in construction on Sunset, of course. There’s always construction on Sunset.”
“It wasn’t a crush, dumbass. You just terrified him with your whole Extreme Mentoring that he needed someone to make sure he didn’t quit until he got used to you,” Eddie says, arching a brow when Buck starts to say something. “One word—chainsaw.”
“Oh, right,” Buck says, closing his mouth and smiling sheepishly. “Hey, that was an intense time in my life, so maybe I’m exaggerating. I still say he had a crush, though. I mean, who wouldn’t? You’re you.”
Before Eddie can question that matter-of-fact statement, they’re at the hostess stand. “Hello, welcome to Bites,” she says, her smile strained and the stress evident in her posture and shaking hand. “Do you have a reservation?”
“Yes, for seven o’clock,” Buck says with a smile, oozing friendliness as she tries to calm her down. When she starts searching the list, he bumps his hip against Eddie’s. “It’s under Ravi Panikkar. That’s P-a-n-i-k-k-a-r.”
“Yes, I’ve found it. Table for three. Chelsea, please take them to their table,” she says, handing menus to a friendly girl who approaches the stand with a smile. “They’re at table 38.”
Chelsea escorts them to their table, and Eddie feels slightly underdressed as he takes in the people already seated. Most of the men are in suits or date attire, and he’s just wearing his usual casual clothes—jeans and a Henley. At least, his jeans are nice and don’t have any holes, but he still feels slightly awkward as he catches a few people looking at him and Buck as they walk through the maze of tables. He’s going to owe Ravi for this one, that’s for sure.
Once they sit down, Eddie looks at the menu and frowns. “Please tell me that I’m reading this price wrong,” he murmurs, looking back up at Buck. “If that’s accurate, I’m starting to believe your whole Ravi wants a threesome idea because this is way too much money for a friendly after work dinner.”
“I know the kid has properties, but if he can afford to drop this much money on a dinner, why the hell is he working at the 118?” Buck asks, kicking his foot against Eddie’s. “Does he want to be our Sugar Daddy? Eddie, talk me down because I’m starting to get some wild ideas, and you’re the voice of reason.”
“Hey guys. Sorry I’m late,” Ravi says suddenly, approaching the table with a menu in hand. He slides into the chair that’s between Buck and Eddie, a normal smile on his face that doesn’t give off ‘I’m trying to seduce you’ vibes. Hell, as far as everyone else knows, Eddie’s straight, so it can’t be that, can it?
“Ravi, we’re flattered, but you’re like a little brother,” Buck blurts out, blushing faintly when Ravi looks taken aback. “It’s only fair to be up front with you, man, before you blow a ton of money thinking you can, I don’t know, buy your way into our bed. I mean, maybe Buck 1.0 would have totally been down for a threesome after a fancy meal, but the current Buck isn’t interested in that kind of complication. Besides, I don’t like to share.”
“Buck, seriously?” Eddie groans, running his hand over his face as Ravi stares with his mouth hanging open looking like his brain is trying to reboot. He understands the feeling, having experienced it himself more than once since meeting Buck. He kicks Buck’s foot under the table and smiles wryly at Ravi. “Forgive him. We saw the prices on the menu, and we were, uh, surprised.”
“Oh, right,” Ravi says, looking awkward as he shifts in his seat. “I’ve been wanting to try this place, and I thought it might be fun. You shouldn’t be worried about the prices, since I’m paying. My property investments have continued to grow, so it’s not a problem at all.” He holds up his hand and sighs. “Please don’t give me the speech about evil landlords again, Buck, because I’m trying very hard to be one of the good ones. I’m going to choose to ignore the threesome thing because I don’t think we even need to discuss that, do we?”
“I wasn’t going to lecture you,” Buck mutters, but Eddie’s pretty sure that he totally planned to mention the landlord thing. He straightens his shoulders and stares at Ravi. “If you aren’t trying to become our Sugar Daddy, why did you ask us out to eat at a date-type restaurant?”
“Maybe my theory is right, after all,” Eddie says, leaning towards Ravi. “Do you need help hiding a body? Because I can tell you right now that Buck and I aren’t really good at breaking the law and not fessing up. As soon as Bobby gives him a paternal look, Buck’s spilling the beans, and I’d probably confess if Athena gave me a suspicious stare because I’d assume she knows somehow.”
