#hints of Buddie

[sortofanobsession]

In a Flash or Two (9-1-1 Pre-6b Speculative Fic)

911 Masterlist, Ao3

Part 2, Part 3

Summary:

Eddie's POV of the Lightning Strike and aftermath.

Author’s Note: At least 13 of you wanted this, so here it is. We've all seen the promos. This is all speculation and a hint of something else I've been thinking about at the end. Canon compliant, so not exactly Buddie, but hints at it as always.

Tag list:  chitownwolf, @comablog2

Let me know if you want to be added or removed to tags, I’m trying my best guys.

Word Count: 1K+

Content warnings: lightning, emergency, cardiac arrest, pain, lightning strike, electrocution, contact injury, side flash, blast injury, heights, hospitals, passing out, loss of consciousness, panic attacks, anxiety, description of anxiety and panic, manipulation, threats of using a child to gain compliance but not in a violent or hostile way (just them using Christopher to get Buck and Eddie to not be dumb but still deserves a warning because that is kind of a sketchy manipulation tactic).

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Eddie Diaz is 90% sure his heart stopped when the lightning hit and Buck falls. Then it was beating faster than it has in years when he saw his best friend just dangling there. The safety line is the only thing keeping him from hitting the ground. That's a relief, but unfortunately, it means Buck is clearly unconscious and dangerously hanging from the ladder. The uneasy stillness of Buck's form has an ice-cold grip forming around Eddie's heart and climbing into his throat as he shouts for Buck. He has to do something. Buck needs help. He needs him to do something now.

Eddie is barely thinking about it when he goes to the ladder to help Buck. He can't just do nothing. Why do they let Buck on the ladder truck anymore? How many times has he nearly died because of it? What if he's too late? Buck is too still. Has it been too long? Is that Buck's PASS alarm, or are Eddie's ears just ringing?

Then there is a bright light and pain. Pain that makes the muscles around his old injuries pull tight, and everything hurts like hell. It makes his teeth clench violently, and joints stiffen.

Eddie is 100% sure his heart stopped when he wakes up in a hospital bed. 

He is 100% sure he failed to help Buck. Eddie had pretty much climbed onto a lightning rod shaped like a ladder truck and gotten himself struck by lightning.

He is 100% sure he just made things worse and delayed help for Buck by needing it himself.

He is 100% sure he needs to know if his best friend is alive. 

The heart monitor beside him starts to climb and sets off alarms as he feels panic creep up his spine and his chest tighten painfully. There is pressure behind his eyes, buzzing in his ears, and his pulse in his temples. 

People hurry to his bedside, and voices speak, but he can't process any of it. 

Nothing makes sense until he hears.

"He's okay, Eddie!" Eddie hears the voice to his left say. He can barely hear it above the buzzing in his ears. "Buck is alive." He quits fighting. Quits trying to get up. The panic is still there. The vice grip on his heart is still there. He still hurts everywhere, but something eases just a little bit in his chest. "He'll be okay, Eddie. But he'll be pissed if you don't calm down because your heart can't take it right now. Not this soon after what happened." It takes him a minute to realize it is Hen. Hen is telling him Buck is alive. Buck didn't die because Eddie got in the way. 

He hears Hen sigh as the room quiets and everything settles. 

"Okay, here is what is going to happen," Hen starts. "You are going to take a minute to breathe. Then I'm going to get the doctor. You are going to listen. And then I'm going to get Bobby. Then you're going to stay put. I'm not above getting Christopher in here to-"

Eddie nods, probably too quickly and violently, but he does. His voice is caught in his throat, and he groans but keeps nodding. The faster he gets through with the doctor, the faster Bobby will tell him what he wants to know. How is Buck?

The doctor tells him he has to take it easy. That he has been through a lot and that his heart and body needs time to heal. And Eddie agrees. He can feel how sore and tired his body is. His nerve endings feel fried and old injuries are sore. He feels like he could sleep for days, but the anxiety humming just under his skin is almost as electric as lightning. 

