"Dude, stop jiggling, you're making me nervous".
Buck and Eddie were once again sat in the waiting room of the hospital, the day of Buck's cast coming off finally upon them. Buck was filled with nervous energy as he envisioned his life without the cast, back to normal at last. He'd be able to hold his son without worrying about knocking him with the hard plaster and he'd finally have proper use of his thumb and forefinger again.
Buck grinned sheepishly at Eddie. "Sorry, I'm just excited for it to finally come off",
Eddie huffed a laugh out his nose. "Ready to see your arm all weird and skinny?" he asked cheekily. Buck was semi-prepared for what he knew would probably be a drastic change in the appearance of his arm, having lost muscle from lack of usage. He just hoped his tattoos would still look fine.
"I'm not sure I'm going to be prepared for the smell" he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. One thing he would miss about the cast was that the rough surface was excellent for scratching any itches. Buck had turned his arm into a makeshift back scratcher, humming with pleasure as he'd twist his arm to run it over his back. Eddie had caught him doing it once and had demanded Buck do it to him, wanting to know what all the fuss was about. Eddie ripping his shirt off in front of Buck and exposing his perfect, muscular to the young man had done absolutely nothing to help Buck's more than platonic feelings for Eddie. Buck sometimes got the feeling that Eddie was riling Buck up on purpose with all the small touches the two had exchanged over the last 5 weeks.
"Need me to come in with you to hold your hand?" Eddie asked with a smirk.
"I'll be fine on my own thanks, I'm a grown man" Buck replied drying, giving Eddie a flat look. "Besides, this isn't the first time I've had a cast taken off, I'm an expert".
Eddie chuckled and nodded. "Okay, I'll be right out here if you need though".
Buck found it touching that Eddie was clearly worried about his wellbeing, even if he was using humour to cover it up. Despite Buck's realisation about his feelings the other week, and the awkward way his night had ended after ice-cream with Eddie and Christopher, his relationship with his friend hadn't been effected. Buck had been worried that he was acting weirdly or avoiding Eddie but the older man didn't give him an opportunity to, instead increasing the amount of time they spent together by insisting they watch movies before going to sleep or showing Buck some things he'd found on Instagram that he thought he might find funny. Stuff like this that made Buck realise he was really gonna miss Eddie and Christopher's company when he left.
They'd decided that Buck was going to stay with them for a couple more days until he was able to take care of Aidan independently. Buck knew his arm was probably going to be achy for a while as his joints got used to moving again but that the pain would probably be gone after a few days, especially if he took painkillers.
"Mr. Buckley?"
Buck shot up out of his seat, shooting a quick "be right back" over his shoulder to Eddie as he followed the nurse to a small room off the side of a corridor. He sat down in the chair and bounced his knee, eager to get started.
"How are you feeling today, Mr. Buckley?" the nurse asked, grabbing Buck's notes and sitting next to him.
"Yeah, good. Excited to get this thing off my arm".
The nurse laughed good-naturedly and patted Buck's arm. "Well, lets get to it then" he said, grabbing the saw from the bench behind him.
"Now you know this blade is designed to cut casts and not skin, right Mr. Buckley?"
Buck nodded, he'd had the same rundown when his leg cast had come off after the fire truck incident, and when he'd had casts come off as a kid.
The nurse switched the saw on and pressed it into the cast, the saw omitting a high-pitched whine as it cut that hurt Buck's ears. It took a couple of seconds for the nurse to run the saw up and down the cast so there was a clear cut down the middle. Buck was then instructed to flip his arm over so the other side could be cut, meaning the cast could be prised off from both sides.
The relief Buck felt when the cast was finally lifted off his arm was indescribable. His arm felt so light that he thought it might start floating up towards the ceiling and Buck laughed as he watched his arm actually leave the table it had been resting on.
"I forgot that happens" he said with a grin as he made a conscious effort to keep his arm down.
"I'll give you a moment to wash your arm before we got through the proper post-cast care" the nurse offered, gesturing to a sink behind him. Buck walked over to the sink and carefully wetted his arm, enjoying the feeling of water hitting the dirty skin for the first time in 5 weeks. It was also the first time Buck had seen the scar from where his bone had been re-aligned. It was about 2 inches long, running from just below his wrist to midway up his forearm. The incision was healing well, the scab had come off with the cast to reveal a clean, pink line. It felt smooth under Buck's fingers as he scrubbed away at the dead skin around his hand. He thought of it as yet another war wound, joining the one on his knee.
