Archive of Our Own ^beta

Eddie was dating a psychopath. A menace. A threat to all hopes and aspirations of sleeping in. 

Eddie was dating a runner. 

Now, don’t get him wrong. Eddie loved a good run just as much as anyone. He loved the way his muscles would go warm beneath his skin as the burn in his lungs faded the longer his feet kept up his pace. Running was an easy way for him to get an hour or so to himself without anyone needing anything from him. 

But, what Eddie loved more, was getting to sleep in for once. Getting to sleep in without an alarm set on his phone and with the scent of his boyfriend surrounding him in his expensive but so damn irresistible sheets. 

Eddie groaned as Buck mouthed a line of kisses up his spine to his neck before he stopped to nibble at his jaw, careful to keep his body angled to the side rather than over Eddie’s back. Eddie wasn’t proud of the way his body still tensed anytime someone came up too close with the threat of boxing him in. But he couldn’t help but purr into the warmth pooling in his gut at the small, innocuous gesture anyway. 

“Babe,” Buck said as he nuzzled into Eddie’s temple. “Let’s go.”

Eddie was too busy melting under the pet name murmured into his skin and too sleep deprived to even consider forming an intelligent response to that. He huffed out a sound of protest and shoved his face further into the pillow instead. 

“Eddie,” Buck said, sing-songing his name as he dragged his lips to kiss under Eddie’s jaw. “Come on.”

He was way too awake after the night they had. 

Way too awake. 

“No,” Eddie grouched into the pillow before he slung his arm around Buck’s neck. 

Buck’s grunt of surprise puffed against Eddie’s cheek as Buck fell back into the bed, but it served him right for getting out of it in the first place. “Go back to sleep.”

Buck’s laugh fell from his lips like a throaty bell but instead of letting Eddie pull him back underneath the covers, Buck shoved a knee into the mattress and tried to pull away. 

Tried being the operative word. 

Eddie was stubborn and strong. He could win if he was awake enough. 

Which he was not, for the record. 

“Eddie!” Buck all but whined. Eddie held on if only to be contrary but Buck simply lifted half of him off the mattress and then dropped him when he finally untangled himself. Eddie dropped back into the mattress with a huff and dug his face further into the pillow that smelled like Buck’s shampoo.

When he finally worked up the courage to ask Buck to move in with him, he was demanding Buck bring his bed and pillows. Definitely the pillows. 

“Baby.” 

Eddie sighed. He didn’t have to see Buck to hear the pout in that one. He opened his one blurry eye that wasn’t shoved into the pillow and looked up at his boyfriend. 

Yep, definitely pouting. 

“It’s going to be so nice out,” Buck said, already dressed in his running clothes. 

“Buck,” Eddie said as he stretched a hand out to slip under Buck’s shirt so he could pat him on the stomach. “Baby, we live in the sunshine state. Every day is nice out.”

Buck’s mouth puckered. “That’s Florida, Eddie.”

“Whatever,” Eddie breathed as he felt his body getting heavier and heavier. 

“You said you would go on a run with me!” 

Eddie snorted before he could help himself. “I most definitely did not.” 

“Eddie!”

“ Buck!” At some point along the way, Eddie’s eyes had slipped closed and forcing them back open took way more strength than he had. But when he opened them again, Buck was trying for the puppy eyes. His blue eyes were wide and feigning sadness in a way that Eddie could just barely resist. Barely. 

“What if I blew you in the car?” Buck blurted and Eddie’s laugh barked out of him in surprise. 

“You can do that here,” Eddie said, smiling as he rolled over onto his back so he could give Buck his full attention. The turn made Buck’s sheets rub against the still sensitive skin on Eddie’s ass where Buck’s mouth had sucked a mark the night before. He hissed as he rubbed into the bruising ache, using the lingering sting to wake him up some more. Eddie flopped an arm to rest over his forehead, shielding his eyes from the morning light, while his other hand moved to settle on Buck’s thigh. “Baby, we have four days off with no work and no kid. It’s—”

Eddie squinted at the clock on Buck’s dresser. 

“It’s seven thirty in the morning.” Eddie was very used to being an early riser. But working a full twenty-four hours when the bell hadn’t stopped ringing and then working up an entirely different sweat with Buck in the bedroom after that had worn Eddie out more than he would care to admit. At least not out loud or otherwise be giving reason for Buck to mock him about being old. With Christopher gone on a school-sanctioned spring break trip for another three days, Eddie had been looking forward to sleeping in for the first time in months. “Can’t we go later?”

“It’s supposed to rain later,” Buck said, raking his nails up and down Eddie’s chest with a soft scratching motion that made Eddie shiver. “It’s going to be muggy tomorrow.”

And listen, Eddie couldn’t say no to that thing Buck was doing with his face. The thing where his lips were a little more full and his eyes a little more blue. It was like puppy eyes on steroids. 

But Eddie— begrudgingly— could hear Frank’s voice in the back of his head. The one that crept up into the part of his mind that was willing to give in if it meant making someone else happy even if it meant giving up what would make Eddie happy. And as much as Eddie loved the ache in his thighs, the one that burned when he’d rode Buck the night before until his toes were curled in pleasure, there was still a dullness to the ache everywhere else that made the mere thought of getting out of bed something miserable. 

But Buck was practically vibrating with energy. Eddie could almost feel it thrumming beneath his skin and Eddie knew that going back to sleep wasn’t in the cards for his boyfriend no matter how much Eddie was fighting it. 

“I’m really tired, babe,” Eddie said, sweeping his thumb over the muscle of Buck’s thigh to soften the blow. Buck’s face dropped with disappointment and Eddie’s stomach swooped with it. 

Maybe he could… No. Compromising. 

“Compromises are a beneficial two way street, Eddie. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Compromises. 

Eddie was working on those. 

“What if you go without me and when you come back,” Eddie said, watching as Buck’s eyes lit up with intrigue. “I’ll treat you to lunch.”

Buck’s chin dipped as a skeptical brow arched high on his forehead. “You’ll order in right? I really don’t want you burning down my kitchen.”

Eddie flicked Buck in the stomach and Buck laughed at Eddie’s scowl. A scowl Buck was quick to kiss away as he leaned over and slanted his lips so gently over Eddie’s. Eddie sighed into it, curling his arm over Buck’s neck to keep him close so he could steal a taste of Buck to keep him company. 

“I’ll order Thai,” Eddie said, nuzzling Buck’s nose with his own. “And if you hurry back, I’ll fuck you against the counter for that comment about the kitchen.”

Buck’s breath hitched as his pupils widened and Eddie stole one more quick, firm kiss that was more tongue than anything else, before he dropped back into Buck’s pillows. Buck blinked after him in a daze before a smile that could’ve lit up all of Los Angeles stretched over his face. 

“Deal,” Buck said as he leaned down for another peck. “I’ll be back in a few hours.” 

“Have fun,” Eddie said as Buck jumped up from the bed. “You got your watch?”

Buck startled to a stop, shooting Eddie a sheepish grin as he pivoted on his heel. He grabbed the smartwatch that tracked his route and blew Eddie a kiss before he headed down the sairs. 

“Love you!” Buck called and Eddie sighed as those two words drifted over him like a warm blanket. 

“Love you too,” he said, falling asleep to the sound of Buck grabbing his keys and heading out the door. 

The wind was soft on Buck’s heated skin as he finally slowed to a stop. His pulse thundered against his throat and into his ears, a steady pace as he checked his watch to check his heart rate on the health app. 

Buck always found running comforting. He started as a small kid with too-long legs and too much energy to be living in such a quiet house, running through the yard and up and down the street. Then, when he was fifteen and starting to take football more seriously, he’d learned how to run for real. Stretching, reaching up in his miles, keeping an even pace, learning how to use his long legs to keep an even stride. It had shifted into something like an escape. 

He preferred the speed of his bike over the speed of his gait whenever he felt like he was drifting from one spot to the next. Too much like a ghost or whenever his parents finally bothered to acknowledge his existence even if their yells and rebukes felt like they were just thrown at his reflection, making him feel all the more hollow in his skin. But running was a routine. It was a schedule. And sometimes, when Buck didn’t even see the point of getting out of bed after Maddie stopped coming home for holidays and weekends, Buck had running to help. 

Over time, it became less of a coping mechanism and more of a form of meditation. Buck always found it hard on the first day of their four days off to sit still. His veins were still thrumming with leftover adrenaline and making his skin jittery. But running helped clear his mind and move on from rescues and saves that maybe didn’t go their way. Running had been one of the few things that had helped after Buck lost Devon those first six months on the job. It just let his mind go quiet for a little while. 

And even after an amazing night with Eddie in his bed, with a promise of even better days where it was just the two of them— clothing optional— getting to spend every minute with one another, Buck still had trouble shaking off the jittery restlessness without his run. 

So, maybe he fibbed about Eddie saying he would go running with him. But seeing Eddie run was a sight to be seen. Could anyone really blame him? 

Buck took a moment to take a couple of healthy swigs of his water and stretched out his leg. He had only been planning on running three miles before circling back down, but the shade of the trees and the quiet of the usually populated trail had Buck caving in to push for another two. 

Buck liked nature. He liked the quiet possibilities and the chance to explore. The trail was one of his favorites to run when he could. The dense trees made it perfect to escape from the hustle of the city with a hush that fell over the land that Buck was pretty sure not even the fire truck could cut through. The running trails were flat and well maintained— he would go to his grave before ever admitting the amount of times he’d tweaked his ankles catching on a tree root and falling flat on his face— and the incline of the terrain varied enough for Buck to feel the burn in his calves. 

But usually, the trails were crawling with people; casual hikers or runners like Buck. Though, with the oncoming storm, Buck figured the deserted path that morning probably made sense. LA was short on rain on a good day, but when the weather was predicted to turn nasty it was usually unpredictable and swift. No one wanted to get caught up in the storm with their ankles deep in mud. 

Still, the temptation of the trail to himself had been too good to pass up and Buck had indulged himself in an extra push for another mile. Ten miles wasn’t exactly a hardship but after a long shift and an even longer night, Buck knew he’d be feeling it later. And Eddie had made a promise that Buck wasn’t about to miss. 

Taking another swig of water, Buck circled back and started down the trail to his Jeep. As much as the beginning drops of rain on his too-hot skin would feel like heaven, he really didn’t want to get caught when the storm started up. 

He’d never hear the end of it. Not after he had to have Eddie come pick him up one time because he’d gotten caught in a freak lightning storm that drenched Buck from head to toe and had Eddie laugh-grouching about dripping all over the upholstery of his truck. 

That had been before they started dating though. Back when their shared glances were heated and lingering; when the ache of wanting to touch but holding back was so deep in their muscles from fighting the impulse. 

Buck smiled at the memory as he glanced down at his watch to see if he had reception. The app would track his route but texts were hit or miss that far away from his Jeep. 

“Hey Hildy,” Buck said, the watch catching his command even as he panted. “Text Eddie.”