He looks up as Bobby walks in. Without thinking, Eddie asks, "How's Buck?" 

Bobby sighs and shakes his head, but the corners of his lips notch up into an exasperated but fond grin. "I knew that'd be the first thing out of your mouth," Bobby admits. 

"Bobby, pl-" Eddie starts, but Bobby holds a hand up and stops him.

"He is resting," Bobby answers. "Buck's got a lot of the same injuries you do, but he has some extra bruises and such from the safety harness. But the gear did its job. The medics did their job."

"But he's been awake?" Eddie has to know.

"In and out because of the pain meds, but he'll be on the mend in no time."

"But he's not on the mend yet? Meaning-"

"With Buck's history, they are being extra cautious. The history of clots, complications, and everything has the doctors keeping a close eye on him. They hope he is out of the woods-"

"But Buck has to be dramatic about everything," Eddie grumbles.

"He isn't the only one," Bobby says, leveling Eddie with his usual 'Unamused Captain' look. "You both are lucky. This could have been so much worse. I know you were acting more on instinct than anything, but-"

"I know, I should have waited for orders. I know I just slowed down anyone getting to Buck. I know-"

Bobby chuckled. "You should have, but we all know that we'd all have done the same thing. This is Buck, after all." 

Eddie can read between the lines. If Eddie hadn't been their first, Bobby would have been. Bobby would have been in his spot. The one in the hospital bed. That does seem like something Bobby Nash would do. Especially for Buck. Bobby loves Buck like a son. And love makes people do stupid things…like climb on a metal truck to grab the elevated metal ladder while active lightning strikes around them. 

"But he'll be okay," Bobby assures him. "And you will too, if you both let yourselves heal and don't try to rush things."

Eddie lets out an indignant snort. "Buck will never-"

"Oh, he has already caved, Carla and Maddie threatened to get Christopher to convince him, and we all know he can't say no to that kid of yours. So it's now on you." 

Eddie can't help but grin at that. Buck was shockingly, he laughed again at his choice of mental words, easy to manipulate sometimes because of how much he adores Christopher. Eddie should feel guilty about that, but he can't find it in himself at the moment. Probably because they are doing the same thing to him. He knows he'll cave too. Eddie just can't live with the idea of disappointing not only Christopher but also Bobby and Carla, and most likely Buck. Hell, the whole team, Athena, and well, his family, and everyone he knows will lean on him if he doesn't cave. So he nods. He agrees to take it easy. Especially when Bobby points out his history of PTSD and panic attacks. 

"Did they ever suggest a service dog?"

"For Christopher? Yeah, they-"

"I meant for you," Bobby states.

"What?"

"Has Frank ever told you there are programs that train service dogs for PTSD? Trained to deal with nightmares, panic attacks, and more. Or yeah, maybe one for Christopher as he gets older to help him feel more independent. Or even just a companion or visits from a therapy dog could-"

"Maybe…maybe I'll look into it," Eddie says, quick to add, "For Christopher."

------------

Like, reply, ask for a potential Buck or Bobby POV.

I looked up what lightning does to a body and yikes.

I read about it here and here.

[theeconfession]

all eyes turning to buddie to provide a little relief during this time

[fiona-fififi]

Have we talked about Eddie's response while he's processing, yet? The "so you two were..." and then the little "o-okay" after Buck confirms they were on a date.

There was something. very interesting in the way he played that. The softness and confusion. Not discomfort, just. curiosity, maybe? Seeking confirmation from Buck. And then falling into the super supportive role immediately as soon as Buck seems worried over his reaction.

Eddie is processing something there. And I am really looking forward to seeing how it all plays out when he figures out what it is.

[willmiwi]

watching Buck Bothered and Bewildered rn and i just got. slapped in the face by something buck said to Eddie and i need a minute. He said, and i quote "Im not surprised you had a great time in Las Vegas. You and Tommy have a lot of things in common. Both in the army, both like watching half naked men pummel eachother"

. Excuse me ?

