"Is it bad? Does it hurt?"

"Things like this generally do tend to hurt, Buck," Chimney snorted, handing over a new ice pack. Eddie hissed as the cold touched his injury. He was hoping for some numbing, but all he was getting was a tingle that felt like little needles stabbing into his skin. This was not how he thought he was going to end this day.

"But not too bad, right?"

"I'm fine, Buck," Eddie sighed, slumping further into his seat. He hated having all of this attention on him, even under better circumstances. It wasn't like he was shy, although Buck liked to tease him about that sometimes. Anyone would seem shy around his boisterous personality. Eddie just appreciated his privacy. But right now, all eyes were on him. "I should've just taken care of this myself."

"No, you shouldn't have. You know as well as I do that it's best to get this taken care of by professionals. They need to make sure there is no major damage," Bobby said, for what was probably the tenth time. There were multiple paramedics around and Hen was practically a doctor in his opinion. Eddie was willing to risk his health to avoid the extended wait in the overcrowded emergency room he was currently stuck in. But Bobby gave him that stern look and a lecture on staying healthy on the job and setbacks and being an example, so here he was. Here they all were.

"You all really didn't need to come. I would've been fine on my own."

"Are you kidding? It was your party. We go where you go," Hen insisted, flipping through a magazine that was probably older than Christopher. He'd decided to invite everyone over to his house to hang out and relax for the afternoon. Frank had challenged him to start doing things that were outside of his comfort zone. And it was all going well until he decided to be impulsive.

"We shouldn't have left all the kids with Maddie and Karen."

"Nah, don't worry about it. The kids will probably listen to them better than any of us," Chimney laughed. That was probably true and they were all good kids in general, but Eddie felt ridiculous to have everyone sitting in the ER with him as he waited to be seen for a dislocated thumb. It wasn't like he was bleeding or in dire straits and he was thankful for that. He was more likely to die from embarrassment, if anyone found out how he'd gotten hurt.

"How did this happen anyway?" Hen asked.

Shit.

"I don't know. It was an accident," Eddie mumbled, ducking his head down to stare at the injured appendage in his lap.

"Obviously it was an accident," Chimney scoffed. "It's not like we thought someone hurt you on purpose."

"You don't remember? Did you hit your head?" Bobby asked worriedly. Eddie stifled a groan at their prodding. He knew they cared about him and that was why they were asking questions, but he really didn't want to answer.

"It was my fault!" Buck blurted out, causing everyone's eyes to snap over to him. Eddie wanted to disappear into the floor. "I was falling and he tried to catch me."

"Should've let him fall, Eddie. You know Buck always bounces back," Chimney snickered.

"Of course Buck was involved. When you two get together, there is always chaos," Hen added with a knowing smile. Eddie felt his face heat up at her words. He knew she didn't realize what she said was more true than she meant, but he couldn't hide his reaction. And unfortunately, everyone noticed.

"Oh, you two were up to something," Chimney said, looking between the two of them in suspicion. "The question is what."

"What are you thinking?" Hen asked, leaning toward Chim conspiratorially. People thought he and Buck together were bad, but Hen and Chim were much worse.

"Setting up a prank?" Chimney wondered, scratching at his chin.

"Eddie might be too mature for that. At least while the kids are around."

"True," Chimney conceded. "Buck was climbing on furniture to catch a bug on the ceiling?"

"A little far fetched, but not outside of the realm of possibility," Hen shrugged.

"Maybe we should lay off on the investigation while Eddie is sitting here in pain?" Bobby suggested, reaching over to lightly tap Eddie on his knee. He hadn't realized he'd been bouncing his leg so aggressively.

"I'm fine," Eddie mumbled. He did want everyone to stop their probe, but he couldn't let them think that he was sitting there in agony.

"Thumb war that got really, really out of hand?" Chimney offered, ignoring Bobby altogether.

"Funny," Hen grinned.

"It's really not," Eddie grumbled.

"You know he's not going to stop until he finds out. Chim's immature that way," Hen said solemnly.

"Hey! You're bugging them about it too," Chimney argued.

"You are both being immature," Bobby pointed out, staring at both of them in that paternal way he had. Hen and Chimney finally had the grace to look a bit guilty, so Eddie hoped that meant they were going to lay off. "It doesn't seem like this wait is going to be over anytime soon, so I'm going to head to the bathroom real quick." Buck let out a strangled noise and Eddie knew it was over. Even Bobby froze in his half standing position.

