Chapter Text
“Did you know that bananas don’t taste like what they used to taste like?”
Eddie snorts to himself and looks up from his phone, meeting Chimney’s confused eyes. Buck and Christopher had watched a video about bananas the night before, so he’s not surprised that Buck’s sharing this information with their friends– he was actually wondering when it would come up. After all: it’s not uncommon for Buck to info-dump on the team while they’re going to or coming back from a call… or when they’re lounging or eating or anytime, really.
Unsurprisingly, Chimney’s the first to react, “What?” His frown deepens– He looks at Hen and then at Buck, who’s stuffing a couple of baby carrots into his mouth, all the more confused. “What do you mean?”
Buck takes a moment to chew through his bite. “I mean exactly what I mean! Bananas don’t taste like how they used to back in the 50s! Well like, the bananas we have right now, the Cavendish–”
“–Like the fries?”
“Yes, like the fries, Chim,” Buck answers with a sigh and an eye roll that Eddie noticed Christopher doing these days. “The Cavendish banana replaced the Gros Michel bananas because the plantation was hit with a disease and the whole strain was affected.” He pops another carrot into his mouth, “Next thing you know, poof, no more Gros Michel bananas unless you go to some part of the world– and oh! Gros Michel is French for like, Fat Mike or Micheal– So people call these bananas Big Mike too. Isn’t that neat? Anyways the bananas have like… thicker skin or something. I’ve been trying to find more about the name.”
Eddie’s eyes meet Hen’s eyes and without saying anything, and just judging by the smirk that’s on her face, he has a feeling that she’s saying ‘That’s your boy?’ and to that, he grins brightly and shrugs. Because yeah, that’s his boy.
It’s still new, only two weeks old, and it’s something that they want to protect. Something that no one knows about– only Hen because he went to her when his feelings for Buck hit him in the face in the form of Buck wearing one of his LAFD shirts after getting them mixed up in their bags when they came home from helping the with the fires in Texas, and Eddie had to see the big, bold letters D I A Z across Buck’s broad shoulders. Something in his gut had flipped upside down and he’d called Hen about it an hour later after nearly pacing a hole in the linoleum kitchen floor.
So, yeah, that’s his boy, and he wants to stay in their little private bubble for a little while longer.
He’s not ashamed, he really isn’t. Not of himself, not of Buck.
Especially not of Buck.
It’s just that they want to be together without the others poking and proding at their relationship– because of course they’ll insert themselves.
He lets himself look at Buck, and then he looks for a little bit longer, hoping that no one picks up on it. Buck and Chim are bickering, still about bananas, no one but Hen is paying attention to Eddie.
Buck seems happy today.
Really happy.
And anyone that isn’t Eddie loves seeing him like this; but he knows Buck like he knows the back of his hand– he knows that this type of high usually comes with a low. As it so happens, Eddie knows exactly why Buck seems so happy, and why Buck's inevitably going to crash: The Buckley Parents are currently in the state of California. Maddie told Buck yesterday, announced that they’re going to have dinner, all of them– Buck went straight to Eddie’s after that. So. Yeah. Buck seems overjoyed, but Eddie knows that Buck is actively doing everything he can to not think about his parents, to not have one quiet moment alone in his brain.
Everything meaning everything.
Cleaning, hanging out with Chris, watching documentaries, and falling into research pits about the Gros Michel Banana and their impact on the banana flavour.
Eddie wishes he could go with him, accompany him as his boyfriend and be there for when the inevitable shit inevitably hits the inevitable fan, but tonight is not the night he gets to do that. Tonight he needs to let Buck go on his own. They’re there for Maddie and the baby (and Chim), after all. Not to be disappointed that Buck’s not settled down and expecting a kid of his own with a nice woman (Buck’s predicted words, not Eddie’s.)
(“They’re going to be disappointed either way, but I want to try and not get too much attention on me tonight,” Buck had added. “One dinner. That’s all I’m giving them.”)
And hey, at least Albert will be there as well.
“Apparently,” Eddie chimes in and steals a carrot for himself, deciding that he wants to participate in this info-dumping session, if only to annoy Chimney further. He watched the documentary, too! He can participate if he wants to! “Banana candies might be the closest thing we have to the taste.” He chooses to chew obnoxiously loud and Chimney kicks his shin for it.
“Ew, what? Like those gross banana Runts?”
“Excuse you?” Hen whacks Chimney on the shoulder, “Those are the best ones?”
“Excuse me?! Henrietta since when do you, of all people, have the palette of a 3 year old?! Those are disgusting!”
“Alright, alright,” Bobby chimes in from the front, a chuckle in his voice. “Let’s agree to disagree on banana Runts before this turns into an argument.” The reactions from Hen and Chim are immediate and loud as they start to protest, and Eddie joins in just to contribute to the chaos. While they’re actually listing out arguments, he’s just listing out his (and Buck’s) grocery list. Near him, Buck’s laugh is loud and bright.
After Bobby shushes them again, he catches Buck’s eye and grins at him.
Honestly, he doesn’t remember the last time he was this happy; the last time he felt this fulfilled in a relationship.
And it’s all thanks to Evan Buckley. Evan Buckley and his trivia, his warmth, his love, his–
“So wait,” Chimney says, pulling Eddie from his thoughts of Buck– Rude, but okay. “If the Big Mike banana is extinct or rare or whatever, how are we getting the flavour?”
“Simple: It’s fake,” Buck answers, and the look on Chim’s face tells Eddie that he isn’t satisfied with said answer. “Back then, a lot of flavours were just made by chemists by combining molecules. When they made this one and they were like Hey. This smells fruity. Let’s slap some yellow on it and say it’s banana. Some people claim that it’s meant to taste like the Big Mike but that’s apparently a myth. That’s how they got grape flavour as well. That’s why it doesn’t taste like the real fruits.”
“What? No way, man. That’s stupid.”
“Google it,” Buck replies with a shrug, and oh. Eddie really loves it when Buck gets cocky with his knowledge. When Buck knows he’s right about something and someone doesn’t agree, it’s insanely hot.
Eddie discovering he has a knowledge kink was not on his bingo card of the year.
“Some fruits are easy to deal with to extract essences but bananas are tricky, apparently.”
“I still stand by my banana Runts,” Hen grumbles while Chim is still on his phone, biting at the skin of his thumb.
-
The day comes and goes and Eddie is still keeping track of Buck’s mood.