[sunflowerdigs]

Lmao, I love how BTs jumped from saying we can't have Buddie because their unique version of close male friendship is just too sacred, to Buck needs to drop Eddie (and Christopher) like a rock so that he can have a romantic relationship with someone else. I love a big, fat contradiction in the morning. ☕

[sapphicbuddies]

confessions?? CONFESSIONS???? what do you mean 8x06 is called confessions? you mean the episode where eddie shaves his mustache? the episode tim said has the best scene ryan ever did? you mean the episode that comes after 8x05 which they've already said are both buck and eddie centric? you mean the episode that oliver said will have some big changes for buck's life? THAT EPISODE??? on GOD we are getting you out of that closet eddie

[alchemical-rhapsodaire]

OK, see, here's the thing:

I'm fine with Rei and Kazuki being friends only. That's absolutely fine! A family doesn't need to have two parents that have romantic feelings for each other! And also, we need more queerplatonic relationships and platonic life partner representation in media anyways! So, screw romance!

But then. The mf show pulls this sh*t on me:

LIKE, KAZUKI, MY DUDE WHY YOU HAVE THAT LOOK IN YOUR EYES HUH?

That scene is the definition of "and his gaze softened" YOU CAN'T TELL ME OTHERWISE

P.A. WORKS WHY YOU GOTTA DO THIS TO MEEEEE

[buddiesmutslut]

LISTEN. If we get a bisexual!Buck arc, I will ACTUALLY LITERALLY CRY, I’m already emotional just thinking about it, it will literally bring me so much joy

BUT

I don’t want it at the expense of an Eddie coming out arc…

Bc listen, I read a post talking abt how the writers probably won’t give both of them a really flushed out Queer Realization Arc bc it would be redundant, which like, okay sure, yes, I can see why you wouldn’t want to have two main, male characters going through the exact same thing, so sure, whatever, BUT -

I feel like, out of Buddie, Eddie is going to be the one that really struggles with coming to terms with his sexuality.

Eddie, who had to be The Man Of The House at 10 years old. Eddie, who grew up in the Deep South. Eddie, whose family is Catholic. Eddie, who already had a strained relationship with his judgmental parents. Eddie, who had a WIFE. Eddie, who says that what he had with Shannon was magic & compares every relationship he had to her. Eddie, who was in the military, which is infamous for DADT. Eddie, whose aunt constantly pushes him at random women because he needs to not be alone. Eddie, who canonically suffers from comp-het, saying that dating women feels like putting on a performance, not that he understands why. Eddie, who dated Ana & was planning on staying with her, even though he was unhappy, for his son.

I think Buck would be way chiller with realizing he’s queer - if he doesn’t already know, which is my fav head-cannon - & I feel like he wouldn’t struggle as much bc it’s Eddie, & Eddie is his best friend, and gender wouldn’t play as big a part for him as I think it would for Eddie.

I would love for them both to have an arc where they worked through their expectations when it comes to relationships & realize that they’re queer, but idk man, I feel like Eddie is going to be the one to really struggle & he deserves to really have that flushed out.

Idk, I’ve been thinking about this ever since I saw that post & nobody I know watches 9-1-1 😭

[whumper-at-heart]

#The 100th episode is called 'buck , bothered, bewildered".

#This are the stills we have got .

#Oliver says they are going to get closer than ever this year .

#The episode is also a crossover with the bachelor , which is a *dating* show.

Now tell me that all this , when combined , doesn't hint at buddie in the 100th episode.

Also , what way is better than making buddie cannon to make the 100th episode remarkable and speacial?

Gotta admit , I have high hopes abt that ep.

[acearohippo]

I love fandoms, especially witnessing what fans take away from source material and how fans interpret it based on their experiences. Not to mention the stark difference of interaction between new fans, casual fans, experienced fans, and long-term fans.

I say this because the SVSSS fandom has continuously fascinated me in insisting in discussions that there are parallels between Shen Jiu and Luo Binghe (tell don't show), but in their fanworks, I just see parallels between Luo Binghe and Yue Qingyuan (show don't tell).

