Work Text:
So, the speed dating thing did not go well.
Ravi knows it’s a disaster even before he approaches Buck, who is sitting alone at a far-off booth. Well, sitting is one way of putting it: Buck is slumped in the leather-upholstered booth, one hand rubbing his temple as he stares into the void, four empty glasses of something that smells strongly like vodka in front of him, and a half-empty one in his other hand.
“Raaaavi,” Buck slurs when he sees him approach. “Why did I let you talk me into this? It was a nightmare.”
“Oh, come on, man,” Ravi says as he sits down opposite him. “I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”
He only says that to try and cheer him up, but he knows he’s lying. It was that bad. A complete disaster, even, because Buck somehow managed to scare away every potential date, both male and female.
“Don’t pity me! I saw you out there!” Buck exclaims, a tad too loud. “How many numbers did you get?”
“A few,” Ravi admits, trying to remain humble, but he also can’t help the satisfied grin that spreads across his face.
He actually did score phone number after phone number throughout the whole night, and to be completely honest, now that the event was over, he could basically have left with anyone he wanted… but he didn’t.
The speed dating thing was his idea, after all. And he had dragged Buck into it. He couldn’t just abandon him there, not while he was drunk, alone, and clearly depressed. He’s a better friend than that. Or at least, he is now.
Last time he had to deal with a drunk Buck, he was in the middle of his Eddie-related spiral, and Ravi had been so annoyed that he actually ended up dropping Buck’s ex into his lap and making a run for it. Yeah, he’s really not proud of that one.
“I think I might just have to give up and learn to live with the fact that I will never find love,” Buck sighs, circling his index finger on the rim of his glass before bringing it to his lips and draining it.
“You don’t mean that,” Ravi says, trying to sound reassuring. If it were past-him, he would probably start looking around the restaurant, maybe hoping that another of Buck’s exes would just randomly pop up here as well. But even if one did, he wouldn’t do that. For once, as stated before, Ravi is a better friend now. And second… he knows for a fact there’s someone else he can drop in Buck’s lap this time. Someone better.
“I’m sure it was just bad luck,” Ravi assures, starting the delicate dance to bring up that certain someone into the conversation. “I’m sure there is someone out there, waiting for you. You just have to—”
“Yeah, I… I don’t think I still believe in the universe and all that,” Buck cuts him off before he can even get to the point. Turns out, Ravi doesn’t really need to.
“Eddie was right,” Buck sighs into his now-empty glass. “It’s just not real.”
“Huh.” Of course, Buck brings up the point all on his own, completely unprompted. Ravi furrows his brows with a smirk. “What did you talk about with your dates?”
“Anything,” Buck shrugs. “Everything. Not that… not that it mattered.”
Ravi gives him a pointed look, and Buck sighs again. “I don’t know, man! I guess… uh… I talked about work?”
Ravi rolls his eyes.
“Not just work!” Buck blurts. “Oh, come on! You talked about it too! It’s our strongest conversation starter!”
Ravi has to keep himself from rolling his eyes again. “Okay then. You talked about work. What did you say?”
“Well…” Buck thinks about it, his eyes narrowing to focus. “Oh! I told this one girl how we helped save Tripp Hauser from that whale!”
“Okay,” Ravi says, still eyeing him suspiciously. “But what did you say, exactly?”
Buck straightens up, an excited smile spreading across his lips. “Well, I told her… I told her how cool it was when we spotted the whale and… and how we made it resurface and spit out Hauser, and then… how Eddie jumped off the bridge and swam up to him and dragged him to shore!”
Bingo.
“Okay, cool,” Ravi smirks. “What else?”
“Oh, huh…” Buck mutters. “Okay, to this guy… I told him how we were trapped in that building collapse, remember? We were trapped, and we thought we were going to die when suddenly,” he rambles on, as if Ravi hadn’t been there, too. “Eddie shows up with a line gun and ziplines us across to the other side! That was a cool story, right? You told that one too?”
“Sure did, bud,” Ravi nods, without telling him how, in his story, Eddie wasn’t the central focus. “But you said you didn’t talk about work the whole time, right?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Buck assures, slumping back in his seat. “I talked about… other stuff.”
“Such as?” Ravi presses.