Buck’s been playing his cards close to his chest; he’s smiling and laughing at all the right times, but Eddie can tell that there’s a sparkle missing from his eyes.
The calls themselves were pretty OK– the biggest one of the shift was a lady who was shot by her pool– Athena had called Bobby later in the day to let him know that, while many of her neighbours apparently hated her, she’d somehow shot herself by tripping and accidentally pulling the trigger of her handgun.
Part of Buck’s mind is probably screaming at him that he has plans tonight that he wants nothing to do with, that he has a massive list of things to do before he goes to Maddie’s. He can tell that Buck’s not following some of the conversations just by the way he’s answering, too.
So he brings him his lunch and his water, knowing that Buck often forgets to eat when his mind is elsewhere, tells himself he’ll do it later, and later then becomes the next day when his stomach cries bloody murder at seven in the morning.
Call them co-dependent! He just wants to make sure his boyfriend is OK. Besides: Buck would do the exact same for him, too!
“I could say that I’m sick,” Buck says as they’re walking towards their cars, parked next to each other as always. No one has assigned spaces, but everyone knows that Buck and Eddie will always park next to each other (if they’re not carpooling), even if that means being at the other end of the lot.
At that, Eddie rolls his eyes but he can’t help the smile that’s on his face. “Chim knows you’re not sick, babe. You can do this, I know you can. Just one dinner. You spoke with Dr. Copeland earlier, right? Just remember what she told you. The de-escalating techniques.”
Buck takes a deep breath, nods, and just as he’s reaching for the handle of his car door, he turns around, “Who’s Cagney and Lacey?”
“Huh?”
“Athena. She, uh, she called us that earlier.”
“I know you’re purposely asking this now to delay leaving but my God you really don’t know much general pop culture trivia, huh?”
“Nope,” Buck replies, a grin spreading on his lips. “Who needs general trivia about whatever that is when instead I can learn about the origins of the blue raspberry flavour. Hey, did you know–”
“Buck.”
He sighs.
Heavily.
“Fine. Say you don’t love me, I get it.” He gets into his car and Eddie walks up to the window as he rolls it down. “I’m wounded, Eddie. Wounded.”
“Mhm, yeah. Sure you are.” He gives their surroundings a one-over and very quickly leans into Buck’s space to kiss his cheek. “Love you too, good luck.” He takes a step back, relishing on the fact that he got Buck to blush, and walks around the truck to get to the driver side.
“You never answered my question,” Buck says. He stops backing the Jeep right behind the truck, effectively boxing Eddie in his parking space. His windows are down and he’s leaning out a little bit.
It’s his turn to sigh now. “Which question, Buck?”
“Cagney and Lacey.”
“Police officers in an 80s drama. Friends and partners. One blonde, one brunette. So. You know.” He gestures between the two of them as the obvious sets in.
“Ooooh,” Buck nods along as he takes in the information. “Wait. Partners like work or like, you know. Life.”
“Buck. It’s an 80s TV show. Do you really think they would’ve had lesbians life partners on screen?”
“Ah. I suppose not.”
“Stop delaying.” He starts to dismissively shoo him away with his right hand as his left opens the door to the truck. “You’ll never hear the end of it if you’re late.”
“Fine. You’re right. I’ll call you later?”
“Please do. Now go.”
-
Once Buck is finally out of sight, it’s Eddie’s turn to reluctantly go home.
He relieves Carla from duty and gets to helping Chris with his homework, after which they watch a bit of TV together and Eddie reads him a few chapters of his book at bedtime.
Eddie’s playing the stupid dragon merging game Buck got him hooked on (one he spent $10 on the other day, a secret he will bring to the grave.) He switches from app to app, hoping to hear from Buck.
His location says he’s still at Maddie’s… so maybe it’s going well?
Frustrated with himself, he hops into a shower– which does little to nothing to keep his mind off of Buck.
He’s never been the type to take long showers, either. So 10 minutes later he’s on the couch, merging those stupid flowers to get the stupid energy balls that will never be enough to open more of the map– No. He quits the app, fuck this game.
It’s barely ten when he gets a message from Buck saying that he’s home (with Albert). It’s a bit early, in Eddie’s opinion, but he doesn’t know anything about the Buckleys– maybe their evenings end early.
Buck: home safe. missed you tonight. Not fair that chim is there for maddie but you couldn’t be there for me.
Buck: i mean. It’s fair, they don’t know about us yet. And idk how my mom and dad would’ve reacted but ya.
Buck: idk if they’re secretly homophobic???
Buck: I have a cousin that’s gay and they’ve never said anything
Eddie: Did everything go OK?
Eddie: Miss you too
Eddie: Wish I could’ve been there too, whether you have homophobic parents or not
Eddie honestly feels a bit insane about Buck– they saw each other a few hours ago, they just worked a 24 together– how did it take him this long to notice that he loves Buck as much as he does when he misses his presence after thirty minutes apart?
Buck: no. Not rly, but could’ve been worse ig. Chim’s been weird all day and he was weird tonight too. Idk.
Buck: we’re having dinner again tomorrow… just us, no albert. Fmfl
Buck: AND, after tomorrow’s shift, you and i aren’t seeing each other till the day AFTER tomorrow cause you took that stupid shift so stupid jensen could be at his wife’s birth
Buck: I mean his kid’s birth. His wife was obviously born a while ago
Buck: not a while ago like she’s Old Old
Buck: please stop me eddie please i’m spiraling
Buck: also i didn’t mean that, it’s not stupid. I’m actually rly happy for him
Buck: and his stupid baby
Eddie: BUCK
Buck: I TOLD YOU TO STOP ME
He’s in love with an idiot. God help him, he’s so in love with him.
Eddie: Come over?
Buck: I can’t. idk how i would explain it to albert and i don’t wanna tell him i’m like idk, going to a dick appointment and for him to not wait up or smt. I’m a taken man, i don’t wanna lie
Eddie: A… dick… appointment? Like… to the gyno?
Eddie: Or whatever the term is for men or whatever
Buck: You know.
Buck: You all laugh at me for not knowing things about TV and movies but you’re just as bad with lingo.
Buck: Just open urban dictionary, old man
Eddie: You’re older than me???????
Buck: ooooo you’re bringing out the multiple questions marks oooooo
Buck: anyways. semantics
Buck: i’m gonna go re-organize my kitchen and not think about my parents until i crash out
Buck: xoxo Go piss girl
Eddie: ???????
