Chapter Text
The apartment is quiet in the late evening. Chris is asleep upstairs, curled up with his stuffed dinosaur, breathing softly. Buck is lying against Eddie on the couch, one arm draped over him.
They’ve been together for about a year now. Before that, they were best friends for six, seven years, sharing everything except… marriage. They’d never talked about it—never really had the conversation. But lately, Eddie can’t stop thinking about it. About what the future might look like.
Eddie shifts slightly, careful not to disturb Buck too much, and brushes a hand across his back.
“Hey,” Eddie murmurs.
Buck hums, eyes half-closed. “Hmm?”
Eddie swallows. “…Can I ask you something?”
Buck blinks up at him sleepily. “…Sure.”
Eddie hesitates for a second, trying to figure out the words. “…So… we’ve never really talked about this before, right?”
Buck tilts his head, squinting. “About what?”
“Marriage,” Eddie says softly. “…Like, what you think about it. Not me asking you to do anything. Just… what’s your take?”
Buck frowns slightly, as if thinking it over. “Marriage?” he repeats slowly. “…I don’t know. Never really… thought about it seriously.”
Eddie nods. “…Yeah. Me neither.”
Buck shrugs, a little smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “I mean… before you, I didn’t really see it in the cards for me. You know?”
Eddie smiles faintly. “…Yeah, I get that.”
Buck leans closer, resting his forehead against Eddie’s shoulder. “…But with you… and Chris? I dunno. I guess I’ve thought about it a little. Just… feels different.”
Eddie feels his chest tighten, a small ache of hope and love. “Different how?”
Buck sighs. “…Like it’d actually mean something, you know? Not just some piece of paper. More… like, us. All of us. Together.”
Eddie brushes a thumb across Buck’s knuckles. “…Yeah. I think I get that.”
Buck shifts slightly, pressing closer to Eddie, hand tightening around his. “…Doesn’t mean I’m ready to… or anything,” he mutters. “…Just… I think about it sometimes.”
Eddie nods slowly. “…Me too. I’ve been thinking about it more than I probably should.”
“Yeah,” Eddie admits. “We’ve been friends forever, but… marriage feels like a whole new level.”
Buck snorts quietly. “…Sounds serious.”
Eddie smiles, pressing a kiss to the top of Buck’s head. “It is. But it’s not about rushing anything. Just… figuring out what we want.”
Buck nods, ear still pressed to Eddie’s chest. “…Yeah. I like that. Figuring it out together.”
Eddie wraps an arm more firmly around him, squeezing gently. “Exactly.”
They sit there in the quiet apartment, the soft rhythm of Eddie’s heartbeat beneath Buck’s ear, Chris asleep upstairs, thinking about the years behind them and the life ahead. For the first time, they let themselves imagine it: the three of them, safe, steady, and maybe… one day, officially a family forever.