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(1)
“Guys, I need help finding a place to take Karen on our next date,” Hen pleaded.
Hen, Chim, Bobby, Ravi and Eddie were all upstairs at the station hanging in and around the kitchen while Bobby prepared breakfast.
“Why don’t you just take her out for a nice dinner?” Eddie asked.
“No, we’ve got the whole day kid free, and I want to do something different.” Hen explains while looking at her phone, searching up ‘things to do in LA’.
“Ooo, something different for what?” Buck says, finally joining them upstairs.
“Hen’s trying to find a cute date idea for her and Karen,” Chim catches him up.
“Oh! Just last week I went on a date to the Getty Centre. It was so cool—we spent like the whole day there. I bet Karen would really dig it too,” Buck bursts out as he flops himself on the couch.
“You went on a date?” Bobby asks, all heads turning to look at Buck.
“Oh—I,” Buck stumbles, looking at Eddie, whose eyes are wide with panic. “Yeah, just a first date with someone new. We’ll see how this one goes.”
Buck and Eddie had been dating for just over a month, but they were nowhere near ready to tell the team. They just didn’t need constant eyes on them in the early stages of a relationship and all the unwarranted advice that would be surely coming their way.
The only person they trusted with the information was Maddie, and that was only because she clocked Buck the second she saw him after they got together.
Most importantly though, Eddie hadn’t come out as gay to the team yet. He wasn’t worried about the reaction he’d receive, but he was still coming to terms with what it all meant for him. However, loving Buck was so easy, so Eddie was working on it for himself but also for Buck.
“Buck, you didn’t tell us you were getting back out there! I’m happy for you, but usually we get the whole story from the beginning as it happens,” Chim quips.
“Yeah, you know, I feel like I’ve matured past need to tell you guys every gory detail of my dates.”
“Yeah, okay,” Ravi smirks. “What’s wrong with this person and why don’t you want us to know about it?”
“Who said I wasn’t going to tell you guys about it? Maybe I just wanted to keep it to myself for a bit.”
“Buck, you know I love you, but you have never kept anything to yourself for as long as I’ve known you,” Bobby jokes as he brings breakfast over to the table.
“Yeah, yeah, okay, I get it. Well, maybe I’m trying something new in this phase of my life,” Buck says as he sits down at the table, pressing his leg against Eddie’s out of habit, but also to provide comfort.
“Alright Buck, you can keep it to yourself for a bit, but can you tell us anything about them?” Hen asks.
“Well, he’s nice and very good looking.” Eddie blushes next to Buck. “And he’s the one who chose where we went, so he’s also very thoughtful because I really did have an amazing time.”
“That’s nice Buck, I’m glad you’ve found someone who takes your interests into consideration,” Bobby says, no one mentions the slight dig at Tommy, who for the record never took Buck anywhere but the same restaurant every time they went out, and the occasional sport game.
“Thanks, Bobby, I really think he might be the one,” Buck ducks his head, sending Eddie a shy smile.
They lock eyes and for just a moment it’s just the two of them; they hadn’t been together long, but they really did feel forever about the other person.
“Yeah, okay Buck, it might be a little too early to call that,” Chim laughs.
“Maybe, but who knows.” Buck really meant it.
(2)
“What about you, Eddie? What did you get up to?” Bobby asked.
The team was doing the usual catch up and debrief they do after having a few days off. So far, it was the usual updates of housework, kid wrangling, obligatory phone calls with parents, and so on.
“I actually went on a date,” Eddie says confidently while staring Buck in the eyes.
Buck smiled and lightly shook his head, knowing this was payback for his slip up a few weeks back.
“Oh, really?” Hen asked, surprised, her and Bobby turning to give him their full attention.
“With who? Where did you go? What did you do? When do we get to meet her?” Chim blurts out.
It had been so long since Eddie had stated any interest in getting back out there, so of course the team would be excited for him.
“Well, we went to that new Texas bar downtown, had dinner and drinks, then did some line dancing,” Eddie says, suddenly shy from all the attention.
Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to serve Buck his payback like this—this was too risky.
“That sounds lovely, Eddie. Are you going to see her again?” Bobby asks.
“Also, you never answered my question of who she is and when we get to meet her,” Chimney states.
