Work Text:
Nashville, TN
Firefighter Games
Eddie was climbing up the wall to get to the top so he could pull the rope up. Buck was down on the floor cheering for him, and Eddie could hear him even all the way at the top. Eddie got to the top before the rest of the opponents, moving quickly to pull on the rope.
Everything was going fine.
Eddie was pulling on the rope, the weight on the end, 200 or so pounds, was halfway up.
Then, the lights flashed. It was part of the light show for the games. But the lights were white.
And suddenly, Eddie was somewhere else. Rain was pouring, beating down on him as he tried so desperately to pull the weight Buck up to the top of the ladder after he fell.
His hands felt like they were slipping and he was certain the rain wasn’t making it any easier. Stretcher. He needed a stretcher.
Buck was dead. Buck was dead. He wasn’t responding. He was laying there, limp. He was dead. The person he never told he loved was dead and he couldn’t pull the weight up. Buck was dead. He’d never get to tell him he loved him. Buck was—
Buck was in front of him. When did he get back down to the floor?
“Eds, hey. Baby, look at me. Breathe. It’s okay.” Buck’s words were soft, soothing. His hands were on his cheeks and they weren’t cold. His thumb was rubbing over Eddie’s cheekbone. Eddie’s hands shot out, trying to feel for a heartbeat. To prove that Buck was alive. To prove he was okay. To prove he wasn’t dead.
One of Buck’s hands dropped to Eddie’s wrist and he gently led it to where he could feel his heartbeat. Eddie realized now just how silent the arena was. But he completely forgot about that when he felt Buck’s heartbeat under his hand.
“See? I’m okay. You got my heart started again. You did. You brought me back. You saved me, baby. You saved me.” Buck murmured, bringing his other hand to Eddie’s other. He brought his boyfriend’s hand to his lips, pressing a kiss against his knuckles. “I’m alive, see. I’m warm too. Not cold and wet.” He promised, letting Eddie’s hand drop.
Eddie finally spoke after…well he wasn’t sure how long. How long had he been back on the floor? He wasn’t sure. “I—The lights…They…The rope…” He felt warm tears running down his face. Buck shushed him gently, pulling him into his arms.
“I know, baby. I should have been the one to do this. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m so sorry, baby.” Buck said softly, pressing a kiss to the top of Eddie’s head, one hand rubbing up and down his back while the other rested on the back of Eddie’s head.
Eddie shook his head, the movement more jerky than he intended. “No, no. You don’t—It’s not your fault. Don’t apologize.” He whispered, his face buried into Buck’s shoulder as he took in deep breaths, the smell of Buck’s cologne and body wash (even his sweat, because it was better than the smell of rain) brought him comfort.
After a few more moments, Eddie became all too aware of all the eyes on them. Spectators and other firefighters alike. He pulled back slowly, bringing his hand up to wipe his tears with the back of it. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to—“
He was cut off by Captain Hart. “Don’t worry about it, Diaz. Buckley noticed something was wrong and told us what was happening while you made it back to the floor. Short, missing some detail, but I can gather what happened. I noticed the scar up Buckley’s neck earlier, too.” The older man said, his voice gentle.
Eddie’s hand went up to Buck’s neck, his fingers brushing against the scar. “Oh,” He started, his voice still a little shaky but no longer filled with panic as it had been just minutes earlier. “Still…I kind of messed up the competition, didn’t I?”
Buck snorted beside him. “Baby, you won.” He replied, pointing at the scoreboard. “You actually broke the record from a few years ago with how fast you got the rope up. I guess all that training of you pulling my weight paid off.” He teased gently.
Eddie sent him a glare, but it was light and without any heat. “You weren’t supposed to know about that, cariño.” Buck just laughed again, a smile on his lips. “Baby, you weren’t exactly subtle about it.” He teased, poking Eddie in the side.
Eddie rolled his eyes, a small smile forming on his face. “Yeah…Well, I wanted to be prepared, just in case.” He said softly. Buck hummed, bringing his hand up to push Eddie’s hair off his forehead. “Bobby made it a rule. I’m not allowed out when it’s storming or about to and neither are you. Chim has kept that rule up. It’ll never happen again.” He reminded.
And Eddie knew that logically.
Bobby had been really understanding after the first call back after the strike when it had been storming again. Both he and Buck had a panic attack, leaving them stuck in the truck with Hen and Chim trying to calm them down. Luckily it had been a minor call and really only needed a few people.
After that call, Bobby had them stay behind on any calls when it was storming or about to storm because PTSD was a thing. It was even listed on their paperwork as a requirement that they stayed behind in case they ever switched stations. Not they would.
Eventually, the floor was cleared and the next competition was set up. It was Buck’s turn to compete. Fire truck pulling. He was the one that was supposed to compete in that event but he was still recovering from the panic attack so the switch was allowed. Buck won by an inch, shooting them up to be tied in second with Nashville.