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Every year, the fire chief picks one house to report back to training camp for a day of demonstrations. Eddie recalls something about showing the recruits how teamwork and camaraderie are key factors for doing what they do. What they don’t mention is that the house that normally gets picked is one where the crew needs a refresh on good partnership more than the recruits do.
Which is why, when Bobby came in announcing their “time off” at camp demo-ing, the crew was outraged.
The words reach Chimney at the worst time. His dart goes wide, soaring through the air, bouncing off the wall, and rolling to a stop before a startled-looking Ravi. Eddie thinks his life just flashed before his eyes.
Spinning around, arm still raised, Chim cries out, “Are you kidding? What did we do to get on the Chief’s naughty list?”
Hen looks from the fallen dart to her friend with wide eyes. She shoots Bobby a half-hearted glare that he thinks relays “remember you’re speaking to a bunch of children who just happen to be allowed near sharp objects” and reaches out, gently lowering Chim’s raised arm.
“Easy, Chim. It’s probably because he knows you go around threatening us with darts.”
Chim points another dart at her now, “and I'll do it again.”
Buck pipes up from his seat at the table, “Guys, come on, it can’t be that bad.”
Chim turns his death glare on Buck now, “Uh, yes. It is that bad. Gerrard would volunteer us every time, so he could sit there for a week and get paid. The rest of us had to entertain snotty little recruits-”
“Oh no! Not teenagers!” Buck waves his hands around sarcastically. “You ever think of it as a way to show them the stuff from the big leagues? Help them out?”
Eddie, sitting across from him, flicks his little paper football, hitting Buck square in the face.
Buck drops his hands, “Really?”
Eddie shrugs innocently, “You are the last person I'd want to learn rescue techniques from Buck.”
“I’m on Eddie’s side here,” Hen says. “Every time you just rush in to do it your way. You don’t even wait for orders.”
“Why would I wait for orders if I already know what Bobby is going to say. I could just start. Save lives faster.”
“Chain of command,” Eddie states matter-of-factly.
This time it’s Buck’s turn to flick the paper football in Eddie’s face.
“I don’t get why they have to take a perfectly good station out of commission once a year for this,” Ravi finally recovered from his dart near-death experience, chimes in. “Recruits have to learn these things either way.”
“Exactly!” Chim agrees, turning pleading eyes to Bobby.
Bobby searches the room, meeting the eyes of his team, “It’s a way to show them how well a house works together. The ins and outs of partnerships.” He lingers on Buck and Eddie at the table, “Opening up. Trust and honesty.”
He pauses, hopeful, and is met with silence. Finally giving up, he sighs, “Look, I'm just the messenger."
He turns to leave, adding over his shoulder, “Buck, since you're so sure about not waiting for orders, I expect your demonstrations to be in tip-top shape.”
Buck lifts his arms in outrage, “Seriously?”
“Pack your things, we leave in ten. Buck, I'll be watching closely,” Bobby disappears around the corner, the last word echoing.
“Have I ever said how much I adore you, Cap?” Chim calls after him.
Buck looks around the room for reassurance and gets none. Exasperated, he looks to Eddie, who simply puts his hands up, mouthing, “You asked for it.”
---
All had been normal after Bobby told them to get moving. They packed up and piled into the full engine. Chim sat across from Hen, who sat next to Ravi, who in turn sat next to Buck, and Eddie finally sat across from him. Chim argued with Bobby, up in the Captain's seat, the entire way from the station about how bad it was going to be. Every time Buck tried to retort against something, which was often, he’d lean over to get a better angle, his knee bumping against Eddie’s. Each time, Chim ignored him.
One time, getting particularly heated, Buck put his hand on Eddie to steady himself as he leaned forward. Eddie thought he probably had some smart-ass thing to say, but he didn’t hear it due to the very loud alarm bell that started ringing in his head the moment Buck’s hand met his leg. When he finally let go, Eddie caught the tail end of Chim saying, “It’s like I can still hear his voice.”
When they finally arrived, Bobby had introduced them all to the Academy director and the recruits they’d be demonstrating for. Much to Chim’s dismay, they got a group of young kids. None of them could have been older than 22.
“This is making me feel old,” Hen whispered from behind him.
“It's inspiring!” Buck loudly whispered back. “They are all so excited, so willing to prove themselves.”
