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Bobby
When Bobby hired Eddie Diaz, he hired him specifically with Buck in mind. Buck needed a partner, someone to hold him accountable and balance him out. What he didn't expect was for them to do just that, and then go another 30 steps beyond it. They became partners in everything they did. He first really noticed it one shift when there was some downtime.
The team was lounging around, Hen and Chimney flicking through the TV channels and Buck and Eddie chatting while spread out on the couch.
“Hey guys, we really need to get some chores done around here,” Bobby announced.
Everyone looked up, waiting for orders. “Hen, if you could mop the floors, that would be great. The loft needs dusting, Chim. Buck, the windows could all use a good wipedown, and–”
He's interrupted by Buck springing to his feet. “On it, Cap.” He turns to Eddie, who is already getting up as well. “Do you want to spray or wipe?”
“I'll spray,” Eddie responded. They start over to the closet with the supplies.
Last time Bobby checked, washing the windows was a one person job. “Uh, Eddie? I was going to have you roll the hoses.”
Eddie spins around, walking backwards. “You got it, we will get right to it after the windows.”
Bobby turns back to his paramedics, eyebrows raised. He mouths “we?”
Hen shrugs, trying to hide her smile. Chimney chuckles, following them to the supply closet. Before he passes Bobby, he leans in and says, “I'd start assigning them the harder chores, considering they're going to do them together anyway.”
Bobby nods. “Yeah, I'm starting to get that.”
Months later, the Grant-Nash household was hosting a barbecue. Bobby is adding the finishing touches to the salad when the doorbell rings. He goes to answer it and is greeted by Buck holding a tray of cupcakes, Eddie and Chris beside him, three matching grins on their faces.
“Hi, we brought dessert!”
There's that “we” again. Bobby doesn't know why he's surprised, he really shouldn't be at this point.
“Thanks guys, come on in.” He steps aside, opening the door wider. They enter, Chris breaking off to go find wherever Harry and Denny ran off too.
The night is really great. It's been a while since the whole team has been able to get together and just relax outside of work. Bobby thinks this is just what everyone needed after some pretty harrowing events, tsunamis and lawsuits and everything else that got thrown at them.
It's wrapping up when Bobby goes to check on the boys, finding them asleep in Harry's room, the sugar crash clearly having an effect.
He goes to tell Eddie and then sees as Buck follows him in too, without a word. Eddie picks Chris up, bracing him on his hip while Buck grabs his crutches and their bags. Their movements are smooth and sure, no fumbling or confusion on who’s doing what, like this is something they do often enough to have their roles already set in place.
“Thanks for having us Bobby, this was really fun,” Eddie says as they all make their way out to the jeep. He gently settles Chris into the backseat, Buck laying their things on the other side.
“Of course, come back anytime,” Bobby replies. They take off, waving through the windshield as Buck backs the jeep out.
Bobby goes back inside, a small smile on his face. Athena spots him and makes her way over, wrapping an arm around him.
“What are you thinking about, baby?”
Bobby hums. “Oh, just wondering if I need to dig up some paperwork.” Athena looks at him, then towards the door. Understanding dawns in her eyes, and she smiles.
She pokes his side. “Come on, let's go kick the rest of our guests out. I'm ready for a nightcap. She walks out to the backyard, giving him a look. Bobby laughs, and follows her out. Tomorrow, he'll do some research on LAFD rules and regulations. Just in case.
Ravi
Ravi hasn't been on A-shift for very long but he feels like it's a good fit. Bobby is a better captain than anyone could ask for, you can't find two more competent but also kind paramedics in Hen and Chimney, and Buck and Eddie are, well, whatever they are. Ravi hasn't been able to figure them out yet. Great at their job, yes. Able to spend more than 30 minutes apart without wandering off to find wherever the other one was, no. He was 80% sure they were dating when he'd overheard Chimney teasing Buck about someone named Taylor, asking when he was going to ask her out officially. Buck had blushed and shrugged him off, saying they were just friends and he wasn't looking to date right now.
