#but the idea of Buck KNOWING he wants to be with Eddie and letting that go because he wants to have a future with Tommy

[typicalopposite]

And so maybe I have been thinking a lot about the clipboard!118 proposal… and looking at it from the other side of things.

Tommy has had the ring a couple months now. He maybe, sorta, kinda impulsively bought it after their last date left him 100% sure Evan was the one. He just hasn’t figured out how to go about popping the question.

Logically he knows he could just casually ask him over a morning coffee, and Evan would be as speechless and emotional as if it were the most extravagant proposal to ever be proposed. But as much as Tommy would prefer a more casual approach, he still wants it to be something special. He wonders what would be most special to Evan.

And then the idea comes so easy.

The 118.

He goes to Eddie, spins the idea of getting everyone to help with the proposal. Eddie thinks it’s an amazing idea and he FaceTimes Hen and Chim to share the idea. Hen is the one to suggest the clipboard. Tommy has questions, but they all just vaguely insist its an inside joke that he will definitely get and Tommy leaves it at that.

He goes to Bobby and Athena’s next. Bobby isn’t Buck’s dad — Tommy has already set aside a day to speak with him and Buck’s mom regardless of the tension in theirs and Buck’s relationship — but he is extremely important to Buck and Tommy (hell anyone who watches their interactions) can see the feeling is mutual. Bobby couldn’t give his blessing fast enough.

The day comes and Eddie is off to start what will be a chain reaction of Buck being bounced around from person to person. After Hen takes him from Maddie and Chim’s, Tommy comes out from the room he’d been hiding in to ride with them to the station.

“You ready?” Chim asks, eyes turning soft as he straightens Tommy’s tie.

“Of course,” Tommy replies. He is, he really is. Maybe more than he has been for anything else in his life, ever.

“You got the ring?”

“Right here.” Tommy pulls the box out of his pocket.

“Is the ring in it?” Chimney asks, face now serious.

“Uhhh… yeah, it should be,” Tommy laughs.

“Have you checked…”

Tommy blinks, but Chim’s eyes are focused on the box. Tommy opens it and reveals the band inside.

Chim’s face softens once again, a big smile spreading across it and he pats Tommy on the shoulder. “Alright then… let’s go get you engaged.”

[wikiangela]

tease tidbit tuesday

it's Tuesday somewhere so starting it off early lol

after 7x09 I had like 4 new ideas (plus maaaany more non-episode related ideas, istg lately there's so many, I don't know what to focus on lol my brain feels loud, and I feel like I'm writing a hundred things at once, I've been a chaotic mess this month istg) but for now im trying to focus on this one fic, and trying to finish whatever this is before the next episode

for now, here's a bit of bucktommy at the medal ceremony after the encounter with gerrard

___

He could punch Gerrard in the face. He really wants to, and if it was a couple years ago, he probably would – but he’s at a work event, the guy is a Captain, unfortunately, and Buck just got a medal, he’s not risking his job right now. He’s not the same impulsive kid he was seven years ago. He’s heard enough stories from Chimney and Hen, and recently some vague ones from Tommy, to know that he hates their old Cap. Tommy seems to want to open up to Buck, to let Buck truly know him, but talking about that past, about himself back then, about the whole environment is not easy, and Buck gets that. They have time to get to know each other, neither of them is going anywhere. Buck’s certainly not planning to, and when Tommy says he isn’t, either, Buck finds himself trusting him, which is very new but so exciting.

“It’s- well, it was to be expected.” Tommy shrugs, his face a careful, neutral mask that Buck’s just starting to learn to see past, then sits down when they approach the table, putting his plate down – they’re sharing it with Eddie, Marisol and Christopher, but the three of them are still at the buffet getting food. Buck takes a seat next to him, then scoots his chair closer – close enough that their knees touch, but far enough that they still appear professional. “It just threw me off. Actually, threw me twenty years back for a moment.” he huffs an unamused, bitter laugh.

___

no pressure tags: @shortsighted-owl @eddiebabygirldiaz @watchyourbuck @loserdiaz @ladydorian05 @diazpatcher @monsterrae1 @weewootruck @spagheddiediaz @rainbow-nerdss @epicbuddieficrecs @pirrusstuff @nmcggg @rogerzsteven @bidisasterevankinard @giddyupbuck @sunshinediaz @honestlydarkprincess @911-on-abc @jesuisici33 @steadfastsaturnsrings @buddieswhvre @fortheloveofbuddie @daffi-990 @hoodie-buck @aroeddiediaz @thewolvesof1998 @exhuastedpigeon @underwaterninja13 @spotsandsocks @hippolotamus @your-catfish-friend @dangerpronebuddie @neverevan @loveyouanyway @tizniz @theotherbuckley @diazsdimples

[livinginsunnyhell]

Frank looks at him for a long minute and Eddie shifts in his seat. He puts down his pen and paper, his gaze leveled.

“Eddie, you’re describing a partner.”

Eddie lets out a long breath.

“You say that you want Buck around all of the time.”

“Sure, I just said that.”

“Right, but you – you want him around all the time,” Frank says it slower, like Eddie is learning a new language.

Eddie scowls, he’s not an idiot. He knows what he just said.

————-

Or the one where Eddie’s too busy stuck on the idea of a heteronormative family that he misses who is right in front of him and has been all along. Don’t worry, Buck’s trying to tell him.

[maygrcnt]

something i think is very imminent in 911 season 8 is a change in the professional dynamic of the 118. we barely got to see them in action this year (and when we did it was often isolated sub groups who were progressing a personal storyline. save for one or two genuine emergencies), and i do think that’s because they realized that since nothing has changed about how the team works the emergencies have gotten a bit repetitive— bobby gives the orders, buck and eddie pull off the rescue, hen and chim save their life. so i was kinda mulling it over and trying to see how this could be solved in a full length season where they can’t get away with the lack of emergencies and will probably need to shake up the 118 dynamic a bit.

the first option is obviously to just split everybody up into different stations. it’s what i’ve been speculating about for a while and i think it’s a genuine option. the only reason i say maybe not is because it kind of defeats the idea of having more emergencies because it would be difficult to show casual rescues if everyone is everywhere, and they’d have to hire quite a few guest actors to play the other firefighters. also because lone star kind of already did this storyline if im not mistaken and i don’t want to just rinse and repeat from them lmao.

so what i think is actually going to happen is that bobby is no longer captain 118. i don’t think he retires and i DEFINITELY don’t think he dies. they’ve dropped the thread that the chief wants to run for…. some sort of office i don’t know what. but that medal ceremony probably looked reallll good on his campaign so i wouldn’t be surprised if he won and needed someone to fill his shoes. they made a point of having bobby call himself “the star captain at the star firehouse” so obviously since season three he’s built up his reputation back quite well in the LAFD and a promotion would probably be very realistic. i could even see them do like station 19 did and have the promoted character use the shows station as a “home base”. i do not care if this is realistic i care that bobby is still here!