“Uh…” Buck stares off into the distance for a moment, then exclaims, “Oh! There was this girl, right? Told me she was a teen mom, and I was like… No way! My best friend was a teen dad! Turns out her kid is about Chris’s age, so I… I told her about him!”
Buck is positively beaming now, his eyes sparkling in the dim light of the restaurant. “And I told her about that one time when Eddie and I built a skateboard for Chris and then took him to the park to try it out. T’was a nice story, right?”
“Sure was,” Ravi says, shaking his head.
Suddenly, he can clearly see why all of Buck’s potential dates ran away so fast: they probably thought Buck was either looking for a third or trying to cheat on his husband. Or ex-husband, depending on how they interpreted the best friend thing.
“Oh, I also told this other guy about my new home!” Buck exclaims after a moment, slamming his hands on the table.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Buck nods, and Ravi thinks this one might not be about Eddie after all, but he’s soon proven wrong. “Yeah, I told him I had to move out of Eddie’s house, you know, after taking up his lease because he had to move to Texas to be with his son, and…”
Ravi stops listening after that.
He likes Buck, he really does, and over the years they've known each other, he’s actually come to care about him, despite their not-so-great start (Buck did chase him with a chainsaw, after all). And he knows Buck isn’t stupid, but damn… he can be such an oblivious idiot at times, Ravi thinks he might actually be a lost cause.
The last six months are proof of that, since Ravi had to spend the better part of those dealing with Buck’s endless rants about Eddie, specifically about Eddie and Hen, ever since they were partnered up as paramedics. He had to endure Buck’s passive-aggressive yapping about how they instantly became a dream team, how they seemed to communicate without words, and how they were so in sync, like they’d been working together for years… which they had.
Ravi tried, he really did, to nudge Buck toward the obvious reason of his jealousy (although Buck still insists he’s not jealous)… only for Buck to look at him with those big, confused puppy eyes (as much as a thirty-something, six-foot-two man can look like a puppy; somehow, Buck manages it) and say, "What, you think I have a crush on Hen?!"
Ravi almost gave up after that. Almost.
Because, despite Buck’s obliviousness, Ravi has eyes, and he can clearly see that Buck is pining after Eddie. Whether Buck is actually oblivious or just a dense idiot, he isn’t yet sure. And don’t even get him started on Eddie. He used to think Eddie was so cool when he first got to the 118, only to later find out he’s just as hopeless as Buck, at least on the feelings front. Ravi can clearly see how Eddie acts around Buck: the soft looks he keeps throwing whenever Buck isn’t looking, the lingering glances, the fact that he always appears to be nearby on every scene, even if Buck isn’t his partner anymore. And Eddie also brings up Buck in conversation, constantly. Mostly to Ravi.
As much as it’s annoying, it’s also pretty clear to him that Buck’s yearning isn’t one-sided, but apparently both Buck and Eddie are too thick-headed to do anything about it. So, in the end, Ravi decides to do something about it himself.
Hence, the speed dating scheme.
He does it for the two of them, mostly, but he’d be lying if he didn’t admit he does it for himself as well, because, to be completely honest… Ravi is pretty tired of being stuck in the middle of it all.
So, his plan is quite simple: phase one, invite Pining Idiot 1 to a speed dating event, and observe how Pining Idiot 2 reacts. Phase two clearly depends on the outcome of phase one. If the speed dating goes well, then Ravi hopes Buck gets laid and finally lays off him a bit, maybe even stops yapping about Eddie nonstop, for a change. If it goes badly… well, he has a backup plan for that too, of course.
To enact his plan, Ravi obviously had to propose the speed dating idea at work.
So, he waited for the perfect moment, which presented itself when he and Buck were just finishing cleaning the engine while Eddie restocked it just a few feet away: far enough not to be involved in the conversation, but close enough to hear it. When the words ‘speed dating’ left his lips, Ravi could see out of the corner of his eye that Eddie’s back straightened and his head tilted up imperceptibly.
At first, Buck hadn’t been really on board with the idea, but Ravi had his ways, and once Buck finally agreed to go, Ravi turned toward Eddie — who was still pretending not to listen — and asked if he wanted to join, too. Buck perked up like a puppy then, big blue eyes staring expectantly at Eddie, but Eddie declined Ravi’s offer with some half-baked excuse and quickly made his exit, mumbling about needing to restock the ambulance’s first-aid bags. So, phase one was a success.
