Archive of Our Own ^beta

Now that we've met one another

It's clear we deserve each other

You're perfect

You're perfect, so we're perfect together

Born to be forever

“Buck, if you don’t hurry up, we’re gonna be late!”

Eddie rolled his eyes, glancing at his watch as he leaned against the front door, waiting for Buck to finish getting ready. How was it that this was Buck’s idea to see this movie, something that Eddie didn’t even want to do to begin with, and yet he still couldn’t manage to get ready on time?

This madness all began last week; Eddie and Buck had some last-minute errands to run before the annual 118 Thanksgiving get-together, bored and stuck in traffic on I-5. 

“This is why I told you to take the back roads, Eddie,” Buck groaned, forehead pressed against the window in frustration. He was worse than a toddler when he was bored in the car, and they had already been stuck in traffic for half an hour. 

“How was I supposed to know every single person in Los Angeles would be leaving town the day before Thanksgiving?!” Eddie responded, throwing his hands up in frustration.

Buck reached over the center console, a teasing grin stretching across his face as he poked Eddie’s side, making the smaller man squirm. “That would be because you never drive, Edmundo. Everyone knows to avoid I-5 this time of year.”

Eddie shot a glare at his passenger, desperate for a change of pace (both in the conversation and a plea for traffic to start moving). “Okay, fine, you win. Can you at least try to do something to provide some sort of entertainment or distract us from this misery?”

Buck raised his eyebrow at him, an annoyed expression on his face. “Yes, sir, Master Diaz. And for your other two wishes…?” He accented his reply by folding his arms and bobbing his head, a playful nod to the I Dream of Jeannie re-runs that had been plaguing the station as of late. 

Eddie ignored him, knowing that this was just part of his usual temper-tantrum of being in the car for too long without something to do.

He sighed, reaching for his phone. “Sorry, I forgot I was going to be nice.” He scrolls on his phone for a bit, eyebrows furrowed in concentration, before shooting up with excitement. 

“I know! We can do what Maddie and I used to do whenever we would go for a drive when she was in high school– it’s a little too chilly to roll the windows down, not sure your delicate Texan skin could handle it… but we won’t let that ruin the vibes,” he winks, turning the volume up in the truck.

Eddie snorted, leaning his head back against the headrest and watching Buck’s expression light up. “Alright, hotshot. Tell me exactly what it is we’re supposed to be doing?”

The opening notes of a fiddle fill the cabin as Buck starts gesturing wildly, acting like he himself had the instrument in hand and was suddenly possessed by the spirit of a musician. 

Eddie, for a moment, is flabbergasted. “What… what the hell is going on?!” he stutters out, looking around for a hidden camera or any sign that this was all an elaborate prank.

Buck busts out laughing, relaxing his posture and leaning over to put a hand on Eddie’s knee while he explains. “No, Eddie, nothing’s going on. I’m just channeling one of the characters!”

Blank-faced with confusion, Eddie blinks before responding, “One of the characters of… what?”

Buck’s jaw drops, shocked. “Y-you don’t know Fiddler on the Roof? I thought I was the one that had a blind spot for pop culture… You know what, we’ll blame it on geography; maybe it’s something to do with Pennsylvania vs Texas, I don’t know. Here, I’ll just pick a different one.”

Buck fumbles with his phone for a moment before a massive grin takes over his face and the sound of a full orchestra surrounds them. He sighs, sinking into his seat. “This is it.”

Eddie still has absolutely no idea what was going on, unsure of what it is. He turns his focus onto Buck, curiosity piqued. “Before “it” continues, why don’t you tell me more about this tradition with Maddie. I rarely see you so animated when you talk about your past, at least that part of it.” He smiles over at him, eager to learn more about the good parts of his friend’s childhood. 

Buck returns the smile, a bit shyly, and begins to explain. “Some nights, when our parents were being relentlessly cold or Maddie went through a really hard day at school, we would drive aimlessly around town, playing different soundtracks from movies and musicals. It started out as quiet rides with the windows down, just enjoying each other’s company in silence… but after a while we started singing them to each other, then acting out different parts. When she left for college, I tried to keep the tradition alive, but it’s not the same doing it on your own.” 

Eddie imagines a teenage Buck singing along to a Disney soundtrack with stars bright above his head, while Maddie drives the Jeep with windows down, both of them happy and carefree. 

