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Eddie woke up groggy. He woke up on the couch. He's naked and there's a random person on the floor. And yep, he just checked his watch and he is going to be late for his first day of work if he doesn't start getting done right now.
He got up and snatched the blanket of the man on the floor, and he's naked too, tossed a pillow over him. The person moved around a bit as he was searching for some form of clothing that belonged to him.
“I think this is-” the man on the floor started as he lifted up Eddie's underwear. Great.
“Absolutely humiliating.” Eddie finished for him, snatching the underwear from his hands. “You have to leave.”
“Why don't you leave whatever you're doing and come down here so i can show you part 2 of last night” Blue-eyed stranger stated.
“You have to go, I am going to be late for my first day of work.” Eddie replied. He has 45, now more like 43, minutes left before he has to be at work.
“So you actually live here?” Stranger said, looking around at his crappy house and the boxes laying everywhere.
“Yes- No- Kinda-” he replied, not really sure yet. He's been living with his grandmother for the past few weeks while fixing up the place. It's still not in a livable state and this was the first proper night he'd stayed in the house.
“It's…” the stranger said, trying to find a word to describe the house, “nice, so how do you kind of live here.”
“Well I just moved from El Paso, I was living with my parents but…” Eddie wasn't going to explain the whole situation to a stranger, “and now I'm staying with my grandmother.”
“Oh I'm sorry.” The stranger had a sullen expression on his face. A pout, Eddie thought. Cute.
“For what?” He asked, bewildered. Then it finally clicked, oh the stranger thought, “Oh no my parents aren't dead, major assholes but not dead, i can assure you they're still breathing, I’ve got this kink in my neck and the looming feeling of disappointment so they’re still kicking.” Was he just pouring his heart out to a man he'd just met and slept with once? Great going Eddie.
“I can definitely relate to the parents' thing.” Yep he definitely made things awkward and now the beautiful stranger feels like he has to say something back.
“We don’t have to do ‘the thing’.” He said. He'd been through this countless times within the past few months.
“We can do whatever you want sweetheart.” Stranger said, smirking. Hot damn. No Eddie you cannot do this. You need to get done.
“No I mean share details, you pretend you care and then I never speak to you again.” He explained, as he watched the stranger pull his final item of clothing over his head, what a shame, he watched his t-shirt cover up the stranger's six pack. “Okay, I've got to go shower or I'll be late for my first day of work. I had a great time, nice meeting you umm.” He said, trying to recall the man's name.
“Buck,” the stranger ‘Buck’, finished with a smirk. That goddamn smirk is gonna kill him Dios Mio-
“Eddie.” He said, shaking the man's hand. Well that was awkward.
“Nice meeting you too Eddie, hope we can do part 2 another time.” He said winking as he put a piece of paper on the side table next to Eddie's couch.
“Sure,” he said quickly, starting to run towards the bathroom, “ Bye Buck!” He finished before closing the door shut. He could hear Buck chuckle and then a minute later he could hear the door closing.
___
He walked into the station with 15 minutes left to spare, his parents always said, 15 minutes early is 10 minutes late, the one piece of advice Eddie still swore by. He made his way up the stairs as he was instructed to by Captain Nash.
“Hi, I'm Eddie Diaz, I'm a new recruit.” He greeted the team upstairs, it was a relatively small team and he couldn't see Captain Nash anywhere. “I was told to report to Captain Nash.”
“Hi Eddie, my name is Captain Rodriguez, Captain of B shift here at the 118, you’ll be working with us as some shifts overlap or if you ever request a shift change. Captain Nash and the rest of A shift aren't going to be here for another 10-15 minutes. There's food on the counter if you'd like some. Garcia, why don't you show Diaz around here and show him his locker.”
A woman, probably Garcia, flashed him a smile, “Sure. Welcome to the 118 Diaz,” she said, getting up from her seat. Garcia is a short, thin woman, she had starting features and dark eyes, but her voice and attitude did not match her harsh features.
Garcia led him all around the station showing him around. She finally led him to a changing room where she handed him a LAFD shirt and pair of black cargo pants. “Here's your uniform, Captain Nash will give you your 2 spares but this will do for now. My shift just ended so I'll leave you to get changed. Good luck on your first day, Diaz.” she said, flashing him one more smile before leaving the room.
“Thank you, I think I'll need it,” he said, muttering that last part to himself.
___
Buck ran in right on time, he had quite literally been there a minute before his shift officially starts. With having to take a bus 15 minutes to his apartment from the hot guy he was with last night’s house, and then having to run 5 minutes to the bar where he forgot his car put him in a tight time span.
“I got another DXA scan and guess who dropped another half percent.” Hoping to distract the team from the fact that he'd arrived later then usual. He's normally the first one here on a nornal day, he likes getting in a workout before starting his shift.
