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Buck had been excited about going to Nashville.
Not in a woo, party city way, even though he’d mostly been picturing barbecue and live music drifting out of open doors with bright neon signs overhead. But in the way that came from being chosen. From Chim putting his hand on Buck’s shoulder and Eddie’s at the same time and telling them they were representing LA at the firefighter games.
“You two are solid,” Chim had said. “You trust each other and I know that Eddie's been in the paramedic role for a few months now full time, but I think it's our best shot. You two, that is.”
Buck had grinned like an idiot the whole flight there. He used to be well traveled, the person who had all the stories. But since moving to LA, Buck had evened out. Mellowed. He was more interested in making dinner for his team or a movie night with Eddie and Chris than he was with getting in his car on a flight and booking it across the country. But it was exciting to get out there again. Not just for traveling but also because they were there representing the 118. Showing the rest of the country just how in sync he and Eddie really were. How good they were at the job.
They’d spent the first morning rotating through events–hose drag, stair climb, forcible entry– dripping sweat and laughing in that easy competitive way Buck loved. Eddie was in his element, focused and steady, slipping naturally into leadership even when it wasn’t officially his role. Buck found himself watching him more than once, chest warm with pride and pointing out his partner to anyone who would listen.
It was supposed to be a good weekend.
Then Eddie got pushed.
Buck didn’t see the exact moment of contact. He just heard the sound first. That ugly scrape of boots against concrete, followed by Eddie’s sharp intake of breath. He'd been laughing with a group from Seattle, not really paying attention since it wasn't his turn to compete.
Buck turned as soon as he heard it, the unmistakable sound of Eddie losing his footing and tumbling. The firefighter from Boston was right there, elbow out and helmet in his hands, a smug expression painting his face. But Buck didn't have time to pay attention to that. Everything around home slowed and narrowed down to one simple thing.
Eddie.
Eddie was halfway down the short stairwell between levels, body twisting awkwardly as he tried to catch himself. His shoulder hit the railing, his foot slid out from under him, and then gravity did the rest. He landed hard on his side, the impact echoing in the open space.
“Eddie!”
Buck was already moving before he'd even fully hit the bottom of the stairwell.
He didn’t remember dropping his bag or weaving through people, shouldering individuals out of the way with whispered apologies falling from his lips. One second Eddie was on the stairs, the next Buck was on his knees beside him, hands hovering helplessly before settling on Eddie’s arm and shoulder, attempting to assess for injuries with shaking fingers.
Eddie’s eyes were squeezed shut, jaw tight and lips pressed together as he swallowed down the pain. It was a look he had seen a hundred times in the field and for one sickening moment crimson red flashed in his line of sight, pale lips and hoarse voice ringing through his core until he shook the images from his head.
“I’m okay,” Eddie said automatically, voice strained as he tried to sit up. “Buck, I–”
“Hey,” Buck said softly, sliding one hand behind Eddie’s neck to ground him, keeping him still just until he could make sure that nothing was risky wrong. “Don’t. Just–hold on for a second.”
Buck’s training kicked in, instinct taking over. He checked Eddie over quickly, fingers gentle but thorough. Shoulder. Ribs. Hip. Ankle. Eddie hissed when Buck brushed over his shoulder, teeth barred and eyes slipping closed as he rotated his ankle. But he could move everything and he responded well to the concussion test, pupils equal and responsive against the pen light. There was no blood. No obvious breaks. Just what must be a nasty sprain and some scrapes in the areas that Eddie's gear wasn't covering when he went down.
Someone nearby was apologizing profusely, apparently a firefighter from Boston who had clipped Eddie, shoving him down. Buck barely registered it. All he could see was Eddie’s clenched expression, the way his hand had curled into Buck’s shirt like he needed something solid to hold onto. And so Buck took his hand and squeezed back.
“I can walk,” Eddie said after a few minutes of sitting up against a wall and recalibrating.
Buck helped him stand up slowly, bracing him with his own body in what he knew was an over protective move even if he couldn't help it. Eddie leaned into him without hesitation, his weight familiar against Buck’s side.
“Okay. Let's get you outta here “
Eddie looked up at him like he was already anticipating the argument. “Buck–”
“I’m coming back to the hotel with you. No arguments.”
Eddie opened his mouth.
Buck raised an eyebrow.
Eddie closed his mouth, exhaled with a roll of his eyes, but nodded. “Okay. Fine.”
Buck wrapped an arm around Eddie’s waist and helped him stand. Eddie moved carefully against him, putting his weight onto Buck as they slowly made their way back to the hotel.
And when Eddie tried to shake off his grip and insist he was fine when he really wasn't, Buck kept his arm tight around him anyway.
—--
By the time they made it back to their hotel room, Eddie’s adrenaline had all but worn off. Buck could tell by the way Eddie sank onto the edge of the bed with a quiet hiss, rolling his shoulder like it had somehow personally betrayed him.
