#firefighter-diaz

And he doesn't mind it -not at all. That's the part that catches him off guard. How right it feels to be curled up together like this; their own little bubble, just the two of them. How comfortable Eddie feels with Buck's head on his shoulder; more comfortable than he's felt with another person for longer than he can remember. 

Nothing feels out of place, and that's what throws him. That everything about this feels exactly how it's meant to be. That this is how he wants things to be, for as long as he can have it. 

The realization is a surprise, but only in the way that it came to him. The fact that it showed up in the most mundane of moments, in the same spot they've spent countless hours together, going about their ordinary lives. 

There's a certain inevitability to it all. Like his heart has known for ages, been trying to communicate it to him through beats and flutters, and his brain was just taking far too long to catch up. 

It's caught up now, and it makes it all feel so painfully obvious. So much so, that when Buck stirs and lifts his head sleepily, Eddie feels like an idiot for not seeing the love in that gaze earlier. 

"Oh. I didn't realise I had fallen asleep," Buck says, and that's all he says. No rushed apology or sheepish look on his face. In fact, he doesn't look perturbed at all. Like he knows he has a place beside Eddie; knows he belongs right next to him, head on his shoulder and a hand on the heart that Eddie is slowly realizing he's inhabited for a long time. 

He knows, then, that he's not alone in this realization. 

"I don't mind," Eddie says, and Buck just smiles. 

"I know," he says, and doesn't that just sum it up. 

Eddie stares at him for a few seconds longer, taking in the messy hair; soft eyes still glazed over from sleep. He moves a hand to Buck's cheek, and Buck does nothing except raise his eyebrows. 

"Figured it out, huh?" 

Eddie breathes out a laugh. Of course Buck knows what he's thinking, without a single word. 

"I'm sorry it took me so long." 

Buck turns his head and presses a light kiss to the palm of Eddie's hand. "You got here eventually." 

Eddie nods. "I did." 

He smiles. Pulls Buck closer for a proper kiss, and somehow, it feels familiar. Like their lives are slotting into place as their lips do the same. Buck's mouth on his feels as comfortable as everything else, and Eddie knows now that this is the destination they were heading for long before he ever realized it. 

The kiss is soft and slow, because they both know there's no need to rush. They're finally on the same page, and wherever they're headed next, they'll get there together. 

"We should probably go and get some sleep," Eddie says when they eventually pull apart. 

Buck hums, blinking at him sleepily. Presses another kiss to Eddie's lips and says, "In a minute." 

He places one last kiss onto Eddie's shoulder, then lays his head back down on it, smiling as he settles in closer.

Eddie can't help but smile too.