Work Text:
Their six-month anniversary fell on a workday - not that either Buck or Eddie really cared to celebrate too much, but it might have been nice to have the day just to spend together. But here they were at the station, clocking in for a 24.
Bobby ran through their start-of-shift meeting quickly and dismissed them to load their gear into the trucks and begin their chores. Buck was on cleaning duty today, while Eddie was on engine maintenance - Bobby had learned quickly that if they were put on certain chores together, they got distracted very quickly, so they were rarely paired up anymore.
The first chunk of their shift was easy - a few minor calls and one larger grill fire, but they were back at the station for dinner. Bobby made some delicious fish tacos, rice, and beans, and Buck was glad to fill his plate, taking his usual seat next to Eddie. Once everyone had started eating and talking, Chimney grabbed Eddie’s attention. “What’s Chris doing for birthday? He’s only got a couple of weeks left.”
“Don’t remind me,” Eddie groaned. “I still can’t believe my kid is a sophomore in high school. And I think he just wants to have some friends come over, play video games, eat too much pizza. Nothing crazy, thank God.”
“That’s all Denny wanted for his 15th too,” Hen said, pouting a little. “It’s nice to not have to put together a whole party but that means they’re growing up. Luckily, Mara’s birthday is coming up and she wants the big to-do. Karen’s already started a binder.”
“I do miss the days when he loved pirates and space and dinosaurs. It was much easier to get the kids gifts,” Eddie lamented. “I still don’t know what I’m getting him.” Buck sat up a little straighter at the topic - he hadn’t told Eddie what he was planning to get Chris because he knew that his boyfriend would be mad about how much he was spending.
“The only thing I wanted for my fifteenth birthday was a Playstation,” Chimney sighed. “Never ended up getting one.”
“Well, the kids already got a PS5, but maybe there’s a game he wants,” Eddie shrugged. “Chim, did you and Maddie do anything for your six-month anniversary?”
“Nothing special, just went out to dinner. Why? Is yours coming up?” Chimney pointed his fork between Buck and Eddie.
“It’s today, actually,” Buck smiled, pressing his knee into Eddie’s under the table.
“Which also means that your probationary year is almost up,” Bobby reminded him. “Three weeks to go.” Buck blushed a little and looked down at his lap. “I need your invite list for the party.”
“I don’t have anyone extra, Cap. I mean, not outside of anyone we invite to anything else,” Buck said easily.
“You don’t wanna invite your parents?” Hen asked softly and Buck shook his head.
“They’re in Pennsylvania anyway, they wouldn’t wanna make the trip out here just for this,” he tried to reason but Eddie immediately put his hand on Buck’s to grab his attention.
“Your promotion from probationary to full firefighter is not just anything. It’s a big deal, and you deserve to celebrate it with the people who love you,” he reminded him quietly. “And that’s what we’ll do.” Buck inhaled deeply and nodded, smiling gratefully at Eddie. Hen changed the subject then - she could likely tell it wasn’t something Buck wanted to explain any further - and for that he was thankful.
They managed to get through all of dinner and start cleaning and washing up when the tones sounded. They all dropped what they were doing and headed to the trucks. “It’s a structure fire,” Bobby told them over the radio as they sped down the LA streets. “Canning factory, so there’s potential for a lot of shrapnel. It was after hours so most of the employees were out of the building, but the overnight custodial team was there. Five total, two already out, they’re the ones that called 911.”
As soon as they arrived, Bobby was giving out orders - Hen and Chim were on triage as usual, starting with the two patients already outside, Buck and Eddie were on rescue, and everyone else was on the hose. “Diaz, I want you to take a med bag with you, there’s no telling what state the other three victims are in, and we need to be prepared.”
“Got it, Cap!” Eddie grabbed the bag from one of the cabinets while Buck made sure he had some extra gear just in case - they had no idea how much damage the building already had, and what the fire had done. Cap told them where the last known locations of the three victims were, and then they were off. Buck was leading as they entered the building, heading to the closest location first - the break room.
