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"Brush the flour of your cheek and go put on a nice dress," Eddie's voice filters through Buck's subconscious.
She'd been so distracted by her baking that she hadn't even heard Eddie come in the loft.
"Eddie, the dough still needs a little more kneading then I can set it to rest. But I'll need to bake it in a couple of hours."
Eddie gives her a fond smirk, making a hand motion to proceed. Buck's heart clenches at Eddie's sweetness. she wishes it meant what it felt like it means, but she knows it doesn't. So, she pushes it down and pushes her feelings right into the dough, just like she's been doing since the break up with Tammy.
"You know you have a fridge and pantry and counter full of sweets and pastries and breads, right, Buck?" Eddie says, calling Buck on her shit lovingly.
"I'm aware!" She calls, finally getting to a stopping point.
She plops the dough into a free bowl and covers it with a damp cloth before fighting a little for space in the fridge.
"Promise I'll have you have back in time to bake it, okay?" Eddie assures.
"Okay, babe," Buck says, using the term in the friend way she does some time.
Eddie's eyes are sparkling.
Buck takes her apron off and tosses it onto the still-messy counter. That's a future Buck problem. "Wait here," she instructs, already heading toward the loft stairs. "Where's Chris by the way?" She calls, taking the steps two at a time and barely even getting winded.
"He's too cool for his mom," Eddie calls up as Buck goes to his closet, rifling through the barely-worn items she stored in the back. "Dropped him off at a friend's house on the way over. Figured I'd swing by since I was already out."
"Where are we going?" She calls as she finally pulls out a black sundress with little yellow sunflowers on it that used to belong to Maddie when she was a bit heavier. It only fits Buck's wide shoulders because the straps are adjustable.
She strips out of her ratty t-shirt and sweatpants she was baking in to switch into the dress. Checking herself in the mirror leads her to resolve to throw a cardigan on to hide her shoulders. She rifles through her usual suspects and pulls out a cream one with some cabling on the front panel she's pretty fond of before returning to the main floor. She gets a chance to examine Eddie and her outfit before the other woman glances up from her phone. Eddie's in a forest green dress and a leather jacket Buck's pretty sure she's never seen before. It looks good—maybe unfairly good—on her best friend. Her ogling is cut short when Eddie's clever eyes meet hers.
"Oh," Eddie says, an indecipherable look on her gorgeous face. "I've never seen this before." Her hand reaches out and snatches up a little of the fabric in her left hand.
"Good?" Buck asks, suddenly insecure.
"It's beautiful," Eddie confirms, sounding almost…breathless?
"Is it appropriate for wherever we're going?"
"It's perfect," Eddie confirms. "Now, hurry up. I'm driving."
…
The restaurant is nice, through not so nice it needs a reservation. It's Greek, which Buck loves, and Eddie immediately orders a nice bottle of white wine for the table. The waiter offers to pour it for them, but Eddie politely declines, opting instead to pour them two generous glasses herself.
"To us," she says, holding her glass aloft.
Buck can't resist but return the gesture, tapping her own glass to Eddie's. "To us," she agrees.
The restaurant is intimate, low lights, a comfortable but small booth with a tea light candle on the table. They split appetizers—grape leaves and spanikopita—and drink wine and order the lamb—even if Eddie grimaces just a little at the price—to be indulgent. It's good food and good company, maybe it's the best Buck has felt since her breakup with Tammy.
"You know, if I didn't know any better," Buck snorts, as she's forking in the last few bites of her lamb before she's too full, "I'd say you're trying to wine and dine me!"
Eddie falls silent, her face carefully neutral as she pushes some rice around on her own plate with her fork. "What if I am?"
Buck freezes. "I appreciate you trying to cheer me up, Eds," she tries, casting out for some reason to make this make sense. "but I'll be fine. No need to…do any of this."
A determination sets over Eddie's features, her jaw straining and ticking where her short, dark hair hits it. "What if it isn't just for you? What if it's for me, too?"
"I'm sure it's no hardship to have a nice meal with your best friend…" Buck tries to joke but is promptly cut off by Eddie.
"No, Buck. This isn't…" she's getting frustrated. "This isn't trying to cheer you up. I'm trying to woo you."
Buck blinks and blinks, pushing her curly hair out of her eyes to make sure she's seeing Eddie clearly, her face flushed pink at the confession.
"Woo me?" Buck repeats.
"Yes, Buck. I'm trying to do…romantic stuff. So that you'll fall in love with me instead."
"Oh, Eddie," Buck reaches a hand across the table to still where Eddie's fork is still scraping across the plate. It makes Eddie look up at her, beautiful honey brown eyes catching the flickering light of the candle and Buck's breath catches. "I'm already in love with you."
It's Eddie's turn for her breath to catch and Buck can't help the small sneak she takes at Eddie's cleavage she'd been trying not to stare at all night. But now that she knows it's for her, well. All bets are off.
"Can we," Eddie starts, soft and tentative, "can we get the check so we can get out of here? And I'm paying by the way. don't try to fight me on this one."
Buck puts her hands up in supplication. "Whatever gets us out of here the fastest. I have a girl I really need to kiss."
Eddie's cheeks are so cutely pink as she waves to the waiter for the check. Buck doesn't even care about getting home to the dough anymore.