i don't wanna pick the wrong couch again 😳

i just think eddie challenges buck in such a unique way…he isn’t someone who views buck a little bit childlike…with a smile and a laugh and a “oh that’s just Buck.” …eddie listens, and pushes, and asks questions, and indulges when buck needs it, and gets buck to think and work through things when he needs that too.. eddie TRUSTS buck. he trusts him when Eddie’s got his own struggles, to be there and have his back, and that translates to him trusting buck with bucks own issues too, and how he views himself like, no I’m not gonna let you wallow in this, im not gonna let you blame yourself for this, take a different look at it, give yourself the same steady advice you give me….... he pushes back against bucks self narrative when he needs to…and gives him the space to feel when he needs that too..

THE BUCKLEY SIBLINGS + PINK & WHITE

breaking from the fandom norm here a bit but i actually do want to see eddie being a flustered mess about buck, too. i want to feel like there are stakes here that matter to him! eddie's only confident and smooth about romance when he's playing a role, wearing his Perfect Romcom Boyfriend mask, and he doesn't wear that with buck. i want to see him flounder a bit. i want them both to be disasters here.

I mean honestly the primary reason why eddie’s going to have to make the first move is because he’s straight. The secondary reason is because buck took the big leap of overcoming his abandonment issues and moved into eddie’s house and told him not to come back and has accepted that eddie is gone. So when eddie comes back he’ll have to respond to that by making a commitment in the opposite direction and also letting himself have joy

Not who realizes first, it’s who makes the first move. Like who admits it to the other, who nervously leans in for their first kiss before they’re together?

Anirudh Pisharody as Ravi Panikkar 9-1-1, S08E13

something something buddie metaphor something...............

3x08 “Malfunction” -> 8x13 “Invisible”

a new apron for buck

i do Not know how to articulate this coherently but I’m thinking about buddie and points of view again and how it impacts which one of them we think is most likely to have a feelings realisation first. bc they both react to each other so differently and depending on whose perspective we get it can be hard to really know what the other person is thinking

and it's like, for buck every single thought he has about eddie is so loud so when you're in it with him, and you see the grand gestures and his reactions to eddie (whether it's when he's hurt or just existing) and you hear him talking everyone's ear off about eddie you think, ofc it's gonna hit him like a freight train one day when he realises what all of this really means!!!!! so it's season 2 or it's season 3 or it's season 7 or it's 8x11 and you're thinking buck has to be the one to figure it out first. he's so full up with everything he feels for eddie he's about to burst!!!

but then eddie's pov is so Quiet. it's lingering looks in buck's direction and observing him when buck isn't paying attention and these declarations of devotion that are, again, so quiet but so devastating. and everything about the way he views buck is so sure and settled and you watch season 4 or season 5 or 6b or 8x13 and think, eddie has to know on some level. it's there, in the corner of his mind, and he might not be ready to interrogate it yet but it's there.

and because we rarely, if ever, get both of their perspectives side by side in one episode it's impossible to truly know which one of them is closer to figuring it out or if in fact they both do have that thought in the back of their head. or, moreover, if they could ever believe the other person might feel the same way

and anyway i am clawing at the ground at the thought of an episode or a scene that allows us to see both. that lets us see them both react in real time to each other. especially now. especially with everything between them in the past 5 episodes. plant them in front of each other and linger on both of their faces. show me both of their reactions if they touch or hug or say something that potentially means more than they're letting on. it might make my heart stop beating but damn what a way to go that would be

AISHA HINDS as HENRIETTA 'HEN' WILSON 9-1-1 S08E13: Invisible

Ryan Guzman as Eddie Díaz 9-1-1, S08E13 - Invisible

The text comes at 9:07.

Eddie: Happy birthday, Hen! Hope you have a good one :)

Hen smiles down at her phone as she sets down her bag in the locker room. Someone really ought to teach that man how to use emojis (seriously, is he secretly 50?), but the text warms her heart too much to be bothered by it. At least someone remembered, even from another state. She’ll take the typed out smiley emoticon as a win.

Hen: Thanks Eddie 🥳 how are you doing?

Eddie: Almost done fixing up my house and making small breakthroughs with Chris every day. But I’m sure Buck’s keeping you all updated. How about you? Any big plans today?

Hen: I’m sure it’s going great, we’re all rooting for you ❤️ and yes, Buck’s giving us all the updates, hasn’t shut up about you since you left 😂

Hen: No big plans today, though. Shift, then takeout for dinner.

Eddie: Not even cake? You’re breaking my heart :(

Hen sighs. She’s breaking her own heart over this silly little thing. She feels ridiculous, being so excited and then so disappointed over such a small thing. She scoffs as she kicks off her shoes and shakes off her jacket before answering Eddie.

Hen: I guess I’m just not in the mood this year. Maybe Karen and I will get dinner over the weekend.

Eddie: Oh, Buck and I tried this great Italian place the night before my last shift at the 118! You should ask him for details, their spaghetti bolognese was amazing :D

Well, definitely not doing that. Not while Buck and the rest of the 118 are being excited over a different H.E.N. in their lives right now. Another thing she’s ridiculously jealous of today: firefighting gadgets. And the way Eddie isn’t able to keep Buck out of their conversation even for a second. She bets Buck never forgets his birthday.

Hen: Thanks, I appreciate the tip 🤗

Eddie: Anytime. Hope you have a great day :)

Yeah, Hen thinks. Against all odds, she hopes so, too.