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Buck is dragging.
Like, his feet are actually dragging across the ground as he tries to walk toward the heavenly aroma of the coffee shop. Once he finally makes it to the door, he steps through and sighs. The blissful air conditioning showers over him. Vanilla, caramel, chocolate, and other decadent scents compliment the smell of strong coffee wafting from the counter. He almost forgets about the hellish shift he just finished.
Almost.
His legs ache as soon as he starts walking again. It’s late enough in the morning that there aren’t many people in line ahead of him, thank goodness. He waits fairly patiently as they place their orders until, finally, it’s his turn.
He steps up to the counter - still a little sweaty from their last call, too tired to even fully keep his eyes open - only to see the most gorgeous creature to ever grace the planet smiling at him.
“Hi!” the creature says. “What can I get started for you?”
Buck pulls himself up to his full height, making a half-hearted attempt to look dashing – or at the very least, vaguely human.
“I would like as much caffeine as you can legally give me, please,” he responds.
The man chuckles. “Rough morning?”
“Just got off shift. It was – long.” Buck can feel himself fading already. This attempt at flirting is certainly not going to be his best work. Full sentences? Ask for something more reasonable, please.
“Alright, I can help with that,” the beautiful man smiles and pulls a cup from the stack, marker at the ready. “Name for your order?”
“Buck,” he says through a yawn. “Thank you.” Buck pays the man and goes to wait for his coffee at the other end of the counter. He thinks he’s swaying on his feet a little.
“Here you go, pal.”
Buck is handed a cup of something – he’s in no position to ask questions – and he takes a grateful sip. He mumbles to the man, something he hopes sounds like have a good day, and turns to leave.
When he makes it to his car, he sits in the driver's seat and chokes down half of the hot drink before looking down at the cup.
Puck.
He blinks, shakes his head a little, and looks at it again but nope, that definitely says Puck. Okay, no problem. The mythical creature got his name wrong. He can correct him next time. He’ll even be alert and awake so it’ll be easy. He can enunciate. He practices.
“B-Buck.”
It’s only one syllable but he makes sure to pronounce all the letters. The K almost sounds like radio static he says it so abruptly.
He sets his cup down in its holder and slaps his face a few times before rolling down the windows and turning the music up loud. It’s a quick drive to his loft but he’s not taking any chances.
He makes it home and starts on his long list of chores. He starts a load of laundry, cleans the apartment, waters the plants, does some meal prep, calls his sister – all so he can actually sleep through the night and get up in the morning to cover Johnson’s shift. She really owes him one.
When he makes it back to the kitchen, he finds his coffee cup on the counter, Puck written at the top aggressively. He pours the few remaining drops down the sink and throws the cup away.
-
His shift goes surprisingly well. He doesn’t normally work with the B shift but they’re good people. Plus, he actually gets some sleep, so when he gets off at 8 the next morning, it feels like the perfect opportunity to visit a certain coffee shop and correct some misunderstandings.
There’s a longer line this time, but Buck can see the same guy at the counter so he’s willing to wait. He straightens his shirt and runs a hand through his hair. Discreetly, he checks the camera on his phone for anything in his teeth.
Before he knows it, he’s face to face with the creature again and all sense removes itself from his head.
“Oh hey, you’re back.”
Buck smiles and chooses to believe that he made an impression worth remembering because he was so charming and sweet. It’s not true, but Buck can believe what he wants.
“Another caffeine overdose?”
Buck laughs and scratches at the back of his neck. “Uh, actually can I just get a regular, normal-person coffee this time? With sugar, please.”
“You got it.” The man smiles at him again and Buck has to fight with himself to keep from melting on the floor. Embarrassing. It’s just a guy. So what if he has perfect teeth and shiny hair and huge eyes like a Disney character? Be cool.
“You, uh, you’re new here? I don’t think I’ve seen you before.” Dude, come on. You are a better flirt than this.
“A couple weeks, yeah. My son and I just moved here from Texas.”
Buck perks up. “Oh, I love kids. How old is he?”
