Me tbh lol

So ever since season 7 started airing, i started a complete rewatch from the beginning, I’m now at season 4 and let me just say, i fully believe with my whole heart buddie could become canon. There is WAY too much there for them to just be “best bros🤨”

Combining two reference photos with no plan whatsoever, 1/∞

Yes please

I can relate 😮‍💨

9-1-1 ▸ 1.10 a whole new you || 5.06 brawl in cell block 911 ↳ inspired by this post by @diazchristopher (with tags from @evanbucxley)

Buddie 505 meta

In an ep that’s all about Buck and Ravi getting to the point where they can work well together, what screams out to me is the parallels to Eddie’s introduction in 201. On the surface, the storylines are very similar: while Buck’s going through some personal stuff, he has issues with a teammate, but those get resolved by the end of the ep, with one key moment along the way when Buck, without appearing too happy about it, congratulates said teammate on their work. But the truth is these similarities actually emphasize the differences. For starters, remember how Buck insisted on finding Eddie a nickname? He tried “Diaz” as well as “G.I”. Interestingly, Buck says they have to find Eddie a nickname because everyone on the team had one. But he never called Eddie by the more generic “probie,” all of his attempts were more personalized, tailored specifically for Buck. It’s as if even during the time Buck thought he was rejecting Eddie, on some level he was already accepting him into the fold.

More than that, if Hen points out to Ravi in this ep that Buck wants to make sure he’s worthy, back in 201 Buck never seemed to doubt that Eddie was. That’s another reason why he never tried “probie” as a nickname for Eddie, it was clear it wouldn’t do. I wrote in my pre-season 3B meta that the real underlying reason for Buck’s immediate hostility towards Eddie was never that Eddie was awful, it was actually because Buck was overwhelmed by how awesome he thought this new guy was. Everything about the storyline with Ravi makes that even clearer.

But it doesn’t stop there either. When Ravi is hiding from Buck, Hen tells him this isn’t about what he’s doing wrong, it’s about Buck’s personal issues. I’ve always thought (and first mentioned in my 406 meta) that there was a good chance Eddie asked to hear more about Buck, since at the gym confrontation in 201 he knew Buck was going through a crisis, Abby leaving. We don’t know for sure, but the fact that we’re not shown a scene where this info about Buck is offered without Eddie asking for it (which is what happened in Ravi’s case, we’re clearly shown that Hen was the one to bring up Buck’s personal life), framing this info as more closely related to Eddie, and when he was also clearly trying to win Buck over at the beginning of the gym scene, that Eddie openly talked about this info with Buck while Ravi only discussed it in private with Hen, it makes it feel like from the start, Eddie had a level of interest in Buck that Ravi just doesn’t have. It’s the small difference between teammates and soulmates…

And of course, Buck is never truly hostile towards Ravi. He’s tough, but it’s because he feels responsible for him. He wants to help Ravi be better, make less mistakes. Buck told Eddie, “you’re meant to respect your elders,” but he never acted like he was an elder vis-a-vis Eddie, not like Buck did with Ravi. If anything, Buck was intimidated by how good Eddie was from the very first call they went on together. It’s what makes his “good job” admission to Eddie at the end of that call painful - it’s this moment where he has to entertain the possibility that he might be replaceable with the team. But the resolution to that storyline was that Eddie turned out every bit as good as he seemed and even better, he was the first person who saw Buck’s competence as a firefighter AND said that to his face, which clearly left Buck basically enamored with Eddie. In contrast, when Buck comes to the conclusion that Ravi is good enough to replace him, he decides they need to do it, that Buck has to ask for a transfer. Because in 201, the issue really was that he was intimidated by how amazing Eddie was and was scared of being replaced. Abby’s leaving might have made it harder to deal with, but it wasn’t the real cause. But in 505, the personal matter Buck struggles with IS the real reason why he was treating Ravi differently than before. The storyline even concludes with Ravi declaring his independence from Buck and that he’s content with it. That’s because this storyline was never about Ravi and his connection with Buck, not in the same way that 201 was about Eddie and the bond that was beginning to form between Buddie. But the 505 Ravi storyline does prove just how hard 911 decided to go when it introduced and integrated Eddie into Buck’s life.

