Chapter Text
Buck was about ready to collapse; their last call was long and tedious, with a bank manager and Hen getting locked in a bank safe while unconscious. and the only thing he wanted to do was go home and fall asleep next to Eddie, his boyfriend.
Buck still wasn’t used to the fact that they’d been dating even after five weeks now.The day it happened had been a stressful day for Eddie. He and Buck were on opposite shifts, and Chris’ school called, saying Chris was sick and had fallen over, so Eddie had to leave halfway through his shift. He had called Buck, who gladly came in and covered for the rest of Eddie's shift. Once he finished his shift, Buck made his way to the pharmacy, picking up everything he could think of for Chris. pedialyte, tylenol, and even some cream to help his knees from falling over. Buck had then waltzed into Eddie's house, placed the bag from the pharmacy in front of Eddie, and announced he was making dinner, and Eddie had kissed him in his kitchen. After kissing for a little while longer, they both decided to keep it to themselves for the first few months so they could settle into a routine. They didn't want to rush it because they knew that they were it for each other.
As the engine pulled into the station, Buck zoned back into awareness and started to get out of the cab of the engine. He pulled himself out of his turnout gear, and his eyes scanned the station for Eddie. Buck's eyes landed on Eddie, who still stood by the engine, looking just as worn out as himself.
Eddie's eyes caught his own, and his face melted into a content smile. Buck made his way back over to Eddie, who was now standing with Hen, Chim, and Bobby. “So that might’ve been one of the weirdest days I’ve had since joining the LAFD, and we’ve had a few, but I am so tired and ready to go home.” Buck spoke up, trying to see if anyone else thought the same thing. The call had given him weird vibes, and it seems like somehow they got off a little too easy sure hen had to go to the hospital to be checked out but it was confirmed that she was fine. “Yeah, it was like a bank robbery with no robbers.” Eddie confirmed his suspicions that the call felt far too good to be true.
Just as he was about to head to the lockers, his suspicions were confirmed when a black police car, followed by multiple squad cars, pulled up to the station with the lights and sirens blaring.
“Step away from the vehicle,” a voice sounded over a megaphone from the black police car as a man in a suit stepped out.
“Can I help you, detective?” Bobby questioned the man, seeming just as confused as Buck and the rest of the team.
“You and your people, just stay where we can see you, captain,” the man in the suit who seemed to be a detective answered Bobby as he and the police officers from the squad cars pushed past the team and walked towards the engine. They opened up the compartments of the truck where the extra equipment was kept, pulled out multiple small black duffle bags, and put them on the floor. Buck knew that the other shoe had just dropped, and he was right about them getting off far too easily.
“‘Scuse me, you want to tell me what’s going on?” Bobby's voice brought Buck back to the present, just in time for him to watch the police officers empty what had to be hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash onto the floor of the firehouse.
“Maybe you can tell me.” The detective glared at all of them. as they all just stared at the cash that lay there on the floor next to the engine. Because this was a buck, this was the 118, and of course they were being accused of robbing a bank.
—
They were all taken to the closest precinct, where they had to hand in their phones, wallets, keys, and anything else out of their pockets that could be used as a weapon. They were then separated and taken to separate interrogation rooms, where they were left to stew.
Buck was sitting in a room with green and white walls. He sat on an uncomfortable metal chair with a metal table in front of him, and the room smelled of disinfectant, which reminded him of being in a hospital. He stopped that train of thought before it could make him more anxious than he already is.
Buck wonders if Eddie is being interrogated right now. He wonders if they are leaving him until last just to make him more nervous. He’s wringing his hands and picking at his cuticles till they bleed (a habit he’s had since he was little). He wishes Eddie was here. Eddie always knows the right thing to say and the right thing to do.
Finally, after another 40 minutes of waiting, the detective from earlier, along with another detective (he thinks that’s what she is anyway), who is a woman with short blonde hair, sit down opposite him, dropping a big, heavy folder in front of him. They open it at a purple tab that has his name written on it.
“Evan Buckley, right? or do you prefer to go by buck, is it?” The detective from the firehouse asks him.
“I prefer buck?” He answered, confused as to how they knew his nickname.
