For the Buddie First Kiss Week Day 4 Prompt: On a Dare

Hen leveled him with an unimpressed expression, her lips slightly pouted and her eyebrow raised, when he declared that he was a whole new Buck – again. Buck 3.0.

"I'm serious, Hen. I took a couple weeks to really do some deep thinking after Abby and Sam left. I understand myself better. I've grown." Buck stole a piece of celery from the veggie platter on the table. It was the only thing left from their potluck the night before because no one had brought it out of the fridge last night. Lucky too, because Buck was hungry and Bobby was on a phone call and thus not cooking yet.

"You know, Buckaroo, you're like the only person I know of who refers to themselves like a computer update," Hen pointed out and lightly smacked his hand when he reached for the carrots.

"I'm a Millennial. It's like our job to confuse the older generations. And to be confused by the Gen Z crowd. Do you know what a tik tok is? Some girl asked me to follow her on it last week." He tried again for the carrots and was again chastised. Only the celery was fair game apparently, so he snagged another one and bit into it petulantly.

"It's an app. For a Millennial, you sure are out of touch with pop culture." Hen shook her head and grabbed a carrot for herself. "So anyway, what makes Buck 3.0 so much better than Buck 2.0? First you gave up meaningless sex. Now what? You're celibate?"

Buck snorted. "Yeah, I'm not a nun, Hen." He waved off her ludicrous idea. "No, Buck 3.0 did some soul searching and is now confident in his sexuality."

That raised eyebrow came back. Hen glanced briefly away at the rest of the firehouse and then back at him. They were the only two at the table and the next closest person was Eddie sitting a good thirty-or-so feet away playing video games.

"You weren't secure enough in your sexuality before?" She leaned slightly toward him. "You do realize you've never been shy about talking about sex before, right?"

Buck shook his head and smiled. "Not sex, Hen. Sexuality. As in - Hello, Hen. I'm bisexual." He held his hand out to her across the table as though this were some weird first introduction. Her eyebrows rose briefly before dropping back into suspicion, but she reached out and shook his hand anyway.

"Seriously?" she asked.

Buck shook her hand twice before letting it drop. "Serious as a pulmonary embolism. But I gotta be clear. This wasn't something I just woke up knowing." He crossed his arms on the table and leaned closer, like he was sharing a secret. "The Buck 3.0 version is just the one who's not ashamed to admit it anymore. Like, I've told you about a lot of my past dates, but Hen, I have not told you about some of the finest asses I've ever seen."

She held her hands up in a flash, making him laugh and lean back. "Okay, I'ma stop you right there, Buck. I do not need to hear about your adventures anymore now than I did before you told me about Buck 3.0. That is just TMI."

Buck held his hands up in deference. "Fair enough. They're in the past anyway. Buck 3.0 is focused on the future."

Hen hummed with dubious acceptance. Then she finally let him grab a carrot. Buck munched on it while turning in his chair to see what game Eddie was playing. From his distance, all he could make out were basic shapes, but it didn't look like their firefighter training game. Maybe one of the Mario games?

"So does Buck 3.0 admit he's smitten with the house kitten?" Hen asked, and she looked far too smug when he looked back at her.

"Wha-? Eddie's not a kitten," Buck contested.

"He sure is, but I never said a name," she pointed out, and now she looked a little too victorious. "But seriously – he's a little moody, he's graceful, and he's just a bit too gorgeous. He's a cat. And you're a puppy, so it's a perfect 'opposites attract' style equation."

"I'm not a dog," Buck said with indignation. But the more he considered it, the more he kind of had to admit she had a point. He was loyal, he was brave, he was in love with food – especially food he wasn't supposed to have, he craved tactile touches, and he did have a tendency to get excited to see other people. Okay, so maybe he was a bit of a dog, but that didn't mean he had to admit it. "Anyway, Buck 3.0 is not ashamed. So yeah. Buck 3.0 maybe has a thing for Eddie."

Hen rolled her eyes even as she looked amused. "Okay, you have got to stop referring to yourself in the third person. It's making my skin crawl."

Buck laughed and the sound drew Eddie's attention momentarily while he waited for a new screen to load. He caught Buck's eye and shot him a warm smile that made Buck's insides just melt. But Eddie's next screen had loaded, so Buck waved him off and watched until all of Eddie's attention was back on the game. Then he kept watching, because Buck 3.0 definitely had a thing for Eddie. Even the back of his head was enough to make Buck smile.

"Nope. I can't take this. You gotta go over there and tell him." Hen shook her head, eyes closed, as though Buck had done something far more confusing than just stared at the back of Eddie's head.