Oh, and that Buddie connection is another aspect that is emphasized in this ep through contrast. Because from the moment Buck and Eddie had reached the resolution of their issues in 201, they’re never out of sync on the field. Actually, even before that, since Buck chose to go in with Eddie into the ambulance where a live grenade was awaiting them. Bobby even asked Buck if he was sure and he doubled down on his choice. In 505, he doesn’t choose to be paired up with Ravi. In fact, I find it interesting to see exactly how Bobby, who is the one to make the decision, declares the new pairings. He could have just said “Hen, you’re with Eddie, Ravi, you’ll team up with Buck.” But instead, he tells Buck that Eddie has to be paired up with Hen, so that leaves Ravi as Buck’s partner. It’s small, but the phrasing stresses that Bobby understands this will not be easy for Buck, to be separated from Eddie. It’s followed by showing us that both Buck and Eddie struggle with their new partners far more than we’ve ever seen either of them struggle with each other even before they struck up a friendship. In fact, in this ep, while Ravi’s rookie mistakes are essential to Buck’s storyline, Eddie constantly getting in Hen’s way (and a little on her nerves) isn’t essential to any plot, yet the show makes sure we witness that, too. Just to stress the point even more, we still get moments between Buddie in the field. The two of them exchange the kind of look spouses who know each other all too well do when Buck begrudgingly tells Ravi that he’s going to get the honors of breaking the door at the fitness mirror call, they do it again when the vic there exclaims that they’re pretty jacked (the guy is all of us, LBR), and then during the saw call, after Buck sends Ravi to throw up away from the vic, he himself kneels down and, again without even needing words, works together with Eddie seamlessly. Because they ARE battlefield boyfriends, alright? Always have been, always will be.

One of my fave recurring themes on this show is connected to that. It’s that we’re shown Buck and Eddie struggle on the job when the other one isn’t there. Eddie is the only one out of the 118 to voice his displeasure in ep 218 because Buck isn’t with them (even though the others have worked with Buck for longer), while Buck echoes the sentiment over Eddie’s absence in 414. In 505 he’s once more saying it’s weird at work. Without a doubt he’s talking about Chim’s absence, but the word “weird” itself threw me back to his choice of the same exact word in 414. So I do think that while the bigger issue is the guilt Buck feels over Chim’s departure, the fact that he was no longer being paired with Eddie added to that.

~

Which brought us to a scene with Taylor. Back in ep 408, she had told Buck (when she was hurt, angry and intent on getting back at him), that he’s needy and desperate for people to like him, meaning she knows these are sore spots for him. In this ep, despite not being angry or hurt, she said something very similar - that he’s making everything about himself. Ep 316 has shown us how much this idea hurts Buck, so I have to admit that I cringed. Especially when comparing this with Eddie’s words to Buck in 504, “you’re the guy who likes to fix things.” Eddie sets Buck straight, yes. But he does so while seeing the good in Buck and reflecting that back to him.

