Chapter Text
Chim is half-tempted to play a prank on Buck, just for having the nerve of falling asleep on the couch and leaving no space for anyone else. Lucky for Buck, unlucky for him, Chim is way too tired to move.
The station is silent, it’s the middle of the night and everyone is enjoying the lull in their shift to either catch on some sleep or just take a breather. From where he is sitting, Chim can see Eddie reading a book, a polar that he keeps saying is terrible but won’t stop reading anyway.
He knows that as soon as the bell rings, Chim will be on his feet, running towards the truck, wide alert, but for the moment, he wants to enjoy the slumber, lean into it. His body is slow, his thoughts sluggish almost.
It’s a good feeling. He can feel himself relax even more, though he knows he won’t fall asleep. His eyes are still on Buck, unseeing, and it takes him a while to realize that Buck is awake.
“Hey,” Chim says, more of a whisper than he intended. “You know we have beds, right?”
Buck does not answer, but Chim is too mellow to care. Maybe Buck’s fallen back to sleep.
Chim himself is about to close his eyes when he hears a small, choked whimper.
He’s upright before it registers.
Buck is breathing erratically, his eyes are wide and scared. He is still laying down, fully spread on the couch. His whole body looks tensed, stiffen.
“Buck, what’s wrong?” Chim asks, jumping to his friend’s side. He hears Eddie call after them but keeps his focus on Buck.
But Buck isn’t moving still, and his gaze is still fixed on Chim, his breathing is labored.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
“It’s sleep paralysis,” Eddie says from behind Chim, who lets himself be moved. Eddie sits next to Buck, taking his hand and squeezing it gently. “Buck, look at me. None of what you’re seeing is real.”
The station is silent except from Buck’s choked breathing and Eddie’s soft voice, murmuring comforting words to a panicked Buck.
Chim has always known that these two gravitate towards one another, in a way that friends don’t. There is a pull between them that Chim always called attraction, but in that moment, he knows. It’s more than that.
It’s love.
When Buck is finally free from his sleep paralysis’ grip, falling into Eddie’s arms with reckless abandon, shaking and ragged, Chim can’t tear his eyes away.
The moment looks intimate, something that Chim shouldn’t be privy to, but he’s fascinated.
They can’t see each other’s faces. Chim can.
He sees the relief on Eddie’s face, the way his eyes shine too bright under the light of the station.
He sees the way Buck’s face shifts, no longer trembling and terrified, the way he buries himself in Eddie’s embrace, like this is the only place where he’ll ever find himself fully safe.
At last, Chim looks away. He can’t help the soft smile that warms itself on his lips.
Buck and Eddie may not be together yet, but they will be. He has no doubt about this.
This is love.