Work Text:
“You know,” Eddie begins. He turns to face Chimney, only to realize his best friend was long gone. Eddie frowns, craning his neck and twisting in a circle, eyes roving the crowd. He barely manages to swallow an audible groan of disbelief when he spots Chim over by a gazebo on the opposite side of the clearing; he's unsurprisingly abandoned Eddie to flirt with Maddie. It wasn't as if Eddie blamed them, though. They were sickeningly in love, and Eddie would be a little bitter about it if they weren't so damn cute. He ached to find someone who made him a fraction as happy as Chimney and Maddie made one another. The pair had gotten engaged shortly after Eddie met them, already deep into the 'honeymoon' phase of their relationship that Eddie believes with certainty would probably never end.
Eddie begins navigating the crowded garden, discomfort weighing like a stone in his stomach. The collar of his suit jacket chafes against his neck, and he adjusts his tie self-consciously as he heads in Chimney and Maddie's direction, dodging wedding-goers at every turn. He glances towards the stage to check the progression of the wedding, which hasn't quite started yet and is running about an hour and a half behind. This meant the guests were entertaining themselves to the best of their abilities. And other than Chimney and Maddie, Eddie is unfamiliar with the rest of the attendees; after all, he only knows the wives-to-be in a sort of distant capacity.
He's hung out with them in a group setting along with Maddie and Chimney, who have both worked with one half of the couple for years, given that they are both first responders. The invitation was surely nothing more than a nicety, but Chimney and Maddie both insisted he tag along. Besides, the reception had an open bar, and Abuelita and Pepa both insisted Eddie put himself out into the world. What better place for Eddie to do that than a queer wedding? The bride-to-be who had handed him his invitation had arched an eyebrow and made a joke about gay-networking.
Eddie is still freshly navigating the world, post-gay awakening. He’s been in LA for a few years now, so he's only had about three or four misadventures in dating since divorcing Shannon before leaving, practically fleeing, Texas. Eddie moved out here with the intention of getting away from his family. It was also to give his ex-wife a chance to have a presence in their son's life. Only, Shannon was too wrapped up in her new fiancé to care about much else. Eddie hates that Chris doesn’t have his mother in his life, but he isn’t mad that he doesn’t have to share custody. He likes having his son all to himself. All of this was to say that since his gay awakening, Eddie has yet to date a man.
So Eddie is here, putting himself out there to appease his friends, his son, and his family, who all make teasing or concerned comments about his lack of companionship. They all had good intentions, of course. And admittedly, Eddie was lonely at the end of the day. He knows it's time to, maybe not exactly move on, but get his feet wet at the very least.
His abysmal dating history looked a bit like this: two one-off dates in the early days after moving from El Paso, set up by his aunt and grandmother, who were well-meaning. But Eddie’s heart hadn’t been into it at the time. Now he knows that it was repression, buried under years of religious trauma and heady expectations and standards he never felt he could reach, no matter how far he stretched. Explained away now with one monosyllabic word: gay.
Before he'd discovered that little surprise, though, Eddie had a sort of flirtation with one of Chris’s teachers, Ana. Ana, who was beautiful, kind, and completely amazing. The flirtation bloomed into a steady relationship. It had been comfortable and perfect—too perfect. Or at least it was perfect until Eddie began having panic attacks anytime someone mentioned marriage or proposing. Back then, Eddie assumed it was commitment issues—only then there were the performance issues to consider. And one day, after spraining his ankle on a job, she’d taken careful care of him, kindly and tenderly, and Eddie hadn't been able to take it any longer. He broke up with her suddenly, unexpectedly—unexpected to even him. But she'd been everywhere, and his skin was crawling, and he loathed himself, and Eddie had simply ended it. When she left, he'd texted Chimney, who picked him up and dropped Christopher off at his Tía's, and for the next week Eddie had lived on the man's sofa, wishing he didn't feel so goddamn weird and uncomfortable in his own skin.
For nearly a month after, Eddie never understood why he felt a bit like he was underwater—the real world muffled under thousands of pounds of water. It was like he could touch the surface but never break through. That was, of course, until one of Maddie's friends from dispatch had made an offhanded comment—a simple assumption that Eddie was gay. The words had washed over him, and Eddie didn't jump to correct him, actually hadn't corrected him at all. None of which made sense at the time; his heart was too busy exploding into his ears. He'd felt hot and clammy, his mouth had felt dry, and he'd held onto the word a bit like a lifeline.
