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Eddie doesn’t talk about the medal much. Buck notices it anyway.
It’s one of those things - constant, quiet and always there. A small, worn St. Christopher resting against Eddie’s skin, half hidden behind his shirt. Buck has seen him touch it without thinking, thumb brushing over it in the seconds before a call, after one and in the in-between moments where everything goes still.
He never asks about it, he knows it’s important to Eddie.
Until one day, when he does.
It comes up because of Theo. Not directly. It’s never direct with Buck and Eddie.
Theo’s been having a harder week - restless, quieter than usual, clinging in small ways that he tries to hide. His grief worn on his sleeve. Every morning when Buck leaves in the car for work, Theo grabs onto him tightly. Making sure Buck promises to come back.
Eddie notices. Of course he does. Christopher does too.
Buck feels it. But doesn’t know what to do with it.
They’re in the kitchen when it happens.
It’s after dinner, Christopher away at a sleepover with his friends, and Theo long since tucked into bed following his bath.
Buck is drying dishes. Eddie is standing a little too still behind the counter.
Then Eddie reaches up and pulls the chain from around his neck.
Buck watches intently, unsure whether Eddie is going to say something.
“Shannon gave it to me when Chris was born.” Eddie says. “She said it was so I’d always come home. St. Christopher, the patron saint of travelers”
There’s something in his voice, memory, grief, as well as something softer underneath it all.
“You always do.”
“Yeah,” Eddie says. “I try.”
Buck goes back to his dishes. Slower now. Not quite sure why he feels a weight shifting in his stomach.
He doesn’t expect what comes next.
Eddie steps closer to him. Close enough that Buck can feel Eddie behind him before he registers it.
“Hey,” Eddie says.
Buck turns. Eddie is holding something out to him. Another chain.
Another medal.
Buck blinks. “What’s-, Eds I-”
“St. Theodore,” Eddie says, like that explains everything. Then he adds “Patron saint of soldiers.”
Buck doesn’t take it. He can’t. Not yet.
“Eddie…”
Eddie’s gaze doesn’t waver from Buck. “He’s a protector,” Eddie continues. “Stands his ground and doesn’t leave people behind.”
Buck’s chest tightens.
He wants to believe Eddie, but it feels too big. Too much. Too real. Buck looks down at the medal in Eddie’s hand.
“Why me?” he asks softly.
“Because you already do it,” Eddie replies.
No dramatics, no build-up. Just a simple statement of fact. Just the truth.
Buck finally reaches out. But Eddie stops him, gesturing for him to turn around.
“Eddie I can-”
But Eddie just shakes his head slightly. “No, let me do this.”
Turning around, Buck stands there as Eddie clasps the medal around his neck. Instinctually he reaches up and rubs his thumb over it. In the same way he has seen Eddie do for years.
🏅
The following morning, Buck checks in on Theo to get him ready for daycare before Buck heads to his shift.
“Buck?” Theo mumbles, rubbing his eyes.
“Hey,” Buck says quietly, heading to his dresser to pull out Theo’s outfit for the day. His backpack sitting on the stool ready for the day.
Theo’s eyes drift, watching Buck move around his room.
“What’s that?” he asks, pointing lazily.
Buck glances down at the medal. “Oh,” he says. “Eddie gave it to me.”
Theo looks for a little longer, nods once then says “Okay.”
Like that’s enough. Like Buck wearing something Eddie gave him wasn’t a big deal.
When Buck goes back to the kitchen, Eddie was already there waiting with coffee. He has no idea when Eddie arrived at the house. He left late the night before but surely he had other things to do this morning instead of being here.
Eddie is wearing a neutral colour henley and jeans. Standing in his kitchen. With coffee. A bright smile on his face. The chain of his St. Christopher medal catching the light slightly.
Buck doesn’t know how to process this, knowing he wears a similar medal around his neck now.
Theo yells out for help. “I’m stuck!”
Before Buck is able to react, Eddie holds his hand up and goes into Theo’s room.
As Eddie walks in, Theo is hopping around with his arms stuck in his hoodie. With a light chuckle, Eddie scoops Theo up in his arms.
“Hey kiddo, need some help?”
“EDDIE. You’re here.” Theo exclaims.
Setting him back on the ground, Eddie pulls Theo’s hoodie on properly, straightening out his clothes. With all his movement, his medal has slipped out from underneath his shirt.
Theo’s eyes widen as he spots the shiny metal.
“You have one too,” Theos gasps with wide eyes.
A little puzzled, Eddie’s brows furrow until he realises Theo is talking about his St. Christopher medal.
“Yeah, I do. I have mine for Chris and Buck has his one for you. A reminder that we have to come home to you.”
Theo hangs on to his every word. His little eyes couldn’t get any bigger. Before Eddie can say anything else, Theo runs out of the room.