Ravi is suddenly jolted back to the present when Buck accidentally knocks over one of the empty glasses, only to realize that he is, in fact, still yapping about Eddie, and Texas, and the house on South Bedford Street that somehow feels more like home than his current one.
Ravi takes a deep breath. Time to enact phase two of his plan.
He takes out his phone, keeping it just under the edge of the table so Buck doesn’t see, and he pulls up Eddie’s chat.
| pls, come pick up your man
To no one’s surprise, Eddie’s answer comes only a moment later.
??? |
What are you talking about |
Without letting him see, Ravi raises his phone slightly higher and snaps a picture of Buck. It’s not really angled right, and the lightning isn’t great either, but he thinks it gets the point across: the empty glasses are in the foreground, Buck is slumped on the table, one hand holding his head up, the other gesturing vaguely in the air, lips parted mid-yap.
He sends the picture.
And, as expected, Eddie’s answer comes immediately.
Where are you guys? |
Ravi sends the location and puts his phone away, a victorious smirk spreading on his lips. He feels pretty good about himself and his scheming. Actually, he’s positive he can say he’s redeemed himself, because this time he isn’t leaving Buck with some shitty ex. No, this time, he actually got Eddie. How the story goes from here depends only on the two of them. Which, to be fair, knowing Buck and Eddie, isn’t all that reassuring… but what else can he do, right?
So, he keeps giving Buck his distracted ’uh-huhs’ and ’hm-hmms’ as he goes on yapping, completely unaware of Ravi’s machinations, until about fifteen minutes later, when he finally sees Eddie walking through the doors. Ravi jumps up and sprints away before Eddie can see him, ducking behind a pillar not too far from Buck’s booth, effectively hiding from their view. He moves so quickly, Buck doesn’t even notice he’s gone, still yapping away at the empty booth.
“Buck?” Ravi hears Eddie exclaim when he finally spots him.
Buck looks up, glassy eyes scanning the room in confusion, but he only sees Eddie when he sits down right in front of him in the empty chair.
“Where’s Ravi?” Eddie asks.
“Ravi?” Buck echoes, squinting as if he’s never heard that name before.
“Yeah, Ravi,” Eddie repeats, giving Buck a once-over. From that distance, Ravi can’t tell whether he’s checking him out or trying to assess just how drunk he is. He really hopes it’s the first one; he won’t admit it if asked, but Buck looks objectively hot. All thanks to Ravi’s impeccable taste, of course, since he’s the one who helped pick the outfit.
“He texted me,” Eddie explains. “Told me you guys were here.”
Buck stares at him for a long while, the cogs in his brain turning extra slowly thanks to the alcohol.
“Eddie!” he exclaims after a moment, a goofy smile spreading across his lips. “You… you’re here!”
At Buck’s slurred words and silly grin, Ravi can see some of the tension melt away from Eddie’s shoulders, and he smiles fondly at Buck.
“Yeah, I’m here,” Eddie says, his voice soft. “And I guess Ravi isn’t. Or… not anymore?”
“Guess so,” Buck sighs. “Wouldn’t be the first time he left me standing. Only last time he… uh… never mind.”
Eddie cocks an eyebrow and tilts his head, giving Buck a confused look. He doesn’t press the issue though, probably attributing Buck’s words to his drunkenness.
“I’m gonna have a talk with him when I see him next,” Eddie assures.
Oh, I’m sure, Ravi smirks, rolling his eyes. If everything goes according to plan, the talk will be a simple ‘Thank you, Ravi!’.
“Wow,” Buck murmurs after a moment of stunned silence. “I can’t believe you’re here. You know, I was just…” he hiccups. “I was just talking about you.”
“You were?”
“Yeah…”
Eddie furrows his eyebrows. “Weren’t you just… at a speed dating event?”
“Oh, yeah,” Buck slumps even further on the table. “That did not… go well.”
“I’m sorry, bud.”
Sure you are, Ravi thinks, shaking his head.
“Eh, it’s okay, I didn’t expect much from it anyway,” Buck brushes it off, eyes fixed on Eddie. “But… but you came.”