The man finishes up with Buck’s order and turns around. “He’s seven. Here’s your normal-person coffee.” There’s that smile again.
Buck takes the cup and glances down at his chest to see a nametag. Was he wearing that the other day? “Thanks, Eddie. See you next time.” He thinks he’s rather successful at sauntering away until he gets outside and looks down.
Puck
Buck growls to himself, scaring a mother and daughter walking past him.
“Sorry, sorry!” he yells after them, embarrassed. “Stupid!” He punishes himself with a smack to his forehead.
One job. He had one job! How had he gotten so distracted? Frankly, it’s humiliating. How can he possibly correct him now? Should he just find another café? It’s not as if there is a shortage of those around here. But this one is close to the station and, if he’s being really honest with himself, the thought of not seeing Eddie anymore is more upsetting than he’d like to admit.
Maybe he can just be Puck. He could change his name to Evan Puckley. Could he convince everyone to start calling him Puck?
He gets in the car and groans. When he looks up, he can see Eddie through the window wiping down the counter. His strong arm muscles flex under his shirt sleeve and his jeans strain across his thighs as he bends over. He looks up and they make eye contact. Eddie grins and waves while Buck – or, Puck – puts on his sunglasses to hide how red he’s gotten at being caught staring.
-
Buck goes back to the café, smiling and flirting with Eddie each time. Sometimes he’ll get something different to mix it up, but he’s mostly there for the staff so his order doesn’t really matter so much.
Every time, Eddie writes Puck on his cup, and every time, Buck ignores it. Except for the one time Eddie made the U into a smiley face and Buck commented “cute”. He still regrets not saying anything that time. It was the perfect opportunity! But it’s been going on too long now. Like, way too long.
He decides to stop before shift and pick up drinks for the team. He wakes up early, uses the nice shampoo that’s too expensive for daily use, picks out a nice outfit that he’ll only be wearing until he changes into his uniform, brushes his teeth for an extra minute, and heads out the door.
Buck [7:09am]:
Everyone text me your coffee order, I’m stopping at Abuela’s
The messages roll in and he decides the easiest way to go about this is to make a note on his phone and simply let Eddie – or another barista, it would be totally fine if it was a different barista, he’s definitely only stopping out of the goodness of his heart and not because of any sort of crush situation – read them. He adds his drink to the bottom once everyone has responded, and he’s pulled into the parking lot.
To his surprise, the shop is almost empty when he walks in. He supposes that’s a good thing since he has quite an order to place. There’s no one in line and no one at the counter so he rings the bell.
Eddie comes through the swinging door wiping his hands on a towel. “Morning!” He greets Buck with the same grin every time. It’s a little crooked and a little flirty if you ask Buck. “What’ll it be this time?”
“Hey,” Buck has his own flirty grin, so he shows it to Eddie. “I actually have a lot today, I hope that’s okay. I’m picking up for the team.” He slides his phone across the counter so Eddie can see the note. He starts to enter the drinks into the computer and then takes Buck’s phone with him to make them.
“So, who are we caffeinating this morning? Basketball team?”
“Oh, uh,” he chuckles softly. “No, we’re firefighters. I work at the 118 just down the road. Make sure you get that caffe mocha right or Hen will kill me.”
Eddie looks back at him. “A firefighter, huh? That’s why you were so tired when you came in that one time.”
Buck laughs. “Yeah, and sweaty and smokey. My bad.”
Eddie chuckles deeply and continues making drinks. “This one’s yours at the bottom, yeah?”
Buck agrees just as an older woman comes out from the back carrying a large tray of muffins.
“Abuela! I told you I was coming right back!”
The woman puts the muffins in the case and waves Eddie’s worries off. “Ay, Eddito, you worry about your Abuela too much.” She pats Eddie’s cheek.
“Wait, you’re the Abuela?” Buck asks.
“Si,” the woman tells him with a smile. “Dios mío, are all these for you?” She spots the two drink carriers that Eddie is filling for him.