“What?” Hen asked, her voice laced with both confusion and judgment as she gave him a sideways look.
“A DXA scan, it measures your body fat you can see your percentage in every part of your body.” He explained motioning to the diagram.
“Oh yea? Chim said taking a bite of him doughnut as he walked towards them. “Does it measure the fat in your head?”
“See that would be funny but were about a week away from submissions being due got the ‘Hot Days, Smoldering Nights: Men of the LAFD Calender’ and I'm already at my goal weight so it seems like my head is clearly working perfectly.” Buck replied with a smirk. God damn he looked good, well atleast that's what he and the guy he was with last night thought.
“Do you really have to use the whole title?” Hen said putting her hands on her hips “You could just say the idiotic, reductive, sexist calender that insults the dignity of this organization and furthers the myth that all firefighters are males.” she finished.
“Yea that's not any less words .” Buck snarked back.
“Hen come on its for charity.” Bobby added.
They bicker back and forth about the calender, before chim interrupts them. “Now that is a beautiful man.” And suddenly the world goes deaf around Buck as he stares at the man who was changing in the room infront of them. It was the man. The man that gave him mind blowing sex just last night. The man who's floor he woke up on today. The man who kicked him out. The man who is starting his first day of work at the same station as him. The man who apparently is going to be his partner if the talk he had with Bobby is true.
“Um I'm going to go upstairs and get a start on the food.” He made a quick excuse to avoid him as long as possible.
Holy shit.
___
“Hey Eddie, nice to see you again.” Captain Nash's voice broke him out of the trance of trying not to freak out over his first day. He extended his hand for Eddie to shake. There were 2 other people behind him, presumably people in his team.
“Hi, Captain Nash, I'm thrilled to start working here today.” He said shaking the man's hand.
“Please none of that ‘Captain Nash’ stuff, it's Cap or Bobby while you're in this house. This is Hen and Chimney. They're also on A shift and you'll be working with them majority of the time.”
“It's nice to meet you Eddie, I'm Hen.” A women shook his hand.
“I'm Chimney. Good to meet you Eddie, im sure you'll do great things here.”
He shook both of their hands as they bantered for a while in the changing room asking him questions, which he happily answered.
“There's another member of our team, he's upstairs cooking lunch, he'll be your partner while your on shift together.” Eddie was excited. While at the army he had comradery sure, but never anyone who he'd grown attached to, they were constantly switched around and people's tours ended at trandom times and the unfortunate circumstances of war.
He ascended up the stairs and when he finally got up the he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Buck. The man that he had slept with last night. Making up some kind of excuse he asked Chim to show him the bathroom.
He washed his face and tried to get a clear mind of the situation. What were they going to do. Clearly Buck hadn't noticed him or recognized him as he looked perfectly fine while talking to Bobby. He can't just pretend to not notice who he is. He literally saw the man an hour ago.
Is there even an HR form that said ‘I had wonderful sex with but I kicked him out in the morning but I definitely saw something happening but now he's my co-worker and partner at work so I'm scared I'm going to get fired’, yea probably not. He just had to face it head on.
Then Eddie remembered, he saved his phone number. After he came out of the shower he saved the phone number writen on the scrap piece of paper Buck left. Hopefully this isn't the time Buck decides to give a fake number.
‘Hi, this is Eddie.
So this is awkward. Do you by chance work at the station 118? This is a really weird question.’
Yes he was asking on the odd chance he has a doppelganger who works at this station.
___
Buck was talking to Hen and Chim while trying to get through the pain and awkwardness that is this moment he has handed the cooking over to Bobby and suddenly he gets a buzz on his phone.
‘Hi, this is Eddie.
So this is awkward. Do you by chance work at the station 118? This is a really weird question.’
Shit.
‘Hey Eddie, so I didn't see a doppelganger of the hottest man I've ever seen 6 minutes ago?’
He sends back.
‘Funny, but not funny at the moment. This is my first day on the job and I definitely feel like I'm going to get fired.’ Eddie sent back. Shit he was so focused on how he feels he hasn't been focusing on how Eddie might feel right now. First day and you see the man you kicked out the previous night? He feels sorry for him.
Just then the bell rings for a medical call requesting fire and rescue and ems.
As they loaded up in the truck, Buck couldn't meet Eddie's eyes, which didn't really matter because Eddie was avoiding his eyes as well. He sat down next to Bobby who whispered to him “Please make conversation Buck.”
“So 8-pack huh? What do you do for fun.” Buck asked teasingly. The nickname was true, God he had seen this man's abs and he looks like he was chiseled from a cement block but a master craftsman.
“Nothing much, I work out, I like running alot so that's mostly how I spend my free time.”
“Have you been to any bars since you've been to LA.” Buck was clearly testing the water to see how far he could go before Eddie snaps.
