Work Text:
Eddie didn’t mean to get drunk — honestly. It’s all Buck’s fault.
Ever since Eddie realized that his feelings for his best friend might not be entirely platonic, it’s been kind of difficult to be around him. It’s pretty annoying to constantly want to kiss someone and not be able to.
And it’s even more annoying when Buck is drunk — or even just buzzed, like tonight. Because a tipsy Buck is a touchy and clingy Buck who will constantly lean into Eddie’s side or lay his head on his shoulder or, when he’s really drunk, even run his hands through Eddie’s hair.
And Eddie could handle that stuff back when he still kept his feelings safely locked away but now? It’s fucking torture.
And don’t even get him started on Buck’s drunk giggling.
So yes, maybe he left the table and went to the bar a few times in order to escape Buck and to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid; like grab his face and kiss him. And perhaps he took a few frustrated shots too many during that.
Which is why, while Hen, Chimney, Karen and Buck are merely a bit tipsy, Eddie is well and truly drunk.
He’s about to take another swig of his drink when Buck grabs it right out of his hand and puts it out of reach, making Eddie pout.
“I think you’ve had enough, buddy,” Buck says, huffing a small laugh as he slides a glass of water towards him instead.
Eddie crosses his arms in front of his chest, still pouting at Buck. Drunk Eddie isn’t the most mature person in the world, okay? Sue him.
“Is he going through something?” Hen asks Buck with raised eyebrows, sounding both amused and slightly concerned. Buck shrugs helplessly and Eddie groans, rolling his eyes as he reaches for the water and takes a sip.
Yes, he is going through something, Hen, thank you very much. As of right now, it’s the painful ordeal of not being able to press a kiss to Buck’s birth mark even though he really, really wants to.
“I’m gonna call us an Uber and take him home,” Buck says, taking out his phone.
Why does he have to be so considerate? He could just call Eddie an Uber and stay at the bar with the others, but no, he just has to be kind and perfect and did Eddie mention Buck has a beautiful face?
He isn’t sure how much time passes until Buck tells him the Uber is outside and they stumble out of the booth.
Well, Eddie stumbles. Buck puts his arm around him to keep him upright and help him walk. Part of Eddie wants to just push him off because honestly, this is unbearable, but everything is kind of blurry right now and he’s pretty sure he’s gonna faceplant onto the floor if he does that. And then Buck will get all concerned and when he’s concerned his eyes always seem to go big and he looks a little bit like a scared deer, which is funny because his name is Buck and the thought makes Eddie giggle as they make their way to the car.
—
Eddie falls asleep about halfway through the drive and he looks so peaceful (and quite frankly adorable) that Buck wishes he didn’t have to wake him up.
But he has to, so when the Uber stops in front of the house, he shakes him gently, smiling at Eddie’s annoyed grumble as he opens his eyes.
He pays and thanks the driver before helping Eddie out of the car and all but carrying him to the front door where he somehow manages to get out his key and unlock the door all the while still holding Eddie up.
When they’ve made it to the living room, Buck tries to bring Eddie to his bedroom but when they pass the couch, the other man simply pushes himself away from Buck and stumbles sideways for a moment before collapsing onto it.
“No, come on,” Buck argues, even though Eddie has already closed his eyes, seemingly ready to fall back asleep right then and there. “Your back’s gonna kill you tomorrow if you sleep out here.”
At that, Eddie’s eyes open, though he immediately narrows them at Buck and stares at him like he’s committed a crime. Buck doesn’t give it a second thought, assuming that Eddie just doesn’t want to get back up, and he’s about to grab him to pull him up when Eddie’s voice cuts through the silence.
“Why are you the way you are?” he asks and Buck freezes in his movements. Eddie sounds serious — like he’s genuinely upset. With Buck?
“What, um,” Buck tries, clearing his throat awkwardly, a sinking feeling growing in his gut. “What do you mean?”
“‘s fucking annoying,” Eddie slurs, rolling his eyes again and leaning back to look at the ceiling as if it’s something interesting. “”’nd exhausting.”
Buck’s heart drops, remembering Eddie’s words in the grocery store all those years ago. Eddie just yawns and closes his eyes with a sigh.
“D’you know how exhausting it is to be around you?”