“Yes ma’am, I’ll have a bunch of angry firefighters on my hands if I don’t deliver on my promise of your coffee. Your shop is our favorite.”
“Oh! Eddito, you hear that!” She claps her hands together a couple times, almost like a child. It’s incredibly endearing and Buck falls a little bit in love with her. She waves at him and goes back to the kitchen.
Eddie places the final drink in the carrier. “She never gets that excited when I’m the one telling her that.”
“I’m known for charming abuelas,” Buck says with a shrug. He accepts his phone back from Eddie and pays for the drinks. “Thanks, Eddie. See you next time.”
“Stay safe out there!” Eddie calls to him as he carefully carries the drinks out the door. Buck pushes the door open with his elbow and sends him a wink. Only because his hands are full!
When he finally makes it to the station, he hurries up the stairs. “Sorry I’m late but it was for a good cause!” He places the drinks on the kitchen island and the rest of the team descends upon them. He quickly spots the cup labeled Puck and grabs it before anyone can see.
“Go change so we can get started, Buck.”
“Sure, Cap,” Buck hurries back downstairs to the locker room.
Once in uniform, he joins the team for the morning meeting, and they all get their assigned chores. Buck, as usual, will be helping in the kitchen, so he has time before he needs to do anything. He sits on a couch in the lounge room with his coffee and pulls out his phone to see a new message from an unknown number. He furrows his brow and opens it.
Unknown [8:15am]:
Okay this is probably inappropriate so you can tell me to fuck off but you handed me your phone and I couldn’t help myself.
This is Eddie.
From Abuela’s.
“Oh shit,” Buck breathes. He looks up but no one is around. He saves the number immediately.
Buck [8:50am]:
Bold move, Eddie from Abuela’s
I like it
Eddie ☕️ [8:52am]:
Yeah? It’s not creepy and weird?
Buck [8:52am]:
Well I didn’t say that
Eddie ☕️ [8:53am]:
Ha very funny
Glad to see Hen didn’t kill you, she must have liked her drink.
Oh sure, Hen’s name he can get right.
Buck [8:53am]:
The day is still young, I’m sure I’ll give her another reason eventually
The bell rings and he jumps into action on instinct. He runs down the stairs, shoving his phone in his pocket.
“What’s got you so chipper?” Chim asks from the seat opposite in the engine.
“Huh?”
“You’re smiling. Like a weird amount.” Hen answers for him.
“Am not,” Buck tells them, willing his face to not turn red. A man’s not allowed to be in a good mood anymore?
-
Buck is finishing up in the locker room when he hears Chimney let out a wolf whistle. Confused, Buck looks behind him and then rolls his eyes with a smile.
“No flirting until I’m gone,” he yells at them.
“You can’t tell me when I can and can’t flirt, Buckley.” Chimney meets Maddie at the back of the ambulance and kisses her cheek.
Buck tosses his bag over his shoulder. “I still haven’t given my permission for this,” he points between them, “to be happening. You better be nice to me.”
“He doesn’t need your permission and I’m not here for him anyway. I haven’t spent any time with my little brother in far too long, I thought I could take you out.”
Buck wraps an arm around her shoulders and leads her outside. “Sure, I’ll drive.” Very maturely, he sticks his tongue out at Chim who waves them off.
“Oh, let’s walk down to that little place you guys love so much. Abuela’s? I still haven’t had it, I need to know what all the fuss is about.” Maddie looks up at him with a smile and he has no excuse for the panic that floods him.
“Uh, isn’t there somewhere else you want to go? Abuela’s is just coffee and baked goods.”
“Well that’s okay. Unless you need more to eat than that?”
Buck sighs. He and Cap had made a huge lunch for the team, so he really isn’t all that hungry.
“Nope, let me just throw my bag in the Jeep real quick.”
“I’m going to say goodbye to Howie,” she pats him on the arm, and he rolls his eyes again as she jogs over to hug Chim. He smiles as he tosses his duffel in the backseat though, because no matter how much he may gripe about it, it’s really good to see her so happy.
