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Eddie doesn’t mean to get so angry.
He keeps it in for the most part; slanders Tommy’s name to hell and back as Buck sits on his couch, watery eyes never quite drying up as he slumps further and further into the couch, beer bottles starting to line up on the coffee table in front of them.
When he’s finally asleep, passed out on the arm rest after hours of flipping between anger and sadness, Eddie finally takes out his phone and gets to his feet, dialing the number that had become second only to Buck’s.
It takes Tommy a long time to answer. Eddie wonders if he almost got ignored, not willing to face the reality of Eddie’s call.
“Buck’s taking you in the divorce, I get it. He was your friend first, and it’s a conflict of interest now. You don’t have to say anything.”
Eddie seethes, “How dare you.”
Tommy’s quiet on the other end, but it doesn’t feel like a stunned silence. It’s resigned. Eddie’s pretty sure he even hears a sigh.
“People break up, Eddie,”
“People who are in love with each other don’t break up, Tommy. What do you mean, ‘I’m your first, not your last?’ Where the hell is this bullshit quota coming from that suddenly means you get to dictate whether or not he’s serious about you?”
Tommy doesn’t say anything, and it just makes Eddie more frustrated, “My best friend - our - best friend, gave his heart to you, Tommy. I’ve never seen him like this with anyone he’s ever dated. He wanted you to move in with him. He wants to share his life with you, moreso than he already does. And you turned around and broke up with him, because… you decided that he’s not ready for forever.”
He still doesn’t say anything, so much so that Eddie has to check to make sure the call is still connected.
“Tommy?”
“What do you want from me, Eddie?’
”I-“ Eddie doesn’t even know what he wants. He wants for it to make sense, “I want to know the real reason why you dumped him. Because there’s no way that you- that you came to his sister’s wedding, and stayed there for six months when you knew that it was going to end.”
“He really recited the whole thing to you verbatim, didn’t he?” Tommy finally murmurs, and he sounds so wistful and sad that it makes Eddie a little sick.
”He doesn’t understand any more than I do.”
“I don’t want to get hurt.”
“Then why did you set yourself up for failure?” Eddie snaps, “Why did you kiss him in the first place, why did you give him a second chance, and why didn’t you just walk away after your first date?”
He’s quiet again, and Eddie can’t even feel triumphant about it, “Since you’ve come out, how long has your longest relationship been?”
”…this was the longest,” he admits quietly.
“In the last- what, seven years? Your longest relationship was six months. And Buck asks you to move in with him and you bolt?”
”Eddie…” Tommy’s voice carries a warning that Eddie doesn’t care about.
“Why are you afraid of getting serious with him?”
“Like you can talk,” Tommy sneers, and through the crackly speaker of the phone, Eddie hears him get up from what must’ve been his couch, “Tell me all about your commitment issues, Eddie.”
”This isn’t about me,” Eddie fires back, “Do you love Buck?”
“That doesn’t matter anymore. He’s not mine to love.”
”Tommy!” Eddie snaps, “Fine - what was wrong with him then?”
“What? Nothing- nothing was wrong with him. Nothing is wrong with him.”
“Then what was wrong with the relationship? What would you have changed?”
”There wasn’t- it wasn’t-“ he huffs, and Eddie hears him breathe evenly, collecting his thoughts, “It wasn’t about what was happening right now. It was about our future. His future.”
“And in that future, you saw him getting- what, dissatisfied with the relationship and calling it quits? Having to rebuild your life without him in it after you’d finally gotten settled?”
“…Yes. Yeah.”
Eddie tries not to pinch the bridge of his nose in disgust, but he does manage to drop his voice a little more, “Sounds like anxiety, man. Sounds like you’re falling for him and you’re afraid of it, and you’re sabotaging yourself because of it. If you’re going in with that mentality, then just- stop dating. Stop leading men on, and letting them fall in love with you if you’re just going to pull out when you decide you’re in too deep.”
He hears a frustrated huff on the other end of the line, and when he finally speaks, it sounds like it’s being said through grit teeth, “Stay out of my business, Diaz.”
~~~
It takes longer than they were dating for Buck and Tommy to get back together again, and even when it does happen, it’s a long time (and a lot of therapy for Tommy) before they’re serious about it.
After calling Tommy out like that, Eddie’s just grateful he still gets to be the best man at their wedding.