Buck just stares at him, tears starting to burn behind his eyes, though they don’t fall. He’s frozen in place and the air feels thin and he feels like he’s been stabbed.
Eddie is his person. Or he’s supposed to be his person.
Has he just been a burden all this time? Has he been inserting himself into Eddie’s life while the other man has just been wishing he would back off?
Buck knows he’s a lot. He knows he’s clingy and needs a lot of attention from his loved ones, but he never-
He thought Eddie didn’t mind. Eddie said he didn’t mind; that he wants Buck around. But all this time, he’s just been trying to spare Buck’s feelings.
He’s not sure how long he stands there, staring at Eddie, whose eyes are still closed and who seems entirely unaware of the effect of his words. Or maybe he’s already fallen asleep again.
Buck feels like he’s moving on autopilot as he turns to leave. He was going to stay to make sure Eddie’s gonna be fine — maybe make him breakfast in the morning to help with his inevitable hangover.
But Eddie doesn’t want him there. So Buck goes.
—
Eddie wakes up with a groan.
His head is pounding and his back hurts from the stupid couch and he thinks he might throw up.
He’s definitely regretting those shots now.
He moans miserably as he forces himself to get up and go to the kitchen to get some water.
How did he even get home last night? He thinks he remembers Buck coming with him, but then why isn’t he here? Buck always stays over unless he has something else to do — which Eddie knows for a fact that he doesn’t, since they both have the day off and cleared it completely in case they had a hangover.
Although, he’s pretty sure he was the only one who actually got drunk last night. Honestly, he doesn’t remember much after his fourth shot. Except for Buck and his stupid, annoying, pretty face.
He pulls out his phone to see if he has any messages from him but there’s nothing, so, with a slight frown, he types out a message and hits send.
Eddie: hey. you get home okay?
It only takes about a minute until Buck replies, making Eddie sigh in relief.
Buck: yeah
But then he frowns again because unenthusiastic one-word responses are…kind of unusual when it comes to Buck.
Eddie: hungover?
Buck: no
Huh. Another one. Something is definitely up.
Eddie: is everything okay?
Buck: all good. see you at work tomorrow
Eddie stares at the screen dumbfounded. That was a pretty clear hint that Buck has no plans of talking to Eddie today.
Well, why the fuck not? Did he do something while he was drunk?
Oh God, what if he confessed his feelings? What if he kissed Buck or said all his lovesick thoughts out loud?
If Eddie thought he felt sick when he woke up, it’s nothing compared to how he feels right now.
Eddie: did i do something yesterday? or say something?
He nervously bites the inside of his cheek as he waits for a response, his heart beating faster than normally. The three dots keep appearing and then disappearing, which doesn’t exactly help his nervousness. What could Buck possibly be taking so long to type? A rejection?
Eddie jumps a little when the message finally appears.
Buck: no. don’t worry
Well. He is most definitely worrying.
—
Buck didn’t get any sleep last night. He was too busy replaying every one of his and Eddie’s interactions in his mind and wondering if he’s been viewing them all wrong. Wondering if Eddie’s fond eyerolls weren’t really that fond after all. If every time he came over to Eddie’s house, deep down Eddie just wanted him to leave. If Eddie wishes he could be partnered up with someone else at work because he can’t get a break from Buck, even there.
When Eddie texts him, Buck tries to stick to short answers. Maybe not all hope is lost and he can still salvage their friendship so long as he just…dials his personality back a little. He can do that. If that’s what it takes to keep Eddie in his life, he can do that.
When Eddie asks him if he’s done or said something, Buck takes a long time to respond. He keeps typing things out and then deleting them. He could tell Eddie the truth but it would feel too humiliating. And also, if he did that, maybe Eddie would use the cat being out of the bag as an opportunity to end their friendship for good — and then Buck won’t get the chance to try and save it.
So, distance. He can do distance. He’ll give Eddie space and then maybe, at some point, Eddie won’t feel suffocated anymore.
All he knows is that he can’t lose Eddie forever.
—
Eddie is glad when Christopher comes back from his sleepover — because he loves seeing his son, of course, but also because it’s nice to have a distraction from his worries about Buck.
He still worries, though.
He briefly considers calling Buck or maybe even going over to his loft but ultimately decides against it. He’s not ready to face him, or the possibility that he’s ruined their friendship forever because he couldn’t keep his stupid mouth shut.