The small bubble appeared on his watch screen and Buck brought it closer to his lips so he didn’t end up sending Eddie a text that swapped out something with waffles or something even more ridiculous. 

“Heading back to my Jeep now.”

He still had about an hour before lunch and was going to be in a major need of a shower when he got back. The air was cool in comparison, but with the coming storm it was still thick with humidity that slid down Buck’s skin like thin syrup. As much as he was excited for Eddie to fulfill his promise of Thai food and counter fucking, he didn’t think his boyfriend would love smelling Buck that gross for very long. 

The message bubble appeared and disappeared while Eddie typed and it was in watching for his response that Buck made his mistake. 

The trail was clear of debris and overgrown roots but it was still out in the middle of nature. 

The ground disappeared from beneath him and Buck cried out as his foot fell further down into a small dip, his toes catching on the dirt. His ankle twisted, shooting a pain all the way up his calf, but that was nothing in comparison to the impact of his body losing a battle against physics. 

Buck’s knee landed on the ground first, followed by his hip and palms as he slid down the incline in a heap. The sting was all consuming as his skin split open; the ground hard and unforgiving as he crashed into it. 

Buck’s water bottle went flying and he could only grit his teeth as he waited for his crash to end. 

Everything pulsed in time with his heartbeat.

For a moment, he didn’t move. 

Eddie was never going to let him hear the end of this. 

His ankle was his first assessment. Buck grimaced as he tried to flex his foot. The twinge seized up his calf muscle and shot all the way down to his toes but it seemed fine. Sprained but not broken. Nothing a little ice wouldn’t be able to fix. His knees and palms would be a different story. Blood was already welling up in the cuts and scrapes littered with dirt and bits of tiny rocks where his skin had split open upon impact and the drag of his fall. Those were going to sting for a couple days. 

Buck hissed from between his teeth as he sat up and tried to check and make sure he didn’t damage anything else. Nothing felt broken but everything throbbed with the promise of a deep ache that Buck was going to feel later as the bruising set in. 

Great. 

Gingerly, Buck lifted up onto his feet and tested how much weight he could put on his ankle. It wasn’t too bad but he’d definitely be feeling it by the time he got back to the Jeep. 

Guess I’m not running back. 

The blood on his knees slid down his shins in a grotesque mocking of the sweat still slick on his skin. 

Water. 

Buck needed his—

He searched around for where it would’ve landed in his epic sprawl, but all he could see was the spot where his body had fallen and nothing else. 

“Shit,” Buck cursed as he climbed back up to where the dip was. It wasn’t a steep incline but it was enough to make Buck feel every single one of his joints in his body. 

He was half tempted to just leave it but the thought of leaving trash on the side of such a beautiful oasis made his skin itch. Plus there was a voice that sounded very much like his boyfriend when he was stressed and exasperated telling him that he’d help himself out in the long run if he could get some water to rinse out the debris in his cuts. 

Buck scanned the side of the trail before he stepped off the path with a wince to check the overgrowth. He carefully pushed aside some branches with his arm but couldn’t find it anywhere. 

Buck turned and his heart skipped three solid beats before it slammed up into his throat, capturing all the air that had been in his lungs.

“Oh my Go—” Buck startled back and nearly fell off the trail again, making his ankle cry out at the sudden lurch

There, behind him, was a man who didn’t so much as blink at Buck’s flailing. 

Buck forced himself to swallow a mouthful of oxygen as his fight or flight settled down enough to take him in. He was silent and tall and too close. Way too fucking close that Buck didn’t even know how he hadn’t felt him so much as breathe. 

“Uh sorry,” Buck said as he found his footing again. “You scared me there. Can I help you?”

He didn’t look hurt or lost and he didn’t look like he was homeless. On the contrary, his clothes were made of expensive fabric and well maintained survival gear was strapped across his body. 

But his eyes weren’t all there. There was a distance to the dark color with a sort of detached coldness that usually made Buck be on alert when dealing with a patient. 

The familiar feeling of being looked through crept up Buck’s spine and turned his stomach. 

Icy adrenaline cooled the back of his neck and pebbled his skin with goosebumps. 

Buck forced his heart to calm down as he stood up. 

The man’s gaze dropped with a slow slide down Buck’s body, studying him as he dragged his eyes over every line of him. Buck took a step back under the force of it, but that had been a mistake because the far away look disappeared as the man’s eye shot up and pinned Buck to the spot. 

His mouth twisted. Annoyance rather than displeasure. “You’re hurt.”

Buck looked down at the blood on his shin and his hands before he tucked his palms into his sides. “Oh, I’m okay. I just tripped. But I better get—”

Buck took another step back but the man moved forward. 

“You’re hurt.” He repeated, something stony in his voice before he sighed. “But you’ll do.”

Buck swallowed. The man was… weird but he wasn’t the first weird person Buck had ever run into. LA was full of odd people with a twist on the way they viewed the world which made the city all the more appealing when Buck had been twenty-five and looking for home. 

Buck tried to smile but it twisted into a grimace as his ankle protested. “I uh… Excuse me?” 

Again the man said nothing and the hair on the back of Buck’s neck stood tall. 

Okay. 

Time to go. 

Buck hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “I’m… going to go.”  

The man pointed to a small shrub. “Don’t forget your water bottle.” 

Buck followed his direction and spied the soft blue bottom of his water bottle peeking out from under it. Relief prickled in the tension in Buck’s chest as he spotted it. Both because those things were stupidly expensive but also it gave him his excuse to leave. 

The man didn’t move. Hell, Buck didn’t even think he was blinking. His breathing was so slow and even, not erratic and wild like Buck would’ve suspected if drugs were involved. But the stillness was as unnerving as his silence and Buck wasn’t ashamed to admit it was creepy as fuck. 

“Thanks,” Buck said as he moved around the man to the bush, wincing as his knees ached when he bent down for his water. 

Yeah, he was going to be feeling his tumble for the rest of the day. But he had a boyfriend waiting for him and Buck would much rather be fussed over by said boyfriend. It would take a little longer to walk the rest of the way but he should be able to beat the rain if he just—

A twig snapped and pain exploded across the side of Buck’s face as he turned. Buck felt his body drop just as the darkness slipped over his grasp of consciousness and he tumbled to the ground. 

Eddie’s gaze flickered down to Buck’s mouth and Buck’s throat went dry the way it always seemed to do whenever he caught Eddie staring. Eddie was like a heat lamp. Any time his attention was directed at him, Buck wanted to curl up under him and bask in the warmth. 

But then Eddie’s gaze tore away as Eddie sucked in a breath and Buck was left missing the heat already. Those hazel eyes looked even darker underneath the storm clouds as Eddie tried to find somewhere else to look, anywhere that wasn’t consumed by Buck’s whole frame as he trembled in his passenger seat. 

Eddie settled on the soggy imprint of Buck’s legs left on the leather. 

“You’re getting the seat all wet,” Eddie grumbled, even though he moved to turn on the heat and directed the vents in Buck’s direction. 

If it had been anyone else— anyone else but Eddie— then the deflection would’ve been easy. He could’ve made a joke. 

“The feeling is mutual,” he could’ve said with a one eyed grin. 

But it was Eddie, and the truth behind that joke would’ve been humiliating. 

“Sorry,” Buck had said and Eddie gave him a grin of his own that made Buck’s breath hitch in his throat, his trembling covering the slip. 

Eddie’s hand, big and warm, gripped his knee and Buck couldn’t quite find the strength to look away. 

“It’s no problem,” Eddie said. “I’m glad you called. I was getting worried.”

The stiff pain in Buck’s arms was the first thing he noticed. The pain and the ringing in his ears as he climbed further and further back into the agonizing side of consciousness. 

Buck bleated out a whimper, a small noise that got caught in the back of his throat, as he tried to move his arms. They didn’t budge. 

In fact, Buck’s twitch only made the pain and numbness crawl from his hands all the way down to his shoulders, bunching at his spine. It lit up Buck’s whole body like a match striking the first vertebrae behind his neck. Quick like his blood was gasoline, pain exploded into every single one of his nerve endings and left Buck gasping as he lurched. 

With the pain, came the memories too. Of running and falling. His ankle throbbed to remind him of his tumble that scraped up his knees and arm. 

The man. 

Buck’s heart hurt as it hammered against his rib cage and left Buck gasping for air. The man who had come out of nowhere and was—

Buck’s head pulsed and he groaned as he tried to peel open his eyes. Only one did all the way, with the other barely opening into a slit. The impact of the memory crashed into his head much like whatever Buck had been hit with, so he could only imagine the bruising. Pain stayed over his eyes like a film, giving him a view of grass and trees and roots and the spitting mist of early rain. 

He was upright… How was he—?

The stiff pain from before blazed down Buck’s arms again as he tried to move. He rolled his head up which was harder than it should’ve been and tried to breathe through the panic when he saw his hands above him, pinned together by a rope twisted around his arms like a python and strung up over a tree branch. Every bite of the fiber burned into his skin and dug its teeth into him. 

Buck couldn’t get his feet under him. He was low enough to the ground but finding the balance on his toes where his ankles were tied behind him and his knees forced to bend left him writhing and arched and Buck didn’t want to move anymore. Moving meant pain and pain meant—

“Oh good,” a voice said. “You’re awake.”

Buck grunted out a choked noise of surprise. The fabric knotted between his teeth was too harsh and unyielding for anything else and that was another sharp pain unlocked. His mouth felt like it was split open and dry with the gag digging into the corners of his lips and pulling until his cheeks ached. Buck tried to push against the knot with his tongue for some relief but it was pointless. 

Everything hurt and the pain was almost blinding as the man walked into his line of sight. 

“Here I was thinking I might have hit you too hard.” 

The smell of smoke, a musky tang to the electricity in the air from the coming storm filled Buck’s nostrils as the wind shifted it around him and zapped Buck’s heart into one rattling skip. 

Buck cried out as he tried to pull away; to put distance between them as the man came closer. The motion made him sway and stole what breath Buck had as the pain from before captured every inch of him and squeezed. His running shoes slipped beneath him and forced his weight further into his arms, ripping bolts of pain like lightning straight into his lungs. 

The man shushed him, chuckling as he approached Buck like he was a spooked animal. 

“There there. Find your footing.” 

Buck’s toes dug into the ground and the pain curled its claws around his twisted ankle, digging its talons into his calf. But it was all he could do with his ankles being bound just as tight as his wrists. Buck squeezed his eyes shut to ride out the pain and tried to choke back the pinprick of humiliating tears he could feel burning at the back of his throat. 

“There you go,” the man said and Buck forced his eyes open again. He sounded closer and when Buck’s vision cleared from the glaze of pain, he realized that he was.  Every hair on the back of Buck’s neck was standing straight up and screaming at him to run. He jerked into the instinct but then remembered the tightness in his arms and dug his toes further into the mud. “There you go.” 

