it could be love (we could be the way forward)
Buck was in the shower when they got the call.
He’s always been a little afraid of showering on shift– afraid of hearing the klaxons ring while there’s still conditioner in his hair, afraid of having to towel off and dress at the speed of light, and all the awfulness that comes with wrestling clothes over still-damp skin. He’s afraid of the extra minute it takes him to get himself dressed and on the engine being the difference between someone else’s life and death.
He avoids it at all costs, only does it when they first get back from a call and Bobby puts them out of service for a half hour to give everyone time to clean up and grab a bite.
They’d just come back from a three-alarm fire at an office building downtown, a beast of a thing that took three stations four hours to put down. As they pulled back into the station, Buck’s bones ached and his stomach growled and there was soot covering every inch of him. He could feel it in his sweat-damp hair, could smell it every time he breathed. He figured it was clinging to the tiny hairs in his nose, was pretty certain if he blew his nose the tissue would come back tinged in gray.
He was on autopilot as he clambered out of the back of the engine, tucking his gear away and stumbling for the showers on tired legs. His bad leg was killing him. He’d woken up with a dull ache in his knee, and figured it was due to the dark, heavy clouds in the sky and the fact that the temperature had plummeted about fifteen degrees in as many hours.
He’d done his stretches and taken some ibuprofen in hopes of getting ahead of the worst of it, but it was no match for a tough shift with an unrelenting fire. The ache was bone-deep now, radiating up and down his leg with a fierceness that had Buck gritting his teeth and biting back a wince as he stepped into the shower.
He needed the fancy massage gun Maddie had gotten him for Christmas. And maybe some deep heat. The one that Eddie’s Abuela gave him, made from capsaicin from chili peppers grown in her hometown in Mexico. And maybe a nap, too.
But all of that would have to wait another three hours until shift change. For now, a shower was the best he could do.
The only thing better than peeling off his sweaty, sooty clothes was the feel of the warm spray on his back, the heat of it soothing the ache beneath his skin. He tipped his head back and let the water wash away the last few hours, all of the soot and the ash and the sweat and the grime of a job well done and a fire knocked down. It took him three rounds of shampoo until the water ran clear.
He was rinsing out the last of it when the alarm rang and he remembered.
Remembered that Bobby wasn’t here, that gone were the days of a thoughtful captain. Gone were the days of a leader who looked out for his own, a leader who cared enough about the people under his command to afford them a basic respite after all they’d just seen and done.
Gerrard was no Bobby.
It couldn’t have been more than ten minutes since they arrived back, and yet the alarm was already ringing out with another call. Buck hurried out of the shower, toweling off and pulling a clean shirt over his still-wet head as he listened for the details.
STATION 118. HELICOPTER CRASH. 101 SOUTHBOUND. LAFD AIR SUPPORT PILOT DOWN.
His stomach dropped, his heart tripping over itself in his chest.
No. No. Please no.
He shoved down the panic rising in his throat and finished dressing, running towards the bay.
Eddie ran up alongside him. “Is Tommy–”
“–Out on air support."
continue on ao3
122 notes
·
View notes
7. dancing with their hands holding onto each other [Indira/Vector]
Parties like this were dreadfully boring, salvaged only from complete indignity by the company she was allowed to keep.
"Agent, you don't look like you're enjoying yourself," Vector commented as he joined her, the words a gentle tease and warning to watch her expression all in one. He let his hand rest on her hip, close enough it would look like a lovers' tryst rather than anything else. In a way, perhaps, it was.
"This is not my... preferred environment," Indira said, taking a sip of her drink. "Though it does appear to be yours," she added dryly, studying his posture, his expression. The life dancing in his black eyes.
"We are a diplomat," he said with a small shrug. "Events like this are how we meet people, learn of their cultures, forge connections." He glanced at her. "We have met many fascinating individuals, from equally fascinating worlds, and events of this kind are a less formal occasion to mingle."
She canted her head in concession of that point. The atmosphere was indeed more conducive to casual conversation than she imagined, say, a treaty negotiation would be. It was still a more... lax surrounding than she was comfortable in. "I can tell what all of them want just from looking." Indira took another sip of her drink and set the crystalline flute on a small table. "There's no challenge to reading them."
A smile played at Vector's lips. "If no challenge, perhaps a diversion is better?" He slid his hand from her waist and offered it to her instead. "Would you do us the honor of a dance?"
Indira couldn't resist the answering smile that curved across her face. "But of course, Master Hyllus," she said, spine straightening as she rested her hand in his. "I suppose it shouldn't surprise me that you know how to dance."
"We are, perhaps, a bit rusty," Vector allowed as they headed for the dance floor. "Killik celebrations do not include many of the... aspects found in Imperial gatherings. But we will do our best."
"Which I'm sure will be just fine," Indira said, squeezing his hand as they slipped in with the other couples already dancing, her other hand on his shoulder and his on the curve of her hip. A light breeze wafted through and she gave a slight shiver as it made the loose ends of her hair tickle her bare back.
Vector nodded a greeting to one of the other couples and a smile tugged her lips again. He was so at ease here. Despite the looks his appearance--and company--drew, he was unruffled. It was a good look for him.
"What would you say is your favorite thing about parties like this?" she asked, mentally biting her lip in concentration on the dance steps. "Since you so clearly enjoy them."
"The people," Vector answered without hesitation.
"You enjoy forging connection."
"Yes." He tilted his head, studying her. For his claim of being rusty, he seemed to have no trouble remembering the steps, even with his attention divided. "It is part of what makes the Nest feel like home. We are connected in a way beyond anything we dreamed of as a diplomat."
"But you lost some as well," Indira said, recalling the message from his almost-fiancée, the people from his previous life who disapproved of his... change.
"And gained new ones that more than compensate," he said smoothly, drawing their joined hands in to kiss the heel of hers.
Indira arched a brow, but the comm in her ear crackled before she could return the flirtation.
"You have your opening, agent."
Vector had picked up the minute tensing of her posture, even as they continued to dance. "To work?"
She gave a single nod. "I wish it had better timing, but duty does call."
He nodded in return. "We will do our part and meet you on the ship, agent." His grip lingered when she started to step away. "Indira? Be careful."
She smile and kissed his cheek. "Of course."
Subtly as they could, they disengaged from the dance and set about their true tasks for the night.
---
True to his word, Vector was waiting on the ship. Still in his dark blue formalwear, though the collar was loosened, the gloves discarded.
He smiled when he saw her. "Safe and sound."
Indira smiled in return, running her fingers through the loosened portion of her hair. "I do pride myself on being good at my job." She quirked a brow when he offered her his hand. "What are you doing?"
"The others will not be back for some time. We thought we could finish our dance."
"It does seem only fair," she said lightly. She stepped out of her shoes, grey skirt swirling around her ankles as she nudged them aside. "This will be more comfortable."
"We will try not to step on your toes," Vector murmured, drawing her close enough to rest both hands at the small of her back, teasing the deep diamond cutout of the dress.
Indira's smile widened and she clasped her hands behind his neck in response. "I trust you," she whispered, and enjoyed the warmth that flickered in the comforting depths of his black eyes. She only realized as they swayed to non-existent music how much she meant it.
As parties went, just the two of them was much more to her liking.
15 notes
·
View notes