He takes a deep breath to try to settle his nerves. Maybe Eddie won’t even be there. It’s the afternoon, maybe he only works the morning shift. Maybe Buck can put on a hat and sunglasses and he won’t recognize him.
Maddie wraps her arm through his, and they make their way down the sidewalk. When they get close enough, Buck closes his eyes briefly when he sees the man behind the counter.
“Okay,” he pulls Maddie to a stop and interrupts her in the middle of a sentence. “Something is about to happen in here.” She looks at him confused. “Just…don’t say anything until we sit down.”
He opens the door for her before she can say anything. He follows her inside and smiles at Eddie.
“Hey, Puck!”
Buck waves at him.
“Did he just – hey!” She rubs at her arm where Buck pinched her.
“What did I literally just say?” he whisper-yells at her.
They get in line behind a couple college age kids and awkwardly don’t speak to each other. Buck can tell she’s trying her hardest to not say anything like he asked. He puts his hands in his pockets and looks around the café. Maddie crosses and uncrosses her arms, fiddles with the strap of her purse. They don’t look at each other.
They walk up to the counter after Eddie finishes up with the customers in front of them. “Hi, Eddie,” Buck says with a smile.
Eddie smiles back and looks down at Maddie. “Hey, who’s this?”
Buck tries not to feel any satisfaction from that. He’s just curious, he’s not jealous. Probably.
“My sister, Maddie.”
She waves sweetly and Buck thinks Eddie’s smile shifts, almost like he relaxes. Definitely interesting.
“Well, what can I get you, Maddie?”
“I think I would just like an iced latte with oat milk and…what pastry is your favorite?”
“Abuela’s conchas will change your life,” Eddie boasts.
“We’ll take two,” Buck tells him. “And my usual, please.”
Buck reaches for his wallet and Maddie smacks his hand. “No, no! My treat.”
He raises his hands in surrender and Eddie laughs at the interaction. “It’ll be just a second.”
As soon as Eddie turns around, Maddie looks at Buck and he begs her with his eyes to wait. He should have known he wouldn’t be able to keep this a secret forever.
“Here we go, enjoy you two!”
“Thanks, Eddie, we’re going to sit outside, have a good day!” Buck grabs their tray before the man even finishes talking and ushers his sister to a table out front.
As soon as Buck sits down, Maddie is on him. “Okay, tell me everything.”
“What do you mean, everything?”
“After that whole interaction, you’re telling me there isn’t an everything?” She takes a sip from her drink and gives him a look.
Buck sighs and picks his pastry apart. “Fine. I came in one time after a really long shift, and I guess he misunderstood when I told him my name because now he thinks I’m Puck. And I tried to correct him but like…well, you saw him!” She chuckles at him knowingly. “And now it’s been way too long and he keeps writing Puck on my cups and I don’t know what to do.”
“How long has it been?”
Buck looks down and mumbles.
“Sorry, I don’t speak Pathetic Lover Boy – what was that?”
Buck sends her a glare. “Like, four months.”
“Buck!”
“Shh, Maddie!” He waves an arm in the direction of the door but she’s laughing too hard to notice. “Come on, I’m embarrassed enough.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she calms down enough to say. “It’s just too good.
“You can’t tell Chim, I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Well, what are you going to do? You can’t let him keep calling you Puck forever.”
“Okay, first of all, who said anything about forever? And also…why not? How am I possibly supposed to correct him now?” he whines.
“It’s just going to get worse and worse the longer you put it off, Buck.” She sounds sweet and sincere but there’s still laughter in the corners of her eyes.
“Can we change the subject if you’re not actually going to help, please?”
“Okay, okay,” she puts a finger to her lips while she thinks. “You could give him your number!” She lifts a napkin from the dispenser triumphantly. “Write your actual name down and hand it to him all cool-like.”
“All cool-like?” He can’t help the teasing.
“Yeah!” She’s undeterred. “Maybe he’ll be so embarrassed that he misunderstood you that he’ll just ignore it?”
Buck grimaces and goes back to his drink.