“Sure did.”
“Ravi texted you, and you came.”
“Yes, of course, Buck,” Eddie chuckles, clearly amused by Buck’s drunken incredulity. “But I think maybe it’s time I got you home.”
He’s already getting up from the booth when Buck’s hand shoots forward, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him back down.
“No!” Buck wheezes, way too loudly. “Wait, just… this night’s been a disaster. Can we just… can we…” he stutters. “Hang around for a bit?”
“You sure?” Eddie asks, but he sits back down nonetheless. “You don’t seem—”
“Maybe you can…” Buck cuts him off, eyes staring at the empty glass in front of him. “I don’t know… maybe you can pretend to be one of my dates? So I can leave this place knowing that at least one of them didn’t hate me."
Buck’s too far gone to notice, but Ravi doesn’t miss how Eddie’s whole face lights up at the suggestion.
"Uh…" Eddie stammers. "I’m… I’m sure none of your dates hated you, Buck."
Avoiding the point, I see, Ravi smirks, shifting uncomfortably in his hiding place. Damn, crouching behind a pillar to spy on your oblivious friends is hard work.
“Oh, but they did!” Buck insists, probably a bit too intensely. He straightens his back and leans over the table, getting closer to Eddie and staring up at him with his big, blue, slightly unfocused eyes.
“They all hated me,” Buck repeats, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper that Ravi can barely hear. “But you don’t hate me, do you, Eddie?”
“Of course not,” Eddie says, and Ravi can see him tentatively reach his hand over the table, maybe thinking of cupping Buck’s hand with his own, but he changes his mind at the last second and just leaves it there, his cheeks growing even redder than before.
“Good, that’s… good,” Buck nods, all satisfied, before slumping back in his chair. He’s seemingly unaware of Eddie’s hand on the table, lying just a few inches from his own. “So… would you? Pretend… pretend to be my date who doesn’t hate me?”
“I don’t need to pretend,” Eddie scoffs, then corrects himself. “I mean, not… not the ‘not hating you’ part, obviously. But… would you really be okay with the… other part?”
Buck blinks a couple of times, confused. “What do you mean?”
“Wouldn’t it be… weird?” Eddie asks. “To date me? Or, well… pretend to?”
God, they’re both idiots, Ravi sighs, a mischievous smirk spreading on his lips.
“No, it wouldn’t be weird,” Buck says, no doubt in his voice. "Wouldn’t be crazy, either."
Eddie’s eyebrow perks up. “Huh?”
“No, it’s just…” Buck stammers. “Maddie said… it wouldn’t be so crazy.”
Eddie looks even more confused now, and, to be honest, this time so does Ravi. He doesn’t know this story.
“What wouldn’t be so crazy?” Eddie asks.
“Me being in love with—” Buck stops mid-sentence, lips still parted, but no words come out of them. “Never mind.”
But the damage is done. Ravi can clearly see the realization dawning on Eddie’s face as Buck’s cheeks flush pink from something other than alcohol.
“Uh, okay…” Eddie whispers, a small, hopeful smile spreading across his lips, his soft, glimmering eyes fixed on Buck. “What do you say I get you home and… and we can talk about this tomorrow, huh?”
This time, Eddie manages to get up and circle the table, placing a hand on Buck’s arm to help him to his feet. Buck stares up at him then, eyes wide and pleading. Ravi can’t tell if he even remembers what he just admitted.
“I don’t want to go home,” Buck breathes out. “Don’t feel like being alone in that… in that place.”
“It’s okay,” Eddie murmurs, brushing Buck’s shoulder reassuringly. He’s so close to Buck that Ravi can barely hear what he says. “You can come home with me.”
At those words, Buck stares up at Eddie, lips slightly parted, eyes wide and filled with pure adoration. And this time, he lets Eddie help him up, keeping his eyes fixed on Eddie’s face the whole time as he slings Buck’s arm around his shoulder and wraps his own around Buck’s waist, pulling him in close and holding him tight as they stumble toward the exit. Ravi watches them until they slide out the door, Buck completely leaning into Eddie’s side.
The last thing Ravi sees before they disappear from view is Eddie’s fond expression as he watches Buck rest his head on his shoulder, a peaceful, content smile spreading across his lips.