Eddie had lifted his brow, “Only you would think they aren’t all terrified to fuck up in front of an already established house.”
“You all are such Debbie Downers,” Buck said.
The only response he got was a loud pop from Chim’s bubblegum.
Then Bobby was saying they’ll start with single-person drills. And Buck was saying, with a smug smile on his face, “I’m going to prove to you all how good this will be. Just watch.”
----
Now Eddie squints into the sun, which bears its heat down hot and heavy onto the academy lot. Usually empty, the lot now sits filled with fresh-faced recruits and cones. Lots of cones. Set up in lanes that twist and turn.
Eddie told Buck he had asked for it back at the station. Standing there watching Buck in full turnouts run, sweat dripping down his face beneath his mask, he wonders if maybe Eddie was actually the one who asked for it.
“He did say to just watch,” Ravi remarks.
Eddie blinks out of his sweaty Buck trance.
The four of them stood off to the side of the open lot, watching Buck jog back to the truck for the fifth time. The lanes were full of unraveled hose lines neatly arranged between the cones by Buck and whichever unlucky recruit he was racing. Buck was older, yes, but he was damn good at what he did. Each time he beat a recruit to the end and did a little happy dance, Eddie’s heart swelled.
Bobby shouts “Go!” from where he's standing, stopwatch in hand, and Buck hauls another line off the truck, unraveling it as fast as he can.
Eddie thinks he should probably be acting more chill, but then again, when else is he going to be able to watch Buck run around, agile and sweaty, and actually enjoy it instead of fearing for his life in an actual fire. He drags his eyes away for a second to glance at Chim, Hen, and Ravi. Chim is on his phone; Hen and Ravi are watching Buck, but Eddie thinks he could fall over from a heart attack, and neither would notice how tuned out they seemed.
Either way, Eddie slips his sunglasses off his head and slides them on. If anyone asks, it's to protect his eyes from the sun. Definitely not to hide the way he's looking at his best friend. Satisfied with their indifference, he lets himself go back to watching.
After another couple of rounds, a whistle blows. Buck drops the line in his hand. He folds over, hands on his knees, breathing heavily.
“You know I am almost starting to feel bad for him,” Ravi says.
Bobby walks by, slapping Buck on the back. They watch Buck give everyone a half-hearted thumbs up. Eddie’s lips twitch, endeared.
“Is that you volunteering for the duo demos?” Hen asks.
“What? Absolutely not.”
“Sounded to me like you were,” Eddie adds.
“You are his partner!” Ravi exclaims. Chim finally looks up from his phone, confused at the outburst.
The silence stretches long enough that Ravi stutters out, “In the field.”
Hen only lifts her brows, prompting Ravi to add, “Obviously, it's only natural for Eddie to do it.”
“Careful what you wish for, Probie,” Eddie points an accusing finger at him before walking to join Buck, who is still trying to catch his breath. He’s praying the flush in his neck and face from Ravi calling him Buck's partner looks like it came from the sun and not for any other reason.
“I’m not even a probie anymore,” Ravi grumbles.
---
“Alright, this demo is going to show a one-victim removal with one firefighter. Buck and Eddie, I want you two for this one. Ravi, you'll be on window duty.”
Eddie groans, not loud enough for Bobby to hear but loud enough that Buck does. Ravi pumps his fist before racing out the door.
“What's wrong now?” Buck asks, exasperated.
“I don’t want to have to carry your dead weight around like a sack of potatoes.” He says it begrudgingly, like he would rather be anywhere else at the moment, but a slight smile is fighting its way across his face.
“I am not that heavy, Eddie.”
“I beg to differ.”
Eddie spots the makings of a smile working its way onto Buck's face now, too. It’s big and bright, cracking his face up into pure sunshine as it grows. “Well, too bad-”
Bobby cuts off his reply, “Eddie, why don’t you be the victim?”
Eddie’s grin fully erupts and turns absolutely evil.
Buck notices the shift immediately, “W-wait, Cap, don't you think it’d be better if I was the victim?”
Bobby pauses, glancing back at him from where he is in front of the recruits. He considers for all of one second before saying, “Nope. Eddie, on the floor.”
“What? Scared you won't be able to lift me, Buckley?”
“Oh, please,” Buck says. He fixes his mask in place, his confidence back. “I know I can lift you, Eds.”