The fire had started near the back of the factory, so the front area was mostly clear besides some heavy smoke and a little debris, some of which was blocking the break room door. They cleared it easily and got the first victim out, Eddie radioing Hen and Chim to let them know. The second victim was a bit harder to get to, as they were on the second floor in the offices. It took them a bit longer to get to this one, as there was structural damage to some of the floor and they had to loop around, but eventually, they found them and helped them get out, Eddie escorting them this time.
Their final victim was last seen on the factory floor in the opposite corner of the origin of the fire, but when they got there, there was nobody. They split up then, searching the factory floor as quickly as possible as the fire continued to spread. “Buck!” Eddie’s voice crackled over the radio. “I’ve got movement in the northwest corner!”
“10-4, I’m on my way!” Buck replied, turning on his heel and dodging through the maze of conveyor belts to get to Eddie’s location. He found Eddie outside a heavy metal door marked STORAGE. He grabbed Eddie’s shoulder and his boyfriend immediately moved out of the way, giving Buck the space to use the halligan and pry the door open.
“Saw the door shut as I was rounding the machine over there,” Eddie nodded at one of the industrial-sized pieces of equipment. Buck nodded and they stepped inside - it looked as if it was just pallets and pallets of empty cans waiting to be filled. Luckily, this room seemed mostly unaffected - some smoke but no fire yet. They split up once more, searching through the stacks of pallets, calling out.
“Diaz, Buckley, the fifth victim is outside and you need to evacuate! The fire has reached the boiler room!”
“10-4 Cap!” Eddie called through the radio. Buck ran through the maze of cans, accidentally running straight into Eddie, the other man catching his waist. “C’mon, exit is this -” Eddie’s words were cut off by a deafening explosion, and the entire building shaking. They met each other’s eyes through the masks, but before they could even think about moving, the ceiling caved in, and everything went black.
*
“Buck,” Eddie’s voice was hoarse and rough, but loud enough for Buck to startle awake. “Hey, hey, over here.” Buck blinked a few times and looked around. They were in a cramped pocket of debris, it seemed, with pieces of the ceiling and pallets blocking them in entirely. His mask was cracked right down the middle so he reached up and undid the buckle on his helmet before tossing them both off to crawl the small distance to Eddie.
“Hey, are you alright?” Buck asked, looking Eddie up and down. He seemed fine - he was breathing normally, his skin seemed to be its normal color (just covered in dust), and he couldn’t see any blood, but he was holding his side. “Eds, what happened?”
“Shrapnel, from the cans, like Cap warned,” Eddie took a deep breath. “You need to radio. They need our location.” Buck nodded and grabbed for his radio frantically, pressing down the button.
“This is Buckley and Diaz, we are in need of a rescue, firefighter has an injury!” Buck knelt next to Eddie as he waited for a response, nervously checking him over again to make sure he didn’t miss anything else.”
“Buckley, the fire is still going, it’s gonna take a while before we can get to you,” Bobby answered. “How bad is the injury?” Eddie licked his lips and slowly moved his hand, leaving Buck feeling like he was going to throw up - a large piece of metal, a busted can, Buck assumed, was protruding from Eddie’s side, dripping in blood.
“It’s bad, Cap, I don’t know how long he’s got,” Buck stuttered, staring at the injury.
“Do you still have the med bag?” Buck glanced around and saw it a few feet away, luckily still latched shut.
“Affirmative,” Buck muttered. “I’ll do what I can.”
“I’ll let you know when we can start digging,” Bobby replied, and then the line went dead.
“Buck,” Eddie coughed. “You have to take this out.”
“What?” Buck’s eyes widened and he shook his head. “No, no, aren’t you supposed to leave it in to stop the bleeding?”
“Normally yes, but it’s not blocking the bleeding, it tore me open. You need to take it out and stitch me back up,” Eddie told him, leaning his head back against a piece of concrete.
“I-I can’t - I can’t do t-that, Eddie, no way,” Buck shook his head quickly.
“You have to, or I am going to bleed out before they can get to us,” Eddie said calmly. “Get the med bag and bring it over here.” Buck stayed frozen where he was, heart pounding in his chest. “Now, Buck.” Buck gasped in and nodded, moving on shaky limbs to drag the med bag to Eddie’s side and then tore off his gloves. “Okay, first we need to get the turnouts off. They’re ruined anyway, so just cut through to the zipper.”