When Buck was finished cleaning himself (and doing his best not to be grossed out by all the skin he'd scraped off), the nurse took him through some exercises he could do to regain movement in his wrist again, urging him to book in with a physiotherapist as soon as possible. Buck had to admit, his wrist did twinge a bit when he moved it, the muscle and tendons getting used to flexing and relaxing again after 5 weeks of not being used.
Eddie looked up at him as he walked back to the waiting room.
"How was that?" he asked, pushing himself off the chair and holding his hand out to see Buck's arm. Buck resting his arm in Eddie's hand, smiling as the older man inspected it with curiosity.
"It was fine. Looks weird now aye".
"I'll say" Eddie said, turning Buck's arm over in his hands. "It's all skinny and hairy".
"Hey!" Buck protested with a laugh, whacking Eddie on the arm with his free hand. Eddie sent him a sheepish grin and ran his thumb over the new scar. Buck shivered slightly at Eddie's gentle touch.
"Looks sore" Eddie said softy, a touch of sympathy in his voice. "If you were Christopher, he'd ask me to kiss it better".
Buck felt his cheeks colour and he laughed shakily. "Don't underestimate the power of kisses better" he said, trying to play off the way Eddie's suggestion made his heart flutter in his chest.
Eddie gently bought Buck's arm up to his face and, looking Buck dead in the eye, pressed his lips to the sensitive skin. His lips lingered there longer than was necessary, brushing gently against the scar. Buck sucked in a breath as he watched, his heart in his mouth.
"There" Eddie said softly against Buck's arm. "All better". He dropped Buck's arm, causing the younger man to wince as his wrist jarred painfully, and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Come on, lets go home. You've got a very wriggly baby waiting for you who can't wait for his Daddy to hold him". Eddie grabbed Buck's shoulders and directed him towards the car, the young firefighter speechless from the display of affection.
The final week of Buck and Aidan's time at Eddie's house went by in a flash. Buck was quickly become more independent when it came to caring for Aidan now that he was able to lift the baby with both hands and was regaining movement in his wrist. He still had the occasional thing he needed help with, such as bathing the baby, but for the most part he had it all under control. Buck noticed a shift in household's mood the day before him and Aidan were due to leave. Christopher was naturally very upset at Buck's having to leave and didn't hold back on letting him know. It broke Buck's heart to know how much the kid was going to miss him and he was so tempted to ask Eddie if him and Aidan couldn't just move in. He knew better, however. Eddie's house was nowhere near big enough to accommodate another two people.
Eddie also seemed more subdued in Buck's final day. His smiles didn't quite reach his eyes and Buck would often find the man staring into space mid-task, a sad look on his face. When Buck had tried to work out what was wrong, Eddie had just brushed him off, saying he was fine, and Buck was just imagining things. Buck knew he wasn't though, and his heart ached. If Eddie didn't want Buck to leave, why didn't he just come out and say it? God knows Buck was dreading tomorrow just as much as Eddie was.
They spent the evening watching movies and playing with Aidan as the little boy showed off his new trick of being able to roll from belly to back, and then back again. Eddie held the baby close as the sat on the couch watching the latest Marvel film, a series Christopher had become obsessed with recently. He stroked Aidan's soft curls and rocked him back and forth. If Eddie was being honest, he was really going to miss having a baby in the house. Aidan had finally gotten the hang of sleeping and would let him and Buck sleep in most mornings. His toothless smiles light up the whole room and he'd started letting out proper belly laughs now, sounding for all the world like his father when he did so.
Eddie offered to put Aidan to bed that night as Buck helped Christopher get his school things ready for the next day.
"I'm gonna miss you, little man" Eddie whispered as he lowered Aidan into his crib. The little boy gazed trustingly up at him, his blue eyes wide despite the book Eddie had read him in an attempt to get him to fall asleep. "Sleep well, mijo". Eddie leaned over the side of the crib to kiss Aidan's curls which were slowly turning more and more ginger with each day.
"We're going to miss you too" a voice came from the doorway causing Eddie to jump out of his skin. He spun around to see Buck leaning casually against the doorway, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips. Buck pushed himself off the frame and joined Eddie by the side of the crib.
"He looks very awake" he commented lightly, nudging his shoulder against Eddie's.
"He's about as good at listening to me as his father is" Eddie replied dryly. Buck rolled his eyes and laughed softly.
