#gn dash

They had realistically stopped toeing the line between 'just friends' and 'something more' that very first night that they'd kissed in the bar, and had been wildly stomping over it's remains basically every day since.

But they still hadn't actually talked about any of it, and part of Buck was hoping that they just never would.

Talking meant an acknowledgment of what was happening, was the thing. Right now, they were existing in a state of limbo, where Buck got both the benefits of having Eddie as his best friend, as well as some occasional (arguably) risk free kissing on the side.

          The clock reads: 05:14 AM. No problem.

     Wait. Wait what.

          ❛ Son of a... ❜

So much has changed for him in the past ten years. His life now might not be anything close to what he expected back when he first left Peru to pick up firefighting, but he didn't think past him would mind, considering. He'd spent so long trying to find where he fit in the world, trying to figure out what would make him happy, and he couldn't imagine doing anything else.

Chris, he knows, thinks he's unbearably sappy. He's at that age now where his parents are embarrassing no matter what they do, and a sleep-deprived Buck getting teary over the fact that he has the best kid and partner in the world was basically the pinnacle of everything that would make him groan.