Chapter Text
The first time the phone rings, Buck ignores it.
He’s half-asleep, face buried into his pillow, the glow of the screen painting the room blue in short, flickering bursts. It stops before he can fully wake, leaving only silence behind.
Then it rings again.
And again.
Persistent. Insistent.
Wrong.
Buck groans, dragging himself up on one elbow. “Alright, alright,” he mutters, reaching blindly for it—but the ringing cuts off just before he answers.
Missed call.
Unknown number.
“…weird,” he mumbles.
The phone lights up again immediately.
This time, he answers.
“Hello?”
Static greets him.
Not loud. Not dramatic. Just… there. Like someone breathing on the other end of the line without actually speaking.
Buck frowns. “Hello?”
The line goes dead.
He stares at the phone for a second longer than necessary, unease curling low in his stomach.
Then—
It rings again.
Buck sits up fully now, rubbing sleep out of his eyes as he accepts the call. “Okay, seriously—who is this?”
“Buck, where are you?"
The voice snaps him awake.
“Eddie?” His tone shifts instantly, concern replacing irritation. “I’m home. Why—what’s wrong?”
There’s a pause on the other end.
Not like Eddie. Eddie doesn’t hesitate when it matters.
“…Buck,” Eddie says again, quieter this time. “I need you to tell me where you are.”
Buck’s chest tightens. “I just did. I’m at the loft. Eddie, you’re freaking me out—what’s going on?”
Another pause.
Then the line cuts out.
“Eddie?” Buck pulls the phone away, staring at it. “Eddie?”
No answer.
The call has ended.
Buck swallows, unease now blooming into something sharper. He swings his legs off the bed, already reaching for his jeans off the chair.
That’s when he hears it—
A knock.
Soft. But urgent.
“Buck?”
His head snaps toward the door.
That’s—
That’s Eddie.
Buck freezes for half a second before crossing the loft in quick strides, fingers fumbling slightly on the lock. “Eddie, I swear if this is some kind of—”
The door swings open.
Eddie stands there, slightly out of breath, phone in his hand and something unsettled in his eyes.
For a moment, neither of them speak.
“Hey,” Buck says, confused. “What are you—didn’t you just call me?”
Eddie’s expression shifts immediately.
“No.”
The word lands heavy.
Buck lets out a short, disbelieving laugh. “Yeah, you did. You just—like, two seconds ago—”
“I’ve been trying to call you,” Eddie cuts in, stepping closer. “It wouldn’t go through.”
Buck’s stomach drops.
“…what?”
Eddie lifts his phone slightly, like proof. “Every time I tried, it failed. I was about to knock again.”
Buck slowly raises his own phone.
The call log is still open.
Unknown number. Unknown number. Unknown number.
And one labeled—
Eddie.
Buck looks up.
Eddie shakes his head once.
“I didn’t call you,” he repeats.
Silence stretches between them, thick and suffocating.
Then Buck’s phone vibrates again
Both of them flinch.
Same number.
Calling.
Again.
Eddie’s jaw tightens. “Don’t answer that.”
Buck doesn’t listen.
He can’t.
His thumb presses accept.
“Hello?” he says, voice quieter now.
For a second, there’s nothing.
Then—
“…Buck.”
His breath catches.
It’s his voice.
Distorted. Faint. Like it’s coming from somewhere far away.
“Where are you?”
Buck’s grip on the phone tightens.
Eddie steps closer, his shoulder brushing Buck’s, grounding and solid and real.
“Hang up,” Eddie says, low and firm.
But Buck can’t move.
Because on the other end of the line
He can hear breathing.
His breathing.
And then
A whisper.
“You shouldn’t be there.”
The call ends.