Chapter Text
The group had long since finished dinner, the plates cleared and stacked on the counter, dessert half-eaten and slowly melting where it rested between glasses of wine and open bottles of beer. The air smelled like lemon and sugar and Bobby’s secret spice rub — and now, with full stomachs and nowhere to be, everyone had sunk into that rare kind of afterglow only found after a perfect evening.
Buck sat, his chair turned sideways, easily leaning his left side against the back of it — one arm slung over — and one bare foot up and tucked under the other leg.
It was easy, comfortable — just sipping at his beer — watching his family at the table around him, enjoying their company.
Chim was in the middle of a back-and-forth with Hen about the worst calls they’ve ever had to handle in 90-degree heat, while Maddie and Karen debated the ethics of matching family Christmas pyjamas with Athena and Bobby.
It was warm. Loud. Familiar. Home.
And then the door clicked open. The sound of foot steps behind them.
Buck glanced up — and his whole expression shifted. A wide grin crossing his face.
He watched as Eddie slowly let himself in, turning around and then freezing when he caught sight of how many people were around Buck’s table.
“Oh,” he said, clearly startled, “Shit. I’m so sorry, I finished early and thought you’d be done,” he made to put his hand back on the doorknob, moving to open it again and disappear.
“Eddie,” Buck called, his voice soft, maybe it was the beer, maybe it was the man in front of him, “It’s ok. We went longer than expected.”
Eddie turned back to the group and nodded. His hands holding on tightly the bag slung over his shoulder.
“Hey, I know who you are,” Chim said, his voice rising over the silence, “You work at the barbershop just down from the firehouse. I see you there every time I go. Mike usually cuts my hair though,” Chim finished. Eddie nodded.
“That’s understandable, he’s good at what he does.”
“I didn’t realise you went there too, Buck,” Chimney added, his tone light, almost amused at the fact that this had never come up before.
“Yeah,” Buck replied, “For over a year now. I usually have Eddie.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Eddie muttered under his breath, still standing by the door, but just loud enough for Buck to hear, causing him to smirk.
“I didn’t know you did house calls?” Chim commented.
“Especially at nine thirty at night,” Hen whispered under her breath to Karen, who erupted into a fit of giggles.
“Sometimes I make exceptions,” Eddie shrugged, still looking awkward, unsure of what to do.
“Eddie,” Buck said, his voice gentle, but encouraging, “You can come in, they’re not gonna bite.”
Eddie nodded, finally toeing off his shoes and moving to stand behind Buck. He dropped his bag on the ground and let his finger tip brush gently across the back of Buck’s arm, out of view from everyone except Athena, who didn’t miss a thing.
She sucked on her lips, trying to stop a smile from forming.
“So, Buck, why is your barber here?” Bobby asked, still watching Eddie, “Or was he supposed to come for dinner? Eddie, I could still fix you a plate if you’d like?” his tone switching, now full of concern at the idea of someone going hungry.
“He’s ok,” Buck answered, “He was just coming over to cut my hair.”
“Oh, so you do do house calls?” Chim asked, confused.
“Only for the ones I really like,” Eddie replied.
Buck grinned, leaning his head back to rest against Eddie’s stomach.
“You still ok to do it now?” he asked, tilting his head up to catch Eddie’s gaze.
“Now?”
“Yeah, they won’t mind. It is my house,” Buck grinned, earning a smile in return from Eddie.
“Buck, don't you think it's a bit rude, asking Eddie to come over this late just to give you a haircut?,” Maddie asked, looking from Eddie to Buck.
“Nah,” Buck said with an easy shrug, “It makes it easier when you date your barber.”
There was a beat of silence.
Then chaos.
“What —”
“Since when!”
“You never told us you were seeing anyone, Buck!?”
“No fucking way —"
The noise came hard and fast, and Buck just laughed, still easily leaning back against Eddie, who had now brought his hand up to rest against Buck’s shoulder.
“You still ok to do it?” Buck asked Eddie, chaos still erupting around them.
“Yeah,” he nodded, taking a step back to open his bag and pull out his kit.
Buck watched before standing up and taking his shirt off in one easy motion.
That made the room fall silent.
“What the fuck, Buck, not at the table,” Hen exclaimed, breaking the silence.
“What?” Buck said with a shrug, tossing his shirt over onto the back of the couch “I don’t like it when the hairs get caught in my collar.” He sat back down in his seat, his arm lifting to rest against the back again.
Eddie stood back up, placing his kit on the table and pulling out a cape, throwing it over Buck and fastening it at the back of his neck.
Buck pulled both of his arms out from underneath, leaning forward to grab his beer from the table, placing his hands in his lap, over the cape.
