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Charlie Evans flew into the 118 firehouse on Christmas Eve and furtively looked around. Not that he needed to, of course, he was an angel, three inches tall, and completely invisible, well, until his target noticed him. And even then it’d just be said target that could see and hear him. But he snuck around all the same, hiding behind whatever he could find. A firetruck, a door, a pillar...force of habit, he guessed. He could not get used to this whole angel lark at all. And who could blame him? Yesterday he was sitting in a bar in downtown Los Angeles with some friends, enjoying his vacation, and now, because some asshole decided that driving his SUV after way, way too many beers was a good idea, he was dead and desperately trying to get into Heaven.
Honestly, he thought it’d be easier than this. Get to the pearly gates, give his name and get whooshed inside. But apparently that’s not how it worked. Instead of being on a cloud, he found himself in a nondescript office building, being told that yes, he was actually dead, and as for spending his afterlife in some utopia, well, there were some stipulations first. A final task to prove himself worthy.
“So, Charlie,” the older, balding guy started, shuffling some papers around his desk, “your task is to go to a lost soul and bring them joy. You have been assigned to...” The guy glanced down at the paper at the top of his pile, “Evan Buckley, 33. Known as Buck. Firefighter from Pennsylvania, currently living in Los Angeles. Quite a sad case, I’ll admit. His boyfriend recently dumped him, pretty harshly, I have to say, and he’s hopelessly in love with his best friend, Eddie Diaz, but neither of them have figured that part out yet. Past traumas include...Jesus, getting his leg crushed by a bombed firetruck, which resulted in a pulmonary embolism; getting caught in a tsunami where he lost his best friend’s kid, who he pretty much co-parents anyway; watching his best friend almost get buried underground and shot; getting struck by lightning; and having to deliver his biological kid, who he was the sperm donor for.” He finished, running his hands through his hair. “I need you to make him happy for Christmas, realize that he and Eddie are destined to be together as partners.”
And now, in the firehouse, he flew to the light fixture and scanned the firefighters milling around. “Too old, woman, too young...” He muttered to himself. Then his eyes fell on two men in the corner, one with dark hair, a strand falling onto the center of his forehead, and another with wild curls. They were close together, shoulders bumping as they spoke. Curls had his hand on the other guy’s arm, and Dark-Hair threw his head back and laughed loudly at something Curls had said.
“Buck! I swear to God!” Dark-Hair forced out, trying to catch his breath, and Curls’ eyes crinkled as he said something else, making Dark-Hair laugh again, and then Curls leaned in close and whispered something in Dark-Hair’s ear, making the man turn bright red and mutter something back.
So, this was Buck, and, he assumed, the other guy was Eddie. Maybe this wouldn’t be so hard. A little nudge and they’d realize that they’d been in love all this time, he’d be back before midnight and give those two each other for Christmas. Easy.
Floating down, he hovered over Buck’s shoulder for a moment before clearing his throat.
“Buck?”
No reply, Buck was still engrossed in what Eddie had to say.
“Um, Evan Buckley?” He said a little louder this time.
Still nothing. Bald guy at the office hadn’t said anything about it being difficult to get someone’s attention. But he guessed if he’d been shrunk down to three inches, maybe his voice wasn’t as loud as it used to be. Maybe he should try yelling.
“EVAN BUCKLEY! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!” Nope. Buck’s hand brushed his shoulder, almost launching Charlie halfway across the firehouse. How the Hell was he going to make these idiots confess if Buck couldn’t even hear him? Because if he couldn’t hear him, he couldn’t see him, and if he couldn’t do either, there was no way...
Suddenly, a loud alarm started to ring, and almost as if it were a Pavlovian response, the two men started to run, Charlie close behind. They threw on their uniforms and jumped into the firetruck, and Charlie thought for a second before following them. Well, the more time he had with Buck, the more chance of him noticing the angel on his shoulder, right?
“Let’s saddle up guys, apartment fire, second floor, dispatch says the place has been evacuated, everyone accounted for, and the fire is out, but we still need to check it out. Eddie, Buck, go and investigate. Hen, Chim, check for injuries and smoke inhalation. Ravi, you’re with me, we'll get ready with the hoses, just in case.” The older guy barked.