So now he’s back to square one. As he enters his current shift, he's considering the possibility of just weirdly close, codependent friends. He jogs up the firehouse steps, acknowledging Bobby’s greeting with a nod and a smile. Ravi’s approaching the pool table when Buck and Eddie make their way up too, in deep conversation. As a chronic eavesdropper, Ravi concentrates on what they’re saying as they reach the couch.
“ . . . and then he asked if we could watch it but I said we had to look it up first,” Buck was saying, their shoulders knocking together. “I think it's okay for a kid his age but I wanted your opinion too.”
“Oh yeah, I'll do that, thanks Buck.” Eddie responds, clapping him on the back. They must be talking about Eddie's kid. Ravi is pretty sure his name is Chris.
“Hey, can you take him to the dentist on Thursday? I was going to but I need to pick Abuela up from her checkup.”
“Of course, I'll put it in my calendar.” Buck whips his phone out, concentrating on the screen. “Oh, are Chris and I still on for the zoo on Saturday?”
“Yep, I'll have him ready for you at 10.”
“Great.”
“Great.”
Huh. So he’s Buck's kid too? He’s obviously very involved. But that doesn't make sense, they're not dating or married. Buck said he was single just a couple days ago. Ravi knows his face must be making some weird expression as he wracks his brain when it finally clicks. They're divorced.
That makes so much sense. They must've gotten married, were raising Chris, and then it stopped working out. Clearly it was amicable, though. Maybe they just realized they were better off as friends, and stayed close.
Satisfied, he wanders over to Chimney, who's rummaging through the cupboards. “Hey, it's really cool that Buck and Eddie are still able to work together so well even after divorcing. Were they working here when it happened?”
Chimney stills, slowly pulling his head out and closing the door, a package of trail mix clutched in his hand. “After what?”
“You know, divorcing. It seems like their son is doing well, which is great. My friend from middle school's parents got divorced and it was really hard on . . .” Ravi trails off, Chimney still just staring at him. He's wondering if he should just walk away when a delighted grin starts to spread across Chimney's face.
“Yes. Divorced. Well it was very hard when we got the news, but they sure haven't missed a step on the job.” He's still grinning. Ravi's not sure if his face quite matches the words he's saying. “We're all very proud of them for keeping it professional. You can go ask them about it, they're very open.” He claps Ravi on the back and then walks away, whistling.
Ravi watches him toss trail mix into his mouth, feeling as though he's missing something important. Oh well, A-shift is weird, everyone knows that. He shakes his head and goes to find a snack of his own. He's not interested in details anyway.
Hen
Hen emerges from the bunk room at about 5:30 am, rubbing her eyes and trudging over to the kitchen. She's always the first one up if they get to sleep through the night, preferring to have some time to herself in the mornings. She grabs a mug from the cupboard, going to turn on the coffee machine when a soft creak stops her short. Hen glances over to the couch, but it's hard to make anything out in the dim glow of the room.
Later, she'll deny the wild thoughts running through her head as she creeps over, gripping her mug in a way that is definitely not intended to be a weapon, no matter what anyone says. She raises it slightly as she comes around to the front of the couch, heart pounding until her eyes land on Buck blinking up at her. She exhales, lowering her mug and taking in the scene.
Buck is flat on his back, head resting on the arm of the couch. There's a body curled on top of him and a head of dark brown hair tucked into the crook of his neck and shoulder, a blanket covering them both. The man's face is hidden, turned into Buck's chest but Hen would cut off her own foot if it were anyone but Eddie.
Buck gently takes his hand from where it was running up and down Eddie's back and raises it to his lips in the universal shush motion. Hen raises her eyebrows. She's not exactly surprised, that's not the right word, but intrigued, maybe.
“What are you guys doing out here?” she whispers.