"I'm gonna get ready for bed" Buck said as he pulled his shirt over his head. Eddie raked his eyes over Buck's toned torso and licked his lips. Thankfully for him, Buck was too busy looking for his sweatpants to notice.
"Hey" Buck said, turning to face Eddie. "Thanks for letting us stay with you this whole time. I- I really appreciate it". Buck looked at his feet, not wanting Eddie to see his blush. He was blushing an awful lot lately.
Eddie shrugged, trying to act as though Buck leaving wasn't tearing him up inside. "It's no problem, Christopher and I have liked having you around".
"I've liked being around" Buck replied softly before getting under the covers one last time.
Eddie followed suit after his kicked off his own clothes, pulling on a ratty white shirt and some grey shorts. He'd stopped sleeping in only boxers after having had to hide his morning wood from Buck one too many times.
Buck didn't sleep well at all that night. He kept thinking about how empty his apartment was going to be with just him and Aidan in it, no Eddie or Christopher to keep him company when the baby was having his nap. Judging by Eddie's breathing and the way he tossed and turned, the older man wasn't having much more success with sleep. They both knew the other was awake but neither said a word. And if Eddie's hand brushed Buck's ever so often under the covers, then that could easily have been chalked up to an accident. And Buck could so easily blame not pulling away on the fact that he'd been asleep, even though he was wide awake.
Buck packed his suitcase in silence and helped Eddie dismantle the crib. The two men dragged it into Eddie's garage and hefted his furniture back into place, leaving Eddie's bedroom looking exactly the way it had before Buck and Aidan arrived. Christopher hung tearfully onto Buck's arm and begged him not to leave.
"It's okay bud" Buck had reassured him, trying to hide the lump in his throat. "I'll be back on Friday night for our movie night, don't you worry. And I'll come visit you as much as I can".
Christopher sniffled and nodded, moving on to say goodbye to Aidan in his car seat. Eddie watched the spectacle with a heavy heart, not sure if he was more upset for his son or for himself.
Eddie drove Buck to his apartment and helped him carry the suitcase and Aidan's car seat inside. Buck let out a sigh as he entered the familiar house, noting that it was suspiciously clean for somewhere that had been uninhabited for 5 weeks. He ran a fingertip over the kitchen counter and looked at Eddie with a raised eyebrow.
Eddie had the grace to look sheepish. "I may have asked Carla to come give it a quick clean yesterday. Figured you'd just want to relax on your first day back".
"Sure" Buck nodded, walking over to his fridge and opening it. "Did you ask her to cook me a week's worth of meals too?" he asked, looking at Eddie with amusement as he shut the door.
Eddie looked embarrassed and rubbed the back of his neck. "No that was – uh – that was Bobby" he admitted.
Buck let out a laugh. "So you do care!" he grinned at his best friend as he squirmed.
"Of course I care!" Eddie responded defensively. "I wanted your transition back to living on your own to be as seamless and easy as possible."
Buck smiled at him appreciatively and walked over to him, pulling him into a quick hug. Eddie barely had a chance to relish in the feeling of Buck's arms around him before the younger man pulled away.
"I really appreciate it, Eddie" Buck mumbled, looking bashful.
Eddie smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Not a problem. Need me to stick around and help you unpack?"
Buck shook his head. If he asked Eddie to stay, it would just make it harder for him to let the man go. "Nah it's okay, thanks though."
Eddie looked a little disappointed but nodded his head. "All good. I guess I'll see you later then. Bye little man!" he reached over and tickled Aidan, causing the little boy to chuckle gleefully.
"I'll text you!" Buck called after Eddie as he shut the door, leaving him alone.
Unbeknownst to Eddie, Buck had been plotting something behind his back. And, if the plan were to go right, he wouldn't be spending another night in this apartment.
Whilst having had nothing to do for weeks, Buck had begun to surf real-estate website. It had initially started off as something to occupy Buck's time but then it had occurred to him that his single bedroom loft apartment wasn't going to be child friendly forever, especially as Aidan grew and became more mobile. As much as he loved his place it wasn't exactly feasible to keep it, not now he had a kid. So, Buck had started house-hunting in earnest, attending house viewings while Eddie was on shift. He'd gone through his finances with a fine-toothed comb and calculated he had enough money for a deposit on a reasonable place. It hadn't taken too long before Buck found a house he'd fallen in love with. It directly halfway between Eddie's house and the firehouse, saving him hours in traffic. The house itself was reasonably new, with 3 bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen with a separate dining and living area, and a garage for Buck to store his Jeep. Buck had sent in an offer, not expecting anything to come of it, but had been completely blown away when the offer was accepted. He'd gone and picked up the keys two days prior and was now free to move in at any time.