“I’ve started doing it with Jee, when I babysit her. She just giggles and flails her arms, but she knows all of the words to Popular! Knew she was gonna be a Glinda fan.”

Eddie just nods, not sure what most of the words in that sentence mean. 

Buck glances over at Eddie, expression dropping a bit at his lack of reaction. “Eds, you do know what that is, right?”

Eddie stiffens, knowing there was no way he was getting out of this discussion easily. “Uh, so… about that… is “Galinda” another musical?”

Buck shoots up in his seat, pointing a very firm finger in his direction. “I swear, Diaz, if you spew some toxic masculinity shit at me about musicals, I am going t–”

“BUCK, stop. It’s not that… well, okay, it’s not not that— but not in the way you’re thinking.”

Buck tilts his head, throwing a questioning glance Eddie’s way. Eddie can’t help but smile fondly; he’s always felt that Buck resembled a golden retriever when he responds to conversations that way. 

“I’ve… never really seen a musical? My mom took Audriana to one when she was in High School, and she loved it. For weeks she blasted soundtracks around the house, dancing, forcing Sophia and I to be her “scene partners”... she even considered a future as an actress, for a while. She had both of us captivated, wondering what could possibly be so special about this that made our normally-stoic big sister so lively… The next time a show came to town and she asked our parents if they would take her, I asked if I could go, too. Apparently, that was the wrong thing to do…”

Buck’s eyes dropped to his lap, realization dawning on him. 

“After an hour-long lecture from my dad about how ‘musicals aren’t for men– Diaz men do not go to the theater, Diaz men play sports and take up physical hobbies! It’s time for you to stop playing around with silly things and become a real man, blah blah’, I never asked again.”

Buck reaches over to put his hand atop Eddie’s, forcing the brown-eyed man to glance his way.

“Eddie… you know not a word that he said was true, right?” Buck’s eyes are glassy, glimmering with emotion. “Wait– physical hobbies, is that why you’re so good at Muay Thai?”

Eddie laughed, glancing back at the road as traffic started to dissipate. “I guess? Well, that…” he trails off, unsure of how to continue. 

Buck’s eyebrows shoot up, clearly shocked at the vulnerability Eddie was showing at this moment. “EDMUNDO, I do NOT need to know details about what kind of 'physical hobbies’ you got into in high school— I think I can work it out on my own, thanks!” 

He held up his phone, revealing a background image of Eddie laughing as Christopher climbed onto Buck’s back in front of the zoo's entrance, exhausted from yet another shared adventure.

Eddie burst into laughter, tears forming at the corner of his eyes. “No, Buck, I’m not talking about those kinds of activities. I meant that my skill at Muay Thai probably has a little something to do with all that military training??”

Buck blinks at him before blushing, rubbing the back of his neck as he tries to come up with a coherent response. “Oh… uh… right… n-not the, uh, other thing…”

“Or it could be all of the hip movements from 4 years of secret dance classes,” Eddie says with a wink, throwing the truck into park. 

Buck’s brain stops working at the thought of Eddie’s hips gyrating, the mental picture of him in dance class attire rendering him completely useless. “Wh-what?”

Eddie laughs, jumping out and making his way inside the house to start preparing everything for the get-together later that night.

“We aren’t finished here, Eddie!” Buck called out, struggling to get out of his seatbelt in such a rush. “Dance classes… no musicals? What kind of…” he mutters, following Eddie into the house as a plan begins to hatch in his mind. 

That was two weeks ago, and ever since that moment, Eddie’s life has been FILLED with a non-stop bombardment of musicals, soundtracks, trivia… It was as if Buck was taking his Wikipedia deep-dives and regurgitating them word-for-word back at Eddie, day and night.

His text messages were filled with “fun facts” about the actors and actresses that played roles in musicals.

His Spotify was now utterly transformed, with new playlists and “recently played” sections sprinkled with a multitude of Broadway recordings. Something called a “West End” was also there? Eddie still was having a hard time understanding all of the different terms. 

Buck had finally convinced him to go see the new Wicked movie, which is what they were about to be late for, “if you don’t hurry up!”

The taller man rounded the corner in a vibrant green jacket, smiling broadly as he did. “Sorry, Eds. Gotta make sure I look the part! You, too, man. Catch.” 

Eddie shot his hand up at the last minute, snatching a light-pink hoodie out of the air. 

“Buck. Seriously? I went with the pink when we were Crockett and Tubbs, but this is pushing it.” 