I guess that’s the thing we’re meant to see with Taylor here. In eps 501-4, she has been an absent gf (even when she was physically there). This is the first ep where she’s both present and focused on Buck. And she tries to be a good gf in this ep, that’s evident in the scene where she has bought him breakfast. Yet, throughout her scenes, she doesn’t quite get it right. First, there’s the fact that she did tell him something she knows would hurt him before he goes off to work, and it’s easy to tell that while her overall intention is to be reassuring, it doesn’t quite land. Then, there’s how Taylor tries to do something domestic for him, but everything about this screams that it’s not really her thing. She didn’t cook herself, which is itself isn’t that big of an issue, but she’s also dressed more like they’re about to go out for a night on the town, and add to this that she’s pouring an alcoholic beverage into a cup of orange juice for a firefighter who’s just come home early in the morning after a 24 hour shift, and it’s all just… it’s well meaning, but it IS off and ends up demonstrating that she knows how to celebrate and have fun more than how to be domestic and care for a partner. She does try, and Buck is clearly both surprised and touched by this. His surprise tells us that this is an unusual occurrence, and while he is touched, his reaction is also kinda subdued. His little “thank you” is cute, and he smiles, but it’s shot in profile and some shade, so we don’t really get its full effect. Compare that with the way he was absolutely beaming at Eddie in 504 and it was filmed from the front, in the open air and sunlight, so the shot was fully focused on Buck’s reaction. Then, after he updates Taylor on what he’s learned at work, he looks sad and she seems a bit upset as they hug. Presumably she’s reacting to his sadness, and Buck is feeling down because while things with the 118 have been resolved, Maddie and Chim are still away. But again, compare this to how at the end of the balcony scene, with Chim and Maddie being away AND while being physically hurt himself, Buck actually looks happier than in this hug scene with Taylor. On top of all that, Taylor’s absence up until this ep goes undiscussed, which in itself spells trouble for them in upcoming eps (just think for example about Ana being there for Eddie to help him crack the mystery of what’s wrong with Charlie in 413 while Eddie ignores the question of whether he’s following his heart when he’s with her). In 505, unlike the previous s5 eps, Taylor is actually making an effort. She’s trying to be a good gf, and yet she’s still not the person who can bring Buck comfort in times of distress.

Not like Eddie can, when even at that dramatic dinner table, where Buck was vulnerable and expressed his guilt through his tendency to self-sacrifice for his team, Eddie jokingly asked who’ll be replacing him, clearly doing so in order to make Buck laugh. The first sign of anyone breaking through to him. Then, add to this that Buck’s answer is Bobby will figure it out. Meaning that even when Buck is at his lowest point, concocting this scenario where everyone on the team can be replaced by someone else, including himself, he still couldn’t even throw a random name out there as a suggestion in response to that question. Eddie is irreplaceable to him.