Now that Eddie was gone, Buck lifted Aidan out of his car seat and set him down in the bouncer he'd left on the floor in front of the TV. He then pulled out his phone and dialled Bobby.
"It's go time" he said with a grin when Bobby answered.
"Eddie's gone?" the fire captain asked.
"Yep", Buck replied, "And he didn't suspect a thing. Carla did a good job at making the place look normal".
Buck had suspected Eddie would send Carla over to clean the apartment before his arrival, so he'd intercepted her and explained the situation. Her, Maddie, Chim and Bobby had been over at his place the day before, packing up all his belongings into boxes and storing them in the loft. Thankfully Eddie hadn't insisted on staying or it would have raised some interesting questions.
"Time for us to come over and start shifting stuff?" Bobby asked.
"Yes sir" Buck responded, jogging up the stairs to take in the mountain of boxes stacked against the wall. "I really appreciate your help, Bobby".
"Not a problem, kid" Bobby replied. "See you soon".
Buck fired off a quick text to Maddie and Chimney, rallying the troops. They arrived 20 minutes, accompanied by Bobby and Athena, who quickly began to load boxes into their cars. Hen and Karen arrived just after them, having been called by Athena. Bobby, Chimney and Karen began to disassemble Buck's furniture, loading it into a trailer they'd hooked to the back of Buck's jeep. Between the 4 cars and the trailer, they managed to fit all of Buck's stuff first go. He didn't own particularly much.
Buck turned and looked at his empty apartment fondly. He had a lot of good memories here, this was his first place on his own after all. He looked down at his doorstep and a small smile came over his face. This was where his son had come into his life, dropped in front of Buck's door by Taylor. He'd been half tempted to wrench the nails out of the doorstep and take it with him but he knew that would definitely lose him his security deposit.
"Ready?" Bobby asked, walking up behind him and placing a hand on his shoulder.
Buck wiped away a stray tear that threatened to spill down his cheeks and nodded. "Ready".
Maddie couldn't stop gushing about Buck's new place. It warmed her heart to see her baby brother becoming more and more grown up, now the proud owner of a new house and a baby. Buck directed the flow of boxes and furniture into the house, getting the couches (he'd ordered some new off the internet) set up in the lounge with the coffee table and the TV. Athena had busied herself with the boxes in the kitchen, unpacking everything and then presenting Buck with what was essentially a spreadsheet of his kitchen.
Buck had most been looking forward to setting up the two bedrooms that weren't his. He'd ordered a whole lot of star themed decorations for Aidan's room and was just about skipping with excitement as he and Maddie hung the pictures up on the walls. He'd pushed the crib against the wall, with the changing table opposite. The best piece of décor was the large circle of wood with Aidan's name written in cursive on it. Buck and Maddie hung it above the crib and stood back to admire it.
"Looks like a proper nursery now" Maddie said with a smile, hugging Buck's side.
"Good enough for your nephew?" Buck asked, throwing an arm around Maddie's shoulders.
"Nothing will ever be good enough for my nephew, but this is pretty close" she nodded.
Chimney huffed as he dragged in the rocking chair Buck had also ordered, pushing it into the corner beside the crib.
"Did you have to order the heaviest chair the internet had to offer?" he complained, massaging his back with one hand.
"It's solid oak, only the best for my son" Buck said with a grin, receiving a glare from Chimney in return.
"By the way, what's all the dinosaur themed stuff in the hallway about?" Chimney asked as he straightened up, his back clicking as he arched it.
"Oh that's – uh – for the guest room" Buck stammered, blushing.
Chimney arched an eyebrow. "Looks like they're for a very specific guest" he teased.
"Shut up" Buck muttered, leaving the nursery and turning to his left where the "guest" room was. Bobby had set up the small single bed and desk Buck had ordered and was throwing covers over the bed as Buck entered.
"The room looks great, kid" he said with a smile. "Christopher is really going to love it".
"Sure hope so" Buck replied, running a hand through his hair. He hadn't told anyone that he'd specifically looked for 3-bedroom houses so he'd have space to give Christopher his own room but he was pretty sure Bobby was able to guess as much.