this creates a hole in the captain ship at the 118 and while they could do the “navigating a new captain route” i just… wish they wouldn’t. also they NEED to give more of these characters some professional development SO, i think captain hen is incoming. we could finally put a satisfying pin on the end of her journey for more and it would go together nicely with finally finding closure on her family storyline as well.

now with hen as captain we need another EMT and i think eddie finally getting the full paramedic stuff would be so cooll! ryan mentioned that eddie would be exploring all new territory (yes i do think that’s also about gay eddie) and it would be so nice if that was eddie learning some new skills and knowledge. this would also give us a severely severely underused character dynamic in chim and eddie. would love to see them get up to shenanigans.

we’ve now shifted eddie over to the paramedic team so buck is all alone isn’t he… WRONG. ravi main character season 8 is REAL and it’s HAPPENING. he’s literally the perfect choice to pair with buck professionally! now that he’s not a probie (i would presume? timeline might be truly fucked tho so who knows) and he’s definitely seemed to have found his own voice within the 118 i want to have the buck and ravi work dynamic back. see them work together, figure things out, and most importantly let ravi show off that he’s COMPETENT. this also opens us up to have a new recurring character at the firehouse (please be a woman please be a woman please be a woman)

i realize it sounds a little bonkers crazy to split up buck and eddie at work because we’ve done that before and things were honestly miserable to watch. plus tim has said he wants to keep the interactions up as it’s “the core of that coupling” (his words not mine). and i agree! it’s DANGEROUS to split up this professional dynamic that we have grown to love. but i do believe that splitting them in the workplace is how we bring them together romantically.

think of chenford, in order to pursue their romantic storyline first we had to get out of the trainee/TO dynamic. and it was a little scary because that was how we got most of their scenes together! but we didn’t lose the chenford dynamic, we simply moved it into the personal lives part of the show instead of the cop part of the show. that’s what i think will happen with buddie. we move them out of work partners and into (even MORE into i should say) life partners.

anyway the tldr of it is: bobby should get promoted, hen should be captain, eddie should become a paramedic, ravi should be a main character.

[dadbodbuck]

some sentences saturday

from my untitled cat dad eddie fic!

“Hey, kiddo,” Eddie says as Chris pulls himself into the truck.

Chris eyes him warily. “What did you do?”

“Am I really that obvious?” Eddie laughs, pulling out of the school pickup line.

“You look like a dog with something in its mouth,” Chris observes.

Eddie chews on the inside of his cheek to buy himself time. “Yeah. I—uh—may have made an impulse purchase. Frank told me to volunteer at an animal shelter, so I went, and there was this cat, and—”

“Dad,” Chris gasps, “Did we get a cat?”

“Sort of,” Eddie winces, “She might not… she might not be friendly like your friends’ cats. People really hurt her, before.”

Chris frowns. “Oh.”

“She’s really scared,” Eddie explains, “She thinks someone like you or me or Buck will hurt her.”

“I wouldn’t hurt her!” Chris defends, “Neither would you or Buck.”

“She doesn’t know that,” Eddie says softly, “She’s a cat, so the only way to help her understand that is to show her. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah,” Chris nods. “Is that why you got hurt?”

Eddie glances down at his bandaged hand. “Yeah. She bit me.”

“What did you do?” Chris says, with a protective bite that, honestly, makes Eddie a little proud.

“She’s been declawed,” Eddie says, “She can’t scratch people to let them know when to stop any more, so she bites more often. I had to give her some food, and got too close to her personal space. Hopefully with more work I can get closer to her or feed her from a bowl, but she’s been staying in her carrier.”

“Okay,” Chris accepts, “Can I see her?”

“I think that would be a good idea,” Eddie says, “She’s in my room—we’ll do your homework in there, and then we can work on slow blinking. I’m talking to a behaviorist from the shelter, and she says that’s how cats say I feel safe.”

Chris, with a look of raw determination (the only good thing Eddie ever gave him), nods. They make it home in one piece, and soon Chris is speeding in through the front door and towards Eddie’s room.

“Mijo, wait!” Eddie winces. Chris does actually stop (thank God), pausing with his hand on Eddie’s doorknob and a plaintive look back.

“Let me lead this, okay?” Eddie says, and he always hates taking agency away from his son, but this is… this is something he can’t afford to mess up. He doesn’t like the churning feeling in his gut when he thinks about what’ll happen if Magnolia bites Chris.

With a downcast look, Chris nods.

“Hey, I’m not saying I don’t think you’ll respect her space, or that I think you’ll do anything wrong,” Eddie assures him, “I just want to make sure she sees a familiar face first, okay?”

“Okay,” Chris says, relaxing. Eddie opens the door and steps in.

When they get in, she’s still in her crate. Eddie bites back a sigh of disappointment, one that quickly becomes unnecessary when he realizes she’s eaten her food.

“Alright, bud, let’s get cracking,” Eddie says, sitting cross-legged on his own bed. Chris joins him, and it’s almost like they’re having a sleepover, whispering because they’re up too late, and not because there’s a really freaked out cat six feet away.

[babygirl-diaz]

you said you have so many headcanons for eddietommy… i would LOVE to hear them since i can never get them out of my head!!

Hiiiiiii! So I just let an anon know about my headcanons here!

But to add to that, I do love the idea of Tommy taking care of Eddie. Like he is so gentle with him, it's sweet. He's gentle in bed too and Eddie sometimes gets frustrated and is like "Tommy, you're not gonna break me and flips them around and rides him." Hehe.

Eddie isn't an overly affectionate guy and PDAs aren't his thing so he shows affection in other ways. Like I have this one specific headcanon where when Tommy comes to visit Eddie at work and he's talking to Eddie's coworkers, Eddie gently punches him in the arm to get his attention and says, "Hey babe. How's it going?" And Hen, Buck, and Chim are like, "You do realize that's your boyfriend, right? Give the man a kiss or something." Tommy throws an arm around Eddie's shoulder and teasingly says, "That's all good. We're good pals," and Eddie rolls his eyes, kisses him on the cheek, and says, "Happy?"

I think I said in the other ask too that I love the idea of them roughhousing with each other. That's Eddie's way of showing his affection. Eddie would sometimes tackle Tommy to the ground and play fight with him. And then Tommy is pinning him to the ground and kissing him and that's exactly what Eddie wanted.

Finally, Tommy plops down on the couch after a long exhausting day, next to Eddie, and puts his head down on Eddie's shoulder. Eddie just kisses the top of his head and lets him talk about his day.

Oh, oh, one final one. They're both very bitchy and will roast you and basically do this:

Actually wait... They have their own version...

