For the Buddie First Kiss Week Day 1 Prompt: Related to Pride

The first time Eddie noticed it, they were on the truck and heading back from a call. It being Buck's interest in sexuality. Buck had been talking animatedly already, but then he pointed excitedly to a building they were passing.

"Hey, any of you been to this bar before? They've got the best loaded fries. Oh hey, Hen, they're having Pride Thursdays this whole month," he said, not really giving anyone time to answer.

"Pride Thursday?" She asked, forehead knit curiously.

Buck grinned. "Yeah. Basically they're turning into a gay bar for one day a week. I mean, I know you're already married, but I thought you'd appreciate the idea."

With a surprised raise of her eyebrows, Hen shrugged. "That is pretty nice. It'll give people a new place to try out." Then she let out a low whistle. "Goodness, is it Pride already? I'm so behind. I gotta plan a date or two with Karen."

Eddie glanced back at the facade of the building fading into the distance. He'd never been to a gay bar, but he wondered what it would be like to "accidentally" go there on Thursday and pretend he hadn't known the plans. It had been a long time since Eddie had dated, even longer since he'd entertained the idea of taking a guy home.

To be fair, he still wasn't entertaining the idea. More he was imagining sitting at the bar until Buck showed up, teased him for shyly sneaking in, and then kissed him until he forgot he had a kid at home and that they had enough baggage between them to sink a ship.

A week later, they were pulling into the station after a car accident with no fatalities. Buck led the charge on the way to the kitchen, complaining that he was wasting away. When they got to the top of the stairs, a surprise spread of food greeted them. A set of cupcakes were set up on a tiered display, arranged by color to make a rainbow from top to bottom. Someone had made a casserole too, but the dessert was the eye-catching part.

"Yes, cupcakes!" Chim exclaimed, starting forward to grab one.

That's when Karen came into view, waging a finger. "No, no, no. I made this delicious casserole and you're going to eat it before the alarm goes off and it gets cold. The cupcakes aren't going anywhere."

"That's what she thinks," Buck whispered, leaning over to Eddie. "They're going in my stomach."

Eddie chuckled, remembering the way they'd inhaled those laced brownies. Maybe some hesitation was called for, after all. Not that he thought Karen would try to drug them, of course. The cupcakes did look inviting though. They were bright and colorful and at least half chocolate – Buck's favorite. Eddie made a mental note to steal an extra chocolate one once Karen let them touch the display.

The team divided up the casserole and sat down to eat. Karen had decided to cook and bake for them mostly so she could cook and bake for Hen. She said it was for Pride, which explained the rainbow cupcakes.

While they ate, Buck and Karen took turns giving random trivia about Pride, like the year the rainbow flag was adopted as a symbol of the LGBTQ community, the effective dates of major laws regarding LGBTQ policies, and their favorite LGBTQ representations in popular culture. Hen joined in on the last one, and then everyone was chiming in with the shows they most enjoyed with LGBTQ characters.

Eddie didn't miss that Buck had started this conversation, and he didn't doubt it meant something. A part of him hoped it meant what he thought it did – that Buck identified as one of those letters, preferably the B.

No one knew about Eddie's own identification with the B in LGBTQ, but it wasn't a purposeful deception. They'd all just known him while he'd been married or getting over his wife's death. But Eddie was looking for a good time to bring up his preferences, because he'd been admiring a certain young firefighter for a couple of months now. As soon as Eddie was sure Buck even had an interest in men, he'd make his move. A small move, but a move nonetheless.

"Hey, Eddie –," Buck began, and Eddie was sure that would be the moment. Buck was looking at him intently, leaning slightly toward him, tongue darting out to wet his lips.

However, before Buck could continue, the alarm was going off again. Everyone sighed, pushing their mostly finished lunches away. Just another day at the station. Eddie tried not to be disappointed. He could talk to Buck afterward.

Buck was elbow deep in the hood of a car, trying to take the engine apart to free a man's hand. He had grease up past his wrists already, and he still had a few parts to carefully pull out. How had the hand gotten stuck? Good question. The man claimed he'd been trying to impress his boyfriend by fixing up the car despite having a very limited understanding of cars. Eddie still wasn't sure how he'd gotten his hand this badly stuck. He was likely to lose at least his ring finger.