“Just someone I met, and I don’t know when you’ll meet and yes, I will definitely be seeing them again,” Eddie smiles softly.
“Oh come on Eddie, we want to meet her,” Chim whines.
“Yeah Eddie, let us meet her,” Buck teases with a smile.
“Oh, so Buck hasn’t even met her then?” Hen raises an eyebrow.
“Uh, no. It is very new, and I want to be sure about everything before it goes any further and we start meeting friends.”
“Well, I for one am really happy for you Eddie. You deserve someone that makes you happy like this person clearly does.” Bobby smiles, gesturing towards Eddie, who is sure his cheeks are bright red based on how hot they feel.
“Yeah, they’re pretty great. They make me feel safe and like I’m deserving of love, which isn’t something I’ve really felt before.” Eddie’s eyes drift over to Buck.
They’d had a conversation about this the morning after the date in question. They were lying in Eddie’s bed and Buck had held Eddie’s head to his chest as he poured out his feelings of gratitude about the way Buck made him feel. Neither had ever felt such unconditional love as they did with each other.
Hen’s hand on his shoulder brings him back to the present. “I’m really glad you have someone like that in your life, Eddie, whoever they are.”
“Well, hey, maybe you and your girl and Buck and his new boyfriend could go on a double date?” Chim chirps, breaking the tension in the room.
“A double date? That sounds fun. We’ve never done that before,” Buck says with a stupid smile, cocking his head to the side and looking at Eddie.
“Could be fun.” Eddie locks eyes with Buck, almost daring him to push it further.
“Wait, you guys have never been on a double date? But you guys are always dating at the same time,” Ravi questions.
“What?” Buck and Eddie say in sync, heads snapping towards him.
“What do you mean, what? You both started dating Ana and Taylor at the same time, and then Marisol and Natalia. Just a funny coincidence, so I figured you guys would have double dated at some point,” Ravi explains, shrugging.
“Yeah, I guess so, but either way might be something fun us to try, don’t you think Eddie?” Buck is having too much fun with this.
“Yeah, could be fun. Nice way for us to bond as best friends, wouldn’t you say, Buck?” Two could play this game.
“Yep, best friend bonding time. Sounds great.”
“And a fun date to try with your respective partners?” Hen asks, trying to get the conversation back on track.
“Oh yeah, and that,” Eddie says, eyes still locked onto Buck's smug face.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Buck says in a hushed tone, even though they were tucked away in the supply closet doing an inventory check.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Eddie smiles. “Check on the gauze, by the way.”
Buck scribbles something that looks nothing like a check on the clipboard he’s holding.
“I know I made a mistake bringing our date the other day, but that was an accident. What you did was on purpose.” Buck raises his eyebrow, ducking his head to make eye contact with Eddie.
“Maybe I did—maybe it was an accident like yours. We’ll never know.” Eddie turns to fully face Buck with an evil glint in his eye.
“Oh, okay, that’s how you wanna play this, huh?” Buck tucks his clipboard under his arm. “Let’s make a game out of it then.”
“A game? Really, Buck?” Eddie huffs out a laugh.
“Yeah really, you started it, so now you’ve gotta finish it.”
“Alright, so what would this game be?” Eddie sighs.
“We keep talking about our dates with the team, and whoever gets us found out loses,” Buck challenges.
“Okay, and what does the winner get?”
“Whatever they want, the loser has to do,” Buck waggles his eyebrows.
Eddie laughs. “You know I’d do that for you anyway, right?”
“Yeah, but this way it’s more fun,” Buck beams.
“Fine, you’ve got a deal,” Eddie says, extending his hand out.
Buck clasps Eddie’s hand. “Deal.”
(3)
“So, Buck, been on any more exciting dates recently?” Chim inquired, sitting down next to Hen, across from where Buck was sitting at the table upstairs at the station.
“Ah, well, not exciting in an adventure type of way, but it was very nice,” Buck smirked leaning back in his chair, chancing a sneaky glance at Eddie who was over on the couch reading a book and pretending to not be listening in.
“Yeah? Okay, do tell.” Chim leant forward.
“Well, he came over on Saturday morning and made me breakfast…”
The others coo slightly at this.
“And then we spent to whole day in bed together,” Buck finished with a smug face.