[bucksboobs]

Like I said BuckTommy season 8 power couple but it would be great if Eddie has his feelings realization towards the beginning of the season and the midseason finale is him telling Buck and Buck just pauses. Looks at Eddie with tears in his big blue eyes and says “Eddie. It’s too late.” Because Buck is so so close to being in love with Tommy and he wants that to happen and moving on from Eddie was the hardest thing he’s ever had to do and he had to come back from the dead once. Eddie can’t just throw himself down as an obstacle right as Buck is about to cross the finish line and finally have a relationship that will last. It’s not fair to Buck. It’s not fair to Eddie. And we get left of that gut punch of a scene until the back half of season 8.

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Thinking thoughts about Abuela being back and with this backstory about her being taken in by charlatans and Eddies whole catholic guilt thing and how the two things kind of play into one another as an exploration of faith and being taken in by something.

Abuela giving all her money to the tarot card readers etc because she was searching for something - for connection (with Abuelo) - trying to recapture what she had lost, and How Eddie has spoken about trying to re-find the magic he had with Shannon - how Eddie hasn't actually fully reconciled the Shannon of it all when it comes to relationships and how his Catholic guilt connects into that.

How Marisol as a physical representation of Catholicism is part of that narrative - how Eddie is entering a place where he has to chose his path - in order to move on from Shannon he needs to fully square the hole - catholic or non catholic. And how that needs to happen first - before he can begin his queer journey!

[mintedwitcher]

I am violently wrestling Evan Buckley out of Tim Minear's hands until that man can give him a love interest who doesn't just fuck off at random okay thanks.

[hairmetal666]

Steve parks at Eddie's, a plastic wrapped bouquet of roses so purple they're almost black carefully buckled into the passenger seat, and a nervous twist to his stomach. He didn't plan to do this. It's just, he was agonizing about his crush to Robin and she goaded him until it seemed like a great fucking idea to ask Eddie out on Valentine's Day, of all days.

The flowers were an accident. He saw them in the front window of the little flower shop in town, and it felt like fate, like they were practically made for Eddie Munson.

With a deep breath and a gritted teeth, he swings out of the car, flowers in hand. He's doing this, he's got this, he can ask Eddie out.

Music rocks from the trailer, drowning out Steve's knock. They didn't exactly have plans tonight, only they hangout every night since Vecna, so he figured...well, Eddie never said they weren't getting together.

He's a little miffed when his knock isn't answered. Even when the music is up, the walls of the trailer vibrating, Eddie always comes to the door. But the minutes tick by with no response until the annoyance turns to anxiety.

He stretches over, up on tiptoe, craning through the window to see if he can spot Eddie, probably distracted by planning for dnd or working on a song.

The kitchen is deserted, pots steaming on the stove. The two-seater table is covered in one of those paper tablecloths they have at Melvald's for a buck, patterned with bright red hearts. The table is set, two plates, two beers, a candle burning in the center of it all.

God, he's stupid. So stupid, with his nearly black flowers and his silly crush. Of course Eddie already had someone to spend Valentine's Day with.

He stumbles down the stairs, stomach fighting up his throat. The loud music makes so much sense now. He has to leave. He can't stand the thought of Eddie finding him here, letting him down easy; can stand even less seeing him with the date he has over.

Steve almost makes it back to the car before he hears the screen door slam, Eddie's voice calling his name. For a second, he considers ignoring him; for a second, he thinks about jumping in the car and driving off and forgetting this ever happened. But he could never do that to Eddie, not even when the consequence is his own heart.

"Oh, uh. Hey, man," Steve says. He runs his fingers through his hair, swallows. "Didn't mean to interrupt, thought we had plans but I guess they weren't set in stone." He's rambling and he knows it, but can't stop. "I didn't realize you--I'll get out of your hair."

Eddie's eyes flicker from Steve to the flowers clutched in his fist, the wrapping now sweaty and rumpled. "Are those for me?" Eddie asks.

Steve's mouth open and closes a few times, thrown off the track of his monologue and trying to think of a plausible lie. "I--they're--it's--"

There's nothing for it. He has to tell the truth and eat the humiliation. "I saw them today and--They're perfect for you. So, I wanted--" he shakes his head, shoves the bouquet into Eddie's arms. "Happy Valentine's Day. I'll let you get back to your date."

Eddie's face scrunches and it would be cute except for all the way Steve's heart is breaking. "Aren't you my date?"

"What?"

"Steve. We hang out every night. I thought--"

"But. For me--" He splutters. "The table?"

"Harrington, it's Valentine's Day! You bought me flowers!"

"Yeah, cause I was going to ask you out!"

This is what breaks Eddie, and he bursts out into helpless giggles.

"Don't laugh at me, Munson." But he's starting to laugh too.

"I'm sorry! I just--you," and Eddie isn't laughing anymore, he's looking at Steve with clear, shining eyes. "You brought me flowers."

Steve sobers too, hands over the bouquet. "I brought you flowers. You made me dinner."

"Yeah." He glances up at Steve from under his eyelashes. "I made you dinner."

"Sorry for--" He gestures broadly around himself.

Eddie shakes his head, soft smile on his lips. "You're something else, Stevie." The words are so fond they make Steve's heart flip. "Now, come inside before the food gets cold."

Steve walks to do the door, pausing before he climbs the stairs.

"What is it?" Eddie's eyebrows lift.

"Nothing. Just--" Steve licks his lips, notices the way Eddie tracks the movement. "I'm really falling for you, is all."

"No duh," Eddie says with a broad, smitten grin. "You bought me flowers."

[steddiecameraroll]

both POVs on ao3

Eddie comes to a skidded stop outside the sailor themed ice cream shop. His Sam Goody bag slams into his shin from the sudden movement.

“Ow, shit.” He winces but tries to ignore the pointed pain from the corner of one of his brand new tapes poking his leg, and stares ahead at what he imagines must be an illusion.

Steve The Hair Harrington has his arm deep into some chocolate looking concoction, and suddenly Eddie wants to taste it. He’s not even much of an ice cream guy but this he cannot pass up.

Like a siren’s song, the little polyester shorts the sailor man is wearing calls to Eddie. He wonders if he could slide both of his hands up through the bottom of the legs.

Eddie steps into the bright lights and his ears fill with some ridiculous theme music. He wonders if Steve has ever tried to disembowel the sound system. Eddie would help him if he wanted assistance.

“Ahoy there!”

Eddie stands back watching Steve interact with a group of old classmates. He recognizes the young women from a couple of his classes last semester. Steve’s clearly flirting with them and missing by a mile.

Eddie hates to admit, even to himself, watching Steve fumble brings a smidge of joy to his heart. He may not be delusional and think that means he has a chance with Steve, but it does give him some kind of weird twinkle of hope anyway.

Right after the gaggle of women walk away, Eddie sees Steve lower his head and bang it gently on the countertop causing his adorable little hat to slip from his head.

“Buck up sailor boy,” Eddie grabs Steve’s hat and spins it around his finger.

