Forty minutes later, they’d cleaned up the house, done the before-leaving-the-house checklist, and now were in the Jeep headed to somewhere. Eddie’d had the door opened for him, the playlist inspired by him playing, and Buck was laying on compliments left and right that vacillated from making him blush and making him throw his head back and laugh.
The most recent had been the latter, so he was still coming down when he realized the car had stopped. Curiously, he peered out the window, trying to figure out where they were going, but all he saw were buildings, cars, and “pay here” signs. They were clearly at a paid lot of some kind, downtown LA, but Eddie didn’t immediately recognize the area.
“What do you have planned?” Eddie asked suspiciously, but Buck just grinned.
“It’s a surprise. C’mon. I think you’re gonna like it.”
Buck got out of the car and hurried over, but Eddie’d already opened his own door and started to climb out. It earned him a pout from his best friend, but he wasn’t used to being pampered. He couldn’t help the slightly anxious way he took in their current surroundings - scanning for opportunities of an ambush or a sniper - but Buck stepped forward, gently linking their hands together and bringing him back to the present moment.
“It’s not a far walk. I promise.”
“Okay.” Eddie agreed, stomach still tightening as he took his first steps. The Jeep beeped behind him, startling him slightly, but Buck just laughed and started tugging him to the right.
“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Eddie playfully rolled his eyes, but fell into step beside Buck, half keeping an eye on their immediate surroundings and half trying to guess where they were going as he looked ahead at the row of shops and buildings.
“Is this ok?” Buck asked suddenly, squeezing his hand to indicate what he meant, and oh.
“Uh, yeah?” Eddie found it more weird that it hadn’t felt weird until Buck pointed it out. They were always walking shoulder to shoulder, arms brushing, knuckles knocking — so it seemed to be a natural progression of just…them. He hadn’t even connected it to fake dating until Buck asked.
“I like it.” He admitted. “Holding hands with someone.”
