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"Oh. You're dating...Eddie?"
Buck smiles bashfully, shifting from foot to foot.
"I...uh...I...yeah. We...we're together."
A pause.
"Was this...recent?"
"Um...sort of? Within the last six months. W-why?"
Taylor stares blankly into the distance for a moment, before her face does this thing that Buck knows can only mean she is angry or fueled by righteous fury.
"He's still on Tinder," she declares, point blank, and pulls her phone out of her pocket. She flicks through a couple things, and then she's turning it to Buck.
Blood is rushing to Buck's ears as he numbly grabs the phone, seeing the profile for all its worth.
Edmundo, 37, Greater LA Area
Looking for: hookups and maybe something more
Into: Men and Women
Hobbies: Muay Thai, Salsa Dancing, Traveling
Firefighter for the great LAFD and father to the most amazing son in the world. From Texas, where everything truly IS bigger. Interested in a steamy one time thing which could grow into something that burns bright. 🔥
He clicks through some of the photos on his carousel. The first one is a picture of Eddie in his dress blues, which Buck is 90% sure he has been cropped out of; a picture of Eddie and Chris on the Santa Monica pier after it was rebuilt (again Buck was THERE and took the picture); and then a photo of Eddie and Chim being dumbasses at the station where the curve of Eddie's spine makes a nice slope into the curve of his ass.
Buck quickly clicks the button to turn the screen off and shoves it at Taylor, who takes it back with a sympathetic look on her face.
"Are you going to be okay?" she asks tentatively.
Buck's eyes mist over, and he lets out a ragged breath.
"I think I'm gonna be sick."
+
Buck is so violently hung over the next morning that he doesn't even get out of bed until close to 3 in the afternoon. He's glad he doesn't have to work for another day, because he feels like absolute shit.
When he scrolls through his phone, he sees several missed calls and texts from Eddie (of course) asking him how he is and then where he is and then just asking to him to check in because he's getting worried. Buck sends a thumbs up and then tosses his phone on the couch and pads into the kitchen.
"Oh, my God!" he hollers, when he opens the door and sees none other than Taylor Kelly casually sipping a steaming mug against the island as she scrolls on her phone.
She looks over to him, unimpressed.
"Do you usually sleep this late now?" she asks him, a manicured eyebrow rising judgementally.
Buck huffs as he walks over to the coffee maker, appreciative that there's enough for him to make a cup.
"It's decaf," she says behind him.
And he grunts. "Didn't even know I had that here."
"You didn't, but I noticed last night and...well."
Buck turns around to look at her questioningly, and she runs a hand over her belly. A smile breaks out on his face at that.
"You're pregnant?"
Taylor smiles, nodding. "Yeah. I don't know if you remember my camera guy..."
And Buck's jaw drops.
Then...he frowns.
"Wait. If you're pregnant and...with someone...why are you on Tinder?"
Taylor looks wistfully into her cup.
"He doesn't want me, Buck," she murmurs, barely loud enough for him to hear. "It was...one of the best nights of my life...and he didn't want anything more. So...I'm cruising."
Buck hums sympathetically. Then, he freezes.
"We didn't...do anything last night did we?"
He can feel guilt liquify in his stomach, so hot it burns. Even if he is getting cheated on, he would never do that to Eddie, who is...honestly...the love of his life. After this, he doesn't know if he'll ever have it in him again to seek out love.
"I slept in the guest room," Taylor assures him. "I was going to go back to my hotel, but you were... inconsolable. I really am sorry for giving you that news. I always thought...I don't know...that you two would end up together. I would've never imagined this."
"Guess it's karma," Buck comments, shaking his head morosely.
And Taylor sighs.
"You seem to have grown and learned and changed. And, besides, no one deserves to be cheated on. Especially by the love of their life."
They sit in quiet silence for a moment, before Taylor looks over at Buck with a look of excitement in her eyes.
"Hey, Buck? I have an idea. I'm in town for just a week more, so...how would you feel about a sting operation?"
+
It's really really hard being a part of this. Watching them text back and forth and flirt.
But, Buck thinks, if he just confronts Eddie, he feels like maybe he won't get the whole truth. Buck has been going through the stages of grief, and he's stuck on Denial.
How could Eddie do this to him? After all they've been through? Not just alone but together?
They've been talking about the future. Moving in together. Being a real family. Getting married.
But all this just hurts so badly. Buck doesn't know how he'll ever heal.