“Oh, Buck!” Chim exclaims.
“You spent the whole day in bed with this man who’ve you’ve been on like, what, two dates with?” Hen raised her eyebrows.
“Yeah, so what?” Buck was still riding on the high from the weekend, but also seeing how badly Eddie was blushing from where he was sitting, clearly having the same flashbacks Buck was.
The weekend had been perfect. Chris was away at a science camp for the week, and they decided to make the most of the kid free time. Eddie had come over and made pancakes in Buck's kitchen, which made Buck absolutely swoon. They ate the pancakes in the kitchen sharing slow kisses that tasted like syrup. After they were done, Eddie led the two of them upstairs, where they spent the rest of the day just exploring each other and enjoying each other’s company, knowing they would never tire of the other.
“This is feeling a little reminiscent of Buck 1.0 times,” Chim says, leaning back in his chair.
“Hey, that’s not fair!” Buck retorts, eyebrows furrowing together.
“I didn’t mean it in a bad way! Just that this seems kind of out of character for you these days,” Chim defends.
“I still have sex, Chim, and it’s not like this is the only thing we’ve been doing. We’ve been seeing each other for a bit, and this is a natural next step for us.”
“Sorry, that was a bit much, but I just worry about you. You’re my little brother.”
“Don’t call me your little brother. It’s weird.” Buck rolls his eyes and scoffs, suppressing a smile.
Chim throws his head back and laughs at this.
“Alright, if you don’t want us to worry that this is a little fast compared to you other relationships lately, why don’t you tell us a little bit more about him?”
“Fine, what do you want to know?” Eddie slowly makes his way over to the group, trying to look impartial to whatever Buck is going to say.
“What does he do?”
“He’s a first responder, and no, I’m not telling you what kind.”
“Is he older or younger than you?”
“Older.”
“Does he have any siblings?”
“Two sisters.”
“What’s his name?”
“E—ah, nearly got me there,” Buck laughs after realising what they were trying to do.
“Come on Buck, you won’t even tell us his name?” Chim throws his hands up in frustration.
“Nope, not yet. I don’t trust any of you to not do a google investigation on him.”
“Alright, I give up,” Chim shakes his head as he walks down the stairs to the gym.
“I just have one question, Buck,” Hen asks gently.
“I’m not going to tell you his name just because Chim is gone. You’d probably text it straight to Athena to run a background check.”
“No, no, I don’t care about his name. I just want to know, is he good to you?” Hen rests a hand on Buck’s forearm.
Buck feels his shoulder release the tension he’s been holding for the last few minutes.
Buck’s eyes lock onto Eddie's as he responds. “Yeah, Hen, he’s really good to me. He takes care of me after a rough shift, eats all of my cooking attempts without complaint and he always listens to me, even if it’s about something he has no interest in.”
“I’m so glad for you, Buck. You deserve this, more than anyone I know,” Hen smiles.
“Thanks, Hen,” Buck responds, his eyes having never left Eddies the whole time.
(4)
“I feel like there’s nothing new going on lately. I wanted to take Jee somewhere we haven’t been yet,” Chim groans.
“Well, I went to this exhibition the other day. Wasn’t sure how Chris would like it, but it was like all modern interactive art, and it had some video games but also went into the history of the art of it all as well as how the consoles are made. We had the best time—we spent basically the whole day there.” Eddie smiled at the memory. “But they also had a bunch of stuff for younger kids. I’m sure Jee would love it too.”
Buck had been waiting for him to come to bed one night, once Eddie had finished wrangling the hoard of teenagers in his lounge room who he was sure were only going to be quiet until his bedroom door shut.
The second Eddie had slid under the covers, Buck was showing off his phone screen and launching into an explanation of the exhibition and how much he wanted to take him and Chris. The amount of thought Buck always put into their dates, and how often he made sure to include Christopher, made Eddie’s heart swell. What did he do in a previous life to ever get so lucky?
“Oh, that’s sounds great. I’ll have to tell Maddie about it.” Chim raised his eyebrows, pulling out his phone to make a note of it. “How did you even find out about it?”
“Well, actually, it was sort of a date as well. They’re the one who suggested it.” Eddie leant back in his chair, crossing his arms.
Buck shook his head from where he sat across the table, fighting the smile that was appearing on his face.
