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Eddie was getting ready for a date.
The 118 bachelor auction was three nights ago. To raise money for various charities around Los Angeles, each station that was a part of the LAFD had to organize a fundraising event and host it at their respective house.
Most stations held a bake sale or hosted some kind of meal, like a soup or spaghetti dinner.
Chimney and Buck had decided that the 118 had to outdo every other house. They had to have the most exciting, most extravagant fundraiser.
And thus, the bachelor auction was born.
Eddie wasn’t given a choice. He was a bachelor, so he was participating, even if he didn’t want to. He would’ve preferred helping out behind the scenes in some way and not parading himself across the stage like he was something impressive, but Buck decided otherwise for him.
“Eds, c’mon! You’re a bachelor!” Buck exclaimed after Eddie told him he wasn’t interested in being bid on. “Think of all the money you’ll raise for charity! You’ll be our biggest winner of the night!”
Eddie’s cheeks had turned red at that.
First of all, there was no way that he’d get higher bids than Buck. Or Ravi and Harry for that matter. All three of them had something special, something unique that would make everyone who attended the auction want to spend every last dollar on them.
Eddie was just…Eddie. There was nothing overtly special about him. Why would anyone want to bid on him when there was Buck with his charming smile and seemingly endless supply of knowledge? Or Ravi with his wit and intelligence? Or Harry with his smooth talking and sense of humor?
“Besides, Eds, you haven’t been on a date in how long? It’s time to get back out there! Any woman out there would be lucky to date you and hey, maybe whoever wins the date could be your soulmate!” Buck had tacked on after Eddie sat silent for a second too long.
Second of all, Eddie wasn’t interested in dating the woman that bid the most on him. He wasn’t interested in dating any woman ever again.
Over the last few months, Eddie had done some soul searching. While Chris had been in Texas and he was spending a lot of time with just himself and his thoughts for company, he’d taken the time to reflect back on his previous relationships and why they’d never worked out. Why he always felt unsettled with a woman beside him in his bed or panicked at the thought of marrying another woman.
Turns out, he wasn’t straight, like he’d believed his entire life thus far. In fact, he wasn’t attracted to women at all. And what a fucking revelation that was.
Discovering he was gay wasn’t the only revelation he’d had the day he’d finally figured himself out. Nope. He’d also figured out that he was very much in love with his best friend.
Looking back at the duration of his friendship with Buck, it made sense that he’d fallen for the man. As it turned out, putting your best friend in your will and giving him guardianship of your son in the event of your death was not “normal, straight man, platonic behavior”, like Eddie had believed for so many years.
So no, he didn’t want random people from around the Los Angeles area to come to the firehouse and bid on him for a date. He only wanted one person.
Eddie knew it was possible Buck didn’t feel the same way, that he didn’t love Eddie in the same way that Eddie loved him.
But how could he know if he didn’t try?
So, right before he was supposed to be called on stage, he’d called Buck over to him and tried to lay a hint down.
“Buck, hey. You should bid on me,” he’d said in a rush, waiting for his name to be announced over the speakers.
Buck looked confused for half a second before he found his words.
“Wait, what? You want me — I should bid on you?”
Eddie nodded. His nerves were buzzing under his skin, like a million little insects were crawling through his veins. He knew he was being pretty vague, but Buck was intelligent. If anyone could figure out what he was trying to say, it would be him.
“Please. Bid on me,” he said one more time before the announcer was calling his name.
He turned his back to Buck, took a deep breath, and made his way out in front of the crowd.
Buck had bid. Three times, he’d held his paddle up from his spot in the crowd with a look of uncertainty on his face.
Once the price had hit four digits, rolling over from nine-hundred dollars to twelve-hundred in between one paddle raise and another, Buck hadn’t bid again.
It was a middle aged woman with dark red lipstick and sleek blonde highlights that won the date with Eddie. She bid twenty-seven hundred dollars, with no one trying to outbid her after that.
After leaving the stage, Eddie had found her in the crowd to introduce himself. His heart had been beating so erratically in his chest that he had almost convinced himself he was having a heart attack.
The woman’s name was Melanie. She had a nice smile, warm like honey and soft like velvet.
“Melanie, thank you for your generosity,” Eddie had said to her after giving her a quick hug.
She’d waved him off.
“My wife and I love supporting the LAFD. We donate as often as we can to the department,” she’d stated simply, like the mention of a wife wasn’t throwing Eddie off balance. “Both of our fathers were firefighters back in our respective hometowns, so we just like to come out and donate to the fundraisers hosted by the fire department whenever we can.”
“That’s — incredible, Melanie. I wish more people out there had your generosity.”
“It’s the least we could do. Julia couldn’t be with me tonight, unfortunately. She’s on call at the hospital, but how does dinner sound? Do you like Italian?”