He'd spent that week having a big gay sexuality crisis on Chimney's couch. Eddie and that couch have spent a lot of quality time together. He thinks when Chimney gets rid of it eventually, that he’ll be sad to see it go. It was one of his closest friends in LA, after all, Chimney and Maddie excluded.
Since Eddie's world-altering realization, Eddie has held his bachelor status to his chest like a bulletproof vest. If he never put himself out there, he couldn't get hurt. Besides, apps and hook-up culture simply didn't interest Eddie. He needed something certain and stable, or rather something steady. He wants something deeper—a connection, a spark.
Some of his friends have accused him of being picky since he's shot down just about every man any of his friends have tried setting him up with. Eddie calls it having standards. Pickiness aside, meeting people isn't one of Eddie's fortes, hence being practically blackmailed into third-wheeling his friends at a gay wedding. He'd only agreed after plenty of pointed needling by the Buckley-Han duo. Had Eddie refused to attend, he's certain Maddie would have sicced Karen, their mutual friend, on him.
He silently curses at his friends while he continues to edge past other wedding-goers. Going stag to a wedding brought with it an uncomfortable amount of attention. Then again, the attention of men was sort of the entire purpose of his attendance—gay networking and all that. He pointedly refuses to glance up from where his eyes are fixed straight ahead on the lawn, no matter if he can feel the heat of a few pairs of eyes tracking his escape.
Eddie keeps his head down but scans the path to make sure he's still locked onto Chimney and Maddie's location like a heat-seeking missile; he's halfway across the garden now, finally in the home stretch. He's not uncertain that he won't do a full-on touchdown dance if he manages to make it all the way across the extensive yard without being stopped for conversation. Only moments after the stray thought flits through his mind, his eyes are drawn to a blue floral dress.
Eddie is stopped dead in his tracks when he realizes the owner of the blue floral dress belongs to none other than Ana-Fucking-Flores. Ana, who he hasn't seen in almost a year, and definitely not since they'd broken up months before Eddie's big-gay-realization. With a tinge of panic, he realizes she's coming right towards him.
He swears viciously under his breath and tries walking faster, only there's too many people, chairs, and tables in between Eddie and the gazebo. The fact there was still so much space between him and his friends meant he would be diving into this conversation without a buffer or safety net. That realization only spikes Eddie's heart rate even more; he chokes down a gasp of panic, which tries to crawl back up his throat the moment he swallows it.
Was Eddie dreaming—better yet, trapped in a nightmare? Because Eddie can't have a panic attack at a wedding, it felt sort of pathetic, and if anyone noticed, Eddie would be embarrassed. For good measure, he pinches the skin of his forearm hard, he winces. Not asleep then, maybe even too awake. It felt a bit like thinking about Ana had summoned her. Eddie is certain he hadn't thought her name three times in a row, so why—
"Eddie—!" He slowly came to a halt, now that Ana had directly acknowledged him, he couldn't just walk away or pretend he hadn't noticed her without seeming like a dick. No chance for escape. Eddie pastes on a fake smile before turning to face his ex-girlfriend. She murmurs excuse me to a few people, and she's almost in front of him now, a wide-open smile on her face.
He takes a deep, steadying breath, but before he has the chance to return her greeting, a warm hand settles on his lower back. He blinks in surprise, glancing down at his waist, where the offending hand is now resting on his hip. "Hey, babe." Eddie doesn't recognize the owner of the voice, which means a random stranger has attached themselves to his side, unprompted. He tries to smother his surprise in front of Ana, not wishing to make a scene. He twists slightly to see who—oh. Oh.
All the quiet demands on the tip of Eddie's tongue to 'unhand him' or to 'fuck off' fall away. Up until this moment, he's assumed the stranger was mistaking him for someone else; his desire to let the stranger know he's got the wrong guy fades when he tips his chin up and gets a proper look at him.
A tall, handsome, frankly huge man is smirking down at him with a casual, cocky smirk. Whoever he was, he knew exactly what he was doing. Whatever this was, it was a deliberate decision because they appear completely unfazed by Eddie's identity. He forces himself to stop gaping by snapping his mouth closed. "Hey," Eddie manages weakly. There's this lilt to their smile that feels like a challenge, and for some reason, Eddie thrills with it. And Eddie—despite being completely fucking tongue-tied—manages to redirect his attention to Ana.
He turns his full attention back to Ana now, not entirely sure why he's playing along. It's almost worth it, though, to see the way Ana's gaze flits between the pair of them, eyes wide. Eddie is surprised by just how steady his voice manages to be when he speaks—because honestly, the sheer attractive factor of the huge, handsome stranger is tying Eddie into fucking knots. He's sweating from every orifice, but if he's going to make it through his interaction with Ana, he's got to pull it together. So he tamps down and internalizes the frantic gay panic. Eddie leans into the brick wall of a man trying to seem casual, which seems to amuse and please his anonymous fake boyfriend.
