Word Count: 5,234
Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with 911, Fox, or anything else related to that particular universe.

Warnings: This chapter contains explicit sexual content.

Eddie had always been a light sleeper.

He could blame it on having a kid with special needs, always being alert to the potential cry of "Dad!" because of a nightmare or tripping in the dark.

Or he could blame it on years in the army, always being alert to patrols and incoming fire and needing to take cover.

Or he could blame it on having pranksters for sisters, always being alert to the potential of being woken with a bucket of water or pots and pans smashed together in his face.

Perhaps it was all of those things, or perhaps it was none of them.

In any case, Eddie had always been a light sleeper.

So when he stirred awake after some seven hours of sleeping, he was surprised to find the other side of the bed was empty and he hadn't awoken to Buck climbing free or moving around. He rubbed at his eyes before he realised he was very naked beneath the sheets and blankets, eyes sweeping the space and then hearing some quiet rustling downstairs. He felt awkward as he slid from the bed, dressing quickly and then fidgeting at the top of the stairs. What was he meant to say to Buck? Was he meant to leave? Or stay? Would they even see each other again?

"I won't bite, you know," Buck called. Eddie bit his lip as he descended the stairs, finding Buck coiled into a corner of his couch in the alcove under the stairs, a mug of coffee held in his hands. "Hi."

Eddie pushed his hands into his pockets, gaze flitting from Buck to some of the furniture and items to look at because this was…not something he'd done in…a really, really long time. "Hey."

"You look like you're about to flee." Buck's eyes fixed on him, which just made it even harder for Eddie to look anywhere in Buck's general vicinity because he wasn't used to being seen through like he was a pane of glass. "Why do you want to leave, Eddie?"

Eddie shrugged, a nervous hand brushing over the strap of his watch where his thumb caught on the line of scarring beneath it. "I should- I need to go pick up Chris and-"

"Your grandmother already called earlier," Buck said calmly which made Eddie stare at him. "I said you were...with a friend sleeping off your shift yesterday. She said to take as long as you needed and she'll keep Chris busy."

Eddie wrinkled his nose but conceded the point with a small tilt of his head, shifting from foot to foot before sinking into one of the armchairs. "It's not fair to her to be signed up to taking care of my son when calls go bad," he mumbled, fingers folding into his lap.

"She's family, Eddie," Buck said with a shrug, lifting his mug to his lips and staring across the rim at Eddie. "She knows what you do, right? I'm sure she accepted that sometimes making sure you take care of yourself means you need some space from your kid."

Eddie wasn't sure he entirely agreed – being a single father wasn't exactly something he'd ever envisaged happening, but it was part of the deal now – but he'd also listened to Athena's demand that he take care of himself enough times to know that Buck was poking at the same sorts of issues. He figured any attempt to argue with Buck's opinion would be as unsuccessful as Athena, although neither Athena nor Buck knew the number of times his parents and Abuela had suggested he leave SWAT for something with regular hours and stability for Chris. Especially since Shannon had died. Neither knew how much guilt he felt that he continued to lead the team.

"You still seem uncomfortable." Buck placed his mug on the coffee table and got to his feet. "Can I get you something? Coffee? Breakfast?"

Eddie wished he could relax but Buck was acting so normal, and most of Eddie's nerves felt raw with uncertainty. He still felt like he was meant to shuffle out the door, but he couldn't bring himself to move.

"Coffee… Coffee would be good," he agreed and Buck offered a tired sort of smile, sweeping past him and brushing a hand against his shoulder on the way to the kitchen. Eddie shuddered at the contact, something like an electrical tingling shuddering down his spine. He blinked rapidly, turning to look at Buck who had a similar sort of confused expression on his face.

"What…was that?" Buck said, his hand curling towards his chest like he could still feel the electricity passing through it.

Eddie bit his lip, fingers twitching to rub at his shoulder and scatter the sparks that buzzed beneath his skin. He'd had it before, with Shannon, but it was different with her. She'd been desperately waiting for him to get a Mark but with Buck… With Buck, and after their conversation in the early hours about all his pale Marks, Eddie didn't want to freak him out.

"Eddie?"

He knew Buck had had a half-half Mark before, though. He wasn't sure who that person was but it seemed like it hadn't lasted long, but as he'd pointed out last night, Buck was capable of receiving darker coloured Marks. Buck was capable of having people care for him.

