Chapter Text
Eddie smiled as he walked into the station. He had been to the 118 before, but then was for Buck. Now he was walking into his place of work. He was walking into his new home away from home.
“Probationary Firefighter Diaz.” Eddie turned his head, spotting Captain Nash as he did. “Welcome to the 118, officially.” He held his hand out and Eddie smiled, shaking it.
“Happy to be here,” Eddie said, pulling his hand back. “I’m a little surprised, though, that I was assigned here.”
“Well Station 6 wanted you too,” Bobby said. “After all, an academy graduate who’s top of his class and a former army medic with a silver star would be someone anyone wants.” Eddie rubbed the back of his neck, a little embarrassed. “A lot of station’s wanted you, but I thought you would feel most at home here.”
“And it’s not a conflict of interest or an HR problem?” Eddie asked. “I mean, my boyfriend already works here.”
“I have the utmost faith that you both can handle that,” Bobby said. “After all, someone’s gotta keep Buck in line.” Eddie chuckled at that and nodded. “Does he know you’re here?”
“No,” Eddie said with a smirk. “I, uh...I wanted to surprise him. He’s dropping Christopher off at school anyways. He wanted to make sure I started my first day off on the right foot.” Bobby nodded, smiling as he did.
“Well then,” Bobby said. “Welcome, again, to the 118.” And then Bobby was walking away. Eddie looked around the station, just a sheer amount of joy flowing through him. He had decided upon this career path because he wanted to work side-by-side with a team. And based on Bobby’s greeting, he was already feeling that way.
And now, he definitely couldn’t wait for Buck’s reaction to seeing him there.
About ten minutes later, Eddie was finishing getting ready when he heard voices coming into the locker room. He turned, smiling when he saw members of the 118 coming in. And his smile quickly morphed to a smirk, when he saw Buck.
Because Buck looked absolutely dumbfounded.
“I hear we have a new member of the team.” Eddie glanced at Hen, who was smirking as well. “And I thought we could introduce ourselves. But I figured Buck might like to do it instead.” Eddie glanced at his boyfriend who still looked confused and struck dumb.
“I think he’s a little tongue-tied,” Eddie said with a chuckle. “Eddie Diaz.”
“Nice to officially meet you,” Chimney said. “And I’m glad we finally know what will shut Buck up.” Hen laughed loudly, patting Eddie’s arm before walking out of the locker room with Chimney.
“I…” Buck finally attempted to speak, but didn’t have much to say as he stared at Eddie.
“Surprise,” Eddie said, crossing over to him.
“You’re really at this station?” Buck asked, staring at him in disbelief. “We’re….we’re going to be working together?”
“Yeah,” Eddie said with a soft smile. “Is that okay with you?” And, as if finally understanding, a grin crossed Buck’s face. He nodded, reaching for Eddie’s hand. He squeezed it once, before letting go.
“Totally,” Buck said. “Because now I get to have you by my side all the time.” Eddie smiled and nodded. Because yeah, that sounded pretty good.
“Hey lovebirds,” Chimney poked his head back into the locker room, a smirk on his face as he smacked his gum. “Quit making kissy faces and get out here. Cap’s rounding everyone up for announcements.” Buck sent Chimney a look and the shorter male laughed as he ducked out again.
“You know we’ll have to hear that all the time, right?” Buck asked, glancing back at Eddie.
“I can handle it,” Eddie said. “I can handle anything if it means more time with you.” And Buck could only smile softly before nodding towards the engine bay. And as Buck led the way, Eddie could only grin.
Because the 118 was definitely the right place for him. Especially because it meant having Buck by his side.
“What a day,” Buck said as he opened the door. He glanced back at Eddie, who looked pretty tired as well. After all, he had just finished his first twenty-four shift at the firehouse.
“You can say that again,” Eddie said with a chuckle. “I still can’t believe those kids with the cement microwave. Who comes up with that crap?”
“Gen Z’ers with too much time and YouTube channel,” Buck said with a chuckle.
“Remind me to block that channel from Chris.” Buck laughed and nodded as they toed their shoes off and set their bags down.
“Dad! Buck!” Eddie smiled as Christopher came into the room. He knelt down, just as the seven-year-old all but threw himself into his dad’s arms. Eddie hugged him tightly, pressing a kiss to his son’s hair. Buck just watched with a smile. It was in these moments when he was reminded that Eddie being a good dad was one of the reasons he had fallen in love with him.
“Hey mijo,” Eddie said, kissing his son’s head again as he pulled away. “Did you have a good day?”
“Uh huh,” Christopher said with a nod. “We learned about volcanoes at school. And then mom took me out for pizza!” Eddie and Buck both chuckled at that. Buck glanced towards the kitchen as Shannon walked into the room. She had an odd look on her face and he tilted his head.