“Sir? Are you okay?”
Ravi startles at the voice and only then realizes he’s been crouching behind the pillar the whole time, like a total creep. He’s glad none of his dates are still around to witness all that.
“Uh, yeah, everything’s fine,” he mumbles as the waitress gives him a funny look. “I was just… uh… I’m just gonna… go.”
Ravi rushes out of the restaurant and takes a deep breath, the crisp autumn air pricking his skin. He looks around, but there’s no trace of Buck and Eddie. God, eight years of dancing around each other, and all it took was Ravi dragging Buck to a disastrous speed dating event? If he knew it was that easy, he would have done it years ago.
Well, good for them, he smirks, giving himself an imaginary pat on the back for a job well done.
With a contented sigh, Ravi takes out his phone and looks at all the brand-new contacts he saved. Well, since Buck is no longer his problem and his night has basically freed up, he might as well call someone from the speed dating event, maybe have a little more fun.
After what he just pulled, he feels like he deserves a little treat, too.
***
Ravi doesn’t hear from either of them all through his day off, which he takes as a good sign. It also seems like a good sign when he sees Buck and Eddie walking into the firehouse together on their next shift.
“Buck!” he greets with a smirk, too curious to wait for them to get changed. “How was the hangover?”
“Don’t act all innocent, Ravi,” Eddie cuts in, pointing an accusatory finger at him before Buck can say anything. “You left him at the restaurant!”
Ravi rolls his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. Damn, seems like he’s really going to get the talk from Eddie after all.
“You were there, weren’t you?”
“Not when you left, I wasn’t!” Eddie points out. “He was drunk! He could have gotten himself into trouble!”
Buck tries to protest that he wasn’t that drunk (he was), but Ravi cuts him off.
“I didn’t leave him.”
Eddie shoots him a glance, crossing his arms over his chest. “What do you mean, ‘you didn’t leave him’? You weren’t there when I arrived.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t there…” Ravi smirks. “But I was there. I made sure you arrived.”
“Seriously? You couldn’t have said hello?” Eddie huffs, but then narrows his eyes as doubt creeps across his face. “So what, you left right after?”
“Well…”
“You spied on us?” Eddie exclaims indignantly.
“I wouldn’t say I spied on you, I mean… what would I even be spying on?” Ravi asks with an innocuous smirk. “ Unless… did something happen?”
Buck is uncharacteristically quiet, but Ravi can clearly see his cheeks turning a light shade of pink at the question. He’s about to tease him on it when suddenly he sees Chim approaching, followed by Hen.
“Who was spying on whom?” Chim asks, stopping right next to him.
“Uh! Did something juicy happen during the speed dating?” Hen inquires, rubbing her hands together.
“And before you answer that,” Chim adds, pointing his finger straight at Buck. “Is it something suitable for the work environment?”
“Okay, nothing happened,” Buck starts, rolling his eyes. “And why are you just pointing at me? Ravi was there, too!”
“Well, I’m not pointing my finger at Ravi because I never had to hear gross stories about his sex life,” Chim says, popping his gum in Buck’s face.
“Wait a second,” Hen interjects before Buck can talk back. “If it was only you two, then how come Eddie was there, too?”
“Ravi texted me,” Eddie shrugs, as if that actually explains anything.
“Okay…” Hen raises an eyebrow, her calculating gaze shifting between Eddie, Buck, and a very amused Ravi. “So… what happened, exactly?”
Buck and Eddie exchange a glance, a silent conversation passing between the two, and Ravi can’t help but roll his eyes at them. Buck really had the nerve to complain about Eddie and Hen, as if he and Eddie hadn’t shared a telepathic link ever since the first time he saw them together.
“Well, I… I actually did end up leaving with someone,” Buck says, smiling fondly at Eddie.
Eddie gives him a small nod of approval and Buck finally laces their fingers together. They beam at each other, their shoulders brushing fleetingly before they turn to face their friends, awaiting reactions.
Ravi is obviously smirking with an ‘I already knew that’ look on his face, but Hen and Chim stare at them blankly, lips parted and eyes wide with shock.
“Oh!” Hen exclaims.
