#This could be a cute one shot fic of the firefam I think

[sloasis]

This is probably a really weird headcanon but I think Buck would smoke cigarettes . Like he would've gotten into it when he was a teenager solely to piss off his parents and to get attention that he was craving and get in trouble for smoking in his room , he'd smoke on the road and in Peru with friends while bartending but once he went into the fire academy he'd stop , for his fitness + cigs can start fires sometimes [ the academy probably drilled that into tests and what not ] , so he quit for a while but once those traumas started happening , losing people on scenes and getting hurt , seeing anybody else get hurt , the craving would come back , he'd fight it off but once he got crushed under that firetruck and he was ordered to heal up at home with nothing to do anymore , he'd have gone to his local gas station and bought a pack , or two , and smoke them all . That'd probably would've helped caused the embolism , but he sued the city and the fire department and kept smoking . But he got hired back into duty and had to keep the secret of smoking a few cigarettes in the alleyway of the firehouse on shifts . Everyone else definitely knew he was acting suspicious every time he said ' Be right back , gotta go to the bathroom , gotta go take this call real quick , ' but they had no clue what he was lying about or what he was actually going to go do . I think either Bobby or Maddie would catch him first , Bobby getting tired of being suspicious and needing to confront Buck about whatever he was doing and followed him back out into the alley and seeing him light up a cigarette , or Maddie letting herself into Buck's loft and seeing him smoke on the balcony . Bobby would obviously tell him to stop , maybe feeling lied to by him because he never knew Buck smoked at all . Maddie would feel concerned and ask him when he'd start smoking again , she never liked it when he smoked in the first place too . Hen and Chimney and Eddie would find out eventually , Hen would go on a rant about how bad cigarettes are bad for him and his health , Chimney would go into Buck's bag and throw away the packs , Eddie would talk about how in the army all the guys would sit around and smoke and shoot the shit but it wasn't fulfilling conversation , it was just to momentarily forget about being in the depths of war . And he would never , ever let Chris get into anything like smoking . They'd had staged a little intervention for Buck about this and that made Buck realize that they cared . So much they cared about his health and wellbeing . His parents didn't care , they just got angry and yelled and belittled Buck , that was the only time they'd ever given him attention though , but this attention , from his best friends and his captain who was a true father figure and his real concerned sister made him realize , he was loved and cared for , he didn't need to itch that craving for attention anymore with nicotine .

[madamewriterofwrongs]

I see a lot of Buck and May fics, but how about Buck and Henry? And Eddie and Maddie never got enough love. Or Eddie and Athena. Heck, even Eddie and Chimney. I'm starting to ramble so I'm just gonna go. 😘

Never stop talking about all the friendships on the show. 

This involved neither May nor Harry (I may write one later), but it does involve a bunch of FireFam goodness so I hope you enjoy <3

“Do you ever feel like we’re spending our lives babysitting a bunch of rowdy teenagers?”

Bobby looked up from his place at the kitchen sink when his wife walked in to the dining room, face firmly in her phone.

“Every day.” Curiosity got the better of him, so he made his way to Athena’s side, drying his hands as he leaned over her shoulder. “The kids having too much of a good time?”

She snorted, tilting the screen for her husband to see. “Do you know what this text says?”

Eiddjr and i aren fettj t martine brjnt shors

Bobby barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the text from Karen. The kids were definitely having too much fun. It was almost time to call it quits.

“It looks Norse.” He shrugged. “Maybe they ended up at a Viking bar?”

He was very used to Athena’s confused, judgemental looks, but he never felt any better when they were aimed in his direction.

“What the hell is a Viking bar?”

He had no answer (and apparently his impression of a stereotypical Viking helmet made with embarrassed hands, wasn’t enough of an explanation) but he was saved by his own phone chiming with a new text.

Buck’s text message was at least a page long; but at least it was coherent.

“It’s definitely time to pick up the kids.” He had never seen so many ‘you are’ statements at once. Apparently, someone was feeling the love tonight. Not that it was much of a surprise; they all deserved a night off – it was the whole reason Bobby and Athena were still awake at 2am when they would much rather be in bed. Their gift to Buck and Eddie was to let them be wild and irresponsible for one night, and they would pick them up when it was time to come home and sleep it off (he’d foolishly offered to make breakfast in the morning as well, which earned him a slap on the shoulder from Athena who did not enjoy the idea of hosting a sleepover with six drunk adults).

