Chapter Text
Dean walked into the fire station, backpack slung over his right shoulder, and just stood behind the engines.
He looked around at all the firefighters cleaning their boots or timing each other to see how quickly they can put on their gear, or just having mundane conversations.
When he and Cas had decided to start new lives in LA, and he filled out the application, he never thought he would even be accepted into the training academy, let alone pass and get sent to a fire station. He was 44 years old and the oldest person in his class, but he was also determined to prove himself.
"You must be the new probie," a confident, yet shorter, Asian firefighter approached Dean, hand out ready to shake.
"Uh, yeah," Dean shook his hand. "I'm Dean. Dean Winchester. Are you Captain Nash?"
The firefighter shook Dean's hand with a chuckle, "No. I'm Howie, but everyone calls me Chimney. Cap's just upstairs. Follow me."
Chimney turned around and motioned for Dean to follow him.
Dean swallowed hard, gripped his backpack strapped and pressed forward.
"Hey, Cap," Chimney walked past the long dining table and into the kitchen. "Found the new recruit down stairs."
Captain Nash paused his zucchini chopping and looked up at Dean, "Ah! You must be Dean."
Dean walked over and stuck out his hand, "Uh, yes. Dean Winchester."
Nash whipped his hands on a tea towel and proceeded to shake Dean's hand, "You can call me Bobby. You've met Chimney, that over there is Hen, and that's Eddie…."
Bobby pointed towards the end of the table where Hen and Eddie were sitting having coffee. The smiled and waved at Dean when they heard their names.
"...And you'll meet Buck soon," Bobby finished his introductions.
Dean nodded, making a mental note of these names.
"Do you cook often?" Dean pointed to the chopped and unchopped veggies.
"We try to have a home cooked meal every night," Bobby nodded. "Some nights that doesn't always happen. Do you cook?"
Dean nodded, "I love cooking. Grew up on fast food and diners, so the second I got my own kitchen I dove headfirst into learning everything I could about food and cooking. I enjoy it and my boyfriend eats what I make, so I must be okay at it."
Eddie's ears perked up when he heard Dean mention he had a boyfriend, "You, uh, you have a boyfriend?"
Hen looked at Eddie and then back at Dean, smirking as she pulled out a seat for him to join them.
"Uh, yeah," Dean swallowed, taking up Hen's silent offer and joining them, throwing his backpack under the table. "We were friends for years. I didn't even know he liked me like that, but things happened, and, well, here we are. Starting over in LA. Fresh start, you know?"
Eddie nodded in agreement, "Oh, I know."
Buck dances up the stairs and plops down beside Eddie. His smile turns to confusion when he sees Dean, "Who are you?"
"Dean," Dean reached his hand across the table. "Dean Winchester. I just got here."
Buck looked Dean up and down before shaking his hand, glancing over at Bobby, "I thought we were getting a probie?"
Eddie smacked him on the arm, "He is the probie."
"Oh," Buck looked at Eddie and then back at Dean. "No offence, but aren't you a little, well, um, old to be a probie?"
Hen and Eddie rolled their eyes as Dean laughed.
"I wanted a career change," Dean smiled. "Long time coming."
"And this is Buck," Eddie introduced him. " My boyfriend."
"You two?" Dean glanced between the two firefighters. "You're a couple?"
Buck grinned, proudly, putting his arm on Eddie's shoulder, "For six months."
Eddie rolled his eyes, "Sometimes it feels like it's been six years."
"That's because you two have been joined at the hip for six years," Hen smirked before turning back to Dean. "We started taking bets on when they would finally make it official about five years ago."
"And I won!" Bobby exclaimed as he chopped.
"And I think you cheated," Chimney sat down beside Dean. "I was off by one month."
"So, what does your boyfriend do?" Hen asked.
"Whoa, you have a boyfriend?" Buck leaned in, intrigued.
Dean nodded, "His name is Cas. He just started teaching history at a local middle school. He's loving it so far."
"So, you have a boyfriend…Hen has a wife…me and Eddie are dating," Buck was coming to a realization. "Ha! We're the gay shift!"
Chimney side eyes Buck, "Bobby and I are straight, Buckley."
"Well, I mean, nobody's perfect," Buck winked, smirking at his brother-in-law, before turning back to Dean. "He's married to my sister. I can tease him."
"I was actually kind of nervous coming in here," Dean breathed a sigh of relief. "I had always thought of firehouse as bros clubs, with hetero manly men spouting off slurs and stuff. I mean, traditionally. I moved here from Kansas, so…."
"The 118 used to be like that," Hen remembered. "When Chim and I got here it was not a friendly place for minorities. But under Cap, it's a pretty good place to work."
"Like a family," Chimney agreed.
"But not in the cheesy way most jobs try to say their employees are like family," Buck reiterated. "These guys really do feel like family."
Dean looked around at his new coworkers, smiling, "I think I'm gonna like it here."