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Buck’s working out in the gym when Bobby comes out of the Captain’s Office with a determined look on his face.
“Oh no, what’d you do now, Buck?” Chimney teases from his spot where he likes to tease Buck from as he works out.
Buck rolls his eyes as Bobby reaches them.
“Hey, Kid, got any plans next weekend?”
Confused, but curious, Buck sits up on the bench he was working out on and says, “No, why?”
“Well, there’s a firefighter competition out in Nashville. They’re looking for the houses to send a Captain and two members of each house and I was thinking that you, me and Eddie could take a ride?” Bobby offers.
Chimney looks mildly offended at not being asked, but Buck grins. “I’m down for it.”
“Awesome.”
***
Buck loved that it turned into a bit of a road trip.
He loves that he and Bobby can trade off driving, chatting about various things that they’re expected to see in Nashville for the competition while Eddie sits in the back. It almost feels more like it’s just the two of them instead of the three of them.
Which, he doesn’t really mind. He loves getting to spend time with Bobby.
He loves it even more when they finally arrive to find that apparently the organizers decided that they’d be camping throughout the competition and have assigned tents to each team.
“Camping? Really,” Eddie groans.
“It’s an adventure, Eddie,” Buck offers with a grin as they follow the map to the location of their assigned tent. “Besides, it sure beats living out of my jeep.”
“You never mentioned that,” Bobby says with a quirk of his brow, bag on his shoulder. “I thought you couch surfed.”
“Couldn’t always find a couch,” Buck shrugs. “There were some great people that I met that were willing to let me, but most people are wary of some kid that appears to be homeless crashing on their couch.”
“That’s because they didn’t know how much fun it’d be to beat you at video games,” an old familiar voice says from his other side.
He turns and spots Kelly Severide, a lieutenant of Firehouse 51 in Chicago. A lot more grey than he’d been when Buck had last seen him nearly a decade ago (Chicago had been his stop before Minnesota and Minnesota had been his stop before Peru where Connor lured him to LA and his future), but still as buff and grinning beside his best friend and roommate, lieutenant Matt Casey.
“You’re such an ass, Sev,” Casey says, hair looking like a darker blonde than he’d been when they’d met, but otherwise the same.
“And yet, you love me,” Severide offers with a knowing grin. “What’s that say about you?”
“That he’s a dumbass,” a new familiar voice says as he pops out of their tent. It’s Christopher Herrmann, all grey hair, and looking a lot older than the other two. He’d been a member of Casey’s Truck for a long time, though he’s proudly sporting a shirt that reads Lieutenant Herrmann, Engine 51. “Why’d Boden have to send me with you two?”
Judging be the laughter, he must’ve been complaining the whole time and they already know the answer.
Still, Buck can’t help grinning as he hugs all three of them. He’d crashed on Casey and Severide’s couch for more than six months (his longest stay anywhere) and worked at Molly’s – the bar Herrmann owns and runs as his second job before he left for Minnesota.
“It’s good to see you, Buck,” Casey offers with a grin. Although Buck had mentioned to Bobby and the 118 that he chose Buck due to the too many Evans at the academy, he’d actually started with it a little sooner. Casey and Severide like using shortened names of their last names, and it just felt better than Evan, still does. “Looks like we convinced you after all.”
“All those stories I heard at Molly’s definitely stuck in my head, that’s for sure, but a friend I made in Peru that invited me to LA helped me get there,” Buck offers. Before he can dive further into his time at the 118, he quickly says, “This is my Captain Bobby Nash, and another firefighter on our team at the 118, Eddie Diaz.”
There are handshakes as Casey introduces himself as captain, while the other two explain being in charge of their own rigs.
Buck happily supplies that they run things a little differently in Chicago, but despite being interested, Bobby says, “Why don’t we find our tent and then, meet back up for something to eat? Catch up?”
“Sounds great.”
***
It doesn’t take long for them to be at a picnic table where food’s been provided for the competition. Buck’s thrilled as Bobby sits next to him, Eddie opting to talk to the guys from the 126 that were sent, listening to the guys talking about Chicago and what’s been happening there.
“I feel a little less bad that it took me until I was over thirty to realize I was – am – bi when you two lived together for years and realized it at nearly forty,” Buck teases after Casey and Severide tell him about how Herrmann and Mouch teasing them about basically being married to the job and each other had led to a prank and a kiss that turned their lives upside down.
It sent them both on spirals in which Casey discovered he was demi and Severide discovered he was bi.
“Honestly, it’s really all Herrmann’s fault,” Severide offers.
“It is not,” Herrmann retorts to laughter. “I was just making fun of you. Didn’t know I was right.”
“Yeah, you should’ve done it sooner, might’ve saved us both some heartache,” Casey offers. “How’d it happen for you?”
“I, uh, I was acting like a jealous idiot and then, I got kissed and it just… well, my ex-girlfriend and I used to rate men’s asses, probably should’ve realized sooner.”
Bobby nearly chokes on his drink. “You don’t mean Taylor, do you?”
“Yeah, why?”
“You dated her two years before you … got kissed,” Bobby says, sounding thoroughly confused.
“In Buck’s defense, it can be very hard to realize that you’re bi,” Severide offers.
“Speaking from experience?”
“Yeah, yeah – I was spinning in circles after we kissed, so confused and it took ages for me to realized that there were… things I did that straight men don’t do.”
“Like rating men’s asses,” Herrmann offers with a laugh. He leans over and whispers dramatically to Bobby, “I heard these two teasing about it one day and it’s turns out Severide’s got a list.”
Bobby laughs, barely managing not to spit out his drink. “And where do you rate on that list?”
Herrmann chokes on his drink. “Pretty sure he erased my name when I demanded to see the list.”
“Nah, he erased it because Cindy would kill him,” Casey teases to an eyeroll from Severide.
“You fear my wife more than me?”
“Definitely.”
He’s not the only one to say it, Casey and Buck agree, too. From what Buck remembers of Cindy Herrmann she was a force to be reckoned with.
They all laugh. Grinning and smiling, and Bobby seems quite happy to see it, too.
“So, do you think dating will give you a leg up on the competition?” Bobby teases.
“Nah, that’ll just be us being the best.”
“We’ll see about that.”
***
The competition is much more fun than Buck had thought it would be. Despite the slight rift that he’s been feeling from Eddie of late, they manage to do well, even manage to win it all. Getting first despite the rift felt a little like melting some ice and coming together.
Sadly, 51 didn’t win, but they were happy to celebrate the 118. They don’t mind sharing a last sendoff together and Buck promises to write and maybe visit. There’s a part of him that absolutely favored his time in Chicago more than any other place that he hung out over the years until he got to LA.
And seeing them again made him miss them.
“Don’t worry, you can always take time off to visit them whenever you want,” Bobby offers.
“Yeah. I probably will,” Buck admits as they hit the road. “I do miss them. I didn’t realize how much until I saw them, again.”
Bobby hums. “They seemed like good guys, and if you lived and worked with them, I could see why you miss them.”
Buck grins. “They are good guys, and I’m really happy for them, that they – you know, figured out how to be together.”
“Certainly, makes you feel better – figuring it out later in life, doesn’t it?” Bobby questions. “I know you were uncertain, but…”
Buck nods. “Yeah, it really does make me feel a lot better. Sometimes, it just takes time.”
“And it’s never too late to figure things out.”
“Exactly.”
***
The one thing about winning the competition meant bringing home the trophy to cheers and cake and honestly, it felt pretty great.
Between winning and running into old friends, it was a great weekend, and he was really glad that he and Bobby got to do this competition together.
Best offer ever.