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It had already been a day and they were barely halfway through the shift.
Over half the city was in a blackout, the rest of the areas power threatening to go at any given moment. The morning wasn’t too bad as they daylight was still there to help out, but with night vastly approaching—things were quickly getting ugly.
There’d been a mandate for everyone to stay home and keep off the roads once night approached, but of course there were always a couple jackasses who had to go breaking the law, thinking they were better than everyone else, trying to get the best footage for their Instagram and tik tok stories, or whatever it was kids used these days.
As the sun dropped down, they were just gearing to leave the station, Eddie’s phone vibrating in his pocket causing him to pause. He pulled it out to see that it was his Abuela, his mind panicking a tinge. “Abuela, toda está bien?” The phone crackled a little bit as if she was moving around and Eddie was getting ready to restate his question when his sons voice came over the phone.
“Dad! Did you hear about the blackout?” He chuckled slightly, relived to hear his son’s enthusiastic voice. “Yes mijo, I might be late getting home tonight because of it, ok?” Chris didn’t miss a beat, clearly on a mission. “I bet you can see ALL the stars when it’s dark out like this! It’d be so cool dad, way better than the planetarium.”
Eddie smiled as the memory came to mind. He and Buck had taken Christopher to the planetarium a few weeks ago and it had been all the kid could talk about since—Buck too. “I’m sure you can buddy. Maybe we can try and look later if I get home in time, ok?” He heard the excited glee in his son’s voice. “Ok dad! Make sure you bring Bucky too. He would love it!” The thought alone warmed his heart, the three of them laying beneath the stars, wrapped closely together.
Bobby called out to him and he quickly told his son he loved him, hanging up as he heard Christopher trying to get something else out; unfortunately, it would have to wait until later.
He hopped inside the truck taking his usual spot next to Buck, their knees knocking together as blue met brown. “Everything ok?” Eddie smiled to his best friend, nodding his head up and down. “Yea, yea. Chris just wanted to tell me how cool all the stars would look with the blackout.” Bucks face lit up, clearly already just as enamored with the idea as his son was. “Did you know that there are between 200 and 400 billion stars in the galaxy?” As the others groaned, Eddie settled in, Bucks random facts always keeping his mind busy, the man’s voice soothing.
It was about an hour later that the entire city lost power, everything going dark. They were currently working on a busted pipe, their headlamps and glow from the truck being their only source of light; it wasn’t exactly ideal.
Buck looked over to him, shooting his glare up to the sky. “Guess Chris is gonna get his wish, huh?” Eddie sighed, “I guess. He wanted us to stargaze with him, but it doesn’t look like we’ll be getting off shift anytime soon.” As if a sign from the universe hit—not that Eddie believed in those, the universe did not scream, thank you very much—they heard the collision of two cars crashing somewhere just down the road.
Bobby turned to them, sighing dejectedly. “Buckley, Diaz, go check it out. Let me know if you need additional help.” They answered in unison, “Copy that Cap,” both of them heading off in the direction of the accident.
The night carried on much the same, the 118 going from one call to the next. It was almost as bad as that disastrous Halloween night that had been filled with all sorts of bizarre calls, though it also reminded Eddie of a shift they’d had not all that long ago.
They were all riding in the truck, on their way back to the station, knowing they probably wouldn’t make it. Eddie laughed somewhat dryly. “You know, this reminds me of that shift we had not too long ago where you all thought we were cursed because of the word Q—” He was silenced instantly, Bucks strong hand coming to cover his mouth, Hen and Chim staring daggers to him while Bobby glared at him through the rearview mirror. These people were so superstitious.
He eyed Buck keenly, looking down to the mans’ hand that was still covering his face. Buck gave him a stern look, asking, “Are you going to behave?” If Eddie could answer, he would’ve told him no just to see the blush that he was sure would cross the mans’ face. Instead, he rolled his eyes, nodding simply, Bucks’ hand finally releasing his hold; Eddie would be lying if he said he didn’t instantly miss the touch.
~
Eddie couldn’t remember ever seeing a town so dark, except for maybe back when he was in the army, trapped in the dessert in the middle of nowhere; this was oddly much more enjoyable.
He’d tried to call Chris a few times just to check in, but everything was off the grid, no service anywhere. The 9-1-1 operators were having a hell of a time helping people out with the power outage, having to radio to the emergency responders through old school methods.
They’d seen just about everything tonight from idiot drivers, break ins, people trying to be heroes, and loose zoo animals—yea, that one was definitely going to stick with them for a while. When they finally made it back to the station, no calls interrupting them, the 118 piled out of the truck, the stations generator keeping at least half of the lights running so they weren’t in complete darkness.
Eddie followed Buck up the stairs, both of them turning to each other when they heard a familiar giggle. As they rounded the landing, Chris sat on the couch next to his Abuela, the two of them in what appeared to be a tense hand of go fish. He watched as Buck crept up behind him, pulling his son into a tight hug laced with tickles, Christopher’s laugh filling the entire station, as well as Buck and Eddie’s hearts.
Eddie moved in to hug Chris from the other side, Buck and Eddie squeezing him together. “What’re you guys doing here?” Abuela smiled at the three of them before answering, almost as if she was just as caught up in the moment as they were. “We were coming to surprise you with lunch before the blackout hit, but we weren’t able to get home in time. The nice woman downstairs told us to stay here to be safe.” He was so grateful; he’d have to make sure to find the sweet woman who had urged his family to stay here, keeping them out of harms way.