Eddie’s grin dissolves at the words, at the sheer smugness in them, and swallows. Buck smirks at him, and Eddie quickly looks away, but not before Buck sees the way his eyes darken ever so slightly.
This is going to be fun, Buck thinks to himself.
---
This is going to kill me, Eddie thinks to himself.
As he lays himself on the floor, he tries not to think about the way Buck is going to manhandle his pretend unconscious body and fails miserably.
At the last second he gets into a different position, one that will make it slightly more annoying for Buck to move. Take that, Buck.
>Buck kneels beside him, his knee thudding softly next to Eddie’s face. “I should warn you, I had two slices of that recruits birthday cake after lunch.”
Buck glances down at him, the mask is hiding most of his features but the death glare steeps through anyway.
“Don’t worry, I can accommodate your sweet tooth.”
Eddie tries to think of a response, but the longer Buck stares down at him the more jumbled his brain gets. His lips part and nothing except a shaky exhale comes out. He thinks Buck’s eyes track the movement. It sends his brain into absolute shambles. Half of it is saying he was definitely looking at your lips, the more reasonable and not dumb half tells him he’s being insane. He’s more inclined to believe the latter. His brain is still scrambling for footing when Bobby saves him from his misery.
“Okay, the first step is to drag the victim to a bedroom or some other closed and safe environment. It’s better than dragging them through a house full of smoke. Always shut the door behind you. If they are already in a room, same thing applies-”
Bobby’s voice carries through the room, walking the recruits through set up and rules, nothing that involves them yet. Buck begins fidgeting.
“Is it really that boring?” Eddie mumbles.
“What?”
“He has been talking for two seconds and you’re already antsy.”
“I’m not antsy.”
Eddie purses his lips, eyes narrowing. Buck catches the look, rolls his eyes, but his foot stops tapping.
“-at this point you radio. Have the window laddered and begin moving. The less friction the victim has with the floor the better. Cross their arms-”
Buck reaches over Eddie's torso to grab the arm he very purposefully splayed as far away as possible. Eddie quickly gets a face full of Bucks' chest and regrets his decision. Mostly.
With both wrists now in his grasp Buck pins Eddie's arms to his chest. He gives him a look as if to say, "Stay," before getting up. It definitely doesn’t make his stomach flip.
Way to be professional, Eddie.
“-then lift the victims legs.” Eddie feels his ankles cross, then they are being hoisted off the floor until they are resting against Buck's stomach. Their legs are now pressed together. Eddie, flat on his back, Buck looming over him. “Orient them towards the window then bring them in-”
Eddie watches Buck wrap his arms around his legs. His butt lifts off the floor and he's lifted up and being dragged across the room towards the window. Eddie slides, effortlessly.
He should have had a third slice of cake.
“-come in close, but not too close because you’ll be placing the victims feet flat on the floor creating an angle with their knees. While this is happening, another firefighter is laddering the window. When he gets up he’s going to clear the entire thing. You don't want any glass or anything blocking the exit-”
Eddie briefly notices Ravi poke his head through the fake window positioning himself. Buck is rearranging Eddie’s feet now. He gently—frankly with more care than Eddie thinks is necessary— bends his knees so they are at a 90 degree angle.
“-right now comes the hard part, we’re going to do a two step lift. The window rescuer is going to bang on the side of the window he wants the head to go. So Ravi is going to start banging on his right yelling left, with the smoke it's going to be easier for the inside rescuer to hear rather than see-”
Buck is leaning down, ready to grab him when Ravi bangs the window sill. The sound echoes through the room— it's louder than he expected and for a second Eddie’s mind goes blank and the only word resonating is gunshot.
Eddie flinches. He thinks Ravi may have used a tool instead of his hand.
Buck catches the flinch, in tune with every move Eddie makes. Hesitating with his hands outstretched he whispers, “You good?”
Eddie nods, heart in his throat. He has a clear view of Buck's face right above him. And thus a clear view of his eyes which mix bright blue with a sliver of concern. The sincerity of that look makes dusty butterflies dance through Eddie's ribcage.
“You’re supposed to be unconscious, why are you nodding?”
The joke catches Eddie off guard, he snorts. His heart settles back in his chest right next to those damned dancing butterflies. Eddie wants to retaliate, play his game, maybe flip him off, but that is definitely too much for an unconscious body.