Buck turned to him, pinching his cheek and squinting fondly before leaning away. “Yes, ‘seriously’, it compliments your skin tone. Now put the damn hoodie on and get in the car, I thought we were “going to be late”?!”

Eddie huffed, slipping his arms through the soft fleece and pulling it down over his torso as he trailed behind Buck. 

“So, what’s this even about?” 

“You’ve seen the Wizard of Oz, right?” Buck asked, backing them out of the driveway. 

“Uh, yeah? Who hasn’t?” Eddie questioned.

Buck laughed. “Okay, old man, not everyone has seen films that came out back in 1939.”

Eddie shook his head, refusing to have this argument again. “Alright Buckley, one: I’m less than a year older than you, so don’t you dare ‘old man’ me. Second, just because I have seen a few classics and you haven’t ventured beyond anything prior to 2015 does not mean you get to act all superior— you are the one that needed a full-blown operation to teach you about what kinds of quality movies you had missed!”

They continued this discussion all the way to the theater, playfully teasing one another about their thoughts on popular movies and genres. As they strode into the theater, Eddie was still trying to convince Buck that sequels are better than remakes. 

“Okay, fine, you win, time to focus,” Buck chuckled, walking them towards the concession stand. “Do you want to split a drink and some popcorn?” 

Eddie nods, sweeping his gaze around the theater. “Sure. Man, the last time I was in a theater… I think was that time we took Chris to see Toy Story 4?”

Buck snorted, pulling out his wallet. “You mean the time he asked if you were broken because you were sobbing louder than anyone else in the theater?”

Eddie glared at Buck, forgetting all about the emotional turmoil that movie caused him. “Uh, yeah, you were pretty choked up yourself there, Evan . You know why I was crying.”

Buck reaches over and places his hand on Eddie’s shoulder, tracing his thumb along his collarbone. “Yeah, man. I get it. Your little boy isn’t gonna be your little boy forever… Speaking of which, how is math camp treating him?”

“He says it’s been great. Mentioned that he wished his “lightning Superhero Buck” could be there for some of the challenges and games they’ve been having,” Eddie laughs, continuing his perusal of the theater. 

His eyes stop on a massive green and pink display filled with a massive green castle and multiple characters. The title Wicked soars across half of the lobby, letters stretching out at least ten feet. 

He takes his time looking over the different characters, thinking about the little bits Buck would tell him about the movie. “What happens before the Wizard of Oz, huh?” he mutters to himself, glancing at the girl in the extravagant pink dress. “I can guess who you are… you must be the Good Witch.” 

“She’s also played by an international pop star.”

The unexpected voice makes him jump, unaware that Buck had returned with their snacks in hand. 

“Jeeze, Buck. A little warning would be nice!”

Buck laughed, tossing a piece of popcorn into his mouth. “Sorry, man. It’s not like I walk all that quietly!” 

Eddie shook his head, taking a sip to try and calm his heartbeat. “Yeah, I don’t know. I guess I was just caught up in my thoughts.”

“Do you recognize any of the people on here?”

Eddie took another look at the giant display, scanning over their faces and features before turning to Buck. 

“That one in blue looks vaguely familiar, but I can’t quite place him…”

Buck smirked, grabbing another handful of popcorn before handing the bucket to Eddie and guiding them towards their theater. “You and Karen watched Bridgerton on some of your wine nights, right?”

Ah, that’s what it was. “Oh, yeah, he’s the main character, right?”

Buck laughs, full-bodied and filled with joy. “Oh, Eddie. Only you would refer to “Hollywood’s Heartthrob” as “that one main character in that show”. Please don’t ever change.” 

Eddie wasn’t sure what else he was supposed to refer to the man as…? He just seemed like any other actor he had seen before, albeit one that had captured the hearts of a lot of women —- and, he suspected, plenty of men— in recent years. 

“I don’t know, Buck, you know how I am about celebrities and the media. I don’t follow certain people, I just watch stuff to unwind and be entertained. It’s not about their looks or anything for me.”

Buck ushered them into a dimly lit theater, an unreadable expression on his face. “Yeah, I know. Just… keep that thought in mind, I’ll check back in with you after the movie.”

Eddie wasn’t sure what that could possibly mean, but Buck regularly made comments he couldn’t decipher; they took their seats and waited for the previews to begin, chattering aimlessly. 

