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Eddie’s heart was pumping, he could here it in his ears, feel it in the way his sweat dripped down his face, why the fuck was Buck taking so long. This was a routine structure fire, sure they got the blaze under control, but they hadn’t even heard from Buck since he went to do the last sweep.
Thump thump, thump thump, thump thump .
“We are getting word from PD that there is a hostage situation.” Eddie heard over the radio, he couldn’t help the reaction his body had next. He was up off the curb that he was sitting on and pulling his mask and helmet on ready to fight his way in there.
“Eddie!” he heard Bobby’s booming voice at the same time he felt hands wrapping around his waist holding him back. “You can’t go in there.”
“He needs me Bobby,” Eddie sobbed, not realizing how much emotion had built up just waiting for Buck to come out.
“He needs you to wait out here.” Bobby’s voice was authoritative and final, Eddie just couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that Buck was in there alone and all he could do was stand around and hope that everything worked out in the end.
Eddie fell to his knees, the world around him starting to blur at the edges.
Thump thump, thump thump, thump thump.
“We have made contact with the hostage taker, does anyone here have any information about a Chase Mackey?” Eddie heard over the radio again.
“That fucking asshole hasn’t done enough to ruin our lives already,” he heard someone saying, he thought it might be Chim but he’s not sure, still too lost in the panic that had taken hold.
Thump thump, thump thump, thump thump.
“Swat team is entering the rear,” he heard Bobby say to someone around them.
“Please let him be okay,” Eddie thought it might be Hen Bobby was talking to.
“He will.” Bobby said firmly, as if he could predict the future.
Eddie kept his head in his hands, choosing to focus on his breath, rather than those around him. He needed Buck to be okay, Eddie needed him to come home to his son, to him .
Thump thump, thump thump, thump thump.
“Eddie, sweetheart,” he heard Hen mutter in his ear, her hands a grounding pressure on each shoulder. “They have apprehended the hostage taker, Buck will be out any minute now.” Eddie’s mind perked up at that and he took the time to look up, into her endearing eyes and he realized why she had gone to him specifically with that information.
Buck , he was his best friend, but it was like she knew, in her heart, that there was more to their relationship, even if both of them failed to admit it. It was suddenly so crystal clear; Buck was the person who he always could count on, he was the first one who he wanted to talk to when he got up, he was the face he always looked for in a crowd, the shoulder he always wanted to lean on when he was sad. Buck was everything to him, why couldn’t he be more?
Eddie couldn’t just sit anymore.
He got up and as he did, his eyes locked with Buck and his feet did the rest of the work.
Thump thump, thump thump, thump thump .
As soon as Buck was in reach he couldn’t help but thread his fingers through his hair and pull him into a blinding kiss. Eddie held his breath for a moment, but once Buck started kissing back it was like the rest of the world fell away and there was only them.
When they pulled apart, Eddie looked around him and noticed all of a sudden the streat was illuminated with Christmas lights that hadn’t even registered in his mind before then. Buck quickly pulled him into another kiss, and Eddie couldn’t say that he minded, because all he really needed was right in front of him, well and at home safe with Carla, but he knew that Chris meant just as much to Buck as he did to him and that meant everything .
It was such a weird thing, somehow even after such a traumatic event, everything fell into place. Eddie supposed it was just the magic of Christmas.