Eddie is at least saved the trouble of agonizing over how to politely come out to his ex-girlfriend. "It's really good to see you," Eddie finally manages to say, and it even sounds like he means it.
"You too," Ana says earnestly, her surprise fading, replaced with a real, genuine smile. Of course, perfect, kind Ana Flores would be nothing but happy for him. Eddie wants to hate her for it and fails. He mostly hates himself for stringing her along when she always deserved better.
"Uh, this is—"
"I'm Buck!" Brick Wall—Buck greets. Eddie glances upward again, captured by the startling blue of Buck's eyes, not to mention the casual and charming smile pointed in Ana's direction. His hair is dirty blonde and mussed just the right way, movie star levels of prettiness. Eddie is so fucking gay, he wonders occasionally how it ever took him this long to put the pieces together.
“Your…” Ana says a little too casually.
“Boyfriend,” Eddie supplies.
“Can you stop calling me your boyfriend? I’m your fiancé. You’re not embarrassed of me, are you?” Buck’s voice is full of mirth, and Eddie gently shoulders him because it feels like the natural thing to do.
“Uh,” Eddie stutters. Only Buck rambles on before he’s got a chance to come up with an excuse for his apparent misstep.
“Sorry, we’re just newly engaged. It was sort of a whirlwind romance. Love at first sight, I think. The first time I laid my eyes on him, I knew I was going to marry him.”
Ana goes a bit starry-eyed, certainly charmed to pieces by Buck. She grins and explains, “I’m Ana; I was Christopher’s teacher a few years ago.”
“Oh, you’re Ana. Eddie’s told me all about you.”
“How did you two meet? I wasn't expecting to see you here. Imagine my surprise when I spotted you from across the garden. One of the brides is a teacher at my school. I’m a vice principal." Ana explains to Buck but directs the initial question to Eddie.
Eddie is suddenly mentally scrambling because his rambling companion is suddenly quiet. When he glances at Buck out of the corner of his eye, he sees a slight arch to his eyebrow, like he's just as curious to what Eddie might say as Ana. "The planetarium. I took Chris one day, and we sort of bumped into each other. This guy is a total klutz. Baby giraffe.” Eddie swallows down a self-satisfied smirk, returning the challenge.
Buck laughs without missing a beat, all good humor and smiles. And fuck, he is so hot. Eddie is going to have lost every shred of sanity before the end of this conversation. Buck glances at Eddie with a sheepish expression, "I nearly knocked over an exhibit. Eddie caught me, and from that point on, I was sort of smitten. Chris still brings up the incident all the time."
Ana nods along like this all somehow makes sense. "So, Eddie. What are you up to these days?"
"Well, I'm becoming a firefighter. Just graduated from the Academy. I'll be starting my probationary period at a station soon.
Ana's face brightens. "Oh, that's wonderful! You used to mention how much you missed being a medic when we were together." She turns to look at Buck. "And what do you do?"
"Actually, I'm also a firefighter. Heavy rescue. My sister works dispatch."
Eddie swallows his surprise, because it would be suspicious if Eddie wasn't familiar with his alleged fiancé's career.
Ana shakes her hand. "Oh, right. Makes sense so many first responders are here." She gestures in the direction of the empty stage, obviously referring to the wife-to-be of her coworker she was attending on behalf of.
"Small world, right?" Buck asks with a commiserating smile. “Anyways, we're supposed to be meeting up with my sister. I hope you won't mind excusing us?" Buck's arm drops away from Eddie's waist.
"Of course not. It was good to see you, Eddie. I'm happy to see you doing so well." Ana steps forward to hug Eddie, who is surprised by the gesture. She hugs Buck too, "So nice to meet you. Take care of him for me?"
Buck grins with a sparkle in his eye, "Of course. Good to meet you too." He turns and grabs Eddie's hand almost like it was muscle memory, then pulls Eddie through the crowd.
Eddie doesn't question the maneuver, simply following along behind him, unable to fight down an almost giddy smile. When he glances over his shoulder, he spots Ana still watching them leave with a bittersweet expression painted across her face. He swallows down guilt and returns his attention to his current captor.
"Who—" Eddie hears himself ask, and Buck smiles a wicked, wild grin in his direction before dragging him to a halt outside of the crowd. Eddie can finally breathe without people pressing in on every side around him. Crowds always tended to make him feel claustrophobic.