Eddie had taken a little convincing when it came to their plan, sure that he could control himself and wouldn’t go over the top the way his fiancé would.

Photo evidence throughout the evening suggested otherwise – but those wouldn’t be discovered until the next morning.

At the moment, Eddie was sandwiched between Maddie and Karen, each matching him shot for shot, enjoying the anonymity and privacy of the bar too loud to be overheard and too crowded to care.

“I’m serious, Eddie,” Karen leaned in to his shoulder. “you and I would make beautiful babies together. If I didn’t love my wife so much – and I was sexually attracted to you at all – I would absolutely have your babies.”

Eddie, for his part, accepted her attempt at a hug with a whimper and a smile. “Karen, that’s so sweet. Hen is so luck to have you, you know that?”

“I know, right?” She only shouted so she could be heard over the music (which none of them would admit not knowing the words to).

“No, I’m serious.” Eddie batted away invisible hands. “You are so smart, and you’re incredibly patient – not to mention drop dead gorgeous. And you’re honest, and funny as hell.” He fell into her side. “You’re great.”

Karen stared down at where he rested on her shoulder, either forgetting what she was going to say, or thinking so slowly, it took her that long to come to a conclusion.

“I hope Buck tops you so hard tonight.”

Maddie slammed her glass on the table, having jumped ahead of them in the shot game while they were in their own round of complimentary chicken.

“I specifically avoided my brother’s party so I wouldn’t have to hear about his sexual escapades.”

Eddie rolled his head to look at his future sister-in-law.

“Maddie, I so appreciate you coming with me tonight. I like spending time with you; we should talk more. You’re so brave and”

“Blah, blah, blah.” Maddie rolled her eyes, already reaching for another shot of whatever they’d ordered a dozen of when they told the bartender to surprise them. “You are so talkative when you’re drunk. It’s like alcohol switches off the part of your brain that tells you when to shut up. Which is a slight improvement over the rest of the time when it’s like pulling teeth to get you to say three words to me.”

His pout seemed to melt off his face as she went on her tirade, but he finally found the words. “You make me nervous; but in a good way. I love your brother so much, and he cares a lot about what you think.” Words were becoming a challenge but he soldiered on – ha! “I think Buck would be sad if you didn’t like me and I don’t want him to be sad. So I worry about you liking me.”

Maddie sighed heavily, passing him his own shot glass for them to toast. “You make it so hard to be annoyed with you, you know that?”

“Hey, why are you trying to steal my imaginary boyfriend?” Karen shot up from her micro-nap, reaching for her own glass.

“Don’t worry, Karen” Eddie hugged her to his side. “We’ll always have Joxer’s.”

“If I didn’t have 100% confidence in your love for my brother, I’d be worried about how much the two of you are flirting.”

His eyes were wide when he turned to Maddie. “You’re 100% confident? But I thought you said I was annoying?”

“You are very annoying” she assured him. “But one of the most annoying things about you is how openly you love Buck.”

“It is disgustingly cute.” Karen nodded in agreement (though, nodded was a generous description for the slow head bob as she drifted in and out of consciousness).

“You’ve always just wanted what was best for him and tried to make him happy. I can tell you he’s never been happier than he is with you. You’re really good for my brother, Eddie.”

Later, he might blame the tears on the alcohol, but tonight, he pulled Maddie into a hug, kissed her hair, and told her again how much he loved her.

“Lame!” Chimney declared, holding up his own glass of something he should have stopped drinking hours ago. “That’s too tame, Hen, dare him to take his shirt off while he does it.”

Hen’s laughter was swallowed by the bustling crowd of old alcoholics and broke college students.

“I sometimes think you just see me as a piece of meat, Chim.” Buck’s quiet contemplation had been the source of much mocking all evening and now was no different, earning disapproving groans and snide remarks that had ceased being subtle four shots ago.

“We all know he has the hots for Eddie” Hen snorted.