Easy. Familiar.
At home.
“Okay,” Karen mumbled under her breath, a little unsure where to look, “I didn’t think this would actually happen, but here we are.” Buck laughed.
“Again, it’s my house.”
“Yeah, we just weren’t expecting dinner and a show,” Hen added, watching as Eddie snapped a guard onto his clippers with ease.
“You’re welcome then.”
“You wanted to go shorter, right?” Eddie asked, a hand gently resting on Buck’s shoulder, thumb rubbing at the hairs on his nape.
“Yes please,” Buck answered, already bowing his head in wait.
“Okay,” Eddie replied, switching on his clippers, leaning down, and asking a quick “You good?” Buck nodded and Eddie began to run them up the back of Buck’s head with ease.
“Ok, so this is really happening,” Maddie added, sounding as much in disbelief as Karen did.
“Wait a minute,” Chim said, his tone urgent, “How long has this been going on for then?”
“Me cutting his hair, or us together?” Eddie asked, eyes still focused on Buck’s hair as he made another pass with his clippers.
“The together part,” Chim replied.
“Nearly a year,” Eddie said.
And chaos erupted again.
“Buck, I’m your sister, and you didn’t even tell me!” Maddie exclaimed, watching as Buck grinned sheepishly.
“Oh yeah, Eddie, this is Maddie, my sister.”
Eddie stilled for a second before moving his clippers away from Buck’s hair.
Wiping his right hand on his jeans, he carefully leaned forward, over the table — holding his hand out for Maddie to shake.
“Hi, it’s nice to meet you,” he held her hand for a beat longer than necessary, giving it a quick squeeze before moving back behind Buck, resuming his haircut.
“Now you’ve met.”
“Don’t be such a smartass, Buck.” Maddie chastised in a way that only an older sister knew how.
“We just wanted to keep something between us,” Buck said, trying to explain. His tone sounding slightly apologetic. "At first we didn't know what it was, so we didn't tell anyone, and then as time went on, it was nice to have something just between the two of us."
“So this is serious then?” Athena asks, her sergeants manner slipping through, questioning.
“Yeah,” Buck said gently, turning his head to look at Athena, his eyes going soft. “Yeah, it is.”
Behind him, a soft smile spread over Eddie’s face, his eyes still trained on Buck’s hair.
The room settled back into easy conversation, the buzz of the clippers barely audible over the chatter.
“So how long did Buck wait before he asked you out, Eddie?” Chim’s question hung in the air, Buck giving Eddie space to answer.
“Actually, I asked him out.”
“What? But that’s so unlike Buck!” Chim exclaimed, surprise etched across his face.
“Yeah well, you don’t know me,” Eddie shrugged, he could see Buck’s shit eating grin from where he was standing. His hand squeezing gently against the back of Buck’s head, a silent ‘shush you’.
Eddie fell back into his easy rhythm. Cutting Buck’s hair was easy.
Having an audience was different though.
He kept catching snippets of conversation, trying his best to block them out while he worked — “have you ever seen Buck sit that still for anyone?” — “he’s not even twitching, look at his leg, it hasn’t moved the whole time” — “I don’t think Buck has ever gone this long without saying something” — “but look at how relaxed Eddie makes him feel. He’s practically asleep under his touch" — "they are pretty cute together" — Eddie tried hard to hide his smile.
He continued making pass after pass along the back and sides of Buck’s head, taking the hair shorter, pulling away before he reached the top layers.
Easy. Familiar.
“You wanna feel it? See if it’s okay?” Eddie asked quietly.
Buck’s hand lifted from his lap, moving to run over the back of his head.
“Nah, you can go shorter than that.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, you know I’ve been asking for ages.”
“Yeah, I know,” Eddie replied, replacing the guard on his clippers, starting the pattern again. More hair now falling down the back of Buck’s cape, landing in a small pile on the floor.
“That’s quite a bit shorter there, Buck,” Hen commented, tipping her beer bottle towards Buck’s head.
“It is.”
“He’s been bugging me about it for weeks,” Eddie replied, “We had to reach a compromise. I would agree to do a really short fade for him, if he let me leave some length in his curls up top.”
“It’s a win-win,” Buck grinned, his head tilted slightly to the side as Eddie ran the clippers up and over his right ear, before lifting his fingers to brush away a stray curl that had settled on Buck’s jaw.
“Why is this weirdly hot?” Karen asked suddenly, her eyes locked on Eddie’s hands, still working away at Buck’s hair.
“I don’t know?” Hen replied, just as confused, “But it’s strangely intimate. I feel like we shouldn’t be here.”
