The morning sunlight streams through the firehouse windows as I climb the stairs, balancing two coffee cups in one hand and a pastry box in the other. The scent of freshly brewed coffee mingles with the station's familiar smell of soap and machinery. I pause at the top step when I see him.

Buck sits alone at the table, scrolling through his phone with that wide, unguarded smile I've come to cherish. The morning light catches his hair, turning it golden at the edges, and for a moment, everything seems to slow down. This is my best friend—the man who's been there through everything, who's become family to Christopher and me.

He looks up, and his smile somehow grows even wider when he sees me. Those blue eyes meet mine, and in that instant, something shifts. All the unspoken feelings, the quiet moments, the way he fits so perfectly into our lives—suddenly it all crystallizes into perfect clarity.

My heart pounds in my chest as I realize what I'm about to do. Something I've never allowed myself to even consider before. The words rise unbidden to my lips, and before I can second-guess myself, I blurt them out.