Steve jolts and stands up, gawking at Eddie. “Munson? What are you…that’s my hat.” Steve snatches the regulated uniform accessory from Eddie’s finger and clutches it in his hand.

Eddie lets his eyes drag down the part of Steve’s body not hidden by the countertop, before flicking back to Steve’s face.

“Love the outfit, by the way. Really finishes off the whole ambiance.” Eddie wiggles his fingers around the space emphasizing the environment.

“I know it’s ridiculous, dude. You don’t have to rub it in.” Steve puts his hand on his hip and cocks his weight onto the opposite foot.

“Oh no, you misconstrue, my good man.” Eddie leans further into his hands coming closer to Steve’s face. “If I’m rubbing anything, it wouldn’t be your uniform.”

Eddie enjoys watching a beautiful blush rush up Steve’s neck onto his cheeks, before he diverts his attention onto the display case of flavors, giving Steve a moment to collect himself.

“What do you recommend?” Eddie runs his fingertip lazily across the glass.

“Um…” Steve takes a quick breath before putting on his customer service smile. “The USS Butterscotch is a favorite or the cherry’s jubilee. What do you usually get when you eat ice cream?”

“Wanna know a secret?” Eddie playfully whispers while leaning over the case.

“Um, ok.” Steve leans in closer.

“I’m more of a salty treat kinda man,” he winks, surprising himself with the weird level of confidence he’s slipped into.

Steve furrows his brows before leaning away and nervously scratching the back of his neck. He tries to chuckle in response as if understanding what Eddie’s implying but Eddie can tell Steve has no idea what he’s talking about.

“Well, then maybe-um-a parfait? Peanut butter? Or nuts…something with nuts?”

Eddie bites on his bottom lip trying to stifle a childish giggle keeping his eyes on the naive, adorable, sailor man. When Steve’s words finally register in his brain he awkwardly swallows hard, and shuffles on his feet trying to busy himself with something behind the counter.

“I could go for some nuts.” Eddie leans on his arms over the case. “What kinda nuts do you have, Stevie?”

“Um, just- y’know- normal ones. What kind do you like?” Eddie tracks the slow swipe of Steve’s tongue across his bottom lip.

Eddie lowers his voice before responding. “I’m sure I’d like anything you give me, captain.”

“Jesus,” Steve quietly huffs. “Uh, how about our peanut butter brickle topped with our candied almonds?”

Eddie keeps his eyes on Steve tracking his awkward movements behind the counter. Steve spins his scooper mindlessly in his palm, trying to channel his nervous energy.

“Sounds delicious. I’ll have one of those. Is there a show or anything I get with my treat?”

“A show?” Steve asks while grabbing a parfait cup from the stack on the countertop.

“Was just curious if there’s some kind of song or dance you have to perform in this adorable little outfit. Y’know, like that one restaurant in Chicago, Ed Debevic’s?”

Steve scrunches his nose and slides open the glass case. “I don’t know what that is.”

“Really? It’s this 50’s diner place where the staff are dicks. Nothing? Really?”

Steve shakes his head while reaching his arm deep into the ice cream tub. Eddie lowers his face to watch Steve through the glass. He wonders how sticky Steve is at the end of a shift.

“Is there a shower back there?”

“What?”

"In the back. Was just curious if you go home sticky or not."

"Um...no, I mean yes I'm generally pretty sticky at the end of my shift, but there's no shower...in the back. There's not really anything back there. Only a table and some safety posters, a white board that Robin shames me with." He trails off and Eddie wishes he could see this white board.

"Shames you? Robin...?" He has a hunch but isn't sure.

"Buckley? From school."

"Yeaaahhh, that's what I thought. Good for her." He means it.

Steve scrunches his face while finishing off the disgustingly sweet display of tasty deliciousness.

“Anything else I can get for you?” Steve gives Eddie his best customer service smile while setting the ice cream on top of the case.

A wicked grin spreads across Eddie’s face. “Naw I’m good. Unless… there’s something available that’s not on the menu.”

Eddie knows Steve is naive. Has never once picked up on his blatant flirting over the years, or at least doesn’t let it rattle him. But this utter display of fantasy is rotting away at Eddie’s resolve, and he’s seconds away from asking to suck on Steve’s sticky fingers.

He leans in front of the register and looks up at Steve through his eyelashes.

Pretty pretty boy.

“Um,” Steve looks around the empty restaurant, and then glances at something over Eddie’s head before turning his attention back. “Y-yeah, there is actually.”

Eddie thinks maybe he’s about to choke on his tongue as he attempts to swallow, waiting for Steve to continue.

“It’s in the back. Um, in the-in the break room. Wanna see it? Maybe?”

The fluorescent lighting above makes the beautiful shade of pink Steve’s cheeks are, into a warm glow. Eddie thinks he might be hearing angels sing or maybe it’s the dumb sailor music, but whatever it is it’s definitely music to his ears.

“Yeeaaah, definitely need to see it. Maybe wanna taste it even.”

Steve’s mouth is parted prettily, making Eddie wonder if his own tongue could slide between them easily.

Steve nods and bites down on his bottom lip, while motioning Eddie to follow around the opening of the countertop.

“Cool, very cool.” Steve walks backwards keeping his eyes on Eddie.

When Eddie steps behind the counter, taking in the entire outfit, he can’t control the subtle groan that emanates from his chest.

He’s gonna fuck this sailor silly.

*

They reappear 17 min later to a puddle of melted peanut butter brickle, an annoyed Erica Sinclair, and a better understanding of Eddie’s love of nuts.

Steve’s POV now both POVs on ao3

coffee? ☕️🍩💕

[hmslusitania]

Eddie stares at the screen. It’s not — the title is…

Well.

Fuck.

He’s read enough of the Reddit thread in question to know that he’s phrasing it right but he doesn’t—

It feels bad to post something that starts with “AITA my [32M] best friend [32M] just started dating someone new and for the first time since I’ve known him its a guy [39M]. Every time I think about them together it makes me want to puke and/or die and/or punch somebody. I’ve never thought I was homophobic before. One of my closest friends at work (and our workplace is like a family in the most literal aside from blood sense) is a lesbian and I have a regular wine night with her wife and we’ve never had an issue!”

But like. He doesn’t know what else to do. He can’t exactly ask Buck about it. And he’s not going to text Hen or Karen to ask them to delve into their deeper analyses of his psyche and whether or not they’ve secretly picked up “”””signs”””” that he’s homophobic. If they have? He doesn’t want to know. Because he’s not a homophobe! He isn’t! Really truly!!

At least he’s never been before when it was Hen and Karen and Michael and David and people he'd met on calls and even Josh (his issues with Josh had been 1,000% unrelated to Josh’s sexuality). But for whatever reason, Buck and Tommy dating — Buck and Tommy kissing — Buck and Tommy having sex and—

He loses the plot in favour of unidentifiable rage.

