It's not like she intends to butt heads with the new guy; after all, she remembers what it was like, being the new person. The 118 was insanely kind to her, especially after having a rough time in training, and she should want to pass on that warmth and sense of family. She wants to. It's just -
She knows what her reputation is. It started all the way back in training, because she'd never been able to keep her legs shut until Bobby nearly fired her and she fucked a department therapist. She still can't, really, but fear of screwing up the one good thing she has going for her has at least kept her fuck-ups away from her job since then. Still, she did some serious damage to how people see her, and she's had to turn down a few assholes who heard she was easy and weren't thrilled by her new policy. And that's ignoring the fact that firefighting is still very much a men's club and she gets looked down on all the time for not being one of the guys. Sue her if she's a little cautious around new people.
Also, he's extremely hot, and if it weren't for that policy, then she knows she'd definitely sleep with him if he asked. That makes it awkward, too.
She's not a bitch to him or anything, but she's not her usual friendly golden retriever self towards him. Bobby even calls her on it, pulls her aside at one point to ask if there's a problem. When she admits that there isn't, or if there is then it's all her, he asks her to put a bit more effort into being friendly because Eddie's a damn good firefighter and potentially very good backup for some of the more reckless shit Buck tends to pull. (Okay, he didn't phrase that last part quite that way, but that's the message she receives.)
So she jumps into more reckless bullshit with Eddie in the form of removing a live grenade from a guy's leg. It's terrifying and exhilarating and Eddie's calmness under pressure at least reassures her that Bobby probably made the right call in bringing him to the 118, and he's probably not an asshole. They have kind of a moment afterwards where she's pretty sure they've both just agreed to give some kind of professional partnership a try, but she wants to make sure the lines of communication stay open so when they get back to the station, she brings them both a plate of Bobby's leftovers.
"I don't know what you like, but anything Bobby makes is good, so..."
Going into his first day, Eddie didn't have very many expectations of his new job. But it was still a little disappointing to realize that the person Captain Nash--Bobby--had pitched as his potential partner in the field wasn't exactly thrilled with his being hired. Eddie thinks he gets it. He remembers the shit Mills would sometimes get as a petite woman in the Army and thinks he can probably guess why Buck's wary. Still, Hen's plenty nice, so that can't be everything.
In any case, Eddie finds himself a little miffed despite himself. It's not like he has to get along with all his co-workers. And it seems like Buck really is the odd one out so it's not like it's that big of a deal in the long run. He'll be fine whether or not she warms up to him. That's what he tell himself.
Still, it's nice to see some of the caution fade away after they pull the grenade out of Charlie's leg. Even better to see that everything Bobby said about Buck when making a case for Station 118--somewhat reckless but damn good at her job, someone Eddie might mesh well with--seems to be true in the end. Eddie's serious when he tells her that she can have his back any day. He's got no reasons to doubt her or their potential teamwork in the field after a stunt like that.
And he does expect it to be an "in the field" kind of thing. It's not just Buck's previous attitude that makes him think that--the whole concept of team as family is a little foreign. Sure, there was a certain sense of brotherhood in the Army. But the second he got discharged that disappeared. (Most of that was on him, he'll admit. But the point stands.) So he's surprised when Buck warms him up some food once they're back at the station.
"I'm not picky," he says, trying to hide the fact that the smell of good food makes his mouth water and his stomach let out a quiet rumble. "And this looks leagues better than anything I try to cook."
He picks up his fork and makes to dig in, but--pauses. Just before he spears a bite. "Thanks." He gestures at the plate. "For getting me some."
She takes a couple bites from her own plate - some kind of casserole, absolute comfort food, bless Bobby for making it even if he couldn't have known she was going to be in need of something comforting to shore up her strength. Not that this thing with Eddie is even really what she's going to need most of her strength for; Maddie's reappearance in her life running from her abusive husband might've given her some extra perspective on this thing with Eddie being relatively petty.
"I think I owe you an apology," she says, setting her fork down for a second. "I hadn't really been giving you a chance since you got here."
Vaguely, Eddie remembers Bobby telling him about some of the leftover in the fridge. He thinks this one's called hotdish? He's not exactly sure what it is but it smells damn good so he's not shy about digging in. And--oh, yeah. That tastes damn good too. Nash should really have put his cooking skills in as part of his recruitment speech.
As he's in the middle of taking another big bite, Buck apologizes. Eddie pauses, mouth obviously full of food and fork heading for more. This is awkward. Not because of the apology. No, that he appreciates. But now he's got to cover his mouth a little with one hand, chew very fast, and swallow before he can say anything back.
"It's alright." All's well that ends well, right? "You seemed pretty surprised I was even here. I take it Bobby didn't tell you he was hiring anyone new?"
