Chapter Text
The early morning chill clung to Buck’s body like a second skin. It was an overcast day in the city of Los Angeles, being as cold as it could be for Southern California. It had stormed the night before and it was set to pour down today, which only meant that it’d be a particularly busy day for him. Angelinos absolutely lose it when it rains. They have no rational thoughts when the sky cracks open and pours down.
“Good morning!” Buck beamed cheerfully at the lingering firefighters standing by the fire engine, bags intact ready to go home. “How’s it going?”
They mumbled gruffly at him, wiping the heavy sleep off their eyelids. Buck didn’t take it too personally, he knew just how hard pulling a 24 hour shift was. He also had, as Hen liked to put it, the energy of a puppy golden retriever.
“Someone rolled out of bed fresh like a daisy,” Chimney remarked as Buck walked into the locker room. He handed Buck a tupperware of homemade cookies. “Here. Don’t worry, kid, I didn’t make them. Maddie says they’re your favorite.”
“Thanks, man,” Buck’s smile gleamed under the lights and Chimney felt sick seeing someone so energetic so early in the morning. “I actually made it in time to get my favorite coffee and now Maddie’s cookies. Can this day get any better?”
“It’s 8 am, Buck, how are you this peppy?”
Buck would recognize that voice through any roaring fire, through any brain haze caused by smoke inhalation. His body automatically flushed, his heart accelerated at an unnatural rate, and his brain became syrup, swimming grotesquely in his head. All because of that voice.
“Eddie!”
Buck clambered over the bench and nearly knocked Eddie off kilter in order to hug the veteran. Eddie only chuckled and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend.
“Yield, puppy,” Chimney joked, his laugh dying as the pair stayed tangled in one another. “Okay, guys, keep it PG. I’m not--damn it my eyes, have you no shame?”
Eddie pulled Buck down by the neck and pressed their lips soundly together. Instinctively, Buck’s hands carded through Eddie’s thick hair and yanked his head closer, eliciting a moan from the brunet.
“Yup, there goes my appetite,” Chimney grumbled, sidestepping past them. “Don’t let Cap see you making out in the locker room.”
“I missed you this morning,” Eddie whispered as they pulled away. “Come over tonight.”
Buck bit his lip, “I can’t, Eds. I already promised Maddie we’d go out for dinner and have our sibling bonding.”
“Oh, is that tonight?” Eddie asked, taking his LAFD shirt out of his bag and stripping out of his civilian clothes. Buck blushed like a school boy, as if it wasn’t something he hadn’t seen before. “You guys going to that new Thai place she mentioned?”
“Yeah, she’s really excited,” Buck couldn’t help but grin. “She’s been craving it for weeks and she wants to have a mini celebration before she officially goes on maternity leave this week.”
Their relationship was relatively new. Buck having finally gotten closure from his relationship with Abby, he was finally ready to embark on a serious relationship. His relationship with Ali had been exciting, his relationship with Abby had been a turning point, but this going on with Eddie was completely life-changing. It was incredibly domestic, it always had been, and it felt safe and organic.
They had finally stopped dancing around each other and gotten together after a fire gone awry. That had been a few months ago. Though the feelings stemmed longer, running deeper than any platonic magnetism they had initially felt. Buck’s jealousy had been a mask for his instant attraction. Their initial budding friendship that had bloomed rapidly and passionately so, full of trust and acceptance, had been a starting foundation for their love.
Buck pulled out of the lot and began his journey towards his home, through the winding streets. The rain pelted down in heavy sheets and sloshed the streets causing pandemonium in their descent. Angelinos scurried around dizzily in their cars, a completely different sight from the Pennsylvanians who didn’t panic much at the sight of snow.
Thankfully, he made it onto a more deserted avenue. That’s when he noticed a lanyard laying on his car floor. He hastily pressed his sister’s contact onto his phone and situated it on the phone holder.
“Buck?”
Her melodic voice rang out through his car, a soft sound in comparison to the crashing rain noisily pouring on the roof of his car.
“Are you driving? How many times am I supposed to tell you that isn’t safe? Do you know how many calls I get--”
“Relax, Mads,” Buck soothed, as he pulled into a red light. “It’s on speaker and I’m at a red light. I’m calling because I think you left your lanyard in my car.”
“My lanyard?” Buck could hear the rustle of her rummaging through her purse. “Damn it. I think it’s my badge, not my house keys. I need that to get into the call center. They have scanners and better security because of the break in now.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll bring it in the morning,” With the light still on red, he unhooked his seatbelt and leaned over to pluck the lanyard off the floor. A shiny badge with Maddie’s face glimmered under the streetlight. “Yup, it’s definitely your badge. Cute picture, Mads. Look at those little cheeks.”
“Oh, shut up, Buck.”
He laughed, stepped on the gas pedal, and reached a hand over for his seat belt.
“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow--oh shit!”
He reacted too late. There was a blaring sound of a horn and the flooding flash of white lights. The truck was massive and slammed into the side of his Jeep, flinging his car like a rag doll through the slippery, deserted road. There was a ringing in his ear and the metallic taste of blood in his mouth.
“Buck? Buck answer me! Buck? Chimney call 9-1-1! Buck!”
His head felt like it was being compressed by an elephant. His body ached all over. His face felt wet. Was that the rain?
“Sir, are you awake?”
“M-M-Maddie?”
His sister. Why is he thinking of his sister? He hadn’t seen her in years. Last time he heard, she was living in a cushy house in Hershey, Pennsylvania with her cardiothoracic surgeon husband.
He can feel hands ghosting over his body, assessing him. He can hear the sounds of a saw and the feel of a neck brace being strapped on him.
“He’s conscious, Captain.”
Captain. Cap...Bobby! He remembers being told off by Bobby too many times to count. If he thought he was being reckless before, he sure as hell was going to give him hell for this…
What had he done exactly? Where was he? Why did his head hurt so badly?
“Hurts…” He mumbled, sleepily through the haze. “Head hurts.”
“I know, buddy, we’re gonna get you out of here, okay?”
Buck could distinctly hear the sounds of him being extracted from the wreckage of his car and transported. He could feel the prick of the IV being inserted and his shirt being cut open. He remembers the fluorescent lights and the distinguishable scent only a hospital can have. He can hear the voices like a strong surge of a river crashing into his ears, causing another ache in his head.
This was all before he succumbed to his pain and everything was dull and dark.