He makes the Reddit post.

He is primarily asked for additional context.

“Well. Uh. Let’s call him Stag. Has been my best friend since we defused a bomb together I don’t even know like five years ago? And he’s like the best friend I’ve ever had to the point where I’ve changed my will so that he’s the person who gets my son in the event of my untimely demise. And like! I like his boyfriend! I really do, it’s not that I’m worried that if something happens to me and Stag has to take custody of our son I’m worried about how [let’s call him Gatling] would do with our kid. He’s a cool guy and tbh we were friends first and he’d probably make a wicked stepdad to anyone’s kid, but also… okay it got late and I don’t think this is an accurate representation of the situation but! Anyway! Additional information of note being that I like both of them as people a whole bunch so the idea that I might be activating latent homophobic responses just because of either of them as people is nonsense haha.”

And he isn’t! Eddie isn’t worried about how Tommy would be as a stepdad. Really! It doesn’t even give him hives to think about dying anymore.

It takes until he wakes up in a cold sweat at three in the morning for him to realise that he doesn’t think of Buck as Chris’s stepdad. He thinks of him as Chris’s other dad, who is — who is dating someone a whole lot like Eddie — who is dating another man who isn’t Eddie — and…

And, well.

Well, fuck.

“Edit: false alarm I am not homophobic. But I AM in love with, uh, Stag even though he’s dating Gatling. How do I tell him?”

Because sometimes, asking relationship advice from complete strangers online is the only reasonable way to proceed. And Eddie can only hope, desperately, that they have the answers.

[winchester27]

I know a lot of the Buddie shippers can’t stand the idea of Buck/Tommy but LISTEN

To have Buddie you HAVE to have Buck figuring out who he is as an individual and to get through his identity crisis and explore. There’s a part of him that might not even realize yet that EDDIE is who he wants and not Tommy.

His relationship with Tommy is paving the way for a healthy Buddie relationship without all the internalized homophobia and spiraling.

So let’s all say thank you Tommy for kissing Buck and move on

[clusterbuck]

my heart is working overtime

7x04 coda

Tommy kissed him.

Tommy—

A sound escapes him, soft but bright, and it takes him a moment to realise it’s a laugh.

Tommy kissed him, and five minutes after Tommy left for his shift and let the door swing slowly shut, Buck is still standing in the same spot full of wondrous laughter about it, because—

Tommy kissed him.

Buck fights the urge to reach up and touch his mouth, then realises there’s no one here to judge him and lets his fingertips trace the outline of his lips, committing to memory the feeling of Tommy’s mouth pressed against his. The scrape of Tommy’s stubble against his skin, the pressure of his fingers on his jaw—

Only—he doesn’t have to strain to preserve the memory, because he gets to do it again. On Saturday, when Tommy takes him on a date.

The laugh bubbles out of him again, wild and free, and he doesn’t know what to do with limbs. He doesn’t know how to settle in his skin, to be the same person he was before Tommy knocked on his door. 

He doesn’t know if he is the same person he was before Tommy knocked on his door. If maybe being kissed like that changed something fundamental about him.

But then he remembers being thirteen years old, and the fierce burning in his chest when his best friend Johnny got his first girlfriend. He’d known, even then, that he wasn’t supposed to want Johnny to dump the girl and hang out with him instead, but Buck is starting to suspect he hadn’t know why he wanted that. 

He remembers it happening again in high school, and again and again, so—

Maybe he is the same person he’s always been, only now he has all the information. 

Buck’s phone buzzes in his pocket, and he pulls it out to find a text from Tommy. Saturday. Don’t forget.

He stumbles over to the sofa and sits down, a grin creeping across his face all over again. Not a chance, he sends back, and sits there clutching his phone and staring into space, hoping that Tommy texts back. Terrified that Tommy will text back, because what if he doesn’t know what to say?

His grin fades. God, they’re going on a date. He’s going to have to know what to say. 

The thought rises slowly. Just the hint of an idea at first, like a whale brushing the surface before it breaches, and then it crashes down on him with all the force of a blue whale.

What if he doesn’t know what to do? 

What if he’s not good at it?

He’s only ever dated women before. He doesn’t know if he’d say he’s good at it—if it’s the kind of thing you can ever really be good at—but he knows how to do it, knows what’s expected on a first date with a woman.

What if dating a man is—different, somehow? What if there’s something he’s expected to know?

And buried under all of these questions, the real one he doesn’t want to look at head on: what if he has no game when it comes to men?

Because Tommy is—Tommy is cool, like he’d just spent all week complaining to Maddie about. Even if he hadn’t quite known how much he’d meant it until Tommy tilted his chin up and slipped the puzzle pieces into place.

Tommy flies helicopters to Vegas for one night, and to the middle of the ocean when his friends ask for it. Tommy plays basketball like he’s possessed by the spirit of James Naismith himself, and he kisses like he knows exactly what he’s doing. 

Whereas Buck tied himself in knots tight enough to nearly break Eddie’s leg because he couldn’t deal with how pretty Tommy looks with that fucking smile on his face, then word-vomited about just wanting to get to know him.

He’s not sure that counts as game.

He reaches for his phone again, then freezes halfway through his contacts when he realises he can’t call anyone to talk through this.

Maddie would kill him for telling her something like this over the phone. For—coming out, he supposes, trying the words on for size. That’s something he does now. As—

He hadn’t really stopped to consider it until now. 

Bisexual, he thinks, experimental, and it settles somewhere deep inside of him, like there’s been a space waiting for it all along.

“I’m bisexual,” he says to the empty apartment, and he’s proud of the way his voice doesn’t shake. The apartment doesn’t answer, of course, but it doesn’t matter. Buck knows.

And he’s going to tell Maddie. He wants to tell Maddie, and soon. But he doesn’t want to do it over the phone. 

He can’t call Hen, either, even though as soon as the thought occurs to him there’s nothing he wants to do more. He wants to call Hen and ask if she’d know, somehow, if she’d seen something in him he hadn’t yet known how to see. 

But if he does, Hen will call Chimney, and he’s back to Maddie again.

And Eddie—

On any other day, Eddie would be his first port of call. But he can’t, not when Eddie is, allegedly, high on painkillers.

Not before he’s apologised for his behaviour on the basketball court. 

Not before he’s explained himself—

Though something in him twists at the thought of going to Eddie and laying this all out for him. At the thought of telling Eddie that he’d kissed Tommy, and that he wants to do it again. 

Eddie’s his best friend. Surely he wouldn’t—

Buck isn’t even sure what he’s afraid of. That Eddie would have a problem with him dating a man? That Eddie would have a problem with him dating Tommy, as if he’s trying to steal him away?

Neither seems like a likely scenario when he thinks about it with his rational brain, but he tries to imagine telling Eddie about his date on Saturday and feels like his heart drops into his stomach all the same. 