It was around 5pm when the house was finally in order and the helpers left Buck to it, not before Buck had ordered them all pizza and they'd hoed into it in his new lounge. Buck walked through his new house, familiarising himself with everything. His bedroom looked much more adult now, his bed set up against one wall with a set of oak drawers on the other side. He'd bought himself a few pieces of basic art to hang on the walls. Aidan was asleep in his crib, tuckered out from all the excitement of moving house and having people fawning over him. Buck was especially pleased with how Christopher's room had turned out. The single bed had a dinosaur themed throw over it and Buck had hung pictures of Christopher's dinosaurs on the walls, as well as a few posters of gamers he knew Christopher enjoyed watching. The kitchen was very adult too, with an island that boasted a marble bench top and a large oven. He'd ordered a new dining table too and it took up most of the dining room, having gotten the measurements a bit wrong. Buck sighed contently as he flopped himself down on one of the couches and pulled out his phone, firing off a text to Eddie.
Buck:
Want to show you and Chris something. Meet me at this address
Buck typed in his address and pressed send, waiting for a moment before his phone dinged.
Eddie:
Ok? Be there soon. Better not be plotting our murder
Buck sniggered and hoisted himself off the couch, going to grab one of the meals Bobby had left and setting it out to defrost.
10 minutes later, Eddie and Christopher's arrival was heralded by a knock at the door. Full of excitement Buck bounded over to the door and flung it open to reveal a confused looking Eddie and an excited Christopher.
"Buck, what's going on-?" Eddie began.
"Welcome to mi casa!" Buck grinned, flinging his arms out.
Eddie looked at him in confusion for a moment. "Your.... casa?" he said questioningly, stepping inside and looking around.
"Yep" Buck said proudly as he helped Christopher with his crutches. "Bought it a couple of weeks ago, moved in today. I wanted to surprise you!"
"Well, I certainly am surprised" Eddie admitted, glancing around the house with a look of approval. "This place is very nice!"
"Show us around Buck!" Christopher demanded.
"Okay okay!" Buck laughed and directed them towards the lounge, dining room, and kitchen. Eddie made noises of approval as he took in Buck's new place. He was especially impressed with the nursery as they poked their heads in, careful not to disturb Aidan from his nap. Buck quickly showed them his bedroom and the bathroom before he hovered outside the door to Christopher's room.
"Now this, this is a very special room because it's been decorated very specifically" he said as he opened the door, allowing Eddie and Christopher in. Christopher let out a squeal of delight as he took everything in and Eddie just stared incredulously.
"Buck what on earth?" he trailed off as he looked around.
"Is this for me?" Christopher breathed, running a hand over the dinosaur throw on the bed. Buck nodded proudly.
"Sure is, bud. Your dad very cleverly pointed out a couple of weeks ago that you always had to sleep on my couch whenever you stayed over and I didn't think that was very fair so I thought I'd let you have your own room".
"Buck, you didn't – you shouldn't-" Eddie stammered, his throat constricting as he watched his son look in awe at his new room.
"Stop that, it's the least I could do after everything you've done for me" Buck shushed him with a wave of his hand. "Do you like it, Chris?"
"This is so cool, Buck!" Christopher grinned up at Buck. The firefighter pulled him into a hug.
"Only the best for my favourite kid" Buck replied, rubbing Christopher's back. He looked up and caught Eddie's eye, noting that they were shining. Buck arched an eyebrow in his direction which Eddie firmly ignored.
"Come on, lets go have some dinner" Buck said, releasing Christopher and leading the two into the kitchen.
Christopher settled himself in front of the TV while Buck and Eddie prepared dinner, the two moving around Buck's kitchen as if they'd always cooked together in that room. Every so often Buck's back would brush against Eddie's chest as they moved around each other. And if Buck would occasionally step into his path so the two could touch then that was between him and God.
Aidan woke up just before dinner was ready and Eddie offered to go grab him while Buck plated everything up. Him, Eddie, and Christopher ate together at the table as Aidan watched on from his highchair. The three of them joked and laughed together as they ate, a warm feeling building in his chest as he thought about how damn domestic this scene was. Christopher entertained Aidan as Eddie and Buck did the dishes and the 4 of them settled on the couch, Buck and Christopher locked in a heated battle on Buck's PS5 while Eddie played with Aidan, bouncing the little boy on his knee and waving toys around him.