Buck: EDDIE OH MY GOD it’s from the Gossip Girl meme?????
Buck: I have to pee
Buck: Go piss girl
Buck: Do you have any fours?
Buck: Go fish girl
Buck: Can you speak Spanish?
Buck: Sí girl
Buck: I can’t take shots it’s too strong it makes me puke
Buck: So Sip Girl
Eddie: You watched Gossip Girl?
Buck: THAT’S WHAT YOU’RE GETTING FROM THAT?
Buck: Eddie. I obviously have not watched GG
Buck: But I’ve been on tumblr
Eddie: What’s Tumblr
Eddie: Never mind, I don’t wanna know
Eddie: Buck you’re spiraling. Maybe don’t start hyper-fixating on cleaning your kitchen, you know just as much as I do that you’ll crash half-way through it and then sit on the floor and consider crying about it. Go take a long shower instead.
Buck: ????? Are you???? Psychic???? Do you have cameras in my loft?????
Eddie: Leave your kitchen alone, Buck.
Eddie: ❤️
Buck: 💚
He’s 99.9% sure that Buck’s going to re-organise something else in the loft– and he’ll say that technically he listened and didn’t re-organise the kitchen.
So Eddie messages Albert and makes him promise to keep Buck from cleaning. Makes him promise to keep an eye on him during their 24 off, too, while Eddie is at work.
Albert’s a bit confused at the request, and Eddie gets a couple of ‘???’, before an eventual ‘Ok 👌🏽’ comes through.
Honestly? Eddie’s not convinced, but he doesn’t get any messages from either Buck or Albert so it’s either going well or– honestly Eddie doesn’t want to know.
The next message that does come through is at two in the morning.
His phone buzzes under his pillow, once, then twice, and Eddie finally reaches for it, knowing that it’ll probably be Buck– Buck’s messages bypass his sleep focus on his phone and he’s the only one that would text at this hour. Everyone else would probably call.
Buck: Okay so.
Buck: I looked into it
Well. He immediately knows what’s up.
Buck’s in a research spiral.
There’s dots indicating that Buck's typing, and Eddie finds himself grinning like an idiot as he turns to his side, waiting patiently for whatever ramble Buck is about to go on.
This could be about so many things. More on the bananas, Cagney and Lacey, blue whales– anything.
Buck: so there’s not really a gyno for men/people with penises. Not specifically like a gyno for people with uterus etc
Okay, so. None of Eddie’s options.
Buck: BUT - we can see andrologists or urologists for issues with our junk like fertility or urinary health.
Buck: while they don’t do just that, the andro is more specialised in the sexual and reproductive health and the Uro is obviously more urinary (but uros are for everyone)
Buck: Unrelated but
Buck: why do we call our private parts our junk
Buck: not that we actually use that terminology but isn’t it kinda degrading? Idk i don’t think my dick is junk?
Buck: then balls are like, ‘the family jewels’ or whatever and that’s also really weird?
Eddie: Buck, it’s 2am
Buck: I couldn’t sleep cause i remembered that i didn’t know the answer to this.
Eddie: so you just laid in bed thinking about how you didn’t know the answer and waited hours before you googled it?
Buck: what?
Buck: no
Buck: Albert and I went for a run (weird but ok?) then he actually wanted to play Smash Bros with me (weirder) and he asked to watch the 2001 Hell House documentary (weirdest???)
Buck: You’d date it, btw
Buck: *hate
Buck: the documentary.
Buck: But also the running with albert, he’s SO slow omg
Buck: It’s about halloween ‘haunts’ in like, texas, and hell houses– anyways. Albert hates halloween. he might be buttering me up to ask me something?
Buck: then he finally fell asleep on the couch and I retreated upstairs
Buck: tried to sleep
Buck: remembered I didn’t know the thing about male gynos
Buck: opened a web browser
Buck: cooked for a few minutes
Buck: voilà, bon appétit
Eddie: Do you have a French keyboard installed? How are you getting those accents so fast?
Buck: 😩😩😩😩😩
Buck: ur takeaway from my ramblings truly does astound me sometimes.
Buck: of course I have a French keyboard installed. If I’m going to make jokes with the help of different languages, i’m at least gonna spell them right.
Eddie: as opposed to you spelling properly in English…
Buck: ok
Buck: hey now
Buck: ☹️
Eddie: ❤️Good night, Buck
Buck: 💚
He puts his phone down, his smile not leaving his face.
Not even a minute passes before his phone goes vvv under his pillow once more
Buck: OMG DID I WAKE YOU UP?!
He chooses to ignore the message this time– he’ll talk to Buck tomorrow.
–
The following day is… odd, to say the least.
He manages to sneak in a few quiet minutes with Buck in the loft before everyone gets there and they debrief yesterday’s dinner. It didn’t go well, but it didn’t go as bad as Buck had expected it to, which is why he’d agreed to see them later as well, with just Maddie this time.
Honestly? Eddie thinks that that’s a stupid idea, he thinks that once is enough, but Buck’s a big boy. If he thinks it’s a good idea, Eddie will support it.
One thing’s for sure: Chimney’s being weird.
Buck and Eddie are sitting next to each other on the couch, just like they always are: Closer than most best friends (according to Hen), but not close to a point that everyone would figure out that something’s changed about them, when Chimney steps into the loft. He greets them, takes one look at Eddie, and then at Buck, and bolts off to the other end of the room like his ass is on fire.
The pair exchange a glance and a shrug, and after a subtle thigh pat, Buck decides to get breakfast started for all of them.
Chimney seems to be like that for the rest of the day– he has a look in his eyes that even Hen finds worrying. Eddie’s pretty sure that Chimney’s hiding something– he just doesn’t know what.
It gets worse.
They get a call about a suicide bomber in a factory, and Eddie actually walks in on him and Chimney talking like they’re old friends. Chimney even tells him to leave– how insane is that? Eddie makes a mental note to talk to Bobby about that later. What he did is not in their job description– sure they’ll try and talk to people, keep them calm and focused while the cops get someone on the scene, but what Chimney did was not that.
When they get back to the firehouse, Eddie sticks to Buck.
But even so, he notices that Chimney’s eyes are on Buck– something’s going on, and Chimney’s not talking to anyone about it. It makes him… anxious. He doesn’t like not knowing. Buck doesn’t even seem to have noticed. Granted he has other things on his mind but still, usually he picks up on these types of social cues.
He looks back at Chimney and catches him as he looks away and as Hen hits his arm.