He’ll tell Eddie after, when he knows how it went. Maybe that’s the thing he’s worried about—telling Eddie, and then having to admit come Monday morning that the kiss in Buck’s kitchen is as far as that particular road is going to go.

Which might just be the case, if he has no game with men. He doesn’t really know how he’s meant to fix that between Saturday and now.

Although… from the look on his face right before he’d leaned in, Buck gets the feeling Tommy just might want to help him figure it out. 

[megalony]

Let Me Help

I've finally got back round to write an Evan Buckley imagine, based on a lovely anon request. I hope you will all like it, feedback is always lovely and I'm trying to find a new Buck idea to write soon.

Taglist: @lunaticspoem@sj-thefanthefan@hellsdragon@im-an-adult-ish@crazylittlethingg@allauraleigh@onceuponadetectivedemigod@ceres27@avyannadawn@sleepylunarwolf@coverupps@justagirlthatlovedtoread @musicistheway @avada-kedavra-bitch-187 @luula @missdreamofendless @bradleybeachbabe @woderfulkawaii  @amberpanda99 @daggersquadphantom @marvel-and-chicago-fan @angryknightstatesmantrash @minjix @lyjen @kmc1989 @itsmytimetoodream @noonenuts @hiireadstuff @ashie-babie @classyunknownlover @jayyeahthatsme @sp1ritssz @dumb-fawkin-bitch @oliverstarksbae @gimatida @heart-35 @supernaturalstilinski @stefansalvatoresgf

Evan Buckley Masterlist

Summary: (Y/n) is starting to feel uncomfortable now she's eight months pregnant. And Evan tries to find ways to make her feel better.

Enjoy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Someone's hear to see you Buck."

Evan shut the back door of the ambulance with a bang and turned to the right to look over at Eddie when his voice caught him off guard. He narrowed his eyes before he looked over the other shoulder when Eddie smiled and nodded his head towards the front of the station.

His lips curved up into a grin and he felt his heart do a little leap in his chest when his eyes locked on (Y/n).

He didn't know she would be stopping by the station today, but she was a very welcomed surprise.

He felt Eddie's hand clap down on his shoulder and give him a nudge in the right direction before Eddie turned around and headed further into the station. Wanting to give them a bit of privacy.

"Hey baby- did you find my phone?" Evan moved away from the ambulance and jogged over towards the station doors where (Y/n) was. He clapped his hands together and nodded happily when he watched his wife retrieve his phone from her bag and wave it out like a prize.

Going to work and leaving his pregnant wife at home didn't sit well with Evan, but he calmed down a little when Bobby said it was fine for him to have his phone on him during calls, just to be safe. That didn't stop Evan from worrying, and it hadn't stopped him from forgetting his phone this morning in his rush to get to work on time.

He searched his bag, his locker and the jeep before giving in to the fact that he must have left it somewhere at home. And he would have to go the day praying (Y/n) didn't need him for anything urgent.

"Thank you," He took the phone and slipped it into his back pocket before he reached his hands out to cup (Y/n)'s face.

He smoothed his thumbs across her cheekbones beneath her eyes and tilted her head back so she was looking up at him with that smile that always managed to make him melt. He grinned into the kiss and swiped his tongue across her lower lip when her hands reached up to hold his wrists as if she wanted to pin him in place and make sure he didn't let her go.

When they finally parted, Evan leaned his forehead down against hers and nudged their noses together while (Y/n) continued to grip his wrists. He let his fingertips graze along the top of her jaw and behind her ear, but he opened his eyes when he felt her move just a little.

He didn't miss the way her lips formed a wince, or how she pushed her shoulders out and leaned from left to right, clearly wanting to click her spine into place and make herself a little more comfortable.

"Are you okay?" His fingertips glided down the side of her jaw and pressed beneath her chin, keeping her head lifted up to face him so she couldn't try and look away. When she looked away or didn't meet his eyes, she was always trying to keep something from him so he wouldn't worry.

They both knew it was in Evan's nature to worry about everything.

He let his other hand glide down her arm and curve around her waist so he could reel her into his chest like a fish on a hook. His hand splayed out in the middle of her back and he pressed their chests together. Grinning to himself when (Y/n)'s bump pressed into his torso like a small bump in the road keeping an air of space between them.

The tender smile started to fade when (Y/n) clenched her left hand around his bicep. But her right hand reached behind her and held his hand that was on her back and she pushed until Evan took the hint and applied pressure to her lower back between her hips.

"No, your child's killing me." (Y/n) couldn't hide her whimper when her spine clicked against Evan's hand but she dug her nails into his wrist when he tried to pull his hand away. She needed the pressure to stay on her back or else the whole of her back just flared up in agony.

The pain stretched down the middle of her spine and spread out like wings across the back of her hips. Adding pressure and walking about seemed to be the only things that would dull the ache and stop (Y/n) from being reduced to tears.

"Oh, baby."

Evan felt the smile fading from his lips and he leaned down to press a chaste kiss against her cheek when he saw she was about to cry. He began rubbing his thumb up and down the middle of her back before he pushed the heel of his hand into her back and moved his hand in slow circles to see if it would help.

He wasn't sure what he could do to help her. It wasn't like Evan could just take the baby and hold them for her until she felt better. If he could, he would. They only had one month left until their due date and all Evan could do was hope that their baby would arrive a week early so they were still safe and healthy but (Y/n) didn't have to have that extra week in pain.

"Have you got any more of those painkillers?" (Y/n) moved both her hands to Evan's shoulders and looked up at him with pleading eyes that were starting to water.

She knew Evan got most of his painkillers from work, they had the strong kind here at the station to help the team power through a cold or a pulled muscle so they could keep working. He had some at home the other day and he let (Y/n) take them to ease the pain in her back and it worked.

She was hoping he would be able to find her some more so she didn't have to take the weak painkillers they sold in the shops.

"I should have some in my locker. Come sit with us for a bit and have a coffee."

"If I sit down, you'll have to get me back up." She murmured the words quietly against Evan's neck before she lowered her arms to wrap around his chest instead.

Her face buried forward in his cotton shirt, breathing in his scent as she closed her eyes and tried to pretend they were back home. It felt nice to have his hand continuously rubbing up and down her lower back and when his other arm wrapped tight around her shoulders, (Y/n) sighed into his chest.

She was happy to be pregnant. Their baby was such a welcomed surprise, but now (Y/n) was getting restless. Her back was aching, her stomach felt heavy, she couldn't eat anything without getting heartburn and sleep wasn't her friend anymore. She was ready to have this baby in her arms rather than in her womb.

"That bad, huh? I'm surprised you managed the drive down here."

Evan kissed the top of her head and nuzzled his nose into her hair, but his brows furrowed when (Y/n) stayed silent. He waited a few more seconds before a deep groan rumbled past his lips and he leaned back to look down at her.