“Your date took you and Christopher to this exhibition? So, you’ve introduced them to Chris?” Hen says in surprise.
Oh, shit. Eddie was really starting to hate this stupid thing he and Buck are doing. They’re going to get themselves caught out, and it’s not going to be fun.
“Oh, uh, yeah. It sort of just happened, I guess. They suggested this place, and I thought it would be something we could all enjoy without making it a big deal, and Chris needs to give his stamp of approval, so it might as well be now before it gets too far, right?” Eddie laughs, trying to deflect how called out he feels.
“You know what? That’s great Eddie. I’m really glad you feel comfortable with this person and I’m guessing Chris likes them too,” Hen comforts.
“Oh, yeah, they became fast friends. Chris is absolutely enamoured with them.”
Buck scoffs at this.
“Feeling jealous over there, Buck, that a 14-year-old might be making a new friend?” Ravi teases.
“I’m not jealous because I know that no one could replace me as his best friend. I’m one of a kind.”
“Yeah, right, but you weren’t the one who took him to this fancy sounding museum, were you?” Chim says in a way that makes it seem like he’s stumped him.
Buck and Eddie shared a look. They had discussed the other day how they were ever going to end this saga of almost outing themselves to their friends and finally admitting they were dating. It hadn’t been a very productive conversation as they both were dancing around the fact that they were having maybe a little bit too much fun messing with the team.
“Wow, you are right, Chim. I really need to step up my game as best friend,” Buck nods.
“Best friend for Chris or Eddie?” Hen interrupts, giving them both a slight side eye.
“Oh, Chris. I have real competition when it comes to him, have to really put in the effort, whereas Eddie doesn’t know anyone else, so who could ever replace me.” Buck flashes the biggest smile in Eddie’s direction.
“That’s so sweet, Buck, so glad you feel like you don’t have to make an effort with me.”
“Not in a bad way. Just that you’re lower maintenance.”
“So now I’m just something you need to maintain?” Eddie cocks his head at Buck.
Hen suddenly stands up and starts to head toward the stairs. “Aright, I’m out. I can only listen to so much flirting.”
Buck and Eddie chuckle to themselves with just how true that was.
(5)
“Looking at little sunburnt there, Buck,” Chim’s voice cuts through the quiet of the firehouse.
“Oh, really?” Buck brings one hand up to feel the back of his neck, while looking at the other arm. “Yeah, I guess I am, didn’t even realise.”
“Doesn’t look too bad, but I would still put some aloe on it anyway just to keep it from peeling,” Hen says, taking a look at it herself.
“What’d you get up to on your day of that’s left you looking tomato like?” Chim asks, bringing a bowl of chips to where everyone else was hanging out on the lounges.
“Just a new hike and a picnic. Didn’t realise it was that sunny, I guess,” Buck tried to suppress his smile.
It was one of his favourite dates with Eddie so far. Buck had been complaining about how he hadn’t had time to go on any hikes lately and he’s been missing being out in nature and taking photos.
So, on their latest day off, Eddie had planned for Chris to spend the day with his abuela and found a hike that Buck had never been on. Buck was already elated at the thoughtfulness of it, but that feeling only grew when they reached the half-way point which was this big clearing with an amazing skyline view of LA, and Eddie started pulling out some sandwiches and snacks out of his backpack and setting them up on a small blanket he’d also brought. Buck had teared up at the act. No one had ever done things like this for him before, and he was just starting to accept that Eddie was doing it because he wanted to for Buck, not because he wanted something from Buck.
“A date perhaps, with mystery man?” Hen grinned.
“Maybe,” Buck dragged out, ducking his head down to hide his blush that thankfully wouldn’t be as obvious as usual.
“Seriously, Buck, this is getting a bit too serious for the fact that we still don’t know anything about this guy,” Chim groans.
“I’ve told you stuff about him, and now you know that he’s thoughtful and makes a great sandwich.”
“Yeah, his sandwich making skills are really what I was aiming for,” Chim rolls his eyes. “Eddie, what do you know about him? Surely you know more than us.”
Eddie, who had been pretending to only be passively interested in the conversation so far, snaps his head towards Chim, eyes wide.
“Uhh–I, not really, umm. Bit and pieces, I–I guess,” Eddie stutters out.