“okay buck. Let’s see, you were born in Hershey, PA, to Margaret and Philip Buckley. Your sister is Maddie Buckley, who is dating Howard Han. Captain is Bobby Nash, and, ah, let’s see, you’re dating Edmundo or Eddie Diaz. Did I get that right?” The lady detective tells him while doing another scan of the folder on him. Buck's face goes through many emotions: annoyance at the mention of his parents anger at the mention of Maddie being dragged into this, and then fear at the mention of him dating Eddie. His heart is in his throat as he answers them.
“Uhm, ye-yeah, that’s right.” He chokes out.
“Wow, that’s fun—a family affair of first responders. Except none of them know your little secret, am I right, none of them know about you and Eddie?" The first detective questions him, and he almost throws up right then and there because, of course, his keeping his relationship with Eddie a secret had managed to blow up so spectacularly.
“Yes, um, yeah, that’s right, it’s new, and we wanted time to adjust before telling everyone. I’m not exactly sure why my relationship with Eddie has anything to do with the whole bank robbery thing.”
Buck spoke up because why did they have to bring it up?
“Well, Mr. Buckley If you’re lying to your team about this, both you and Eddie, then what else are you lying to them about?” The lady detective spoke up instead this time. And oh, that’s what this is about—the lying, not the relationship—and Buck suddenly feels a lot more relieved. Listen, he knows they can’t actually split them up or anything, but cut him some slack; he’s being interrogated for a bank robbery!
“Mr. Buckey, you and Mr. Diaz were the ones drilling the wall outside, weren’t you?” The lady detective asks, and Buck can’t help but think that the other detective is being awfully quiet as he stares at Buck as if he’s looking straight through him, and it makes him squirm in his seat a little.
“I mean, yeah, but I was just doing as I was told.” He tries to defend himself, but he knows it sounds bad. “You were the one who brought up the other bank safe rescue and suggested it, right? How do you remember something like that from over a month ago off the top of your head if you’re not planning on using it?” The other detective finally speaks up, and Buck knows they make a good point, and it seems awfully suspicious, and he would ask himself the same thing if he didn’t know the answer: "Um okay, so I know how this sounds, but-" Buck cuts himself off frustratedly because it’s all coming out wrong. “It’s just the way my brain works. I have ADHD. I was diagnosed as a kid, but it was left untreated. I read things, and they sit in my head for when I need them. For example, today I had that article sitting somewhere in my head after reading it and i saw the back wall and i remembered the article." and the buck just deflates. He’s tired, he has a headache, and he really wants to go home. He feels far too exposed, and he just wants to sleep. Luckily for him, the detectives don’t push further on that matter, obviously sensing his distress.
Buck is asked a few more questions about what he was doing in the days before and what his plans for the future are before they finally wrap up the interrogation, telling him not to leave the state while the investigation is ongoing, but just as he gets up to leave, he’s stopped by the detective that showed up at the firehouse. “Mr. Buckley, since we saw no record of yours and Mr. Diaz’s relationship on any LAFD document, we will have to inform your captain and the LAFD HR department,” and Buck just groans. Great, he gets no time to do it himself. He walks out of the interrogation room and collects his belongings. As he’s walking towards the reception area of the precinct, he spots Eddie waiting for him.
“Eds? Are you done with your interrogation?” He knows the answer is yes because he’s in the reception area, but he needs to make sure that they’re actually done and can go home.
“Yeah, I’m done, baby," Eddie reassures him as Buck makes his way into Eddie's space, pressing himself up against Eddie. They order an Uber back to the station since their bags and Eddie's truck are still there.
When they get to the station, they make quick work of getting all their stuff together before jumping into Eddie's truck. Buck gets in on the driver's side and lays his head on the steering wheel for a minute. “That was awful. It was so bad, Eddie. They questioned me about everything. They brought up my parents and they dragged Maddie into it, and then they brought up our relationship, and then they told me that they had to tell Bobby and HR. We should get to do that on our own time." Buck sighs dejectedly.
“I know, baby, they said the same thing to me. I'm sorry that it’s all gone down like this." Eddie replies, and he just sounds resigned.
“It’s not your fault, Eddie. I should’ve known that this would blow up spectacularly. I mean, this is us we’re talking about." and Eddie, honest to God, giggles, and Buck can’t help but melt at the sound of it.
“I guess we should’ve seen this coming,” Eddie replies through his giggles.
Buck drives them home, and they make a quick routine of showering and getting ready for bed. Before crawling into Eddie's bed and curling around each other, they'll deal with the fallout tomorrow; for now, they’re going to hold each other and sleep.