Sideways

Chapter 31 Live, Love, Forever, AKA Date Night

Friday, June 2, 2023

Friday afternoon is spent in a flurry of tasks. First, they need to pick up their suits from the dry cleaners, then pick up Christopher from school and drop him off at the Wilsons. He and Denny will be preparing their design for Robotics camp this summer. They also need to go grocery shopping. The original plan was to do that this morning after their shift, but their shift ran late due to a four-alarm fire.

Last night's final call was intense, but the 118 made it through without casualties. Bobby has been impressed with how well A-Shift has been working together, considering the added placements of Bosko joining full-time and the recent addition of Knox. It usually takes time to develop that kind of groove. But Bosko works well with Buck and Eddie, either as a three-person team or with her, one-on-one with either of them.

Then there is Knox. While the team is still trying to get a read on him, he follows orders well and genuinely trusts the team. In the two weeks he had been around, he made a few crucial time-saving suggestions, backed Buck up on a rope rescue that Bobby refused to let Eddie do with Buck, and saved Hen's life. As far as Eddie and Buck were concerned, he was here to stay.

Now, with the work week winding down, they have other responsibilities. They decided to divide and conquer; Eddie took Christopher's suit and overnight bag, jumped into his pickup truck to get his son, and took him where he needed to go, while Buck took the Jeep with him, planning to pick up his and Eddie's suits and then hit the supermarket.

A few hours later, the Diaz house is quiet as the afternoon turns to evening. This in itself is a rare occurrence. But tonight, no coworkers, Navy SEALS, siblings, or children are in the house. It is just Buck and Eddie, and they have the night and house to themselves for the first time since they bought their new home.

Eddie steps out of the shower and into their bedroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist. He walks over to the dresser, opens the top drawer, and grabs a pair of boxer briefs before changing his mind and leaving them. He opens the next drawer, grabs a pair of white mess shorts, quickly steps into them, and throws the towel in the hamper.

He debates his choice of attire for the evening for a moment. Chris is staying with Denny; Cole and Wes are out of town visiting a friend; no one will be back until tomorrow morning when they all need to get dressed up for Maddie and Chim's engagement party.

Bring that; it's just the two of them; Eddie seriously debates walking downstairs only in the Jock and harness Buck bought him. Thinking it through a little more, he decides to wait until after dinner. It's only 6 p.m., and they have all night.

Eddie grabs a tank top, throws it over his shoulder, and goes downstairs and into the kitchen. He stops to take a moment to look over Buck, standing at the range, cooking dinner.

Buck is dressed in a pair of black mesh shorts and a white tank top, his hair still damp from the shower he had taken while Eddie moved the laundry into the dryer earlier. Eddie loves Buck's hair like this when his curls come out to play.

Eddie walks closer, leans in, and presses a kiss to his cheek. Buck turns and pecks Eddie on the lips quickly. Eddie looks down at the stove to see Buck preparing homemade gnocchi and what looks like a vodka sauce with prosciutto and peas.

"Beer?" Eddie asks, and Buck nods. He walks to the fridge and grabs two bottles of Genuine beer. He reaches over to the counter and pops the tops of the bottles with the opener mounted on the wall.

He walks back toward Buck to find Buck staring at him. Eddie hands Buck his beer and asks, "What?"

Buck looks down at his shorts, "Did you purposefully not put underwear on?" Buck asks, and Eddie grins at him. "You did, didn't you?" Eddie smiles and shrugs. "Eddie, are you going to tease me, or are you going to come closer?" Buck asks, crocking his finger at his husband, and Eddie steps into Buck's personal space, pressing himself against Buck's chest.