"Evan Buckley—Buck. Pleased to meet you." There's a mischievous gleam to his eyes, and it only seems to draw Eddie in that much more—like a moth to a flame. Eddie might even be willing to get burned.
"Buckley," Eddie echoes with a frown. He remembers suddenly that he's supposed to be finding his friends, only he can't seem to draw his gaze away from Buck. Buck with piercing blue eyes and a sparkly grin, and—Eddie is so fucked. "What was that back there?" Eddie is admittedly a little dazed still.
"You're welcome," Buck says smugly.
Eddie guffaws in spite of himself, taken off-guard by the sheer gall of this stranger. Belatedly Eddie realizes they're still holding hands. "I'm sorry, it's just… Why?" A laugh bubbles free.
"I don't really have a defense other than that you looked totally panicked back there after she called your name." Buck smirks. "It was completely deer in the headlights, fuck my life, flight or fight—only you froze the hell up. So trust me, I'm well versed in that look. That's the look of a man confronted with his ex."
"Do people often make that look when you walk in their direction?"
"My sister tells me I have terrible taste in men and women; usually I'm the one making that expression. I know it intimately. Besides, I figured if you didn't play along, you'd just tell me to fuck off, and then we'd never see each other again, so it wouldn't matter anyway. I had a feeling about you, though."
"A feeling, what, like you thought I was gay?" Eddie scoffs.
Buck splutters out a laugh, blushing slightly, "No, I just thought you were hot, and I don't get to play knight-in-shining-armor every day. I did get the feeling you were gay, though. No man who is into women would cringe that hard when a woman that attractive wants to give you the time of day. A sane straight man wouldn't have fumbled a woman who is so clearly still into him that badly. Anyway, what was the story there? I'm dying to know now."
"Knight in shining armor? Is that what you are? Does that line usually work for you?"
"You'd be surprised," Buck says, and that doesn't surprise Eddie.
"My hero," Eddie says in amusement. "Actually, though, thank you. I was very much frozen. Ana and I dated for nearly a year; it was the most comfortable relationship I'd ever been in. But there wasn't a spark. Honestly, she probably figured we were going to get engaged and married. And really, so did I. Towards the end of our relationship, I started having random panic attacks. I sort of ended our relationship abruptly. Few months later I had my 'gay realization.' Turns out I was just extremely repressed.”
"I can see why realizing you're gay would throw a wrench in things." Stark panic and realization flash across Buck's face. "Oh, shit. Did I just out you to your ex?"
Eddie blushes and laughs, waving Buck off. "No, it's alright. I'm out. I was actually trying to figure out how to come out to her, so you saved me the trouble. I know I don't owe anyone my sexuality, but—I sort of feel like I owe her some sort of explanation. You were the perfect buffer."
"She seemed surprised to see you."
"Ha, yeah. I wasn't expecting to see her either. I'm only here because my friends dragged me along. I'm only loosely acquainted with one of the brides."
"Queer weddings are more about networking." Buck reasons aloud.
"What does everyone keep saying that to me?" Eddie asks in disbelief, and Buck throws his head back and laughs, wild and carefree, and Eddie suddenly has the first urge ever to kiss a stranger. "God, sorry I'm rude; I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Eddie, by the way. Eddie Diaz."
"Eddie Diaz," Buck repeats, his face doing something complicated. Eddie wants to pick the expression apart.
"So, are you really also a firefighter, or did you just pull that out of your ass?"
“What the hell?”
Eddie and Buck both turn to look at Chimney and Maddie, who are staring at Eddie like he’s grown a second head. He glances at Buck briefly, and the complicated look from before melts away, like something has clicked into place.
“Oh, hey, Chim. Hey, Mads.” Buck says it so casually, it takes Eddie a second to register.
“You know each other?” Eddie asks stupidly.
“Evan is my little brother.” Maddie explains, and Eddie finally realizes now would be an appropriate time to let go of Buck’s hand. When he does, Buck glances at him before dropping his arm back to his side, almost looking a little disappointed. Maybe Eddie was just projecting, though.
“Little brother?” Eddie echoes, disbelief alight in his tone, and through the ringing in his ears, he hears Buck laugh.
“Unbelievable,” Chimney says, although he only sounds amused. "We only left you unattended for like 30 minutes. I thought you said you were going to find us when you got here."
“I was busy—I had to save Eddie from his ex.”
“Ana’s here?” Maddie inquired in surprise, glancing at Eddie for confirmation.
“Vic’s wife teaches at her school,” Eddie explains. "Apparently.”