( if asked, eddie will say he does it like this because he thinks the space is probably a good idea. the truth is, he knows he's going to find it easier to say what he wants to say when buck can't look at him. so after making sure she's got time on a night when christopher is at a sleepover, eddie calls buck. )
So I was thinking about what we talked about a little while ago. You know, us. Sleeping together. ( augh, he sounds so awkward but he doesn't know how not to. ) I was thinking maybe we could... ease our way up to the main event.
[Well, this is. Not how she expected to be having a conversation like this. She’d’ve expected it to be in person, or at least rate a FaceTime chat. But whatever’s happening, she sits down on her coach and gets ready for Whatever This Is.]
Like maybe we start slow, do some things that aren't... ( he cringes; he doesn't know how to say this without sounding clinical. ) Getting completely naked and having penetrative sex.
I don’t know. You might have to give me some examples? [Okay, it might be a bit mean to be teasing him now, but he is the one who called her (!!) out of nowhere for this conversation. She’s not being mean about it, there’s a line of seriousness behind the smile in her voice.]
( truthfully, eddie's a little nervous going into their date. it's been a while since he's, you know. planned sex. but it's nice to be on the same page? to know they're working towards this together. and it'd be a lie to say that the anticipation doesn't add something to the night.
he leans into it, once they're set up on the couple of plush blankets he put down in the bed of his truck. as they talk and eat, he gently skims touches up and down the lengths of her legs. every chance he gets to kiss her, he takes. by the end of the night, when they're walking up to the front door of her loft, eddie feels a little like he's on fire.
as she gets her keys out, he tugs her curls over one shoulder so he can press an open-mouthed kiss to the side of her neck. lips still against her skin, he asks, ) Did you think of something you want?
[Buck spent - well, more time than she's maybe willing to admit to thinking about this. She'd even briefly considered an emergency session with Dr. Copeland, but she ended up mostly just staring at herself in the mirror and asking herself how far she trusts herself to go with Eddie. Because that's sort of the problem? She wants pretty much everything with Eddie. She just doesn't trust herself to have it and not somehow ruin the relationship over it.
Which is why she decided on what she thinks she wants to try tonight before she even saw him, because it's harder to think about reasons why she can't just rip his pants off and ride him in his truck when he has his lips on her skin. She hadn't really thought of the sundress she'd thrown on for their date as particularly sexy (cute, yes, but not sexy), but Jesus, he is testing her resolve with the way he uses the skin it bares as an excuse to keep touching her.]
I was thinking - [She breathes past a flash of nerves.] I'd like to see you get yourself off?
( oh. that's--not something he thought she might ask. the request has him freezing for a split second before he shivers a little at her back. the thought of showing off for her is at once daunting and incredibly hot. he's not sure how good it'll actually be, but-- )
Yeah. ( his voice goes a little hoarse. ) Yeah, I can do that.
( he waits until they're in her loft, door firmly closed behind them, to continue with both talking and teasing her. he leans in to kiss her slow and sweet like molasses. )
Just me, or...? ( is she also going to be getting herself off? and does she want a hand with that? )
Yeah? [For a moment, she's worried that this is - too weird? Not something he'd be comfortable? Actually a terrible idea now that she's said it out loud? But the way his voice changes when he says yes makes her feel more confident that he's into it, just. Probably not expecting that to be the first thing out of her mouth.
She shivers into the kiss and leans into him, her arms slipping into place around him.] Not just you. Unless you wanted it to be...?
[ There's a call that comes in, and Eddie should be worried, because it's not on facetime.
This should be in person. This shouldn't be a call. But he doesn't trust himself to drive all the way to Texas right now, and he knows he could crash on Eddie's couch but he doesn't really have a place to stay, and his team's short-staffed, and and and-
- And the whole world feels like it's spinning, every time Buck catches a breath. He's angry, and he's sad, and he didn't say I love you back. At the time, he'd felt it be too real, like saying the words would cement Bobby's fate. All he had to do was survive, and come out of those doors, and Buck would have told him.
He shouldn't have waited.
He feels like he's going to be sick, but he presses the call button, and waits. ]
( it's a little weird that eddie hasn't heard from buck at all, but he just figures that means it's been a busy shift. maybe someone made the mistake of saying quiet again. point is--eddie's aware of the fact that something's probably keeping his best friend from their usual living virtually in each other's pockets, but he's not worried about it.
he spends his day driving people around. has dinner with chris that's pretty good, if he does say so himself. they watch an episode of some tv show chris is really getting into before he has to remind his kid--his teen--that he's gotta get some sleep if he doesn't want to be trashed for school the next day.
it's late but not late-late when his phone rings. at first, eddie sighs as he goes to grab his phone. if it's ringing, it's probably his mother. facetime calls sound different. but it's buck's name and picture flashing on his phone. huh. )
[ There's a silence, at first, as Buck tries to pull himself together. But Eddie could read his sighs and silences, and he can probably hear how Buck frowns and how his nose flares, the way it does when he's trying to keep himself from getting emotional. ]
I, uh. Yeah.