Eddie had exchanged phone numbers with her, so they could plan something properly.
“We can just go out to dinner as friends getting to know one another.” Melanie eyed him, but there was no heat to it. No attraction at all.
Eddie had sighed in relief and had been more than happy to plan a night out, knowing it wasn’t going to go any further than dinner and some nice company, knowing that he wasn’t going to have to perform.
After saying goodbye to Melanie and promising to be in touch, Eddie had wandered backstage to change out of his turnouts. Buck found him almost immediately.
“Did you meet your date?” he asked.
Eddie nodded, trying to avoid Buck’s eyes. He knew he didn’t have the right to be upset with him for not trying to outbid everyone in the crowd, but he couldn’t stop himself.
“And?” Buck continued, trying to pry more information from him.
Eddie ignored what Buck was asking and instead asked a question of his own.
“Why did you stop bidding on me?”
Buck faltered for a second, then shrugged. “I couldn’t afford you,” he said with a laugh, like this was nothing more than a joke to him. “You’re an expensive date, Eds.”
He took a deep breath, inhaling through his nose and exhaling through his mouth.
“Besides, I get to just hang out with you for free all the time. Perks of being your best friend,” Buck continued with a grin, “I know you really didn’t want to go on a date, but this could be good for you, Eds.”
Eddie blinked. And blinked again.
He thought Eddie was just trying to get out of going on a date. Buck hadn’t understood that Eddie asked him to bid because he wanted a date with Buck and was too big of a coward to just ask him out.
Eddie swallowed his fear and decided to be brave.
“Buck, I – I didn’t ask you to bid on me just to hang out with you. To just get out of going on a date.”
Buck’s grin faltered. “W-what?”
“I wanted to go on a date with you.”
“You – wanted me to win the date with you? Because you want to go on a date? With – with me?”
If Eddie didn’t feel like he was about to heave all of his dinner, the look on Buck’s face would’ve been almost comical.
“Yes. I asked you to bid on me because I want to go on a date with you. A — a proper date, not just my couch and a few beers. You know, dinner and candles and wine.”
“You – I – wait, you wanted to – a date with me?” Buck stammered. He was pointing his own index finger back at himself.
Eddie simply nodded, trying to force the nerves and embarrassment down. “It’s – don’t worry about it, Buck. I should have been more clear.” He finished gathering all of his things, shoving his phone in his pocket and taking his keys out. “I’ll see you later.”
He turned his back on Buck and started making his way out towards the parking lot. Humiliatingly enough, there were tears burning in his eyes.
“Eddie – Eddie, wait!”
He could hear Buck shouting his name, trying to get his attention, but Eddie didn’t stop.
That’d been three nights ago. He hadn’t talked to Buck since then, dodging both his texts and calls as he licked his wounds in private.
He was supposed to meet Melanie for dinner in an hour at a nice Italian spot downtown. He made quick work of shaving and showering before making his way back to the bedroom to get dressed.
A knock sounded on the front door as he finished buttoning his shirt.
Running a hand through his damp hair, he walked to the door and pulled it open.
And there stood Buck.
He looked beautiful in the soft glow of the sunset. He was wearing a forest green button down that complimented his skin tone just right. Eddie felt his breath leave his lungs at the sight of him.
A bouquet of red roses was cradled in his arm.
“Buck?”
He smiled bashfully back at Eddie.
“Hi Eds,” he said back. He thrust the roses towards Eddie. “These are for you.”
Eddie looked up at Buck’s face, down at the roses, and back up at Buck’s face.
“For…me? What?”
Buck shook the bouquet a little.
“I – I got you flowers.”
Eddie’s heart was doing flips in his chest.
“What’re you doing here, Buck?”
Buck dropped his hand, the roses still held firmly in his hand.
“You haven’t been answering my messages.”
“I – sorry. I just,” Eddie muttered, “needed a minute.”
“Can I come in?” Buck asked, almost timid.
He sighed.
“Buck, I don’t…I can’t right now. I have somewhere to be soon.”
“Eddie. Can I please come in so we can talk about this? We haven’t spoken since the night of the auction. I’ve really missed my best friend.”
Letting out a huff that had more to do with his nerves and less to do with irritability, Eddie stepped back and watched as Buck walked through the door into the entryway. The door clicking shut behind them was as loud as a gun shot, making Eddie flinch.
“I only have a few minutes, Buck. What do we need to talk about?”
Buck set the roses on the shelf behind him, then turned the entirety of his attention on Eddie.
“I didn’t know, Eddie.”
Eddie frowned.
“Didn’t know what?”
“When you asked me to bid on you, I didn’t know you wanted to go on a date with me.”