So maybe Hen knows, too.
“Come on,” Eddie says, nodding towards the door of the locker room. “Walk me to the laundry room before you go?”
Buck sighs. There’s a certain reluctance in his stance, not that Eddie’s surprised. He doesn’t even have to say it outloud: Eddie also wishes that Buck shift wasn’t cut short. He also wishes that they could spend the day together and ignore the Buckley parents.
They slip out of the locker room, Eddie’s hands shoved into his front pockets to keep himself from holding Buck’s hand to try and comfort him.
Just as they reach Chimney and Hen by the truck, their whispers stop. Something is definitely up. Again, Buck doesn’t seem to notice.
“I uh…” Buck clears his throat, “I’ll see you later, Chim?”
“Yeah, man,” Chim replies, and while he’s smiling, Eddie can tell that he’s not happy about this either. “Ready for part two?”
“Twice in one week… woof. I haven’t seen my parents this much since the week I left home.”
Which… wow. Eddie’s never really stopped to think about it, but that sounds about right. He doesn’t remember one time that Buck has talked about them or to them around him.
With everything that Buck’s been through in the last couple of years… they’ve never been around. Not even when Maddie had been kidnapped.
Bile rises into his throat and he does his best to swallow it back down. The Buckleys better hope they never meet him or the rest of the 118; he has a feeling that if he doesn’t go off on him, Bobby will.
Once they finally make it to the laundry room, Eddie pulls Buck in a bit closer, rests their foreheads together.
No one is around, no one will bother them for a little bit.
“You’ve got this,” Eddie whispers, his hands framing Buck’s face.“I still have to work for the next couple of hours, but if you call and I’m not on a call, I’ll answer, okay? I’ll see you in 30-ish hours.”
Against him, Buck nods. “Yeah. Okay. I love you.”
“Love you too,” he replies, gently pulling Buck in for a quick kiss.
They’ve been safe about PDA at work, not wanting anyone to know, but he can’t not kiss his boyfriend goodbye.
One last hug and Buck’s gone, leaving Eddie to the laundry he promised he’d do.
–
He doesn’t get any messages throughout the evening.
It’s not that surprising, he supposes that if the Buckleys are anything like his parents, they scoff at the sight of cellphones and mutter out ’ugh, kids these days and their phones’ as if he’s not a grown man in his late 20s.
He’s not worried, really! He’s not! But he does check the Friends app a few times, just to make sure that Buck’s still at Maddie’s.
Sue him, he has a bad feeling about tonight.
By the time Chris is in bed and Eddie’s considering calling it early, too, Eddie’s checking the app for the 23rd time. This time, however, Buck’s icon is moving– and if Eddie looks really closely, it looks like it’s moving kind of… fast? But he chooses to ignore that for now because Buck’s on his way here, to Eddie’s house. Because if dinner went as bad as Eddie’s expecting it to have gone, there’s no way that Buck’s going to go back to his own loft, not with Albert there.
He checks his notifications again.
There are still no missed calls, no messages, nothing.
Eddie decides to sit on the porch to wait. It’s still early, barely nine thirty, so he has a feeling deep in his gut that Buck’s not going to be in a great mood.
His knees are bouncing up and down when his phone dings– he half expects it to be Buck, and really hopes it isn’t. Buck’s not the type to text and drive.
Maddie: Buck won’t answer his phone. Is he with you? Eddie he left so fast and
Maddie is typing
Eddie frowns and waits for the next message– it doesn’t come. The bubble pops in and out again five times before she finally sends another message
Maddie: I’m worried
Maddie: I’m worried he’ll crash his car
Shit.
Even though Eddie’s 99.9% sure that Buck’s on his way to him, reading what Maddie said makes him flash hot and cold all at once, anxiety prickling at his skin. She doesn’t have to say more: he knows what she means.
Buck’s told him about the… tendencies he had when he was younger regarding his physical safety and his parents.
He bites at the skin of his thumb and quickly decides to reply, to try and calm her.
Eddie: I think he’s on his way to mine.
Eddie: I checked his location
He thought about saying ‘I’ve been monitoring his location’ but opted for the less insane reply.
Maddie: thank god. Eddie tell me when he gets there? Please?
He lifts his eyes up from his phone when he hears a car turn the corner on his street. Even in the dark like this, he recognizes the Jeep’s lights. He takes a deep breath.
Buck’s OK. Buck’s here. Buck’s safe.
Eddie: he’s here, Maddie. I’ve got him.
He pockets his phone and doesn’t get up until the Jeep is parked. He waits for Buck to get out– but Buck doesn’t step out of the car, and he doesn’t seem to notice him outside. His phone dings once, and then again. There’s a reply from Maddie, thanking him, and one from Buck.
Buck: Can I call you?
At that, Eddie frowns. Buck’s never been the type to ask.
Figuring that Buck didn’t notice Eddie sitting outside, Eddie decides to go up to the car, barefoot and concerned. When he knocks at the window, Buck jumps and looks at him– Eddie can immediately feel the anger simmering within him.
Buck’s been crying. His nose is a bit red, his eyes are definitely red, and there are wet marks on his cheeks.
He goes to open the door– Locked. He arches an eyebrow, waits a second for Buck to unlock it, and tries again.
“I um…” Fuck, even his voice is rough. It makes Eddie wonder if Buck’s been yelling– screaming– in the car on the way here. “I’m sorry I…” Buck looks away and Eddie crouches down slightly so he can look up at Buck. He places a hand on Buck’s thigh to get his attention and waits. Waits for him to breathe, to look at him.
Buck’s hands are balled tightly on his thighs, his shoulders shaking slightly.
“You’re okay,” Eddie says, his voice low and quiet. “You’re home now, you’re safe.”
Buck doesn’t say anything, not for a minute or so. Eddie simply waits, placing a hand on one of Buck’s fists. He doesn’t want to rush Buck into whatever this is. “I don’t know why I’m here. I don’t… I don’t even remember leaving Maddie’s.”
As concerning as that is, Eddie chooses to table that for later in favour of comforting Buck. “Hey, it’s okay. You know you’re always welcome here,” he coos, and he gently moves to unbuckle Buck’s seatbelt, trying his best not to jostle him too much. “This is as much your home as it is mine. You know damn well it’s your kitchen.” The joke is meant to be lighthearted, to make Buck smile, but instead, Buck’s breath hitches and he slumps forward, his body now racked with sobs.
