Uncharted ⭐️

UNSPOKEN

The bar was loud with laughter and the familiar clink of the glass, the air was thick with the smell of alcohol and fried food. It was a ritual by now --- After a long shift, the crew of station 118 would gather at this same spot, occupying their usual corner booth. A chance to unwind, shake off the weight of the day and share a few laughs after putting themselves through hell for hours on end.

Eddie leaned back into his chair, still nursing his first beer of the night, just listening to the story Chimney was recounting some story, he was already a bit buzzed so the story came complete with hand gestures and exaggerated facial expressions. Hen & Buck egged him on and kept throwing in jokes of their own. Eddie couldn't help but smile, it was moments like this —these pockets of normalcy after the chaos of the day—that reminded him why he loved this job, why he loved these people.

"Okay, okay, but tell me again how you thought *that* was a good idea?" Buck said, grinning as he leaned in toward Chimney, who was on his third beer and more animated than usual.

"Because I am *nothing* if not creative," Chimney replied, pointing a finger at Buck. "Also, Hen dared me, so really, it's her fault.

"Hey, don't drag me into this," Hen laughed, shaking her head. "You jumped into that situation all on your own." Buck's laughter boomed through the air, and Eddie found himself glancing over at him. He didn't know when he'd started noticing these small moments—how Buck's smile lit up the room, how he had a way of making everyone around him feel at ease—but tonight it felt different.

Eddie's attention kept drifting, like he was only half there, the other half entirely consumed by the man sitting next to him. Buck. Eddie could feel how close Buck was—closer than usual, it seemed. The brush of Buck's knee against his under the table, the accidental bump of their shoulders that happened a few too many times to be an actual accident. Normally, Eddie wouldn't have thought twice about it. Buck was his best friend, the guy who always had his back, no matter what. They'd been through enough together that physical closeness didn't faze him anymore. But tonight? Tonight felt different.

He tried to focus on the conversation, on Chimney's latest joke or Hen's sarcastic quip, but his mind kept straying back to Buck. Sitting just inches away, Buck had that relaxed, easy smile on his face, the one that could light up a room without even trying. He leaned back in the booth, his arm stretched casually across the back, so close that Eddie could feel the warmth radiating off of him.

There had always been something magnetic about Buck—his energy, his carefree attitude, the way he could draw people in with just a smile. But for some reason, tonight Eddie couldn't seem to shake the awareness of him. It was like every glance, every movement, was heightened. More intense. And the more Eddie tried to ignore it, the more it lingered, simmering just beneath the surface.

He shifted in his seat, trying to snap himself out of it. This was Buck—his partner in almost everything. There was nothing new here. They'd been friends for years and had each other's backs through some of the hardest moments of their lives. This shouldn't feel strange. But for some reason, tonight it did.

It wasn't just the physical closeness. It was the way Eddie's heart had sped up when Buck had thrown an arm around his shoulders earlier, laughing at something Chim said. Or how his chest tightened every time Buck's laugh filled the room. That easy, carefree laugh that had always made Eddie feel lighter somehow like everything was going to be okay.

But tonight, that same laugh had Eddie feeling... something else. Something he wasn't ready to name.

Eddie stole a glance at Buck, who was mid-conversation with Hen, his eyes bright, that signature grin plastered on his face. It was such a Buck thing—always being so alive, so present in the moment. It was one of the things Eddie had always admired about him. But now, as he watched Buck throw his head back in laughter, that admiration was mixed with something else. Something he wasn't sure he was ready to confront.