“Copy that, boss!” The other four echoed, pulling on headsets. The woman, Hen, and the guy, Chimney, stared out the window, while Buck (seriously, what was it with these people and weird nicknames?) and Eddie seemed to have a silent conversation amongst themselves, their knees knocking, legs sandwiched together.
How the fuck could they be so clueless?
There was no point in trying to get Buck’s attention with headphones on, so Charlie just sat on the seat back behind Buck and studied the two men carefully as they watched each other, intently, before Buck took his headset off and leant forward, pressing his hand on Eddie’s knee.
“What time does Chris land?”
OK, who the Hell was Chris? Eddie’s boyfriend?
“Three, Pepa’s picking him up and taking him to her place. We’re spending Christmas there anyways. His gifts are there.” Eddie replied. “You should come, if you’re not doing anything else.”
Buck shrugged, protesting that he didn’t want to intrude, that this was a family dinner, Christopher’s homecoming and Christmas all rolled into one, and he didn’t really belong there anyway, but Eddie leaned in even closer, and held Buck’s shoulder, angling his head so that he could look Buck dead in the eye.
“Evan, you know you’re always welcome. Chris will be glad to see you. And besides, I know you spent a small fortune on him anyway.” He smiled, and Buck reluctantly nodded.
“Yeah, uh, that’d be great. Thanks. Was just going to-”
“Wallow in self-pity, yeah, I know.”
They even finished each other’s sentences! It was sickening. How the rest of the crew put up with it, he had no idea. He would have called it out long ago.
“Alright guys, we’re here!” The older guy called from the front as the firetruck came to a stop, and immediately, everyone jumped out. And Charlie thought it a good idea to wait there. Wouldn’t be right for him to distract Buck while he was working. Jumping down onto the now vacant seat, he curled himself up into a ball and closed his eyes. Maybe a nap would do him some good...
---
He only woke up when he felt, not pain exactly, but pressure bearing down on him, and opening his eyes, he realized that he was now underneath Buck’s thigh. Of course, Buck couldn’t feel him, otherwise he would have moved, so Charlie wriggled out from underneath, and almost instantly, Buck reached down to scratch under his thigh. So, he could feel him a little. Interesting.
The journey back to the firehouse was pretty much the same as the one there, except this time they actually talked. The younger guy, Ravi, was talking about a date he’d gone on at the weekend, Hen talked about someone called Karen, who had agreed to go to a new art exhibit in the new year, and Chimney moaned that he wanted to take Maddie to the movies, but the Lees were out of town, to which Buck immediately offered to babysit.
And in no time at all, they were back at the firehouse, the older guy, who he now knew as Bobby, gave orders to everyone, sending Buck upstairs to make lunch. Charlie followed behind, because he really, really wanted to get this over and done with. Resuming his place at Buck’s shoulder, he spent ten minutes yelling in his ear to no avail. Maybe a different tact? Letting out a whistle, he saw Buck freeze for a second before whipping his head round, clipping Charlie with his cheek, then shook his head and went back to chopping.
Brushing himself off, Charlie started to whistle the first song that came into his head, and as soon as he finished the intro, Buck started to sing.
“Pressure, pushing down on me, pressing down on you, no man ask for...”
That was a start. Maybe he could communicate in song? But as soon as Buck had finished singing the first verse quietly to himself, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone to play music loudly and sing along badly. So loudly, in fact, that he couldn’t hear Charlie anymore. Dammit.
By the time lunch was made, everyone had sat down and had started chatting loudly, and any attempts to whistle were drowned out. How the Hell was he meant to get this guy’s attention? This place was way, way too loud.
But he persisted. All through the day, he whistled into Buck’s ear, and he could feel the man starting to get annoyed at it, but he didn’t say a word until that night when everyone was sat watching TV after a day of seemingly endless calls (none of which Charlie went on, figuring there wasn’t any point. But thanks to his newfound ability to float through walls, he had discovered almost everything about the place).