His chest tickled when (Y/n) lifted her head enough to press her chin against his sternum and look up at him with those deep eyes that always made him cave.

"Baby please don't tell me you walked all the way here? At your speed that's a good half hour walk." His lips formed a frown before he flopped his head forward and pressed his lips and nose against her forehead. He began to sway them from side to side while (Y/n) dug her hands deeper into his back.

Evan didn't like the sound of (Y/n) walking that far when she was in this much pain. If she called Eddie or Bobby and got them to tell Evan, he would have stopped by and dropped some painkillers off to her and grabbed his phone on the way. She didn't have to come down here and she didn't look very well.

She was extremely uncomfortable and tired and in pain and it hurt Evan that he couldn't do anything to help but give her some pills.

"Moving helps… it hurts when I stop."

Her back still hurt when she walked, but the pain was much lesser when she was moving about. (Y/n) had tried to clean the kitchen- except the top cupboards which were Evan's since she couldn't reach. She had done the washing and mulled about the living room but when she found Evan's phone, she decided to come down to the station.

Walking was her best option. She feared getting in the car and not being able to drive properly with her eight-month bump in the way. Or having her back seize up and not be able to walk when she got out the car.

Getting here she had been fine, the pain was much more dulled down while she walked. But (Y/n) was starting to flag now. She was tired and her back was aching. She needed some painkillers to help her get back home or else she would be staying here until Evan finished his shift tonight.

"Well don't think I'm letting you walk home." He felt her grumble into his chest but she didn't argue with him. It wasn't worth arguing over. "Let's get a drink."

Evan pressed his lips to the top of (Y/n)'s head and kept his hand against her lower back when she stood at his side.

She let him guide her between the truck and the ambulance and move towards the stairs. Her lips curved into a grin when both Evan's hands found her hips and he stood behind her, letting her head up the stairs first because they both knew her pace was going to be slower than his.

(Y/n) made a beeline for the table but she sank her teeth down into her lower lip to try and block the wince and pain from her features when she sat down. She tried leaning back and keeping her back straight against the back of the wooden chair. Sitting straight and not slouching made her spine stay in place and lessened the tension.

And it felt good to be sat down after walking and moving around all morning without stopping. But (Y/n) knew if she stayed sat down for a while, it would be harder when she needed to get up.

She could feel her legs turning numb the moment she stopped walking and let herself rest and all the blood seemed to rush to her head and send stars flooding behind her eyes.

When Evan's hands came down on her shoulders, (Y/n) tilted her head back until she had her head pressed into his abdomen. And he leaned down to plant an open-mouthed kiss against her temple while a smile graced his lips.

***

With his fingers tangled in his hair, Evan closed his eyes and made his way downstairs, his feet bashing with each step and echoing around the apartment. He scratched at the back of his head and dragged his tired eyes around to try and find out where (Y/n) had got to.

She had been in bed with him watching tv when he fell asleep, but when he woke up from his power nap, Evan had been alone. He knew the reason he woke up was because (Y/n) wasn't beside him any longer. He didn't do well sleeping alone.

He turned to the left, about to head into the living room until a noise caught his attention and he heard the sound of cups clattering in the kitchen.

He'd found her.

He made his way into the kitchen, a smile dancing on his lips as he saw (Y/n). Her back was to him as she stood near the kettle, but Evan found his smile fading at the way she was stood.

Her lower back was arched out and she had her hands planted down on the counter with her head tilted forward. He could hear the way her nails tapped against the counter, impatiently waiting for the kettle to boil, but Evan guessed she had her eyes closed with the way her head was bowed.

He made a slow descent towards her and when he reached her, Evan carefully slid his hand over her hips. He didn't want to scare her when he figured she hadn't heard him approach.

"You okay, baby?" He leaned forward to mould his chest over her back and his head moved down to tuck into the crook of (Y/n)'s neck so he could attach his lips to her skin. He grazed his teeth along her skin and dug his fingers into her waist when (Y/n) sighed. She pushed her weight onto her hands and straightened up, keeping her back glued into Evan's chest while her head stayed tilted down.

She shifted her weight from foot to foot and pressed her palms against the edge of the counter to try and take her mind from her discomfort.

She didn't know what to do with herself. She wasn't tired enough to go to sleep yet as it was still early, but she couldn't focus on the tv any longer. The only thing (Y/n) could think to do was move about and make herself a drink before she gave in and tried to sleep. And she didn't want to disturb Evan when he had been long at work and was ready for rest.

"Is your back still hurting?" His voice was quiet against her skin while his palms moved up and down her hips. The action caused her shorts to bunch up over her thighs until they were as small as the underwear beneath them and it let her feel Evan's fingertips roam along her flesh.

"I'm just uncomfy,"

Reaching her hand out, (Y/n) found another cup from the draining board to make Evan a coffee while she made herself a hot chocolate.

"Babe, I need the milk." (Y/n) tilted her head to the left to look up at Evan, but he didn't unravel himself from around her or let her move towards the fridge. He stayed melted up against her back and his fingers wormed their way beneath her shorts.

She moved her hands back to the counter and sighed when Evan nudged his nose against her neck and pecked her shoulder.

"Will you let me move?" Her words came out quiet against his hair that tickled her nose and chin when she pressed her lips against the top of his head. As lovely as this was, (Y/n) wasn't sure she wanted to stand in the kitchen all night long.

"Nope," He whispered back, barely moving his lips from her skin causing shivers to race down (Y/n)'s neck and through her arm.

"Why not?" (Y/n) closed her eyes and nudged her nose against his head. Another shiver rattled down her neck when Evan grazed his teeth along her skin and started to tug until she knew there would be a bruise there in the morning.

"You said you're uncomfy… so let me help."

Her lips curved into a tender smile when Evan slowly worked his way up along her neck. A few soft kisses stuck to her jaw, then he leaned round to capture her lips and steal the breath she'd drawn in. His wet lips moved to smother her temple and when (Y/n) leaned her cheek against the top of his chest near his collar bone, she felt Evan perch his chin on top of her head.

She didn't have to look up at him to know he was smiling. His hands gave her inner thighs a squeeze before he took a step back and dragged (Y/n) with him so she wasn't leaning on the counter anymore.

(Y/n) closed her eyes and nuzzled her face into his chest while she waited to see where his hands were starting to wander to. She wasn't quite sure what he had in mind to try and help, but she would take anything right now.

His hands slipped out of her shorts that stayed bunched around her hips and he slid them up beneath her shirt instead. Which they both knew happened to be Evan's shirt because his clothes fit (Y/n) and were still baggy even with her stomach being in the way.

Tilting his head down, Evan moved his chin so his lips were smothered against the top of (Y/n)'s head while he pressed his elbows into her waist. And he spread his hands out on the underside of her stomach, smoothing his thumbs up and down her skin for a few seconds. When he felt (Y/n) kiss his collar bone, Evan let her lean further back into his chest before he lifted his arms a little.