Buck grabbed ice from the machine down the hall, quietly setting Eddie up with a mountain of pillows to hopefully keep him comfortable. He pressed the wrapped bag into Eddie’s hands when he returned.
“Fifteen minutes. Then we reassess.”
Eddie nodded. He knew the drill and it was as if the ordeal had completely wiped his ability to even try to argue about any of it.
Buck sat on the small coffee table across from him, watching Eddie more closely than he probably should have. Eddie leaned back against the pillows with his eyes closed and breathing slow and measured, like he was trying to hold back how much pain he was really in. Buck hated how small he looked right now. How vulnerable. It was like he'd been stripped bare of his bravado and competence, hollowed out so it was just the purest, most delicate parts of him on display.
“You don’t have to hover,” Eddie said without opening his eyes, as if he could sense Buck watching him.
Buck shrugged. “I want to.”
Eddie cracked one eye open with a sigh, a soft look passing over his face. But as quickly as it appeared, it was gone as Eddie shifted uncomfortably and rubbed at the back of his neck when his sweat damp hair was starting to curl at the edges.
“I kinda just want a shower,” Eddie admitted after a moment. “Everything just feels…gross.”
Buck stood immediately holding out a hand. “Yeah. That’s good. Warm water’ll help.”
“I can manage.”
“I know,” Buck said gently. “But let me help anyway.”
Eddie hesitated, pride and pain warring visibly. Buck waited him out. Because he knew he could. Because Eddie had never won when it came to Buck taking care of him. He could fight it the whole way, but he'd always end up taken care of.
Eventually Eddie took Buck’s hand, their fingers lacing together like second nature as Buck tugged him upwards.
The bathroom filled with steam quickly. Buck adjusted the water temperature while Eddie leaned against the counter with his eyes closed. His breathing was ragged as if the short walk to the bathroom had taken all the energy out of him. After a few moments, he raised his arms up slightly so Buck could help him out of his shirt slowly, carefully navigating around sore spots.
Eddie sucked in a breath when Buck brushed his ribs with his knuckles.
“Sorry!” Buck's hand stilled against warm, bruised skin. Immediate guilt flooded through him.
“You’re okay,” Eddie said with a hiss, voice quiet against the sound of water on tile.
It took a few more minutes of fumbling and careful movements, but eventually Eddie was able to step into the shower, Buck slipping in behind him. Once they were settled under the spray, Buck’s hands settled on Eddie’s shoulders, helping to hold up his battered and exhausted body. Eddie leaned back into Buck’s chest, just a little. Tension slowly draining out of him.
It should be weird. Buck is intimately aware of that fact. He knows that their friendship has never been normal and that over time it's developed its own special set of rules that no one else would understand. He knows that what they have is…different. Homoerotic, even. The facts of what they are and their refusal to talk about are both something he is acutely aware of. And yet, he can't help himself. He wants to take care of Eddie, to comfort him, to be near him. So that's what he does.
They've been in weirder positions and Buck still remembers vividly helping Eddie shower after the shooting and the way they softly spoke about their hopes and fears and what direction they wanted life to go. Sometimes he still wonders what things could be like now if he'd just been brave then.
He shook his head and reached for the shampoo. He spread a dollop over his palm, working it into Eddie's hair with slow careful fingers. He gently massaged his scalp, smiling when Eddie made a soft sound in the back of his throat, shoulders relaxing by a fraction.
“Easy,” Buck murmured, readjusting his hold as Eddie continued to melt into him. “I got you.”
Buck rinsed thoroughly, letting his fingertips glide through soapy strands. He let his nails scratch at Eddie's scalp some more, listening for the soft, breathy sighs that fell from Eddie's lips.
He reached for the conditioner after a few moments and Eddie noticed immediately.
“Omigod,” he said, opening one eye. “Did you bring your entire hair routine?”
Buck grinned. “Obviously.”
“Youre unbelievable.”
Buck just hummed and poured conditioner into his palm and worked it through Eddie’s hair, starting at the ends like he always did. He used his fingers first, then his wide-tooth comb from his toiletry bag that he was glad he'd left on the side of the tub that morning. The scent of vanilla and coconut wafted into the air, blanketing them in a haze comfort.
“You’re doing the curly girl thing on me,” Eddie said quietly after a few moments, finally realizing what was happening.
Buck nodded seriously. “No sulfates. Gentle detangle. You’ll thank me.”
Eddie snorted quietly but he didn't pull away.
Buck had always suspected that Eddie had curly hair. Maybe not as defined as Buck's own, but definitely at least wavy. After all Shannon had pin straight hair so Chris's curls had to have come from somewhere. And when he'd met Sophia over the summer when she'd come to visit, he'd been stunned not just by how much she looked like her brother but also because she had gorgeous, dark curls that nearly guaranteed Eddie was hiding curls he just wasn't taking care of.
