Work Text:
Eddie realizes something is wrong too late. Maybe wrong isn’t the right word. Either way, he realizes it too late. Or not early enough? It is complicated.
–
It all stems from Eddie not having enough life experience as an omega. He has been around alphas all his life but they were as good as betas as far as he was concerned, mostly due to blockers or army regulations. Their scents were never an issue Eddie had to worry or care about, which was great and quite convenient at the time, but it means Eddie has never learned how scents work in practice. Whatever pheromone alphas produce depending on their emotions or however they match and mix their scents to attract omegas, that is not something Eddie has had to deal with.
The alphas in Eddie’s family are big on blockers to begin with. His father Ramón was barely around when Eddie was a kid and they have grown distant since. Not that Eddie ever sensed anything in particular about Ramón. Eddie’s own wife, Shannon, applied blockers regularly without fail since the moment she presented. She always smelled like whatever perfume she chose to wear that day, nothing else, even during the little time they lived together between Eddie’s deployments and her leaving Eddie and their kid, Christopher, behind.
Once Eddie made the decision to move to LA, to become a firefighter and work alongside a group of alphas who might not wear blockers, he guessed he would have to learn how all of it works.
To make matters worse, Eddie joins the 118 and he already feels a lot of pressure. Expectations from himself, from his family, from the world. Maybe not the world but an omega doing a supposedly alpha’s job while taking care of his son by himself is quite a considerable task. So he has to find a home and a job and a place on the team, even if his scent reading abilities are decidedly subpar. It’s… surprisingly easy.
Bobby’s the captain and he actually fights other stations to get Eddie to join his house. It’s flattering, it feels like a good sign, like maybe things could work out because Bobby wants Eddie there, he insists on it and receives Eddie with open arms. Literally. As Bobby hugs him tight, Eddie feels his scent change from a neutral windy note to a summer breeze. Eddie feels floaty as he is enveloped by it.
Hen’s one of the paramedics and when she approaches Eddie, she smells neutral to him, like sea salt. It’s when she mentions her son, Denny, that her scent changes into ocean waves. It doesn’t shift while Eddie babbles on about Chris and she looks at him with genuine curiosity and openness. Eddie feels a wave of relief wash through him.
Chimney, the other paramedic, spends a few moments making small talk. His neutral scent seems earthy and it turns into freshly cut grass when Eddie laughs at one of his jokes. Eddie likes the smell paired with the sound of Chim’s laughter, it’s grounding.
Then Eddie meets Buck. Buck doesn’t seem too happy about Eddie being there. He seems pretty unhappy, in fact, if his scent is anything to go by. He smells like something about to burn in the oven and it pervades the air. It’s a good thing that it doesn’t last long. All it takes is them removing a grenade from a man’s leg to reach a truce. Eddie can finally smell Buck’s neutral scent, baked goods, and be around him comfortably. Well, Eddie does feel hungry more often than not with all the time they spend together while Buck smells like Eddie’s favorite treats, but he can deal with that if it means having Buck by his side.
Thus, Eddie becomes a part of the 118 family. He enjoys their company during their work hours and outside of them too. Buck and Eddie form a strong bond because Buck becomes very protective of Chris right away, he even helps Eddie through a lot of red tape, introducing him to Carla, a caretaker that looks after Chris the way Eddie himself would. Buck goes out with them to the park, the zoo, the supermarket, school events. He’s a soothing presence to Eddie, someone he can count and lean on, a partner in almost every sense of the word.
He grows close to everyone as time goes by. Denny and Chris get together to play while Eddie, Hen and her wife Karen wine and dine and gossip. Chimney starts dating Buck’s sister, Maddie, and the group starts going out to karaoke bars. Bobby welcomes the 118 at the home he shares with his wife, Athena, and they host barbecues and dinners and game nights there.
Time goes by fast and Eddie becomes familiar with his coworkers' scents just as quickly. It is obviously beneficial while on the clock but it also becomes a source of comfort to him, which is unexpected. On a call, Eddie can tell when someone’s feeling a certain way and it helps him act accordingly. Usually, though, they’re able to keep their emotions in check because their scents remain pretty steady – at least as far as Eddie’s observed, both in the field and outside of it. Having that stability in every aspect of his life, after all the turmoil and change Eddie’s been through, is quite a relief.
Eddie knows that Bobby’s windy ways shift slowly, incorporating different airy elements as a particularly strong emotion manifests. Those are merely added notes to his breezy disposition, though. The strongest Bobby has ever smelled was when, during a call, they stumbled upon a case of child neglect. Eddie was the first to notice the shift, being the only omega, and hurried to Bobby’s side to stop him before he got into trouble.
Hen is all about water and she flows seamlessly. Her changes are more fluid but they range from marine to fresh and crispy aromas. Her most pungent was when, at the station, she got a call from Denny’s school. He simply had the flu but Eddie could relate to Hen’s panic – calls from your child’s school are always terrifying.
Chim’s earthiness remains stable and solid. His shifts are displayed as an assortment of underlying grassy or flowery qualities. He smelled the most potent when Eddie went to visit him at the hospital. Maddie was still missing at the time, so fear and panic were bubbling up to the surface.
Buck pretty much stays within the realm of baked goods. He goes from fresh ones to burnt depending on what he’s feeling. Like Chim, Buck’s scent peak happened when Maddie was kidnapped, like an oven was set on fire instead of the food being cooked inside. He had never reached that burn level before and he never did since.
It’s been almost a year since he left Texas and Eddie thinks that, all in all, life’s pretty good.