“Alright, whoever’s been whistling, can you just...not?” Buck exploded after a particularly loud one. Everyone glanced at each other, reassuring Buck that none of them had whistled, in fact, none of them had even heard a whistling all day. Buck stood up and looked at each of them in return, and as he did, Charlie started to feel a bit strange. A tingling sensation rose through his body, starting at his feet, then up through his legs, and up more until it reached the top of his head. His full body felt like it was on fire, and he watched as Buck walked towards the bunkroom, then followed quickly. Jesus, that guy was fast. Must be the legs, Charlie thought as Buck threw himself onto the closest bed and laid on his back, staring at the ceiling. Charlie floated above him, and as soon as he got near his head, Buck’s eyes widened, and he pushed himself up until he was sitting, his eyes filled with panic and fear.
“What the Hell?” He exclaimed, reaching out, his hand going right through the angel in front of him.
“You can see me?” Charlie replied, and wordlessly, Buck nodded. “And you can hear me?” Another nod. Thank God. “Name’s Charlie.”
“Uh, Buck.” Buck stammered, and Charlie let out a small chuckle.
“Yeah, I know, mate. You’re my assignment. Been trying to get your attention all day.”
“My...my assignment?” Buck stammered. “This is a crazy nightmare, right? There’s not really a leprechaun or a fairy or something here. I mean, those don’t exist.”
“Do I sound Irish to you? Am I wearing a stupid hat and green suit? Do I have a pot of gold? I’m not a fucking leprechaun!” Charlie yelled, and Buck held up his hands.
“N-no, more...English, I guess? You sound a little like Idris Elba. Wait, why am I playing along with this? You’re not real, you’re just a dream or a hallucination or something.” He replied, screwing his eyes shut, then opening them again. “You’re still here.”
“Yeah, I’m still here. I need to finish my assignment or I’m never getting into Heaven, so I can’t leave you. Not until you do one thing for me.” Charlie sighed.
“So you’re...an angel? Like Clarence?”
“Who the fuck is Clarence?” The words slipped out of his mouth before he got a chance to even think about them. And then he started to wonder if he was ever going to get to the promised land. Was swearing even allowed there? Was it like The Good Place, where every fuck, shit and bollocks were changed to fork, shoot and balloons? Or would he just not get in?
“It’s A Wonderful Life? The angel shows George Bailey what his life would be like if he killed himself, and then in the end...You’ve never seen it?” Buck seemed more surprised at that than the fact that he was talking to an angel that only he could see and hear.
“It’s on my watchlist. Anyway, I’ve got to make you happy. That’s the deal. You’re happy, I’m happy, we all win, and I fuck off and leave you alone. Deal?” Buck nodded again, furrowing his eyebrows, looking deep in thought.
“What would make me happy?” He pondered slowly. “Um, I guess having kids...”
“You have one.” Charlie replied boredly. “Eddie’s kid? Isn’t he kinda yours?”
“I guess so...”
“Buck, I’m gonna give it to you straight. The one thing that’d make you happy is being with someone who loves you, right? I’ve been here, what, ten hours? And I see it. Everyone can. You’re in love with him, and he’s in love with you, and for the love of God just tell him how you feel, get together and live happily ever after so we can all go home!”
“But...but I can’t...he’s not...I mean, he’s straight and he’s my best friend, and it’d mess things up between us. And it’s Christmas, and his kid has just got home, and...” Buck stammered. “There’s no way I can tell him.”
“Mate, if you don’t, I’m stuck here with you forever. Do you really want that? Because now that you know I exist, I’ll be right here, talking in your ear, whistling at you. I can be really annoying, my ex told me that right before she dumped me, and I’m not averse to making your life a misery until you tell him.” OK, so he was making it up now. He didn’t know if he would be stuck there, nor did he know if Buck would be able to see and hear him all the time, but it sounded convincing anyway.