“Nope. Not really, I've only been in LA for about a month so not really a lot of free time.” Eddie was a pathological liar. If Buck hadn't met Eddie in a bar then he would have believed the man and he was sexy when he lied.
At the scene Eddie looked so hot in a position of power. He knew exactly what to do, this was clearly what he was meant to be doing. Buck had thought the man had some office job when he first saw how stuck up the man was. He would have never guessed Eddie was a firefighter.
‘Listen, I'll ask Bobby if I can talk to him in his office, meet us there. It's the door right next to the gym, meet us there in 2 minutes.’ he messaged Eddie after they arrived back at the fire house as he could see the other man tense up and shaking his leg in anxiety.
“Hey Bobby, can I speak to you in your office for like 5 minutes.” He asked.
“Sure Buck. Hen watch the food, don't let Chimney near it. It's still raw.” He said as he took off his apron.
Once they're in Bobby's office. They sit in silence for a minute, not saying anything before Bobby breaks the silence. “So, do you want to sit in silence or are we going to talk about something.”
“So Cap, I um kinda- i kinda slept with- I kinda slept with Eddie.” He said looking at his hands.
“Oh um. I was not expecting that. Are you- Are you sure its him?” Bobby asked, “Maybe it was someone else? Did you sleep with him during your 1.0 days? Because it maybe wasn't him and it's been a while since them.”
“Im um- Im sure Cap. I slept with him last night.” He said that last one squeakier and softer then the rest.
“I'm sorry did you say last night?” Cap asked.
“Yes. Yes, I slept with him last night.” He replied.
“Good lord, Buck please tell me you did not leave him like you used to do last year.” Buck said with his head in his palms.
“No! No Bobby, I really saw this going somewhere, we bonded and I gave him my number and he was apparently going to text me aswell because he either had my number in his uniform or he saved it on his phone.
Just then there was a knock on the door interrupted them. “That would be Eddie.”
“Come in.” Bobby said.
___
Eddie was nervous. He is so definitely going to get transferred. Or worse fired. It was his first day and he'd already slept with his superior. Well guess it's back to El Paso, his parents will be happy and say ‘i told you so’ about a million times. God Eddie was so fucking fucked.
“Come in.” He could hear Bobby's voice as he pushed open the door. “Have a seat Eddie.”
Eddie sat down next to Buck who gave him a small smile.
“Now Buck has described what happened last night but I need you to answer the next question truthfully. Do you plan on pursuing a romantic relationship with Buck Eddie?” Bobby asked. “No need to be stressed Eddie you're not in trouble I just need your truthful answer.”
“I- I- I don't know. I think so but it's obviously not up to me. He seemed interesting and I really enjoyed spending time with him but if it gets in the way of my work I will get over my feelings.” Eddie said truthfully. He was already fucked, what's the use lying at this point. He was going to call Buck after his shift and ask him on a proper date but clearly the universe had a different plan.
“That's great.” Bobby said fishing for some papers from a draw. “Here are the HR papers, now I want you two to go home after shift and decide what is the plan and next Wednesday i need those papers to give into HR. Whether you decide to end it or continue this relationship doesn't matter in terms of LAFD regulations but I think you two would make a great pair, whether it's platonic or romantic. You guys can leave and I won't tell the rest of the team.”
With that Buck and Eddie left the office.
____
The rest felix the shift went well and Bobby was right. Buck and Eddie do make a great pair. Their last call of the shift Buck and Eddie had to pull a grenade out of a man's leg and go's did Buck look so hot when they came out. They were both high on adrenaline and a happiness spread over them as they promised to have each others backs. Now all they had to deal with is the elephant in the room, the big question, what exactly is their relationship going to be?
Buck had invited Eddie over for a beer at his place since he remembered Eddie is still fixing up his new place and is living with Abuela.
“So…” Eddie said. He had to say something. The silence was killing him and at this point it was worse than talking about their relationship status.
“So.” Buck added on. Finally turning to look at Eddie. Flashing Eddie those magnificent oceanic blue eyes.
“We should definitely talk about those.” Eddie said, nudging his head towards the papers sitting on Buck's coffee table that Bobby gave them 3 days ago.
“Yea we should.” Buck said, looking away from Eddie towards the papers as well.
“Listen, let's not beat around the bush here. I meant every word that i said in Bobby's office. I really like you and i was planning on texting you after my shift because you are really interesting and so fucking beautiful but I totally understand if you dont want that kind of this with me and I will get over my feelings and we can pretend that night never happened-” just as Eddie was finishing his words he suddenly felt bucks lips against his cutting his sentence short.
The kiss was amazing, different from that night 4 days ago, but a good different. This one wasn't heated and purely sexual. It was fireworks on the forth of July and it felt like how the ocean looks during sunset. It was magical.
Just then Buck pulled away, “sorr-” it was Eddie's turn to shut Buck up with a kiss. He could kiss buck forever.