He does text Maddie though, to let her know Buck’s texts sounded a bit off and ask her if she could check up on him; just in case Eddie didn’t actually make a complete fool of himself last night and there’s an entirely different reason Buck’s upset.
God, he hopes there’s a different reason.
Obviously, ideally he would want Buck to not be upset at all, but Eddie knows him, and he wouldn’t have responded to his messages the way he did unless something is up.
Maddie texts him a few hours later to let him know she paid Buck a visit and that he did seem a little off, but insisted everything is fine. She suggests that Eddie try talking to him at work tomorrow and Eddie promises he will.
He’s terrified.
—
Buck is pretty much expecting it when Eddie approaches him in the locker room the next day, because Eddie is a good friend, even to the people he finds exhausting to be around.
Maddie told him that Eddie sent her to check up on him, which was nice, but he probably would’ve done that for anyone. That’s just who he is.
He was tempted to tell Maddie everything but in the end he just…couldn’t. He couldn’t say it out loud. He couldn’t face her inevitable pitying looks. So he said that everything’s fine but he could tell she didn’t believe him.
So, most likely, she told Eddie to try to talk to him, because she thinks Eddie is his best friend, which Eddie has made very clear that he’s not.
But Eddie is Eddie and if he knows that someone’s upset he tries to help.
“Hey,” Eddie greets him almost hesitantly and Buck just gives him a tight smile in response that he hopes looks somewhat convincing, before turning back to his locker.
“Is everything okay?” he asks, not letting Buck’s behavior deter him. When Buck looks at him again, he swears Eddie’s expression looks nervous, though he doesn’t get why. What’s Eddie got to be nervous about?
Maybe, despite not remembering, he suspects he told Buck how he feels when he was drunk.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Buck lies, earning a skeptical look from Eddie.
“You’re acting weird,” he says, crossing his arms. “Seriously, did something happen last night? Are you mad at me?”
He almost sounds like he’s pleading with Buck to tell him the truth, as if the thought of Buck being angry at him is an incredibly upsetting possibility.
“I’m not mad,” Buck says honestly. Devastated, yes, but not mad. It’s not Eddie’s fault that Buck is…Buck. “And nothing happened, okay? I’m just tired, I swear. Didn’t get a lot of sleep.”
He hopes that his lie won’t be so obvious if he adds a little bit of truth to it. He is really fucking tired and he must look it, so maybe Eddie will believe him.
Eddie frowns at him slightly as he studies his face for signs of a lie.
“Alright,” he says eventually, though he still doesn’t look entirely convinced. “But if something’s up, you know you can talk to me, right?”
Buck nods, giving him a smile.
“Yeah, I know,” he says. “Thanks, man.”
With that, he gives Eddie a friendly clap on the shoulder and leaves the locker room to join the others.
—
Maybe Eddie is overthinking this. He hopes he is.
Buck does look tired and he says he’s not upset, so maybe he isn’t.
Eddie is almost able to convince himself of that until exactly twenty minutes later, which is when the bell rings and they jump into the truck and Buck…sits down next to Hen.
Buck always sits down next to Eddie — or directly across from him. And, judging by the confused looks everyone gives each other, they all know it, too.
Buck pretends not to notice, though Eddie is pretty sure he does, and Hen and Chimney shoot Eddie a questioning look, to which he can only respond by shrugging helplessly.
So, he most definitely did say something when he was drunk, and now Buck feels awkward around him. The best friendship of his life and he’s gone and fucking ruined it.
Maybe Buck just needs to adjust. Eddie just has to show him that things don’t have to be awkward now; that they can still be normal around each other.
He has got to fix this.
—
“Have dinner with me and Chris today,” Eddie suggests once they’re back at the firehouse, trying to keep his tone casual and hopefully succeeding.
Buck huffs a nervous laugh, only meeting Eddie’s eyes fleetingly.
“I, uh,” he starts, then clears his throat. “I’ve got some stuff I need to do. Sorry.” Then he quickens the pace of his steps in an obvious attempt to get away from Eddie somewhat subtly before he stops and turns to give him a small smile. “Say hi to Chris for me though, yeah?”
Eddie tries to swallow past the lump in his throat and simply nods.
Buck barely talks to him for the rest of the shift.
—
It goes on like that for several days.