That seemed to satisfy Buck’s pout (or the mention of his fiancé never failed to put a smile on his face). “I don’t blame you; Eddie is very hot.” He paused long enough to point a shaky finger in his friend’s direction. “But you are not allowed to cheat on my sister. She’d be really sad if you broke her heart and I don’t want to see her sad anymore.”

Chimney stared at his brother-in-law until he found the energy to move his mouth, as much sincerity as he could muster pouring all over the table. “I love your sister. I want to spend my whole life making her happy.”

“Shots!” Hen loudly declared, passing out new glasses for the trio from the tray they’d ordered, vowing it would be the last round – a lie that no one (not even the bartenders) believed.

“Shots!” Chimney failed to sit up from his slumped position at the edge of the booth but he managed to retrieve his drink and clink glasses with his friends, which was enough for the moment.

Hen held them in suspense with their tequila in the air. “One more shot, and you have to strip on the bar. That’s the deal.”

Buck rolled his eyes. “I’m not stripping on the bar again.”

Both paramedics nearly spit out their drinks but Hen was the first to regain her senses.

“You’ve done it before?”

“No!” His response came too late – and if any of them remembered this night, he might be worried about repercussions.

“You have.” Chimney point a lazy hand in his general direction, fading faster than the others.

“Why are you on her side now?” Buck would be very offended at both Chimneys, if he could look either of them in the eyes.

“I’m on the winning side.” He loudly declared, dropping his shot glass a little too forcefully onto the table, shattering their eardrums.

“If you’re not going to at least jump on the table then I’m going home.” Hen was already stumbling out of the booth when Buck grabbed her arm.

“Fine, fine,” he conceded, pushing their copious glassware to the edges of the table. “For you.”

Five minutes later, the trio caught themselves against the side of the building, Chimney holding an icepack to Buck’s forehead, and Hen apologizing to the bouncer for the seventh time as the door slammed behind them.

“My phone is dead so we can’t call Bobby.” Buck tucked his phone into his back pocket – nearly falling over when he went back to retrieve the phone that never made it into his pants.

“I could call Bobby.” Chimney did his best to keep his friend upright, but coordination was not his friend tonight.

“Or we could walk!” Hen declared, already setting off towards the sidewalk. What choice did they have but to follow behind, decidedly not calling Bobby to come get them from the other side of town.

While Chimney held the ice pack, Buck was free to sling his arms around his friends and pull them close.

“I am so lucky to know you guys, you know that?” The force of his embrace sent them stumbling over the synthetic grass, but they caught themselves in time. “See, you protect me.”

Hen, clearly the sensible one of the group, pulled them forward. “Come on, I bet we could run and keep our arms locked like this.”

Eddie’s trio weren’t fairing much better, having respectfully paid their bar tab after a woman tried to hit on Eddie, and Karen nearly threw an empty glass at her head. Maddie had wisely called Athena (although, the vulgar language she used would be the source of a lecture at the breakfast table), but that didn’t stop them from wandering down the street and away from the place they’d promised to stay.

They were definitely too far from their meeting spot when Eddie spotted a group of familiar faces across the four-lane road.

“Buck?!” he called, pulling more attention than strictly necessary. As long as it got the one man he was after, it would be worth it.

“Eddie?” Bingo! Both parties stood parallel to each other, mirroring their swaying movement. “What are you doing over there?”

“We’re waiting for Athena.”

“Cool. We didn’t call Bobby so we’re walking home.”

Eddie furrowed his brow. “Home is that way.” He gestured in a direction that would eventually get them back to their home (if they circled the globe a few times).

“Oh.” Buck frowned, taking him at his word. “We’ll stop then.”

“What happened to your forehead?” Maddie’s shout startled him for her sheer proximity – not because he forgot she was there because he only had eyes for his fiancé. She had a good point though. Why was Chimney holding an ice pack to Buck’s head?

“He wrestled a bear” Hen declared.

“No, I didn’t.” Buck shot his friend an annoyed glare. The thought of shots made Eddie queasy in the night air, but he listened to the trio across the street.

“I told you to, but you said we couldn’t find one this late at night.”

“There’s one at the zoo.” Karen shouted unhelpfully.

“We should go to the zoo.” Hen latched on to his wife’s idea much too quickly.