And while we’re on the topic of that dinner, I just love every single thing Eddie does during the scene, every reaction, that question about himself which was clearly meant to tease Buck, the way Eddie reassures him that he’s stuck with the 118 (and how absolutely over the top content Eddie was over this fact… please, we all know he would never have let his baby daddy transfer away on his own) and of course, the part I just had to gif, the way he shakes his head in dismay when hearing Buck blaming himself for Chim leaving and the effect it had on the team. Of course the head shaking isn’t anything seemingly out of the ordinary, any friend could do that for Buck. Yet, we have a scene full of people who love Buck and care about him, who don’t want Buck to feel guilty or to leave, but it’s only Eddie that we see expressly shaking his head ‘no’ at Buck’s words. More than that, Eddie’s actually framed in the same shot with Buck as he speaks. That is not coincidental and it speaks volumes IMO. In an ep framed by Buck’s gf trying to be there for him, it’s Eddie who is still Buck’s person, the one who knows him best and can make things better.

~~~ Thank you so much to the beautiful @judsonryder​ for making my meta better with her incredible gifs! If you like my perspective on Buddie, you can find more of my meta and fics here. Thank you for reading and for any like, comment and of course reblog! I read every tag, every comment, they all matter so much! xoxox

Hahaha 🤣🤣

Just want to talk about this scene for a second (off the top of my head upon first watch):

Firstly, let's look at how Eddie is dressed. He looks good here, like real good. That's definitely on purpose. (this man is so obviously in love)

Secondly, for all of the naysayers out there that are losing their shit because Buddie is being hinted at even more now while Ana also went bye bye last week (their last chance to be a self-insert in a hetero ship with Eddie in their fantasies, I guess), this is yet another scene where Eddie is providing emotional support to Buck, not just as his friend, but also as something Taylor should be doing. It should be Taylor Buck is talking to about this. Am I saying this conversation is exclusive to a significant other? No, I'm not. But the fact is we still have yet to see any building of Buck and Taylor's romantic relationship aka emotional connection. Instead, we see an episode that starts out with Eddie and Buck on the same scene but not working together or even interacting. Instead we get Eddie and Hen working together (which they had some very nice moments in the hospital before the shit hit the fan). Because the partnerships are yet again being paralleled. Chim is spiraling out due to Maddie's leaving and while Buck isn't, like Eddie said he's the guy "who likes to fix things" and thinks keeping it from Chim that he talked to Maddie while checking on Chim was the best thing for all involved. Hen knows Chim and knows what he was going to choose to do, just like Eddie knows Buck. They purposely went out of their way this episode to show us this parallel, right down to having Hen and Eddie working in the hospital and doing things that no firefighter paramedic would be doing, especially when the show has stressed previously that their jobs end at the doors (which if you think about it, the show keeps displaying that this is not happening this season, first time it was due to the chaos and they were lending a helping hand, now a mass casualty situation has happened and they're again lending a helping hand, they're showing this for a reason). In this episode, they wanted to show us Eddie and Hen while also relating them to the theme of the episode which is who you think you see/know may not really be who you think you see/know. The only time we see someone actually seeing/knowing who is in front of them is Eddie and Buck, Hen and Eddie, Chim and Buck, Hen and Chim, Bobby and Athena, Michael and Athena, May and Claudette, and May and Harry (which I absolutely loved that scene btw!!! We need MORE scenes with them!!!). Josh doesn't know Claudette (or is more being willingly blind I think), it's hinted Buck doesn't know Maddie (or who she is right now) or that Chim doesn't know Maddie, etc. And of course, we have Cassie and Makayla and that whole situation. So besides the obvious convo of the scene, this was definitely an emotional connection scene that paralleled to Hen and Chim's. But it also contrasts with it just as strongly.

For one, you don't have Hen or Chim looking at each other like this:

Instead, you have Hen and Chim telling each other that their significant others are lucky to have them. Purposeful. Dialogue. Because in the Buck and Eddie scene, yes, they discuss Maddie and what happened with Chim but we know Eddie just broke up with Ana and Buck is still dating Taylor but she's nowhere around this episode, nor is Christopher. They are trying to show us the difference, the contrast. Hen is married to Karen and they're together. Hen offers to drive with Chimney but he turns her down with the guise of 'would your wife be okay with that?' Chim leaves to go find Maddie who he loves and wants to bring back home. THE PARALLELS ARE RIGHT THERE. Sometimes, I want to force the naysayers into a lecture room and buckle them into their seats while taping their eyes open and ask them "WHAT FREAKING SHOW ARE YOU WATCHING??? IT'S ALL RIGHT THERE, DUH!!!!" But...I digress.