“You know, I’ve seen quite a bit of talk about this movie online,” Buck whispers, leaning into Eddie’s personal space. The feeling of his warm breath against his ear sent a full-body shiver rippling through him. “Apparently, there is a huge dance number in the middle, I think you might like it!”

Eddie laughs softly, shaking his head to himself. Buck has not let the dance thing go ever since he found out about it; so many questions, so many comments, even going as far as begging him dramatically to do the Dirty Dancing lift at the firehouse. 

(They did, it was a disaster, thank god for Bobby’s quick reflexes and the padded floors of the gym.)

“Dude, don’t laugh at me, I’m being serious! It’s like, one of the biggest moments in the movie, I think.” Buck’s shoulder was pressed against his, his body practically humming with excitement. 

Eddie placed his hand on top of Buck’s, smiling over at him. “I guess we’ll have to see, now shhhh, the previews are playing– you’re gonna get us thrown out before the movie even begins!”

So far, Eddie would say that he was… enjoying himself? 

They were about an hour into the movie, and he had been somewhat captivated by the overall concept. The music was enjoyable enough, and the filmography was great— the colors and scenery kept his attention without distracting him from what was going on in the scene.

He was a little confused about a few parts: he couldn’t figure out why there was a talking goat professor but no other animals were on staff, why everyone seemed to loathe this green girl for no reason other than her skin (are they just… incredibly racist in Oz?), or the fact that this Galinda girl was allowed to wear pink while the rest of the school had to wear the uniforms… he figured she was some kind of princess or something. 

“ —see you. You must have… blended in with the foliage.”

Ah, the Bridgerton guy. Eddie focused on him, really trying to understand what made him so beloved… maybe the British accent? As someone who came from Texas and worked hard at removing any sign of an accent from his dialect, he wasn’t particularly fascinated by different accents. 

“ What do you do for fun around here?”

“Nothing. Until now.”

“Ever been to the Ozdust Ballroom?”

Oh, so this must be the dancing scene Buck was talking about earlier. 

Eddie glances over at Buck to see how he was enjoying the film and stifles a laugh; he looked utterly captivated, frozen in awe like a cat with a laser pointer. 

He had never seen his friend so transfixed before. Buck was constantly in motion— this was a new sight to behold, one he was committing to memory to mercilessly tease him about for years to come. 

“Well, I see that, once again, the responsibility to corrupt my fellow students falls... to me.”

Eddie turned his attention back to the screen as it focused once again on Fiyero. He didn’t understand the appeal, to be honest. Sure, the man was pleasing to the eye, but he always thought women went more for that “Henry Cavill” or “Chris Evans” physique. That was what he always saw on magazines at the grocery store checkout, shaking his head in disgust as the self-consciousness took over. 

This man on screen wasn’t the normal broad-shoulder, tiny waist, massive superhero shape that he had seen from the previous “heartthrobs”; his acting has been pretty great and had gotten quite a few laughs out of him so far, but what could possi—

“ Gliding where turf is smooth.

Life’s more painless

For the brainless

Why think too hard?

When it’s so soothing”

Oh.

Oh.

Did… did he just push that man out and then pull him back with his feet? After grabbing his face like that? That was so intim— 
Oh. That body roll. Uh. 

Eddie’s entire body felt flush, his face blazing. What was happening?

And are his legs completely spread while that ladder spins him upside down, good god he’s flexible.

The way he got down from that ladder, they absolutely shot that in a way that just focused on his ass…

Wait.

Eddie realized he was focusing on a man’s ass, his thighs, his… well, everything .  

He also realized he had a problem that should not be occurring while watching a musical. Especially not watching one in a public movie theater .  

He leans over and grabs the popcorn from Buck and places it in his lap, attempting to conceal his… issue . 

Buck takes that as an opportunity to lean over and whisper in Eddie’s ear. 

“This scene is so much better than I could have imagined!” 

“ Let’s go down to the Ozdust Ballroom, 

We’ll meet there later tonight.” 

Eddie’s thoughts are a jumbled mess as he processes Buck’s words, his breath hot on his neck, the scene in front of him: “yeah, and now I’m imagining this man touching me like he’s touching that Munchkin what is happening to me!!”

He needed to get out of there, he has to…

“Be right back, refill.” He says lamely, holding up the still half-full popcorn bucket as he quickly runs towards the exit to the theater, abandoning the popcorn in the trash as he dashes towards the bathroom. 

