I misunderstood the assignment

Eddie silently defying the sheriff to say anything now, to make snide remarks about him or his sexuality or his masculinity now, after he solved the crime and found the victim and disarmed the culprit and had the gun in his hands ready to shoot while injured from a car crash, because Eddie knows what men like this consider a "real man" and he ticked every damn box

Eddie being so so very tired of that circus of expectation and pressure because he can do it, he can be that man, he's proven it, he's spent years being that man, and he hates it, and it's exhausting and damaging and so damn pointless and the opposite of what he wants to show his kid

Eddie realising that he could say something, make it clear that he and Buck are just friends, but choosing not to because let the guy keep thinking that it was a gay man who did his job for him, maybe it'll shake something loose in that narrow mind of his and if not then maybe he'll at least feel a little emasculated himself by comparison because of his own stupid preconceptions

And he's been hit on by guys before too, presumably, since his reaction to the hot priest is pretty casual. That's also not someone assuming he's gay, though, that's just someone taking a chance and asking a question. Some guys might take offence at that too or feel uncomfortable, but Eddie doesn't seem to mind at all.

But this - this is the sheriff, not some dirtbag in a diner. And he's not out to insult or antagonise Eddie, he's genuinely assuming. It's not "I don't like you so I'm calling you gay", it's "I don't like you because you're gay". And that's never happened before. It takes him a minute to even process it, but he clearly does understand what the sheriff is getting at, and it seems to leave him at a loss. He's experienced homophobia as a (perceived) straight man, but not as a (perceived) gay man, and oh, it's different.

And he says nothing in response, even though he usually does. With the guys at the diner? "I'll show you princess!" With the hot priest? "No offence, I'm straight." But with the sheriff just assuming he's with Buck? Not attacking him, but dismissing him, casually treating him as less? That's new. He can't counter it. He can't deny it. (I mean, he could. It's pretty simple. But for some reason it doesn't occur to him or he can't bring himself to or he's just so taken aback that he doesn't know what to say.)

How. HOW. How can they get closer. Physically? They already don't know the meaning of personal space. Emotionally? They're already living in each other's pockets. Buck's "not really a guest" at Eddie's house. Eddie put Buck in his will. Buck got jealous of Hen because Eddie's her new work partner. Eddie picks Buck's clothes for a night out. They're constantly calling each other out because they know that much about each other. They bicker and glare at each other and forget all about it the next second because they know they can be honest and just vent and get angry without actually damaging their relationship. Eddie knows that Buck is full of bad ideas but he goes along with them anyway OR he does the thing first so Buck can't. Buck's bf broke up with him because of how close Buck and Eddie are and I can't even blame him because Eddie was the third wheel in almost all of their scenes together.

and Eddie sputters a bit before managing, "what do you mean everyone"

"oh you know the girl at the Christmas market and Maddie and Tommy and then Maddie again and Hen gets that look sometimes and now this whole town and their sheriff"

Eddie's stuck buffering

Buck is still in full flow, "I mean it's ridiculous, right, I can't be in love with you, you're a renter and you're straight and you have a silver star and anyway I do not have to sleep with everyone I have feelings for"

and Eddie's just like

Eddie: well we had a stupid argument in the diner where Buck got all dramatic and told me to kill him with a fork

Maddie, sighing: of course he did

Eddie: and I guess some of the locals told the sheriff about that and he thought it was a domestic dispute or something idk

Chim: a domestic dispute

Eddie: yeah

Maddie: he thought you guys were a couple

Eddie: yeah

Maddie: but so when you told him you're just friends on a work trip, he still suspected you anyway?

Eddie:

Maddie & Chim:

Eddie:

Chim: you didn't tell him, did you

and Chim's like "that they should never go on road trips together, yeah you'd think so wouldn't you, but nope"

Hen's like "wait so they're still... friends"

Chim, utterly oblivious: "yes of course why wouldn't they--oh the spat they had, well you know what Eddie's like when he's hungry and Buck's always dramatic but the whole car-crash-kidnapping thing made them forget all about their dumb little differences, in fact I think it brought them closer together"