Buck took his time as he worked the conditioner through. He separated Eddie’s hair into sections, careful not to tug, murmuring little reassurances as he worked, even though Eddie wasn’t complaining. His thumbs traced slow circles at Eddie’s temples before working their way slowly towards the back of his head. Eddie’s breathing evened out as the time stretched, his body going loose under Buck’s hands.
Buck tilted Eddie forward, letting the water run over him to rinse. Buck tried to keep his eyes in neutral territory, the idea of Eddie bent over in front of him wet and naked, just a little too much like some type of temptation. He grabbed a leave in conditioner next as he pulled Eddie back up and against him, out from underneath the spray. He squeezed a quarter sized amount into his palm and scrunched as he worked his hands over Eddie's head.
That’s when the curls really started to form. And Buck froze, just for half a second to stare. They were still wet but starting to take form, a few loose strands starting to fall onto his forehead. Buck could tell that the waves would start to curl up a bit more as they dried, giving him an effortless and quite frankly attractive type of messy look.
“Eddie,” Buck breathed.
“What?” Eddie asked, eyes still closed as he continued to lean into Buck's touch.
“Your hair is… doing something.”
Eddie cracked one eye open. “That’s not helpful.”
Buck laughed softly. Even when injured Eddie was still his dramatic self, never failing to make Buck smile and his chest ache. “It’s just–your curls are coming in really nice.”
Eddie rolled his eyes, but he was smiling as he did that soft and content type of smile. The one that meant he was truly relaxed. Happy.
Buck added curl cream after he maneuvered them out of the shower,scrunching again and then gently squeezed out excess water with a towel. His fingers lingered at Eddie’s hairline, brushing damp waves away from his forehead. It was when they were staring at each other, too close and wearing far too little, he realized that he was smiling like an idiot.
Eddie noticed.
“What?”
Buck shrugged, suddenly shy, flushing with embarrassment. “Nothing. Just–you uh– you look good.”
Eddie studied him for a moment, his expression softening when he seemed to find no trace of a joke.
They made their way back to the bed slowly. Buck helped Eddie lie down, adjusted pillows and helped tuck the comforter around him. Eddie could do it himself, Buck knew he wasn't seriously injured. But the way that Eddie gave into being taken care of, how easily he gave up control, Buck knew it was something he needed and so he was happy to oblige.
He sat down on the bed too, running his fingers through Eddie's soft hair again, slow and gentle, careful not to disturb the newly emerging curls too much.
Eddie sighed and let himself sink into the touch yet again and Buck couldn't help but feel an ache down to his very core.
“Thank you,” Eddie said quietly, just when Buck had started to think he'd drifted off.
“Anytime.”
Eddie lifted his hand and threaded his fingers into Buck’s hair in return, thumb brushing lightly along Buck’s scalp. In turn Buck could do nothing but inhale sharply, holding in a gasp.
Something about the symmetry of it, the way they were both holding each other in such an intimate way hit him hard. He leaned forward before he could overthink it. Before he could let yet another moment like this pass them by.
The kiss was soft.
Just Buck pressing his lips to Eddie’s. It was careful and warm, their bodies slotting together like there was some sort of magnetic pull between them. Eddie kissed him back immediately, but unhurried, as if he'd been expecting this inevitably. Buck kept one hand in Eddie’s hair, the other braced beside Eddie’s good shoulder.
They kissed slowly, trading quiet breaths, foreheads touching between kisses. It deepened naturally. Not in that desperate, rushed way that screams want and uncontrolled desire, but in a way that felt like a homecoming. It was the gentle press of mouths and soft, small sounds. Eddie's fingers curled into Buck's hair and pulled gently. Buck's thumb traced down Eddie's jaw. Eddie, in a fit of bravery, took trembling fingers and worked them up Buck's T-shirt, a warm press against his stomach. Buck took the moment to let his own hand wander, letting his fingers ghost over abs and trace teasing patterns into Eddie's ribs as he continued to kiss him in that molasses like way that caused their slow, deliberate movements.
Eventually Buck shifted onto his side beside Eddie, pulling him closer as he did. Eddie tucked himself against Buck’s chest, careful of his shoulder that was finally starting to bruise a deep violet color. Buck wrapped an arm around him, holding him like something fragile.
They kissed a little more, but the return to each other was slower each time. Buck pressed their bodies together and kept kissing, kept giving, until Eddie’s breathing evened out and Buck felt all the tension finally leave his body.
Eddie’s eyes fluttered closed first. Buck pressed a kiss to Eddie’s temple, then to his curls, and finally just rested his forehead against Eddie’s as he breathed.
The sounds of Nashville drifted faintly through the window, reminding him of the world below them. But Buck didn't care.
All he cared about was Eddie, warm and safe in his arms, curls soft under his fingers and both of them finally letting themselves drift off together.