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Lounging beside Eddie on the couch, Buck scrolled absent-mindedly through his phone, skimming news articles and click-bait for something to interest him. The two of them had decided not to put something on TV because it was already pretty late, so they'd opted instead to just relax in each other's presence.
Eddie was reading a book – a thriller of some kind – and his eyebrows were drawn together slightly as his eyes went back and forth across the page. With a start, Buck realised he was staring and forced his eyes back to his phone.
A moment later though, an idea popped into his head and he turned to Eddie before he could stop himself, tossing his phone onto the cushion beside him.
"Hey," he said, nudging Eddie with his elbow. "I wanna try something."
Finishing the sentence he was reading, Eddie then tucked a finger between the pages of his book and looked up.
"Try what?" he asked.
"You should put the book down," Buck suggested.
Raising an eyebrow, Eddie closed the book without looking and set it down on the coffee table. Buck stared for a moment, trying to decide whether he should mention how insane Eddie was for not using anything as a bookmark, then noticed the impish slant to Eddie's mouth. Oh, he so did that on purpose.
Refusing to be baited, Buck shook himself lightly and reached for his phone again, opening up a timer app.
"We should have a staring competition," he said. "Four minutes. But we're allowed to blink."
"We're… what?" Eddie asked, confusion crossing his face as he watched Buck set the timer. "How is that a staring competition? How do I win?"
"You don't," Buck said, looking up again. "It's just for fun."
"… Fun?" Eddie asked derisively.
"Yes! Fun!" Buck insisted. He rearranged himself on the couch so he was directly facing Eddie and then gestured impatiently for Eddie to do the same.
With a sigh, Eddie complied.
Once they were situated, Buck hit start on the timer and then fixed his eyes to Eddie's.
"No looking away," he instructed, resting a hand on Eddie's thigh to steady himself.
"No blinking," Eddie said, determinedly staring back.
"We're allowed to blink," Buck protested, immediately doing so and making Eddie scowl. "Stop being so competitive."
"You called it a staring competition," Eddie pointed out, loosely wrapping his fingers around Buck's wrist. "It's in the name."
"Whatever," Buck scoffed.
"What's the point of this if I can't win?"
"I told you. It's for fun."
"You're so weird."
"Shut up and stare at me."
"Oh, so there's no talking allowed now?"
"No, I just meant…" Buck rolled his eyes before fixing them on Eddie again. "You're being difficult."
Eddie shrugged his shoulders.
"I said you're allowed to talk."
With the hint of a smirk, Eddie shrugged again. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Buck poked him in the side.
"Hey! That's cheating!" Eddie protested, trying not to smile as he squirmed away from Buck's finger. He grabbed hold of both of Buck's wrists and forced them down into his lap.
"Now who's cheating?" Buck asked.
"You don't need your hands for a staring competition."
"Says who?"
Eddie leaned forward, staring into Buck's eyes intently and distracting him from his question. Buck stared back, forgetting that his hands were trapped as he took turns looking into Eddie's right eye and then his left.
The truth was, this wasn't an entirely random idea that had just popped into Buck's head. It came from an article he'd read once about a scientific study done on how to induce intimacy between two people. The experiment had involved two people asking each other a series of intimate questions and then staring into each other's eyes for four minutes – after which, they fell in love.
Buck and Eddie already knew pretty much everything there was to know about each other, so asking each other intimate questions hadn't seemed relevant. But staring into each other's eyes? That they could do, and it was fairly easy for Buck to disguise his true intentions.
And whether or not this worked, Buck thought to himself, at least he'd gotten to stare into Eddie's gorgeous brown eyes for a while.
"What are you thinking about?" Eddie asked softly.
"Hm? Nothing," Buck lied. His eyes betrayed him, glancing down at Eddie's lips briefly.
Eddie didn't push it, falling silent again, but he did shift his hands so that instead of trapping Buck's wrists they were now holding each other. Buck's palms felt sweaty and he hoped Eddie wouldn't notice, or at least wouldn't be put off by it.
What felt like barely seconds later, the timer rang off and they both flinched. Buck pulled his hands back, grabbing his phone to silence it and feeling his heartbeat throbbing in his throat. Eddie was still watching him, eyes dark and thoughtful.
"Well?" Buck asked quietly, setting his phone back down. He had to at least ask.
"Well what?" Eddie asked, tilting his head curiously to one side.
"Do you… feel any different?" Buck asked nervously, wiping his hands on his pants.
Eddie looked down at Buck's hands before returning to his eyes. "About what?"
"… About me," Buck whispered.
"Um… no?" Eddie said with a smile. "Am I supposed to?"
Buck looked down, disappointment spreading through his chest, and shrugged.
"Hang on a minute," Eddie said suddenly. "Four minutes… Buck, were you trying to make me fall in love with you?"
Face burning with embarrassment, Buck cleared his throat and stood up. He shook his head, unable to form words, but before he had a chance to flee anywhere Eddie's fingers were around his wrist again and he was being held in place.
"Buck."
Reluctantly, he glanced down at his best friend.
The bastard was grinning up at him.
"What?" Buck asked sharply.
"I don't feel any different," Eddie said, tugging him closer. "Because I'm already in love with you."
Buck's mouth fell open in surprise. Speechless, he stared at Eddie silently and then took a step back to make room when Eddie stood up.
What was happening? Was he dreaming?
The hand not gripping his wrist came up to cup his face and he leaned into it automatically, eyelids fluttering as Eddie's thumb caressed his cheek.
"What happens if I do this?" Eddie whispered, then kissed him.