Eddie sighed again and swiped a hand down his face.
“Buck, I literally asked you to bid on me at the auction. You know, the auction where you win a date for bidding the highest?”
The corners of Buck’s mouth ticked upward.
“Well, yeah. But I thought you were just trying to get out of going on a date at all. I didn’t know you wanted a date with me. I just – you’re straight, so it never once crossed my mind that you actually wanted me to win.”
In hindsight, Eddie knew he should’ve been more clear with what he was saying. He should’ve told Buck exactly why he wanted him bidding on him. He knew it wasn’t fair to be upset with Buck for not exactly understanding what Eddie was asking of him, especially when Eddie hadn’t had the nerve to come out to him yet.
Well, no better time than the present, he guessed.
“It’s okay, Buck. Seriously. I wasn’t very clear with my intentions, so it’s okay,” he said honestly, making sure he was looking Buck in the eye as he spoke, no matter how difficult maintaining his gaze was. His eyes were just so blue, so piercing. “I – I’m gay, by the way. Not straight. If that much wasn’t clear. I should’ve told you before asking you to bid on me.”
A proud, fond look crossed Buck’s face. It made Eddie feel like he was on fire in the best way.
“You didn’t have to tell me anything until you were ready, Eds, but I’m really proud of you. For what it’s worth,” he said. The genuine tone of his voice almost made Eddie want to cry.
“And, if you’d be willing to give me another chance, I would absolutely love to take you out on a date,” Buck mused. His voice was so smooth, sending a pang of want right to Eddie’s core. “I’ve got reservations made for seven-thirty at our favorite Mediterranean spot.”
If it was even possible, his heart started beating even faster, like a hummingbird in his chest.
“Buck, I – I can’t,” he stammered.
A flash of hurt crossed Buck’s face, but it was gone as fast as it appeared. He opened his mouth to say something, but Eddie cut him off before he could.
“Not because I don’t want to. I – I do. I really want to,” he insisted, desperate to wipe the dejected look off of Buck’s face. “It’s just. I can’t tonight. I have a date with Melanie from the fundraiser.”
At the mention of that, Buck’s entire face turned from sad, kicked puppy to one that just found his forever home.
“Not anymore, you don’t!” He exclaimed.
Now Eddie was confused.
“I do, Buck. I’m meeting her at seven.” Eddie looked around him to check the time on the wall clock. It was 6:27. “I’m sorry, I really have to leave, like, now.”
“No, you don’t! I bought your date from Melanie!” Buck exclaimed.
What???
“What?” He asked.
“I,” Buck pointed to himself with a proud grin, “bought your date,” he pointed at Eddie, “from Melanie.”
Eddie’s not sure he’s ever been more confused. Even when he’d been dosed with LSD and handcuffed by Athena, he hadn’t been this confused.
“Buck, I’m going to really need you to explain because this isn’t making any sense to me.”
“Well. After you left the auction the other night, I couldn’t stop thinking about what you said. I mean, the man I’ve had feelings for for several years now had just told me he wanted to go on a date with me. It was all I could think about,” Buck started to explain.
The man I’ve had feelings for for several years now.
Eddie’s pretty sure he stopped breathing.
“So, I may or may not have snuck a glance at the list of people who’d won a date and figured out what Melanie’s last name was. And then I may or may not have looked her up on Instagram and dm’ed her to offer her double what she paid for a date with you.”
Eddie’s living in an alternate universe or a very intense, vivid dream. This wasn’t real. That’s got to be it. That’s the only thing that makes sense right now.
“She agreed. She said she’d give up her date with you if I paid her double what she paid. So I did.”
“Buck, what?” Eddie hissed.
“You no longer have a date with Melanie tonight. You have a date with me. If – if that’s okay with you.”
Buck just said the most insane thing Eddie had ever heard and simply asked if he was okay with it? But also…
“How did you afford that?”
“Uh, what?”
“How did you afford to pay Melanie double what she paid? You said you stopped bidding because the price had gone too high?”
Buck’s cheeks turned red. He looked down at the floor before looking back up at Eddie through his lashes with a sheepish look.
“Itookoutasmallloan,” he rushed out in one breath.
“Come again? Maybe slower this time?”
Buck took a deep breath before he said, “I took out a small loan.”
Eddie nodded slowly, letting himself digest the words Buck had just said.
“You took out a small loan,” he muttered. “You took out a small loan to pay Melanie double what she paid, just to go out on a date with me.”
Buck had the nerve to almost look proud.
“I did.”
“You’re an idiot,” Eddie snarked back. “Your credit is already a mess! I would’ve gone on a date with you for free, Buck! Why would you take out a loan for me?”
