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“This kinda makes it seem a little too real,” Chim mutters dryly, carefully inspecting a framed photograph in Bobby’s office. Well— just the Captain’s office, he guesses. The blinding smiles of both he and Bobby shine right back at him, and the light smirk that graces his face is his body’s best attempt at replicating them with the grief that’s bogging him down.
“Tell me about it,” Hen sighs, taping a cardboard box full of miscellaneous papers shut. She stares at it for a moment, letting out a humorless laugh. “Was sorta hoping we could just leave this place untouched for the rest of time. I’m just surprised Gerrard didn’t move anything around.”
“Think he felt guilty,” Chim replies, putting the framed photo into his own cardboard box. “He’s trying to be a better guy, I guess. He wanted to be on my good side really badly. Maybe he thought respecting Bobby’s space would make me like him more.”
Hen snorts. “As if.”
Chim just hums in response. “Well, it’s not Bobby’s space anymore, Cap.” He turns to Hen with a genuine smile. “Least I know my mug won’t be plastered any less around here when you get around to decorating.”
Hen groans playfully, moving to grab a few stray pens that were Bobby’s favorite brand. It’s then she realizes she still doesn’t have an empty box to start putting them in. “I’m actually just gonna fire you. Ban any mention of you in this firehouse.”
“Oh please, Buck would be the first one to have that honor bestowed upon him. I’m surprised the government completely forgot to arrest him after he hopped in that helicopter with whatshisface to literally run away from the army,” Chim says, taping his box shut. He quickly writes FOR ATHENA with a Sharpie on the side.
Hen frowns, multiple identical pens squeezed in her grasp.
“Where is that boy anyway? I asked him to get more boxes like 15 minutes ago. There’s still a crap ton of leftover paperwork we need to send back to the Chief. And some random things for Athena.”
Before Chim can reply, the sound of two manly giggles quickly get nearer, and both Buck and Eddie are walking back into the office. Buck has a stack of cardboard boxes in his arms as he faces Eddie, who is holding nothing but a frankly delicious looking sandwich. Where the hell did they even have Italian bread in the kitchen?
“God, why is Pepa so hilarious?” Buck laughs, eyes crinkled from the force of it. “Swear you two can’t be related.”
Eddie rolls his eyes, but the pink on his cheeks gives him away. “My childhood is a cheap shot for jokes. Of course you’d lap it all up,” he says around a bite of his food.
Hen clears her throat loudly, eyes expectant as the gazes of both men land on her. Eddie looks like a deer in headlights, cheeks full and stray crumbs dotting his lips. Buck has a knowingly guilty frown on his face.
Hen raises a brow.
“And where have you two been? Chim and I have been sitting here waiting to get the rest of Bobby’s stuff ready to go.”
Eddie flushes more, and Buck pointedly avoids Hen’s eyes. “Eddie was hungry,” Buck mumbles like it’s an acceptable answer, scooting a little closer to the man in question.
“So?” Chim barks out a laugh. “You had to go supervise his grown ass while he made a sandwich? An energy bar wouldn’t have sufficed for the next half hour?”
“He said he wanted a sandwich!” Buck says defensively. “And he likes how I make them.”
Hen rolls her eyes fondly, holding her hands out for the boxes. She speaks up to intentionally cut off whatever Chim’s gonna say next.
“Whatever. You’re lucky your new captain can put up with 20 more years of this bullshit just like Bobby.”
Buck drops the boxes into Hen’s hold with a proud grin, looking like a little boy who knows his mom can’t be mad at his adorable self. Eddie quickly stuffs the rest of the sandwich into his mouth and dusts his hands off.
“Buck, help me with the filing cabinet?”
Hen holds her tongue despite that very much being a one person job.
There’s a quick lull in conversation as everyone gets back to silently packing up Bobby’s office. Hen’s rubbing her thumb over a Get Well Soon! card that both Mara and Denny wrote for Bobby the year before when Buck gasps dramatically.
“Hey, what was Bobby hiding in here?” Buck laughs, pulling out a bright red folder that contrasts heavily against the rest of the plain manilla ones.
Eddie’s chin is nearly hooked over Buck’s shoulder before he moves to let Buck turn the folder to both Hen and Chim. The words CONFIDENTIAL- HUMAN RESOURCES (CAPTAIN ONLY) are written neatly in Bobby’s loopy handwriting.