"It's...a Mark thing," he said, struggling to meet Buck's eyes when the twitching hands in his lap were so much more interesting.

"A what?"

Eddie peered up at Buck, because Buck might not have many darker Marks but he wasn't stupid. He knew how society worked. He understood the biology behind the Marks. They all did. If parents didn't tell you, then schooling certainly covered it: how red implied Fate thought there was a potential for a deep connection which may never be requited; how half-half meant Fate's string had been burned at both ends to provide a chance at requited feelings; how completely black meant burning through the chance Fate had offered. Eddie could still remember how classes about Marks at school included demonstrations with matchsticks, the creeping black along the solid wood until it turned to ash, just like the bond which could form with a requited Mark.

When Buck continued to stare at him in disbelief, Eddie's fingers unravelled the buttons of his shirt, peeling the fabric away even as he felt a slight tremble across his shoulders to expose himself like this. He lowered his eyes as he revealed the Mark, hearing the strangled noise of shock or surprise behind him.

He squeezed his eyes shut against the flood of tears. "I didn't- It's not like I meant to-" His words reminded him of how Shannon had once said something similar, and his stomach turned. Everyone knew Fate didn't use logic or reason to tie people together. The Marks went deeper, defying any sort of reasonable explanation. Trying to offer excuses made it seem like he was regretting that he had feelings, although he wanted to blame Fate for what was beyond any feasible understanding of free will.

He startled at the heat that rippled through him at the tentative brush of fingertips against his shoulder, the swirl of a thumb over the Mark that made every muscle stretch taut against his bones. "Buck…" he whimpered, eyes flickering up and towards where Buck was staring at him with an odd mixture of wonder and fear.

"It's… How long have you had this?" Even just the light pressure of Buck's fingers was enough to make Eddie's head spin.

He dragged his bottom lip back between his teeth, knowing Buck would put together the pieces pretty quickly. He couldn't see why he'd lie though. "After… After we first kissed… I… Chris pointed it out the next morning..."

Buck's eyes widened, his mouth opening and closing several times. "But that- That was ages ago!"

Eddie's eyes dropped towards his lap, even as his skin continued to buzz and prickle. It had been ages ago and he'd fled, like a coward, like a child, like an idiot. He'd avoided Buck, he'd skipped classes, he'd endured the painful tugs and the restless nights. His attempt to stay away from Buck had been misguided and pointless and laced with selfishness and fear.

"Eddie…" Buck moved around the chair, his hand drifting from Eddie's shoulder down to tangle among the bunched fabric against his bicep. Buck crouched in front of him, the curious and wary stare sinking deep within Eddie's soul. "When did it change?"

He felt like his breath got stuck in his lungs at Buck, question and his brow furrowed. "Change?"

Buck hesitated, glancing away and swallowing. Eddie could feel the way Buck's fingers trembled against his arm. "It- It's half-half, Eds. It- So it can't be me."

He blinked. Repeatedly. Dumbly. His thoughts tripping over a solid block of confusion. "What?"

A single tear spilled down Buck's cheek and he swiped his palm against it like he was ashamed. And even though Eddie was terrified by the implications and the realisations, he reached out his hand to cradle Buck's jaw.

Buck's breathing hitched, turning away from him. "It- It's not me. I- I don't-"

"It has to be you," Eddie interrupted, thumb skimming over Buck's jaw and trying to tilt his head back. "There's no one else in my life. Not like this, Buck."

"But I… I don't h-have a...a Mark," Buck sobbed, his voice shaking and eyes shining when he lifted his gaze to Eddie's.

Eddie met it steadily, shifting forward slightly in his chair. "Are you sure?"

Buck hesitated, teeth catching at his lip. Eddie tried to prise the flesh free but Buck was more stubborn.

"We- Do you want to- to check? I could-"

"But… But w-what if there i-isn't?" Buck insisted and Eddie shook his head slowly as he pressed his other hand against Buck's cheek, cupping his face and staring into his eyes. He was starting to realise that as afraid as he'd been of revealing the red Mark, a half-half one was even more terrifying to Buck than he could have imagined.

"There has to be," he said gently, rubbing his thumbs over Buck's cheeks. "That electrical sort of thing you felt? That's not because you brushed over any Mark. It's one tied to you. You know that. You've already had one before."