The man moved with barely audible footsteps, though that could’ve just been the way his blood was roaring in Buck’s ears. He smiled an ugly twisted version of a thing that Buck was sure would’ve been handsome in any other circumstance that didn’t involve him strung up to a tree in the middle of the woods. It was all lip, carved into his cheek that disappeared into a dimple, disarming and full. But his eyes were devoid of any warmth necessary to make it believable. They were small and calculated, studying Buck from head to toe. 

And Buck wasn’t a stranger to being looked at. Even before he was a firefighter, Buck was six two with honey blond curls and big blue eyes. He was aware enough to know that he generally caught the attention of at least one stranger when he walked into a room. 

But this was not that. 

The man was appraising him, taking in every inch of him as he circled around Buck with his near silent footsteps. 

Buck’s heart slammed against his chest when the man disappeared from sight. Buck’s breath came out in huffed whistles, forced out from the gag, as he tried to follow but the movement only wretched his arms even more.

The man’s gaze burned on Buck’s back, unfeeling and uncaring as he took Buck in. 

Buck jolted when a hand groped his trap, kneading the muscle with bruising fingers as the man’s approving hum slid down Buck’s spine and left him trembling all over. Another hand settled on his stomach and Buck’s breathing bordered on hyperventilating as the man’s hand skated down his spine. Rough fingertips skimmed over the waistline of his shorts and Buck’s skin went ice cold. He tried to jerk away but the man’s hand on his stomach kept him pinned. He chuckled again, skating his hand down the swell of Buck’s ass before he settled on the bulk of his thigh. 

“Easy now,” the man said as he squeezed and groped the muscle of Buck’s thigh. Buck bit down hard on the gag as he tried to jerk free anyways, and the pain wretched another grunted cry from his lips. “You’re just hurting yourself even more.”

Buck didn’t care. He didn’t care! Anything to get away from the way the man’s hands circled around his hips as he hummed, considering. 

“You’ll do just fine,” the man said, smiling up at Buck. “Just fine.”

He slapped Buck’s hip with a clap of his hand before he stepped back and left Buck to sway again. The man watched as Buck struggled for another excruciating and humiliating several seconds it took Buck to get his toes under him. By the time he did, Buck was panting for air with his arms burning even more. The tree creaked and the wind picked up, making the leaves and limbs roar into a scream. 

And that was when Buck realized how utterly silent it was. 

No people. No city sounds. Nothing. 

The man was staring at Buck again, hard as flint but with a spark of something that was making Buck’s stomach twist. Buck forced himself to stare back. 

He didn’t know what was happening or why it was happening. A simple camp had been built in a small, tucked-away space of trees facing out towards an even smaller meadow. Buck was strung up to face the meadow but he could feel the emptiness of the dense forest at his back. 

“So,” the man said with a clap of his hands. Buck locked every one of his muscles to keep from jumping. “You’re probably a little confused as to why you’re here.” 

Confused was an understatement. Terrified was more appropriate but Buck didn’t have the option to argue. He couldn’t even plead his case; to reason with him into letting him go. The fabric of the gag was digging into the corners of his mouth until his dry tongue tasted copper and his lips burned with every kiss of air. 

The man rubbed his hand together as he threw up another disarming smile that Buck thought was supposed to put him at ease. All it managed to do was agitate that voices in his head screaming at him to run, get away, run! 

The man looked like a college professor, at ease with his environment and excited with something only he seemed to know. In another life, Buck would’ve said he was handsome. He was tall with broad shoulders and stubble across a strong jaw that accentuated the spattering of freckles dusted across his nose. His hair was long enough to fall over his eyes and his eyes…

His eyes were the dead give away. They were dark as charcoal and staring at Buck with a hunger that trailed a teasing claw up his spine. 

“You and I are going to play a game,” the man said. Buck’s heart leapt up to his throat and the gag made every hitch in his breath so loud to his own ears. But the man ignored him, sucking in a deep breath of air into his own lungs as he stretched until his spine popped with a satisfying audible crack. “God, I’ve been so bored lately.”

The wind changed again and brought with it the smell of rain. Buck shuddered but the man just sighed as he took in another deep breath. 

“Storm’s coming in.”

It was. If Buck strained enough, he could’ve sworn he heard the rain in the distance hitting each branch blanketing the wide open space of forest. 

He shot Buck a wild grin. “Nothing personal.”

Buck grunted out a protest because it sure did feel pretty personal. 

The man drew closer and Buck resisted every instinct telling him to back up, to put space between them. There was no point anyways. He would just end up spinning out and he could already taste the bile at the back of his throat from the dizziness.

“Here’s the deal. You are going to run and I’m going to chase you,” the man said, spreading his hands out in front of him. “It’s as simple as that. You manage to get away from me and I let you live. I catch you and well…”

The man’s knife barely made a whistle as he pulled it free and Buck’s heart seized up into his throat as he came closer. 

“Well, then I get to kill you.”

Buck’s pleadings and curses were lost in a garble behind the knot wedged between his teeth. He kicked his feet out as desperation fueled his veins until he couldn’t breathe. The man shushed him again, chuckling as he latched a hand onto Buck’s chin. Buck grunted, trying to wretch his face free, but the man dug in his fingers into Buck’s jaw and shushed him again. 

“Now now,” the man said, his hot breath fanning across Buck’s cheek. “Don’t get spooked. We haven’t even started.” 

The tension in Buck’s arms disappeared and Buck dropped to the ground in a crashing heap. The impact of his knees rattled all the way up into his hips, crippling him until he was curled up on his side. 

“This is your fault, really. You shouldn’t run alone in the woods and not expect to be chased. So, you’re going to keep running and I’m going to chase you.”

The pain from before erupted into something more, something intense and cold, and it took Buck way too long to realize he was on the ground. 

A boot nudged Buck onto his back and Buck stared up at the man as he pointed his knife at him. 

The wild, manic grin was stretched across his face again. 

“I’ll even let you have an hour head start since you’re injured. But don’t let it go to your head. I’ve never lost.” How many people had he— Buck cried out as that boot pushed down onto his chest and he scrambled with his tingling, numb fingers to hold him back. The man didn’t seem to care. He was giving Buck another long, assessing study before he hummed out an approving sound. “You’ll be fun. Your hour starts now.”

Then he left Buck to wriggle out of his bindings.

Buck scrambled for the gag but his fingers were too numb to find a place to dig his nails in for some slack. 

Ankles! You need to run! Ankles!

The panic flared to life in his chest and Buck sucked in a breath through his nose to shove it back down. 

They couldn’t have gone far and if they had there was no way the man could have dragged Buck without leaving any tracks. The vegetation surrounding the meadow was dense where they were, and his back ached from shallow cuts and bruises like he’d been dragged already. Wherever they were was away from the trail and with the cover of the trees to hide them.

The man was watching him intensely, burning a hole through the side of his face, and Buck wasn’t interested in sticking around to find out if all this was some kind of prank. It certainly didn’t feel like one!

Every inch of Buck screamed as he sat up, twisting and turning, as he tried to get his tingling fingers to work at the knot digging into his ankle. The ankle that was throbbing in time with his heartbeat. 

Everything hurt and the audience of one with a countdown was making it impossibly worse. Buck’s eyes burned as he fought back the tears threatening to spill out. Whether they were from pain or fear, Buck didn’t know. He didn’t know anything! He didn’t know what was happening or why. Buck was just operating on pure panic fueled adrenaline and instinct as he writhed on the ground trying to break free. 

He was scratching into his own skin as he tried to find some give into the knot and Buck’s grasp of control was slipping free easier than the rope. 

Buck tried to use his teeth on the rope around his wrist, but it was no use and neither was yanking on the gag again. 

No! He needed to run! He could get the others later. He needed to run! 

“Ten minutes down,” the man said and Buck shot him a glare as he clawed at the rope around his ankles again. 

The man just chuckled and leaned in, watching him. 

Buck dug his finger in the knot and yanked and pulled until finally there was some give! He kicked out his feet and the tension around his ankles gave way, sending pins and needles up and down his calves and into his feet. His muscles screamed at him and threatened to cramp, but he couldn’t do much except twist his ankles free from the binding. 

Buck stumbled up onto his feet and braced to fight. He would’ve preferred to get his hands free but they were in front of him at least! He could defend himself. 

But the man didn’t move. He simply arched brow and smiled. 

So, Buck started to run. 

Sleeping in had felt great and waking up on his own with sheets that smelled like Buck had even been better. Not as good as waking up to Buck beside him though. 

Eddie let out a sleepy groan as he slapped around for his phone. 

His notifications were empty. 

Eddie frowned as he shoved a hand over his eyes to rub the sleep from his face. That was weird. 

Buck’s text had woken him for a moment, blooming something warm in his chest, and maybe it had been Buck or the fact that he was half asleep but Eddie had been feeling bold and sent a sleepy selfie in response. He didn’t bother with accompanying the picture with a text because he was pretty sure the message was clear. 

You left me naked in your bed so hurry up. 

But… Buck never responded. 

Eddie scrambled to put his brain back online from the tendrils of sleep still holding him back but the apartment was dark and gray with the oncoming storm and waking up was nearly impossible. 

He sighed as he pushed himself up, letting the blanket pool around his hips, and squinted at the clock on his dresser. The bright red numbers stared innocently back at him and—

Jesus—

It was almost half past noon! 

Eddie couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept so late. 

And Buck hadn’t responded to his selfie which was unusual. Usually, Buck never let Eddie hear the end of it whenever he sent him a flirty pic. Something about Eddie letting loose or whatever!

Had he not liked it? Eddie shifted into an awkward anxiousness that clawed at his chest. He was still so new to the whole being someone’s boyfriend thing. With Ana, he’d gone through all the motions, Eddie supposed. But nothing really felt like it’d clicked. He’d felt like he’d been pretending, doing what he was supposed to do, and expecting nothing more than what he was supposed to, which had all been on him and not fair to Ana at all. She’d been smart, beautiful, and independent but she didn’t really need him the way Eddie liked to be needed. Then when he’d gotten shot, the tables had turned where Eddie needed her more than she needed him and it sat on his too tight shoulders until it spread into his throat and stole his breath away. 

Buck was all those things too but there was a need for Eddie with his boyfriend that almost seemed comparable to breathing. Like without him, Buck wouldn’t be able to take a full breath in his chest and feel the release around his lungs from the fresh air. 

But maybe that was all exaggerated in Eddie’s mind. Or maybe it was him that needed Buck and it was easier to project that onto his boyfriend. Maybe the frenzy Buck kissed him with some times, like he was desperate for his touch, was all in Eddie’s head. Maybe the way he melted and pressed up into Eddie’s space like he was starved for his attention was just Buck being Buck. 

The selfie had started out as a good idea but maybe it wasn’t. Maybe it was the worst idea he’d ever had. Embarrassment flooded Eddie’s veins fast as he stared down at the unanswered text before the scent of Buck’s shampoo filled his nose. 

Eddie groaned as he curled up and dropped face first against Buck’s pillow. He forced himself to take a breath. 

Of course, Buck needed him. Of course, Buck liked the picture. Just because Eddie was being clingy didn’t mean he wasn’t allowed. It wasn’t something to be ashamed of. 