Eddie’s bottom lip is jutted out in thought as Chim grins and reaches to grab the folder.
“Ooh! Maybe it’s a form detailing Buck’s termination!”
Buck immediately hugs the folder to his chest protectively, shuffling away from Chim and moving behind Eddie.
“Wait! Are we even allowed to look?”
Buck turns his head expectantly to Hen. Right, now it's Hen’s job to boss this fool around.
“I mean, I am Captain now,” Hen shrugs. “So… you have permission to look, I guess. I doubt it’s anything significant now that Bobby’s gone.”
Buck beams right at her and allows Eddie to lean his head on his shoulder and he opens the folder. His smile immediately warps into a confused frown.
“They’re relationship disclosure forms?” Buck says in confusion. Eddie perks up and leans in closer to see. Buck separates the two sheets of paper that were in the folder. “And they’re both like… almost completely filled out.”
“Wait, that one’s mine!” Eddie points to the left sheet. “I’m single, though?”
Buck frowns, before his face pales. “The other’s… mine?”
Oh, Hen thinks.
“He had to go out with a bang, huh?” Chim mumbles to himself.
Buck and Eddie wear equal looks of horror when Hen speaks again.
“Maybe he was just preparing you two separately? I mean, aside from Ravi, you two are kinda the only single ones in this firehouse. I doubt Bobby thought it’d be that way forever.”
It almost sounds like she’s speaking to spooked animals.
Eddie’s face is entirely pink when he stutters out a reply.
“Uh, n-no. The second name on my form is Buck. And they’re workplace relationship forms.”
“S-same here,” Buck says. “Uhm.”
Hen lets out a long sigh and she stands back up.
“There’s no deadline on when we need to pack the office up. Chim, let’s go,” Hen says with a finality in her voice.
“But—”
“Chim, I said let’s go.”
Chim stands up obediently, rushing past Hen back into the main room of the firehouse. Hen watches him, before turning her gaze back to Buck and Eddie, who’re staring at the forms with equally shocked expressions. They haven’t moved away from each other, though.
“Okay, I’ll leave you two to it. Giarrusso should be back with the takeout already. I’ll leave some aside for you guys.”
She smiles softly before adding one more thing.
“Bobby only ever wanted the best for you two. He loved you guys. Remember that.”
── ⟢ ・⸝⸝
Fuck, Bobby couldn’t have just said something to my face when he was alive? Buck thinks. Who is he supposed to turn to for advice now? Buck can feel Eddie’s shoulder press into his as he stares at the paper in front of him.
The purpose of this form is to affirm that EVAN BUCKLEY and EDMUNDO DIAZ of the Los Angeles Fire Department have agreed to engage in a consensual and safe social relationship.
He sneaks a glance at the form Eddie’s staring at, and it’s the same story, only with swapped names.
They’ve been sitting here for about five minutes, not a word spoken between them. Buck can hear the muffled conversations of the rest of the 118 from the other side of the door. He can hear Hen’s laughter as Ravi recounts a story. He can hear Chim talking to one of the new probies about how awesome Hen is.
“So,” Eddie mumbles, nearly startling Buck out of his thoughts. “Seems like Bobby… had some suspicions.”
“Uh, I-I guess,” Buck says, turning to look at Eddie.
He’s overcome with a sudden wave of panic. What if Eddie thinks Buck had something to do with this?
“I never said anything to him, though! I swear!” Buck stresses.
Eddie glows a little pinker. “I know. I didn’t either. I guess Bobby was just making an educated guess.”
“Educated?” Buck guffaws. “As in, this makes sense? B-because it doesn’t, obviously! You’re straight!”
“Buck, it’s not the first time people have assumed. You know that.”
“But that’s from people who know nothing about us! They see two guys with a little boy, of course they’ll think we’re married. This is Bobby. He knew everything about us!” Buck says, voice fast and word strung together sloppily.
Eddie places his hand in the crook of his neck, thumb on his collarbone. Buck immediately shuts up, because that spot is Eddie’s. It’s how Buck knows Eddie is getting serious. His hand feels like a brand through Buck’s uniform.
“Buck,” Eddie says softly. “Calm down.”
“Sorry,” Buck murmurs, cheeks heating up.
Eddie gulps.