“-lift up the victim, as you lift you’re going to capture progress with your knee-”
Buck gets his hands under Eddie’s arms and lifts. He grunts softly supporting his weight with just his arms before his knee digs into Eddie’s back.
Eddie grows heavier in retaliation for the sharpness of the knee, truly letting himself become dead weight. Buck scrambles, Eddie slips. Buck catches him and braces himself against the change. Eddie laughs before he can stop himself.
“Shut up. I can still lift you, I just wasn't expecting that,” Buck grumbles.
“-from there lift their arms up and the outsider rescuer should grab hold and step down for better position in the next step. For the arms, if the victim is broader or this also helps when working with a narrower window, cross their arms. It constricts the chest-“
Eddie’s arms are grabbed from off the floor where they had so helpfully fallen in the first lift. Buck hands them off to Ravi. Ravi's grip is noticeably colder, and smaller and Eddie finds himself immediately missing Bucks hands. He shakes the thought away because it’s not helpful.
“-then you put the head through the side the outsider rescuer indicated. They should help pull up. Remember to hold progress-“
Eddie tenses involuntarily as Buck plants his feet and drives his weight into pushing Eddie up into the wall. Ravi doesn’t offer much help leaving Buck to do most of the heavy lifting— quite easily Eddie notes, his face flaring. Then Buck dumps him over the window ledge. and holds him in place. With. His. Hips.
Frankly, he forgot about this part. Eddie is hanging there, halfway out a window, pretending to be dead or passed out or whatever it is he can't remember which— his brain is working a little bit slowly at the moment for. Reasons. He’s glad his face is hidden outside. He knows he’s bright red.
Bobby begins explaining the way Ravi needs to adjust for the new weight. Buck keeps holding him in place. Like normal. A totally normal, routine rescue drill. Eddie tries to breathe, closes his eyes for the first time since the demo started.
As he hangs he thinks to himself for the first time ever in his career that firefighting can be…intimate at times. Not in a real emergency obviously. There’s no embarrassment in a life or death situation. But his body knows this is fake, there's no adrenaline coursing through his body making his heart pump faster. Nothing is calling his mind into sharp focus.
He deeply misses the focus of an emergency. Without it all he can think about is that Buck is standing directly behind him. He hears him breathing slightly heavier, regaining a steady rhythm after having just hauled Eddie's dead weight up and out a window. Bucks hands are on his back waiting for Bobby to finish explaining the— totally normal and not at all intimate he reminds himself— maneuver. His fingers are drumming a beat only Buck can hear, his touch is a light featherweight breath through his turncoat. It makes him shiver despite the heat.
He's trying to focus on the drumming. Trying because what he desperately doesn’t want to be thinking about is how Buck is using nothing but his hips to hold Eddie in place. The drumming is bad. The hips are worse.
Yep. He officially wishes he was actually unconscious.
The rest is easy. That is if you are Buck and not Eddie trying not to think about Buck. His leg gets lifted out. He whacks Eddie's knee on the frame and Buck whispers the softest, “sorry!” cupping the spot as if to relieve any pain caused. It all makes Eddie a bit woozy. He tells himself it’s only because he’s upside down.
Bobby takes his sweet time explaining the nuances. Buck just holds him. Then finally, after what feels like an entire lifetime, both his legs are out and Buck's hips are no longer against him.
The window is fake and so is the ladder Ravi is standing on. They’ll explain how to get the hypothetical body down in a different place he assumes. Which means when Bobby wraps up Ravi basically drops Eddie to the ground. Any other day and he would be grumbling at the carelessness. Today, however, Eddie is glad. He thinks he needs to lay there for eternity to let his hammering heart calm down.
Eddie has always been close to Buck. They’ve hugged, Eddie allowed himself to claim Bucks shoulder as his a while ago, they’ve worked together on the job. Never though has his body been flush against Buck’s for an extended period of time. Not like that.
When he finally opens his eyes again, Buck and Ravi are gone. Instead he sees Bobby leaning out the window he was just shoved out of by Buck. His Captain winks at him before before disappearing. It's too much for his brain to handle.
No one has ever been able to lift him with such ease and quiet strength. The thought makes the breath whoosh out of him. Eddie thinks with growing horror, the truth scratching and screaming as it crawls out his throat, that he wants Buck to do it again.