When Eddie noticed that Aidan was beginning to rub his eyes and yawn he offered to go put him to bed, leaving Buck and Christopher in front of the TV. Eddie picked out a book and settled himself down on the rocking chair in the nursery, Aidan settled in his lap, head resting against his chest. Eddie quietly read the book to Aidan, moving to cradle the boy in the crook of his arm as the baby's eyes began to droop and he fell asleep. Eddie stood up, holding the boy's body close and kissed his head.
"I think I'm in love with your dad" Eddie whispered into Aidan's hair, resting assured that the baby was fast asleep and wouldn't be able to tell anyone anyway. He gently lowered Aidan into his crib and tiptoed from the room, switching off the light and closing the door gently.
"He asleep?" Buck asked as Eddie entered the room, not taking his eyes off the TV.
"Out like a light" Eddie replied, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Come on Chris, it's time we headed off too. It's getting late" .
"Aww" Christopher whined, "can't we stay for the night?". He turned to Eddie with a pout but his father shook his head.
"You can stay some other time" Buck reassured the boy. "You've gotta go get some sleep so you can be ready for school".
Christopher huffed and put down the game controller, collecting his crutches and shuffling towards the door. Eddie handed him the keys to the truck.
"Go wait inside for me, I want to talk to Buck real quick".
"Okay, Dad" Christopher replied and headed out the front door.
Buck stood up and went to escort him and Eddie from the house but was confused when Eddie didn't move from where he was stood in the hallway.
"Everything okay?" he asked.
"I just wanted to thank you for your gesture. Christopher is going to be so excited about staying over here".
Buck shrugged. "It's honestly not a problem, Ed" he said. Eddie took a step forward.
"I still find it crazy how much you look out for me and my son" he said softly, licking his lips. "You treat him like he's your own and Christopher is all the better for it".
"You do the same for Aidan. We've got each other's backs, right?" Buck noticed that Eddie was glancing down at his lips as he took another step towards him. Buck's heart began to race as the gap between him and Eddie began to close, slowly but surely. Was Eddie going to hug him again. Buck supposed he'd have to break in the new shower at this place soon enough, but he really hadn't expected tonight to be that night.
"I know, but I just want to make sure you knew how much we appreciate it. How much I appreciate it". Eddie was now close enough that Buck could count the freckles on his nose and see each individual eyelash. Their breath mingled as their bodies came closer and Buck's breath hitched as he felt Eddie's hand wrap around the wrist of his good arm.
"You're something else, Evan" Eddie breathed as he closed the gap between him and Buck. Every inch of Buck screamed that he should pull away, that he should crack a silly joke and not lead Eddie on, not take this next step that would take them past being best friends. But he couldn't move a muscle as Eddie's head dipped towards his.
Buck closed his eyes as Eddie's breath ghosted over his face and suddenly his lips were pressed to Eddie's. Buck had spent weeks dreaming of this moment and hardly knew what to do with himself now that it was finally upon him. Eddie's lips were soft and gentle against his, exerting small amounts of pressure as they moved against one another and Buck melted into the kiss, allowing Eddie to take charge. He whined softly as Eddie reached up a hand to thread in Buck's hair, cupping the back of his head, pulling him in closer. Buck's hand moved up Eddie's body, coming to a rest on his waist, other hand resting at the nape of his neck. He felt Eddie's tongue lick at his bottom lip but just as he went to open his mouth, the older man pulled away, breaking the kiss.
"Eddie" Buck breathed, resting his forehead against his friend's and breathing heavily.
"Goodnight, Evan" Eddie whispered before pressing another, quicker kiss to Buck's lips. Buck whined as Eddie pulled away, his hand reaching out for Eddie's but finding thin air. He stood there with his eyes closed, savouring the moment, until he heard the front door shut. He rushed to it and flung it open, watching Eddie's retreating back.
"Wait!" he called, praying Eddie would turn around and come back to Buck's house so they could fall into bed with one another.
Eddie turned and smiled at Buck, his eyes soft. "I'll call you tomorrow" he said with a wave and climbed into his truck, setting it into gear and reversing down the driveway.
Buck went back inside the house and shut the door, leaning against it. He brushed his hand over his lips, wondering if he'd imagined Eddie's touch.
"What the fuck just happened" he whispered to himself and rested his head against the door, grinning like a teenager after a hot date. This certainly changed things.