Buck was on that hiking trail in the hills where LA shifted into deep forest and the noises of the city faded away. He could’ve lost reception. He could’ve still been running to the car. 

Again, his rationality swooped in to save the day and told his hypervigilance to stop overthinking. 

As difficult as it was though, Eddie couldn’t stay in bed anymore. He inhaled one more— probably embarrassing— gulp of Buck’s scent before he pushed himself out of bed. Eddie ran a hand through his hair. He needed to shower, but Buck would need one when he got back so he’d wait. 

Eddie slipped on a pair of Buck’s sweats— if he ignored his own pair folded in the drawer beside them then that was between him and himself alone— and rolled the waist a few times to keep the drag off his feet. 

He grimaced as he checked the time again and put on a pot of coffee. He’d call ahead for lunch when he knew Buck was in the Jeep which Eddie hoped was soon. The skies were already a thunderous gray and rolling in a storm that would probably wreck havoc for the shift on duty at the firehouse. Storm cells were flighty when it came to drenching LA in much needed rainwater but when it rained, it poured and it always seemed to happen when Buck was on a run. 

A few fat drops landed on Buck’s window and Eddie sighed. If it was raining already, that meant Buck probably had already gotten stuck in the downpour. 

Eddie pulled up his phone as he grabbed a mug. 

EDDIE:

Let me know when you’re on your way.

Even if Buck didn’t have reception, the message should’ve shown up on his watch the moment he did. 

Something in Eddie’s chest twisted and he tacked on another text just to soothe the twinge away. 

EDDIE:

Be safe. Love you. 

Eddie’s heart was caught in a tight grip the same as he was clutching the steering wheel, pulling himself up to the edge of his seat as he circled the block looking for Buck. The rain was falling in big fat pellets that tumbled against his windshield and left his wipers rapidly trying to clear his view. 

Ever since the well, rain had a way of making Eddie’s breath catch in the back of his throat with worry he didn’t even know how to begin to unpack. It was stupid really. To be stressed out by something that was a part of nature. It was a good thing, Eddie kept reminding himself. LA needed the break from the heat and dryness or else wildfire season was going to be a nightmare. But his rational part of his brain was always at war with his heart as it thundered against his ribs at each heavy drop. It sent him looking for shelter where concrete was beneath his feet and no sign of mud was anywhere in sight. 

Hen had gently called him a cat and he didn’t quite think he minded. It felt good to be teased about it given the alternative. 

It’d been luck that the heaviest rain storm of the season had fallen on one of their days off. Where Chris had been sent off to school and Eddie had every intention of burrowing into his warmest sweats, dry, at his house while he caught up on chores. But then Buck had called and the rain had sounded like it was screaming over the phone even though Buck was laughing, that breathless little noise that Eddie was kind of obsessed with. 

So, there Eddie was, trying to ignore the comparison to a cat every time he sucked in a sharp breath between his teeth as the roads got more and more flooded until finally he spotted him. 

Hunched inward and using an abandoned awning that fluttered with the wind more than it gave him shelter, was Buck. 

Gorgeous, beautiful Buck who smiled when he saw him and did that adorable hop-skip like he couldn’t contain his energy anymore. 

It was the same smile that made the tightness in Eddie’s chest unclench, but he’d be taking that to his grave, thanks. 

Buck ran to the passenger side and Eddie barely had a chance to unlock before Buck was flinging the door open and climbing inside. 

“Hi,” Buck said just on the edge of too loud in the otherwise silent cab but Eddie didn’t notice. He was too busy trying to get moisture back in his throat at the way Buck pushed back the curls that had been plastered to his forehead. What was that they said about water everywhere and not a drop to drink? The move just seemed to make his hair even curlier and Eddie had to clench his fist tight in his lap to keep from reaching out and touching them. “Thanks for coming to get me.”

Buck sniffed and it shouldn’t have been as hot as it was, but denial had been Eddie’s only line of defense and the structure of the fort around his heart was failing. It pulled his gaze down to the pink of Buck’s cheeks. His skin was pale with the cold but his cheeks and nose, his lips, were all pink and flushed and now that Eddie had dropped his gaze down to Buck’s mouth, he couldn’t look away. 

Buck must have been biting them while he waited because they were plump and swollen, perfect to kiss. It would’ve been so easy.  Running his hand through Buck’s soggy hair, reeling him across the center console as he slanted his lips against Buck’s perfect mouth. It stirred something hot in Eddie’s chest that seeped down, down, down until he—

Buck shivered and Eddie tore his gaze away, sucking in a breath at the loss. 

The urgency only grew in his chest, bubbling up into his throat, even as Eddie looked away and he bit it down by sheer force of will alone. He was not going to make things weird with his best friend. He was not! 

“You’re getting the seat all wet,” Eddie said and would kick himself for after. He turned up the heat and nudged the fans over in Buck’s direction.

“Sorry,” Buck said, not sounding sorry at all and Eddie couldn’t help but grin up at him. 

Buck’s skin was clammy under Eddie’s hand as he gripped his knee. “It’s no problem. I’m glad you called. I was getting worried.”

Holy shit! Holy shit! 

Buck didn’t stop running as he finally yanked the gag free from his mouth. Somewhere beneath the canopy of trees, Buck had managed to twist the bindings from his hands after several crashing stumbles that made his ankle scream and his shins and knees bleed with weeping gashes.

Buck gasped for air like he was starved for it, heaving in inhale after inhale in hopes to keep his lungs from burning his chest from the inside out. Every ragged inhale though only zapped at the dryness of his mouth despite the rain. 

The ground gave way under Buck’s sneaker and he cried out as he skidded down a small ditch. His shoe flew off his foot as he rolled. Mud and rain water sloshed into his skin but none of it saved him from the impact as he rolled over rocks and sticks that cut into him. Buck bit down on his lip as he dug his fingers into the ground to stop. 

Everything screamed at Buck to stop! To just take a minute to breathe, to think, but he couldn’t stop! Buck had no idea what the hell was going on but he knew without a doubt that if he stopped and that man caught him, he’d be dead. Another lost person in the woods. He was a hostage of his heart in his throat and every molecule in his body was begging him to rest. But he couldn’t. He wouldn’t! Buck didn’t know how long he’d been running! The man had taken his watch, his phone, anything that would’ve been of use to him to call for help! 

He gasped and searched the treeline for any sight of the man but Buck couldn’t see anything. Nothing but the icy rain that was cutting across his skin as the wind picked up. Every shard against him was like frozen glass, slashing into his skin and freezing his blood, and now that his momentum had been interrupted, Buck’s entire body throbbed. His vision swam with tiny black spots and he shook his head to clear them away. He couldn’t pass out! He couldn’t pass out! 

But he needed his shoe. One desperate fleeting thought told him to leave it; to keep running no matter what. But another thought, one baked with stressed rationality bashed that away before Buck’s impulses could take over. He had no idea where he was in the woods and his sneakers were his only protection against the elements. 

But first he had to find it and he couldn’t see— There! 

Buck spotted it up the slight embankment and let out a pitiful noise as he clawed himself into motion again. He sucked in a sharp breath that hurt as it whistled past his teeth and lunged, throwing himself up to grab it by his fingertips. His shoe rolled and he didn’t think he could push himself any further before his fingers hooked a lace. 

His breath had turned ragged and loud, scraping in his own ears, and Buck could only roll himself onto his back as he clutched his shoe to his chest. 

He needed to think.

You don’t know where you are. Some crazy man is chasing you. Think Buck! Think! 

Buck needed to get back to his Jeep. Or, at least, the parking lot where the trail began. There was a ranger’s office parked there and if he could get there, then he could radio for help. 

But the problem was, he didn’t know where he was. Without any sense of direction, there was no way for him to figure out if he was just running further into the woods or not and he couldn’t afford to burn himself out going in the wrong direction! 

Panic sparked at his spine and Buck shivered as it raced up into his shoulders. 

Think! Think! C’mon, Buck, think!  

His shoe first. He needed to put on his shoe. 

Pushing himself upright was near impossible with his arms shaking so much and it took him an embarrassing amount of time to get his shoe back on before he tied the laces impossibly tight. 

Where was he? Buck squinted up as the rain hissed down at him. An overgrown set of tree roots made a snarled veil of shelter and Buck crawled over to it, clinging to the damp wood with numb tingly fingers. The ground was softer beneath the shelter, covered in leaves and moss with a chill in the mud that was shaping beneath him. Maybe he could just ride it out—

No! 

Buck bit down on his lip as he yanked himself upright. 

He couldn’t stay long. That man was still out there and Buck wasn’t safe. No matter what his exhausted brain was telling him. He couldn’t stay. He still hadn’t gotten control of his breathing and he was definitely dehydrated. The power bar he’d had on the drive over was long gone, leaving behind a hollowness in his stomach that was hurting just as much as everything else. 

Water. 

He needed to find water. If he could find water then he could find a way downstream. 

He just needed to catch his breath. Once he caught his breath, he could…

He could…

The world went on a grey tilt and Buck only just managed to tip himself to the side as he gagged. Bile burned at the back of his throat and Buck choked on it as his stomach revolted. Panic snapped at his spine and spread through his ribs until Buck was heaving again. 

He couldn’t breathe! He wanted to throw up! He was going to pass out! 

The wind was sharp and thunderous as it blasted through the trees and crashed into Buck but it was enough. The wet slap of the air crashed into Buck’s overheated, panicking skin and Buck gasped as he fell onto his arms. 

He sucked in a sharp breath and held it until his stomach settled. 

Get a grip, Buck! 

He couldn’t stay for much longer and even though the thought of running anymore made him want to start sobbing, Buck knew he needed to keep moving. Think! 

He needed to think. He needed to fucking think! He couldn’t sit around anymore and he couldn’t waste going in the wrong direction. If he’d dragged a total stranger into the woods to chase and murder them, where would he go? Far enough away from anyone or the rangers to stumble on them by mistake. The meadow had been practically untouched and something was nagging at the back of Buck’s mind as he thought about the way he’d been strung up. Anyone could’ve broken through the tree line and saw them. Well, they would’ve seen Buck. Not the man who’d… 

You need to go back. 

Every inch of Buck’s self preservation instincts were screaming at him to not go back but Buck didn’t have anything else to go on. If he could get to the meadow, he might be able to get a better sense of where he was. 

Buck stretched out his arm to push himself up. 

His fingers skimmed across something cold and hard and Buck’s brain only just barely registered metal before there was movement. 

Buck yelped as he threw himself away just in time before the metal clamp of the trap snapped shut. 

The teeth of the trap grinned viciously up at Buck. 

Traps? There were fucking traps! 

The wind picked up with a howl throughout the trees and Buck wanted to scream into it. 

He couldn’t stay! He needed to get back to the meadow and try to find something that would point him in the right direction; to help. 

Buck scrambled back and pushed his legs under him, digging his teeth deep enough into his lip to split the skin open. 

Buck’s limp almost knocked him straight back down to the ground but Buck forced his ankle to keep his weight and started to run again. 