Buck rummaged in the medkit to find the fabric scissors and carefully cut through Eddie’s coat - it was a bit harder since it was made with much thicker material, but eventually, they were able to slide it off his side, leaving it on his other arm to not jostle him too much. “Same with my shirts. Go on, Buck, it’s alright.”
Buck’s fingers were shaking as he navigated the scissors through the two layers of fabric, cutting the sleeve as well so Eddie’s entire left side was exposed and - fuck. Fuck that was way worse than it looked before. The metal was twisted around itself, and it was piercing Eddie at multiple points. Buck couldn’t see past the blood, but he knew it had to be bad under there. “Okay, baby,” Eddie drew his attention back up to his face. “Next you need to flood it. There’s a water bottle in there. Pour half of it over the wound so you can see.”
“Should we - should we be using water?” Buck asked weakly, searching through the bag.
“It’s not the best option but we’re using what’s available,” Eddie grit his teeth. “Now come on, pour the water over it.” Buck nodded and unscrewed the lid, wincing at Eddie’s bitten-off moans of pain as he poured the water. “Now take the metal out. Carefully, do your best not to move it at all, and as soon as it’s out, get the gauze and put pressure on it, okay?”
“What if I mess up?” Buck asks, lips trembling as he watched Eddie. “What if I move it and it hurts you?”
“Hey,” Eddie reached up and cupped Buck’s jaw, stroking his cheek. “I trust you, baby. You can do this. You won’t hurt me.” He said with such a sure conviction that Buck could only nod. He readied the gauze first, laying it on top of the bag before firmly gripping the metal, and pulling it straight back, breathing deeply as he made sure it didn’t tilt at all.
The second it was free from Eddie’s body, Buck threw it off to the side and pressed the gauze to the open wound, spreading his fingers out to ensure he could get it all. “That’s good, baby, you’re doing so good,” Eddie whispered. “But we’re not done.”
“What?”
“You need to wash them out and stitch them closed,” Eddie instructed, shushing Buck’s stuttered protests. “You can do this. Get out the isopropyl alcohol and flush the wounds, okay? I’ll hold the gauze.” Buck waited until Eddie’s hands were covering his before moving, digging through the bag to get out the bottle of alcohol, needles, and sutures. He set them all down, grabbed the water bottle, and used it to rinse his hands off as best he could, and then did the same with the alcohol.
“Baby?” Eddie said gently. “There’s two wounds, so we’re gonna do one at a time, okay?” Buck nodded and bit his lip as he moved even closer, taking a deep breath as Eddie adjusted the gauze, revealing one of the tears. It wasn’t too big, maybe a couple inches, but it was deep and bleeding. Buck grabbed the isopropyl alcohol and poured it over, wincing as Eddie’s entire body tensed.
“Are there painkillers in there? Numbing? Anything we can give you?” Buck asked a bit desperately - he hated seeing Eddie like this, and he hated being the one doing it to him even more.
“Not in those kits,” Eddie shook his head. “It’s alright, baby, it’s gonna be okay. Get the needle and I’ll tell you how to thread it.” Eddie walked him through, step by step, how to thread the suture to the needle, and then it was time. Buck’s entire body felt like it was on fire as he stitched the wound together, and even though this was the first time he had ever done anything like this, Eddie’s voice was calm and steady and reassuring as he guided Buck through everything he needed to do.
“Okay, baby,” Eddie was panting heavily, and was looking a little woozy. “Gotta do the other one. Do the exact same thing, alright?” Buck did as he was told, flushing the wound with the alcohol and getting a new suture ready, but before he could start, Eddie stopped him with a weak hand on his wrist.
“What-”
“There’s a piece of metal still in that one,” Eddie gasped. “Saw it when you rinsed it out. You have to get it out before you close it. Rinse your fingers off with the alcohol, rinse the wound again, and then pinch it and pull it out.”
“I can’t-”
“You have to,” Eddie cut him off. “If it stays in, it could tear me up even more. You have to get it out.” Buck swallowed heavily and rinsed his right off once more, poured the alcohol over the wound, and used his left hand to spread it open. It took him a minute, with constant apologies to Eddie, to even find the damn thing, but when he finally spotted the glint of silver, he pushed two fingers in slowly, nerves tingling like there was lightning in the air. He felt the scrape of metal nick the tip of his finger and he cursed quietly but managed to grab it and remove it, dropping it on the floor. He rinsed his hand again to find the metal had cut him, and it was bleeding slowly.
