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The following weekend, after they’d finally made it back to LA in one piece, Maddie insisted they come over for dinner. At first, it was… normal. The conversation carefully avoided anything that even brushed up against kidnappings, deserts, or near-death experiences. For the first time since everything had happened, Eddie felt like he could actually breathe.
Buck sat beside him, close enough that Eddie could feel the steady warmth of him, quietly working through a second helping.
Then Chimney set his wine glass down with a soft clink, shaking his head with an amused chuckle. “I still can’t believe those cops thought you murdered Buck, Diaz.”
Eddie snorted, barely glancing up from his plate. “Well, I guess it made sense.” He shrugged, taking another bite. “It’s usually the spouse.”
The table went silent. Eddie kept chewing. It took him a second to notice, but when he finally glanced up, Maddie and Chimney were staring at him. Buck had gone completely still beside him. “…What?” Eddie asked carefully.
Maddie leaned forward, eyebrows raised. “Come again?”
Chimney pointed his fork at him. “Yeah, why would they think it was you then?”
Eddie blinked, looking from one face to another as realization crept in. Oh. He leaned back slightly, offering a helpless shrug. “Everyone assumed Buck and I were together.”
The silence somehow got louder.
“And you were okay with that?” Chimney asked, incredulous.
“Who is everyone?” Maddie added quickly, her eyes wide now with equal parts concern and unmistakable curiosity.
Buck straightened beside him, pointing. “You didn’t tell me the cops thought that too!”
The table erupted. Voices crashed over each other, loud and overwhelming, pressing in on him from all sides. Eddie raised both hands in surrender. “Hey—hey! Sorry!” he said quickly, half-laughing, half-deflecting. “I was a little more concerned about finding you—” He turned toward Buck, “—alive,” he finished, quieter now, “than dealing with his homophobic comments.”
The room stilled again. Eddie immediately regretted saying it.
“What did he say to you?” Buck asked, his voice sharp.
Eddie winced, rubbing the back of his neck. “Just… little things.” He gestured vaguely. “Kept calling you my ‘friend.’” He added air quotes, forcing a weak attempt at humor. “And when I told him your name was Buck, not Mr. Buckley, he said—” Eddie exhaled, already wishing he hadn’t started this. “—‘Cute. My wife calls me Woody.’”
Chimney made a face. “Wow.”
“Yeah.” Eddie huffed out a humorless breath. “And when they questioned people at the diner, apparently a bunch of them thought we were in the middle of a lover’s quarrel.”
“A—what?” Buck said beside him, incredulous.
“You guys really need to tell us what happened at that diner,” Maddie muttered.
Eddie hesitated, poking at his food. He should stop. He should absolutely stop talking.
“What else did he say?” Buck asked.
“Really, it’s nothing,” Eddie said quickly. “I’m probably reading into it.”
“What else did he say, Eddie?” Buck pressed.
Eddie stared down at his plate for a second too long. “...he may have indirectly calledmeafairy.” The last part came out so fast and quiet it practically blurred together.
Buck’s chair scraped sharply against the floor. “He called you a what?”
Eddie immediately shook his head, waving it off. “It’s not a big deal. Really.” He forced a shrug. “Princess, fairy—it’s whatever.”
“No, Eddie.” Buck’s voice went tight, anger threading through it. “It’s not whatever. You shouldn’t have had to deal with that homophobic shit because of me.”
Eddie frowned, glancing at him. “Because of you?” he repeated. “Why would that be because of you?”
Buck faltered. “I—uh—well…”
“Wait,” Maddie cut in, “can we go back to how an entire town thought you two were a couple?”
“And you were okay with that?” Chimney repeated his question, directly at Eddie.
Heat crept up Eddie’s neck. Buck was right there.There was no way he could say it out loud. That he hadn’t just been okay with it. That some part of him had liked it. That it had felt… right.
“I mean, obviously I wasn’t okay with the homophobic stuff.” he said instead.
“Right,” Maddie said slowly. “But did either of you actually deny it?”
Eddie’s stomach dropped.