"Not… Abby and I…" Buck shut his eyes and Eddie felt like his heart cracked into ribbons when he saw fresh tears spill down pale cheeks. "W-We never… I never saw her M-Mark… And we definitely n-never touched them…"

The scant pieces he knew about Buck's previous relationships started to gather more shape. Ignoring the discomfort of his unbuttoned and lowered shirt, he tugged at Buck's face until the other man shifted from his crouched position to Eddie's lap. His legs were somewhat awkwardly hooked over the arm of the chair so he could fit, and he was a whole lot heavier than Chris, and far broader across the shoulders, but Eddie still forced him into being curled into the embrace while he nosed at his blond hair and pressed kisses to his forehead beside the circular marks on his brow.

The sense of peace that swelled within him and threatened to drown him in calm was overwhelming. All the noise, all the worry, all the hurt faded under the comforting blanket provided Buck in his arms, by satisfying Fate. The strings curled around and around them, cinching their souls together into something fragile and terrifying.

He could feel Buck shaking against him, faint tremors that made Eddie strengthen his grip and skim the tip of his nose against the slope of Buck's. "I'm not going anywhere," he assured, knowing that there was nothing he'd let come between them now. If Buck wanted to reject it, then he'd let him go but Eddie was capable of making strong commitments and honouring them. Chris, and Buck's loose connection to Athena, made things more complicated but that wasn't enough for Eddie to doubt that it was the right decision to follow what Fate wanted, to give into the comfort that Buck brought him.

"But-"

He silenced further protests, further insecurities, by pressing his lips against Buck's. For a moment, it felt like he was tasting colours and seeing sounds and feeling smells. It was both intoxicating and overpowering, and he could feel how rigid Buck's posture was as the sensations had to be mirrored. He touched a hand to Buck's cheek, lifting his jaw and nipping at his bottom lip before swiping his tongue against it.

"Eddie…" Buck whimpered, but it was as much a breathless plea when Eddie felt fists bunch into his shirt. Some of the tension across Buck's shoulders loosened, his spine bowing as he sank into the kisses Eddie kept pressing to the corner of his lips, or his jaw, or his cheek.

"Do you feel it?" Eddie mumbled, lips lingering near Buck's temple, or the splotch of birthmark above his eyebrow, or his hairline. Anything that would continue to soothe Buck's uncertainties, anything that would continue to convince him this was real, anything that would make Buck realise this was so much more than merely a hook-up. "It's intense, right?"

Buck nodded, breath catching when Eddie ran fingers through his hair and down to the nape of his neck. "I- I didn't know it was like this…"

Eddie rubbed his thumb against the ridge behind Buck's ear while kissing between the furrowed brow. Gradually, his blue eyes glazed and his breathing slowed and he slumped more into Eddie's arms. It seemed like a panicked reset switch which was…good to know.

"Do you… D'you want to talk about Abby?" he asked, noting how Buck's eyelids fluttered and there was almost certainly a spike in Buck's pulse given the shortened inhalations. "We don't have to-"

"I… Abby was…different," Buck said, twisting his arm around and through Eddie's, leaning his head on Eddie's shoulder and releasing a shaky breath. "I… I developed feelings for her too quickly and then I let myself believe we could make it work for too long. Now she's travelling somewhere and…" Buck shrugged, nuzzling against Eddie's neck. "We never really- Even when I saw my Mark change, she…she never brought them up and we never- It was different to this…"

Eddie nodded, already having guessed as much from Buck's reactions to the touches or kisses. He seemed almost like a kitten, curling closer and closer. Any moment now, Eddie was expecting him to start purring. He brushed fingertips over some of the curves of Buck's face and kissed his forehead again, glad that some of his previous hysteria seemed to have faded. "Is- Is this okay?"

Buck peered up at Eddie, lip caught between his teeth as he lifted a hand to grasp Eddie's arm and deliberately skim his thumb on the inside of his wrist. "It's...a lot. You… You've had this before, right?"

"With Shannon?" He swallowed, hesitating when he met Buck's curious expression, before he nodded again. "It was over before she died. We… I guess we were trying to make it work again for Chris' sake? But our Marks were both black and it… We knew it wasn't really going to succeed. We were fighting all the time."

Buck squeezed his forearm gently, his blue eyes shadowed with sadness. "A loss like that is still awful though."