“It’s okay, baby, just close it,” Eddie prompted him, and Buck nodded, grabbing the needle, starting the process all over again. Halfway through, he got a little mixed up, looking up at Eddie as he tied off the suture.
“L-like this?” he asked, voice trembling.
“Just like that, baby, yes, you’re doing so good,” Eddie ran a hand through his curls, breathing shallow. “Keep going, baby, you’re almost done.” Buck forced himself to keep his breathing steady as he finished, tying off the last stitch and cutting the line, dropping everything immediately as he buried his face in Eddie’s chest with a sob.
“Oh, amor, you did so good,” Eddie whispered, petting through his hair. “You were so good, I’m so proud of you.” Buck wasn’t sure how long they lay there, Eddie muttering sweet praises as he comforted Buck, but the crackle of the radio broke the trance.
“Buckley, Diaz, the fire is out and we can get to you, we just need your location,” Bobby’s voice was fucking heaven.
“This is Buckley. We were in the northwest corner, in the storage room when the building collapsed,” Buck panted into the radio. Bobby radioed back his confirmation, and not too long later, the rubble around them started to move. As soon as Bobby realized what had occurred while they were trapped, he got Hen and Chim to check on Eddie, and then they were both loaded onto the ambulance - Eddie on the stretcher - and transported to the nearest hospital. Buck held Eddie’s hand the entire ride, his own fingers covered in blood - his own and Eddie’s - and he was sure the rest of him was a similar mess.
Buck held his hand until they were physically separated by the emergency room nurses, Eddie being wheeled off to an OR while Buck was placed in a room to be checked over. He insisted that he was fine with every nurse or doctor that came in, but none of them listened. It wasn’t until an hour later - after they had thoroughly checked him over and cleaned him best they could, that he was allowed to leave. He found Hen and Chim in the waiting room and hurried over. “Have they told you anything about Eddie?”
“Just that he’s out of surgery, stable, and expected to make a full recovery. He’s not awake right now, so they won’t let us back,” Hen explained. “You did good. They said if he hadn’t been stitched up, he would have bled out before he got here.” Buck nodded weakly before collapsing, Hen and Chim rushing to catch his weight, maneuvering him into a chair.
“I’ll go see if there’s anything new,” Chimney offered and Buck smiled gratefully, leaning against Hen’s shoulder when she sat next to him. Chimney didn’t manage to get anything new off the nurses, but about an hour later, one came out, asking for an Evan Buckley.
Buck stood immediately, tripping over his feet a bit as he rushed over. “That’s me. Is Eddie awake?”
“He is, and he’s asking to see you,” she smiled softly and led him back through the emergency room to Eddie. He was in his own room, sitting up in bed with a hospital gown on, looking a little groggy.
“Hey baby,” Eddie smiled dopily at him. “I’m all better now.”
“He can be discharged in just a bit, he was only given local anesthetic so he didn’t go under at all. I’ll come by with the papers to sign once they’re ready,” the nurse said before leaving, closing the door behind her. Buck sent a quick text to Hen and Chim, letting them know and asking if they could bring Eddie a change of clothes.
“How are you feeling, Eds?” Buck asked, moving to sit on the edge of the bed, smiling at his boyfriend in relief.
“Good,” Eddie nodded. “They said your stitches were good for someone who’s never had to suture anyone before.”
“I’ll be sure to pass along my thanks,” Buck laughed a little. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“I knew I would be,” Eddie revealed. “I had you.” Buck nodded and leaned forward, pressing a sweet kiss to Eddie’s lips, letting himself finally think about all that he had done in the past few hours - he had stitched his boyfriend back together and saved his life - he had done that. He had been inside him in a brand new way, their blood mingling together.
“Did…I cut myself, on that little piece of metal that I had to pull out. Some of my blood was in that cut, are you going to be okay?” Buck asked, worrying his lip between his teeth. Eddie hummed a little, reaching over to take Buck’s hand in his, finding the affected finger.