“You guys are nuts,” Ravi says, shaking his head. “I can’t even blame anyone but myself because I know you’re both kind of crazy, especially whenever you’re together and feeding off each other, but I still decided to take the risk by inviting you to dinner because I need advice. Unfortunately, you’re the best people to ask, and I know this will be beneficial even if I’m starting to regret it between the talk of threesomes and murder.”
“Advice?” Buck leans forward, looking interested. “You want advice from us?” He nudges Eddie’s foot with his when Eddie snorts at the tone of amazement in his voice. “Come on, Ravi. Don’t be that way. It really is your fault for being so mysterious and bringing us to such a fancy place. What would you think it one of us had done the same to you?”
“I probably wouldn’t have jumped immediately to hiding bodies,” Ravi says dryly, then he smiles sheepishly, “but I might have had thoughts about something sexual, so I’ll give you that part. In hindsight, perhaps I should have been clearer about my intentions. For the record, those intentions do not involve, God I can’t believe I even have to say this, me becoming a Sugar Daddy to you, Buck.”
“Good, that’s a relief,” Eddie says quickly, ready for the conversation to move on because he’s now curious what advice Ravi wants from them. Considering they’re both a little fucked up in different ways, he hopes it’s work related because they probably wouldn’t be great at giving advice for anything else unless it’s what not to do in different circumstances.
“Wait. You said to me,” Buck points out, grinning slowly as Ravi closes his eyes and sighs. “You didn’t say to us, so does that mean you would be Eddie’s Sugar Daddy then? Hey, no judgment here, dude. Eddie’s hot, anyone with eyes knows that, and everyone who meets him gets a crush on him because he’s such an amazing guy. I just want to know if I can say ‘I told you so’ to him because I like being able to point out when he’s wrong.”
“Stop saying Sugar Daddy,” Ravi pleads, giving Eddie a look before focusing on Buck. “As you said, anyone with eyes can tell he’s a beautiful man. However, I have no interest in dating people that I work with, much less getting pulled into your bizarre relationship. Which actually brings us back to the reason I invited you both to dinner.”
A waiter approaches the tablet at that point, and Eddie orders a glass of wine because he has a feeling that he’s going to need something stronger than water to get through his meal. He’s trying very hard not to focus on Buck’s casual remarks about how hot he is and how everyone who meets him loves him because that might make him wonder if Buck includes himself in that ‘everyone’. Ravi orders them the tasting menu for each of them, which doesn’t list anything on the menu besides the exorbitant price, and Buck questions him about where he heard about Bites while the waiter gets their drinks for them.
Once the waiter leaves, Eddie fights the urge to gulp down his entire glass of wine to ease the weirdness caused by awkwardness that’s wafting off Ravi in waves. Instead, he takes a sip, his gaze holding Buck’s as he tries to silently tell him to do something. The thing is, Buck is telling him the same thing, and Eddie knows he’s probably better suited to lead a discussion involving advice, especially when Buck still seems skeptical about Ravi’s reasoning for this dinner.
“You said you want advice, Ravi,” Eddie says finally, putting his glass down. “Are you thinking of making professional goals or something? I’m not sure how much Buck and I can help, but we’re happy to discuss it with you.”
“What? No, it’s not about work,” Ravi says. “It’s actually slightly embarrassing, but I trust you guys, and I know you’re the best people to ask about this. It’s personal, and you know I like to keep my work life and private life separate, so I’d appreciate it if this conversation isn’t shared with anyone else at the station. I knew you’d be unable to keep anything secret from each other, so it works out well because I can get both of your opinions on this.”
“We don’t gossip about private stuff that isn’t open knowledge,” Buck says. “Chim’s the one who can’t ever keep a secret. Besides, Eddie’s the only person that I tell practically everything, and he’s right there.”
“I haven’t had that many serious relationships in my life,” Ravi says. “There was casual dating when I was in the academy, and I had my first boyfriend a couple of years ago. Dane was a pretty intense guy, and we had fun for a while, but I eventually broke up with him because he’s a vampire, and I didn’t really need that kind of vibe in my life anymore.”
“Wait. A vampire?” Eddie blinks and looks at Buck before focusing back on Ravi. “Like the blood drinking vampires in that interview show that Buck’s got me hooked on; he thinks he’s Lestat or something? Because, uh, vampires aren’t real, Ravi. They’re made up.”
“I knew you were hooked on Interview,” Buck says smugly. “You try to pretend that it’s too violent and weird, but I know you felt a kinship with Louis. Both beautiful and strong and coveted by everyone.” He clears his throat and smiles. “Sorry, uh, I meant, damn, you dated a dude who thought he was a vampire, Ravi?”