“You’re all idiots.” Maddie rolled her eyes, stumbling as she did so; thank god she at least thought to wear flats for her evening out. “Come over here and wait for Athena with us.”

Chimney had to be pulled back by Buck’s lightning-dull reflexes when he stepped out onto the road at his wife’s command.

“Use the crosswalk dummy” she scolded, earning an indignant look from her brother.

“Don’t be mean to Chim; he loves you so much.”

“Yeah,” Chimney parroted. “I love you so much.”

Eddie watched the exchange wistfully. He’d always liked Maddie and Chimney’s relationship. They took care of each other and respected one another and laughed together and talked together. He could only hope that one day he’d find something that good.

Oh wait, he had.

“I’m going to marry you, Evan Buckley!” Eddie shouted to the world, his eyes landing on the only face that mattered. “You’re going to be mine forever.”

“I love you, Eddie Diaz” Buck called back. “I’m gonna marry you so hard.”

“Oh my god.” Six fuzzy heads turned to face a very put out – though secretly bemused – Athena Grant, arms crossed over her chest from her position against the light post. “It’s like herding cats with you all.”

“’Thena!” Hen called from across the street. “We didn’t call Bobby.”

“I noticed. He’s here anyways.” The police sergeant clicked her tongue in annoyance. “I’m not shouting at you three all night, get over here.” When they didn’t move right away, she added with a glare “now!”

While one drunken trio made their way to the crosswalk to join their friends, Athena turned her attention to the drunken trio in front of her.

“And you three, were supposed to stay by the bar. Instead, I have to walk six blocks to find you, while Bobby is trying to find those three stooges at their meeting location twenty blocks away.” She continued her lecture even as she pulled out her phone to call her husband. “The six of you are going to send us both into early retirement.”

“Bobby, your kids are here with mine, you know the bar? Great.” She’d barely swiped the call button when she found herself engulfed by Eddie’s hug.

“Thank you for coming to get us, Athena. You always take such good care of us.” She hesitated for a moment before sighing and giving in to his sloppy embrace.

“I’ll remind you you said that in the morning.” They were all going to wake up miserable. Why had she let her husband agree to let them take the spare bedrooms? If she conveniently forgot now, they’d never know.

She’d drive them back to her house anyways.

“I’ll always remember” he promised, eyes wide and sincere. “For as long as I Buck!” Athena recoiled when Eddie shouted in her ear, immediately detaching himself so he could fling his arms around his fiancé, letting the ice pack drop to the ground. “You came!”

Buck held Eddie tightly to his chest, squeezing as hard as they both could. “I’ll always come for you” he declared with the same sincerity Eddie had worn before. She hoped they remembered being this unbearably sappy. It wouldn’t be any fun to tease them if they had no idea what she was talking about.

As the three couples reunited, Athena stood off to the side, watching them cuddle and exchange light kisses. Karen and Hen’s touches were soft and quiet, Maddie and Chimney exchanged flirtatious words for only them, and Eddie was gently swiping his thumb over the inevitable bruise on Buck’s forehead. Each seemed to temper the other, adding a calm to the evening that had been chaos until now. They were happy – all of them – that seemed a hard thing to earn in their line of work. But they’d found it, somehow.

Her friends may be an absolute headache sometimes, but she loved them dearly.

Until Chimney vomited into the nearest trashcan, setting off an impossibly disgusting chain reaction amongst the group.

Maybe tonight, she’d love them from afar.

[bisexualbuck]

911 & Buddie Fic Rec

I’ve been reading a lot of fics lately as I pretend that nothing is happening in the world, and so I’ve put up a list of a few that have stuck with me.

Don’t forget to leave them a comment! They’re all amazing and they deserve it.

Let’s spread some positivity around here!

In no particular order

Knocking On Heaven’s Door by MomentsOfWeakness

Summary: Buck isn’t sure where he is. The last thing he remembers was being out on a call. Now he’s here, in a place he has never seen before surrounded by people he doesn't know. It's bright. That's all he can really tell.

Based on a Tumblr prompt where someone asked for Buck and Chris both ending up in purgatory at the same time before they ever met in life. Buck has a ticket back to the living world but he gives it to Chris who is supposed to die. An old man, seeing what Buck did for Chris, decides to give his own ticket for the living world to Buck, because the world needs more people like him.