"Oh, come on, Hen." Buck rolled his eyes and reached for more carrots, but Hen went the extra mile and took the whole platter out of his reach. He shot her his best puppy dog look and actually whined when he said again, "Come on, Hen!"

She still shook her head. Then she leaned forward and pointed toward Eddie. "You're gonna go over there, and you're gonna stop mooning over him, and you're gonna do something about it."

Buck glanced back at Eddie, then back at Hen, then back at Eddie. His voice lowered to a whisper. "Hen, that's not how it works. I'm a Buck who's not ashamed of his bisexuality, but I'm not a Buck who destroys his friendship on a whim."

"How about on a dare?" Hen asked, voice conspiratorially low. When he tore his eyes away from Eddie to look at her again, her right brow was raised in a challenge. "If it's a dare, it's not a danger, right? If he doesn't like it, you just tell him I dared you to. But if he does like it – " She raised her eyebrows suggestively.

A feeling began coiling in Buck's chest. Was it nervousness or excitement? Was it hope? Because Hen had a point. She was giving him a way in. He could walk over and confess to Eddie with all of his usual bravado and confidence because if Eddie pulled back and got mad, he could claim a dare. Buck was absolutely the type of guy to give in to a dare, especially one with so few possible negative outcomes – or that's what he'd say at least. Being rejected would still hurt like a bitch, though.

Just as Hen got tired of waiting, just as her face began to fall into something akin to irritation, Buck rapped his knuckles on the table and stood up.

"You know what?" He said and fixed her with an intense stare. "Dare me."

A grin spread eagerly on Hen's face and she stood too, leaning over the table like they were having a very quiet argument. "I dare you to go kiss Eddie Diaz. On the mouth."

Buck swallowed heavily. Kissing was a bit bigger than confessing – kissing usually came after confessing at least. But he had his excuse prepared. Right?

He nodded with determination. Hen nodded back, and the movement seemed to say 'mission is a go'. It felt like a mission to Buck, at least. Like a high stakes game of poker in a Bond movie. He just hoped he didn't end up poisoned.

Buck stepped away from the table and walked toward the couch where Eddie was sitting. He tried to act natural, but he could feel the slightly jerky way his legs were moving. Eddie didn't notice, thankfully, because his attention was on the game. Buck pretended to be watching him play, leaning on the back of the couch, but all he could tell about it was that it wasn't Mario Kart. They had two other Mario games to choose from, and Buck couldn't focus on the game enough to tell you which one this was.

The level ended eventually and Eddie glanced up at him, probably to ask if he wanted to play. But Buck didn't let him finish his question. This was his opening! So all Eddie got out was, "Hey, Buck. You wanna –" and then Buck's mouth was pressing into his.

Eddie, mid-word, took a second to shut his mouth completely, and then Buck was pressing in more. Eddie leaned back, but from the pressure, not to pull away. When Buck edged away a moment later, Eddie looked confused but not upset.

"Wh-What was that about?" he asked. Their faces were still pretty close, so there was no way for Buck to miss the grin on his face. It made Buck's chest swell with hope.

"Do I need a reason to kiss you?" Buck asked, playing coy.

Eddie hummed in agreement, then dropped the controller on the couch beside him and brought his hand up to Buck's neck. "So Hen didn't put you up to it at all?"

Bullseye. Buck colored a little. "How –?"

"I know our coworkers too, you know." Eddie's thumb was caressing his pulse point and making him shiver.

"Okay. But, like, what if she hadn't?" Buck leaned his head down to rest their foreheads together. "What if I just came over to kiss you on my own?"

Eddie's hand slid around to the back of his neck, his fingertips slipping up into Buck's hair. "Well, then I'd probably tell you this isn't appropriate in the workplace."

It was a logical sentiment, but the way Eddie's fingertips kept drifting over his skin told Buck that these feelings weren't one-sided. He smirked a little, drawing on all the confidence Buck 3.0 could have. He kissed Eddie again, and this time Eddie kissed him back. Buck's chest felt like it was going to explode.

"I like you. Like a lot," Buck confessed when they parted again.

"Yeah?" Eddie kissed him again, light and feather soft.

"Yep. I put a lot of thought into it." Had Buck ever sounded this airy after kissing Abby?

"I kinda like you a lot too," Eddie admitted. "Even if it did take Hen pushing to get you to finally kiss me."

"Shut the hell up."

"Make me."

So he did. He kissed Eddie again. And again. And then Eddie was pulling him around and down onto the couch to keep kissing.

At the table, Hen made a sound somewhere between a cheer and a teasingly disgusted snort. Buck would maybe thank her later. Maybe. It depended on how much teasing she sent his way.

…