“You two have a good day at work?” She asked, nodding to them.
“Definitely,” Buck said with a smile. “Once I got past the shock. Since somebody didn’t tell me what station he was working at.” Shannon nodded, pursing her lips as he did. and Buck couldn’t help but glance at Eddie, who also looked confused.
“That’s good,” She said. “You, uh, you have a guest.” Buck could only feel himself grow even more confused. Because Shannon was definitely looking at him and he had no idea who would be visiting him.
But his confusion turned to shock when someone stepped out of the kitchen and into the living room.
“Maddie?”
“Hey.” The room fell silent, Buck just staring at his sister in shock. Because it had been so long since they had talked and even longer since they had seen each other. And yet, here she was, standing in the living room of the house he shared with Eddie, a nervous smile on her face.
Buck shook out of his stupor and crossed to his sister, pulling her into a hug. Maddie immediately relaxed into it, hugging him back.
“It’s really good to see you,” He whispered, hugging her tightly before letting go. She looked up at him and smiled, a little misty-eyed. He then remembered that they weren’t alone and turned towards the others. “Right, introductions. Maddie, this is Eddie, Christopher, and Shannon. Maddie is my older sister.”
“Nice to meet you,” Eddie said, nodding to Maddie. She smiled back.
“You too,” Maddie said. “And sorry for just showing up. Christopher and Shannon were very polite and let me hang out until you guys got home.” Buck nodded, sending Shannon a grateful look, the petite brunette just nodding.
“I should get going though,” Shannon said, leaning down to kiss Christopher’s head. “Because someone wants to hear all about his dad’s first day as a firefighter.” She then stood up and headed towards the door. She waved before grabbing her purse and heading out. Buck glanced over at Eddie, who was watching Maddie. Buck just nodded, letting him know it was okay, that he was okay.
And Eddie just nodded, letting out a sigh of relief, before glancing at Christopher.
“Come on mijo,” Eddie said, ruffling the boy’s hair. “Let’s go figure out dinner and give Buck and Maddie a minute.”
“Okay,” Christopher said with a nod. “And you can tell me if you rode in a firetruck today!” Eddie chuckled as he led Christopher into the kitchen, sparing Buck one more glance before disappearing into the other room.
And Buck just let out a sigh as he turned towards his sister.
“Not that I’m not happy to see you,” Buck said, leading Maddie over to the couch. “But I’m definitely surprised.”
“I can’t come visit my little brother?” Maddie asked. Buck gave his sister a look and Maddie sighed. “I missed you.”
“Maddie, it’s been years since I’ve seen you,” Buck said softly.
“I know,” Maddie said, squeezing her eyes shut. “There’s not...there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t wish I made a different decision that day.” She sniffed a little, looking down at her hands. Buck couldn’t help notice that they were bare, no signs of her wedding ring or that ostentatious diamond ring that had sat on her finger, feeling out of place with the kind of person Maddie was.
“Doug…” Buck started and Maddie shook her head.
“Don’t worry about him,” Maddie said. “I’m not...that’s my past now. I’m...I’m trying to figure out my future. I thought maybe visiting my little brother was a great place to start.” Buck nodded. She reached for his hand, squeezing it. “It’s so good to see you, Buck. Really.”
“You too,” Buck said, smiling a little. “I wasn’t sure if you got all of my…”
“Postcards?” Maddie asked and Buck nodded. “Every single one of them. And at first, I was a little worried. But when you finally settled on Los Angeles, I was happy for you. Because it seemed like you were finally heading in the right direction.”
“Yeah,” Buck said, thinking of everything he had been through since moving to LA. He thought of the chaos of living with Conner and the other guys. He thought about trying for the SEALs and realizing it wasn’t right for him.
And of course, he thought about meeting Eddie and finally feeling like he knew the right direction his life was going to go in. He couldn’t help but smile, knowing all the trials and tribulations he had gone through had led him here, to this moment, where he was totally and completely happy.
“I’m not so lost anymore,” Buck said with a nod.
“Definitely not,” Maddie said, looking around the living room. “After all, look at where you are now. A beautiful house, a boyfriend who has a super sweet kid, a good job. But, I do have to ask you one thing: Did you find it, Buck?”
“Find what?” He asked, tilting his head.
“Your place in the world?” Maddie asked, a soft smile crossing her face. “Your people.” And Buck just smiled, glancing towards the kitchen where Eddie and Christopher were. Eddie caught his eye and sent a smile his way. And as always, it made his heart flutter with love; for the man he loved, for the life they had together, and for the future they were slowly working towards. And as Buck turned back to Maddie, the smile never left his face.
“Yeah Maddie. I have.”