Personal opinion: This is just so good. It’s so well-written it almost reads like poetry.

Eddie Diaz and the Cat-astrophe at the 118 by SquaresAreNotCircles

Summary: It’s Chimney who rescues her from the tree, but it’s Bobby’s arms that she curls up in on the drive over to the vet to get her checked out. Right from the start, it’s as if she knows who she needs to cozy up with to secure her spot at the station.

“Come on, that’s crazy,” Buck says, but he does so while laughing not at Eddie, but at the grey tabby cat trying to get her claws on the fake mouse on a string that Buck bought with his own money, so Eddie doesn’t put too much stock in his opinion.

Or: The firefam adopts a mascot and Eddie has a minor crisis about it.

Personal opinion: This is just too sweet and too funny!!

Whatever you say, Buck by nanasteiger

Summary: Tumblr prompt: I'd love to see a fic where they start dating but decide to keep it private for a bit, except literally everybody knows because they're not secretive at all and everybody catches them here and there kissing or being affectionate with each other.

 The first one to talk about it was, and it wasn’t really a surprise, Captain Nash. “So,” he said, approaching him in the locker room, “what’s going on between you and Diaz?”

Personal opinion: The softness... unparalleled.

Love Language by red_to_black

Summary: The one in which there's too much pollen around, Eddie pines, and Buck is oblivious.

Or - Eddie's love language is acts of service, and Buck doesn't totally get it.

Personal opinion: I have melted... too good!!

a leaf falls on loneliness by iimpossible_things

Summary: Buck doesn’t think that if he were to say, “I’m in a bad place”, that anyone would turn him away. Really, he doesn’t. The 118 has too many good, kind people for that.

But every time he wants to open his mouth, to say something, to reach out to Eddie or Bobby or Hen or Chim, he hears Eddie yelling, “you’re exhausting.”

—you’re exhausting, you’re exhausting, you’re exhausting—

So each day he does his job and he laughs and he jokes and he pretends he’s the care-free goofball he’s always been. And each day he packs away his bruises and his worries, takes them home to his empty loft with its quiet rooms, and licks his wounds in silence.

Personal opinion: Y’all. Just - do yourself a favor and read this. A masterpiece!! Just *chefs kiss*

dying lol by itsmylifekay

Summary: Based on the meme: i'm dying lol

Buck is...Buck. And that means chaos, angst, laughs, and pining over Eddie. Bobby just wants his son to stop ending up in the hospital. Enjoy.

Personal opinion: I have no words to say how much I love this

i want your heart (i hope you do too) by chocobos

Summary: Buck can’t stop thinking about those words, about the way Eddie had said them, eyes open wide and earnest, hand searing a hole into his shoulder, never once breaking contact with him in any regard.

Personal opinion: One of my favorite fics in this fandom

Roll Down This Unfamiliar Road by altschmerzes

Summary: The big 'welcome to the family, sorry I tried to shut you out of it' dinner at Eddie's winds down, and Chimney decides it's time for him - and Albert - to go home. But, as he stands there and looks at his kid brother, half dozing off sitting at Eddie's dining room table, Chimney finds himself frozen, plagued by sudden doubt. What if he's not cut out for this?

It's Buck, of all people, who's there with an answer.

Personal opinion: This is a Chimney-centric fic and it’s an absolutely gorgeous piece.

a diary highlighting dysfunction (adhd) by @evaneddie

Summary: adhd!buck - headcanons into loosely linked one shots

Personal opinion: I’ve just reread just now and wow... still amazing... chefs kiss

I still don’t know my heart by attolians @getbvcked

Summary: I am SEVERELY late for Evan Buckley Week so I rolled these prompts into one fic! • March 23rd - Day 1: “That’s my family.” + fluff • March 24th - Day 2: “Why are you naked?” + fun • March 25th - Day 3: “Please don’t close your eyes!” + hurt • March 26th - Day 4: “You want to marry me?” + love • March 27th - Day 5: “You’re a good liar.” + comfort • March 28th - Day 6: “I won’t let you do this.” + angst

Personal opinion: As I said before, we’re here living in 2020 while Amber’s living in 3020... The genius *chefs kiss*

(hurt) thy neighbor by autumnchills

Summary: “He’s armed,” is all he says into the phone before standing from his spot. He shoves his phone into his pocket and steps out, hands raised. Sure enough, the man has a gun pointed at him, but if he looks closely enough… Buck squints. Color him surprised. “Is that you—” “Don’t!” The man yells, jerking his hand with the gun aggressively. “Don’t you dare fucking say my name, Buckley.”