"Buck? Did you fall in the bathroom?" Hen asked carefully, trying to keep a straight face.

"And was Eddie in there with you?" Chim added, biting his lip to keep in his laughter.

"Oh God," Eddie groaned, covering his face with his uninjured hand.

"Um, it's not- I mean… maybe?" Buck stammered. Eddie was never going to live this down.

The party was going well and Eddie felt more relaxed than he had for a while. Maybe Frank knew what he was talking about occasionally. At least when it came to some things. Eddie still wasn't sure about his advice when it came to being honest with his parents, but that was a problem for another day. This day was all about what he wanted to do. And Eddie was overcome with want as he watched Buck shoot the breeze with Bobby.

He and Buck had a secret thing going on for a few weeks now. They hadn't told anyone about it, since they were still figuring things out, but it was the most exciting thing that Eddie had had in his life for a long time. It was so easy with Buck and they both needed easy. They'd discussed coming clean with everyone at the party, but Eddie ended up shooting the idea down. He didn't want it to be a big deal. But right now, he wanted nothing more than to be able to hold Buck's hand and lean against him without a care in the world. Although, just because he couldn't do that in front of everyone didn't mean they couldn't have a little fun in private.

As soon as Bobby got pulled into another conversation and Buck was alone, Eddie made his move. He walked over as casually as possible, asking Buck to follow him into another room to help him with something. Buck could tell by the gleam in his eye what this was about, so he followed without a word, taking great care not to draw attention to what they were doing. Just as they were passing by the open bathroom door, Eddie pushed him inside, flicking the lock behind them.

"Hey," Buck said bashfully, backing up to lean against the sink.

"Hey," Eddie replied huskily, stalking forward and bracketing Buck between his arms. He dove at Buck's neck, kissing at any exposed patch of skin he could reach. Buck moaned softly, setting his hands on Eddie's hips.

"What's gotten into you?" Buck laughed, tipping his head back to give Eddie more access.

"You later," Eddie whispered against his skin.

"You can't say shit like that to me! Not while everyone is here," Buck whined.

"You stay quiet and I'll make sure you have a good time," Eddie offered, lifting Buck so he was sitting on the bathroom counter.

"Oh shit!" Buck groaned, biting his lip as he tried to keep in his sounds of pleasure. Buck was noisy in bed and Eddie loved that about him. He enjoyed watching and listening to Buck fall apart under his hands. But watching Buck strain as he tried to stay in control was also delectable.

"Shhh," Eddie purred as he moved down Buck's chest, flicking the buttons of his shirt as he went along. Thank goodness Buck had worn a button up. Besides the fact that he looked amazing in them, it was easy access for Eddie to do what he wanted.

"Eddie!" Buck whisper-yelled as soon as he made contact with his nipple. They hadn't been together for long, but Eddie had made it a point to explore every inch of Buck's body. He knew what made the other man's toes curl and what left him a panting mess. Buck's abs were straining in Eddie's grip as he tried to hold all of his noises in.

"You like that?" Eddie asked, letting his voice rumble out deeply.

"Such a dumb question," Buck panted, letting out a keening sound as Eddie swirled his tongue around his bellybutton and fingered his belt. "Eddie!"

"Quiet!" Eddie warned, reaching up to press his hand against Buck's mouth. Buck raised his hips at the same time, trying to get closer to Eddie's touch, but lost his balance with both of Eddie's hands occupied. He tipped to the side, heading straight toward the toilet in the small space. Thinking back on it, Buck probably would've been able to catch himself. And even if he hadn't, a fall of a couple feet wouldn't have done much damage. But Eddie's instincts had him reaching out, trying to protect the person he loved. Somehow, his thumb had gotten twisted the wrong way. So while Buck escaped without a scratch, Eddie wasn't so lucky.

They'd decided to leave the bathroom separately, with Buck going a few minutes ahead of Eddie. Buck was going to pretend he had no idea what happened when Eddie came out and told the others he'd hurt himself. Eddie hadn't predicted that their group would insist on going with him to the hospital. He couldn't argue, since he didn't want to look ungrateful. And it kind of made him feel good to receive so much support for something so minor. But as he sat in Buck's jeep on the way to the hospital, he knew he was in for an eventful trip.

Eddie sat in silence as Buck gave the abridged version of what happened. He didn't need to tell everyone the details for them to know the jist of what was going on in that bathroom. This was definitely one of the worst ways for them to have been found out.