Buck returns his hand to Eddie's back, resuming the soothing motions. “He's been having nightmares, ever since . . .” He trails off, but Hen knows what he's talking about. She doesn't know all the details, what with Eddie being pretty cagey about it, but she can't imagine that being taken hostage and threatened to be shot so soon after recovering from the sniper was great for his mental health.
“He gets self-conscious about waking anyone up so it's easier to just come out here.”
Hen nods. She'd noticed Eddie's deepening eye bags and increased skittishness and had been considering offering to take Christopher for a sleepover in case he needed a break. Looks like Buck, unsurprisingly, is on top of it. It can't hurt to ask though, later, when he's not plastered to someone else.
She gives Buck a look. “And you're here too, because?”
Buck's eyebrows furrow, confused. “Because where else would I be?” He looks offended at the insinuation that it's not automatically assumed that he should be right where Eddie is.
“I don't know, Buck, maybe in your own bunk, or at least on the other couch, instead of–” she gestures to the intertwined lumps on the cushions.
Buck frowns, shifting up a little. “This helps him, Hen. What kind of best friend would I be if I wasn't willing?”
Right. Best friend. God forbid a girl try to ask a leading question about the decidedly non platonic position they were in. Whatever, they'll figure it out eventually.
“I know, Buck,” she says placatingly. “I'm glad he has you.” That is sincere. Eddie hasn't looked in great shape lately and she's happy to know he trusts Buck enough to be vulnerable around him, that at least one person is watching over him.
Buck settles back down, both of them freezing when the movement jostles Eddie slightly and he makes a small sound. Buck brings his other arm up to pet his hair, murmuring softly, and Eddie's breathing evens out, still asleep.
He looks back up at Hen, relieved, and is taken aback by the way she's just staring at him.
“ What ,” he hisses.
“Nothing.” She's never met two people more oblivious or unwilling to face their feelings head on. Hen sighs. “Absolutely nothing.”
Buck gazes suspiciously at her for another second, then lets it go. He tips his head back, closing his eyes, and Hen makes her way back to the kitchen, but not before stealthily taking a picture. Karen's not going to believe this.
Chimney
The fire is worse than expected. Chimney turns around, staring back at the engulfed house. He finished his section, they're just waiting on Buck and Eddie to complete their sweep of the upstairs floor.
A couple minutes pass and then Eddie emerges, carrying a frightened, but thankfully unharmed, little girl. He sets her down with Hen and her hysterical parents and then comes to join Chim, taking off his helmet and wiping at the sweat on his brow.
“Buck?” Chimney inquires.
Eddie shakes his head, exasperated. “He's looking for the cat. We couldn't get the girl to leave until he promised to keep looking. I told him three minutes and then his ass better be out the door.”
Yeah, that sounds about right. Buck never could leave anything behind, even if it's just the mere possibility of a pet cat. Chimney loves him for it, even if it's given them all more gray hairs than they'd like.
Eddie relays the same information to Bobby, who had just approached them. Bobby looks at him and then sighs, reaching to use his radio.
“Buck, the cat's already out. Now it's your turn, I don't like the look of this.”
“Copy that, Cap.”
A few seconds go by and then the radio clicks on again. “Uh, we may have a problem.”
Eddie's eyes widen, his hand shooting up to where his radio sits on his shoulder. “What do you mean, Buck?”
“The stairway is completely engulfed, my exit is gone.”
Chimney closes his eyes, sending a silent prayer up. Buck's next words make his blood go cold.
“I think I'm hearing hissing?”
Bobby flinches, grabbing his radio frantically. “That's the gas line, get out of there now.”
He barely finishes his sentence before the explosion hits, sending them staggering backwards. Everything is suddenly in slow motion. Chimney's ears are ringing and he can't do anything but stare slack-jawed at the wreckage. A body brushes past him, and it's like his mind finally tunes back in, realizing Eddie is making a move to undoubtedly run back inside.
Chimney dives forward and grabs his arm, Bobby having the same thought on the other side. Eddie struggles, thrashing around and pleading with them to let him go.