“Bobby knew me better than anyone, aside from you.” He breathes out. “I think the same goes for you.”
Look, Buck has been holding everything in well enough for the past month. He’s allowed the few stray tears that escape as Eddie talks about Bobby.
He sniffs. “Y-yeah, he did. I never got to say it, b-but, he was basically a father figure to me, Eddie. He’ll never know that.”
Eddie smiles sadly. “Don’t think you had to tell him. He knew. He was your dad, Buck. He loved you. Loved me. Loved us.”
“I know,” Buck hiccups. “But what does this have to do with anything?”
Eddie’s blush stays persistent. “Th-they say the only ones who truly understand someone is their parents, right?”
Buck nods.
“W-what if Bobby wasn’t wrong?”
“Eddie,” Buck says lowly. “H-he has to be. You’re straight. I can’t be in love with you.”
Eddie’s quiet for a moment.
“Is that it?”
“Is what it?”
“I’m straight? That’s the only thing stopping us?”
Buck immediately flounders for a reply. He’s never been questioned this far before. Tommy and Maddie both dropped it pretty quickly.
“W-well, it’s just— Eddie, I’m not— you know—”
It doesn’t matter what Buck was going to say, because he’s cut off by the feel of another pair of lips on his. Eddie’s lips. Eddie is kissing him.
Holy shit.
Buck bluescreens as Eddie breathes into his mouth. Not once had he ever considered the possibility that his straight best friend would make the first move. Eddie’s day-old stubble scratches his cheeks.
When he feels Eddie begin to pull away, he realizes he hasn’t been responding to Eddie’s advance. To correct his oversight, Buck grips the collar of Eddie’s uniform and hauls him back. Eddie responds with a wanton moan into his mouth.
Buck isn’t sure how long they stay like that. Buck isn’t even sure if he’s thinking at all. His brain is on a constant loop of EddieEddieEddieEddieHolyShitEddie. He has half a mind to stop himself from grinding against Eddie in the middle of Hen’s shiny new office.
Buck isn’t sure who pulls away first, but his forehead is resting against Eddie’s as they pant into each other’s mouths. He stares into Eddie’s eyes, the brown reduced to a small sliver around the inky pupil. His face is completely flushed, and Buck thinks he’s never looked more beautiful. Still, this shouldn’t be possible, Buck thinks, because you know…
“You’re straight,” Buck says on complete autopilot.
Eddie stares at him, dumbfounded, before bursting into laughter right in Buck’s face. Buck can smell the coffee breath from his mouth as Eddie heaves.
“Do you really think that, Buck?”
“Are you… not?”
“Buck, I was about to come in my pants like a teenager from making out with you.”
“Oh,” Buck says. “Oh.”
He stares at Eddie, unsure of what to say. Eddie responds by threading the fingers on his right hand with Buck’s.
“I don’t know when I fell for you. Probably day one,” Eddie mumbles, rubbing his thumb over Buck’s knuckles. “But I realized after the earthquake.”
Buck’s breath hitches.
“I was so worried about everyone. Obviously. But, Buck, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. After you and Ravi got trapped. I couldn’t imagine what it’d be like if I lost you. You were stuck in there for hours, and I couldn’t do anything about it. When you got pinned by that beam, I didn’t—”
Eddie sniffles.
“I didn’t want to tell Christopher he’d lost another parent.”
“Eddie.”
Buck tightens his grip on Eddie’s hand.
“I love you, Buck,” Eddie says softly. “You’re the most important person in life. In Christopher’s life. You’re my family. I’m— I’m just sorry I didn’t say anything sooner.”
Buck doesn’t remember when he started crying again.
“Eddie, oh my God.”
Buck throws himself into Eddie’s hold.
“I love you, too.”
── ⟢ ・⸝⸝
Hen’s scrolling through Facebook when the door to the office finally opens again. She looks up, and sees Buck and Eddie walking toward her. They both look the tiniest bit disheveled, and she sighs.
“I hope my office wasn’t defiled.”
Eddie just smiles at her. He pulls his hand from behind his back, handing two sheets of paper to her.
“Buck and I have some paperwork that needs to be filed.”
Hen smiles right back, taking the forms.
“Bobby would be so happy if he were here.”
Rest assured, when Bobby is returned home after a long few months of illegal government experimentation and an exhausting lawsuit, he is more than.