“You’re okay guys,” Buck replied, looking over at Hen and Karen. “If we didn’t want you here, Eddie would have left the cape off,” Buck laughed shooting a wink at the two women.
“Buck,” Eddie said, his tone full of gentle warning.
“What? It’s true, remember last time—”
“Okay, Buck. Thank you. I’m still your boss,” Bobby said, quickly cutting him off. But Buck couldn’t help but notice the smile Bobby was trying to hide at the same time.
“I still can’t quite believe I’m sitting here having to watch my brother get manscaped by his secret boyfriend,” Maddie said, taking a big swig from her wine glass.
Buck’s voice is lazy. “You love it.”
“You are insufferable,” Maddie shot back.
“Yeah,” Eddie said, running a hand through Buck’s curls, “but he tips good.”
Buck smirked. “I pay in kisses.”
Eddie scoffed, “Yeah, your kisses are really helpful when I’m paying my mortgage.”
“Oh my god,” Chim muttered. “I need a drink.”
“You have a drink,” Bobby pointed out.
“It’s not strong enough!”
Buck laughed, taking another sip of his beer.
“I pay.” He added, turning under Eddie's hand to look up at him.
Eddie shook his head, grinning down at Buck. “Oh yeah, when was the last time you paid for a haircut Buckley? — with actual cash.” He quickly added.
Buck grinned sheepishly.
“You’re lucky I love you,” Eddie said, leaning down to press a kiss against Buck’s cheek, “Although, I’d be making a fortune if I charged my call out fee for all of these house calls.”
“Yeah, but you love me.”
“Yeah I do.”
Everyone’s eyes glanced around, silently asking each other if Buck and Eddie had remembered that they had guests.
“They do know we’re still here, right?” Chim asked, breaking the moment apart. Earning him a quick smack on the arm from Maddie.
But Buck just sat, quiet and comfortable under Eddie’s touch. Just letting himself be cared for.
By the time Eddie had switched to scissors, Buck’s hair was shorter than usual — buzzed close on the sides, tapered cleanly, the top shaped with a tight softness.
“You said short,” Eddie reminded him, combing through the top as Buck brought his hand up to touch it.
“I trust you,” Buck murmured, closing his eyes as Eddie began working away at his remaining curls.
Something about that — the way he said it, completely open — made the teasing around the table soften just a touch.
Eddie finished with careful lines at Buck’s neck, then wiped him down with a towel, brushing away the stray hairs. Buck sat still through all of it.
“All done,” he said quietly, leaning down to press a soft kiss to the top of Buck’s head. He pulled the cape away with a little flourish, shaking the lose hairs to the floor.
Buck shook his hair out like a dog and stretched. “How do I look?”
Hen raises a brow. “Like you have a boyfriend who loves you.”
Athena nods. “And who owns clippers.”
“And both are true,” Buck answered, leaning back against Eddie again, Eddie’s left hand coming up to rub at the shorter hair behind Buck’s ear.
Buck’s face softened at the touch, before he stood, moving to retrieve his shirt from the couch. He pulled it back over his head and returned to his chair, tugging Eddie’s hips and pulling him down into his lap. Buck’s arms automatically wrapped around Eddie’s waist, his chin coming to rest on Eddie’s shoulder, heads touching, leaning into one another.
Buck closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Content.
“Maybe we should leave you two to it,” Bobby said, starting to stand up from his chair, motioning for Athena to do the same.
“Yeah, thank you for hosting tonight, Buck. And it was so nice to meet you, Eddie. If we’d have know you existed, we would have invited you round for our monthly barbeques,” Athena added.
Buck laughed, “Athena, I promise you we will both be at the next one.”
“Good. I’m looking forward to it,” Athena placed a gentle hand on Buck’s shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze before waving to Eddie and following Bobby out the door. Chim and Maddie, Karen and Hen, following after them, all saying their goodbyes at once.
Eddie sighed and leaned back into Buck’s hold. “Should we have called them a taxi?” he asked, looking over at Buck’s kitchen and the number of empty bottles lined up along the bench.
“They ubered here, they’ll be okay,” Buck replied, his voice muffled as he spoke into Eddie’s shoulder. “Now can we please get in the shower, I am in desperate need of rinsing the rest of the cut hairs off the back of my neck.”
Eddie huffed out a laugh. Standing up and turning, holding out his hand for Buck, “Come on you, I’ll give you a wash that would cost you extra if you were in the shop.”
Buck took his hand, following Eddie up the stairs and into his bathroom. “I think we would both be arrested if we did what we’re about to do in your shop.”
“Well then, it’s a good thing we’re at your place.”