"We've got a date set for Saturday night," Taylor declares, where she's lounging on the couch, her feet propped on the coffee table and a glass of wine hanging from her hand.
It's a very similar position to times past, when she was actively in his life. And, he thinks, he has really missed her. Missed her friendship.
+
"You went MIA for two days," Eddie confronts him when he steps into the locker room.
Buck blanches, barely able to meet Eddie's eyes before making a beeline to his locker. He silently starts rummaging for his uniform, taking the moment to try and collect himself.
"I...uh...wasn't feeling great. Slept like the whole time. S-sorry."
Eddie is quiet for a long moment, before Buck can feel warmth next to him, as if Eddie's close proximity is drifting Buck closer to him. He startles when Eddie's hand comes up to cup the back of his neck, melting him like it always does, before he comes back to himself, tensing and pulling away.
He lets out a forced laugh.
"I...uh...think I'm coming down with something. I...I don't want to get you sick."
Eddie looks almost hurt as he appraises Buck, but he raises his hands, palms out, in surrender.
+
Eddie has the nerve to look upset for most of the week, as Buck avoids him. They're not talking, not sitting together, and over all it is very tense. The whole squad can feel it, but no one says anything.
For a moment, Buck can almost feel like it's genuine. (He blames it on the denial stage he still hasn't left.) The way Eddie looks at him forlornly, as if wanting to bridge the gap, genuinely, but not know how to do it.
But, then, Chim goes and ruins it.
"So what are we up to this weekend, guys? How 'bout you, Buck? Any plans?"
Buck shrugs.
"One of my friends from college is in town. We're going out on Saturday morning, and then I'll probably come back to the house to just chill for the rest of the weekend."
It's not a complete lie. Eddie and Taylor's date is set for the early afternoon, and after that he'll probably confront Eddie with the evidence.
Chim turns to Eddie then.
"How 'bout you, Edmundo?"
And Eddie shrugs, sending a tentative smile towards Buck, who isn't looking at him.
"I...uh...have some plans on Saturday night, but I'm excited to have the weekend off. How 'bout you, Cap?"
Buck's blood turns cold and solid within his veins. He tries not to have a panic attack.
+
"You look great," Buck tells her, as she fixes her lipstick, smacking her lips together to even the coverage.
She smirks over to him, pixelating as she moves forward to pick up her phone.
"I'll keep you updated," she promises him. "I will take pictures and blast him on the internet. Whatever you want."
And Buck breathes out through his nose in a big woosh.
"Thanks, Taylor."
She looks sympathetic again, and he needs to cut the call before he cries.
"Thanks for the FaceTime. Talk to you soon."
Once he has hung up, he leans back on the couch, the hood of his sweatshirt creating a sort of pillow behind his neck as he stares up at the ceiling sadly.
He doesn't know how long he's sitting there in depressed silence when he hears the lock on his door jingle. For a moment, he is startled, scared he's being robbed, but then he hears it unlock.
Robbers don't use keys.
So he hears the door in the kitchen open and then close gently and the lock engage. It's a moment of hearing bags rustling, and then the tell tale signs of drawers and cabinets opening.
Buck sighs and gets up from the couch. He supposes it's probably Maddie, but when he enters the kitchen he's definitely surprised.
"Eddie?"
+
"Taylor?"
Taylor looks up at the sound of her name, staring in confusion at the man before her.
He...looks like Eddie Diaz, but there's something off about him. He's not...he's not Eddie.
"Edmundo...?"
The guy swallows thickly, shifting from foot to foot.
"Uh...well...about that..."
+
"I don't understand," Eddie chokes, scrolling through the profile, and then looking over at Buck. "This...you don't seriously believe..."
Buck looks at his lap uncomfortable.
"You do," Eddie says in disbelief, leaning back in the kitchen chair, and he looks into the distance struck. "And how couldn't you? After what I did to Marisol?"
Buck swallows thickly.
"It's not really that. Or, I guess, maybe. But it's moreso...how could it not be you? They know your interests and hobbies. They...they have pictures of you, and you don't have social media. What was I supposed to think?"
Eddie nods, sighing.
"Well...it's not me. It will never be me. Buck, I'm all in with you...if that's something you even still want. You're the love of my damn life, and I will fight for us. I just...I need you to know that. You can...you can check my phone. You can-"
"Eddie," Buck sighs, reaching across the table to take Eddie's hand, and it makes the other man relax just the slightest bit. "Of course I want that. I...haven't been able to make it out of the denial stage. I was just...trying to come to terms with it all. Wasn't even sure what I was gonna do when..."