"Maybe be honest with your man next time," Buck suggested, grunting as he loosened another bolt.

"Screw that." He was snappish but Eddie was pretty sure the anguish wasn't aimed at them. "I'll just stick to dating women for awhile. I don't have to pretend as much with them." The man was nearly in tears from the pain, and nobody blamed him for his attitude.

"Ah. Bisexual?" Buck asked, finally freeing a new component and handing it off to Eddie.

"Yeah. You got a problem with that?" The man asked, clearly defensive.

"Nah, man. I know the stigma around it pretty well, you know? Everyone thinks you're gonna cheat just because you can appreciate both genders. Eventually you just stop telling people and let them believe whatever they want, right?" Buck looked at the man with a pleasant smile – his customer service grin – before going back in for the last part. "But I'm not judging. I'm just making conversation."

The man, older than Buck but not by much, tilted his head and squinted his eyes curiously. When he spoke, his voice was almost… flirty? "You bi too?"

Instead of answering, Buck said, "Chim, get ready to move. This last piece is coming out." And as soon as Chimney got in position, Buck and Eddie lifted out the last part keeping the man's hand trapped. He screamed in pain, but Chimney was there, putting pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding, and Hen was there to apply the stint to hold the bones in place.

They got the man on the gurney, hefted him into the ambulance, and drove away. Eddie glanced back at Buck, prepared to ask him about the question, but all he got out was "Y-," before he got distracted. Buck was standing there in his blue uniform and looking already too handsome. His sleeves were rolled up and he had grease speckled up to his elbows, which just made the whole look unfair.

The words died in his throat while Buck pulled off his gloves.

"What?" Buck asked, a playful smile dancing on his lips. "You've seen me dirty before."

"Yeah, no. You're right," Eddie said just as they were called back to the truck.

He'd seen the whole team covered in mud and goo and all sorts of dirty stuff, but that was in their turnout gear. He'd seen Buck with an arm covered in chocolate too. But there was something about the uniform, the rolled-up sleeves, and the grease that Eddie just couldn't ignore.

On the ride back to the station, Buck lazily dragged his fingers through the grease on his left arm, smearing it. He did it unconsciously, but Eddie couldn't drag his eyes away, even as everyone had a conversation about people doing stupid things to impress others. Only when the truck pulled into the station did Eddie manage to stop watching the slow drags of grease on Buck's arm, on his fingertips. When he looked up, his heart nearly stopped. Buck's eyes were on him, a wicked, knowing look on his face and – Fuck. He hadn't been doing all that unconsciously, had he?

Unfortunately – or fortunately – Buck had taken a shower right after returning to the station, so he was fresh and clean again. He kept his sleeves rolled up all day, though, and Eddie just knew it was because of him. Those forearms. Those arms. That torso. What the fuck? Who gave Evan Buckley a license for all of that?

Soon enough, they clocked out and changed back into their civilian clothes. Buck was wearing a t-shirt, which was slightly less of a turn on than the uniform, but it was fitted and snug around all the right muscles. Eddie did his best to pretend he didn't notice.

"Hey, so it's Thursday," Buck said off-handedly as they walked out to their cars.

"Yeah, and?" Chim asked, brow knit.

Buck grinned in that way that reminded everyone of a golden retriever. "So it's Pride Thursdays, remember?"

"Oh. I mean, that's great. But I'm straight, remember? Dating your sister." Chim motioned vaguely at the air, as if Maddie would suddenly appear there to back him up.

Rolling his eyes, Buck said, "Not for you, Chim. For Hen! For me! For –!" He choked a little on air and coughed harshly. "I mean –"

Hen laughed and pat him on the back while Eddie felt his chest swell with – was that hope? She said, "Calm down, Buck. You've been preening enough this year that I think everyone got the message before that little slip up."

Buck's pale skin was flushed with embarrassment, but he smiled through it and tried to play off his own accidental coming out. "Yeah, I mean I was gonna tell you guys. Right? I was just waiting for the right moment."

Chim got to his car first and pulled out his keys to unlock it. "Well if we're being technical, you haven't exactly told us anything."

"Yeah, what do you identify as?" Hen asked, a warm smile on her face that made her even more beautiful than she normally was. She was welcoming and exuding a safe space feeling. Eddie could literally pinpoint the moment Buck melted.