— In which things get bad fast when Buck's neighbor breaks into his apartment thinking that he isn't home.

Personal opinion: You need to read all of autumnchills’ work actually because guess what... chefs kiss!!!

(There’s) No Time Like The Present by NobodyKnows_U

Summary: "Marry me."

The words flew out of his mouth before he could fully comprehend what he was doing. It came out as a shaken whisper, but everything around seemed to go hopelessly silent. He's pretty sure he heard a few choked gasps but all he could focus on was Buck.

Or, Buck nearly dies saving a baby during a call and Eddie ends up asking Buck to marry him.

Personal opinion: I cried, this is just gorgeous.

5-4-3-2-1 by elisela

Summary: For all the times that Eddie has practiced getting into his turnout suit in record time, he never bothered figuring out how to get out of it just as fast. He would be regretting that if he could think about anything other than the fact that Buck went over the pier rail twenty-six seconds ago, and disappeared into the dark water seventeen seconds ago.

Personal opinion: The intensity... The talent... I’m speechless.

what a man gotta do? (to be your last good night and your first good day) by diazevan

Summary: He is gonna woo Eddie. He is gonna woo him so fucking hard that the other man has no other choice but to be his boyfriend and declare his eternal love for him. Buck is gonna be that good.

or

Buck is the best boyfriend and he doesn't even know it.

Personal opinion: Soft!! Cute!! I’m !!!!!!

Won’t Be Lost Forever by @lionheartedghost

Summary: “Bobby said you wouldn’t talk to him last time he came in.” The chair by the side of the bed scraped back against the linoleum. “You want to tell me what’s going on?” Buck opened his eyes. Eddie looked patiently back at him, passing a hospital canteen cup of coffee back and forth between his hands. “I won’t let you do this,” Eddie said when he didn’t answer, setting the paper cup on the little table beside him. “I won’t let you shut us out.”

Eddie helps Buck with his recovery following the ladder truck incident.Written for Evan Buckley Week, Day 6: "“I won’t let you do this.” + angst

Personal opinion: I’m overwhelmed by so much perfection what the hell

I also want to give a shout-out to @eddiedeaz because her fics for the Evan Buckley Week were, you guessed it, *chefs kiss*

[nighting-gale17]

I was wondering if you'd be interested in a prompt I've been thinking about. (So buck isn't a firefighter never was, but eddie is and he gets excepted to 118 at the same time he does in the show. And over little conversions the firefam has with eddie they release that he is married to a guy named buck and has a disabled kid). Bonus points for British buck because I live like two blocks away from were oliver stark grow up, my older sister went to school with him

Thanks for this prompt! It was really cute and tbh I had a lot of fun writing it! So basically, in this fic buck never joined the 118 and tommy is still on the team. Hope you enjoy it!

Feel free to send me more prompts you guys :) I love writing these

5 times eddie mentioned buck and 1 time the team met him in person

[1]

The first time Eddie mentioned his husband was when he first met the team and Chimney caught a glimpse of the black band with a red line on his left hand. 

“Hey, man, you married?” Chimney had asked, a curious look on his face.

Hen watched as a lovestruck smile spread across Eddie’s face and he nodded, voice proud as he responded, “Yeah. Going on seven years, now.” 

“Wow. Pretty impressive.” Tommy let out a low whistle. “You’ll have to bring her around some time, man.”

“Uh, him. Actually.” Eddie corrected, a nervous yet defensive tone to his voice.

Hen felt a grin spread over her face as she clapped him on the shoulder. “Even better, then. My wife would love to meet the two of you.”

At that, Eddie’s entire stance visibly relaxed and his smile turned genuine. “He’d probably like that.” He perked up even more when Tommy asked if he had any pictures and wasted no time in whipping out his phone and fondly showing off a few pictures of their happy little family.

