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Jogging into the station, Buck shook his head and sent a flurry of droplets scattering around. “It’s really coming down,” he said to no one in particular as he adjusted his bag across one shoulder and headed for the locker room. Behind him, outside the open doors, rain poured down in sheets of sparkling water.
Glancing around as no one answered him, Buck discovered his teammates staring out the doors, all wearing matching expressions of stunned disbelief as they peered at the downpour.
Brow twitching, Buck turned as well. Cutting through the rain was a dark shadow, the shape of a man strolling without an umbrella, languid as though he weren’t even aware of the rain roaring around him. Buck joined the others in open-mouthed staring, astonishment intensifying with every second as the casual shape moved closer and transformed into Eddie’s familiar features.
Easy and unconcerned, Eddie strode lazily across the tarmac and entered the station, sweeping one idle hand up his face. He shoved his fringe back in a spray of sleeting raindrops. Hair plastered to his head, water dribbled in speeding currents down his neck and seeped into his henley.
No one said anything for long moments, and Eddie glanced at them all, slight bemusement creasing his brow. “Uh, hi?”
Everyone began to speak at once. “You know it’s raining right?” and “Where’s your umbrella?” and “You’re a mad man.”
Eddie shrugged. “It’s just water. I’ve been wet before. I’ll live.”
A strange noise lived and died in the base of Buck’s throat, surprising him. Eddie’s gaze flicked towards him, and then his lips quirked with the hint of a smile, one eye fluttering in the suggestion of a wink—although, he might just as easily have been blinking raindrops from his eyelashes.
Moving again, Eddie stepped towards the locker room and Ravi split out of the clustered folk to offer, “I’ll grab you a towel.”
“Really, I’m fine,” Eddie insisted, but Ravi ignored him and headed for the shower room to grab a spare towel from the cabinet. Gaze floating across Buck, standing damp and startled in his civvies, Eddie said, “You just get here too, huh?”
“Oh.” Buck started, jolting into step beside Eddie as he headed for the locker room. “Yeah.”
Nodding like Buck had said something important, Eddie did not reply as he led the way through the station. Trailing behind him, Buck’s eyes were glued to the stripes of water trickling down the back of Eddie’s neck.
In silence, they entered the room and Buck beelined to his locker, a strange flush heating his body as he stripped off his shirt and yanked his uniform on in its place. Tongue sweeping across his lips, he eyed Eddie sideways.
He had pulled off his henley to reveal a soaked torso, water dancing across the lines of his body in spiralling rivulets. Heat radiated off Buck so fervently he wondered if Eddie would feel the temperature of the room rising.
Ravi came in, but his presence didn’t break the spell. Buck watched as Eddie smiled, took the towel and scruffed it across the back of his neck, up his chest muscles, scrubbed it through his hair. Rumpled locks tumbled haphazardly across his eyes as he dropped the towel and reached for his uniform, still dripping. A ribbon of water raced for freedom, sleeking down Eddie’s throat, over the arch of his pec, circling his nipple.
Blinking, Buck dashed his eyes away and slammed his locker shut, catching his sleeve in the door.
The clang and rattle made Eddie glance up, and his expression shifted into a look of concern. “Are you okay? You’re really flushed.”
Gruffly, Buck cleared his throat and muttered, “Yeah, fine.”
Crossing towards him, Eddie held out one hand as though he planned to check Buck’s forehead for signs of fever. “You sure?”
He was still shirtless. Buck fought to keep his eyes up, but a treacherous desire forced them down, wanting to see where that stray droplet had finally landed.
Eddie took a step back and it startled Buck back to the present, his eyes floating up to catch Eddie’s puzzled gaze, surprising a blush darkening his skin. “Um,” Eddie said, sounding a little strangled. “Are you … checking me out right now?”
Blood pounded against Buck’s eardrums, deafening him to everything else. He stared at Eddie, unsure how to reply.
"You are staring at my chest," Eddie said, his words deliberate, tone unreadable.
"You're wet," Buck replied dumbly.
Eddie frowned but didn't answer. Giving his damp head a little shake, sending a few random droplets skittering onto his shoulders, he made to turn away. Without planning to, Buck's hand lashed out and curled around Eddie's forearm, preventing him from walking off. Glancing from Buck's restraining fingers to his face, Eddie's scowl deepened. "Buck, what the hell?"
"Sorry," Buck said, but he could not seem to make his fingers release. They remained coiled around Eddie's arm, biting in hard.
Gesturing towards his locker with his free hand, Eddie raised his eyebrows and murmured, "You uh, wanna let me get dressed?"
"No." The word slipped between Buck's lips, and then he gave himself a sharp mental shake and blinked. "Um, sorry. Sure."
Eddie stalled, pausing instead of heading back to his locker. "Why'd you say no?"
"Huh?" Buck sank his teeth into his lower lip and forced his gaze up to meet Eddie's, drawing his eyes away from the sheen of damp skin, the curve of hard muscle.
Glancing down at Buck's hand grasping him, Eddie considered for a moment then said slowly, "You were checking me out, weren't you?"
Flushing, Buck finally released Eddie and roughed his hand through his damp curls instead. Forcing a fake chuckle, he shrugged and tried to deflect. "Well, I dunno ... it's just ... you're wet."