It’s during one of the 118 game nights that Eddie realizes he is plain wrong. They’re using some quiz app with questions to test how well they know their partners. Buck and Eddie always team up, but since they’re the only single people in their group, they have no choice but to compete against Hen and Karen, Chim and Maddie, and Bobby and Athena.
Buck and Eddie are doing great, answering about coffee orders, morning routines and childhood pet stories perfectly. The problem arises when they reach the fourth round and Chim asks Eddie what should have been a simple question.
“What’s your alpha’s base scent?”
“Baked goods,” Eddie answers confidently.
And then. And then Chim plays the loud incorrect buzzer sound the app provides.
And then. And then Eddie looks around. He looks at Buck next to him and he looks at everyone else and no one is laughing.
They couldn’t have missed the buzzer, it was extremely loud. They must have heard that Chimney played that, which implies that Eddie got his answer wrong when he didn’t.
He didn’t. Right?
But nobody is coming to his aid, nobody’s telling Chim to give Buck and Eddie their points for that answer, nobody’s speaking, actually. Buck’s looking at the floor, Hen is looking at Chim with disapproval, Karen is checking her phone, Athena is serving Bobby and herself water and Maddie’s drinking from her beer bottle like she needs it to keep herself from… something.
Everyone’s both looking at him and avoiding eye contact.
Eddie’s confused. Very confused.
He has known Buck for almost a year at this point. He has spent so much time with him he couldn’t even begin to count. Actually, he’s probably been around Buck at least five out of the seven days of the week since their first, well, second shift together. There is no way he got this wrong. Buck has consistently smelled like iterations of baked goods, delicious or burnt reflecting his mood.
Everyone’s still looking at Eddie weirdly so it might be possible, perhaps, like there is a minimal chance that Eddie somehow didn't get it right. Maybe?
Nobody’s speaking still so Eddie does, “I guess I got that wrong.” Then he asks the room at large, “What does Buck smell like?”
“Buck’s fire, it’s always something burning, smoky, ashy or charred.” Hen explains. “Charcoal or different types of wood when he’s happy; plastic or chemical when he’s the opposite.”
“But I’ve never–it’s always been cookies or cakes or pastries.” Eddie locks eyes with Buck as he speaks and Buck’s gaze stays on him. “Is my sense of smell broken?”
“Oh, boy,” Chim whispers.
“Why don’t we all go sit outside and give them some space?” Athena suggests.
Everyone follows Bobby to the patio and he pointedly closes the double doors to give them some privacy. Buck hasn’t moved or uttered a single sound since Eddie first spoke. He is still staring at Eddie, though.
Eddie turns his body fully towards Buck and his eyes must be pleading because Buck’s gaze falters and he finally breaks the silence.
“Hen’s right, fire’s my base scent.”
“So why don’t I smell that? What’s wrong with me?” Eddie wonders.
“Nothing, Eddie, I swear, nothing’s wrong with you. It's my fault.” Buck’s hands reach out but they end up awkwardly on his lap. “The reason you think my scent’s made up of baked goods, well, it’s b–because I’m attracted to you.”
Eddie knows he doesn’t know a lot about how alphas and omegas work but what Buck’s saying is impossible because Eddie does know some things. He knows that when an alpha is attracted to an omega, they start producing a particular scent, some variation of their base to match the omega, hoping to gain their attention. But that only happens once the alpha has had time to know the omega and has chosen to mate with them.
Eddie finds Buck’s eyes, “You've always smelled the same to me, it doesn’t make any–”
“It's cause I've been attracted to you since we met.” Buck declares.
“Buck, I remember our first few days and you definitely weren’t–”
“Oh, I was, trust me. You were just so, well, you, and I couldn't help it. And then you weren't just pretty, you were also smart and good and witty and funny and capable and such a good father.” Buck rushes out. “I'm sorry.”
“What are you sorry for?”
“For–I don't know, for not telling you how I felt–feel.” There’s a tilt at the end, like Buck’s asking.
“You can tell me now.”
“Eddie–”
“Please, just–how do you feel?” Eddie asks.
“You tell me, you're the one smelling the bakery every time I'm near you.” Buck breathes in deeply, “All I feel now’s your chocolate scent.”
Eddie’s eyes open wide in surprise, “That’s what you scent in me?”
Buck furrows his eyebrows in concentration, “Yeah, I mean, sometimes there’s a hint of coffee but it’s mostly chocolate.”
Eddie feels his cheeks heating up with a flush, “That’s not–My base scent isn't chocolate.”
“It isn't?” Buck wonders, a glint of something in his eyes.
“Trees,” Eddie wrings his hands together as he speaks, “all sorts of trees, their leaves and fruits and, well, seeds, like chocolate and coffee.”
Buck looks right into Eddie’s eyes and seems to find what he’s looking for, “I'm so in love with you.”
Eddie smiles, his hands falling to his lap, “You are?”
“Yeah, that's why you only smelled bakery products,” Buck smiles back, “while I only smelled chocolate and coffee cause…”
“Because my scent was trying to match yours.” Eddie completes.
“And why do you think that is?” Buck prompts.
“Because I kinda like you too.”
“Only ‘kinda’?” Buck teases and bumps his shoulder with Eddie’s.
“I mean, a lot. But don’t let it get to that big head of yours.”
“I won’t, I promise, b–but only if you agree to go out with me.” Buck moves his hands from his lap to grab and hold Eddie’s.
“Like a date?”
“Yeah, a date.” Buck squeezes Eddie’s hand reassuringly. “What’d you say?”
Eddie looks down at their joined hands on his lap, “I think, yes, I think I can agree to those terms.”