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I don't wanna live for nothing. Just wanna be something. I don't wanna live for nothing.
Just wanna be something. I never knew we'd be more than friends.
Eddie was ignoring Buck, because of course he was. Buck knew why too, and he knew that if he was in the same situation, he would be ignoring himself too. He honestly didn’t mean to confess right then and there, and in that way, saying I love you while hanging up the phone.They’d been on weird terms ever since Eddie came home to LA, and it only got worse when Buck moved out into his own house. Eddie not helping him pack or move had been a new low, but not visiting until Hen needed a big backyard and a place to dance? That stabbed like a knife into his abdomen, painful and bloody, and sharp. If it was up to Buck, he would have ignored Eddie a long time ago, but that wasn’t who he was. He was the one who held on too long, and held on too tight. He was never the one to push someone away for treating him like shit.
That's why he found himself in these situations. Situations where he was on a 24 hour shift with his (questionable) best friend and instead of noticing the tension between Eddie and Buck, Chimney was babying Harry like an Asian mama bird. That was probably insensitive of Buck but he didn’t care, he was upset, and angry, and he wanted Eddie to talk to him. He didn’t want him to ignore him.
“Buck, come lay down on the scoop stretcher, Harry’s practicing putting it together.” Buck didn’t know how Chimney had found him, hidden in the bunkroom reading a book, but he sighed and got up, moving to the ground in the engine bay and turning his eyes back to his novel. Harry puttered around him, trying to figure out the stretcher and then Chimney called over some of the others so they could all refresh. In a minute, Eddie was kneeling beside him, arms crossed and hands on Buck’s shoulder and hip, pulling him onto his side so they could slide the metal board underneath him. Everywhere where his hands were on Buck’s body burned and when they made eye contact, Eddie’s brown eyes widened and the next moment, Buck was being dropped back down on the metal, suddenly and harshly. He groaned when his elbow hit the hard silver plate and Eddie started apologizing under his breath.
“Alright, now pick up the patient and carry him over here please.” Chimney started walking and everyone followed after him, Eddie included. Harry was walking in the front, leading them, along with Ravi, and when they went to walk over a hose that someone had been cleaning, there was a hitch.
Ravi tripped over the hose and it threw off everyone else, leaving hands scrambling, and as Buck went down, the last thing he saw was Eddie’s horrified expression before everything went black and he heard Chimney curse loudly.
Buck blinked awake on the floor seconds later, just in time to stop everyone from taking him to the hospital.
“Buck, you have to get checked out.” Eddie argued, his voice silent and concerned. He was looking down at Buck with wide eyes. “Just a quick trip to the ED.”
“We have paramedics here.” Buck complained, moving to get up, but Eddie placed a hand on his chest to keep him down. Buck wondered if he could feel how quickly his heart was beating under his shirt and he tried to take a deep breath. His head was pounding and the lights were harsh in his eyes, and Eddie must have noticed.
“Ok, you there, can you please help me get Buck to the bunkroom? Harry, grab me the housebag please, and Chim, grab me a banana.” Everyone scurred off as Haymond helped Eddie grab Buck’s arms and drag him to a bed. Eddie grabbed his book too and put it in the nightstand, kneeling beside him again and running through a concussion check. Harry had delivered the book, and Chim had given them the banana so he checked through everything.
“I’d say it’s a mild concussion.”
“Good, so I’m alright to go back to sleep? I was trying to catch some Z's before I was dropped on the ground.” He laughed, but Eddie just made a noise and slipped to sit in his bed beside Buck’s.
“Sure, go ahead, I’ll sit here and watch you, and I’ll wake you up for a few concussion checks.”
Buck sighed and laid down, his eyes falling closed and his arms wrapping around him. This was going to be a long rest of his shift, especially since he couldn’t go on any calls and had to hang around in case he got worse.
"’All human wisdom is contained in these two words - wait and hope.’" Buck whispered it out loud as he read one of the last lines of his book. Eddie glanced up from where he had been scrolling on his phone and looked at Buck with a questioning look in his eyebrow. “The Count of Monte Cristo.” He explained, holding up the book so Eddie could see the cover.
“Do you agree?” Eddie asked, his voice in a whisper so that it wasn’t too loud on Buck’s ears. Buck smiled, grateful that Eddie was being nice, despite what had happened last night.
“I mean, kinda? Waiting and hoping are the two smartest things you can do. Waiting for someone, hoping for someone,” They made eye contact and Buck’s entire body filled with butterflies, flapping in his bloodstream, his eyes dropped down to Eddie’s mouth and then he decided to jump. “Hey, about last night-”
The siren sounded and Eddie ran off, but not without turning and saying, “what day is it?”
“Tuesday.”
Eddie flashed him a thumbs up and then continued to leave with the rest of the crew, Harry following them into the back of the engine, and Buck just continued to read the ending of the story.
“Where is the count, friend? Lead me to him.”
“Gone,” murmured Valentine.
“Who can say whether we shall ever see them again?” said Morrel with tearful eyes.
“Darling,” replied Valentine, “has not the count just told us that all human wisdom is summed up in two words?—’Wait and hope.’”
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊
Eddie dragged Buck home with him that night, so he could continue to ask him questions through the night. They ate dinner, Eddie dropped Chris off at a sleepover, all while being extremely awkward around each other. Buck reread the entirety of The Count of Monte Cristo because he couldn’t fall back to sleep. He laid there for hours, what seemed like days until Eddie walked out into the living room. It was dark except for the small lamp Buck was using to read, and Eddie was dragging his hand down his face.
“Buck, are you awake? What day is it?”
“Now, it’s Wednesday.”
A nod of the head.
“How long have we been friends?”
“Uhhhh.”
“Jerk!” Eddie said, kicking Buck’s side softly and Buck chuckled.
“I’m kidding, it’s been eight years.”
“Nope.”
Buck stared at Eddie like he had perhaps five heads. “What?”
“I asked how long we've been friends.”
“Eight years, from that day outside of the ambulance to right now.” Maybe he was wrong, maybe Eddie didn’t want to be friends anymore.
“No, Buck,” Eddie sank onto the couch and looked at Buck with an expression he’d never seen on his face. He was looking at him like he was the answer to the questions that laid under his skin. “We’ve been friends since that night outside of the ambulance to last night. Last night when you said I love you and we stopped being just friends.”
“Eddie-”
Buck didn’t get to finish his sentence before Eddie leaned forward, capturing his lips in his and moaning against him. Buck’s body lit aflame with the sound from his best friend’s throat and his mouth fell open to let Eddie in. Eddie’s hands wrapped around Buck’s midline, and then landed tied around his waist.
They fell apart and Buck’s fingers wound in Eddie’s hair. “I hope I was worth the wait.” He whispered, his eyes on Eddie’s lips, and on his flushed cheeks and how his body was pressed against his.
Eddie smiled and leaned forward for another kiss. “Well, you know what they say? ‘All human wisdom can be summed up in two words - ’wait and hope.’”
We spin the bottle till we're kissing our cups. Felt like I'd die for you. You can't explain it, it's been years since we've touched.
And I've waited none for you.