Something wasn’t right. 

It was burning a hole in his chest as he stared out Buck’s window as the wind cut throughout the city with the storm front. 

Buck should’ve been back by now and he wasn’t. 

Something was wrong and it was that something that prickled up Eddie’s spine until all the tension was clouding in the base of his skull.

Eddie climbed Buck’s stairs two at a time and dropped onto the mattress as he snatched up his laptop from the dresser. Normally, Eddie wouldn’t ever dream of going through Buck’s computer. Buck had so little that was his own that Eddie respected his privacy with every inch of his heart. 

But the worry had seeped into his veins and skirted up into his fingers until they almost shook as he typed in Buck’s password and pulled up the workout app on his watch. If he breached Buck’s privacy just because he was freaking out and saw that he was on his way home, then Eddie would apologize and move on. 

But there was something wrong and it was blaring at his focus until it had his undivided attention. Buck wasn’t answering his texts. He wasn’t answering Eddie’s calls. It was well past lunch and Eddie hadn’t heard a thing from him. 

The map was clear on the app with a helpful little warning of inclimate weather at the top in a bright red banner. But Eddie was more concerned with the pale blue line of Buck’s route. Eddie quietly cursed Buck out when he saw he’d pushed himself close to almost five miles up the path before turning around. His legs would be sore and aching when he got home. Eddie followed the blue line down and then frowned. 

Buck had stopped halfway down and then, nothing. 

Eddie clicked on the pin in the map where Buck’s watch had last been pinged and felt his stomach twist as he saw the time. 

That’d been three hours ago. More like nearly four and around the time Eddie had sent his ridiculous selfie. Almost four hours of Buck not moving. 

Eddie tossed Buck’s computer onto the bed and hurried to get dressed as he tried not to think about all the things that could’ve gone wrong. Things like Buck falling and twisting an ankle or getting bitten by a snake or a sinkhole opening up under him. 

Eddie loved his boyfriend with every fiber of his being, but the man was a trouble magnet and Eddie was the one who sent him off into the woods on his own! 

Eddie forced himself to take a breath and the rain started on his exhale. It pelted against the windows of Buck’s loft like a white static hum that surrounded him. 

Eddie had two courses of action in front of him, and working himself into knots wasn’t one of them. 

Eddie could either wait at Buck’s loft and eat all his worries in Thai food or… 

Eddie hurried down the stairs and shoved on his boots before running out the door. 

Honestly? Buck didn’t even question when Eddie drove away from the direction of his loft in the downpour and instead headed toward his own place. He was too busy trying not to shiver right out of his seat and whine about the way his wet socks squished puddles out of the padding of his running shoes. 

The rain only seemed to come down harder when Eddie pulled up outside of his place. Fat, heavy drops that belted down onto Eddie’s truck with a building roar that made Buck’s heart skip in his chest. Nothing gave a quick shot of adrenaline quite like a storm. 

Well, a storm and maybe Eddie when he looked at Buck the way. The kind of way where his gaze lingered on Buck’s skin even when it was gone. Warm and sweet like honey. 

Buck shivered. 

Eddie bit down on his cheek, sucking the skin between his teeth so it left a tiny dip that Buck wanted to poke every time he saw it. 

“Well,” Eddie said, curling his hands around the steering wheel of his truck until his knuckles were almost white. He leaned forward to stare out through his windshield that was just a sheet of rushing water. The wipers weren’t even making a difference anymore and Buck could only thank his lucky stars that Eddie had been able to find him before it got worse. Otherwise, Buck would’ve been stuck outside. “We can wait it out or we can make a run for it.”

Eddie’s porch light was a dim beacon of light through the falling rain, calling them home. The wash of rain made it seem so far away though. 

Buck grimaced as his feet squished in his sneakers again. 

God, he hated that feeling! When your toes were pruny and wrinkled but still wet and swollen. 

“I mean…” Buck said, giving Eddie’s front door and more importantly Eddie’s shower, a whimsical look. He would kill for a hot shower, right about then. “Up to you. I’m already soaked.”

Buck’s breath hitched when the warm, solid heat of Eddie invaded his space as he leaned over to look at the front door. Eddie’s hand cupped the back of Buck’s seat and Eddie hummed a soft, considering noise. Buck held perfectly still and muscled back the instinct to lean into him; to press into the warm curve of his chest and beg to never let him go. 

“It doesn’t seem like it’s going to let up any time soon.”

No. The clouds had opened up and LA was being walloped with much needed rain. The radar had even said it could last all night and the city had been sending out information about flooding and mudslides. 

“I…” 

Buck’s throat was drier than it had any right to be. His tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth and every inch of him fighting against his resolve to shiver again. Meanwhile, Eddie’s breath was fanning a steady stream of warmth down the side of Buck’s throat. He wanted to bare it, expose it for those lips to see if he could have some too. 

Buck swallowed and shook his head. 

No. 

Eddie was too important. Buck couldn’t give into those impulses even if his feelings for his best friend were so big, it was a miracle you couldn’t see them from outer space. 

“I can go in and get an umbrella,” Buck offered. “Come back and get you.”

Eddie didn’t say anything for a minute and Buck held his breath again because if he exhaled, Buck couldn’t be sure Eddie wouldn’t see the seams of Buck’s chest where all of his feelings were fluttering free. 

“Fuck it,” Eddie said. “I’ll race you.”

And just like that, Eddie was gone. 

Buck was covering his mouth with his hand hard enough to bruise. The thin air was still rattling around in his chest, fluttering to break free from between his ribs. But it was too loud! It was too fucking loud and the man was—

Buck flinched as he heard the soft crunch of a boot stepping on a twig but he dug his fingers into his cheeks and nearly smothered himself to be quiet. 

It was almost unnerving how slow the man was moving. 

No, not moving. 

Stalking. 

Buck had only managed to catch a glimpse of a shadow, the soft crunch of his footsteps sounding like gunshots to his own ears, before he ducked down to hide. 

In the time he’d doubled back, Buck had found at least three more traps and each one had forced him to slow his pace to a stumble to avoid them. The late afternoon sky still got so dark and the worst of the storm had grown into a growl above, making it even harder and harder to see them. 

Buck froze as a deep chuckle shot out like crashing thunder. 

“Looks like somebody found my traps.” 

Buck didn’t move. The voice was too close. Too close to where Buck was hiding that he could hear the roll of every vowel and click of every consonant. 

A metallic snarl snapped into place as the man set off another one of the bear traps Buck had only just managed to avoid stepping on. 

“Clever clever!” 

Buck’s heart was too loud. It was slamming into his throat and choking him for every gasp, every gulp, and every whimper trying to break free from his lips. 

“Where’d you back track to?” The man mused aloud. 

Buck’s eyes widened, his gaze falling down to his muddied up sneakers. He hadn’t even thought about tracks. He’d just been trying to use what little speed he had left to keep himself as far away as possible. 

Buck’s mouth went impossibly dry as he tried to scan the ground in front of him for any signs of tracks but the rain was starting to get even heavier and the dampness was stretching the mud. 

Buck didn’t dare move. Not when he could hear the soft footsteps still. The man had moved with a silent shift when he’d first taken Buck but it was like his senses were heightened to the nth degree. Every inhale, every footstep, every shift in the leaves beneath their weight was rattled louder than a gunshot in his ears. 

But Buck didn’t think he could stay either. 

If the man knew he’d circled back then he knew Buck was close. The wind howled another swell of icy cold rain that cut into Buck’s skin. It seeped into him, down to his bones until there was a dull chill that ached all over him. 

Exposure was going to become an issue soon. Buck was muscling down every shiver that he could but even he knew there’d be a point where he wouldn’t be able to control it. Exposure, dehydration, blood sugar levels. 

Adrenaline had been enough fuel in his veins for a while but Buck could feel it starting to crash out of his system, leaving him hollow. 

But Buck couldn’t stay. 

Another swell brought a rumble with it and Buck’s head pounded in time with the thunder. No flashes of lightning yet but Buck knew it was only a matter of time. 

He strained to listen, to try and follow where the man’s steps had led him, but all he heard was nothing. Pure, empty nothing.

The man could be gone. 

Or, he could be like Buck and waiting to hear him. 

Buck didn’t plan on waiting to find out. 

Buck lowered his hand from his mouth slowly and sucked in a gulp of air. He held it tight in his lungs and refused to let go as he curled his legs under him and crouched. 

He needed to move. He needed to move. He needed to—

A roaring roll of thunder clattered throughout the sky and Buck shot off like a rocket. He pushed himself up from his hiding place and forced himself to run again even though his calves were threatening to lock up. They weren’t even jelly anymore. His muscles were crumbling like sawdust but trapped with river water and he didn’t know how much longer he could go before they gave out entirely. 

Buck huffed out as gasp as gravity pushed down on the center of his back, nearly making him double over as the ground slipped from under him. He windmilled his arms, fighting for balance, but Buck crashed to his knees with an agonizing rattle. 

Every inch of his body throbbed in time with the rumble of the next thunder roll that Buck could’ve sworn he felt in the ground beneath his bleeding palms. His knees were wet again with either rain or blood or maybe both.

Definitely both. 

Buck bit down on his lip until he was sure he broke skin and pushed himself up. His knees slipped from under him but he didn’t stop. He scrambled up to his feet again and took off in a dead sprint, hoping the wind was enough to swallow the sound of his whimper as it slipped through his teeth. 

The sight of the familiar squad car managed to calm down the hammering of Eddie’s heart only slightly. 

He ignored a drenched park ranger trying to wave him away and parked up next to Athena just as she was stepping out in her poncho. Eddie barely remembered to grab his umbrella before he threw himself out of his truck. The wind nearly ripped it from his hands before settling down but Eddie grimaced when it spat rain at him. 

“Why am I not surprised?” Athena asked, though Eddie was pretty sure she wasn’t expecting an answer from him. She nodded her head over to Buck’s Jeep and Eddie’s heart squeezed tight in his chest again. “I thought I recognized that Jeep. Your beau stuck in this?” 

“Hey,” Eddie said before he pressed his lips together and nodded. “What are you doing here?”

“Got a call from park rangers. Some hikers complained of a prowler following them on the trails. Just waiting for the rain to wash him out.” Athena sighed in relief as Eddie held the umbrella over her as well. She shook off the rain from her shoulders before leveling him with an arched brow. “Your turn. What’s Buck done now that’s gotten you looking all worried?”

Eddie’s lips twitched into a smile. He could just hear the offended noise Buck would’ve made at that. But it didn’t stay long. Worry had grown in his veins and spread throughout him until he could feel his pulse in his fingertips. 

“Buck went for a run this morning.” 

“This morning?” Athena’s brow arched higher onto her forehead as she looked down at her watch. “But it’s—”

“I know.” The words felt like glass, shredding through his vocal cords and leaving Eddie’s breath a little bit ragged. He pulled up his phone, not even caring as the fat rain droplets streaked the screen. “He was supposed to be home hours ago but then I pulled up the app for his fitness watch. He hasn’t moved.”