“ Eddie .” Bobby's voice is hoarse. “It could blow again, I can't let you in there. The whole house is going to come down any minute.”
“Cap, please,” Eddie begs. He turns to Chimney, eyes huge and wet. “Let me go, I have to go.”
Chimney shakes his head, “Ca-” he attempts, the words catching in his throat. He clears his throat and tries again. “Cap’s right.”
Eddie sags. “ Please ,” he whimpers, one more time. Chimney slumps with him, his mind going in circles of what just happened and what do I tell Maddie.
He's back to staring at the fire when a figure emerges from the smoke, coming around the side of the house. Chimney gapes, rubbing at his eyes. Both his and Bobby's holds loosen on Eddie as they stare in disbelief, and the man is scrambling up and booking it towards Buck faster than Chimney can blink. He watches as Eddie practically flings himself on Buck, who braces himself to catch him, arms coming around Eddie's back as he takes his weight.
They're locked there for a while, swaying, until Eddie's grip loosens and he turns away, wiping surreptitiously at his eyes. They make their way over to the group, Buck limping a little, but smiling.
“It's good to see you, Buckaroo,” Chimney said incredulously, going in for a hug of his own, or at least, as good a hug as he can manage with Eddie still attached to Buck’s side. “Not that I'm not grateful, but how on earth did you make it out of that?”
Buck laughs a little, still winded. “I booked it for the window as soon as I told you about the hissing. The blast carried me a few feet and I landed in the bushes. I'm a little banged up, but okay.”
“I'll be the judge of that.” Hen marches over and grabs him, dragging him towards the ambulance. Eddie trails close behind. Chimney watches them go, then turns to Bobby, who still looks stunned.
“That kid is going to be the death of me,” Bobby huffs, pressing his palms into his eyes.
“You and me both, Cap.” His body is shaking, he realizes. He can't wait to go home to Maddie and Jee and just forget about the couple minutes he thought he was going to have to ruin her life with the news.
They drag themselves over to the ambulance, where Buck is getting a light shone in his eyes. Chimney's eyes fall to where Eddie has a death grip on Buck's left hand. He's not sure who's trying to comfort who with that gesture. It’s probably working both ways. Hen pronounces Buck okay, just bruised, but insists he get checked out at the hospital too, just in case.
“I'll drive him,” Eddie volunteers immediately. Buck smiles, gaze soft as he looks at him. They get up and make their way to the front seats–walking practically on top of each other–leaving the rest of the team to wrap up the call.
Chimney nudges Hen. “What do you think? Will that finally be the one that knocks some sense into them?”
Hen snorts. “God I hope so, for all our sakes.”
Now Natalia and Marisol are lovely women, but Chimney's pretty sure those relationships will be coming to an end, hopefully sooner rather than later. And then who knows, anything could happen.
Maddie
Maddie is there when Buck gets the phone call that Eddie and Chris are moving back to LA. Buck’s been over at her house, drinking (non-alcoholic) wine and catching up, when his phone rings. He glances down and immediately excuses himself, walking out to the patio. Through the glass doors, she watches as his mouth drops open, and then he starts speaking rapidly, arms gesturing wildly. He’s on the phone for about five more minutes before he hangs up, staring at his phone incredulously for a second after.
When he comes back in, Maddie’s not sure she’s ever seen a bigger smile on his face. She barely has time to think to ask him what’s got him so excited when he bursts out, “Eddie and Chris are moving home!”
And yep, that would do it. “Buck, that’s amazing,” she exclaims. After the initial, uh “crashout,” Buck had been doing okay with having his best friend in another state. But Maddie knew he still missed Eddie more than anything and was relieved to hear that he was coming back, if only because it would mean less nights spent listening to Buck talk about him for hours.
Buck wipes a hand over his face, laughing to himself. “I know, I can’t even believe it’s real.” He takes a deep breath. “Anyway, what were we talking about?”