He couldn't help the way his lips curved against her hair and turned into a wide grin when he felt the deep breath she sucked in.

He kept gliding his thumbs across the middle of her stomach and moved his arms another inch higher to see if it would work or not. He hadn't been sure when he saw the trend online if it would make a difference for (Y/n), but he thought it was worth a try. Evan was willing to try anything to see if it would lessen (Y/n)'s discomfort and make her feel even the tiniest bit better.

The idea was for Evan to try and lift (Y/n)'s stomach and see if he could hold her stomach and take the weight for her. It worked for some people and Evan hoped it would take the strain off her back and make her feel better, maybe just for a minute or two. Just enough so that she could stand and make a drink or just breathe and not have to feel like her back was being broken.

"What're you doing?" (Y/n) didn't open her eyes. She didn't move at all, except for her hand that reached down to grab Evan's wrist.

For a moment he thought she was going to tell him to stop or make him drop his arms and let go of her. But she just held his wrist in a vice grip, as if silently demanding that he didn't move or let go or dare drop her stomach.

"Saw something online, thought it might work." He kissed the top of her head and leaned his cheek against her head so he could look down at her.

She felt like she was turning to jelly in his arms and he was sure if he tilted his chest back just an inch or two, (Y/n) would crumble and all her weight would fall onto him. He pressed another kiss against her head and spread his legs a bit wider so (Y/n) could stand between them.

"Is it helping?"

Evan didn't have to ask. He could tell by the way (Y/n) was leaning into him and the way she sighed that it was doing her some good. But he thought he'd better ask anyway.

"Can you do this for the next month, please?" (Y/n) grumbled quietly against his collar bone.

Her fingers danced across his wrist and moved to glide up and down the back of his hand while he tightened his arms to pin his elbows into the curves of her waist. She could feel a laugh rumble deep within his chest and the base of his left hand pushed into the side of her stomach to feel the sudden kick against his palm.

It was usually when they were laid down that the baby started kicking, because Evan would lean close and start talking. He babbled about the team, how much he loved (Y/n), and anything about his day. Just because Evan knew his voice always got a reaction out of their baby.

"Anything for you, baby." He wasn't sure he could follow (Y/n) around everywhere like this, but he could give it his best shot.

He was happy and elated to know that it had actually worked, that the trend he saw while scrolling on his phone, was giving (Y/n) some relief. And it wasn't like this was anything hard to do. Evan would follow her around the apartment all day and night and hold up her stomach if it stopped the aching in her back and got rid of her discomfort.

"Do you want your drink? I can go grab the milk-" Evan dared to take one step back but as he expected, (Y/n) moved with him and went back to gripping his wrist to keep him exactly where he was.

His tongue poked out between his teeth and he laughed when she grumbled "Don't you dare." into his chest.

"I guess we're spending the night like this, then. Huh, baby?"

[bucksboobs]

On their way to a fire, Buck opens his big mouth and says something very stupid. Not an unusual occurrence but this one is unique: “Hey, Hen? Can I ask you a gay people question?”

Hen side-eyes him. “Are you sure now’s the best time?” The engine shakes on its suspension.

Buck blusters forward. “So Tommy and I have been dating a month and a half now.” The mention of Tommy grabs both Chim and Eddie’s attention.

“Wait, really?” Chim asks, Hen’s not sure if he thought it was shorter or longer than that. His memory of time seems to be the worst hit by the encephalitis.

“2 months next Thursday.” Eddie says.

“Y-yeah… that’s right.” Buck raises his eyebrows at Eddie. The rest all stare, Hen included. Those two have always been locked at the hip but knowing each other’s anniversaries seems excessive. Buck seems to agree.

“How do you know that?” She asks.

“Their first date was the same day I asked Marisol to move in with me.”

“When did Marisol move in with you?” Hen and Chimney ask in unison. Last she heard about Marisol she had only just met Chris, moving in seemed a long way off for them. Since when was she living with him?

“She didn’t” Bobby answers, giving his sternest glare to the rear view mirror. Hen knows this means she’s in charge of keeping these fools in check so he can focus on driving.

“Yeah we decided against that. Anyway Buck you were talking about Tommy?” Hen stifles a laugh. There was a story there she was going to have to wring out of Bobby because Eddie’s deflection abilities are legendary.

“Yeah so- um- ho-how long before we can uh…”Hen cocks her head. What exactly is Buck after with Tommy right now, they’re not nearly to the point of I love yous and she doesn’t think Buck would be this nervous about dating advice. “I mean how long did you and Karen wait until you, uh” Oh.

“Had sex?” Hen asks bluntly.

“Whoa, you and Tommy haven’t had sex yet?” Chimney asks, astonished.

“Buck when’s the last time you waited this long with anyone?” Eddie asks with a cocked eyebrow.

“Never? Maybe high school?” That tracks.

“Or Abby.” Chim offers. Buck winces at that. She knows that woman did him dirty, looks like the scar still aches.

“Six minutes to ETA.” Comes from the drivers seat. “5 and a half…” Bobby takes a sharp turn that shakes the whole truck. “5 minutes.”

“So how do I ask him to fuck me.”

A chorus of “BUCK!” rings through the truck. Eddie looks petrified at the idea of his best friends having sex with each other, Chim looks exhausted with his brother-in-law of barely a month and look, Hen would give the world to see this kid happy but sometimes he’s just too stupid for his own good.

“Buck. I think you need to remember Tommy doesn’t have a lot of experience in this area either.”

“He doesn’t?”

“Did you forget he’s only been out as long as you’ve been at the 118?” Hen learned that about Tommy from Buck’s gushing the day after the wedding. She’d also talked to him in a fluorescent lit waiting room after the most gorgeous hospital ceremony she’s ever been a part of, so she’s aware that he’s not used to being with men that want more than just sex from him. “He might think you’re just as nervous as he is.”

“I didn’t know he got nervous.”

Chim huffs at that. “Next time you see him ask him to tell you a story about a rooster.” That makes Hen smile.

“He probably won’t believe you’re ready until you can talk to him about it.”

“I don’t— I-it usually just kind of happens. You get a look, there’s a nod, they look at your lips and lean in…”

“Yeah but that was women who knew what they wanted and what you wanted. Tommy won’t know unless you tell him what you’re ready for.”

“So to get him to fuck me I have to tell him to fuck me?”

“Jesus, Buck. Yes.” Hen laughs. They are, thankfully, finally pulling to site so she doesn’t have to enumerate exactly how he needs to ask. If she did she’d have to explain birds and bees that she is not the best person to explain.

“Come on, kids, let’s save some lives.” Bobby calls as he pulls the parking break.

The fire looks pretty bad, two story house, they’ll have to split up by floor. As they gear up Buck says, privately, off-mic. “Thanks Hen, you’re a good Gay Yoda”

“Do him or do not, there is no try.”