“Yeah, okay, that was normal,” Ravi scoffs.
“No, I just wasn’t sure what we were all talking about,” Eddie tries to pass it off with a laugh. “But, yeah, he’s super nice, and I think he’s good for Buck.”
“Wait, have you met him?” Chim asks, eyebrows furrowing.
Eddie’s eyes search Buck’s for a quick second before replying, “Yeah, actually, I have.”
Buck runs his tongue over his teeth, suppressing a smile and shaking his head.
“WHAT?!” Chim bursts.
“I’m not surprised, but that so unfair, Buck! We all deserve to meet this guy,” Hen reasons.
“Well, best friend privileges win out, I guess,” Buck shrugs.
“Eddie, you need to give us the gossip now. Who is he? What’s he like?”
“Chim, whatever Buck wants to tell you is all you guys are going to know. I’m not going to betray my special best friend privilege just because you’re nosy.”
“One of these days you are going to have to fold and tell us who he is and let us meet him,” Chim says, rounding to point a finger at Buck.
“If this guy is really so nice and thoughtful as you say, there shouldn’t be a problem with us meeting him. Unless you’re just making this up to mess with us,” Hen says, standing shoulder to shoulder with Chim.
“Or maybe it's someone we already know,” Ravi interjects calmly.
All heads snap around to look at him, Buck and Eddie’s eyes wide with panic.
“I mean, probably not, but just I thought I’d throw that out there,” Ravi chuckles to himself.
Chim and Hen turn back to Buck, matching glares on their faces.
“One of these days, we will find out,” Chim starts.
“Whether you like it or not,” Hen finishes.
With that, the pair takes their leave down the stairs, and Ravi moves off to the kitchen to pour himself another cup of coffee.
Eddie breathes a sign of relief as everyone leaves, forever thankful that his matching sunburn with Buck is just a little less noticeable.
(+1)
The 118 were enjoying yet another barbecue at Bobby and Athena’s house. They’d been working really hard lately and had had a few rough calls. The sun was out today, and it was warm as anything, so the team just wanted to relax and enjoy each other’s company in a stress-free environment.
Buck was sitting on a blanket on the lawn with Maddie, Chimney, and Hen, regaling his latest dating tale.
“It was such a nice restaurant. Like, napkin in the lap, multiple courses type of stuff.”
“Wow, that’s very fancy. Was it something special?” Hen asks, picking a strawberry off the plate they were all sharing.
“Yeah, it was kind of our anniversary,” Buck blushes.
“Oh, really, I didn’t realise you and guys who’s name we still do not know had been together that long,” Chim huffs.
“Yeah, I guess, it feels like it’s been way longer than it has been,” Buck shrugged, trying to play off the blush that was creeping up his face.
It had been such a perfect date; the restaurant wasn’t their usual kind of place, but they enjoyed it none the less. They’d spent hours just talking about nothing and everything, and when the restaurant staff were making it obvious they were beginning to overstay their welcome, the pair drove to the pier and continued the conversation as they strolled hand in hand along the wharf. Life had really tried its best to get in the way of Buck and Eddie being together, but that perfect night proved they had won against all odds.
“Buck, you are going to have to bring him to one of these gatherings one day. He needs the 118 stamps of approval,” Hen moaned.
“Yeah, maybe soon.” Buck locks eyes with Maddie quickly as she sends him a wink, before his sight lands on Eddie standing on the porch talking with Karen.
“Yeah, Karen, it was just such a beautiful night, the restaurant was a little fancy, but we just talked for hours, and I feel like I couldn’t spend enough time with them if I tried.” Eddie couldn’t sound any more lovesick if he tried as he recounts the night he and Buck had last week.
“I’m so happy for you Eddie, you really deserve it,” Karen smiles, rubbing his arm. “But I have to ask—when are we all going to meet them, huh?”
“Soon. I don’t know if either of us are ready to meet friends yet, but it has to be soon. I don’t know how much longer I can keep them to myself,” Eddie chuckles.
“Well, if they make you feel like this, we will all love them, and we will all love you no matter what, you know that, right?” Karen sends Eddie a soft smile as she says this.
Eddie cocks his head to the side. “Umm, yeah, I know.”