Athena frowned as she looked down at the tracking map on the app. “And you haven’t heard from him?”

Eddie shook his head. “He said he was on his way back to the Jeep but that was hours ago.”

Athena didn’t say anything for a long time and normally, Eddie took comfort in the silence. Silence from Athena meant that she was thinking, assessing and deciding on every course of action before she settled on one. Or it meant you were in trouble, but that was usually exclusively meant for Buck. 

But Athena’s silence then did little curb the growing hum under Eddie’s skin. 

“He could’ve gotten caught up in the storm,” Athena said, trying to sound soothing.

“Or he could be hurt!” Eddie snapped. The hysteria reached his ears with a screech and he forced himself to take a breath. “I’m sorry. It’s just—”

Athena’s hand, despite the rain, was warm against his arm as she squeezed it. 

“I know. I know, Eddie. Let me see what I can find out. Stay here.”

Buck could see it! He could see the clearing of the meadow! He just had to—

Three things happened in rapid succession. 

Buck’s foot gave way to nothingness beneath him. His stomach lurched up before flipping into a series of complicated twists the moment gravity seized its opportunity and tipped him down. 

Buck yelped as he twisted on instinct, flailing for something to grab, but there was nothing. 

Thunder rumbled, distant but proud all the same, and Buck began to fall. 

“Stay here.” Buck was too cold and too wet to be contrary. 

But also, there wasn’t much he wouldn’t do for Eddie if he told Buck to do it. 

He curled his arms around him and rooted himself to the spot in the middle of Eddie’s living room. A pitiful puddle was collecting beneath him, flooding the floor and stretching in a slow arch to seep into every crevice. Buck could still feel the searing heat of where Eddie’s body had been behind him. It was branded on his skin like a boundary for the goosebumps that pebbled all over him. The warmth of Eddie’s apartment attacked the invading chill stuck in the marrow of Buck’s bones. 

Eddie only just caught the flash by chance when the headlights of the ATV dipped on the path. 

“There! Hold up!” 

He didn’t even wait for the ranger to pull to a stop before he was jumping out. The mud beneath his boots squelched an ugly thickness that was threatening to suck him down. The rain had thinned in the almost two hours it had taken for the park rangers and LAFD to coordinate a rescue plan. But the chill was cutting and sharp on his skin all the same and the sky promised that there was more rain to come. 

He’d just about clawed out of his own skin waiting for someone to do something that he’d almost gone up by himself. But Athena had threatened to handcuff him and lock him in a closet in the park rangers’ office. Eddie knew her well enough to know that hadn’t been a joke either. 

But now they were closer to where Buck’s last location had been pinged and Eddie was going out of his mind. His eyes burned from staring and the spitting rain wasn’t helping. 

“Diaz! Wait!” 

But Eddie ignored them and ran to where he saw the flicker of something metallic.

Buck’s water bottle— the stupidly expensive one he checked to make sure he had before he even had his wallet— was tipped over and abandoned in a small saturated greenery weighed down by the rainwater. Had it been dry, they would’ve missed it entirely. 

Eddie picked up Buck’s water bottle and held it up for the others to see before he looked up. 

“Buck!” 

“What is it?” Athena asked as she stomped her way through the swampy mud to him. 

“This is Buck’s,” Eddie said, his head on a swivel as he tried to scan for some sign of Buck. “Buck!”

“He could’ve just dropped it.” The park ranger argued, still sounding a little miffed that Athena had strong-armed him into starting a search party before the worst of the weather cleared up. 

Eddie shook his head. “He wouldn’t have dropped it.”

The stupid thing nearly cost as much as a car. 

And Eddie knew that while Buck’s parents weren’t exactly rolling in cash, Buck still lived comfortably growing up. It wasn’t until he was on his own and living out of his Jeep as he traveled across the country that he really started to appreciate the stretch of his own dollar. Buck was smart with his money and he was careful with his things. He wouldn’t have just dropped it. 

The wind swelled, sending the cutting ran into his eyes until Eddie had to wince away. He curved over the water bottle, trying to protect it from the rain, and lifted a hand to cover his eyes as he called out again. 

“Buck!”

“Found something!” 

Eddie’s heart plummeted into his stomach and disappeared into a black hole as another park ranger held up the shattered pieces of Buck’s watch. 

“Here!” Eddie hurried back into the living room and bit down on his cheek to hold back the surge of unfiltered fondness as he took Buck in. 

The bolt of Buck’s jaw twitched as he tried to keep his teeth from rattling even as his body shivered. Eddie curled his fingers tight around the towel to keep from reaching out and soothing away the tension in his brow. A pitiful puddle had formed beneath Buck’s feet with a matching one behind him from where he’d kicked off his soaked running shoes and socks. 

Buck’s plump lower lip was stuck out in an almost pout as he blinked at Eddie and Eddie had to swallow back a laugh. He didn’t even think Buck knew he did it half the time but he definitely didn’t need to know it turned Eddie into putty either. 

That close and Eddie could practically feel the chill in Buck’s skin and he shivered in sympathy as he reached around him and wrapped him in the towel. 

Sure, he could’ve handed it to Buck like a normal person but apparently, sad dripping wet Buck was his weakness. 

“There you go,” Eddie said as he helped Buck’s numb fingers take the towel. “I’ve got a couple more towels and some sweats you can borrow in the dryer.”

“Thanks,” Buck murmured before sniffing and Eddie would not get caught up in how blue his eyes were.

He wouldn’t. 

They were insanely blue though. 

All of the air in Buck’s lungs disappeared with a thin rush from his lips the moment he landed. All the pain from before that he’d been fighting through came screaming back with a vengeance, paralyzing him in pain as the shock took over. 

Icy cold shock that clashed with the adrenaline that was flooding him all at once.

Buck couldn’t move. Buck couldn’t breathe! 

Everything hurt and his heart was still trying to catch up with the fact that he wasn’t falling anymore for him to realize what had happened. 

Buck wanted to cry or scream but all that fell from his lips in a dribble of spit and blood was a whimper. A weak, mewling whimper that the ground beneath him soaked up and washed away with the mud. 

Fuck. 

Fuck! 

Buck was hurt. He was hurt badly but he didn’t know where or how because everything was throbbing. He’d skinned up his shins and forearms even more somehow, and his ankle was hot like electricity twisting all the way up into his calves. 

The pressure behind his eyes took advantage of whatever shredded restraint Buck had left and when he finally was able to get in a full breath, his exhale fell out on a sob. 

Rolling over onto his back just made everything burn even as the rain pelted down at him. 

Down…

Buck didn’t know whether to scream or cry or curse as he stared up at the sky and the edge of the ground maybe twelve feet above him. 

Eddie was close again. So close. Close enough that all it would take would be just a tip of his head. He could do it and Buck had a sneaking suspicion that Eddie wouldn’t hate him afterwards. That his lips would be firm and warm against Buck’s own. That Eddie would trace the shape of Buck’s mouth with his tongue before he tried to taste him. That they could kiss the way Buck had been wanting to kiss him for so long. 

Just a slight movement of his head; a dip of his chin. That was all it would take. 

But it was Eddie and there was still a chance. There was still a chance that it could all go wrong. 

Buck wasn’t going to risk Eddie on that chance. 

Agony was ripping a cry from Buck’s lips as his shoulder burned all the way down to the bone. He clutched his arm to his chest. He didn’t think it was broken. Instinct had made it so Buck turned as he fell. But the possibility was there. A broken arm. A broken collarbone. A dislocated shoulder. Buck didn’t know the difference anymore. 

He clawed at the coiled net tangled around his waist. The same net that had leaves and debris covered over the opening of the pit so that Buck had run right over it at full speed. 

Fuck. 

He needed to keep moving. He needed to get out! He needed—

White hot pain shot up Buck’s leg like a bolt of electricity. He gnashed his teeth together as the cramp only seemed to twist tighter and tighter in his calf until he was sure it had captured his whole muscle. He reached for it with his clumsy free hand but his leg was locked tight with the worst Charley Horse he’d had in his life. Digging his thumb into the skin was like trying to dig through concrete and Buck—

Flex your foot, baby. 

That voice, the one that sounded so painfully like Eddie’s, made another sob bubble from his lips. 

Was Eddie worried about him? Buck didn’t know what time it was but he had to have noticed that Buck was late. Did he wait for him? Or had he left thinking Buck had forgotten about him? 

Flex your foot. 

Buck pressed hard into his leg as he flexed his foot. The knot gave under his thumb and Buck let out a stream of curses on his exhale as the pain went from sharp to a deep dull ache that he could feel all the way down to his toes. 

The deep throaty chuckle slid down Buck’s spine and left a chill in its wake.

“Well, that didn’t last long.”

Buck’s lungs would beg to differ. His entire body was throbbing from running for what felt like an eternity. 

It took him a few tries to get his vision to clear to trace the outline of the man’s shape as he stood at the lip of the pit, rifle aimed down at Buck. The sky hadn’t gotten dark enough to make him into a faceless shadow but Buck almost wished it had. Maybe then he wouldn’t have to stare up at the manic grin stretched across his lips. 

The icy cold shock was dashed away with a hot, burning frustration flooding his veins. He was tired and hurt and pinned down like an animal. 

“What do you want, man?” Buck’s own voice croaked after disuse. “I didn’t do anything to you.”

The man shrugged. “I told you. It’s nothing personal.”

The indifference was something rotten and stale that stole away all the moisture in Buck’s throat. It twisted around him like a noose, tightening with each second that Buck was forced to just accept that he was going to die. He was going to die and no one would know what happened to him. 

Eddie would never know what happened to him. 

Buck was about to die for nothing. It wasn’t the first time he’d faced death either. Buck ran towards it every day to beat it. Even when he got so close— the fire truck, the tsunami, the shooting— Buck had a purpose. He had a reason. 

Now, it was nothing because Buck believed him. 

It wasn’t personal. 

And somehow that was even worse. 

The man was silent for a moment as he stared down at Buck before he sat back up on his heels and looked up at the sky. 

“You put on a good chase,” he said consideringly. He sighed and dropped down his rifle. “I suppose I could give you another chance.”

Buck’s breath hitched. His leg muscles twitched at the mere thought of trying to run away. 

“This isn’t how I like my kills. When you’re all pathetic and scared in one of my traps,” the man continued with a wave of his hand. Buck bit down on his tongue to keep from saying that if the man didn’t have traps, his concession wouldn’t be necessary. “So, how about this? Beg me to help you and I’ll get you out of there.”

Buck swallowed back the bile that was burning at the back of his throat again. “Beg you?” 

The man smiled. 

“Beg me and we can put our little game on pause until the storm is gone. I’ll help you out, give you some place warm to sleep, and we’ll start again at first light.”

The idea of some place warm and dry was almost too much temptation. Buck’s whole chest ached with want and longing. 

But he wasn’t going to beg. He refused to beg. 

The man’s smile grew as if he read Buck’s thoughts. 

“Fuck you.” Buck got out between clenched teeth. 