Shutting the door behind him, he turns the faucet on and splashes cold water on his face. Glancing up at his reflection, he jumps back in shock– his pupils are blown wide, his cheeks bright red. 

He looks… well, to be honest, he looks like he just got laid. 

The thought makes him blush even harder, causing him to run his hand through his hair and pace in the confined space of the individual bathroom. 

Think, Diaz, think. What is happening right now? What could possibly explain this?

His phone buzzes in his pocket before he can supply himself with an answer. Thankful for the distraction, he sees a text from Buck:

“You okay? You ran out pretty quick, just making sure you’re feeling alright.”

That’s gotta be it! Something he ate is making him feel this way, or someone got him sick. Maybe something he experienced on shift has gotten to him, who knows. That has to be what’s happening. 

Another text comes in.

“If you want, I can Uber back, or have Maddie come get me. ☺️”

He already knows what the next text is going to be; typing out a response before Buck can manage to beat him to it. 

“ You’re not leaving this movie early, Buck. You’ve been waiting too long to see it.”

“Let me know when the movie is over, I’ll come get you.”

He gets a like to his 2nd text, and a heart reaction to his 1st. 

He thinks about it for a moment, and sends one last text before digging his keys out of his pocket and heading towards the exit. 

“I also know you were excited about seeing this with me, I’m sorry about ruining that. Let’s try again next week on our day off?”

Eddie unlocked the front door, peeling the hoodie off and throwing on the couch, desperate for something, anything to ease the heat that clung to him. He had driven the entire way home with the windows down, battling off the swell of nausea that threatened to hit every time he even dared to think about why he was abandoning Buck at the theater. 

As much as he desperately wanted to convince himself that it was something he had consumed or a virus he caught on some call… He knew the truth. He knew.
He couldn’t keep letting this happen.

He walked over to his room, grabbing his iPad off the kitchen table before collapsing onto his bed, pulling up the web browser. 

The cursor stared at him, taunting him. An incessant reminder of his inability to confront what was right before him.

He tossed the iPad onto the bed and flung himself back, staring up at his ceiling. Why was this happening now ? He had done such a good job supressing this for so long; it had been years since something anything like this had surfaced. 

Vivid memories flashed through his mind of parties after high school baseball games, hands carless after a few drinks, celebrating their latest victory. 

Images of hot tubs, pressed up against one another; of nights out at the reservoir, suits long abandoned; his bunkmates at basic, his squad in Afganistan, subtle and knowing glances in the moonlight.

He snaps his eyes closed, shaking his head, nausea crashing over him in waves. No. He’s not doing this, this isn’t who he was.

Why not? 

His eyes snap open at the intrusive thought, as quick as a flash of lightning. 

Would it really be that terrible? 

He… had spent so long denying this that the idea seemed so… trivial to him. Why would he have repressed this for so long if it wasn’t so significant?

Although, things are very different compared to his life as a 16-year-old catholic boy living in Texas under his parents his roof. He had a huge support system that surrounded him, filled with people of all different gender identities and sexualities…

Finally sitting upright, he rubs at his temples and grabs the iPad again, pulling up Google and typing “am I gay?”. 

He vaguely remembers a scene from a show Buck and Chris had watched together after Buck had come out that was scarily similar to this; he decided to put a pin in that for later and returned to his search. 

At first glance, a few quizzes pop up from some shady looking websites as well as a few articles about sexuality. A Reddit thread on asexuality caught his eye, and Eddie briefly ponders clicking on the link before shaking his head, not willing to venture into that section of the web. 

Plus, he thinks the physical response to the gyrating hips on the movie screen might disagree with that assessment. 

That thought has him changing gears— he alters his search, pulling up a new tab and searching instead for “Wicked movie Fiyero actor”.

Clicking on images, he finally allows himself to look at the man with all traces of internalized hatred removed, and… holy shit is he beautiful. 

He clicks on one to get a better look, captivated by the man as he dazzled in front of the press banner wearing nothing but a sheer silver button up and a smile. 

It isn’t until he feels the drool trickle out the side of his mouth that he realizes just how long he had been staring. 

Yup. Definitely gay, then. 

He scrolls down a little farther and notices a post by Playbill — which, thanks to Buck, he recognizes the name— with a man in a green button up and suspenders. The image is captioned “Broadway’s Wicked Will Welcome New Actor”. 