“What… you…” Chim stammers, gesturing between the two.
“OH!” Hen shouts when it finally sinks in. “I can’t believe it! Finally! I’m so happy for you two!”
She tugs them both into a tight hug, while Chim just stares at them, stuck on buffer.
“You two… are…” he sputters.
“Yep,” Eddie confirms while Hen pats them on the shoulders, a proud, happy smile on her lips.
“Oh, Maddie is gonna go insane!” Chim exclaims, blinking rapidly. “Also, I owe her fifty dollars.”
“What?” Buck laughs.
“Yeah, it’s a whole thing.” Chim shakes his head mournfully. “But also… congrats, you two, I guess?” He smiles and pulls them into a tight hug as well, but when he lets go his smile disappears, replaced by an uncharacteristically stern look.
“And please,” he warns. “Don’t make me pull up the HR regulations about PDA in the workplace.”
“Won’t be a problem, Cap!” Eddie reassures. “We’ll be absolutely professional.”
“Good,” Chim says, still eyeing Buck suspiciously.
“Oh!” Buck exclaims after a moment. “Also, if you guys can keep your evenings free tomorrow, we’d like to invite you all to dinner, you know… to make it official.”
Buck seems unable to stop smiling, which Ravi finds a little unsettling, to be honest. And he’s really not sure he’s psychologically ready for a whole night of Buck and Eddie being annoyingly in love, but an invite to dinner also means free food, so… he’ll find a way to power through.
“And…” Buck adds, turning to face Chim. “I’d appreciate it if you could avoid telling Maddie. I’d like to tell her myself tomorrow. Think you can do that?”
“Seriously, Buckley?” Chim protests. “You know I’m bad at keeping secrets!”
Eddie rolls his eyes at him. “Come on, Chim! You can keep this one for a day and a half!”
Chim whines, but in the end he promises he’ll do his best not to spill anything to Maddie. Ravi wonders if he’ll actually manage it. It will be fun to find out tomorrow over dinner.
Before they can say anything else, both Chim and Hen are called away — Hen telling them they’re not getting off so easily and making them promise they will tell her everything about how it happened.
“So…” Ravi starts once Hen and Chim are gone, with a big, knowing grin on his face. “I guess you should thank me.”
“Again, you left Buck drunk and alone at the restaurant so you could spy on us,” Eddie points out, but this time he’s actually smiling, still holding on tight to Buck’s hand.
“This again?” Ravi groans. “It’s not like I abandoned him on the highway or something!”
“Yeah, it was no big deal, really,” Buck says, though he’s not even looking at Ravi anymore. He’s just beaming up at Eddie, eyes sparkling and lips curled into the cheesiest smile Ravi has ever seen. For all Ravi knows, Buck might still be drunk, judging by the way he is acting around Eddie. “I guess we should really thank you, Rav. Your speed dating idea was a success after all.”
“Yeah,” Eddie agrees, also not looking at Ravi anymore. To be honest, Ravi gets the feeling he could go hide behind the engine and they wouldn’t even notice he was gone.
As if to confirm his suspicions, they start walking off toward the locker room without so much as acknowledging him, too wrapped up in each other, still holding hands and gazing longingly. Buck leans in and presses a kiss to Eddie’s cheek, making Eddie smile even brighter, the skin on his neck flushing red.
“Hey, you two!” Chim yells from upstairs. “No PDA in the common areas, come on!”
“Yeah, yeah,” Buck brushes him off, but the second Chim turns around, Ravi sees him drag Eddie into the locker room, press him up against the lockers and kiss him square on the mouth.
Well, good thing they were going to be professional, Ravi thinks, because from the way they’re kissing, it almost seems like Buck and Eddie don’t remember about the glass walls… but Ravi does.
He just shakes his head with a smirk and puts as much distance between himself and the locker room as he can. He really doesn’t want to be around for the moment when Chimney inevitably realizes what they’re doing and fires them on the spot for inappropriate workplace behavior.
As he walks away, Ravi wonders if his speed dating scheme was really a good idea after all, because if Buck and Eddie were barely bearable before… he doesn’t want to imagine what they might be like now that they’re together.
There’s only one thing Ravi’s sure of: he won’t be stuck in the middle of it anymore.
Hopefully.