The man shrugged again. “Suit yourself. I’m going to make camp and cook myself a hot meal.”

Buck’s stomach growled at the mention of food but the wind swallowed the sound before the man could hear it. 

“See you at daybreak,” the man said before he disappeared. 

Buck’s ears rang a shrill pitched frequency that drilled right through his skull until he teeth ached. All at once, everything crashed down on him. The chill of the rain that he couldn’t ignore anymore. The aches from his body pushed beyond his limits. The inevitable anticipation as dread and fear was stretched out even more.

“ Fuck.” Tears pricked the back of Buck’s eyes as he pushed himself up and almost doubled over immediately. “C’mon. C’mon!”

His knees buckled under him but Buck pushed himself up again and tried to find a way out. He was useless with one arm but what other choice did he have? His legs were wooden and hollow beneath him and the mud threatened to take away his sneakers again as he sank into it but he couldn’t stop. He had to get out. He had to get away.

The lip of the pit was too high to reach which meant he would have to climb. 

But one handed? 

Buck gasped as he gingerly probed the bolt of his shoulder. 

Just the brush of his fingertip was enough to have Buck doubled over and seeing spots.

Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck!  

Definitely dislocated. 

Buck bit down on his lip. 

Hen would kill him if she found out that Buck even considered doing it by himself. 

Better her than some random guy in the woods. 

Buck squeezed his eyes shut as he sucked in a sharp breath. Shit okay! Okay okay.  It might be better if he was sitting in case he passed out. Buck collapsed back against the wall and grimaced as the cold mud slushed around his back and curled onto his hips. 

What he wouldn’t give for just a shower. 

Buck counted to ten and wrapped his fingers around his wrist. 

“Sorry, Hen,” Buck muttered as he moved his arm forward. 

One… two…

Buck screamed as his shoulder popped, and then everything went black. 

“Buck!” 

Eddie had forgone getting back into the ATV in favor of trying to spot any sign of Buck on foot. His boots were ruined and the rain was starting to seep up his pant legs until the chill set in his bones. His jacket offered some protection but Eddie still felt damp all over. The kind of cold damp that could get all the way down to your marrow and freeze you from the inside out. All he wanted to do was to take a scalding hot shower and curl up under the blankets until he even forgot what the meaning of cold was. 

And Buck had been stuck in it for hours. 

Eddie didn’t know what happened. Whether Buck rolled his ankle and fell or maybe he was attacked by an animal or if he simply got lost. But Eddie wasn’t leaving until he found Buck. 

“Buck!”

A hand slammed in the center of Eddie’s chest, knocking him to a stop. He rocked back on his heels and clasped the wrist in front of him when the mud tried to slide out from under him. 

“What the—”

“Stop!” The ranger that had been with him said.

Donovan. 

That has been his name. 

Eddie didn’t have time to scowl at him for stopping him before Donovan was pointing his walking stick in front of where Eddie had been about to step. 

The sharp snap of the trap was quick and lethal, making them both jump back as it rocked on the forest floor. With one step, Eddie could’ve been bleeding out in a matter of minutes. The vicious metal teeth would’ve been embedded in his thigh all the way down to the bone. 

Donovan’s stick was in splinters on the ground. 

“Shit!” Donovan bit out, not letting go of Eddie as he scrambled around for his walkie. 

“That’s not supposed to be there,” Eddie said, his mouth a little dry as he stared at the trap. 

“No,” Donovan said, short and clipped. “We’ve got traps!”

The radio squawked alive at that announcement but Eddie couldn't hear it over the ringing in his ears. His blood had turned to ice. Buck could’ve stepped on one of those. He could be bleeding out. He could be—

“Buck!” 

Donovan yanked Eddie back with a sharp hiss of breath from between his teeth. “Stop! There could be more.”

Eddie would feel bad later for the shove but he was done waiting. 

“Get off me!” Eddie barreled ahead, being mindful of the ground. It felt like walking through a minefield and for the briefest moment, the rain wasn’t the cold on his skin. Eddie didn’t think he’d ever forget the feeling of desert sand. “Buck! Buck, call out!”

“— ck!” 

A droplet of rainwater fell into the back of Buck’s throat and left him gasping for breath. Snot and mud and rain and bile burned at the back of his palate. Buck rolled onto his stomach and heaved. 

Get out get out get out! 

Everything hurt. Everything. Not an inch of Buck wasn’t in some kind of pain as he writhed at the bottom of his pit he’d hoped had only been a nightmare. 

Everything—

“Buck!” 

Buck rocked to a stop as he heard his name again. But that…

That couldn’t be right. Eddie was home. Eddie was back at Buck’s loft, safe and sound. 

“ Buck! Call out!”

Buck’s chin wobbled as he tried to remember how to speak. 

Eddie. 

No, that wasn’t right. He just mouthed his name, a wisp of his voice whistling out. 

“Buck!”

“— die!” Buck licked his lips with what little spit he had left and forced himself up onto his feet. “Eddie!” 

There. That was louder. That could help. 

“Eddie!” Buck shouted, trying to find a handhold in the mud to lift himself higher. “Eddie!”

The man stepped up the lip of the stage and stared down at Buck with a tip of his head. “Your name is Buck?”

Horror flooded Buck’s veins and took hold of his heart as he shook his head. 

“N-no! No don’t!”

“Buck!”

The man grinned down at him and pulled his knife from his belt. “Well, that’s some kind of irony, isn’t it?”

“ Buck!”

“No!” The word screeched from Buck’s lips as the man stepped out of view. “No stop! Stop! Please! Leave him alone!”

“ Buck! Call out, Buck!”

“Eddie!” Eddie’s name was ripped out of him through glass. He could taste copper on his tongue again but Buck didn’t care. “Eddie run! Eddie!”

Eddie stopped. 

He could’ve sworn he heard it. But whether it was the whisper in the howling wind or just a hoped imagination in his stressed out brain, Eddie couldn’t be sure. 

He cupped his hands over his mouth. “Buck?”

Nothing. 

Eddie’s heart sank. 

And then—

“—ddie!”

Eddie whirled around in place as he tried to figure out where that had come from. That hadn’t been his imagination. The hairs on the back of his neck stood as the wisps of Buck’s voice caressed up his spine. 

“Buck!”

He heard the whispers of Buck again but it was too faint and too much for him to capture what he was saying. He just knew that he was there. He was there and Eddie was so close he could feel Buck’s heartbeat in his own. Eddie strained to hear him, to see him, but all Eddie could feel was the wind on his skin. 

“Buck? Where are you?”

He heard the cry of his name and then something else. Something that was nagging at his brain and making his heart thump twice in his throat. 

By the time Eddie realized what the word was, he was being tackled to the ground. 

Buck gritted his teeth together as he clawed into the mud and tried to lift himself out of the pit. His momentum got him off the ground but the clay oozed between his fingers and sent him sliding back down.  

“Eddie! Run!” 

Eddie came looking for him! Eddie came looking for him and now the man was hunting him! Buck’s heart threatened to crack through his ribs and leave without him. He wished it would. 

Buck’s shoulder screamed at him, weak but in place, and he ignored it as he dug his hands into the mud and tried to lift himself out. Again, the ground gave way under him. 

The glint of the knife was only caught in Eddie’s peripheral before he rolled away from the strike. The man on top of him was trying to pin him to the ground, strong thick hand grasping for Eddie’s throat. But Eddie wrapped his thighs around his hips and rolled him off him with one fluid flip. He kicked out for good measure and scramble to put some distance between them but that thick hand wrapped around his ankle and yanked . 

“Shit!”

The radio! He needed his radio! 

Eddie spied it just out of reach and growled out a sound of frustration as he ripped his leg up before kicking back again and again. 

The man’s nose gave out under the heel of Eddie’s boot and the queasiness he always got at the sound washed over him with the adrenaline roaring through his ears. 

Eddie grabbed the radio and slammed down on the button. “Suspect—”

The man bellowed out a sound that didn’t even seem human as he dropped onto Eddie again. He tried grabbing for the radio, blood pouring down from his face, but Eddie refused to let go. 

“Armed!” Eddie managed to get out before he had to drop the radio to block the punch aimed for his head. 

It would have to be enough. It gave Athena and the rangers enough of a heads up to be on guard and hopefully got him some backup in time. 

Harsh knuckles slammed into his forearms but Eddie was already bucking his hips up before a second punch could come.

A knife. There’d been a knife. 

The man’s other arm swung up and Eddie only just managed to catch his wrist before the sharp blade pierced his throat. He rained one punch then another before the fist wrapped around the knife went slack and Eddie yanked the knife away. He tossed it away before the man could get it back but the momentary pause on the man’s assault was enough for him to knock Eddie off. An elbow slammed into Eddie’s head and the world exploded into white light and screaming pain. 

The man shoved Eddie down with an ugly laugh. 

“You’re a much better fighter than him,” the man said before the unforgettable sound of a safety clicked free. “But you lose.”

Buck could hear the fight. He could hear Eddie crying out in pain and the roar of the man. He let out a scream of his own as he tried again to climb his way out. But the walls were too steep, too muddy, and Buck’s body was shutting down. He couldn’t give up! He couldn’t let him hurt Eddie! He couldn’t—

The crack of the gunshot bolted through Buck like lightning, striking through him. The burning of his insides extinguished into something cold and unreal. Something that he couldn’t go through again. Something he couldn’t—

“Eddie.” Buck whispered like a prayer. 

Except…

Eddie never did give a choice when it came to being brave. 

A breath escaped Eddie’s mouth and brushed a field of goosebumps in its wake on Buck’s skin. 

“Buck.” Had Eddie always said his name like that? Deep like a rumble but a whisper all the same. Soft, but with meaning that exploded the world into color and brightness. 

Buck didn’t dare breathe. He didn’t move. He just stared at Eddie’s mouth, his freckle, his jaw. All the places he’s wanted to kiss for so long. And now they were so close and Buck’s hands were trapped in the towel around him so Eddie did it for them. He skated his hand up to cradle Buck’s throat, his jaw, his cheek. His warm palm fit perfectly against the sculpture of his bones and pressed into the meaty part of Eddie’s hand like Buck was leaving an impression in clay. 

Eddie stepped impossibly closer, a searing line of heat against Buck’s chills. He was so warm. Buck almost dipped beneath the weight of his warmth but Eddie’s hand was a scorching brand on his hip, holding him up. 

Fingertips stroked the back of his neck where even the shortest of hairs were starting to dry into wicked curls. He’d need a haircut soon. But Buck wouldn’t get a single hair cut again if it meant Eddie kept doing that with his hair. Buck shivered beneath the petting and Eddie hummed out another one of those rumbling noises. 

It reverberated through him like a shock and snapped what little resolve Buck had left. 

Buck was only human. 

Buck surged forward and Eddie must have been waiting for that last piece of permission. Their lips crashed together on impact, melding and burning against one another as they got used to the feeling of each other’s mouths. Eddie's lips were soft but firm and Buck yielded under the press of them as the intoxicating taste of Eddie filled his soul. 