Maddie tries to pick their previous conversation back up, where she had been talking about the new guy who just started at dispatch, but Buck was vibrating, glancing at his phone every few seconds. She sighs, an exasperated smile starting to tug at her mouth.
“Okay, you know what? Go ahead and go home, Buck. Call him back, do whatever you guys do on the phone together.” Buck beams, getting off the couch and grabbing his things.
“Thanks, Mads. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
Maddie smiles back and shoos him away. “Yeah, yeah.” She watches him practically skip out the door, already pulling up his contact list. Before he closes it behind him, she hears the call connect and Eddie’s voice say, “Hey, I thought you were still hanging out with Maddie?” No, he was not still hanging out with Maddie. Maddie got dropped like a hot potato as soon as you called, Eddie. She sighs again, shaking her head. Well, it’s more wine for her. Chimney wanders in a couple minutes later.
“Where'd Buck get off to? I thought he'd be here for another hour at least.”
Maddie gets up and moves past him to the kitchen with the glasses, smirking. “Something much more important came up.”
“Eddie?”
Maddie fake gasps. “How'd you know?”
Chimney laughs and grabs her hand, leading her to the bedroom. “Lucky guess.”
Eddie
Eddie feels like he may throw up. Whether from nerves or excitement, he’s not sure. He’s ten minutes away from his old LA house, where Buck currently lives. As far as Buck knows, Eddie is still in El Paso, where he should be for two more weeks. Eddie had told him that he and Chris would be moving back in a month, but after a couple weeks of “restlessness” and “longing,” Chris gently told him to please, for the love of God, go to LA before you explode.
So Eddie packed up his things, gave Chris a big, smacking kiss on his head, promised to call him every night and then he was out the door. He would meet Chris at the airport in a couple weeks once he hit Spring Break. It’s a new thing they’re trying, having space but staying in regular contact, with the knowledge that Chris will be right back with Eddie soon anyway. He doesn’t love the idea of moving without Chris, even for such a short period of time, but they’re trusting each other, and Chris couldn’t help but pick up on how miserable Eddie was in El Paso.
So now Eddie’s here, driving through his old neighborhood, trying to figure out why his heart is pounding and his stomach is fluttering. He arrives at the house, only to find Buck’s jeep not parked in the driveway. That’s right, Buck had mentioned a party at the Wilson’s, celebrating Karen’s birthday. Good, he wanted to see everyone else too anyway. Eddie unpacks his car, takes the quickest shower ever, and heads back on the road.
As he rolls up to Hen and Karen’s, his suspicions are proved correct. He recognizes Buck’s jeep, as well as a lot of the other cars parked down the street. Eddie gets out, wiping his suddenly sweaty palms on his jeans. Why is he so nervous? Maybe some part of him deep down is worried that they all secretly resent him for leaving. But that’s ridiculous. He huffs to himself and jogs up the porch, knocking on the door. He can hear chatter inside, people laughing, and the door swings open. Karen blinks, then her jaw drops. Eddie tries to smile, giving her a little wave. “Happy Birthday.” Silence. “Sorry, I, uh, I didn’t bring a gift. This was very last minute.” His voice comes out a little wavery.
Karen’s face breaks into a big smile and she steps outside, hugging him tight. “Eddie! God, it’s so good to see you.” She drags him inside. “Guys, you’ll never believe who’s here.” The noise stops for a second, then picks up again as a cacophony of voices exclaim in delight. Eddie is suddenly surrounded, receiving hugs, claps on the back and shoulders, and so many questions that he’s struggling to keep track of. Something in his face must reveal he’s overwhelmed because Bobby’s voice rises above the rest.
“Let’s give him some space, everyone.” The crowd backs off and Eddie looks over, meeting Bobby’s kind eyes. Bobby holds his arms out slightly, an invitation if Eddie so desires, and he does. He really does. He takes a couple steps forward and falls into Bobby, clinging to him. It didn’t click until just now how much Eddie missed his captain's presence in his life. Bobby’s arms are steady around him, and he can’t help but compare how grounded that makes him feel versus every confusing feeling he felt every time his own father tried to reassure him. Eddie draws back, wiping at his eyes. When did he start crying?