“Yes, a vampire,” Ravi confirms, looking so serious that Eddie can’t even dwell on Buck indirectly calling him beautiful again. He snorts. “Dane doesn’t go around drinking people’s blood, so stop looking so freaked out. He’s more of an emotional vampire, stealing energy from people around him and manipulating people, controlling in a not sexy way. Just not a really nice man overall, but I was blinded by lust, as we can be in our early twenties. Anyway, the point is that I didn’t want to have anything to do with him when we broke up, and I definitely didn’t want to stay friends.”
“Oh, okay. It’s a therapy thing, not an immortal blood-sucking thing,” Eddie says, relaxing slightly. “Got it. Is he stalking you or something? Do you need advice on how to kick his ass?”
“I can always call Athena for legal guidance,” Buck adds. “After everything Maddie went through with Doug, I can tell you confidently that people like that can be dangerous and should be taken seriously.”
“Dane moved to Japan a few years ago, and I haven’t heard from him since,” Ravi says. “The advice isn’t about him, but I’ll know who to reach out to if I get a stalker. I’m actually talking about Emily. We’ve been dating for the last year and a half, and she’s a really great partner, but we just want different things. I think it’s time for us to break up, you know?”
“Don’t ask Eddie for advice on how to break up with a girlfriend,” Buck teases, picking up his wine glass and taking a sip. “I’ve only broken up with one, but I guess I can try to help, since it wasn’t that big of a disaster.”
“Very funny,” Eddie says, kicking Buck’s foot before nudging his calf. “But he’s right. I’m not the one to ask about nice ways to dump someone. I really suck at it.”
“I know how to break up, guys,” Ravi says, huffing a laugh. “It isn’t that difficult. What I need from you guys is advice on how I can stay friends with Emily without things being awkward. I’d really like for us to be friends even if we aren’t romantically involved anymore, and you guys seem to know the secret on how to make it work, so can you share it with me?”
“Uh, we do?” Eddie asks, putting his glass down and sharing another look with Buck before he sighs loudly. “Ravi, I’ve had three relationships in my life. The first one, my wife left in the middle of the night, and we certainly didn’t remain friends, even if we did hook up after running into each other again. The second one, she could barely look at me after I awkwardly told her to go home, and I haven’t seen her since. The third one, she caught me hugging a woman who looked like my dead wife in my living room, and she blocked my number after I apologized. What part of that makes you think that I’d know how to remain friends with an ex?”
“My track record isn’t much better than Eddie’s,” Buck admits, shrugging. “First serious girlfriend left me to travel around Europe, and I hung on for months before realizing she wasn’t coming back. Second serious girlfriend dumped me when my leg got crushed, and I haven’t heard from her since. Third serious girlfriend, I broke up with after I made some mistakes and she made mistakes, and I guess we’d be friendly if we ran into each other, but she wrote a book about us, so maybe not. And the first guy I was kind of serious about never really transitioned to official boyfriend so much as just casual sex partner, and, okay, I guess he and I are still friends, but I’m not planning to go hang out with him anytime soon. We aren’t the guys for giving advice about this, man.”
“I don’t mean all those people,” Ravi says, waving his hand in the air. “I mean how do you two stay best friends after you broke up? Originally, I thought maybe you’d divorced each other, you know? I was convinced until you mentioned never being married, Buck, and then I realized you both must have just had an incredibly serious relationship that didn’t work out, though I don’t know why you both choose to ignore it when recounting your dating history because it’s obviously the best relationship either of you have had before.”
The wine goes down wrong, and Eddie coughs, almost choking as he wipes the back of his hand across his eyes. Across the table, Buck looks stunned, so he must have heard what Eddie heard, and that means Ravi really said he thought they were divorced. What the fuck? Is this some expensive prank? Did Chim somehow figure out that Eddie’s in love with Buck and decided to involve Ravi in his scheme to make them uncomfortable?
“I want to be able to stay friends with Emily, like you guys have,” Ravi continues, not seeming to realize he’s dropped a bomb in the middle of the table. “I don’t think it’s just because of Christopher, is it? Because Emily doesn’t have a kid, and neither do I, so we wouldn’t have to get along in order to continue parenting a child. Watching you guys work together and hang out as friends, it’s just so admiral to see two ex-lovers be so close without struggling. I’ll admit, I did notice some jealousy when Tommy was sniffing around Eddie, but then he was dating Buck, so I got confused, but you worked it all out somehow and stayed just as close as always.”