“He already has your number, doesn’t he?”
He nods.
“And it’s totally saved under Puck, huh?”
“I didn’t actually think of that until today so…thanks.”
She’s laughing again but Buck can only picture his text thread with Eddie, the little coffee mug emoji he has next to Eddie’s name.
“So you’re like, totally in love with him.”
“I am not in love with him, Maddie.”
“You love him,” she sings back.
He rubs a hand down his face. “It’s just a crush. That I can never act on.”
“Why not?”
“Because he doesn’t know my name!”
“Okay well you need to change that because those daggers he was sending my way when he thought I was your girlfriend had me a little worried.”
Buck tries to keep the grin off his face. “Really?”
Maddie rolls her eyes at him. “Look, it’ll be awkward and embarrassing for both of you, but you have to say something. It’s obviously not just a crush, look at yourself.”
“I hardly know him,” Buck argues.
“Well I guess you better ask him out then.”
-
The 118 is hosting a Summer BBQ and Buck is buzzing with excitement. These types of events are his favorite. He loves meeting the community, showing the kids the firetrucks, and spending time with his found family. This time, they’ve gone all out. There’s an ice cream truck, a face painter, little plastic helmets to pass out, and Bobby is all set up at the grill, ready to feed the masses.
He's enjoying his second plate of food and chatting with Hen and Karen when he looks over and sees Eddie waltzing through the bay doors with a child at his side.
Buck chokes on his potato salad. Hen slaps him on the back, but he waves her off, handing her his plate.
He jogs over to them and plasters a totally non-panicked smile on his face. “Hey, stranger!”
“Hey!” Eddie looks him up and down, which normally would make Buck a lot more excited, but he has other worries right now. “Abuela said she heard from the flower shop next door that you guys were doing this; I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”
Uh yeah, Buck thinks. There’s a very good reason for that.
“Well, welcome to the 118! You guys hungry?” Buck looks at the boy hiding half behind Eddie’s leg.
“Oh right,” Eddie suddenly remembers. “This is my son, Christopher.” He puts a hand on the boy’s back, but he’s too busy staring at the big red fire engine parked outside.
“It’s cooler up close,” Buck tells him. “You wanna go see?”
Christopher nods and Buck leads them outside. He ignores his coworkers’ stares, hoping that if he doesn’t make eye contact, they’ll leave him alone.
Buck hoists the boy up into the driver's seat and tells him what all the buttons do. They look at each tool in the back and talk about what they’re used for. They sit in the ambulance too, and Christopher must have forgotten how shy he was feeling because the boy has questions. A lot of them. Buck answers all of them, glad to meet someone who is as passionate as he is. They move inside and look at everything in there as well. He lets Christopher try on his turnout jacket and Eddie takes a hundred pictures.
Just when he thinks he’s actually getting away with it, Hen makes her way over to them. “Who do we have here, a new recruit?”
Buck tries to keep the disappointment off his face. “Hen, this is Eddie and Christopher. Eddie works at Abuela’s.”
“Oh! We looooove Abuela’s,” she tells him dramatically.
Eddie smiles. “I’ll let her know. It’s nice to meet you.” He helps Christopher take off the jacket who is reluctant but allows it. “Bud, you getting hungry?”
Christopher nods excitedly. “I’ll leave you to it, then,” Hen laughs. “Nice to meet you.”
“The infamous Hen,” Eddie says when she’s walked away. “She doesn’t seem so bad.”
They start the walk over to the food tables manned by Athena and Maddie. “She’s just in a good mood today.”
Eddie greets Maddie who gives Buck a knowing wink. Eddie grabs two plates and Athena smacks Buck’s hand before he can take one. “Save some for the guests, Buckaroo.”
Luckily, Eddie is distracted so he doesn’t hear. Buck grumbles at her but backs down when she gives him the look she saves especially for Buck – the one that says do not play with me. She’s gotten very good at it.