“I’ve got you, I’ve got you,” Eddie repeats, and he reaches into the car to pull him into his arms. “I’ve got you.”
He doesn’t know how long they stay there, just that his legs are burning from the effort of how he’s crouched down. He doesn’t say anything about it, he just talks to Buck, whispers into his ear, tries to reassure him the best he can.
It’s only when Buck’s cries turn to sniffles that Eddie starts to gently guide him out of the car and towards the house.
Now settled on the edge bed, Buck’s pretty much non-verbal, only answering with one syllable words or quiet mhms when Eddie says anything. He doesn’t try to force Buck to talk, but he does help him into some pyjamas and gently washes his face with a warm washcloth before tucking him into bed.
Once Buck’s fallen asleep, Eddie sends Maddie a quick text to let her know that Buck is safe. She doesn’t offer more of an explanation on what happened, and he doesn’t pry. Instead, he gets into bed and cuddles up closer to Buck, one arm going over Buck’s waist. He feels Buck settle in his hold and pressed a kiss to the base of his nape, whispering to him a quiet I love you. Knowing how Buck’s brain struggles to settle at night, even more so after a rough day, he hopes that Buck is going to be able to sleep, if only for an hour.
Eventually, Buck’s breathing does even out and Eddie allows himself to sleep. Buck is safe, Buck is in his arms, Buck is going to be okay.
-
It takes Eddie a couple of seconds to notice that the other side of the bed is empty. He usually wakes slowly; he’ll stretch out his limbs, rub his eyes, and burrow a bit deeper into the blankets before reluctantly opening his eyes. The recent addition to his routine is to reach out to the other side of the bed, whether or not Buck’s stayed over the previous night.
He remembers the night before, and he can tell that it’s still early, so he has a moment of anxiety regarding Buck’s whereabouts– but only a moment. The faint smell of eggs and butter wafting into his bedroom soothes his unease. He knows that Buck is home, making breakfast for him and Chris. And if that hadn’t been enough? Well, the sound of Buck and Chris laughing would’ve done it; it’s like music to his ears.
Eddie’s never been a morning person, but knowing what’s waiting for him outside of his bedroom door, he gets up and quietly goes to the kitchen. His two favourite people are there, speaking in hushed voices like they’re sharing secrets and Eddie’s heart just feels full.
“Hey you two.”
They turn at the same time, wearing matching grins, their curls even similar. God, Shanon would have a field day if she saw how Chris is growing up to somehow look more and more like Buck than either of them. Sure, Eddie sees himself in his kid, and he sees her, too, but he sees so much of Buck it’s almost a bit concerning. Both in the physical aspects than in his mannerisms. Mainly: the eyerolls and exaggerated sighs.
“Dad! Buck’s here!”
“He sure is, buddy,” Eddie laughs as he walks up to them. He presses a kiss to Chris’ head and then one onto Buck’s cheek. “Good morning.”
Buck offers him a smile, and Eddie can tell that he’s still tired, still a bit in his head about everything. “Did you sleep okay?”
“I did, thanks. I’m sor–”
“Buck, no,” Eddie quickly says. He reaches up and places a hand to Buck’s cheek, his thumb brushing against it soothingly. “Baby, no. It’s okay, you’re okay, you don’t have anything to apologize for. I’m glad you came here.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Buuuck, the eggs!”
And just like that, they’re brought back to reality.
Christopher tells them about what he’s supposed to be doing today at school, and Eddie finds himself wishing that all of his mornings should be like this.
They’ve only been together for a month– would it be too soon to ask Buck to move in? He’s been staying over at least twice a week since after the lawsuit– it wouldn’t be so crazy.
Plus, Buck hates the loft (everyone hates the loft). He could sublet to Albert. Or to anyone, really. Fuck the loft, Buck should be here.
He decides to tab that idea for later– maybe pick Bobby’s brain about it, see what he thinks.
Then again, Bobby doesn’t know about them (or maybe he does. Bobby is incredibly intuitive).
They get through their morning routine flawlessly. It’s not until after Christopher’s been dropped off that Buck spills about everything that happened the night before. He doesn’t really go into details, but he tells Eddie about how they kept making backhanded compliments at Maddie, and about the babybox he’s pretty sure he doesn’t have. He tells him about how he just exploded on them, how his mom cried, how Maddie cried. Eddie can tell that Buck feels horrible about all of it, and Eddie just wishes he could take that pain away from him, if only to hold it for a bit.
“If you choose to never see them again, I’m 100% with you,” Eddie says, reaching across the middle console to pry one of Buck’s hands loose from the tight fist, slipping his fingers through Buck’s. “You and me, yeah? You and me.”
They get through most of the day without talking about it. The calls are simple enough, and Chim’s weird again. Even Eddie can tell.
It’s 5pm when they finally get a moment to themselves, Buck opting for the gym despite Bobby asking him if he wanted to help with the prep for dinner. He gets a few looks from the crew, and Bobby looks surprised by Buck’s answer, and he simply waves them off. He doesn’t want to get into it, and it’s not his business to share.
While Eddie doesn’t expect to get any lifting in himself, he follows Buck down the stairs.
Buck is huffing and puffing within seconds, hitting the punching bag like he has a personal vendetta against it.
B-shift’s Captain had walked by on her way to her office, looking at Eddie in a way that she seemed to want to make sure that Buck was okay– he’s not known to be angry (that’s Eddie’s thing), even less to be physically intense like this. Eddie waved her off and went over to Buck.
“Tell mom and dad how you feel,” Buck spits, a few more punches landing on the sides of the bag. Eddie chooses to wait it out a bit longer before he says anything, and leans against the beam behind him as he watches. “It’ll be a fresh start!” A few more punches and he walks off a bit. “Two dinners! Two dinners. That’s all it took, and I’m twelve years old again, trapped between my sister and my parents. And now? Planning my awkward apology.”
Well now that’s just wrong. While Eddie knows he hasn’t heard all of what happened, he knows enough to know that Buck has nothing to apologise for. If anything, his parents owe him a thousand and more apologies for everything since he’s been born.
“What do you have to apologise for? Did you say anything that wasn’t true?”
“No... but–”
“Well look... Maybe you could’ve come at it a little differently, but if that’s really how you feel, how they made you feel, you have every right to say so.”
“Yeah, I don't need anymore therapy. I just want to hit things.”