Buck is standing there pretending he didn’t hear the conversation from down the hall. Theo spots him, his legs taking him as fast as they can, straight into Buck’s legs.
“I love you, Buck.”
He can’t do anything. Those words hold so much weight. A promise.
“I love you too, Theo.” Buck says, running his hands through Theo’s hair.
The shutter of a camera snaps Buck back to himself. Eddie standing with his phone in one hand, a smile on his face.
“Should we get going to daycare little man? Before Buck turns into a puddle?” Eddie offers his hand out for Theo to hold onto.
Scrambling to grab their bags, Buck can’t help but smile at them. It felt so domestic. The two of them with Theo. Add in Christopher and it would be perfect.
🏅
Once Theo is dropped off, Eddie and Buck fall into a comfortable silence. Every morning has been similar since Theo was placed with Buck.
Wake up.
Get dressed.
Pack Theo’s lunchbox.
Eddie and/or Christopher arrive just before Theo gets up.
Buck making breakfast.
Then they all pile into the car, off to daycare, school and the firestation.
At the station, it’s subtle at first. Buck absentmindedly touched the new medal at his chest before a call. Hen notices immediately.
Chim is the one who actually says it out loud.
“Since when did you two have matching jewellery? Next you’ll have wedding bands.”
Buck freezes, his hand dropping from the medal. Eddie goes still behind him. They hadn’t thought about it like that.
Hen watches everything. The identical chains, the way Eddie’s hand comes up to his own St. Christopher medal at the same time as Buck reaches for his again. The way they mirror each other without trying.
Ravi leans in, curious. “Is this like…a thing thing?”
Buck tries to brush it off. Eddie deflects. It’s not weird right? The medals are significant to the boy’s names.
Harry pipes up from his seat on the couch. “Hang on - Eddie has the patron saint of travellers and Buck, is it safe to assume you have the patron saint of soldiers?”
Everyone turns to Harry with wide eyes.
“Hey,” Harry raises his hands in defense. “I paid attention in Sunday School.”
Buck can feel the heat rising up his neck and into his cheeks.
Hen and Chim look at each other with knowing eyes. Turning back to Buck and Eddie. “You know you’re doing a couple thing, right?”
Silence.
Eddie shakes his head and Buck laughs it off.
Neither one denies it until Buck speaks up “Eddie’s straight.”
Not a denial, just the same reason. Eddie is straight.
Eddie hangs his head and gets up, walking downstairs to the gym. He can’t be there to listen to whatever they say next.
After a call, Buck catches Eddie reaching for his medal again - looking down to realise he was doing the exact same thing.
The teasing doesn’t stop as they move through their shift. It just lingers.
Buck feels it in the way Chim grins at him over his coffee. In the way Hen raises an eyebrow every time Buck and Eddie end up standing too close without noticing. Even Ravi gives them a look before they roll out. Nothing said but everything seen.
Buck tries to ignore it.
Eddie does too. It doesn’t work.
Their next call is routine. A small apartment fire, contained quickly, nothing like the chaos they’re used to. But even in something simple, it shows up.
Eddie checks Buck first.
He always does - but now it’s obvious. Too obvious. Touches lingering a second longer than necessary, eyes scanning like he’s looking for something that isn’t there.
“I’m fine.” Buck says automatically.
Eddie nods but doesn’t move right away.
Back at the station, it’s worse. Because now they’re aware of it.
Every glance feels deliberate. Buck reaches for his medal again, thinking of Theo and Chris.
Across the room, Eddie does the same.
They end up alone in the locker room. Not on purpose. It just happens.
Buck’s pulling off his turnout gear, movements sharper than usual. Eddie’s quieter, slower, like he’s thinking too much.
“They’re not going to let it go.” Buck mutters
With a hum, Eddie agrees.
Buck glances at him. “We don’t-we’re not, is it…weird?”
The sentences are unfinished.
We don’t what?
We’re not what? A couple.
Eddie leans back against the lockers, arms crossed loosely over his chest.
“They’re not wrong.” he says, not quite meeting Buck’s eyes.
Buck’s breath catches slightly. “Eddie…”
“I’m not saying they’re right either,” Eddie adds quickly. “Just…” his words trailing off at the end.
“What are you saying then?”
Eddie finally looks at him.
“I’m saying, maybe we stopped noticing a long time ago” Eddie says with a deep sigh.
Stepping across the room, Buck pulls Eddie into a hug. Neither of them wants to let go.
So they don’t.
Standing in a shared silence. Not pretending anymore.
They don’t step back, they don’t fix it, they don’t define it. But they also don’t pretend that it’s nothing.
When the pair walk back out of the locker room together, the space between them is just a little bit smaller.
Not hidden. Not fake.
Just Buck and Eddie.