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The LAFD Charity Bachelor Auction was always a loud, chaotic affair, but tonight the energy in the ballroom was absolutely feral.
At the designated table, the 118 and their loved ones watched the spectacle unfold. It had already been a wildly entertaining evening. Athena had marched straight into a bid to win Harry, sparing her son from a date with a very enthusiastic woman who could be his grandma.
Moments later, May had casually raised her paddle and won a fiercely blushing Ravi, much to the table's amusement.
Then came Eddie’s turn on the block. He had plastered on his best charming smile, but internally, he was counting down the seconds. When the bid finally slammed down at $2,500, he let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding and made a beeline straight back to the table.
He slid into the empty chair across from Maddie, phone resting on the tablecloth.
"Thanks," Eddie muttered. "I will Venmo you the two and a half grand right now."
Maddie didn't even look at him, her eyes fixed on the stage. "Plus my fee."
Eddie snorted, shaking his head. "Yeah. Plus your fee."
"Shh," Maddie hissed, leaning forward. "He's up."
The lights shifted, and the guy booming voice echoed through the speakers. "Alright ladies, and gentlemen! Up next, from the 118, we have Evan 'Buck' Buckley!"
Buck walked out onto the stage, and Eddie’s heart did a complicated, painful flip in his chest. Buck was wearing his uniform that fit him entirely too well, until he ripped it off, leaving a black tank top, grinning that blinding, golden retriever smile as the crowd erupted into cheers.
Eddie’s hand twitched toward his own bidding paddle.
Do it, his brain screamed. Just pick it up. But the room was so loud. There were alot of people here firefighters from other houses, brass, locals. If he raised that paddle, everyone would look. Everyone would know. The reality of what it meant to publicly bid on his male best friend hit him like a tidal wave. His chest tightened. His fingers went numb. He froze.
"Five thousand!" someone shouted.
"Six!"
"Seven thousand five hundred!"
Eddie just sat there, glued to his chair, staring at the stage as his heart pounded against his ribs.
"Eight thousand and two dollars!" a ladies voice rang out from the back.
The guy smiled past the spotlights. "Eight thousand and two dollars from...Going once, going twice... Sold!"
Buck laughed, giving a polite smile to a table of ecstatic ladies near the buffet, looking utterly delighted by the turn of events.
At the 118 table, Maddie slowly turned her head to look at Eddie. The expression on her face was a terrifying mix of disappointment and sibling grade exasperation. She stood up, grabbing his forearm. "Walk with me. Now."
Eddie didn't argue. He let Maddie drag him away from the loud ballroom and out into a quiet, carpeted hallway near the coat rack, he sat in earlier.
As soon as the it wasn't as loud, Maddie crossed her arms. "I thought we had a deal, Eddie."
He ran a hand over his face, leaning against the wall. "Maddie, I,"
"I bid on you," she interrupted, keeping her voice low but firm. "That was step one. Step two was you winning Evan, so you could finally take him out on a proper date and tell him how you feel. Instead, my brother is going to spend next Saturday night knitting with eight elderly women!"
"I was going to," Eddie said, his voice cracking slightly. He looked down at his shoes. "I swear to God, Maddie, I had the paddle in my hand. But I looked out at the room and I just... I panicked."
Maddie’s frustration immediately melted, replaced by a soft, empathetic gaze.
"If I bid on him," Eddie continued, his voice barely a whisper, "it wouldn't just be a bid. It would be a declaration. It would be coming out to the entire room. To all the firefighters. To everyone. I couldn't breathe. I just couldn't do it."
Maddie sighed softly, stepping closer and placing a gentle hand on his arm. "Oh, Eddie. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you to do it in front of a crowd. That wasn't fair." She paused, her eyes searching his. "But... when are you going to tell him, then? Because you can't keep looking at him like that and pretending you are just friends."
Eddie swallowed hard, finally meeting her eyes. "Chimney is sending just the two of us to the firefighter games in Nashville."
Maddie’s eyebrows shot up. "Just the two of you?" (Knowing her husband, that was absolutely not a coincidence).
"Yeah," Eddie nodded. "I’m going to tell him while we are away. In a different city, away from the job, away from the noise. I just... I'm scared, Maddie. It's a lot. If I ruin this, I lose everything."
Maddie smiled, a warm, reassuring expression that looked so much like Buck's it made Eddie's chest ache.
"Eddie, listen to me," she said softly. "I told you, I know my brother. Better than anyone. And I promise you, you don't have to be scared." She squeezed his arm. "I think this has been a long time coming. You both deserve to be happy."
Eddie took a deep, shuddering breath, the knot of anxiety in his stomach finally beginning to loosen. He gave her a small, determined nod.
"I will tell him," Eddie promised. "Nashville."
Maddie beamed. "Good. Now, come on. We need to go back inside before the knitting club tries to take him home tonight."