"Yeah," Eddie said, squinting at him. "So you said."
Suddenly, Buck didn't know what to do with his hands. Passing his tongue across his lips, he moved his arms restlessly, crossing them, uncrossing them to swing lightly at his sides, before finally stuffing his hands into his pockets.
Eddie's eyes narrowed further, but he didn't say anything.
It made Buck nervous, and a shaky chuckle bubbled from his lips. "Why are you staring at me?"
"I'm just trying to figure this out," Eddie murmured.
"Uh ... figure what out?" Buck stammered, heat creeping up his throat and into his face. But a needling suspicion prickled at the back of his mind. He knew what Eddie was getting at before his next words slipped between them.
"If you being attracted to me is new."
Eyes widening, Buck gaped. The blood beneath his cheeks scorched his skin as he fumbled for an answer, words tumbling across each other as he tried to say something, anything, that would help the situation.
And then, shocking him, Eddie's hand came out and clasped his shoulder. "Buck, relax. It's okay."
Stunned, Buck blinked. Fighting for a second, he finally managed to squeak out, "It's okay?"
Eddie shrugged. "Sure. We don't need to make a big deal out of this."
And realisation swam across Buck's mind. He understood. "You think this is a physical thing."
Eddie's eyes unfocused, and slid aimlessly to the side. His fingers drummed against Buck's shoulder. "Uh ... are you saying it's ... not?"
"Ah," Buck said, mouth moving a few times between his words. "I guess I kind of implied that, didn't I?"
Voice dropping into a hesitant whisper, Eddie turned to look around the empty locker room, making sure they were entirely alone, before he murmured, "If you're checking me out and it's not physical, then ... what is it?"
"... More."
Eyes scoping back to Buck's, Eddie held his gaze intently. "More," he echoed, his voice low and curious. Head tipping very slightly to one side, he leaned forwards and whispered, "More like what?"
Stiffening, Buck wriggled his shoulder, trying to twitch his way free. "Eddie, don't tease me."
A loaded silence fell between them as Eddie stared at him, a devouring and inquisitive stare. Finally, he murmured, "I'm not teasing you, Buck. Just ... please, tell me what you want. Tell me what this is. And hurry up, before someone else walks in."
Automatically flicking his eyes towards the door, Buck settled his gaze back on Eddie and murmured, "Promise things won't get weird?"
"I promise."
"Even if ... I'm in love with you?"
Cheeks darkening, a slow smile blossomed across Eddie's face. "That's not weird, Buck. That's wonderful ."
Buck swallowed. "It is?"
Dark eyes glittering with joy, Eddie nodded. A brilliant smile touched his mouth and then he whispered, "I'm actually in love with you too."
Heart jolting beneath his ribs, Buck took a juddering step forward, hands snagging against his pockets as he tried to snap them around Eddie's waist. "I can't believe you just said that to me while you're wet and naked."
Laughing softly, Eddie's fingers tightened for a moment, before his hand slid slow and careful up the side of Buck's neck, thumb reaching up to press against the edge of his mouth. He murmured, "All your dreams come true, I hope."
A glimmer of mischief woke within Buck, and a flirty smile broke across his face. "Almost," he said suggestively.
Eddie's eyes glowed, and he brushed his thumb across Buck's grin, tracing the plump curve of his lip. "You'll have to tell me which dreams are waiting to be fulfilled," Eddie said, in a sultry tone Buck had never heard from him before. It made a shiver race down his spine to settle between his hips. "And I'll see what I can do."
"Oh my god. You're flirting with me," Buck said, gasping when Eddie smiled and slipped his thumb tip into Buck's mouth.
"I'm gonna do a lot more than flirt," Eddie said, his voice low and grumbly. "But you gotta wait until we're off shift."
Despair flooded Buck's happiness. "That's twenty-four hours!"
A wry twist pulled at the edge of Eddie's mouth. "I know," he said, throwing Buck a wink. "I'll be totally dry by then."
Casting a longing glance—open and uncautious—down the length of Eddie's bare torso, Buck let his gaze drift back up to catch Eddie's smiling eyes. "Wet or dry, I'll still be in love with you," he said. Then, "Now, you better get dressed before I do something that'll land me in HR."
Dropping his hand to Buck's chest, Eddie plucked idly at the collar of his shirt. "You too," he said. Releasing Buck, he wandered slowly back to his locker and snatched out a uniform t-shirt, yanking it unceremoniously over his damp head. Voice a little muffled, he said, “Who knew all this time … all I had to do was get caught in a rainstorm.”
Snorting, Buck shook his head. “You didn’t get caught , you deliberately walked through a downpour.”
With a shrug, Eddie said, “Would’ve got just as wet running through it.”
“Um,” Buck gestured to himself, wanting to compare Eddie’s saturation with his comparatively undrenched state, but Eddie had his back turned. “No.”
Glancing over his shoulder, Eddie threw him a gentle smirk. "Considering the effect a little rain had on you," he said. "I don't think either of us is complaining."
Watching him for another moment, the marks of water still on Eddie's body, clinging to his hair, Buck smiled softly. He would definitely not be complaining about the rain ever again.