Buck avoids Eddie at work, always dodging him with some excuse when Eddie tries to talk to him. He doesn’t sit close to Eddie in the truck, or at the table when they eat.
Both Hen and Chimney confront Eddie about it, wanting to know if something happened between them but Eddie just lies and says he doesn’t know. Even Bobby looks like he wants to bring it up but they both act professionally on calls, so Bobby simply tells him that if there’s anything he wants to talk about, he’s there.
Eddie keeps inviting Buck over and Buck keeps declining, claiming he’s busy.
He does take Christopher to the zoo once, though, on one of the rare days that Buck has a day off while Eddie has to work.
Eddie allows it, of course. He would never keep Christopher from Buck or vice versa, but he can’t say it doesn’t fucking hurt that Buck clearly picked that specific day so that he wouldn’t have to come up with a reason why Eddie shouldn’t come with them.
Eddie keeps texting Buck, too. Asking him how he is, what he’s up to and so on. He rarely gets more than a one-word reply.
He doesn’t know what to do. This is killing him.
He needs his best friend back.
—
It’s been two weeks since that drunken night and Eddie is miserable.
Buck looks miserable, too. And yet, he continues to ignore Eddie, while Eddie continues to try to fix things and continues to fail.
Buck still won’t even admit that anything’s wrong. He acts like if he just pretends for long enough that his behavior is nothing out of the ordinary, it’ll magically become true and it’s driving Eddie crazy.
Which is why he’s standing in front of Buck’s apartment right now, breathing heavily as he tries to gather the courage to ring Buck’s doorbell.
He hates this. He hates that coming to Buck’s apartment is something he’s nervous about now, when it used to be something so normal.
But that’s why he’s here. Because they’re finally talking about this, whether Buck likes it or not.
—
Buck’s first instinct when he sees Eddie standing in front of him is to slam the door in his face.
He can’t handle being around him. Work is already bad enough but at least there, they’re surrounded by other people. But if they’re alone together, Buck’s not sure he can survive it without breaking down and telling Eddie how much he’s missed him.
Eddie doesn’t give him a chance to slam the door in his face, however, and simply brushes past him into the apartment. Helplessly, Buck closes the door and turns to look at Eddie, who’s standing with his hands on his hips and wearing a sad expression.
“What are you doing here?” Buck asks nervously, trying to keep his voice steady.
Eddie sighs and shakes his head as he runs a hand across his face.
“Don’t play dumb with me, Buck,” Eddie says, but there’s no harshness in his tone. If anything, his words just sound exhausted.
Buck crosses his arms for lack of something better to do with them and averts his eyes.
“I don’t know what you mean,” he lies, which earns him another sigh from Eddie, though this one sounds a lot more frustrated than the first.
“Buck, come on,” Eddie presses, taking a step forward and letting his arms drop to his sides. For a moment he just looks at Buck, as if hoping Buck will stop playing around and just tell the truth. When he doesn’t, Eddie closes his eyes for a second as he takes a deep breath before opening them again.
“Look, this all started the night I got drunk, so I’m assuming I must’ve said or done something,” Eddie says and Buck swallows. He could try to deny it, keep claiming that everything’s fine but he knows he was never fooling anyone. He certainly won’t be able to fool Eddie now.
Eddie takes Buck’s silence as an answer and draws a shaky breath as he nods slightly, looking at the ground.
“Was it about…,” he starts, mirroring Buck’s stance by crossing his arms and nervously biting his lip. “...how I feel about you?”
He keeps staring at the ground for a moment before cautiously raising his head and looking Buck in the eyes. For a few seconds, Buck just stares back before finally, he nods.
This is it, he thinks. This is when he tells me we might as well officially end our friendship then.
Eddie silently nods a few times, like he’s trying to process Buck’s response. It feels like an eternity until he finally starts speaking again.
“I’m sorry, Buck,” he says, a pleading look in his eyes. “I’m sorry for making things awkward, okay? I never meant for you to find out.”
Buck frowns at that, feeling a pang of hurt. He knows Eddie’s intentions are pure but that doesn’t make it any less painful. The idea that Eddie would’ve just…strung Buck along forever, making him think he’s his best friend and that he wants him around, when in reality he’s merely a nuisance to him.
“You could’ve just told me,” Buck says quietly.