And it's not even (fully) a case where they're blending character personalities because they want what the other dynamic has, it's just how the characters are based on canon in two different timelines.

All of this to say, perhaps original draft PIDW (NOT original!PIDW nor pre!SY PIDW which are completely different) was supposed to revolve around the dynamic between SJ and YQY vs SJ and LBH. Perhaps YQY was to be the last hour mastermind, the true foil to LBH.

And fandom is just circling this idea without realising it because, once again, the unreliable narrator that is SY has already convinced this fandom that any version of SJ has to be a/the villain, regardless if it's through his own actions or baseless rumours.

Warning, run-on sentence ahead.

I don't know, mans, but it's gotta mean something that LBH and YQY have such similar life beats of being orphaned and having a tough life but remaining kind/compassionate because they had someone to live for until they didn't which left them empty until they found (or refound in YQY's case) one (1) man to obsess over in an uncomfortably intrusive way with no regards for his feelings and rejections, eventually reaching a position as the most powerful being in existence with a huge caveat that their sword is 83% of that power and is slowly killing them which did nothing to soften said man of their obsession's into showing them kindness leading to the ultimate confrontation between the two in which only one could survive and keep their obsession, not that it mattered because neither of them got to experience his feelings reciprocated, except in another timeline where the same things are happening until their obsession suddenly stops rejecting their (still intrusive) advances even if he is acting a bit silly, but hey take advantage while you can and take advantage they did because now they have that reciprocated feeling (except one still "won" as he gets to keep him for himself) and be thankful that all it took was, in their perspective, a near death fever that drastically changed his personality and most likely left him crippled in some other way, preventing their obsession from not NOT needing them anymore, all-in-all fulfilling their desire to be relied upon again, hooray! 😋😁✌🏽

In all seriousness, at the end of the day people are going to draw connections between characters that fit whatever narrative they understood from the story. SVSSS fandom just seems to be trying to convince others of one narrative while believing on a deeper level of another narrative. It's amusing and makes following the fandom fun.

[torturedpoetdean]

he's passing by, rare as the glimmer of a comet in the sky, and he feels like home.

watch in 4k

[kayawolfhorse]

In my heart of hearts, at the end of the session the snails seemed to disappear inside their shells with a little pop, and after curiosity got the better of the lifers, they lifted the shells up to reveal a pocket-sized, completely harmless version of their snails they could keep as friends

[maydaydiaz]

ryan it was nice having you out of pr jail while it lasted, thank you for your service once again🫡

[msmimundo]

Last but not least THE Moomintroll himself!!

pink carnation- love, gratitude, fondness

peach rose- sincerity, genuineness, appreciation, gratitude

yellow rose- friendship, joy, warmth, delight, gladness, caring, affection

pink tulip- affection, caring, good wishes, fist love

hydrangea- heartfelt emotion, gratitude, grace, beauty, abundance, understanding, unity, togetherness, apology

forget-me-not- true love, devotion, loyalty, memory, resilience, connection, affection

flower of hope- resilience, optimism, overcome adversity, hope, healing

[peggingeddiediaz]

Another theory now that we have the title for 8x05 (Masks)

The last relationship for Eddie, he was dating Marisol and tried dating Kim, who was a replica of Shannon, at least on the surface level, to relive and enjoy this ideal version of his relationship with Shannon, and the latest relationship for Buck, he's dating Tommy, who is essentially a safer, surface level version of Eddie, both having similar hobbies and career paths.

Buck and Eddie are trying to date replicas of things they know they can't have. Eddie keeps chasing a relationship that never was, and Buck is dating someone who reminds him of what he can never have.

[hubbydaddies]

When Kazuki mentioned getting a smaller place after Rei offered to give him the apartment, all I could think of was this ending frame from the ED.

The first thing I thought was how perhaps this final frame acted as foreshadowing all along.

If they choose to end the show more realistically, as they said, Kazuki and Rei wouldn’t have the same high income as before, leading them to get a smaller place. And if that is the case, it tells us the show's message. They may not be living large anymore, but they’re safe, they’re together, and what matters is they’re a family.