Chapter Text
Eddie feels the pull to consciousness gradually at first, then all at once. The vision bursts through his mind, contorting his face in pain as he sees himself, hearing his own words as his soulmate had heard them and realising what this means.
“What’s your problem, man?”
He remembers the moment well, can read his own fed up expressions easily as he observes himself through different eyes. Yesterday morning he’d been baffled by the unfair treatment as it had played out, wondering what he could have possibly done to warrant the hostility from the other man in the few short hours he’d been at the one-eighteen. Now he wonders if the younger man had recognised him, had somehow know who he was. He wondered if the harsh words and cold shoulder were a sign of rejection.
“Okay you,” He hears the voice clearly now, in a way he’d never been able to before. The scene feels unusually distant, despite feeling the vibration of the words in his throat as they fall from his lips. No, not his lips, Buck’s lips. Because these are Buck’s words, and these are Buck’s eyes and the knowledge pains him almost as much as the next words that rumble through his consciousness in his soulmate’s voice,
“You’re my problem”
Eddie’s soulmate visions have been frequent and vivid since they started, his mind playing through every detail and absorbing the information so he has a better chance of picking out his soulmate when he finally meets them. However the vision becomes hazy now as a stampede of questions charge through Eddie’s mind, kicking and trampling over his hopes. His relationship with Shannon had never felt quite right. They’d never felt like they were meant to be, but who were they to argue against fate? They’d gotten married as soulmate do and Shannon had gotten pregnant soon after, the two of them waiting for a romance that never developed between them. The situation only began making sense to them once Christopher was born, each shocked awake a month later to new visions. They had both been relieved at the notion. They had each hoped that their second soulmate meeting would be better, that they would lead to the spectacular love that they hadn’t been able to find in each other. Now though, Eddie doesn’t know what to think.
Buck’s voice continues, rambling about comfort levels whilst his own face can be seen contorting in frustration as he tries to find common ground. Of course Eddie had come in with a certain level of comfort, he knew the job. Hell, he knew the station, the people. He’d seen them all through Buck’s eyes vividly and had been elated when he recognised the captain urging him to join his firehouse. His soulmate’s firehouse. He’d taken the position at the one-eighteen eagerly when it had been offered, after all his new career was encouraged by his soulmate visions and the little snippets he’d got of the place. How could not take the offer when it means meeting the man he’s meant to be with?
Eddie jolts upright, eyes opening as he gasps from the intensity of the dream. As his heart rate slows, dread weighs heavy, dragging him back to his pillow as he buries himself back into the blankets with a groan. He wants nothing more than to sink back to sleep and avoid overthinking but he knows he can’t. It’s only his second day on the job and he has to be at work in two hours. Work with his soulmate. Eddie tries to shake of the dread, attempting to find comfort in the companionship they had begun to build by the end of his shift. His mind has other ideas. For every minuscule shred of hope Eddie manages to find in the positive moments, there’s a louder part of his mind telling him that Buck isn’t going to want him.
Eddie walks into the firehouse unsure what to expect, but it wasn’t this. As the minutes ticked by into the shift Eddie became more sure that Buck was completely oblivious to their situation. His greeting was warmer than yesterday, but no more affectionate that their goodbye the day before. There was no awkward conversations, no rejections,no reaction at all. Eddie tried not to let it get to him. Just because his vision that morning had made it abundantly clear who his soulmate was doesn’t mean Buck’s had. Eddie was partly disappointed, but mostly relieved by the opportunity. If Buck hasn’t realised that he’s met his soulmate then that mean Eddie still has a chance. He can get to know him, win him over. He can lay a more solid foundation for their relationship that the rocky exchange he’d re-lived that morning. He’ll fix Buck’s opinion of him and then tomorrow, when Buck wakes up to no vision and realises that it’s because they’ve already met, they’ll be in a better position to move forward with a relationship.
Eddie’s plan doesn’t pan out. The next day Eddie wakes slowly, his mind drifting into consciousness. He feels strange as he looks around his bedroom and is confused as to why before realising he’s woken up to no soul vision for the first time in seven years. It’s unsettling in a way he hadn’t expected. He always thought the first time would be more exciting, opening his eyes to the light of day and knowing in his heart he’s met the person he’s meant to spend the rest of his life with. Instead he’s left feeling unsure as he stares blankly at the clouds through his window. He knows Buck will have woken up much the same way, no soulmate visions playing out now that they’ve met. He’s nervous for the reaction though. All the fear and dread he’d pushed down yesterday resurfacing with a vengeance and collapsing onto his chest.
“Morning dad” Eddie fights off the negativity once again, allowing a smile to take over his face as he turns to Christopher standing in the doorway. His son’s eyes are still droopy with sleep and his hair is a mess, much like Eddie imagines is the case for his own hair. The sight never fails to cheer Eddie up.