Buck turned toward him. “Did you correct them?”
Oh no. It hit him all at once—the heat flooding his face, the tightness in his chest, the sudden, suffocating lack of air. His pulse spiked, loud and disorienting in his ears. Too much. This was too much. He couldn’t breathe. The edges of his vision blurred. How had he let this spiral so far, so fast?
“Eddie.” Buck’s voice cut through, distant and warped, like it was underwater.
“Hey—look at me. Just breathe with me, okay? In… out… in… out…”
Eddie barely registered when Buck took his hands, but he felt it. Solid. Steady. Warm. Something to hold onto. He focused on that. On Buck’s voice. On the rhythm he was guiding him through. Slowly, the fog began to lift. Air came back in shaky pulls.
“There you go.” Buck murmured. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”
Eddie blinked, vision clearing, and found Buck right there—too close, eyes locked on his, full of concern. He nodded, unable to speak.
Then awareness crashed back in. The room. Maddie. Chimney. Heat flooded his face, sharper this time. He pulled his hands back slightly, glancing around—
But the room was empty. They were alone. Eddie let out a shaky breath, shoulders sagging. “I… haven’t had one of those in a while,” Eddie rasped, his voice rough, unfamiliar even to his own ears.
“What brought it on?” Buck asked.
Eddie didn’t answer right away. His gaze dropped to the floor, to the space between them—anywhere but Buck’s face. His chest still felt tight, like something was lodged there, pressing outward, demanding to be let out.
He could lie. He could brush it off, make a joke, say it was stress, exhaustion, or PTSD. Anything would be easier than the truth. But the words were already there, sitting heavy on his tongue. And after everything...after almost losing Buck. After actually losing him, even for a few hours, Eddie wasn’t sure he could keep swallowing it down. Not anymore.
“I think…” His voice caught. He swallowed hard, forcing the words past the tightness in his throat. “I think it’s… everyone finding out I’m gay.”
The admission landed between them, fragile and exposed. Eddie braced for it—for the shift, for the moment things changed. For Buck to pull back, even just a little.
Instead, there was silence. Too much silence. Eddie’s chest tightened again, panic threatening to creep back in. He forced himself to look up.
Buck was staring at him. Not shocked. Not recoiling. Just… looking at him. Like he was trying to understand something important.
“Eddie…” Buck said softly.
Eddie’s stomach twisted. Here it comes.
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Buck continued, just as quietly. “And thank you for telling me.”
Something in Eddie cracked. Relief hit first—sharp and sudden—but it didn’t stop there. It unraveled something deeper, something he’d been holding together for longer than he wanted to admit.
His vision blurred. Eddie looked up at him. Something in his chest cracked open, and he couldn’t keep it in anymore. “And I’m in love with you.” The words came out raw, unfiltered.
Buck went very still.
Eddie pushed on anyway, before he could lose his nerve. “That’s why I didn’t correct anyone.” he admitted, voice unsteady. “I just… wanted to pretend it was real. For a little while. To see what it felt like.”
Silence stretched between them.
“What if...” Buck said slowly, like he was choosing each word carefully, “you don’t have to pretend?”
Eddie’s breath caught. Everything in him went still. “You mean…?” he asked, barely able to get the words out.
Buck nodded, steady and certain. “Do you want to go on a date with me?” he asked. “Actually be a couple?”
For a second, Eddie could only stare at him. Hope bloomed, sudden and overwhelming. He felt like a highschooler getting asked out by their crush. “I…” He let out a breath that almost turned into a laugh. “Yeah. I really would.”
Buck smiled, and it did something dangerous to Eddie’s chest. He leaned in, and Eddie met him halfway. Their lips brushed, then pressed together—soft, real, and everything Eddie had been too afraid to let himself want.
“Finally!”
Eddie jerked back, startled, turning toward the doorway. Maddie and Chimney were peeking around the corner, very much not gone.
Eddie groaned, dragging a hand down his face.
“Yeah.” Buck muttered beside him, still close, still smiling. “Finally.”