This wasn’t the same actor that’s playing in the movie, but damn if he isn’t undeniably beautiful in his own right. Chisled jaw, bulging biceps, hair styled just like…

Nope. He’s not going there, not just yet. 

He opens the article and skims through it, looking for a name, before stopping in his tracks.

There, at the bottom of the article, is the same man he just saw— standing in tight white pants. And he means tight white pants. 

He clicks on the link and is taken to clips of a stage performance reminiscent to what he just watched with Buck, except this Fiyero is not as… expressive with the way he moves his hips and groin.

Those white pants, though– they definitely don’t leave anything to the imagination.

Annnnd, look at that, there’s that issue again!

(At least this time he’s in the privacy of his own home).

He continues to watch the performance, captivated by both the pants and the artistry. 

He’s so transfixed by what is happening in front of him, he completely misses the sound of the front door opening.

“Hey, Eds, hope you’re holding up alright. I brought you some soup, thought maybe it would make you feel bet–”

As Buck nudges the door open, arms full of food and medicine, he halts at the sight of Eddie at the edge of the bed, eyes glued to his iPad. 

“Uhhh… whatcha lookin’ at, Eddie?” he smirks, fully under the impression he’s caught his best friend in a rather compromising position.

“Wait, Buck, it’s not what it looks like!” Eddie practically shouts, eyes wide in disbelief.

Buck grins even wider and gestures down towards Eddie’s lap, eyebrows wiggling as he replies. “You sure about that?” 

Eddie groans, attempting to cover himself and cling to whatever was left of his dignity. “No, Buck, I swear, this isn’t what you think.”

Buck laughs, turning towards the door. “I’ll give you some privacy to, you know, make yourself decent. Come get some food when you… take care of whatever it is that you are doing!”

Eddie shuffled into the kitchen, his face still flushed with shame. 

Buck has the table set for the two of them and is leaning against the counter, a glass of water in his hand as he stares out the window.

“How, uh… how was the rest of the movie?” Eddie asks lamely, unsure of how to have this conversation.

Buck jumps at the break in silence, unaware of Eddie’s presence in the kitchen. “Oh! It was good. There’s a really fun scene later on, I think you’re going to like it. And the ending was great, it’s definitely worth watching again. I’ll need to see it again before Part 2 comes out anyways, if you’d rather wait…”

Eddie shook his head. “No, Buck, I really do want to share this experience with y– wait, did you say Part 2?”

Buck laughs, heading over to the table to sit across from him. “Yeah, the movie is in 2 parts! I mentioned that, right?”

Eddie shakes his head in disbelief. “So this is a three-hour musical movie that has a second three-hour musical movie?”

Buck beamed, nodding enthusiastically. “Isn’t that exciting?!” 

“That’s one word for it, sure,” Eddie mumbles, picking up his spoon. 

“Are you feeling any better, by the way? I tried to call your Abuela and Tia Pepa to ask for the recipe for that soup they made you and Chris that time you guys got the flu, but they said it takes 24 hours because of the bone broth— I figured you needed something sooner than that.”

Eddie looks up at Buck, a wave of admiration washing over him at his thoughtfulness followed swiftly by a pang of guilt, making his stomach churn as the nausea returned again with a vengeance. 

“Listen, Buck… We need to talk.”

Buck’s eyes snap up from where they were staring down at the table, alert and full of concern. “Uh, yeah. Okay. What’s going on?”

“First off, this? All of this is incredible. Thank you.”

Buck blushes slightly, nodding a bit before glancing back down at his bowl. “It was nothing, really. I wanted to make sure you were feeling okay.”

“About that… I didn’t get sick at the theater.”

Buck nodded again. “I thought as much.”

Eddie chuckled humorlessly. “Yeah. Uh, okay. I’m just going to talk, and you’re welcome to stop me but I may not be able to pick back up if you interrupt me, so it might be better if you just let me say what I need to say, because I’m not sure what would happen if I don’t manage to get all of this out at on–”

“Eddie.”

He paused, looking at Buck. “Yeah?”

“Breathe. It’s gonna be fine, whatever you need to tell me. I’m here.”

Eddie drew in a shaky breath, closed his eyes, and exhaled slowly, forcing himself to relax his muscles as he began. 