“I’m perfect,” Eddie whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to the bandage. “How could I not be, with your blood inside me? Your fingers?” Buck’s jaw dropped a little, but when Eddie tugged his wrist to pull him closer, he fell into him easily, using one hand against the pillow to hold his weight up.
“I love you,” Buck mumbled into the kiss, his other hand trailing down Eddie’s side and under the blanket. “I can’t believe I get to have you, sometimes.”
“I love you too,” Eddie breathed. “Please, Buck, touch me. I need it.” That was all the permission Buck needed to delve between Eddie’s thighs, hand pushing under his cock and balls to go straight for his hole, rubbing dryly against the muscle. There was no way he could actually finger him right now, but he didn’t need to.
“These were the same fingers that were inside you earlier,” Buck whispered, leaning down so his lips were against Eddie’s ear. “The same ones that stitched you back together, that kept you here, with me.” Eddie gasped and reached down, wrapping both hands around Buck’s wrist, though he made no motions to move him, hooking on him more as an anchor.
“Baby,” Eddie whined, eyes fluttering shut as Buck teased his rim, pushing just the tip of one of his fingers against it.
“The same fingers that kept you alive, doing exactly what you told me,” Buck continued. “I was so good for you, wasn’t I, Daddy?”
“Yes, yes, you were baby,” Eddie nodded quickly. “You were the best for me. C-close.”
“Come for me, Daddy, please,” Buck begged, moving his hand up over the head of Eddie’s cock, catching the come as it spilled from the tip. Eddie panted as he came down from his peak, hands still tight as a vice around Buck’s wrist. “I gotta clean up, Eds, before the nurse comes back and sees us like this.”
Eddie released him, letting Buck go over to the sink and thoroughly wash his hands, drying them with the cheap paper towels. Not too long later, the nurse returned with his discharge papers and once they were signed, they were free to go. Hen arrived just on time with Eddie’s work duffle, so Buck helped him change in the bathroom, and then Hen drove them back to Eddie’s house. She let them know that Chim was driving Eddie’s truck back to his place, and he had gotten the rest of their stuff from their lockers and she would take him back to work, along with their turnouts that she had already gotten from hospital staff.
“Hen, you’re a goddamn angel,” Buck said from the backseat of her car, Eddie leaning heavily against him.
“Thanks, Buck,” Hen smiled at him through the rearview mirror. It was late, and Christopher was at a friend's place since it was one of the last weeks before school started, so Buck didn’t need to worry about him just yet. They were quiet the rest of the drive, and Chimney was already waiting on the porch. Buck got Eddie inside while Hen helped Chim with their bags, setting everything on the couch while Buck tucked Eddie into bed.
Buck thanked them again for everything they had done and locked the door once they left. He made his way slowly to the bedroom, to find Eddie sitting up, looking a little nervous. “Eds? You alright?”
“Yeah, I just…all this made me realize something,” Eddie started, taking a deep breath. “I love you, Buck. So fucking much. And I love being with you and spending time with you. And tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone - today kind of proved that - so I was just…I want you to move in.”
“Wait, what?” Buck was taken aback - it almost seemed as if Eddie was about to propose - not that Buck was anywhere near ready for that - but…moving in?
“I miss you when you’re not here. I hate the nights that you spend at your place. I hate waking up without you next to me. I hate going to sleep without you cuddling me. I want you to move in. Here. With me and Chris,” Eddie said, reaching out to grab Buck’s hand. “I know I’m kind of just like, throwing this at you, so if you need some time to think-”
“Yes,” Buck interrupted him. “Yes, I wanna move in with you. As soon as possible, actually.” Buck’s heart was pounding in his chest, but the fluttering in his stomach was somehow overtaking it. “I want to live with you. And Chris.”
“Then come and get in our bed, so we can go to sleep,” Eddie ordered, tugging lightly at his hand. “And tomorrow, we can work out the rest.”
“I have to change, and then we can cuddle,” Buck promised. He didn’t think he’d ever stripped faster in his life, sliding on a pair of sleep shorts and one of Eddie’s shirts before clambering into bed carefully. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Eddie whispered, settling against Buck’s chest as they both finally laid down, for the very first time, in their bed.