“Morning, do you want pancakes?” He asks, his heart warming in anticipation of Christopher’s reaction even before the grin begins stretching across the boy’s face. His son’s enthusiastic nod is all it takes to have him clambering out of bed and facing the day. He checks his phone and sees no messages from Buck yet, it’s too early to let himself worry though. It’s only seven thirty and Buck could easily still be asleep. Could still be unaware of their connection. He takes it with him to the kitchen anyway, not wanting to miss it when Buck wakes up and contacts him.
Eddie spends the entire day checking his phone religiously. Every time it goes off his heart jumps in nervous excitement, but it’s never Buck. Same goes for the next day. The third day Eddie wakes up and misses the visions. The visions meant he still had love out there waiting, now all he has is hopelessness. Still no contact from Buck. He gets dressed on autopilot, waking up Christopher just in time to get him dressed and dropped off to his Abuela’s before his shift. He drives towards the one-eighteen gripping the steering wheel tightly, trying to cling to the last dregs of hope sitting stagnant in the dark crevices of his heart.
Buck isn’t there when Eddie arrives, something Hen and Chimney remark is unusual. Bobby’s eyes flit between the stove and the entrance, brow creased in worry as the minutes tick into their shift and Buck still hasn’t arrived. The rest of the team are already changed and sitting around the table waiting for breakfast but the usual chatter is replaced with a heavy silence, Eddie’s weighing more than the rest. Eight minutes into their shift and Bobby turns to Hen, asking her to watch over the cooking food so he can call their absentee and see what’s going on.
Bobby makes it halfway down the stairs before calling out “There you are, where have you been? You’re not usually late”
“Sorry Bobby, you wouldn’t believe the crazy morning I’ve had” Eddie’s heart skips into his throat at Buck’s words. Maybe this is it. Maybe Buck only just realised that Eddie is the reason his soulmate visions have stopped. The thought floats above around his head before enveloping him completely when Buck says “Ia Eddie around? I need to talk to him quick and then I’ll explain everything”. Eddie waits with bated breath as Eddie ascends the stairs and asks for Buck to meet him in the locker rooms before swiftly returning the the ground floor and disappearing out of sight.
Hen and Chimney observe the exchange with scrunched eyebrows, confused at Buck’s erratic behaviour. Eddie tries not to become a recipient of their scrutiny as he settles his coffee cup, still full, onto the table and slowly descends to find Buck.
“Hey man, you speak Spanish right?”
The question throws Eddie off. He never would have predicted that to be the starting point of their conversation. He opens his mouth to answer, a simple yes all that’s needed ad yet it takes him a few seconds to work the word out.
“Yeah, I’m half Mexican”
Buck turns grinning at Eddie as he pulls off his shirt and continues talking. Buck tries to listen even as an alarm goes off in his mind at the sight of Buck stripping in front of him.
“Great, I know a little from my bar-tending days but I’m nowhere near fluent. Do you think you could help me with a text?”
Despite his best efforts to stay focused on the question Eddie is still pulled in my the distraction, his eyes wandering across Buck’s muscled back as he reaches for his LAFD shirt. He’s so busy ogling Buck that he almost missed the end of the sentence, taking a moment why Buck is staring at him with his eyebrows raised.
“A text?” Eddie repeats dumbly, wondering where this could possibly be going. Does Buck still not realise they’re soulmates?
“Yeah, I think I found my soulmate”
Buck states it casually, his relaxed demeanour and cheerful quirk of the lips a stark contrast to the raging tsunami wrecking Eddie’s brain at the word. He thinks he found his soulmate and wants to send a text. He thinks his soulmate is someone else. He has to, why would he get Eddie to message himself? Panic surges through his body, knotting in his throat and making his next question choked.
“You did?”
Buck eyes him in concern for a second, before the bright smile returns and he’s reaching for his phone from his pocket. “Sort of” Buck says, finger tapping over the keys “I have it narrowed down to three girls and one of them doesn’t speak English so I need your help”
Eddie’s heart plummets into his feet, holding him frozen in place as Buck continues explaining to Eddie’s deaf ears. It hurts, Eddie can’t pretend it doesn’t. He wants to throw Buck’s phone against a wall the crowd the other an into the lockers, channelling all his raging jealousy into kissing Buck breathless. He’s frozen in place. He doesn’t move. He’s too conflicted to do anything. So, as Buck hands him his phone and explains what he wants to say, Eddie starts typing out a message to help Buck find out if ‘Angelina’ is his soulmate. He doesn’t know what to say that could fix this. He doesn’t know how to find the words to tell Buck the truth when Buck is only considering women, had only ever been with women in Eddie’s visions. Eddie just goes with it, deciding to take more time to think it over. None of these women are Buck’s soulmate, letting Buck look isn’t going to hurt anyone. It’ll just be for a little while, a few days at most. Eddie just needs time to figure out what to do.