“Alright. So, I didn’t get sick. I did, however, have a reaction that caused some confusing thoughts and old memories to come flooding back; some unresolved feelings that I thought had buried… It was a lot to process all at once, especially during something that was supposed to be a fun and enjoyable experience.”

“Eddie,” Buck tries to interrupt, concern etched across his brow. “I am so sor–”

Eddie raised his hand, stopping Buck as he goes on. “The thing is, it made me wonder why I had repressed those feelings to begin with, and what had made me so afraid to confront them for so long.” 

Eddie smiled shyly, taking a deep breath before continuing. “Watching that man be so carefree with his movement, how he presented himself, who he was dancing with … it made me realize that I could do that, too.”

Buck stared back, uncertainty flickering across his face. “I’m not sure…”

“Buck. I’m trying to tell you that I’m gay without saying “I’m gay”. Oh, look at that, first time I’m saying it out loud and I’ve said it twi—”

He’s cut off by the feeling of two arms wrapped tightly around him, crushing his lungs in the process. 

“Eddie. Holy shit. I’m so proud of you!” Buck practically tackles him to the floor in a loving embrace. 

Eddie laughs, feeling lighter than he has in years. “Thank you, Buck. For everything.”

Buck pulls back slightly, still touching him, with confusion painted across his face. “What do you mean? I didn’t do anything.”

“Yes, you did. You were the first person to show me what it was like to discover yourself later in life— you planted the idea that it was okay to change your perspective, okay to express that part of yourself that you may have been keeping buried.”

Buck’s eyes are filled with emotion as he ducked his head, humbled. “Eddie, I… I don’t know what to say.”

Eddie reached up for Buck’s chin, tilting it up until until their eyes met. 

“Say you’ll give me another chance to take you to see the movie? Maybe even let me take you out to dinner first?”

Buck stared in awe, a shiver running through him. “L-like a date?”

Eddie chuckled, leaning in a closer as he responds. “Yeah, baby. Like a date.”

One year later

“You get the popcorn, I’ll handle the candy. Chris, you’ve got the tickets, right?”

Chris rolls his eyes, holding up his phone for the third time. “Yes, Dad. They’re digital, remember? Paper tickets haven’t existed since before I was born.”

Buck clutches his chest and lets out a melodramatic gasp. “Argh, such words, they pierce me to the very core,” he groans, dramatically collapsing to the ground, causing Jee to burst out into a fit of laughter. 

“You’re still so lame, Buck.” Chris’s words may be sharp, but his tone is full of fondness and affection for the man. He turns towards the theater, “Come on, Jee, let’s go before they force us to take pictures or something.”

Eddie laughs, assisting Buck from where he has collapsed on the ground, helping him brush dirt off his front. “How did you manage to get dirt all over yourself?”

Buck shrugs, leaning forward to plant a playful kiss on Eddie’s cheek. “I have no idea, but that’s okay— I always have you to look after me.” He grabs Eddie’s wrist, leading them both towards the concession stand. 

“Welcome to Abrams Theaters, can I interest you in a special edition popcorn bucket or collectable cup this afternoon?” a dark-haired teenager rattled off in a monotone voice, clearly wanting to be anywhere other than working the concession stand at a movie theater.

Eddie smiles politely before shaking his head no. “No, thanks, that’s okay. Can we get an order o–”

Buck interrupts him by placing a hand on his shoulder. “Hang on, can we see the collectable cups really fast? Specifically that blue one?” 

The employee sighs, walking over to the shelf to grab the cup that is (not-so-convieniently) placed on the top shelf.

Eddie glanced at Buck, puzzled. “What are you doing, we don’t need one of those…”

Buck’s grin was positively mischievous as he responded, “Oh, my dear, you absolutely need this one.”

As the employee returned with the cup, Eddie understood immediately why Buck wanted the cup. The blue cup was your typical theater collectable, a plastic cup adorned with the Wicked logo printed along the side. The crown jewel was the top of the cup: a plastic Fiyero perched on top, holding on to the straw as if he were dancing across the lid. 

“Yep, we’ll take it!” Buck grins cheekily, tossing his card onto the counter. “One large drink and a large popcorn, too, if you don’t mind.”

“Would you like the drink in the cup, sir?”

Buck looked directly at Eddie as he responded, “Yes please.” 

As the employee wandered off to gather their items, Buck leaned in closer to Eddie and whispered in his ear, “Now you’ll get to watch him gyrate his hips while you wrap your lips around his pole.”