The point is it's an emotional connection scene (along with vulnerability) that's not just supposed to be friends, brothers, partners, neighbors or whatever other term antis will try to throw into the mix.

Thirdly, this is an intentional callback to this scene:

While there was no "sexual tension" in the 5x04 scene, we have the beers yet again. We have one handing a beer to the other, yet again. We have one reassuring the other emotionally. We also have a conversation about Maddie that turns into a conversation about one or the other. We have Eddie entering the scene first while being the first to talk and bringing something in Buck's direction (aka bringing something to Buck, to the dynamic). We have someone wanting to take a swing at Buck (but vs 3x09, Chim actually did). But this time, it's not night, Christopher isn't there (that we can see anyway though I thought I saw Gavin's name in the credits but I could be wrong), and it's in broad daylight on the balcony. And why? Because the show is literally letting us see now what's been right in front of us all along. Because Eddie (and Buck) are that much closer to where they've been steering this part of the story for two seasons now. They even had Buck and Eddie dressed similarly to that scene (Buck's hoodie is just a lighter color). The only difference is Eddie doesn't have an undershirt on (that we can see) but Buck suddenly does. (which again, I think it's because Eddie is aware of how he feels and while all of his cards may not be on the table right now, he knows; Buck on the other hand I don't think knows, or not that we've seen anyway; whereas in 3x09 Eddie had layers on because he was still sorting through things and wasn't being 100% honest while Buck was so no layers for him; this show makes choices I'm telling you)

It's all right there.

Fourthly, the constant beer sipping. I will admit, this action drove me nuts. The action was just so unnecessary but because it annoyed me so much, it garnered my attention to look at it more closely. Because Ryan is NOT a bad actor, and the show wouldn't have kept that in if it wasn't for a reason. Not only do we get the callback to the 3x09 scene (mentioned above) but Eddie is a lot softer in this scene, even in the way Ryan performs the dialogue. When he says "And you love Chimney", that is all kinds of soft (along with his expressions and snuck-in-there heart eyes). He's reassuring Buck but he's also letting his affection for Buck come through. Eddie is nervous here, but it's subtle, it doesn't come across that way. He is confident all throughout the scene until Buck asks him if he thinks Chim will forgive him. While he quickly reassures Buck (like always, 3x16 callback anyone?), his reaction afterwards and then the whole "Ice goes on the eye, bud" line with the constant sipping showcases his nervousness.

They're literally not even trying to hide it at this point. Like at all. I said Eddie's season 3 arc was peeking its head up and I knew it but damn I will admit I did not expect specific callbacks like this one. They're really out there circling back to stop at all of the Buddie pit stops along the way before finally sailing us home. Wow.

Fifthly, the line here: "When you see your sister, you think of the person you've always looked up to, the woman who's taken care of you." - I know we've all talked about the distinction Eddie keeps making with the word "woman" when it came to Ana, but holy hell this wasn't just another time he made this weird separation, he's literally saying it during this scene where he's giving some serious heart eyes and softness to Buck. He already used the word "person" to describe Maddie which is exactly what would have made sense. There was no reason to add "woman" in there. "When you see your sister, you think of the person you've always looked up to, who's taken care of you." -> that's literally how it could have gone but instead they had Ryan say the line with "woman" in it after using "person". Like I said, they're not even trying to hide it at this point.

Sixthly, there's something with Eddie's expression here and after a rewatch I'll be able to tune into exactly what it is a bit more but something is up here with the line "She's your sister" following Buck's "What was I supposed to do? She begged me not to tell him that we talked":

Plus, I think it's interesting that Eddie later says the line "Or you don't know her the way he does" (when in conjunction with this whole scene):

And last but certainly not least, *drumroll please*...

"This time, maybe she's the one who needs taking care of."

He's fucking telling Buck here 'You took care of me last time in season 3 when I needed it, I'm going to take care of you this time'. And they do the fucking slowest of slow zoom ins to both Eddie and Buck to see if Buck understands how this goddamn callback has now reversed their dynamic, if Buck gets what Eddie was telling him. I WAS FUCKING SCREAMING!!!!!!!!!! Eddie is literally out there putting himself on the line but doing it as close to safe as possible. HE'S TELLING BUCK 'IT'S MY TURN NOW TO BE THERE FOR YOU LIKE YOU WERE FOR ME WHEN I NEEDED YOU'!!!!!!!! (and sadly, Buck didn't get it, or if he did we didn't see it)