“Welcome home, Eddie,” Bobby says, eyes just the slightest bit damp himself. Eddie sniffles. He’s home, he’s with his family. He doesn't know why he was ever worried about coming back in the first place. Except, something’s missing. He glances around the room, searching. Bobby smiles. “Buck’s here, he’s out in the yard with the kids.”
Eddie’s pulse jumps. He squeezes Bobby’s arm in thanks. On shaky legs, he makes his way to the back door. Opening it, he spots his best friend immediately, Jee-Yun on his shoulders as he runs around chasing other kids. His heart feels a little funny, like it’s doing backflips in his chest. He stands there for a second, and then Buck turns to look at him. As soon as those vibrant blue eyes meet his, all the breath leaves him in a whoosh. Buck freezes, his expression disbelieving. Eddie can’t move, his feet feel like concrete blocks. He watches Buck set Jee down, never breaking eye contact.
Eddie really needs to move. He needs to go to his best friend, hug him, tell him he couldn’t have made it through the past year without him, do literally anything that’s not just standing there. Finally, he feels a small nudge at his back and turns his head. Maddie is smiling, tilting her head in Buck’s direction. “Go on,” she whispers.
And suddenly, Eddie is moving. He’s to Buck in a matter of seconds, grabbing his neck and cutting off his attempted question with his mouth. His other hand comes around Buck's back, drawing him closer. Buck goes rigid for about three seconds, then relaxes, bringing his own hands to rest on Eddie's hips, tugging him against him. Eddie goes willingly, sliding one hand up into his hair.
When it gets hard to breathe, he pulls back, panting. That was not the plan Eddie had devised in the five seconds he was walking over to Buck. But something possessed him and before Eddie knew it, he was kissing his best friend like he would die if he didn't. He can't bring himself to regret it though, not when Buck looks like, well– like that.
He's staring at Eddie, hands still gripping his waist, mouth slightly open. His hair is mussed, chest heaving, and his eyes are blazing. They're locked, staring at each other, until someone clears their throat behind them.
“Happy for you and all, but please stop stealing the thunder at my birthday party.”
Buck's grip tightens for a second, then relaxes. He peers around Eddie, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry Karen.”
“Yeah, sorry Karen.” Eddie mumbles from where he's tipped his forehead against Buck's chest in embarrassment.
She laughs. “Nah, it was winding down anyway. I fully release you to go and do . . . well whatever you deem necessary to do next.”
Eddie's cheeks are on fire. He's going to die, right here, in front of everyone. One of Buck's hands slides off his waist and before Eddie can do something to put himself in the ground for good, like let out a pathetic whine, Buck places it on his arm, gently tugging him around to start walking, ignoring the group of grown adults plastered to the window.
They make their way to the front of the house where the cars are, stopping to hug Karen and wish her a happy birthday one more time. She sends them off with a kiss on their cheeks and a smirk on her face.
Buck pauses at his jeep door, turning around to look at Eddie. There's some uncertainty in his face that Eddie needs to erase. Buck takes a deep breath. “I have to know, before anything else. Did you mean it?”
Eddie's pretty sure he's never meant anything more in his entire life. He steps up and kisses Buck one more time, soft and quick. “Yeah, Buck. I meant it.”
Buck sighs, the concern melting off his face and turning into a grin. “Okay then, let's go home and you can tell me how the hell you're here.”
Eddie nods. He gets in the passenger seat, feeling a sense of familiarity and relief. Despite being an Uber driver for a brief period of time, he always preferred it when Buck drove him around.
What's not familiar is the way he reaches across the dashboard to hold Buck's hand. That, they've never done before. But if Eddie has any say in it, he'll be doing that for the rest of his life.