“Ravi, Eddie and I are best friends and partners,” Buck says slowly, like he’s still stunned and unable to form words as easily as normal. “We aren’t, uh, exes. I didn’t even know I was bisexual until Tommy kissed me a few months ago, dude. And Eddie’s straight, so what the hell are you talking about?”
“Um, not exactly,” Eddie says, clearing his throat and smiling wryly when Buck focuses on him. “Unlabeled is the most comfortable non-label that’s still kind of a label when you think about it, isn’t it? Uh, that is, I’m not straight. Maybe demisexual, maybe just queer, but, yeah, labels are dumb.” He blinks and looks at Ravi. “Buck’s right, though. He and I have never dated. We aren’t ex-anything.”
“No way,” Ravi says adamantly. “You’re fucking with me, aren’t you? I’ve got best friends, and we definitely do not act the way you two act. Hell, no best friends that I’ve ever met act like you guys do. I tell my friends about you two, and some of them are rooting for you two to get back together because it’s so obvious you’re still in love, and you’re trying to tell me that you’ve never dated. No, I’m not buying it. You’re, like, my ideal example of the ‘lovers to friends’ trope to give myself hope that all relationships don’t have to end in misery and despair.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Buck asks quietly, staring at Eddie and totally ignoring Ravi’s spiraling. “I told you, Eddie. When I realized, I told you, and you said it wouldn’t change anything, but you didn’t tell me when you realized, so that’s a lie, isn’t it? Things must have changed for you to not trust me with that.”
“Buck, it isn’t like that,” Eddie says, dragging his fingers through his hair. “I only realized a few weeks ago, and I’m still processing it all. I planned to tell you, but—” He trails off and looks down at the table, making a face as he debates how honest he wants to be right now. From the hurt look on Buck’s face, he probably needs to be completely honest. Looking back up, he bites his lip. “I was scared that you’d tell me the same thing, that it didn’t change anything between us. Because I kind of want things to change.”
“Oh,” Buck breathes out, his face flushing and his eyes widening, almost sparkling in the artificial lights overhead. “Really? With me?” He presses his foot against Buck’s foot and slowly smiles. “God, yes. Me too. For so long, even if I didn’t realize.”
“Yeah?” Eddie looks at him hopefully, his lips curving into a smile. “You want to? What if? No, it’ll be fine. You’ve always got my back, after all.”
“And you’ve got mine,” Buck says, holding his gaze steadily. “Do you wanna? Our first one. Something special like you.”
“Not here,” Eddie says, understanding Buck easily because so much of their communication is done with looks and body movement, the words not even completely necessary. “After? Or tomorrow. We’re off. I’d really like to, Buck.”
“Right, not with Ravi, makes sense,” Buck says, reluctantly looking away from Eddie to glance at Ravi, who is just looking between them like he’s at a tennis match. “Uh, sorry. It’s just, this is news to me, and I had to take the chance, or I’d have regretted it.”
“No apologies needed,” Ravi says, shaking his head. “I feel like I’ve witnessed something monumental, and I expect to be best man at the wedding for inadvertently setting you guys up tonight. I can’t wait to let Bix and Kara know that you guys are rekindling your relationship. Well, kindling since it’s the first time, but maybe I won’t tell them how wrong I was about you two because I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Would these friends of yours happen to be available for dinner tonight?” Eddie asks, looking at Ravi and smiling sheepishly. “I’ve just found out that my best friend is into me, and I’d really like to take him out on a date, but I don’t want you stuck with expensive meals.”
“Your best friend is in love with you, dumbass,” Buck says with a grin, rubbing his foot over Eddie’s calf in a decidedly different way than usual—flirtier and teasing rather than a platonic nudge. “And I’m sorry, Ravi, but we’re not going to be able to give you any advice about remaining friends after a breakup because I don’t plan on ever letting Eddie go now that he’s mine.”
“Just talk to Emily,” Eddie suggests, feeling like he owes Ravi something because he probably would have continued to quietly pine until he got a sign from Buck that he felt the same, and, knowing Buck, he might not have ever given a sign out of fear of Eddie not returning his feelings and possibly losing him. They’re a couple of idiots who have wasted a lot of time, but they’ve got years ahead of them to make up for that lost time. He gives Ravi a reassuring smile. “Communication is important, you know? Tell her that you want to remain friends and see what she says. If you both want different things, it probably won’t be a big surprise to her that you’re ready to change your relationship anyway.”