And then right after "You think he's gonna forgive me?" (ON THE CALLBACK SCENE TO 3x09 WHERE BUCK APOLOGIZED TO EDDIE, DON'T MIND ME I'M JUST DYING OVER HERE) "No." *then he sees Buck's literal wounded puppy face* "I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Maybe." (aka "Not that you didn't deserve it but I wouldn't do that...you're on blood thinners.") And then the whole "Ice goes on the eye, bud." (because Buck had stopped icing his eye, because Eddie cares but has to be careful right now about how he shows it) Because Buck has a black eye due to Chim taking a swing at him (aka Eddie wanting to take a swing at Buck because he deserved but he would never do that). The show literally chose for this conversation to happen revolving around Buck getting a black eye from a punch that Chimney gave him.

And ladies, gentlmen, and gentletheys, you have your contrast on the relationships between Eddie and Buck, and Buck and Chim.

Buck and Chim are brothers. They have been for a while and we've seen it displayed time and time again. They also have a friendship. Chimney didn't hold back from taking a swing at Buck because Buck deserved it (sorry, I get why Buck did what he did but still, that doesn't make it right).

Buck and Eddie are friends. And according to the naysayers and their bullshit, they're also brothers. When Buck deserved a punch for what happened back in season 3 (the lawsuit arc, again I get why Buck did what he did but I also couldn't blame Eddie and Bobby for being angry), Eddie didn't give it to him though he wanted to (aka Eddie beating up the guy over the parking space). And when Eddie started to lose his temper at Buck (before they were interrupted by the fight over the parking space ironically), he knew then that Lena was right, he needed an outlet for his anger, and went to the underground fights instead while the 118 and Buck went to the rage room. THE CONTRAST IS RIGHT THERE. He didn't want to hurt Buck even though he felt Buck "deserved it". And considering how we've seen the difference in temperaments between Eddie and Chim, Chim would have been the last person to take a swing. But because Chim was affected by Buck's decision to keep things quiet about Maddie (just like Eddie was affected by Buck's decision to cease all contact with the lawsuit back in season 3), he reacted and took the swing.

Literally, these characters' season 3 arcs are coming back and I fucking love it. From Eddie to Athena to Bobby to now Buck (plus Taylor as Abby, and Ana aka Shannon 2.0 being gone now) -- they literally are sailing us into the home stretch.

And we all remember how season 3 ended:

We're literally in the fucking home stretch. We may not get full on Buddie by the end of the season (though I think there's a good chance we might) but Eddie's feelings are definitely coming out this season and we are getting more Buckley Diaz family at some point. IT. IS. COMING.

Eddie is coming for that family, and he is coming hard. And I'm going to enjoy every second of it.

Mr. “‘He’s not- we’re not’ - subtle is what you are not!“-Diaz in Close My Eyes and Stumble (Right Into Your Love) by @hmslusitania  

Eddie’s PTSD is just that little bit worse and when he moves to Los Angeles, instead of joining the LAFD, he joins dispatch.

Which is all good and fine, except for this one firefighter he keeps ending up talking to.

Yes. Buddie incoming!!

oliver not hesitating to shut down the idea that he wouldn’t b okay with buddie or playing a queer character even on a post from a week ago is exactly the kind of behavior that should be expected from actors in interactions w fans

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: 9-1-1 (TV) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Evan “Buck” Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan “Buck” Buckley & Eddie Diaz & Ana Flores, Evan “Buck” Buckley/Taylor Kelly Characters: Evan “Buck” Buckley, Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Taylor Kelly, Ana Flores (9-1-1 TV), Henrietta “Hen” Wilson, Bobby Nash, Howie “Chimney” Han, Athena Grant, Maddie Buckley Additional Tags: Love, Falling In Love, Gay Panic, Buddie Week (9-1-1 TV), Buddies Summary: 
This fic basically explores what might happen next with Buck and Eddie after 5x03 - so I just did my take on what I would like to happen :)

Next to the fact that they both look so handsome, I hope we get to see a talk between them two next episode - or a talk between Eddie and Hen in which Eddie realises how he might have been denying himself to feel. Love this show 🥲😍

9-1-1 ▸ 5.03 desperate measures

I’m sorry but how can they say this and not head for buddie going canon? 😅🤨🥳🙂

Ok I thought I was done but I'm not. Because this? Eddie is panicking and he can feel it. He knows he's 0.5 seconds away from losing his shit and he looks to BUCK. A silent plea for help yet Buck, Buck has no idea what he needs help with but refuses to brush it off. That look has me reeling cause Eddie, in a moment of need just looked for comfort, and it wasn't the woman standing next to him, it was the man across from him.

Buddie 502 meta