He closed his eyes, feeling as though Buck had exposed his difficulties with Abby and as tough as it was, he wanted to talk to Buck about it. He wanted to talk about Shannon and not be so strangled by her death, but letting the weight of memories hit him all over again still crushed a lot of the air out of his lungs.

"I… I watched it scar," he mumbled, eyes prickling as his throat tightened. "You think you feel…cooler, I guess, when Marks turn black but when it scars… It's worse than ice seeping into your veins because it- Marks are all about your heart, right? Fate taunting you about who the heart wants?" A tear spilled down his cheek and he felt Buck's grip on his wrist tighten. "So when it… When it scarred, it was so painful that I thought a piece of me was dying... I knew she was gone and I- I didn't know if I'd find her but I had to find Chris. I had to find my son."

"I'm so sorry you went through that, Eddie," Buck whispered, pressing a kiss against his bicep. Eddie brushed a kiss to the top of his head, inhaling deeply against Buck's hair to try to calm himself and avoid falling apart because even that amount of talking about her, about the tsunami, about her death, after the day he'd had yesterday felt like too much. "It's- No one should ever have to- to see what happened that day. All those people just…w-washed away."

Something in the way Buck's voice wavered made Eddie tilt his head and open his eyes to meet Buck's haunted look. "Did you see?" he said, but he'd already recognised the glimmer in the blue eyes. He'd seen something similar stare at him in the dead of night when Chris screamed himself awake.

Buck's gaze drifted away and it was enough of an answer in itself. It was Eddie's turn to tighten his arms, shifting slightly so that he could twist his fingers through Buck's fingers rather than have his arm held.

"I might not have a scarred Mark from that day but I- I have my own scars," Buck admitted, his words as distant as his expression. At the same time, the confession was laced with as much vulnerability as Buck talking about his many pale pink Marks the night before.

He missed the steady, calm feeling he'd drowned in earlier and the inversion of senses when he'd kissed Buck. It wasn't that he regretted discussing some parts of their past heartbreaks – it was important if he wanted to avoid damaging the tenuous bond between them – but it still made him ache in places he couldn't easily escape when he was left alone with his own mind. It left him feeling hollowed out and raw around the edges.

"Are you- How sure are you that- that I'm- that the half-half Mark is...is related to me?" Buck said and a sense of certainty Eddie hadn't felt a moment ago bubbled to the surface.

He bumped his nose against Buck's to coax the movement of his head until he could kiss Buck again, sinking into the heady heat that never existed anywhere else except in Fated bonds. His teeth dragged at Buck's bottom lip and he felt the shudder against him, the way Buck shifted his weight and spread fingers across the bare skin of Eddie's exposed shoulder, the way Buck's tongue licked at his own. When a fingertip grazed over the Mark, a moan stuck behind his ribcage and his hands curled into whatever he could grasp of Buck's hand or shirt. It was like taking a blowtorch to his skin, setting every nerve on fire until he melted into something inhuman.

Eddie managed to stop kissing Buck for a moment, if only because he needed to catch his breath when the fingertip moved over the Mark again and again and every time it felt like he was sizzling all over. "That's not- It doesn't f-feel like this unless it's the other half," he muttered, staring at Buck through lidded eyes and watching how the baby blues had turned towards the inkiness of night again.

"It looks intense," Buck observed and Eddie's breathing hitched at the deliberate, firm press against the Mark.

One eyebrow rose, a twitch at the edge of his lips. "You want me to show you?"

Buck stilled, his eyes dropping and his fingers no longer moving. "What if- What if you don't find anything?"

But Eddie knew he would, otherwise he wouldn't have a half-half Mark. Somewhere, he would find a Mark and then he'd show Buck exactly what it felt like to have a bond returned.

"C'mon," he said, scooting forward on the chair to set Buck's feet on the ground. He abandoned his shirt on the chair and grasped Buck's hand, guiding him towards the stairs.

"It's pretty," Buck mumbled as he pressed against Eddie's back, lips ghosting over the Mark unexpectedly. Eddie's knees almost buckled and he absolutely nearly stumbled up several stairs if it hadn't been for Buck catching him.

"Don't- Fuck, don't d-do that," he said, his voice strangled around the urge to forgo searching for the Mark in favour of shoving Buck onto the bed and removing every piece of fabric from his skin.

Buck hummed, the damp tip of his tongue circling Eddie's shoulder. "Is it always like this?"