Hesitancy gave way almost immediately and Buck could only gasp out a breath when his back met the wall. Eddie chased after him, emboldened and frenzied. He kissed Buck like it was the first and last time. Like he wanted to know everything and then savor it into memory. He pushed himself into the space between Buck’s legs and captured Buck’s mouth with his tongue. His tongue that Buck wanted to suck until his jaw ached. 

Because he wanted to keep this memory too. He wanted to hold it in his hands and press it against his heart to see if he could absorb the intensity of Eddie’s attention. Because Buck was cold and wet and shivering but Eddie kissed like the sun. Warm and bright and giving new life to the sad drowned things. Sad drowned things like Buck who was leaving puddles in his living room. 

Silence was his only answer. 

Silence and the soft hint of rain again. 

The sob that wanted to burst through his esophagus was frozen in his throat and unfeeling. 

Buck looked up, covered in mud and rain and sweat and blood. Gravity was crushing down on him, shoving him back into the ground where he could be buried with his agony.

Buck’s breath hitched in his throat.

Buck’s knees gave out under him. The fight in his body flushed out of him. 

No. No, it couldn’t be true. 

It couldn’t—

A shadow darted over the lip of the pit.

“Buck?”

Eddie’s voice was like an echo. Buck heard the recoil of it, the way that it pierced through the space between them, before the sound of his name on Eddie’s tongue slammed into his chest. 

Buck blinked up at Eddie. Was he even real?

“Eddie?”

“Hold on, Buck!” Eddie twisted above him. “Over here! Hold on, baby. He’s over here!”

The sob that fell from Buck’s lips sounded like it ripped Buck’s throat to shreds as it fell out. 

“Eddie!” Athena snapped, clearly still pissed that he ran off after she took out the man about to shoot him. But he didn’t care. He cared about Buck. “Don’t even think about it!”

Eddie ignored her and dropped into the pit— a fucking pit!— that Buck was in. He was only distantly aware of Athena’s long-suffering sigh as she communicated over the walkie that they had two stuck in a hole. Mud caked his skin as he slid down the sharp drop, his heel slowing his descent. 

Buck didn’t even wait for him to reach the bottom before he was grabbing for Eddie with weak hands and slumping against his chest. 

“You’re alive!” 

“Oh my God,” Eddie breathed as he held Buck’s freezing body against his. He ducked his face down into his soaked hair, inhaling his scent and kissing his waterlogged curls. He reeked of sweat and dirt and blood. Buck was shaking all over like the tremors were trapped beneath his skin and taken hold of him. “Are you hurt? Let me see. Let me see, Buck!”

Buck bleated out a pained noise as he shoved his face harder into the space of his throat and Eddie was only human. He was still freaking out over the last handful of hours where worry had taken over his body that he couldn’t bring himself to let Buck go. Buck snuffled against his throat as he clung back just as tight and Eddie quietly shushed him when Buck’s back started to hitch with his hyperventilating. 

“I thought— I thought—” Buck hiccuped out another sob when he couldn’t get the words out and his legs slipped out under him. Eddie clutched him against him and eased their descent down onto the ground. “I thought he—he—”

Eddie shook his head as he pressed another kiss against Buck’s temple. “Athena got him.”

Athena’s aim couldn’t have come at a better time and Eddie would have to thank her again for saving his life later. Later when he would also demand answers about what the fuck had happened! Who was the man? Why had he targeted Buck? What the hell was he doing? But all that could wait for later. 

Right now, all Eddie could focus on was the ice cold chill of Buck’s skin and the way he was still twitching with pained noises falling from his lips. 

“Diaz!” LAFD, Eddie’s mind supplied. He couldn’t remember her name just then. “How is he?”

“Let me see, Buck.” Eddie coaxed Buck away from where he was trying to burrow into Eddie’s chest so he could see him. “Definitely hypothermic! Going into shock! C’mon baby let me see. What hurts?”

Through the blood and the rain, Eddie could make out the ruddy red of blood on Buck’s shins and forearms like he’d fallen or been dragged or maybe both. 

“I-I-I don’t think I can—” Buck broke off when his teeth chattered hard enough to make his jaw click. “I can’t climb out-out of here.”

“That’s okay,” Eddie said as he probed at Buck’s head and neck. Buck hissed out a whimper when Eddie’s fingers skimmed over the tender skin by his temple where his eye was swollen and black, the bruise creeping down to his cheek. “I’m sorry. Did he hit you?”

Buck squeezed his eyes shut as he nodded. “Knocked me out-out.”

“What else?” Eddie asked as he checked Buck’s ribs. 

“Twisted my ankle before… before he chased me.” Buck grimaced. “Fell and dislocated my shoulder. Had—Had to put it b-back in. D-Don’t tell He-Hen.”

The laugh that Eddie barked out took him by surprise. He shook his head down at Buck and wanted to trace that impish little smile that was pulling at Buck’s perfect mouth. The same mouth that was dry and cracked, especially at the corners like something had chafed at the delicate skin there. 

But then Buck’s paleness took on an ashy gray color and Eddie bit back a curse as he rolled Buck slightly onto his side. 

“Buck?” Eddie bit off a curse as he shoved his fingers onto his wrist and counted the rapid beating of his heart. 

“‘m don’t feel good,” Buck slurred. 

“Buck?” Eddie rubbed on Buck’s chest, hard, when his eyes started to roll back. “We need to get him out of here!”

Athena’s voice was one of the loudest of the chaos up top, but Eddie was too busy keeping Buck awake to hear the rest. 

“Buck!” Eddie would apologize later for the small, sharp slaps on Buck’s cheek. “Talk to me. What’s wrong?”

“Too much running.” Buck managed to get out before suddenly he locked up like he’d been shocked. Eddie’s heart dropped as he checked to make sure he wasn’t seizing but Buck was making aborted grabs for his legs. 

“Buck?”

“C-Cramp.” Buck whined from between his teeth and Eddie bit out a curse.

A granola bar. Buck had only had a granola bar hours earlier and some water. If he’d been running for as long as it was looking like he had been, Buck’s blood sugar and potassium levels had to be buried in the fucking dirt. It was a miracle Buck was even conscious at that point. 

“Eddie,” Buck gasped his name in a small cry and Eddie reached down and tried to massage some of the tension away but Buck’s legs were like rocks. “Hurts!”

“I know, baby. Just a little longer, Buck.” Eddie grabbed Buck’s hand and lifted it up to his lips to kiss his knuckles. “Just try to breathe through it.” 

“B team is coming with the basket!” Someone called from above and Eddie bared his teeth as he looked up at them. 

“Fuck the basket and send down a harness. He can’t wait anymore!” 

Eddie wasn’t going to let Buck spend another second in that hole. The rain was starting to pick up again and Buck was one line of tension. He was in pain and Eddie could claw them out by hand if he had to. 

The harness was faster to rig and when it was dropped down, Eddie took extra care to make sure Buck was secure in the straps. Weak fingers clung to his shirt as Buck’s breathing picked up and Eddie shushed him again. 

“No.” Buck shook his head as Eddie called up that they were good to go. 

“You first,” Eddie said with a promise in his voice that he hoped Buck could hear. He’d been waffling in and out of consciousness the whole time, barely hanging on by his fingertips. “Athena’s probably got something dry waiting for you up there. I’ll be out next.”

Buck, somehow, was able to hold onto the line as he was lifted out of the hole, half lidded eyes staring down at him the further and further he went. 

It was when Buck was finally lifted over the edge and Eddie was waiting for the harness to be sent back down that he finally let himself feel the burning wash of guilt that had been cloying at the back of his neck all day. 

Buck was dating a ridiculous doofus. A hot, protective menace to any and all medical staff that came in to poke and prod at Buck with sharp IV needles and anything else that required him to be dragged out of the warming blanket Buck was curled under. The same warming blanket Eddie had threatened to go hunt for himself when the overworked nurse took a second too long to bring to him. Buck would be a total liar if he didn’t admit that watching Eddie get all broody and growly was kind of hot even though Buck knew Eddie was all bark and no bite. 

Well… that wasn’t true. But Eddie only usually bit Buck. 

Anyways, Buck was dating a ridiculous doofus because despite all of that, Buck could see that Eddie was also struggling to stay afloat in his guilt. 

Misplaced guilt if you asked Buck. Not that Eddie had asked, but that was okay. Buck didn’t mind telling him. 

“Babe,” Buck said before the simple vibration made some more snot fall down the back of his throat and he had to sniff. Eddie shot up in his seat, eyes wide and alarmed as he scanned Buck for anything he had missed. 

See, ridiculous. 

‘C’mere.” 

Buck held out his hand from the warm cocoon of the hospital blanket and Eddie didn’t need to be told twice. He tangled their fingers before curling their hands into his own chest. Buck let out a sigh as Eddie’s other hand settled into his hair and stroked through the tangles of his curls. 

What Buck wouldn’t give for a shower. 

Buck let his eyes slip closed as he drifted in the comfort. 

“Stop blaming yourself,” Buck mumbled. 

Eddie’s fingers twitched but Buck felt it anyway. 

Eddie didn’t say anything. Buck let him find the space he needed through even if it was killing him not to try and smother those feelings of guilt before they could flame a fire in Eddie’s veins. Eddie needed to feel those feelings first to believe them. 

“I should’ve been there with you,” Eddie said finally as his thumb made a delicious circle against Buck’s temple. “You asked me to go with you and I didn’t. I should’ve been there with you.”

Buck shook his head as much as he could. He was still curled tight on his side in the hospital bed, IV flowing nutrients and hydrating his overworked body. Everything ached and Buck knew that he’d be feeling that for a couple of days.

Eddie made a noise of disagreement but Buck shook his head again.

“It was random, Eddie,” Buck said as he peered up at him. “He would’ve gone after someone else.”

“That doesn’t mean it was okay that it’s you.” Eddie snapped, emotion thick in his voice. 

In a hard, complicated way, Buck loved that he could hear it. He hated that Eddie was so afraid; hated that sometimes Eddie was terrified of what he would lose that the fear would choke him. But hearing it meant knowing that Eddie was letting it out. That Eddie wasn’t trying to smother it down and pretend it didn’t exist because he didn’t think it was safe to admit to feeling it in the first place. 

“No,” Buck agreed. “But you came for me all the same.”

Eddie’s jaw stiffened as he held his breath for a moment before he let out a shaky exhale and dropped down to press a kiss to Buck’s head. 

“Always baby,” Eddie said into Buck’s hair, planting another kiss and another until Buck was warm all over. 

“Thanks for coming to get me.” Buck whispered into the soft skin of Eddie’s chest where his face was still pressed. 

If Buck tucked his nose just right, he could still smell a hint of rain on his skin. 

Eddie’s finger twisted in his curls, tugging softly. 

“Always,” Eddie said and Buck could help but smile at the promise. 

The promise of future phone calls and future pickups. The future of Eddie’s warm kiss being there when Buck gets cold. The future of Buck and Eddie. 

And that was a future worth chasing.