Between two punches, Eddie reaches out and places a hand on the punching bag. The look Buck gives him, eyes full of anger, kind of makes his chest flutter. “I’ve been down that road. I don’t recommend it.” Buck holds his gaze, but doesn’t say anything. It’s the buzzing of Buck’s phone that snaps them out of it. He watches as Buck takes the phone and huffs.
“Maddie again?” He says it like it’s a guess, but Maddie’s been texting Eddie, too, asking him to ask Buck to call her. He’s chosen to not be the middle man, to let Buck feel his anger, to accompany him through it, instead of forcing him into conversations he’s not quite ready for.
“Yeah,” Buck replies. “She’s worried about me.” With the phone still ringing, Buck turns and kicks the punching bag so hard it almost topples.
Eddie has to hold back a snort. He pushes himself off the beam and walks over to the weights, “Can’t imagine why.”
The day goes on but Buck is incredibly distracted when they’re not on calls.
He’s jumping from conversation to conversation, from subject to subject, barely finishing his thoughts.
Eddie has to force feed him dinner when they finally have time to sit for more than five minutes, and even that is a task on its own.
After their shift, Buck goes to see Maddie, claims that even if they go home, he won’t be able to sleep, that while he’s upset, he won’t be able to shut his brain off.
Eddie reckons that it’s a good idea, seeing as the Buckley parents won’t be there this time. Nothing bad can come of this.
But boy is he proven wrong a few hours later.
Buck: i had a brother and no one told me
Eddie gets the text as he’s packing Christopher’s lunch, his heart lurching in his chest as he reads it. Until now he was sure that Buck was still at Maddie’s, but one quick look at the Friends app confirms that Buck’s back at the loft.
Buck: maddie knew and she didn’t tell me
Buck: i think chim knew, too
Fuck.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
He quickly checks on Christopher: he’s in his room working on his geography homework– and hits call on Buck’s number, half expecting him not to answer. When the line connects, there’s only Buck’s shaky breathing.
“Baby,” Eddie says, as softly as he can manage. “Talk to me.”
”I had a brother…” He sounds so broken that Eddie’s eyes immediately well up. ”I was uh… Maddie and I were going through her baby box and I thought I found a picture of me on a bike. ‘Bout 5 or 6 years old… couldn’t recognize the house behind me, asked Maddie where it was taken– But it was from 1989.”
“Fuck.”
There’s a huff of laughter. ”Yeah. Maddie went all… weird. And she told me that that was Daniel. That he died when I was two. I had a brother who died and no one told me and I don’t remember him.”
“Buck, shit. I’m so sorry.”
”Everything makes sense now, you know? How my parents are with me versus how they are with Maddie? It just… all falls into place.”
“What do you mean?”
”Daniel… he uh… He was sick. Really sick. No one was a match for bone marrow transplant. So…”
“No…”
”Yep… so they had me. And guess what? I was a match but the transplant didn’t work… Maddie says she wanted to tell me but never knew when. She’s known all along why my parents hate me and she never told me.”
“Buck, come over. I’ll order you an Uber– Or let me pack a bag with Chris and–”
”I’m fine, Eddie. I’m okay. I just… need to sit with this for a bit. Alone. Albert’s out… so.”
“You’re sure?”
”I’m sure… I just… wanted to let you know. See you tomorrow at work?”
“Yeah, of course…” He bites at the skin of his lip, questioning what he should say next. He’s really not okay with Buck being alone right now but he has a feeling that Buck really does want to grieve for a little while. “I love you.”
”I love you too.”
It takes him a couple of minutes to snap out of it once the call has ended. He sits at his kitchen table, staring at his phone, wishing he could reach through it to hug Buck and make all the bad stuff go away.
A brother. Fuck.
That’s probably why Chimney has been acting weird– he’s known for the whole week.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
–
Eddie has to admit, Buck looks like he’s holding it together.
They all talk about it a few days later at work, and they’re all trying their best to assure Buck that he matters just as Maddie does, but Buck’s just acting almost nonchalant about the fact that he’s a saviour baby. He gives Chimney the cold shoulder when Chimney asks to talk, and he dismisses Maddie when she corners him at the firehouse.
He looks like he’s holding it together, but Eddie knows that Buck’s fuse is getting pretty damn short. He knows that it won’t take much more before Buck breaks, and chances are, he won’t be at Eddie’s house.
The snap itself comes in the form of a 5-alarm at a hand sanitiser factory that’s definitely not up to code. It’s loud, it’s hot, it’s all hands on deck, really. The job is big but they’ve trained for this– they listen to their Captain and do as they’re told.
Eddie hears through the radio that Chimney and Buck get separated when they go look for the last missing worker– Chimney comes out, but Buck ends up lost in the midst of the flames.
They’re still in contact with him, but Buck sounds desperate, he sounds rough, and Eddie feels like his heart is going to beat through his chest.
The team is told not to go inside, that it’s not safe, but Bobby decides for them that they’re not going to listen to those directives, that they’re not going to give up on Buck. Eddie’s thankful, so thankful, because had it not been for Bobby authorizing them to go in, he would’ve gone against every damn order to get to Buck.
The building is a maze– the fire is loud and the finally sprinklers going off isn’t helping in terms of finding Buck.
Bobby is still calling out to him on the radio, hoping to hear it, hoping for Buck to reply, but they get nothing in return. They haven’t heard from him in a few minutes, and Eddie’s anxiety is starting to rise.
They’re told that the structure is unstable, that they have to get out. None of them want to leave him behind.
And that’s when they hear it.
A scream so raw, so loud, that it makes them all freeze on the spot, looking over their shoulders as they’re trying to pin-point the direction it’s coming from. It echoes again through the destroyed halls– it feels like he’s breathing in freezing water.
The last time Eddie heard this scream, they were trying to lift a truck off of Buck’s leg. He still hears it sometimes in his nightmares.
Fearing the worst, they pick up the pace, trying their best to follow the sound. Eddie’s trying to mentally prepare himself but he has no idea for what. He doesn’t know what they’re going to find, none of them do.
The screams stop, almost abruptly so, and Eddie pushes past the others to enter the next area.
They finally find Buck, nearly collapsed on himself, helmet nowhere in sight, pulling at a rope. Eddie barely registers where the victim is before he rushes to Buck’s side and grabs onto the rope, his hands right by Buck’s, the others joining behind a second later.
He sees it the moment Buck realizes that they’re there, sees the anguish in his eyes, the soot on his face, the tear tracks on his cheeks. They pull and they pull until the man is freed and Eddie helps Buck as they leave.