“Whenever you guys told me about Eddie, you never told me he was hot! You’ve been holding out on me.” Buck whines, and Eddie feels himself blush.
Eddie looks at his friends. “You talk about me?”
“Dude, Chimney befriended you after breaking down in your driveway. Of course Maddie told me about the weird dude who fixed his truck.”
“Weird dude,” Eddie echoed.
“For the record, I never called you a weird dude. I called you my hero and the light of my life.” Chimney says, and Eddie huffs out a laugh, shaking his head.
“Likely story, asshole.” Eddie levels at Chimney, who merely grins and shrugs.
The music suddenly swells, and the crowd settles and files to their seats. Eddie tries not to think about the way Maddie’s brother's suit is hugging his biceps or the obscene way the suit's pant legs cling to his thighs. Eddie is feeling perfectly fucking insane; he can’t have the hots for Maddie’s little brother. Only Buck's knee bumps his throughout the ceremony, and Eddie can’t stop stealing looks at Buck, who is already looking back.
Once the ceremony is over and the bartender pours his first drink of the night. Eddie makes a beeline to the booze. He’s surprised when a shoulder knocks into his, and he discovers Buck standing beside him. “Can I get you a drink? My treat.”
“Your treat,” Eddie agrees in amusement. Buck orders them beers, and they drift back towards the party.
“So, do you date?”
“Depends on who's asking.”
“Ana actually came up and asked me if you were single,” Buck says, and Eddie digs an elbow into his rib. He barely knows this guy, but it feels oddly casual. “Eddie Diaz, will you go to the planetarium with me?”
“I’ll think about it.”
“You’ll think about it? I was serious earlier. I knew the moment I saw you that I was going to marry you.”
“That’s quite cocky,” Eddie informs Buck.
“Doesn’t seem like you dislike that,” Buck points out with a playful grin. “Just say yes. To the planetarium, I mean. Not my misguided proposal.”
“I don’t believe in love at first sight,” Eddie says. Only, he sort of wishes he did because he wouldn’t mind falling in love with the goofy idiot standing in front of him.
“I’ll believe enough for both of us.” Eddie once again simply laughs at his gall, and Buck glances over as the music is turned up. “You want to dance?”
“Can you dance with newborn giraffe legs?”
“No, but I’m willing to make myself look like a fool in front of you.” Buck replies, and Eddie feels the heat in his eyes all the way to his sternum.
“Alright, let's dance then.”
Eddie lets the night drift and sway around them; they get tipsy off free beer and liquor, and the lights and the dance floor become nothing but kinetic energy. Buck’s hands are on his hips, and Eddie’s hands are on his chest. He loses himself in the pulse of club songs and early 2000s crowd-pleasers. He lets Buck loosen his tie and kiss him; he lost track of Chimney and Maddie hours ago.
He has no clue if they're even there. At least not until a semi-sober Chimney and Maddie appear out of nowhere. “Hey, idiots, our ride is here. Ready to go?”
Eddie definitely wasn’t ready for the night to end, but he and Buck followed them off of the dance floor, pausing to grab waters from the bar before beelining toward the exit.
“Eddie and I are going to get married,” Buck drunkenly announces to his sister.
“You’ve only just met,” Maddie says with a laugh, affection bursting from the seams of her voice. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Doesn’t matter. We’re going to get married.” Buck says confidently. Eddie just laughs and shoves him while Chimney rambles about a romcom he’s seen with this exact plotline.
Their exit from the reception is momentarily derailed by a commotion of drunk, excited, screaming girls. An object comes flying towards them, and a startled Eddie is smacked in the face with a bouquet of flowers that bounce into his sweaty palms. The brides both look startled and then abruptly start laughing. Buck grabs Eddie’s wrist, hoisting the hand gripping flowers into the air. “We’re getting married,” he announces to the group. Which is met with more shrill screams.
They all tumble into a van that takes them in the direction of Maddie and Chimney’s home. “At least take me on a date first.” Eddie slurs. “Then we can discuss marriage.”
“Didn’t realize you were lesbians,” Chimney jeers. “Wait until Hen hears about this.”
“Hen and Karen don't need to know about this,” Buck complains.
“She’ll find out soon enough. Didn’t Eddie tell you? He starts at the 118 on Tuesday, A-Shift, with us.”
Buck swings an accusatory look at Eddie, who gapes at Buck, as if putting the pieces together.
“You should accept my proposal. The sooner we fill out paperwork, the happier Bobby will be.”
And sure, Eddie doesn’t believe in love at first sight. But he thinks he’s willing to let Buck believe enough for the both of them.