"When what?"
"When Taylor came back with photographic evidence. Proof. All tha-"
"Taylor Kelly?" Eddie interrupts him, and Buck can't help but snort. Of course Eddie would have time to be a hater to his ex.
"YES, Taylor Kelly. She...she's the one who showed me the app when I saw her the other night."
And Eddie stares at him for a long, calculating moment.
"Nothing...happened between you two did it?"
And Buck feels rough because Eddie looks ready to burst into tears at just the mere thought.
"No," he assures him with another squeeze. "She's actually...she's in love with her camera man. I don't know if you remember him? He...she's pregnant with his kid and everything. I hope they find their way to each other."
Eddie is about to open his mouth to speak when there is a frantic knock on the door. They share a confused look, and then Buck gets up to open it to none other than Taylor Kelly.
"I have so much to tell you," Taylor announces almost breathless, and Buck pushes the door further open, so she can see Eddie, who waves at her, at the table.
+
"He's been following you since you were shot," Taylor explains, stirring milk into her coffee. "It's...unclear...if he had surgery to look like that, but doesn't he look eerily similar?"
Eddie and Buck are next to each other, leaning over the phone to look at the photos Taylor took of this guy, whose name is Ryan.
"He does look a lot like you," Buck concedes, zooming in on the pictures. "He just..."
"Isn't me," Eddie agrees, looking horrified as he pushes the phone towards Taylor. "What's his deal?"
"It's totally a sex thing," Buck surmises, cringing. "There are women...and men...who just...want to fuck the uniform."
Taylor nods in agreement.
"Pretty much. No one has ever called him on it because they've never met you before. He thought when we met that he was really doing something. Testing...to see if I could tell, since our conversations did mention we knew each other."
"That's so creepy," Buck mumbles, brushing shoulders with Eddie, who leans into him. "And also unfair. When I had a catfish, half the women in LA came and personally slapped me on the face."
Eddie snorts through his nose.
"Oh! But you have a look alike too!" Taylor continues, turning her phone back on and pulling up pictures. "He's not a catfish. Apparently he's this actor in, like, indie films. He and Ryan hooked up once, and Ryan said he felt like a true method actor during the whole thing."
When she turns the phone on them, Buck's jaw drops.
"Holy shit. He looks just like me!"
"Oliver," Eddie reads, looking at Buck considering. "Interesting."
"Okay, Ryan."
And they smirk at each other before looking back at the photos.
"He has some really ugly tattoos," Taylor says casually, and Eddie shrugs.
Buck rolls his eyes.
"Would you still love me if I had all of those tattoos?"
Eddie smiles earnestly and nods.
"I love you no matter what your body looks like."
+
"Tell him you love him," Buck blurts out when Taylor opens the door.
He's still in the hallway of her hotel room, hasn't even been invited inside, but he needs to get this out.
"If you love him like you say you do, you need to try. For you...for both of you...and your baby."
Taylor's hand moves to her bump again, and she sighs.
+
Months Later
Buck has moved the final box out of the Uhaul, and he is now standing in their home.
As beloved as South Bedford was, his new place, which he mortgages not rents, is just that much more spacious with an additional room. It's all one story, so Chris has access to everything. It's closer to the high school and the station, and the yard is massive.
Overall, it's the right place for their fresh start.
His phone rings in the other room, so he starts wading through boxes.
"Got it!" he hears.
By the time he's in the living room, he's watching Eddie answering the phone with a smile.
"Oh, yeah. He's right here. Hang on a sec!"
Eddie passes him the phone with a kiss to his cheek.
"It's Taylor," he explains, and Buck smiles, putting the phone to his ear.
"Hey. How are you?"
I've got great news.
"You decided on a new name, and you went with the classic and gender neutral Buck?"
Her laugh over the line is infectious, and he grins.
Switch to FaceTime.
They do, and...Buck isn't expecting it but-
"Eddie!" he shouts, running into the other room, where Eddie greets him with another kiss.
"What is it?"
"It's official!"
And Eddie looks down at the phone curiously before a grin breaks out on his face.
True love wins after all, Taylor nods, a beautiful blush high on her cheeks as she shows them the engagement ring and the man who gave it to her leaning next to her on the couch, their baby sleeping on his shoulder.
"It really does," Buck agrees and looks over at Eddie with a grin.