Buck doesn’t say a word to him. He just… looks lost. He looks like he doesn’t quite believe that he’s made it out.
Hen ushers him to the ambulance and Eddie watches from afar, forced to focus on the other patients, as she checks him over and gives him oxygen. He watches Buck finally sync back with his body as Bobby and Hen talk to him. He knows that Buck’s in good hands, but the distance is almost painful.
He watches as he leaves in the ambulance, their eyes meeting for a second before the doors close.
The ride back to the firehouse is a quiet one. Bobby has a look in his eyes that Eddie’s never seen before and Eddie wonders if it has anything to do with what they talked about– he can’t even ask Hen; she left with the ambulance. With Buck.
They all seem to realise just how close they got to losing Buck, and no one wants to voice it.
Eddie’s pretty sure that he’ll cry if he does speak up.
Bobby puts them offline for a bit, giving them time to shower and sleep for a few hours. He’s in Buck’s preferred bunk when his phone lights up. The first message is to the team’s group chat, telling them all that he’s staying the night so they can monitor his lungs, and the second is to him directly.
Buck: hospitals suck
Eddie huffs out a laugh and turns to his side, pulling the hoodie he stole from Buck’s locker over his nose. Buck’s probably the worst patient he knows. He hates being forced still and he hates having nothing to do or just sitting with his thoughts.
Eddie: I know, I’m sorry ❤️how are you?
It’s a stupid question, he knows, but he has to ask it.
Bubbles indicate that Buck is typing– they disappear and appear a few times. Even miles away, Eddie knows that Buck is trying to word it in a way that Eddie won’t worry.
Eddie: how are you really
Buck: 🙃
Buck: Kind of… emotionally numb? Breathing hurts, throat’s fucked, i have a few burns… nothing’s broken or sprained, and yeah.
He’s not surprised about his throat being hurt considering how raw his screams were. Just thinking about it makes a shiver go up Eddie’s spine.
Eddie: you’ve had a rough week, huh?
Buck: tell me about it. I have a call with Dr. Copeland in the morning. Bobby suggested it. She is not ready for the life update i’m gonna drop on her.
Eddie: do you wanna facetime until you fall asleep? Idk that I can talk right now but I wanna see your face.
Buck: yes 💚
–
Eddie wakes up to the call surprisingly still going, his airpods out of his ears, his phone at 10%, and what he thinks is Buck’s cheek or his neck taking up the whole screen. It’s six in the morning now– so either they didn’t have a call, or Bobby put them offline for the night. Either way, he doesn’t care. He’s just glad that Buck’s sleeping.
He quietly gets up, careful to not wake anyone, and steps out of the bunk room. They have a few chargers upstairs and he’s in desperate need of coffee.
There’s some shuffling on Buck’s side, he hears a nurse come in, and when Buck’s phone is picked up, he finally pipes up, stopping dead in his tracks in the middle of the stairs.
“Please don’t end the call,” he says, holding his phone up to his face so that they see him if they look at it. Hopefully Buck’s phone is on speaker and the volume is loud enough.
”Oh! Hello.” The phone turns to a nurse that Eddie’s pretty sure to have seen over the years but whose name eludes him. ”I’ll just put you down right here,” the man says, prompting Buck’s phone up against something on the side table. Like this, Eddie can see Buck’s sleeping face, he can see how soft his features are, and he really hopes that Buck is having nice dreams. ”I’ve plugged you in.”
“I– thank you.” There isn’t much more he wants to say, but there’s a lot he wants to ask. The nurse leaves and something in Eddie’s chest settles. Now, not set against Buck’s face, Eddie can hear Buck’s heart rate monitor. The steady beeping plays in his ear as he heads up to the kitchen and starts the coffee machine.
It’s an older model, similar to the one he had at home before Buck got him the monstrosity that is Hildy. (Eddie won’t say it outloud, but no cup of coffee has been better than the ones he’s made at home since getting that God forsaken machine a few weeks ago.)
He has time to have his coffee and get through the day’s crossword puzzle before Buck wakes up to a nurse coming in to check his O2 levels.
Coincidentally, Bobby is by Eddie when this happens so Eddie offers him an airpod so he can talk to Buck with him.
It’s agreed between them, much to Eddie’s chagrin, that Bobby will go and fetch him in a little bit.
Just as Bobby leaves in the battalion truck, a taxi pulls into the firehouse’s lot– he can feel it in his bones that this isn’t a visit anyone wants.
Two people get out of the car. Presumably a couple that seem to be in their mid to late 60s, maybe early 70s. The woman is about 5’4”, white hair, a concerned look on her face– the man is about Eddie’s height, glasses, and his whole posture lets Eddie know that he probably wants to be anywhere but here. Something about them is… familiar… and that’s all that Eddie needs to know as they’re walking into the bay.
“I’ve got this,” Hen says, patting him on the shoulder as she walks by him. He watches as she approaches them, her shoulders squared. Pleasantries seem to be exchanged but he recognizes that laugh as Hen’s customer service laugh– she’s not fooling him.
Part of him really hoped that they weren’t who he thought they were, but when Hen turns and walks them into the firehouse, he sees the apologetic look on her face and his spine straightens.
Well. This wasn’t how he wanted to meet his boyfriend’s parents for the first time but he supposes it could’ve been worse.
Somehow.
They introduce themselves, Eddie does the same, omitting the fact that he’s dating their son, and it takes all of his self-restraint and all the tricks he learned in therapy to not yell at them for how shitty they were (and are) to Buck.
Instead, the crew that’s in the loft all decide that they’re going to talk Buck up to them, try to make them see how amazing their son is. How great, how genuine, and how loved he is.
–
Unfortunately, it takes about two hours for Buck to come back with Bobby. Two hours of idle small talk with the Buckleys who, by Eddie’s book, are some of the most boring people he’s ever met. They barely ask questions, about the job or about Buck, and they don’t offer any information about themselves, either. Had they not taken the initiative to talk about Buck, they would’ve all sat in awkward silence in the loft.
Eddie’s at the doors to meet up with Buck and Bobby, if only to give him a little bit of a warning before he goes up to the loft. He respects Buck’s decision to go talk to them alone but something in his chest is trying to pull him forward, trying to get him to follow.
They stay over for dinner, during which Eddie barely says a word. Buck seems happy– or happier, at least, so it’s a start. Maybe his talk got him a bit of closure? Eddie’s not sure how to address it, really. He hopes that Buck will come to him later to debrief.