Do we even need meta posts at this point? This show is just… skipping the meta and writing its own fanfic. For example, the fact that during two eps that deal with Eddie not yet following his heart and, as a consequence, thinking he had a heart attack, we get a heart transplant rescue. Interestingly, when Manny the medic mentions the heart, it’s Eddie who’s closest to it, Eddie who reaches out for it and tries to grab it, but he fails to, which is why this is followed by one failed attempt by Hen and a successful one by Bobby. The essential, symbolic aspect here is that Eddie, dangling on the edge of the abyss, couldn’t reach and save the heart on his own. It can easily be seen as symbolic to where he’s at romantically right now, and as an indicator that Eddie will need help from others in order to be able to resolve his own love life issues.

~

Good God, when Ana shows up with Chris, my brain just about melted already just over the fact that there is hardly any interaction we see between the two of them, while Eddie and Buck both come in immediately and one after the other we see them hugging Chris (their son!) in the exact same way. So much so that I just had to gif it. But just as importantly, can we talk about the fact that Buck was at the chargers station, doing his duty, all serious with his clipboard (I love this new tradition of having clipboard!Buck at least once per season, 911 you’re doing great sweetie), so why is he even there, by the trucks? He must have heard Chris calling out “Dad!” and came in swiftly with Ravi in tow. Excuse me, I’m just gonna go cry over these two dads and how much they love their son that they can’t contain it and they both have to rush to him right away!

Oh, another small, but seemingly meaningful detail we get here? When Eddie is picking up Chris and hugging him, we see Ana in the background, smiling at the cuteness of this father and son duo. When Buck comes in and does the same thing, we see Eddie to the side, and yep, he’s smiling at them and the cuteness, too. He KNOWS Buck is Christopher’s other father, no legal guardianship activation needed. ~ And then everything that happens in the scene with Ana is just straight out of fanfiction. For real.

We discover Ana, despite dating Eddie for almost a year, has never been to the firehouse. Even now that she did come (uninvited, might I add), Eddie avoids introducing her to the point where even Ravi’s like, “Oh man, this is really awkward, Diaz” and Ana ends up having to introduce herself… Still can’t save them from all that awkwardness, especially as the panic attack starts setting in… Right in front of her salad, Diaz! This time, the panic is not over Ana being called Christopher’s mom, it’s over her being assumed to be Eddie’s wife. This isn’t just Eddie panicking over how Ana would fit into the Diaz family, it’s specifically about their romantic relationship, no two ways about it. Then Chris says, “not yet!” and it sounds like he means it’s just a matter of time, but it could also imply he doesn’t actually want that to happen, and this is his way of expressing it without hurting the teacher he does love. Don’t even get me started on the way Buck looks immediately at Eddie with a smile that’s not 100% genuine (the forehead not being a part of a smile is helps differentiate a genuine smile from a false one, this just doesn’t come across as Buck’s usual beaming). Then there’s Buck’s focus on Eddie the second there’s even the faintest hint of something wrong with him (let’s not forget, Eddie manages to avoid going into a full blown panic attack this time, and yet Buck reads him right away). The way they’re so in tune with each other always makes me wanna cry. Lastly, Eddie unceremoniously dumps Ana on Ravi, he doesn’t even show his own gf around the station, not even after the obvious awkwardness of him missing the mark on introducing her to his colleague. Basically, Eddie proving that being “dumb denial boy” really is his superhero persona.

~

I just love the animal conversation in the firetruck. It shows us so many things at once: that Eddie knows Buck incredibly well, that he can easily explain why Buck is so aware of every animal in the zoo, that he’s shown to know Buck better than anyone else on the team, that he speaks for Buck and explains things for him like a spouse would explain their partner’s little eccentricities (just like in 309 when he explains Buck’s fascination with natural disasters), that even as everyone else is exasperated with Buck right off the bat, Eddie is fully grinning (seriously, compare Hen not even paying attention to what Buck’s going on about while Eddie is soaking up every word and loving it), he’s just so smitten with everything about Buck, and of course that we get to hear that yes, Buck spends that much time with Chris. This is pretty significant in itself, but it also represents maybe the biggest thing about Buddie in this entire episode: the constant contrast between Ana and Buck, it’s practically screaming at the audience. Everything that Ana is supposed to be in Chris and Eddie’s life, but it makes Eddie panic, Buck IS, and it makes Eddie beam with joy. If the way Eddie looks at Buck in this scene isn’t love, IDK what is. And this show doesn’t either. I have raved in the past (in my first round of Buddie meta) about the speed and ease with which Eddie lets Buck into the Diaz family and how well Buck fits in, and I’ve said back then that Eddie is a closed off guy, so this is pretty special, what he has going on with Buck from practically the start. But the whole storyline with Ana emphasizes it even more and the choice to highlight just how close Buck is to Chris and how much Eddie adores everything about this man, even the stuff other people roll their eyes at, in the same episode in which we see Eddie almost choking over his gf getting even an inch into his real life… cinematic poetry.