Eddie pulled himself out of Buck's grip as best as he could, pushing the man to sit on the edge of the bed and ignoring the cheeky pout. "No," he answered, because the sensory inversion and shattering overload had definitely faded with Shannon. The ability to think coherently had generally improved too.

Buck continued to pout at him, even as Eddie tugged the t-shirt over his head and examined each of the pale pink Marks like maybe somehow one of them had darkened. Buck's pout slowly faded, replaced with uncertainty or maybe fear that Eddie wouldn't find what he was looking for. It was clear Buck's chest was empty of a Mark, and his arms, and his shoulders. Eddie kneeled on the bed to skim over Buck's back, searching for something that clearly wasn't there.

"It's not- I w-was right, w-wasn't I?" Buck whispered and Eddie shook his head, kissing the back of Buck's shoulder.

"We'll keep looking. Can you remove your jeans for me?"

Eddie could see Buck's hands were shaking as he fumbled at the button and zip of the jeans, wriggling the denim down until it had pooled on the floor. "There's nothing-"

He moved off the bed and hushed Buck with another gentle kiss, the fear in the blue eyes more pronounced as Eddie started examining the long stretch of his legs from thigh to toe. There was the silver coil of a scar running along the outside of his left so Eddie started with the right. It was when he brushed over Buck's right knee that he drew some sort of reaction – a significant twitch of his leg that lifted his eyes back to Buck's.

"Lie down and roll over?" he suggested and though Buck bit his bottom lip, he settled on the bed as requested. Once he did, the half-half Mark nestled behind the hinge of his knee was an obvious contrast to the pale skin that surrounded it. Eddie couldn't fight the stupid smile that spread across his lips at the sight.

"E-Eddie?"

"Told you," he said, swiping his index finger over the Mark. He delighted in the moan that escaped Buck as well as the resounding prickling and buzzing that spread across his own skin. "See?"

Buck trembled, fingers fisting into the pillows above his head. "Again?"

Eddie climbed onto the bed so that he could keep touching the Mark with his thumb, feeling Buck quaking beneath him as he kissed a line across his broad shoulders and down his back. By the time he reached the Mark and pressed his lips to it, Buck was already grinding his hips against the mattress and making a lot of incoherent gasping noises but that got choked off with a low whine.

"E-Ed- Eddie- Please-"

Eddie crawled over Buck again, nipping at the back of his shoulder and up his neck. "D'you understand the intensity now?"

"Mhm…" Buck shuddered and slowly rolled himself over, eyes blown dark as he met Eddie's gaze. "You want me to get rid of those jeans you're stuck in?"

He didn't need to be asked twice. The feverish desperation that had started their interaction last night returned with a vengeance now as the remaining fabric covering Eddie was banished to some part of the floor in between hasty kisses and needy touches. Buck seemed to be making it a point to cling to Eddie's shoulder, which was a terrible distraction when he was trying to focus on not jamming his fingers into Buck too hard, soaking every whimper into a kiss. By the time he was rolling the condom on, Buck already looked utterly blissed and Eddie was entranced.

"All that personal training," he said slowly, eyeing the sheen of sweat that was spread across Buck's brow and glittering down his chest, the way his chest heaved and his stomach clenched, "it must make you pretty flexible, right?"

Buck's eyes fluttered towards him, a faintly creased brow conveying the question he seemed incapable of formulating.

A smile tugged at the edge of Eddie's lips as he lifted Buck's right leg, stretching it up and over his shoulder. Something choked in Buck's throat when their Marks touched, the thunderclap of heat and pressure and electricity that Eddie had anticipated even though it still felt like it inverted his understanding of the universe. Thinking was impossible when it was like this. Even breathing didn't seem like an automatic process anymore.

It was fascinating to watch how Buck – a taller and broader guy who was clearly capable of lifting Eddie off his feet if necessary – utterly fell apart beneath him as he pushed forward, sinking into the tight heat of his body again. He caught the groan amidst a messy kiss, pressing into Buck's embrace and feeling every part of his heart and soul spark whenever their Marks brushed. It was always the best and worst part about the half-half Marks – the realisation your feelings were returned and yet the taunting of Fate that it could all so easily end. Buck's lingering black Mark and Eddie's scarred Mark were proof enough of that.