By the end of the evening, Christopher has gotten his face painted to look like a cheetah, climbed all over the engine, conned his dad into a chocolate ice cream cone, and gotten Buck to fall in love with him. He’s currently sound asleep on Eddie’s shoulder, making Buck fall for him a little bit as well.
They’re chatting at a secluded table when Eddie says, “I guess I should get him home.”
Buck nods. “I’ll walk you out.” He picks up Chris’s crutches and follows Eddie out to his truck. He gets the boy settled and places the crutches on the floor before closing the door as gently as he can.
“This was fun,” Eddie says quietly.
“Glad you guys could come. He looked like he had a good time.” Buck nods at the truck behind Eddie.
“Yeah,” Eddie jingles his keys. He crosses his arms and leans against the driver’s door. “You look pretty good in that uniform.” He gives Buck that flirty little smirk and Buck laughs.
“This is nothing, you should see me in the turnouts.”
Eddie chuckles. “You guys finishing up here soon?”
“Yeah, they’ll put us back online in a little bit but I’m not on shift tonight.”
Eddie nods. “It’s still early, you wanna come over for a beer or something when you’re done? He’s out for the night.”
“Sure, I’d like that,” Buck says without thinking. “I’m just going to help clean up and then I can come by.”
“I’ll text you the address,” Eddie opens the car door. “See you soon, Puck.”
Buck’s smile fades.
-
There are still plenty of people around so cleaning up the station is a quick process. Leftover food is placed in containers for the night shift, vendors are cleared out, vehicles are back where they belong, and trash is collected and placed in dumpsters.
Buck takes a few extra minutes to shower, thankful he wore semi-decent clothes when he came in this morning. Under the water, he thinks about what he has to do tonight. There’s no getting around it, he has to come clean.
Bobby meets him in the locker room. “Who was that I saw you with today?”
“Uh,” Buck finishes tossing his things into his bag. “Just a friend. I’m heading over to his place now actually.”
Bobby hums in response, but there’s a knowing look in his eyes. “Have a good night, Buck.”
Buck gets in his car, sends a text to let Eddie know he’s on his way, and puts the address into his GPS. It’s a quick drive which Buck has mixed feelings about. He’s excited to spend time with the man but wishes he had more time to come up with what he’s going to say.
Too soon, he’s knocking softly on Eddie’s front door. He opens it quickly and invites Buck inside. They head to the kitchen where Eddie offers him a beer. He opens two of them and hands one to Buck who downs half of it in one go. He takes a deep breath.
“Okay so here’s the thing.” Eddie gives him an odd look, but Buck has to keep going or else he’ll never get the nerve again. “My name’s not Puck.”
Eddie pauses with his beer bottle almost to his lips. “What?”
“My name is Evan Buckley, but everyone calls me Buck. With a B. I guess you misunderstood me the first time, and then I just…didn’t correct you.”
Eddie keeps looking at him. “What?”
Buck points to his chest. “Buck.”
Eddie’s eyes grow wide. Even wider than they normally are. “Oh my God.”
“I know.”
“Oh my God!” He puts his drink down so he can cover his face with both hands. “Why didn’t you say anything?!”
“I know, I’m sorry! It’s just you were so cute, and I kept getting distracted and then it had been way too long to say anything and then you asked me here tonight and I was so excited and then you called me Puck again and…”
Eddie groans and covers his face again. “I’m so embarrassed.”
“Don’t be!” Buck almost yells and then remembers there’s a sleeping child somewhere in the house. “I’m the one who’s embarrassed, I let this go on way too long.”
“Oh my God!” Eddie pops out from behind his hands. “I called you that in front of your sister! Your coworkers!”
“Well, Maddie, yes, but actually you didn’t today so she’s the only one who knows.”
“You’re in my phone as Puck!”
That makes Buck laugh. “Yeah, Maddie said that was probably the case.”
“She probably hates me.”
“She doesn’t hate you, shut up.” Buck takes a drink of his beer. “She honestly was thrilled to have something else to make fun of me for.”
“She made fun of you because I’ve been calling you the wrong name for months?” Eddie reaches for his drink and finishes it.
