Chapter Text
The call had been a bad one.
Not the kind with screaming flames or crumbling buildings, but the kind that settled in your bones long after the smoke cleared. A single-vehicle crash. Teenage driver. No seatbelt. The kid had bled out before the ambulance could arrive, and Buck hadn’t said a word on the ride back to the station.
Now, hours later, he was still quiet.
Eddie found him sitting on the back steps behind the firehouse, hoodie pulled over his head, elbows on his knees, eyes fixed on nothing. The sun was dipping low, casting long shadows across the lot, but Buck didn’t move.
“You gonna sit out here all night?” Eddie asked gently, stepping out and letting the door swing shut behind him.
Buck didn’t answer, just shrugged one shoulder.
Eddie hesitated before lowering himself to sit beside him, their knees bumping as he settled in. He didn’t speak right away. Buck didn’t either.
“I brought something,” Eddie finally said, reaching into the pocket of his jacket and pulling out a napkin-wrapped square.
Buck glanced over, brows furrowed. “What’s that?”
“Brownie,” Eddie said. “Leftover from Chris’s bake sale at school. Hen bought too many and pawned them off on me.”
Buck didn’t move.
Eddie unwrapped it and held it out.
After a long pause, Buck took it. Slowly. Like it might break.
He stared at it for a moment, then took a small bite. His eyes fluttered shut.
Eddie watched the tension in Buck’s shoulders loosen with every chew.
“You always this generous with your dessert stash?” Buck murmured, voice low.
“Only with people who need it.”
Buck looked over at him then. His eyes were tired, and a little red, but the faintest smile touched the corner of his mouth. “This good with all your friends, Diaz?”
“Just the ones I care about.”
They sat in silence again, but it was a softer one now—like the silence after a storm. Buck took another bite.
“I mean it,” he said around a mouthful. “This might be love.”
Eddie chuckled. “You fall in love easily.”
“With dessert? Always.”
He handed Eddie the last bite.
Eddie blinked. “You’re giving me the end piece?”
Buck nodded solemnly. “It’s the best part. That means something.”
Their fingers brushed as Eddie took it. And for just a second—just one—Eddie thought about what it might mean if he took that seriously.
But Buck looked away, brushing crumbs from his hoodie like nothing had happened.
So Eddie ate the last bite in silence.
Later that night, after shift, Buck found a bag of gummy bears tucked into the cup holder of his Jeep. No note. No explanation.
But he didn’t need one.
He just smiled, leaned his head back against the seat, and whispered to himself, “Ridiculous.”
Then he opened the bag and ate them all.
One Week Later
Buck was at Eddie’s house helping Chris with his science fair project—something involving vinegar and baking soda and a lot of colorful explosions. When they were done and Chris was busy scribbling observations into his notebook, Buck wandered into the kitchen for water.
He opened a drawer by accident while searching for a spoon.
And found it.
Candy. So much candy.
Mini chocolate bars. Licorice ropes. Lollipops. A small tin of mints. A full, unopened bag of sour gummy worms. There was even a package of fancy imported cookies with a ribbon still on the box.
“What the hell…” Buck whispered, picking up a Reese’s and turning it over.
“You found the drawer.”
Buck spun around. Eddie stood in the doorway, arms crossed, one eyebrow arched.
“This is a shrine,” Buck said dramatically. “To my weakness.”
“It’s not a shrine,” Eddie muttered.
“You don’t even eat candy.”
“I don’t,” Eddie agreed. “But you do.”
Buck stared.
Eddie shrugged. “You’re over here a lot. Figured it was easier than watching you raid Chris’s Halloween stash.”
Buck’s heart stuttered. “So you… made me my own stash?”
“Don’t make it weird,” Eddie said quickly.
Buck laughed. “It’s already weird. You alphabetized the gummies.”
“That was Chris.”
Buck turned back to the drawer, staring down at it like it held the secrets of the universe.
“Seriously, Eddie… this is… kind of the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me.”
Eddie looked a little flustered now, scratching the back of his neck. “It’s just candy.”
“It’s not,” Buck said softly.
And neither of them said another word for a minute.
Two Days After That
“Okay, you have to try this,” Buck said, shoving a spoonful of ice cream toward Eddie. They were both on Eddie’s couch, some action movie playing in the background. Chris had fallen asleep curled up in a blanket fort on the floor.
Eddie eyed the spoon like it might bite him. “What is it?”
“Cinnamon toast crunch ice cream.”
“That sounds illegal.”
“Illegal or delicious?” Buck countered.
“Those aren’t mutually exclusive.”
“Shut up and eat it.”
Eddie took the bite. Chewed. Swallowed. Paused.
“I hate how good that is.”
Buck grinned like a kid. “Told you.”
Eddie took the tub and another spoonful.
Buck leaned back against the couch, watching him with a soft smile.
“You always let me corrupt you.”
“I let you think you’re corrupting me,” Eddie replied, nudging his foot against Buck’s. “Truth is, I like watching you get excited about the stupidest things.”
Buck didn’t answer. He was too busy staring at Eddie.
There was whipped cream on the corner of his mouth. Buck reached to swipe it off—paused—then thought better of it and turned back to the TV.
Eddie, for once, looked like he might’ve wanted him to.
Three Days Later
Hen caught Buck rearranging the treat drawer at the station.
“Restocking the supply?” she asked, sipping her coffee.
“Eddie got me the peanut butter cups,” Buck said brightly.
Hen tilted her head. “You know what this is, right?”
Buck blinked. “What is?”
She pointed at the chocolate. “That. All of it. It’s love. He’s loving you in snack form.”
Buck laughed. “No, he’s just indulging my sugar problem.”
Hen raised a brow. “Right. And you just ‘accidentally’ bring him his favorite protein bars every shift?”
Buck looked mildly alarmed. “Those are just convenient.”
“Sure.”
Buck shoved a box of cookies onto the shelf and closed the drawer too hard.
Hen’s smirk softened.
“You’re sweet on him too, Buck.”
“Yeah,” Buck murmured. “I guess I am.”