Buck clung to whatever part of Eddie's body he could reach. "E-Eddie-"

"I- I know," he breathed, watching the fan of Buck's eyelashes open and close against the thinnest ring of blue that was mostly swallowed by all the black. He doubted his eyes were any less dark, doubted his flesh was any less flushed, as he rolled his hips and watched Buck's ruby mouth part around a series of shortening gasps.

The sensations spilling through him because of their Marks was overwhelming, thoroughly intoxicating, and he might've felt embarrassed at how little control he had, how quickly he felt his body clench around an orgasm, if he knew Buck wasn't exactly the same. There were whimpered pleas and hitched curses trapped between or stolen by lips and tongues and teeth, haphazard hands grasping at slick skin, and he could feel the need building higher and higher as the separation between the Marks thinned, as their souls synced for heart-stopping seconds.

Buck made a muffled cry against Eddie's lips as he came, nails digging into Eddie's back while his awareness whited out. Eddie felt the heat pool between them and around them and within him and he could only groan against Buck's jaw, the transference of pleasure between their touching Marks feeling like it looped back at him and nearly shattering him again and again. His lips found Buck's and his hands twisted into his hair and his heart swelled a size larger to accommodate another person in his life again, and then everything suddenly seemed like it was a whole lot harder to breathe.

He fumbled at Buck's body, at his throat, the panic invading his senses before he'd even processed what was happening. "B-Buck-"

"Hey. Hey. Eddie, it's okay," Buck whispered, trembling beneath Eddie as the fuzzy expression in his eyes drifted across Eddie's face and he grasped at Eddie's wavering head. "It's okay, Eddie. Breathe through it. Breathe with me, okay?"

He held onto Buck, tumbling from the brightest peak to something horribly low in so many seconds that he couldn't possibly keep up, tears building at the edge of his vision as Buck pulled him close and kissed over his face.

"Hey… I'm here, I'm here," Buck murmured, nuzzling and clasping at Eddie which at least helped stopped him from fleeing to the other side of the room with everything that was unravelling through him.

Grief, hurt, fury, despair, desperation, and the terrifyingly real and tangible threads of love that he knew too well tore through him in ways that he hadn't expected. Everything he probably should've felt after Shannon died, everything he'd locked away for almost a year, seemed to slam into him simultaneously, from every angle, and he held onto Buck like an anchor in the storm, fumbling to retain a grip in reality.

Buck's hand found his wrist, pressing the palm firmly against his chest. "With me, Eds. Okay? In…and out…"

Eddie wasn't sure how long it took to slow his breathing or stop feeling like his insides were being shredded but he was exhausted by the end of it and embarrassed by the nudity, embarrassed that they were still sweaty and sticky, embarrassed at falling apart like that after sex. One of Buck's hands continued to hold Eddie's against his chest, the other set of fingers stroking through his damp strands of hair, and though he felt somewhat more relaxed, he also felt much too much.

"I- I'm sorry," he mumbled but Buck shook his head, nudging a kiss to his forehead.

"You lost her and that was… I thought you made my brain implode last night but that was something else," Buck said, and Eddie could feel the teasing lift of Buck's lips against his brow. "You've read the books, right? You know how it is when you're Marked again after losing someone. It's okay. You're okay, Eds."

Eddie still hated it, wanting to apologise endlessly for the crash of emotional turmoil, but he had a feeling Buck would probably just keep telling him that it was okay. He wasn't really interested in going in circles because he suspected they were both as stubborn as each other in that regard.

"I- I think I should shower and sort out picking my kid up from my Abuela," Eddie said, circling his index finger around the tattoo of three shapes on Buck's chest that he'd spent so long sketching.

"Yeah, I guess you should fulfill your responsibilities otherwise I'd suggest staying here for the rest of the day…"

"Don't tempt me." He peered slightly nervously at Buck. "You- You want to join me?"

Buck tilted his head to meet Eddie's eyes, brows arched. "In the shower or picking up your son?"

Eddie bit his bottom lip, swallowing against the burst of nerves in his throat. Chris knew about the Mark. Chris had met Buck before. He wasn't sure how he was meant to keep something like this from Chris, nor did he think he wanted to. Not when Buck made him giddy with hope and excitement, not when Fate wanted them to be near each other far more often. He couldn't imagine concealing this from Chris.

"Both?"

Buck looked undeniably shy with the little flicker of a smile that inched across his lips. "Are you sure?"

"About what?"

Buck snorted, his smile widening into a lazy sort of grin. "Both?"

~TBC~