[2]

The second time Eddie mentioned his husband was when the earthquake hit. Hen had already gotten ahold of her wife and been reassured both her and Denny were safe in the house, just a little shaken up. Eddie had been staring at his phone while they sat in the ladder truck, eyebrows furrowed together in worry.

“Everything okay?” Hen asked, shouting to be heard above the roar of the engine and the sirens blaring through the air.

“Yeah.” Eddie glanced up briefly before staring back down at his phone. “Just trying to get through to my husband.”

“I’m sure he’s fine.” Hen reassured him. “The phone lines are probably just too busy for anyone to get through them.”

He gave her a small smile but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Where’s he supposed to be?” she asked, because some buildings in LA are more earthquake-resistant than others.

“At school with our son,” he said after a minute, his smile softening a little. “He’s a special education elementary school teacher.”

“The school buildings here in LA are the safest place your family could be,” Hen promised as the ladder truck came to an abrupt stop outside of a high-rise. “They remodeled all of them a couple years back. They’re practically indestructible.”

“Thanks, Hen.” Eddie gave her a small smile, looking a little less tense than he had moments before.

“Anytime, Eddie. You’re part of the team, now.” she gave him a cheeky grin before she hopped out of the truck to survey the damage done by the earthquake.

[3]

“Hey, Bobby, can I talk to you for a second?”

Bobby glanced up to see Eddie standing on the other side of the counter, looking a little nervous. “Sure kid,” he put the bowl of meat he had been working on for dinner to the side and wiped his hands off in the sink. “What do you need?”

“I know I’ve only been working here for a few months,” Eddie began, rubbing the back of his neck. “But I was wondering if I could take a few days off in a couple weeks.”

“Is everything okay?” Bobby asked with a small frown. It was a little unusual for Eddie to make this request—he hadn’t taken a single sick day since he started, much less ask for a day off.

“Yeah, no, everything’s great.” He smiled a little sheepishly. “It’s my husband and mine’s wedding anniversary coming up and I wanted to take him someplace special for the weekend. If you can’t give me the time off, I understand,” Eddie rushed to continue, that nervous look reappearing in his eyes. “I know I haven’t exactly been here long enough to—”

Bobby raised his hand, cutting Eddie off in the middle of his ramble. “Take the time off, Eddie,” he replied with a fond smile. His heart ached for a minute when he thought about his own wedding anniversary—how excited he always was to spend the day with his wife every year.

Eddie breathed a sigh of relief and gave Bobby a bright grin. “Thanks, Bobby. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem.” Bobby’s smile turned mischievous. “You can thank me by helping me get the rest of dinner ready for the crew.”

“Yes, sir.” Eddie laughed, rolling up the sleeves of his uniform and joining Bobby behind the kitchen counter.

[4]

“So, Hen, you and Karen are going to be— what?” Tommy asked one day, tossing a bite of popcorn into his mouth and grinning proudly when he caught it.

“We’re going to be Sally and Jack Skellington.” Hen informed them, a small smile on her face. “Denny is going to be the skelly-dog, Zero.”

“Chim and I are going baseball players.” 

Chimney felt his cheeks flush hotly at the thought of the costumes Tommy had shown him the other day. He was never going to hear the end of it after the part, but, fuck, he had to admit they both looked hot in them.

“What about you, Eddie?” Tommy asked, craning his neck back to peer at Eddie sitting in the reading chair to his left. “What are you and your boo dressing up as?”

“Well, Christopher has been on a Pirates of the Caribbean kick recently,” Eddie admitted, a small smile on his face. “So we’re going as pirates. Buck is, as usual, going all out with this. He started seeing the costumes almost two months ago.”

“He’s sewing them?” Chimney asked curiously, a little impressed.

“Yeah.” Eddie’s gaze softened as he spoke. “He volunteers on the weekend at the children’s hospital to dress up as superheroes to cheer them up. He makes all his own costumes because he insists it’s cheaper for him to make them himself then buy it on the internet.”

Chimney let out a low whistle. “Damn, Eddie. Did you marry a Disney prince or something?”

Eddie let out a groan at that, a smile pulling at his lips. “Don’t say that around him—he’ll start getting ideas.”

[5]

Tommy loves Thanksgiving.