“I didn’t know how,” Eddie responds, licking his lips. “And I figured it’d just…do more harm than good, you know?”
Buck looks at him in silence for a bit, trying to blink away the tears that are welling up in his eyes.
“You should’ve told me,” he says eventually, his voice cracking slightly at the end.
“What good would that have done, Buck?” Eddie asks and Buck throws his arms up in frustration, because anger feels like the only alternative to crying right now.
“I don’t know!” he shouts. “I could’ve tried to fix things sooner!”
Now it’s Eddie’s turn to frown, confusion written all over his face.
“You can’t fix this, Buck,” he says, shaking his head. Then, suddenly, he stops, as if a realization just came over him and his frown deepens.
“Is that what you’ve been trying to do? Fix things by staying away?” he asks angrily. “Did you really think that would just magically change my feelings about you?”
“Maybe!” Buck yells. “I don’t know! I had to try something, Eddie, I couldn’t just lose you!”
“Who the fuck said you had to lose me, Buck?” Eddie yells back, stepping closer. “That was your choice! I’m fine with being friends, you’re the one who’s acting like this is the end of the fucking world!”
Buck gapes at him.
“My choice?” he scoffs. “Yeah, right, because you being fine with being my friend makes me feel really good about myself.”
“I can’t just change how I feel, Buck!”
“You lied to me,” Buck says, the anger fading from his voice and making room for the devastation he’s feeling. He’s unable to stop a tear from rolling down his cheek and wipes it away with the back of his hand.
“You made me think that…that I was part of your family,” he says with a sniff, wiping away another tear. “That you wanted me to be.”
Eddie’s confusion returns to his face.
“What the fuck are you talking about, Buck?” he asks, shaking his head helplessly. “Of course I want you to be a part of my family. You are.”
“That’s not fair, Eddie,” Buck says quietly.
“Why the hell not?” he responds, clearly getting angry again.
“Because I don’t wanna just…be tolerated anymore, Eddie,” Buck says, his voice desparate. “I’ve been tolerated my whole life, okay? Except by Maddie and the 118 and…and I thought by you.”
He doesn’t bother wiping away his tears anymore. There’s no point; they’ll just be followed by new ones.
“Tolerated?” Eddie asks, sounding exasperated. For a moment, he just stares at Buck, like he’s trying to process his words. “Buck, why the hell would you think I only tolerate you?”
Buck frowns, studying Eddie’s face for signs that he’s just playing dumb but he doesn’t find any.
“That’s what you said,” he says slowly, feeling a bit lost. “Basically what you said, anyway.”
“I’m-” Eddie tries but cuts himself off, seemingly unsure how to respond. He looks even more lost than Buck, somehow.
“What exactly did I say to you?” he asks a few moments later. Buck shrugs.
“Does it matter?” he responds. “You know the gist of it.”
“Yeah, I’m starting to think I don’t,” Eddie huffs humorlessly. “Seriously, Buck, just…tell me. Please?”
And, well…even now Buck can’t resist those big, brown eyes. If Eddie looks at him with those and says jump, Buck asks how high.
“You asked me why I am the way I am,” Buck tells him quietly, refusing to meet the eyes that he loves so much. “You said it’s annoying. And exhausting.”
Every word Buck repeats feels like a new stab to his chest.
“And then you asked me if I know how exhausting it is to be around me.”
Eddie doesn’t say anything at first. Eventually, when the silence starts feeling too heavy, Buck hesitantly dares to look up.
Eddie looks like he’s in shock, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open slightly. Buck looking at him seems to be what finally shakes him out of his stupor.
“Holy shit, Buck, I-” he says, burying his face in his hands for a moment before stepping forward and putting them on Buck’s shoulders.
Buck tenses slightly under his touch, even though he’s missed it desperately.
“Buck, that wasn’t what I meant,” he insists and Buck has to resist the urge to step away from him because being this close to Eddie is just…it’s too much. “I swear to God, that’s not what I meant.”
Buck scoffs weakly.
“There wasn’t much room for interpretation,” he says, averting his eyes again when suddenly, Eddie cups Buck’s cheek with his right hand, making him look back up in surprise.
“I’m in love with you, Buck,” Eddie says and Buck feels like his brain short circuits and the whole world comes to a stop. “That’s what I thought I must’ve told you when I was drunk.”
