Work Text:
Eddie's breathing is ragged and unsteady as Buck clips Ravi on the zip line, then the younger man is off, gliding towards the team.
And, of course, Buck would make it to where he's the last one. Eddie shouldn't even be fazed by this.
Then the building starts crumbling, and as Buck starts to slide down the line, and dust completely covers the area, so Eddie can't see Buck.
His heart races, not able to look away from where Buck is, waiting for him to appear through the smoke, then Ravi throws himself into Eddie's arms. "That was awesome, bro! Thank you!"
Eddie chuckles, briefly hugging Ravi back before gently pushing him to the side. Then, he shoves the rest of the team out of the way so he can be the one to catch Buck. "Move!" He grumbles to them when they refuse to get out of his way.
The team does as he wishes, giving each other looks. They know what that's all about.
Everyone at the 118 and the other firehouses of L.A. know about BuckandEddie.
Buck then suddenly appears through the cloud of dust, getting closer and closer to Eddie.
Both of their hearts are pounding from the adrenaline. Eddie's is also pounding from the fact that Buck is almost to him.
Then Buck is there, and Eddie catches him, holding him tight. Buck wraps his arms around Eddie, too. It helped lessen the impact.
And they just stay there. With their arms around each other and heads in the crook of the other's neck, both breathing heavily.
"Let's get you unhooked," Eddie says, pulling back.
Buck nods, both of them quickly locking eyes, then both of their gazes briefly go down to the other man's lips.
Fuck. Eddie thinks. His lips are so fucking pink.
Buck is so close to closing the distance between them, but Eddie's straight. So he quickly snaps out of his trance and lets the team unhook him, eyes on Eddie the whole time because he can't help it. Eddie is just the most stunning person he's ever met. He doesn't know how to look away.
Eddie nor Buck can look anywhere else except each other.
A few moments later, Buck is unhooked and back on solid ground—well, the rooftop—and Eddie struts back over to Buck, speaking softly into his ear, "I need to talk to you."
Buck smiles—and boy, the things it does to Eddie's heart—his dimples in full display. Jesus, he's beautiful. "Lead the way."
Eddie now turns to the team, "Let's all head down and see how else we can help Bobby and the civilians. Good work, guys!" Eddie beams, walking in the opposite direction everyone else is going, taking Buck down to the alleyway between the building they were on and the neighboring one.
Once they're down there, Eddie looks around to make sure they're alone—they are—before pushing Buck against the brick wall.
Buck's breath is knocked out of him, and he can't speak.
Evan Buckley has been rendered speechless.
"Stop me if you want me to stop, and I will." Eddie's pupils are dilated; his honey-brown eyes almost black.
Buck shakes his head, stuttering, "D-don't."
Eddie smiles. "I-I want you to know that I love you. That I'm in love with you. And it will only ever be you for me. It only has ever been you for me."
But Eddie's straight...?
But if he's in love with me, then he has to be into men, right?
So if he's—
Eddie's voice comes through his thoughts, silencing them as he always does. "Seeing the collapse on the TV, I-I—th-thought that I—"
Buck cuts Eddie off, finally feeling like he can speak English again. "—I'm okay. All of us are because you're here, Eds." Buck swallows. "A-a-and I love you, too. I-I'm in love with you, too, Eddie."
"Good, because I'm going to kiss you," Eddie says, his eyes locked on Buck's perfectly pink lips.
Before Buck could say anything else, Eddie has completely pinned Buck to the wall, his hands in Buck's curls, and their lips are pressed together in the most perfect kiss.
Buck makes it even better when he slides his tongue in.
"Dios mio," Eddie breathes, sliding his tongue in too, his grip tightening in Buck's golden curls.
Buck can't resist anymore so he slides his hands around Eddie and grabs the brunette's stupendous ass with an iron hold.
Eddie fucking moans.
Buck groans because that sound was music to his ears, and Buck wants to hear it all the fucking time. He can't wait to coax more sounds out of Eddie, figuring out what he likes.
Eddie goes on his tip toes, putting them on the same level. It makes Buck want to grab Eddie's upper thighs and lift him, but oxygen is a need at the moment, so they both pull back, gasping for air, resting their foreheads together.