“But what if he doesn’t feel the same?” Buck asked. And Charlie had to admit that he didn’t think about that part. He was so sure that Eddie would confess that he loved Buck too. Shit. He had no idea what would happen if they didn’t get together. Would he be assigned someone else? Because obviously, he couldn’t control Eddie. Or would he be sent straight downstairs for an afterlife of complete misery? Whichever one it was, he couldn’t take that chance.
“And what if he does, mate? Better to take the chance and see if it works out.” Charlie reasoned, noticing his voice sounded more than a little desperate.
“But…” Buck started, then stopped as he heard footsteps outside the room. “Ssh, go away!”
“It’s not as if anyone can see me!” Charlie hissed back.
“I don’t care!”
“Buck, who are you talking to?” Eddie’s voice rang across the bunkroom, and Buck shrugged.
“Watching something on my phone.” He lied as Eddie walked towards the bed. Perching on the side, he lifted his hand and slowly pushed it towards Buck’s face, stopping halfway, then dropping it suddenly.
“Just came to see if you were OK.” He said softly, his eyes filled with concern. “You’ve been distracted all day, I was worried.”
“I’m fine, honest.” Another lie, but Eddie shuffled up until the two of them were arm to arm, and absently, he started to trace the letters on Buck’s tattoo. He got to the end of the word “angel” before Buck placed two fingers under his chin and pushed it up until they were staring into each other’s eyes.
“Eddie, I…” Buck whispered before glancing at Charlie, who was now floating somewhere behind Eddie’s shoulder. The angel gave Buck an encouraging nod, and Buck swallowed noisily before turning back to Eddie. “I, it’s Christmas, right? And you’re happy?”
Eddie nodded, not entirely sure where this conversation was going.
“Well, I’m not. Not entirely. I’ve had a crappy, crappy year. We almost lost Cap, we almost lost Chim, I got dumped, Chris left…” He let out a weary sigh.
“Hey,” Eddie replied, placing his hand on top of Buck’s, absently stroking the side with his thumb. Buck stared down at them as Eddie went on. “Cap and Chim are fine, Chris is back, for good, and he’s dying to see you. And you’ll find someone new, someone who deserves you and loves you unconditionally.” He tried to smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes, and Buck nodded sadly. “I, uh, I wish…” Eddie’s voice dropped to a whisper, so quiet that Buck almost didn’t hear him, and Charlie had to pretty much perch on his shoulder to make him out. “I wish…iwishideservedyou.” The words came out all at once, and it took Buck a second to untangle them, but when he did, his head snapped up.
“You…what?” He managed to force out.
“I wish I deserved you. Because the unconditional love, I got that part. God knows it took me long enough to figure it out, but...”
“Ssh.” Buck whispered, biting down on his bottom lip nervously, his heart racing as he lifted his hand and placed it over the dark stubble on Eddie’s cheek. Cupping it, it swiped his thumb over Eddie’s lip slowly, and almost like it was a reflex, Eddie gave it a feather-like kiss. “Eddie…”
“I love you. I’m in love with you. And now that I’ve said it, I realize I shouldn’t have, because-” He didn’t get to finish that sentence, because suddenly, a pair of lips met his in a soft, tentative kiss. It only lasted a couple of seconds, but when they pulled apart, both their eyes were still closed, Buck softly whining from the loss of warmth. Their eyes only opened when they heard someone clearing their throat a few feet away. Buck was the first to look, and his eyes met Bobby's, who was trying to look annoyed, but a smile played on his lips.
“Guys, I really don’t want to invoke a ‘no making out at work’ rule on Christmas Eve.” The Captain stated.
“I think we can let it slide, I mean, we’ve waited this long…” Hen’s voice came from somewhere behind Bobby, and Buck let out a groan, partly from being caught, partly because the whole firehouse knew, and they were probably going to tease them mercilessly for months.
“Fine.” Bobby sighed, “But not in view of anyone, nothing that’s going to make me call HR, and only for this shift, got it?” The two men nodded and muttered “yes, Cap” under their breath. “Now come on, we’re offline for an hour to exchange our Secret Santa gifts and have a small party.”
The two men watched as Bobby left, trailed by the rest of the 118, who had obviously witnessed the whole thing. Buck stood up first, holding out his hand to Eddie to help him up.