“What?” he croaks after a few seconds and Eddie strokes his cheek with his thumb, looking sad.
“I don’t tolerate you, Buck, I love you,” he replies, exhaling shakily. “That stuff I said…I meant that being around you is difficult sometimes, because my feelings are so overwhelming.”
Buck stares at him in disbelief.
“I wanna kiss you, like, all the time,” Eddie continues, huffing a small laugh, though he still looks sad. “And it can be exhausting to not be able to. Because basically everything you do makes me want to kiss you, and I-”
Buck doesn’t even really realize he’s doing it but next thing he knows, he’s grabbing Eddie’s face in his hands and surging forward to capture Eddie’s lips with his. Eddie lets out a small yelp of surprise before melting into the kiss and letting his hands drop to Buck’s hips to pull him closer.
It’s not a soft kiss. It’s heated and desperate and all-consuming.
Buck has wanted this for years but he never thought he could have it. And a minute ago he thought he couldn’t have Eddie at all anymore. So he pulls him as close as he can and lets himself drown in the feeling of Eddie’s lips against his.
He doesn’t know how long they stand there, gasping into each other’s mouths and clinging onto each other but eventually they somehow move up the stairs, their lips never separating, until they reach the foot of Buck’s bed.
Buck’s back hits the mattress and he pulls Eddie down with him, who groans when Buck puts his legs around his hips and grinds into him. His head drops to Buck’s shoulder and a second later he starts kissing along his neck, making Buck gasp.
He reaches for the hem of Eddie’s shirt and pulls it over his head, marveling at the sight before him. A moment later, Eddie’s lips are back on his and then Eddie grabs Buck’s button-up with both hands and rips it open, which really shouldn’t be so fucking hot.
Eddie’s hand trails down Buck’s chest while Buck reaches for Eddie’s belt. But before he can get it open, a gentle hand on his wrist stops him.
Eddie pulls his head back and Buck almost whines at the loss of his lips. But then he looks up at him and he’s met with a look so soft and full of love that he can’t help but melt under it.
“Do you not want to?” he asks quietly, and immediately hurries to reassure Eddie that that’s fine, of course, and they can wait as long as he needs, but Eddie speaks before he can get the words out.
“Of course I want to,” he says, smiling down at Buck softly and running a hand through his hair. Carefully, he rolls off of Buck onto his side, though he keeps his right leg thrown over Buck, who rolls onto his side as well so they’re face to face. Eddie takes Buck’s hand in his.
“I just want…” Eddie starts, trailing off. “I want it to only be good, you know? And until earlier, today was…all but good.”
Buck swallows.
“Especially for you,” Eddie continues and then huffs a humorless laugh. “Hell, the past two weeks…I mean they fucking sucked for me. I was miserable. But you?”
Eddie sighs, guilt etched into every one of his features.
“You thought I didn’t love you,” he says quietly. “That I didn’t want you. I can’t even imagine…”
He trails off, shaking his head and closing his eyes for a moment, as if willing the image of Buck’s sadness to leave his mind.
“I’m so sorry, Buck,” he says pleadingly.
A single tear rolls down Buck’s cheek. This time it’s Eddie who wipes it away.
“I’m sorry, too,” Buck tells him. “For not just…talking to you.”
“I get why you didn’t,” Eddie says gently. “I’m sorry it took me so long to push you.”
After that, they don’t say anything for a moment, simply looking at each other with soft smiles until Buck remembers something important he forgot to say.
“I love you, too, by the way,” he says and Eddie’s smile widens for a moment before fading a little. Buck frowns, unsure what to make of it.
“You know you won’t lose me if you don’t, right?” Eddie asks seriously. “I don’t want you to think that you…have to be with me because you think I’ll leave you otherwise.”
Buck breathes a sigh of relief and squeezes Eddie’s hand with a smile.
“Eddie, I swear that’s not it,” he says, but Eddie still looks a little hesitant to believe him. “You can ask Maddie! She called me out on my crush on you, like, two weeks after we met. And she’s had to listen to a lot of complaining about my unrequited love for you since then.”
That gets a surprised laugh out of Eddie and the sound makes a warm feeling spread in Buck’s chest.
“I love you,” he repeats. And this time, Eddie seems to believe him.
He leans forward to press a kiss to Buck’s birthmark.
“I love you, too.”