They stay locked onto each other’s eyes for a moment before Eddie adds a quiet, “Thanks, Karen.”
“Hey, you doing okay?” Eddie asks softly. He and Buck were sitting on lawn chairs on the far side of the yard.
“Yeah. I missed you though.” Buck resisted the urge to reach out and touch Eddie.
“I was literally twenty steps from you, how did you miss me?”
“Are you saying you don’t miss me any time we aren’t together?” Buck asks in mock offense.
“No, I do, I miss you all the time. Do you know why?” Eddie leans in towards Buck.
“Why?” Buck smiles shyly.
“Because I love you.”
“I love you too, you sap.”
Eddie rolls his eyes fondly.
“What were you and Karen talking about earlier?” Buck asks.
“I was telling her all about the amazing dinner date we went on the other night, even though it was a bit fancy for us. I love anything where I get to spend time with you.”
Buck stares blankly at Eddie for a moment. “Eddie, babe, that’s so sweet, but I was also just telling Chim and Hen about that very date, and how it was an anniversary dinner!”
“Shit! Maybe it’ll be okay. They probably wouldn’t even talk about us and won’t ever make that connection. It's fine,” Eddie says, more trying to reassure himself more than anything.
“Okay, I’d been more inclined to believe you if they were all walking over here in one big group.”
“Oh, hey guys, did you know you went on almost identical dates last week?” Chim blurts out with a slightly wild look in his eyes.
“Oh, oh really?” Eddie stutters out.
“Wow, I know we are pretty in sync usually but that kind of crazy even for us, hey Eddie,” Buck says, desperate to play dumb.
“Cut the shit, you two. You’ve been going on dates with each other this whole time and pretending it was other people,” Hen snaps.
“Yeah, you caught us,” Eddie deflates.
“Come on, man, you could’ve put up a little bit of a fight,” Buck grumbles.
“Firstly, there is no getting out of this one, and secondly, please don’t call me man,” Eddie says, screwing up his face.
”Sorry! Guess I can call you babe in front of everyone now though,” Buck beams.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Bobby asks.
“We wanted it just to be us for a bit, while we worked out on how to go from best friends to more,” Eddie reasoned. “And then one day, I let slip about a date we’d been on and from there it became a bit of fun to see how far we could take before someone figured it out, or we messed up. Also, I wasn’t quite ready to come out yet. I’ve known I was gay for some time now, and I know I couldn’t have asked for a safer group of people to tell, but I just needed time to adjust.”
“Oh, Eddie, you know we love you. I hope you’re okay with us knowing now,” Karen says.
“Yeah, I’ve been ready for a while now, and I am ready to tell everyone how much I love this man in particular,” Eddie reaches his hand out. Buck slides his in without hesitation.
“Yeah, okay, I’ve already had enough of you two being cute. You better not be doing this at work now,” Chim groaned.
Buck lets out a laugh. “You know we’re going to be as annoying as much as possible now.”
“Alright, before any of that, I just want to say, I am so proud of you boys and I’m so glad you’re both happy,” Bobby interrupts with a small smile. “However, there is going to be some paperwork for you to fill out on Monday, with some of it regarding workplace PDA.”
“How do you know what’s in the paperwork? Have you had other firefighters get together before?” Buck raises his eyebrow in curiosity.
“Nope.” Bobby answers.
“Oh boys, this has been such a long time coming, but I am so happy for you,” Athena gushes as she pulls Buck into a hug.
This breaks the dam, and the whole of the 118 are exchanging hugs and congratulations with Buck and Eddie.
“I’m so happy I don’t have to keep it a secret anymore,” Maddie giggles to Buck, as Chimney gapes from behind her.
“Betrayed by my own wife! Why didn’t you tell me?” Chim demands.
“You could not have kept this a secret, and sometimes a sibling promise means more.”
As conversation continues around them, Buck and Eddie find their way back into each other’s embrace.
“How are you feeling now that everyone knows?” Buck asks, running his hand up and down Eddie's arm.
“Good. I knew there was no real reason to be nervous, but I’m still glad we waited. I enjoyed it being our little secret. I liked having you all to myself.”
“Yeah? Well, I’m all yours forever now, since you already got down on one knee,” Buck giggles.
Silence.
“Wait, you guys are engaged!?”