“I don’t care about my credit, Eddie, I would literally bankrupt myself for you. Had I known you actually wanted to go on a date with me at the auction, I would’ve outbid every single person there, no matter the cost.”
Eddie’s brain was officially off-line. Buck was saying all this stuff that sounded dangerously close to love and he wasn’t totally sure he wasn’t actually dreaming at this very moment. He was going to wake up in his bed and be inevitably disappointed that his own mind turned against him.
Before he even realized he was moving, Eddie reached out and grabbed a handful of Buck’s shirt, fisting the fabric so tight that his knuckles turned white. He pulled Buck down and crashed his lips to his.
He felt Buck freeze for half a second before he melted into the kiss. He brought his hands up to the sides of Eddie’s neck, his thumb brushing the line of his jaw.
Eddie moved his hands down to Buck’s waist and pulled him even closer, not letting an inch of space come between them. The feeling of Buck’s firm, toned chest against his was making him feel dizzy with want.
Kissing Buck didn’t come with fireworks or a symphony of angels singing from the heavens above, but for the first time in his life, Eddie felt completely settled in his skin. Like he was finally doing what he was put on this earth to do.
God damn it, did he love this man.
Pulling back to take a breath, Eddie pressed his forehead to Buck’s. He felt like a pressure cooker, the urge to say those three words to Buck building and building inside of him until it was too much and he couldn’t stop them from tumbling out of his mouth.
“I love you,” he gasped. “I’m in love with you.”
Buck pecked his lips once, twice.
“I’ve been in love with you since the beginning, Eds.” His breath ghosting over Eddie’s lips made him shiver. “Since we promised to have each other's backs, I’ve been a goner for you.”
Tears sprang into Eddie’s eyes, but this time, it was tears of joy.
“You love me?” He whispered, still not entirely sure he wasn’t dreaming.
Buck lifted his forehead off of Eddie’s and locked his gaze on him.
“Of course I do,” he whispered back. “How could I not?”
Eddie felt a tear slip from his waterline and trail down his cheek. Buck thumbed it away.
“I love you too.” Eddie lifted his arms and wrapped them around Buck’s neck, holding onto him like he was about to float away.
Buck snaked his arms around Eddie’s waist and held Eddie just as tight. He buried his head in the crook of his neck, pressing a light kiss on the side of Eddie’s throat.
“You really took out a loan just to go on a date with me?”
He felt Buck grin against his skin.
“I’d do it again,” he murmured, “if it meant you were going on dates with me. Not some random woman who bid the highest on you.”
Eddie had to laugh because he knew that his date with Melanie was never going to be anything more than just a friendly dinner.
“Melanie has a wife, by the way.” Eddie felt himself swaying against Buck. He felt drunk and giddy, like how he got after one too many glasses of wine.
Buck pulled away from the hug, so he could look at Eddie’s face. He felt his arms tighten around him.
“Really?”
Eddie nodded.
“So…wait. Your date with her wasn’t going to be like a date date?”
Smiling at his confusion, Eddie couldn’t stop himself from snatching another kiss real quick.
“Did you miss the part where I said I was gay? And the part where she has a wife? We were just going to get dinner. Get to know each other as friends only.”
Buck nodded slowly as a small grin overtook his features.
“That’s really sweet, actually. And that means I took out a loan for…no reason really,” he pondered. “I could’ve just asked you out to dinner in a completely normal way.”
Eddie giggled at the big lovable idiot in front of him.
“Buck, you’ve never been completely normal and that’s what I love about you. I don’t want normal, I just want you.”
A delightful shade of pink rose on Buck’s cheeks.
“I’ve been yours. I’ll be yours for as long you’ll have me, Eds.”
Eddie pretended to think for a moment before leveling Buck with what he was sure was a disgustingly love sick look.
“How about forever, then?”
Buck surged forward and crashed his mouth to Eddie’s again. He couldn’t stop the moan that slipped if he tried.
“Forever sounds perfect,” Buck whispered against his lips. He reached behind Eddie to where he’d set the bouquet of roses and grabbed them, holding them out towards Eddie. “How about we start out forever with a proper date? With dinner and candles and wine.”
Eddie took the flowers from Buck with one hand and put his other hand on Buck’s cheek, feeling himself melt a little as Buck leaned into the touch. He pressed another soft kiss to Buck's mouth. Now that he was allowed too, he never wanted to stop.
“Let's go out on a date and start our forever,” he said softly.
*
The next morning, Eddie woke to a text from Melanie.
Melanie: tell that hotshot of yours that the money he paid me for our date was donated back to station 118. He really loves you, by the way. My instagram dm’s are just full of him waxing poetic about you.
Eddie grinned at the message and pulled the sleeping man beside him even closer, more than ready to spend the rest of his life with Evan Buckley by his side.