He doesn’t. Not immediately. Says that he needs a bit of time to himself and he goes back to the loft.
And hey, Eddie gets it! He does! In the span of one week he had to see his parents for the first time in years, find out about Daniel, and almost die in a factory fire. It’s a lot for one person to bear in such a short amount of time.
Eddie just wishes that Buck would talk to him more. Sure, they’re in the first few weeks of their relationship but it’s not like it’s new.
Usually he’d be okay with this knowing that Buck would go to Maddie with this, but he’s not talking to her right now.
Which is why he decides that, as the boyfriend that’s planning on sticking around and becoming the fiancé and then the husband, he won’t just stand around and wait while he knows that his partner is hurting.
So he asks Abuela if she can take Chris for the night– he’s old enough to spend a few hours alone at home but not the whole night, no matter how much Chris argues that he is.
Once Christopher is settled in for the evening, Eddie decides to hit up Buck’s favourite restaurants of the moment to grab him a little bit of everything he knows he loves, and heads over to the loft.
He finds it dark and cold– the blinds are pulled and the AC seems to be on. There’s no music or show playing, no sound that Eddie can hear from the door. He knows that Buck’s here; Buck’s car is where it’s supposed to be in Buck’s parking.
After quietly putting his keys on their designated hook and placing his food down on the kitchen island, Eddie ventures in further. Still no Buck in sight.
He finds him asleep upstairs, his back turned to the stairs. It’s barely 6pm and while they did just come off a shift, they have the next 72 off and Eddie knows Buck well enough to know that Buck wouldn’t go to bed this early.
This is one of Buck’s avoidance techniques, Eddie knows this. Eddie’s lived this. (“I can’t be upset if I’m unconscious, Eddie!” Buck had said one day after where everything had gone wrong. He’d just gone off to bed, not caring about the time of day and had decided that it was time for tomorrow to come faster. The logic was a little bit flawed, but Eddie had to admit that it worked sometimes.)
So. Eddie knows how to pull Buck out of it.
“Hey,” he whispers, settling down onto the bed gently, reaching out to trail his fingers against the side of Buck’s arm. “It’s me.” It’s silly to say, but he just wants Buck to hear his voice. He keeps his voice quiet, not wanting to startle him in case he’s actually asleep. “I brought food.”
It’s quiet, but there’s a grumbled response a second or so later, “Not hungry.”
He trails his fingers back up Buck’s arm and replaces them with his hand instead, giving Buck’s bicep a small squeeze. “Have you eaten since the hospital?” He doesn’t remember him eating at the firehouse. “Other than a protein bar?” Another grumble and Eddie leans down to kiss Buck’s shoulder. “I got all of your favourites.” He tries to say it with a teasing voice and hopes that it gets something out of Buck. “There’s chicken wings,” another kiss to Buck’s arm, “That gross kale salad you like,” kiss, “Brownies,” kiss, “a couple tacos…”
“‘m not hungry, Eddie,” Buck repeats, and his voice sounds so broken that Eddie’s heart hurts. He presses his cheek against Buck’s bicep and hugs him a little bit closer.
“It’s either you eat, or we go for a walk, your choice.” Anything to get Buck out of his head, really. Buck groans and finally sits up. When he turns to look at Eddie, Eddie immediately notices the tear tracks on his cheeks and the sad look in his eyes. “Hey,” he reaches out and dries one of the tears with the back of his fingers. “I’m here, okay? Whenever you’re ready.”
Buck doesn’t say anything this time, but it happens almost instantly: his eyes water and he reaches for Eddie and buries his face in Eddie’s stomach, sobs shaking his shoulders.
They do eventually talk about it all– the Buckleys of it all– and slowly, Buck’s smile comes back. It’s not all there, but it’s there.
They spend the 72 off doing chores, but they do try to stay out of the house. Buck goes to see Maddie, and when he comes back with red-rimmed eyes, Eddie already reaching for his phone, ready to defend him– But as it turns out, Maddie had given him her own version of Buck’s baby box with all the postcards and mementos she’d saved over the years. Secretly, Eddie thinks of the box that’s in Christopher’s closet, where he knows his son has been storing a lot of Buck related items, too. Secretly, he can’t wait for Christopher to give it to him one day.
On day two, they go for a hike, and they try a new restaurant with Chris. On day three, Buck actually plans a date for them, complete with flowers and slow dancing and soft kisses in the kitchen when they get home.
Overall, Buck’s on the mend, and Eddie has his back.
–
“Is he okay?”
Eddie jumps slightly at the sound of Bobby’s voice. He turns on his heels and sees that his captain is standing a foot behind him, his eyes trained on Buck who’s working out with Chim. It’s been a week now since the whole Buckley Fiasco, a week since they’ve left the state; both Maddie and Buck had breathed a bit easier once their parents had messaged to say that they were home safe.
In lieu of a response, Eddie sighs and tosses the sponge in the soapy water bucket that’s at his feet– it’s not like he was getting any cleaning done, anyways. It was more to keep his hands busy. Water sploshes out of the bucket and he chooses to ignore it for now; he’s the one that’s going to have to mop it up later, anyways.
“Yes and no?” Bobby’s gaze flickers over to him and he leans against the truck, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I’ve never seen him like how he was that night, Bobby. He… he really scared me… and he’s okay but… I can still hear his screams.”
“Did he tell you what he told Hen and me?” Eddie nods, albeit reluctantly, and Bobby sighs. “He scared me too, Eddie. I don’t think I’ve been that scared for him since…” He exhales a shaky breath and shakes his head. “God, I don’t even know which event scared me the most. Probably when he coughed up blood in my backyard.” He huffs out a laugh, but they both know there’s nothing funny. “That kid’s given me so many grey hairs.”
“I’m keeping an eye on him, Bobby. But I wouldn’t say no to another set of eyes. He’s been… Forgetful? Sometimes he’ll stop in the middle of the room and forget what he was doing. It’s always been a thing, and it was cute at first, but I’m a bit concerned. What if the emotional stress triggered something? He’s clumsier, he’s walking into things, always tired but sleeping a lot…”
“Triggered something… Like what?”
He shakes his head, “I don’t know, Bobby. I’ve tried looking up what I’m seeing but Google just gives me extreme things, as usual.”
Bobby rolls his eyes, “Classic Google, huh? Let me know if I can do anything, Eddie, okay?”
"I wil, Bobby. Thank you."