~

That little moment when Buck and Eddie give Bobby the “sure” nod, and so in sync, before they laugh together! Please, these are sassy HUSBANDS being sassy together. How can we not stan?

~

Then we get another scene where I just adore everything… Eddie is on a bunk and Buck knows him so well, he can tell that Eddie’s not really sleeping, that Buck can come right up to him and start the conversation about what Buck is worried about. The worry itself and the insistence on finding out what’s wrong with Eddie (even when Eddie’s reluctant) where friends or colleagues would normally back down is obviously the stuff that the best marriages are made of. The way Eddie responds, that just like I pointed out in the 501 meta, it’s Buck’s worry that forces Eddie to admit the truth, both that what he’s been suffering are panic attacks and that the real reason for them is Ana, not the shooting. I also love Buck’s initial reaction. His “Since when do you panic?” echoes Eddie’s response last week. That’s not a small thing, they both know how cool and collected Eddie can be, even under fire. It points out exactly why it was initially hard for Eddie to accept that these are panic attacks (in addition to the macho BS). So Buck’s first reaction not only shows how well he knows Eddie, it actually also validates Eddie’s own initial reaction and thus, makes him feel more at ease going forward and sharing even more. This is just another part of why they work so well as a couple, err… team. It’s beautiful to see Eddie being able to admit the truth to Buck, but then Buck turns it around and dishes out the truth right back at him: that Eddie isn’t in love with Ana and shouldn’t stay with her just because Chris loves her. Eddie, in his mind, is being a good dad and grateful for what Ana has been through with him and, as I’ve said in my first round of meta regarding ep 210, Eddie is a man of duty. He sees an obligation and he wants to meet it.

Buck, who wears his heart on his sleeve, counters this sense of duty by bringing in feelings, and what’s the right thing to do emotionally. He complements and helps Eddie, forces him to listen and look at things from a different perspective, in a way no one else could. The exact words Buck uses are “I have been Ana” which are so interesting, ‘coz yeah, textually they point to Buck’s past romantic hurt, but they also cast him in the spot of Eddie’s gf. We’re not the only ones comparing the two, Buck himself makes the comparison between them and subtextually, this also brings up the differences between Buck and Ana. Where she failed to truly capture Eddie’s heart even months into the relationship (and while being more successful than any other woman since Shannon), Buck has been in the same position, of being new in Eddie’s life and having to “earn” Eddie’s trust and a place in the Diaz family, but Buck actually succeeded in that, where Ana failed, and a huge reason why is because Eddie willingly gave Buck his trust and that place in his and Christopher’s life. By using these specific words, the show basically begs us to notice what things should have been like between Eddie and Ana, and forces us to acknowledge that Eddie already has all of that, with Buck.

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Lastly, the show tops itself, by following this scene with Chim opening up to Hen. It’s subtle, but you can see here the difference between what two loving but platonic friends being there for each other looks like in comparison. Hen checks in on Chim, but she isn’t completely preoccupied with Chim and Maddie’s home life in the same way that Buck’s focus, in the middle of what characters have repeatedly called “the end of the world”, is solely on Eddie’s wellbeing. Hen does care, she wants to know what’s up with Chim, she asks questions and gets him to spill, but it’s gentle probing, not a spouse digging into what’s going on with their partner. Also, this is just one scene. Chim’s entire story with Maddie’s PDD isn’t linked to Hen in the same way that Eddie’s arc with the panic attacks over Ana is linked to Buck. Then when it’s time to offer advice, Hen does so without inserting herself into the situation in the way Buck did when he cast himself in the role of Eddie’s gf in order to get to his best friend and point out what he should do. Buck and Eddie are friends, yes. And friends should be valued and celebrated! I adore every friendship on this show. But Buddie are also each other’s life partners and a juxtaposition of scenes like this is where you can really see the difference.

~~~ Thank you so much to the astounding @judsonryder​ for making my meta better with your gifs! If you like my perspective on Buddie, you can find more of my meta and fics here. Thank you for reading and for any like, comment and of course reblog! Writing these posts takes a lot and it makes me so happy whenever I see people enjoying them. xoxox

Find someone who looks at you the way Eddie looks at Buck. This is a man in love🥺😍🥰