Buck starts to relax. Eddie is super cute when he’s flustered, and the hard part is over. He leans against the counter. “No, she made fun of me because of my big stupid crush.”
Eddie looks at him and grins begrudgingly. “Really?”
“Oh, don’t pretend you didn’t know.”
Eddie shrugs. “I had an inkling.” They look at each other for a moment in the dim lighting of the kitchen. Eddie looks down, embarrassed. “I can’t believe I’ve been calling you the wrong name.”
Buck takes a couple steps so he’s in Eddie’s space. Not enough to box him in, but close enough to get his message across. “You could call me by the right name now.”
Eddie looks up and meets his eyes. Buck’s breath hitches even as he’s trying to play it cool.
“Buck,” Eddie whispers.
He barely holds himself back from ravaging the man right there. The sound of Eddie whispering his name has his stomach swooping and his head feels light. He smiles at him but doesn’t move. “Yeah,” he says.
For a long moment, they just stare. Buck hears the AC kick on and someone’s car alarm goes off down the street. They hold eye contact, waiting for the other to make a move.
“Dad?”
The little voice jerks them out of the moment.
“Hey, mijo,” Eddie crouches in front of Christopher. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m thirsty,” he says while rubbing sleep from his eye. “Oh, hi Puck.”
Eddie’s head drops and Buck lets out a chuckle. “Hey Chris.”
“It’s Buck, buddy. Go back to bed, I’ll bring you some water.”
Buck steps aside while Eddie fills a small glass with water from a pitcher. He hears faint murmurs from down the hall as he tucks the boy back into bed.
When he comes back in the room, Buck can’t help but to tease him. “You totally just gaslit your child into thinking you knew my name the whole time.”
Eddie walks up to Buck so their chests are almost touching. “Please shut up and kiss me.”
The request takes Buck by surprise, but he doesn’t waste much time. He lets his lips meet Eddie’s in a soft, sweet kiss that feels different than any other first kiss he’s ever had. He leans back to look at him and quickly goes back in. Kissing Eddie feels like a cool breeze. It feels like a warm blanket fresh from the dryer. It feels like a hug from your favorite person at the end of a hard day. It feels like coming home.
Reluctantly, Buck pulls back. Eddie pouts at him which makes it incredibly difficult to not dive right back in.
“Sorry, but uh – I have a history of moving too fast. I don’t want that to happen with you. I like you, I want to get to know you.”
Eddie gives Buck his devilishly handsome smirk. “You like me, huh?”
“Shut up,” Buck laughs. “I take it back.”
“No, you don’t. I like you too, Buck.”
Now that he’s started saying Buck’s name, he doesn’t ever want him to stop. He grabs Eddie’s face with both hands and kisses him again.
“Stop being cute, you’re making this harder.” Eddie raises an eyebrow and opens his mouth to say something, but Buck cuts him off. “Don’t. Just leave it.” He kisses him one more time.
Eddie smiles sweetly. “Fine, we can just watch a movie or something.”
Buck points a finger at him. “No funny business.”
Eddie crosses his heart and gets them two more beers from the fridge.
They spend the night watching old action movies and cuddling on the couch. At almost one in the morning, Buck decides he should go home.
Eddie kisses him in the doorway after trying to get him to stay.
-
Buck climbs the stairs to his bedroom and changes into more comfortable clothes. He drops down onto his bed and pulls out his phone.
Buck [1:23am]:
Made it home
Eddie ☕️ [1:23am]:
okay Puck
Included is a picture of their conversation. At the top, where Buck’s contact name should be, is Puck🔥.
Buck laughs.
Buck [1:24am]:
Goodnight Eddie
Eddie ☕️ [1:24am]:
Night Buck
Buck’s heart does a stupid little flutter in his chest which he can’t even convince himself to be embarrassed about. He lets out a wistful sigh.
Before he can fall asleep, he hears his phone buzz on the pillow next to him.
He opens his eyes and clicks the notification. It’s another picture from Eddie of an updated contact form.
Buck🔥❤️