They both chuckle as they're still catching their breath.
"That. Was. Amazing." Buck pants out, unable to stifle his smile.
"Agreed." Eddie goes back flat on his feet and pulls his head back, meeting Buck's eyes.
Buck's hands slide up from Eddie's ass to the man's lower back.
Eddie then looks down at Buck's lips and sees that the soot is rubbed off around Buck's mouth.
Eddie's eyes go wide.
Because the soot is all around his face now.
"What?" Buck giggles, his dimples on display, and Eddie wants to kiss them.
Later. There's time for that later.
Eddie's never had wants like this before with anyone else. Riiiight. That was back when he thought he was straight...
"Is there soot on my face?"
Buck nods, biting his bottom lip, his cheeks red like Eddie's.
"Crap." He quickly pulls his hands away from Buck's beautiful, messy, sooty, golden curls, pulls his shirt up around his face, and wipes off the stupid soot.
"That's shirts ruined now." Buck snorts.
Eddie shrugs it off, hands going around Buck's neck, his fingers toying with the short hairs on the back of the blonde's neck.
"Worth it." He closes the gap between them for a moment, unable to resist before pulling back again and just staring into Buck's eyes. Buck staring right back.
"We should, uh, head back."
Eddie nods. "I know."
But Eddie doesn't budge.
Buck laughs, and Eddie joins in a moment later.
"This is forever for me, you know," Eddie tells Buck.
"You and Chris are forever for me, too, Eddie."
"God, I love you." Eddie breathes, then closes the gap between them once more, only for a few seconds this time, because they need to head back now.
"Love you, too," Buck rasps into the kiss, never wanting to pull away.
Eddie pulls off of Buck, flashing the taller man a smile before walking out of the alley. Buck just a few paces behind him.
As Eddie is walking, he wipes off his face with his shirt. Just as a precaution, to make sure that there is no evidence left on his face.
Buck snickers behind him.
"Shut up," Eddie snarks lovingly.
"You know," Buck starts, catching up to Eddie, his head turned to the brunette. "It's rude to talk to your boyfriend like that."
Eddie looks over at Buck, his cheeks pink, "Yeah, yeah. Boyfriend, huh?"
Eddie loves the sound of that.
"Is that okay?" Buck asks, suddenly nervous.
Eddie nods, "Yes. Absolutely." Then he mouths—since they're close to the team—with a smile, "I love you." Eddie finishes with a wink.
"Love you too," Buck mouths back.
"Buck, Eddie, so nice of you two to join us," Bobby jokes.
Buck and Eddie laugh, turning to him.
"We just wanted to make sure no one else needed us," Eddie lies straight—HA!—through his teeth.
Buck gives Eddie a quick side eye before looking back at Bobby. "Yup. And it's all clear."
"Great, then let's get out of here, and Eddie, thank you for your help today."
Eddie grins as Bobby pulls him into a tight hug.
"I'm declining the El Paso offer," he quietly tells Bobby before pulling back.
Bobby gives Eddie a look, "Take all the time you need."
Eddie nods. "Thanks, Bobby."
Bobby walks to the engine and checks on the rest of the team since everyone is here now. (And he hugs and kisses his wife, too. But that's their business.)
"Uh, Eds. What was that about?" Buck asks curiously.
Eddie spins around to face Buck. "I'll tell you later." He winks. "At home."
"Home?"
Eddie nods. "Home."
Buck realizes what it's about, then gasps loudly—it's adorable. "Are you and Chris staying?"
All Eddie does is smile. He is going to talk to Chris about it later, but yes, that's what he wants to do; he's just got to check and see what Chris thinks about it.
About staying in L.A. permanently.
"I want to kiss you so badly right now," Buck whispers, leaning closer to Eddie.
"We can do all of that later tonight. In bed." Eddie wiggles his brows and then heads over to the truck.
Damn.
Buck had no idea his man—fuck, that's his man—had this much game. (And Eddie didn't either. Turns out when you're gay all your life and start to date a man, especially the one that's the love of his life, everything is just easy and not a performance like it used to be.)
———
Everyone is now piled into the engine. Buck and Eddie pushed up against each other, their thighs practically overlapping.