[ He clears his throat, but his voice cracks again almost immediately. It's punctuated with a sniff; he's been crying. That much is obvious with the depth and hoarseness of his voice, with the deliberate slowness of his words as if he's trying to force them out. ]
Are you sitting down? Chris isn't with you?
[ There's a shuffle of cloth as he wipes his eyes. Maybe he should have waited, but Eddie deserves to know. Eddie deserved to be here, in person, to radio in and say goodbye, to give him his last words in passing. Or maybe Buck's just feeling guilty again, about what he said, about how he couldn't muster a response to I love you, kid.
Buck knew this day would come. It had to, realistically, especially when she started having trouble fitting in her pants. And it didn't happen overnight, but still, somehow it just - looks a lot bigger this morning than it did last night. And yeah, Eddie's shift is done in an hour and she could leave it til then, but instead, he's getting a picture of her poking lightly at her stomach. The baby bump is mostly just a rounding of her stomach right now, but it's noticeable.
( there's a bit of delay in reply--not much, just a couple second longer than eddie might usually take--because he's too busy making heart eyes at the picture to digest the text attached. and then he's not exactly sure what the right kind of response is. he'd ask the rest of a-shift for their opinions if he didn't think they'd razz him for it. )
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She knows what her reputation is. It started all the way back in training, because she'd never been able to keep her legs shut until Bobby nearly fired her and she fucked a department therapist. She still can't, really, but fear of screwing up the one good thing she has going for her has at least kept her fuck-ups away from her job since then. Still, she did some serious damage to how people see her, and she's had to turn down a few assholes who heard she was easy and weren't thrilled by her new policy. And that's ignoring the fact that firefighting is still very much a men's club and she gets looked down on all the time for not being one of the guys. Sue her if she's a little cautious around new people.
Also, he's extremely hot, and if it weren't for that policy, then she knows she'd definitely sleep with him if he asked. That makes it awkward, too.
She's not a bitch to him or anything, but she's not her usual friendly golden retriever self towards him. Bobby even calls her on it, pulls her aside at one point to ask if there's a problem. When she admits that there isn't, or if there is then it's all her, he asks her to put a bit more effort into being friendly because Eddie's a damn good firefighter and potentially very good backup for some of the more reckless shit Buck tends to pull. (Okay, he didn't phrase that last part quite that way, but that's the message she receives.)
So she jumps into more reckless bullshit with Eddie in the form of removing a live grenade from a guy's leg. It's terrifying and exhilarating and Eddie's calmness under pressure at least reassures her that Bobby probably made the right call in bringing him to the 118, and he's probably not an asshole. They have kind of a moment afterwards where she's pretty sure they've both just agreed to give some kind of professional partnership a try, but she wants to make sure the lines of communication stay open so when they get back to the station, she brings them both a plate of Bobby's leftovers.
"I don't know what you like, but anything Bobby makes is good, so..."
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In any case, Eddie finds himself a little miffed despite himself. It's not like he has to get along with all his co-workers. And it seems like Buck really is the odd one out so it's not like it's that big of a deal in the long run. He'll be fine whether or not she warms up to him. That's what he tell himself.
Still, it's nice to see some of the caution fade away after they pull the grenade out of Charlie's leg. Even better to see that everything Bobby said about Buck when making a case for Station 118--somewhat reckless but damn good at her job, someone Eddie might mesh well with--seems to be true in the end. Eddie's serious when he tells her that she can have his back any day. He's got no reasons to doubt her or their potential teamwork in the field after a stunt like that.
And he does expect it to be an "in the field" kind of thing. It's not just Buck's previous attitude that makes him think that--the whole concept of team as family is a little foreign. Sure, there was a certain sense of brotherhood in the Army. But the second he got discharged that disappeared. (Most of that was on him, he'll admit. But the point stands.) So he's surprised when Buck warms him up some food once they're back at the station.
"I'm not picky," he says, trying to hide the fact that the smell of good food makes his mouth water and his stomach let out a quiet rumble. "And this looks leagues better than anything I try to cook."
He picks up his fork and makes to dig in, but--pauses. Just before he spears a bite. "Thanks." He gestures at the plate. "For getting me some."
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She takes a couple bites from her own plate - some kind of casserole, absolute comfort food, bless Bobby for making it even if he couldn't have known she was going to be in need of something comforting to shore up her strength. Not that this thing with Eddie is even really what she's going to need most of her strength for; Maddie's reappearance in her life running from her abusive husband might've given her some extra perspective on this thing with Eddie being relatively petty.
"I think I owe you an apology," she says, setting her fork down for a second. "I hadn't really been giving you a chance since you got here."