As Chris tugged at his shirt, he looked down to him once more. “Now we can all watch the stars together!” He rubbed at his son’s curls fondly. “I’m sorry buddy, but we’re still on duty, we can’t go home just yet.” Chris smile turned to a pout, Eddie feeling guilty even though there was nothing he could do about it. Bucks face on the other hand, lit up, like when he had one of his crazy ideas. He squeezed Chris shoulders before standing, whispering that he’d be right back, winking over to Eddie as he sauntered off; lord knew what that man was up to.
While Buck was off doing whatever it was, Eddie joined in their game of cards, grateful to have even a few minutes off duty, happy to have his son there. They played until Buck returned, a mischievous smile splayed across his face. Eddie raised a brow up to him. “Do I even want to know?” The blond simply smiled, reaching a hand out to Christopher as he handed the boy his crutches. “Come on, I have a surprise. Even your dad will enjoy it.” Eddie was skeptical, but he’d follow these two anywhere—they were his Achilles heel.
Abuela shooed them off, stating that she would be fine, already pulling her book from her purse. They followed Buck up the stairs as he used his flashlight to guide the way, Christopher safely tucked between the two of them as he crutched his way up. When they reached the top, Buck climbed out, reaching back to help lift Chris out, giving Eddie a hand after, even though it was completely unnecessary; Eddie didn’t mind in the slightest.
It was pitch black outside still, the only light from the stars above; it was quite a sight to see.
Buck had laid out a few blankets and pillows, extras from the bunk room, ushering the two of them over to the pile. “I thought since we couldn’t go home to see the stars, I would bring it to us.” Christopher beamed up to him, hugging onto Bucks’ legs tightly. “Thanks Bucky! This is gonna be awesome!” Buck hugged Chris back, Eddie reaching to take his crutches as his son shimmied down to the blankets.
The three of them laid together, Christopher between them with his hands pointed up to the sky, Buck and Eddie using one of their hands to rest under their heads.
Up above, the sky shown bright, a dusky black covering the entire city. It was quiet too; no buzzing traffic, sirens ringing out, or any of the usual banter, kind of like when you closed your eyes, the world around you ceasing to exist.
The stars created this electric glow in the sky, each one shining brighter than the next. Christopher pointed his little fingers up, his face lighting up the darkness. “I bet there’s a lot of cool constellations up there!” Buck smiled next to him. “How many do you think there are?” His son seemed to think for a minute before answering with, “100!”
“Close. There’re 88 constellations in the sky.” Christopher gasped, “Wow, that’s a lot.” Buck nodded. “Mmhmm. Did you know they travel from east to west, just like the sun?” Chris eye’s lit up again, the two of them going off into a world of their own, star facts being tossed all about.
Eddie laid there contently, completely enamored with his son and best friend; the bond they shared was so pure. Even if they remained on shift the rest of the night, this would be the moment that stuck with him, the one that would get him through the night. Buck’s ideas could sometimes be reckless, but when he got ones like this—Eddie couldn’t help but to look at him with wonder. The lengths he went for Chris never ceased to amaze him, even if it was something as simple as stargazing.
He tuned back in to hear Chris asking what the biggest constellation was. “It’s called Hydra, and it covers more than three percent of the night sky! You can only see it here between late March and early April though.” Chris shook his head with excitement. “Can we look for it next year?” Buck nodded in response, looking over to Eddie. “Yea, of course we can buddy. It’s a date.” The boy squealed with glee, Eddie mouthing ‘thank you’ over to him, Bucks face flushing red.
As Buck pointed out a few more of the stars and constellations, he commented, “Did you know that some constellations have families?” This seemed to catch Chris attention, his eyes moving from Buck, to Eddie, then back up to the sky. “Like us?” Eddie watched as Bucks’ breath caught, his gaze flicking from Chris to Eddie, clearly unsure how to answer.
Eddie bent to his son, pulling him in for a hug as he looked over to Buck, smiling wholly. “Yes mijo, just like us.” He stayed as he was, Chris in his lap, Buck close by, their fingers absently finding the other, linking together tightly. There could’ve been anything else going on in the world, but none of it mattered, for this moment was just the three of them, the stars lighting up their entire world.
As Chris began to get sleepy, they decided to head back down, the bell going off just as they’d gotten Chris settled back on the couch with Abuela; back to reality. They reached to place kisses over Chris curls, hugging him tightly before Abuela pulled them in to do the same.
He followed Buck down the stairs, pulling him to the side once they’d reached the bottom, crowding him up against the stairwell. It might’ve been pitch black under there, but Eddie could see those blues radiating, anticipation racing over his face. Eddie leaned in, ghosting his lips over Bucks, whispering against them. “Thank you.” Bucks’ warm breath tangled with his own as he pressed their lips together, creating their own spark of light.
As they broke apart, their foreheads came to rest together, Bucks voice coming out between them. “You light up my world Eds.” He groaned, pulling the others man’s lips through his teeth before kissing him softly once more, both of them chuckling when Bobby hollered out for them to get a move on it.
The rest of their shift was a blur of calls, none of them sticking with them like stargazing on the roof or the moment they shared after. Even in the darkness, they would always find each other, one of them lighting the way for the other. Out of the one hundred billion stars in the world, they’d managed to find each other, their love shining brighter than any of them.