“Come on, old man.” He grinned.
“Hey! You’re a few months older than me!” Eddie protested before taking the opportunity to lean in for another quick kiss.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Buck retorted once they’d pulled apart. “And for the record, I love you too.”
As soon as the words were out of Buck’s mouth, Charlie felt himself being pulled upwards by an invisible force, and, as much as he fought against it, it was far too strong for him. Floating up, through the roof, he screwed his eyes shut until he felt himself land with a bump on a hard surface. Opening them again, he realized he was back in that same office, on a chair, the bald guy from before sat opposite him, a smile on his face this time.
“Charlie Evans, congratulations on completing your mission, although I do have to say your method was slightly unorthodox. And you’ve been marked down for use of language. That sort of thing won’t fly up there, excuse the pun. But you passed. Please exit the door behind you and turn to your right, where someone will be waiting for you.”
He should have been ecstatic; he should have been jumping up and down with joy. He knew this. But instead, a sense of sadness washed over him. Bald guy glanced at him sympathetically and leaned over his desk, dislodging a pile of papers that were stacked up beside him.
“I know it’s hard, not seeing how it ends, but I promise you, those guys will be fine. You can, if you wish, go down one last time, only for a few minutes, to say goodbye.” Charlie nodded slightly, and suddenly, he felt himself falling until he stopped in the kitchen of the 118 firehouse, right beside the light fixture. Looking down, he saw the shift arranged around the table, assorted gifts sat in front of them, with a trash bag on the counter behind, filled with discarded wrapping paper.
“So, I have to ask, what finally pushed you both together?” Hen addressed the two men opposite, their hands intertwined under the table, matching grins on their faces.
“Um, well...” Eddie started, glancing at Chimney, who tried his best to give, what Charlie assumed was his most innocent look. “Chim said that he’d make me to the whole Love Actually thing. And I have no idea what that meant, but it sounded scary.”
Buck pulled back in surprise and stared at Eddie for a second before exclaiming “You’ve never seen Love Actually?! What the Hell is wrong with people today? Don’t you watch Christmas movies?”
“We watched Plácido every Christmas when I was a kid!” Eddie retorted. “It’s a classic!”
Laughing, Buck shook his head and promised that once Chris had gone to bed tomorrow night, he was going to show Eddie some proper Christmas movies. Then called him a philistine.
“Alright, enough, guys!” Bobby called from the other end of the table as Hen and Chimney looked at Buck expectantly.
“OK, for me, I guess for me it was...Christmas magic.” Buck smiled. At that, Charlie floated down and landed on Buck’s shoulder. Waiting until the chatter had died down, he let out a soft whistle, which made Buck turn his head to look at him. “Guys, I’ll just be second.” He said, standing up and walking towards what Charlie now knew was the bathroom, Charlie following behind.
“I thought you’d left.” Buck murmured quietly.
“Yeah, I did. But they let me come back to say goodbye. Have a great life, Buck.” Charlie replied. If he could, he would have pulled the man into a hug, but as it was, the only thing he could do was extend his hand for a fist bump that he knew Buck wouldn’t even feel.
“So, do you get your wings now?” He asked, and Charlie nodded, assuming it was some It’s A Wonderful Life reference. He really hoped they had TV up there, he really should watch it sometime...
“Yeah, I get my wings. You take care, man.”
“You, too.” Buck replied, and Charlie felt himself being pulled up by the invisible force again. This time he didn’t fight against it, he just closed his eyes let it happen. It seemed to be quicker, this time, and when he opened them again, he was right back above the firehouse kitchen. Buck strolled back in, and he watched as Eddie strolled right up to him, his hand behind his back, stopping just a couple of inches away before raising his hand above them, mistletoe dangling from it. Nudging Buck, he nodded to it, and Buck rolled his eyes before leaning in.
And suddenly, Charlie was gone, standing in front of the clichéd gates, white surrounding him, being ushered in by a kind-looking man. But he felt good now. Those two were going to last. He was sure of it.