He loved other holidays as well (Christmas held a particularly special place in his heart) but at Thanksgiving, there was so much food. 

“I’m telling you, man, stuffing is one of the best dishes.” Tommy insisted, twisting and turning to look at Chimney for back up.

“It’s good.” His boyfriend acknowledged though it lacked enthusiasm. “My favorite is the turkey, though.” he shot Tommy an apologetic look.

“That reminds me,” Bobby cut in before Tommy could reply. “You’re all invited to our home for Thanksgiving this year. Athena insisted and it would be nice to be with everyone outside of work.”

“Yes!” Tommy replied immediately. “We’ll be there. Athena makes the best stuffing…” he sighed, his mouth-watering slightly just at the thought of the sergeant’s cooking.

“You can count us in too, Cap.” Hen answered with a small smile.

“What about you, Eddie?” Bobby asked, wiping his hands on a kitchen towel as he finished washing up the dishes.

“I would love to, Bobby, but Buck and I are hosting my family for Thanksgiving,” he said apologetically. “Buck tends to go a little overboard on holidays. He didn’t have the best childhood growing up so holidays are always a little extravagant at our house.”

“How extravagant?” Chimney asked curiously, his curiosity only growing when Eddie’s smile turned sheepish and he ducked his head.

“Well, I have a lot of family, so we usually have to end up cooking at least two turkeys, not to mention the side dishes. My abuela usually comes over to help but Buck refuses to let me into the kitchen.” he rolled his eyes fondly. “He practically takes over our kitchen for the entire day.”

“Remind me to send you my mashed potatoes recipe,” Bobby told Eddie, a small smile on his face. “I guarantee it’ll make his life a lot easier if he follows that.”

“Thanks, Cap!” Eddie shared his smile. “Mashed potatoes are his favorite so I think he’ll enjoy it.”

“Okay, but, onto the more important question.” Tommy broke in, face serious. “Does he make stuffing?”

[+1]

The first time Hen actually got to meet Eddie’s husband, Evan, or Buck, as they’ve been told he prefers to be called, it was at the annual Christmas party in the station. She’d been chatting with Karen about what color to paint the nursery when she spotted Eddie walking up the stairs with an, admittedly gorgeous, man at his side with an eye-catching birthmark on his left eye and a young boy on his shoulders.

“Eddie!” Hen greeted, smiling as he walked towards them in the kitchen and placed a casserole dish on the counter.

“Hey Hen, Karen.” He smiled, leaning forward and hugging Hen’s wife and placing a friendly kiss on her cheek. “You look radiant.”

Oh no, Hen thought to herself, watching as Karen blinked back tears and hugged Eddie tightly before she let him go. She was extremely emotional from the pregnancy and any time someone complimented her while she was pregnant she just about started bawling. It was as endearing as it was embarrassing.

“This is my husband, Evan, and our son, Christopher.” Eddie introduced them, a proud look in his eyes and a fond smile on his face.

“Hello. It’s lovely to finally meet you both.” Buck said, a friendly smile on his face.

Oh. OH.

If Hen wasn’t so gay she might’ve swooned.

“You’re British?” Karen asked, a note of surprise in her voice.

Buck’s smile turned shy. “I grew up in London—that’s where I met Eddie, when he was overseas during his first deployment.” he turned and looked at Eddie with a lovesick expression on his face. “We kept in touch and started dating when he was on his second deployment. Then I moved here to LA with him.”

“That’s so romantic.” Karen sniffled, leaning her head against Hen’s shoulder.

“Papa, cookies!” Christopher tapped on the side of Buck’s face, pointing to the decorated sugar cookies laying out on the table.

“Yeah, I see them, buddy.” Buck laughed, reaching up to grab Christopher and set him on the ground. “But you can’t have any cookies until after dinner, remember?” he crouched down and stage whispered into his ear, glancing up at Eddie. “But you and I can split one when your dad isn’t looking.”

Christopher nodded, giggling into his hand before Buck led them away, exaggeratedly checking to see if Eddie was looking before nabbing a cookie off the counter and scurrying away towards the couches where the rest of the team was gathered.

“He’s cute,” Hen told Eddie. “Like a puppy.”

Eddie’s reply was lovesick. “Yeah, he is, isn’t he?”