Then once they're back at the firehouse, they take turns in the shower room because there are so many of them. It gives time for Buck and Eddie to slip away for a moment to make out in a secluded corner, then for Eddie to ask Chris about staying in L.A. permanently—Chris said yes immediately—it also gave time for Eddie to talk to Bobby about when he can start back as Buck's partner again—once he and Buck talk more and talk to Chris, and then they can decide when to tell the rest of the team and other people—Maddie, Karen, Tia Pepa, Abuela.
(Abuela is also moving back to L.A. to live with Pepa again.)
And now the two men are both heading home in the Jeep, Buck driving them.
They're also holding hands on top of the center console, smiling like a pair of teenagers.
"Do we, uh, want to tell Chris about us?" Buck asks nervously.
Eddie nods. "Yeah, definitely. Chris and I agreed that there will never be any more secrets between us, so yes. But tomorrow. I just want to pass out in bed with you right now."
Buck chuckles. "Yeah, me too. And that's nice. No secrets."
"Mhm. You are a part of it, too, Buck."
Buck grins. "You got it. I can do that."
"Good." Eddie pulls their hands to his lips and kisses Buck's knuckles, then lays their joined hands in his lap.
Three hours later, after an evening with Chris, they're curled up in bed together, in each other's arms. Cuddling, to put it simply.
Buck's head on Eddie's chest, arms wrapped tightly around the brunette. Eddie's got one arm holding Buck in place, hand on his back, and his other hand gently scratching Buck's head, fingers running through Buck's golden curls.
It's perfect.
"This is nice," Buck sighs contently.
"Yeah, it is." Eddie agrees.
A few more minutes of silence, and Eddie can feel Buck thinking.
"What is it, mi amor? I can hear you thinking."
Buck groans, then says, "Do you think Chris will be happy about us?"
"Yeah. When we agreed on the whole 'no secrets thing,' I told him how I feel about you and the whole 'I've been gay all my life thing' and didn't realize it until I realized I've always been head over heels in love with Evan Buckley. Cuz he's the love of my life," Eddie chuckles.
Buck jerks up, locking eyes with Eddie, his ocean eyes wide. "What did you say?"
Eddie tilts his head, brows furrowed. "The whole 'I'm gay' thing?"
Buck shakes his head. "No, but I'm really happy for you, Eddie."
Eddie grins. "Thanks, mi alma. But what is it?"
Buck makes a mental note to look up what the Spanish words mean later. "Did you mean that?"
"Mean what, bebé?"
"W-when you said that I was your, um," Buck clears his throat. "The, uh, love of your life. Did y-you mean that?"
Eddie smiles wide. "Yeah. I did."
Buck gulps. "Really?" His eyes are threatening to tear up now.
"Yeah. You're the love of my life, Evan."
"God, Eddie." Buck plops down back on top of Eddie, squeezing him tight, doing everything he can to hold the tears back. "You're mine too," He mumbles into the brunette's neck.
"Yeah?" Eddie plants a sweet kiss on Buck's curls, wrapping his arms tightly around the other man.
"Mhm," Buck nods.
"Good. Now, let's sleep, you've had an exhausting day." Eddie pats Buck's back gently.
Buck whines into Eddie's neck.
Eddie chuckles. "What is it now, mi vida?"
"I wanna stay up with you," Buck pouts.
Eddie flips them over and plants kisses along Buck's jaw, smiling.
Buck giggles, wrapping his arms around Eddie's neck and shoulders.
"This what you meant?" Eddie teases playfully.
"Something like that."
Eddie snickers, kissing Buck's lips, then lays on top of Buck.
"I could get used to this," Eddie whispers.
"Me too."
"I love you, Evan Buckley."
"Love you too, Eddie Diaz."
A few minutes later, they both fall asleep in each other's arms.
The next morning over breakfast, they tell Chris about their new relationship, and he's ecstatic to say the least about it.
His Dad's pining was starting to get on his nerves.
Buck talks about moving his things out to they can move back in but Eddie shuts that shit down instantly. He tells Buck that they're all three going to live here together and no one's moving out.
And who was Buck to say no to that?
Because he has finally found his home. Found his place where he belongs.
With the love of his life and Christopher Diaz on South Bedford Street.