“Thanks, Eddie,” Ravi says, his tone earnest as he smiles. “Now, get out of here. Take Buck on a killer first date. I found a couple of friends who are close by and eager to try this place, too, so they’re on the way.” He looks at Buck then back to Eddie. “I’m really happy for you guys. I was rooting for you to get back together because it’s obvious how much you love each other, so I’m happy that I played some small part in the getting together—minus the back.”
“You heard the man,” Buck says, standing up when Eddie does. “Let’s get out of here and go somewhere more our style. I’m thinking we could try that Mexican place we saw the other day, the one near the hardware store that you said looked authentic.”
“Are you sure you want our first date to be at some hole in the wall that looks like it hasn’t been renovated in decades?” Eddie asks, reaching for Buck’s hand and squeezing it because that’s something he’s allowed to do now. He smiles at Ravi, nodding slightly. “Thanks, Ravi. I’m sorry we couldn’t give you any better advice, but I think you’ll be okay.”
“We’ll see you at the station on Thursday,” Buck says, nodding at Ravi before he leads Eddie to the exit. “Honestly? I don’t care where we eat, Eddie. I never thought I had a chance to date you, much less be able to love you, so we can get greasy tacos from Garcia’s or go to a restaurant or head to your place to eat grilled cheeses. As long as we’re together, it’s going to be the best last first date that I’ve ever had.”
“I like the sound of that,” Eddie admits, tightening his grip on Buck’s hand as they step outside. “The last first date. You’re sure about this, right? I know everything just happened pretty quickly and randomly, and I don’t want you to, uh, feel pressured or forced into dating me or move so fast that you look back tomorrow with regrets about this.”
“Eddie, I’m in love with you,” Buck says bluntly, turning to face him when they reach the Jeep. “I’ve never been surer about anything in my entire life than I am about you, about us. As for moving fast, it’s been years since we’ve been dancing around this, hasn’t it? Hell, we’ve practically been dating for the last month, we just didn’t call it that.”
“Yeah, it has,” Eddie says, looking up at Buck. “And we have been, haven’t we? But tonight, we’ll make it official. I’d really like to kiss you right now, Buck.”
“Then do it, Eddie,” Buck says, his lips curling into a teasing smile as he leans down to meet Eddie halfway. It’s a chaste kiss, just a gentle press of lips, lingering as they pull apart, noses rubbing together before they move forward and kiss again. Not so chaste for the second kiss, lips moving and tongues flicking out, licking and stroking, sparks of heat and excitement spreading through Eddie as he grips Buck’s shoulder and tangles his other hand in his soft curls to pull him closer.
The sound of a wolf whistle pulls them apart, and Eddie glances over to see a young woman grinning at them. She waves her fingers at them before the person with her pulls her towards the restaurant’s entrance. It’s probably good that she interrupted them because things were starting to escalate, the kisses deepening to something not appropriate for the parking lot of some fancy, expensive restaurant.
“I’m in love with you, too, Buck,” Eddie says, leaning up on his tiptoes to press a quick kiss against Buck’s birthmark, indulging something he’s wanted to do even when he thought they were just platonic best friends. When Buck kisses a spot below his left eye, Eddie smiles and squeezes his shoulder. “Let’s go try that Thai fusion place you saw near your loft. We can walk and get ice cream afterwards, end the night at your place, maybe watch a movie together.”
“Or we could get the food to go, grab a gallon of ice cream at the store, then go to my place for a movie and making out on the sofa until we’re ready to sleep,” Buck suggests, his thumb gently tracing Eddie’s jaw, brushing against the edge of his mustache.
“Something tells me that the food would get cold while we focused on making out like horny teenagers kissing their crush for the first time,” Eddie teases, nipping the pad of Buck’s thumb with his teeth.
“I’ve got a microwave,” Buck reminds him, waggling his eyebrows in a way that makes Eddie laugh. “We can always reheat the food if it gets cold.”
“Nope, I’m tempted, but we’re going out for dinner,” Eddie says stubbornly, kissing the pout that forms on Buck’s full lips. “A proper date because you deserve it, Buck. I want you to know that I’m in this for a long time, not just a good time. You’re it for me, you’re my forever. I want us to have dinner and talk and flirt and do all the cliché couple first date stuff since this will be our last one. We can definitely make out during the movie, though. We don’t have to rush anything because we’ve got the rest of our lives ahead of us, sweetheart.”