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As he's in the middle of taking another big bite, Buck apologizes. Eddie pauses, mouth obviously full of food and fork heading for more. This is awkward. Not because of the apology. No, that he appreciates. But now he's got to cover his mouth a little with one hand, chew very fast, and swallow before he can say anything back.
"It's alright." All's well that ends well, right? "You seemed pretty surprised I was even here. I take it Bobby didn't tell you he was hiring anyone new?"
That would put anyone on the backfoot.
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So I was thinking about what we talked about a little while ago. You know, us. Sleeping together. ( augh, he sounds so awkward but he doesn't know how not to. ) I was thinking maybe we could... ease our way up to the main event.
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Like how?
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( a beat. )
You know what I mean. Right?
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eddie and buck attempt sex, take one
he leans into it, once they're set up on the couple of plush blankets he put down in the bed of his truck. as they talk and eat, he gently skims touches up and down the lengths of her legs. every chance he gets to kiss her, he takes. by the end of the night, when they're walking up to the front door of her loft, eddie feels a little like he's on fire.
as she gets her keys out, he tugs her curls over one shoulder so he can press an open-mouthed kiss to the side of her neck. lips still against her skin, he asks, ) Did you think of something you want?
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Which is why she decided on what she thinks she wants to try tonight before she even saw him, because it's harder to think about reasons why she can't just rip his pants off and ride him in his truck when he has his lips on her skin. She hadn't really thought of the sundress she'd thrown on for their date as particularly sexy (cute, yes, but not sexy), but Jesus, he is testing her resolve with the way he uses the skin it bares as an excuse to keep touching her.]
I was thinking - [She breathes past a flash of nerves.] I'd like to see you get yourself off?
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Yeah. ( his voice goes a little hoarse. ) Yeah, I can do that.
( he waits until they're in her loft, door firmly closed behind them, to continue with both talking and teasing her. he leans in to kiss her slow and sweet like molasses. )
Just me, or...? ( is she also going to be getting herself off? and does she want a hand with that? )
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She shivers into the kiss and leans into him, her arms slipping into place around him.] Not just you. Unless you wanted it to be...?
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... i cannot believe i missed my chance to use my eddie shirtless icon at the perf moment
rip
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text sent at like 1 in the morning probably
LMAO
( pls imagine him squinting tiredly at his phone in the dark )
:D
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you should probably ignore any texts or voicemails you received from Bobby or Athena in the last hour, I might've accidentally told him I'm pregnant
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give me like five minutes, I am trying to fix this
[FULLY unaware that she just made it worse.]
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8x15 spoilers
This should be in person. This shouldn't be a call. But he doesn't trust himself to drive all the way to Texas right now, and he knows he could crash on Eddie's couch but he doesn't really have a place to stay, and his team's short-staffed, and and and-
- And the whole world feels like it's spinning, every time Buck catches a breath. He's angry, and he's sad, and he didn't say I love you back. At the time, he'd felt it be too real, like saying the words would cement Bobby's fate. All he had to do was survive, and come out of those doors, and Buck would have told him.
He shouldn't have waited.
He feels like he's going to be sick, but he presses the call button, and waits. ]
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he spends his day driving people around. has dinner with chris that's pretty good, if he does say so himself. they watch an episode of some tv show chris is really getting into before he has to remind his kid--his teen--that he's gotta get some sleep if he doesn't want to be trashed for school the next day.
it's late but not late-late when his phone rings. at first, eddie sighs as he goes to grab his phone. if it's ringing, it's probably his mother. facetime calls sound different. but it's buck's name and picture flashing on his phone. huh. )
Hey, man. Long shift?
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I, uh. Yeah.
[ He clears his throat, but his voice cracks again almost immediately. It's punctuated with a sniff; he's been crying. That much is obvious with the depth and hoarseness of his voice, with the deliberate slowness of his words as if he's trying to force them out. ]
Are you sitting down? Chris isn't with you?
[ There's a shuffle of cloth as he wipes his eyes. Maybe he should have waited, but Eddie deserves to know. Eddie deserved to be here, in person, to radio in and say goodbye, to give him his last words in passing. Or maybe Buck's just feeling guilty again, about what he said, about how he couldn't muster a response to I love you, kid.
He looks up and chokes back his tears. ]
Don't get him.
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Buck knew this day would come. It had to, realistically, especially when she started having trouble fitting in her pants. And it didn't happen overnight, but still, somehow it just - looks a lot bigger this morning than it did last night. And yeah, Eddie's shift is done in an hour and she could leave it til then, but instead, he's getting a picture of her poking lightly at her stomach. The baby bump is mostly just a rounding of her stomach right now, but it's noticeable.
baby Diaz is fighting my jeans and winning
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Sounds like a good excuse to go shopping?
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