"Uh-," He stammered and swallowed. Despite the melt, he still had trouble voicing it apparently. His eyes darted to Eddie, and the older man wasn't sure if it was for courage or support or something else.

Eddie smiled at him and decided to go for the support category. He had a pretty good idea what the answer was anyway, so he said, "Bi, right?" When Buck's eyes widened, he added, "Like what you said to the guy earlier today. You're worried we won't take you seriously, but we will."

Buck melted further, relief creeping into his features. "Yeah," he said, a little breathless. "Yeah, I'm bisexual."

"And you're going to that bar?" Hen asked, her eyes darting between Buck and Eddie. "You sure? I thought that wasn't your scene anymore."

Buck offered a lazy shrug. "Could be fun. I haven't even been to a gay bar in like five years. Maybe the scene is different these days."

"Oh, honey. I doubt it," Hen said, opening her own car door. "But you have fun. Stay safe."

Buck gave her a salute and then Chim and Hen climbed into their cars and drove away. To be fair, Eddie had never been to a gay bar. He'd only been to regular bars. But even without going, he knew what bars were for if you went alone – you either went to drink yourself into peace or you went to pick somebody up for the night. Maybe both.

"You really going to that bar tonight? Alone?" Eddie asked, watching the taillights disappear into the distance.

"I mean, I thought it sounded like a good idea. But when you say it with that tone…" Buck trailed off. When Eddie looked at him, Buck looked put out, like Eddie had insulted him somehow.

"Don't go out," Eddie heard himself saying. He couldn't stand the idea of Buck getting drunk with some other man or woman and stumbling home with them and – "I know my house is no gay bar during Pride but… Come home with me instead? I'll buy you a drink."

The frustrated look on Buck's face had been replaced with something soft and flirty, and it did weird things to Eddie's stomach. He liked the feeling. "Are you trying to pick me up?" Buck asked, an impressed sort of surprise in his voice and in the way he leaned back.

Eddie chuckled. "Yeah, maybe." He waved his hand at the air. "I feel like you've been sort of begging me to all week, dangling your sexuality like that."

"Dangling?" Buck exclaimed with a laugh. "Who's the one that couldn't get his thirsty eyes off my forearms all day? I thought you were about to lick them clean!"

With a snort, Eddie took a step forward – only one, because they were always too far into each other's space as it was, and one was all it took to erase the space entirely. He looked up into Buck's eyes and tried not to lose his courage. "Are you turning down my offer?"

Buck swallowed thickly. "To – To lick my forearms?" he asked, and his breath seemed to hitch momentarily.

Well now that Buck wasn't greasy, the idea wasn't repulsive. In fact, it was kind of hot. Or maybe that was just Eddie. "To buy you a drink," he clarified, but Buck's suggestion had coiled up in his stomach and his voice came out a little too husky.

Buck's expression darkened with desire. "And then to lick my –?"

Eddie cut him off with a kiss. He slid his hands up to hold Buck still, to pull him down a couple of inches, to tug him in closer. Buck returned the kiss immediately. His hands slid around Eddie's back, wide and strong and burning through Eddie's shirt. They kissed again and again and then Buck was licking into his mouth with the expertise of someone who'd had a lot more partners than Eddie. It was too easy to let Buck take the lead, to show him what a kiss could be, how to move his body so that they were pressed together. He used his height to push Eddie back against the jeep and only broke the kiss when Eddie grunted at the contact.

"For the record," Eddie said, rough and breathless, "I'm also into guys. Bisexual, I mean."

"Oh yeah?" Buck asked, smirking. "I hadn't noticed." And he leaned back in for more kissing.

Eddie had never celebrated Pride, for a variety of reasons he didn't want to get into, but maybe they could do something together later. Eddie finally had a reason to show off his sexuality – a sexy boyfriend he kind of wanted everyone to know about. At least he hoped they were boyfriends now. He really wanted to be.

"Go out with me," Eddie gasped between kisses, his hands half under Buck's shirt.

Buck groaned and caressed Eddie's face. "I thought you'd never ask." He leaned their foreheads together. "Let's get out of here before somebody catches us. You owe me a drink."

"It's a date," Eddie said in agreement, and Buck let out a little moan of approval.