"Then Eddie came out and you all know the rest," Buck mumbled. Everyone was staring at them, trying to think of what to say. Hen opened and closed her mouth a few times, before tipping her head to the side in contemplation. Bobby was finally gearing up to say something when Chim suddenly barked out a laugh.

"Really?" Hen asked, shaking her head in disappointment at her partner.

"Sorry, it's just… he said 'Eddie came out' and that kind of hit the nail on the head," Chimney shrugged.

"This isn't funny," Bobby chastised, before turning to face him and Buck again. "And this isn't a big deal. It's fine."

"Thanks, Cap," Buck mumbled, glancing in his direction. Eddie still hadn't said anything yet. He didn't know what to say. Being in a relationship with a man wasn't anything he'd considered before he fell in love with Buck. Was he scared of judgment from other people? Of course. But he was afraid of never getting the chance to be with Buck more. Buck meant everything to him and it wasn't fair to keep him a secret.

"Buck is my boyfriend and we're in love," Eddie declared, reaching over with his uninjured hand and grabbing Buck's. Buck squeezed him back, sending him a look of pure love and appreciation. "We haven't told anybody yet because it's still new, not because we're ashamed of it. We'll keep things professional at work, but once we're off the clock I'm going to hold his hand and tell him I love him and whatever else we want because we're a couple and that's what we get to do as a couple. So, that's it." Eddie was panting by the end of his speech, not used to saying so much about something so personal to him. But Buck deserved someone who would yell from the rooftops about him.

"Okay," Bobby replied, nodding with a small smile on his face. Eddie hadn't realized how much Bobby's acceptance would mean to him. He had so much respect for the man and he knew that Bobby wouldn't have a problem with two men being together, but there was always a niggle of fear in his heart. It was probably due to the fact that his dad would most likely have an opposite reaction, but he would appreciate the win he got for now.

"I don't know if I can deal with this," Chimney sighed, shaking his head. An icy tendril of fear crawled up Eddie's spine before he could stop it. "I mean, you guys were already adorable when you weren't a couple. Now I'm going to have to deal with seeing your heart eyes every shift? I'm liable to get a cavity."

"Don't worry, I'll hit you in the face with the fire hose," Hen smirked, slapping Chimney on the shoulder. She turned back toward him and Buck, giving them a soft smile. "Welcome to the club."

"Edmundo Diaz?"

"That's me!" Eddie called out, quickly standing up so he could finally escape this conversation. He pulled Buck up with him, unwilling to leave him behind to be interrogated in his absence. Eddie didn't wait to hear if the rest of them had anything left to say to him, but he could hear Bobby starting a lecture aimed toward Chimney about maturity and the timeliness of joking.

The nurse got them settled into a cubicle to wait for a doctor and Eddie finally let himself relax. He tipped forward, resting his forehead

against Buck's chest.

"You alright?" Buck asked, scratching his fingers along the back of Eddie's scalp.

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry everything came out that way," Buck sighed. "I didn't mean for them to find out."

"Hey, it's fine," Eddie insisted, tipping his head up to make eye contact with Buck. "It probably wasn't the best way, but I'm glad they know."

"Yeah?" Buck asked, shooting him a bashful grin. Eddie nodded, pulling Buck down by the front of his shirt to give him a kiss. Buck smirked when they finally broke apart. "Careful. Wouldn't want you to get hurt again."

"Funny," Eddie huffed.

"I guess I'll have to take care of you until you're all healed up."

"Oh yeah?"

"I'll have to take over any duties that hand normally does," Buck murmured, looking at him with lust blown eyes. Eddie wasn't going to bring up the fact that he'd hurt his non-dominant hand. They knew where this was heading.

"Wanna show me?"

"Edmundo Diaz?"

Buck jumped in surprise at the sound of the doctor, bumping the back of his head on the lamp next to Eddie's bed. He hissed in pain and Eddie bounced up, checking to make sure he was alright.

"I'm okay. I'm good," Buck insisted, turning red in embarrassment.

"Maybe we should stick to the bedroom for a while," Eddie whispered, pecking him on the cheek. "Might be safer."

"Good idea," Buck agreed. Eddie sat back down and turned to the doctor, who was staring at them in amusement. He realized that he'd kissed Buck in front of someone else without a second thought. And Eddie couldn't find it in himself to care. The day hadn't gone perfectly, but maybe going outside of his comfort zone wasn't so bad.