Hi I'm Charlie (she/they) late-30s - I tripped and fell in love with an entire ensemble of queer firefighters! Likes/follows from @dreamalottie but hyperfixating hard on 911 here. It's Bi As Buck not Bias Buck XD
Hi! Are you still doing your monthly fic roundups?
hi anon! I've taken a little impromptu break so far this year for a couple of reasons (got burned out from trying to read lots to make the posts every month, got hit by the hockey fever over winter break so been reading fic there for a no pressure respite, so have taken a breather from long form buddie fic aside from codas here and there).
HOWEVER I fully intend to be back sometime in the next month or so, and in the meantime I'm very excited that this means I'll have a backlog of buddie fic to dive into with fresh eyes and renewed excitement. And obviously this week's episode has been !!!!!!! so I can't wait to see how everyone responds to it in fic form!
So yeah basically, not for the last few months but watch this space :)
Family has always been at the heart of 911, whether it's the family you're born into or the one you choose. This week's recs celebrate the relationships and connections that hold Buck and Eddie together.
(click here for previous lists!)
22 fic recs under the cut:
1. the plant on the windowsill (and other things that grow) by avidreader0202 (7.1k, General) Warnings: none
Theo does not want to bed without getting a story and goodnight from Eddie. After being convinced by Theo, Buck takes to the firehouse were they all fall asleep together in the couch. They get teased by the fire fam, buck has a crisis, and finally they get together.
Reccer says: It has a very cute Theo and some of my favorite tropes like falling asleep together, being teased by the fire fam, and co-parenting.
2. oh brother, I see (you burn like me) by canadadry (47.9k, Mature) Warnings: mentions of ptsd/suicide
Adriana arrives in LA. Maddie has been here the whole time. (buddie character study through their sisters)
Reccer says: i like the different perspectives of adriana and maddie and all the family dynamics. it's just very fun!
3. fourth floor balcony jump by iriswests (@fcntasmas) (20.3k, Teen) Warnings: Author Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings
sophia moves to LA, gains buck as a roommate, and immediately regrets all her life choices
Reccer says: love love love love love this characterization of Sophia! the entire fic is such a delight to read. it's one of the first i read in this fandom and it's really stuck with me since i read it!
4. Pocketful of Sunshine by kae_118 (4.9k, General) Warnings: none
Buck didn't think twice when he set a photo of Christopher as his lockscreen. Eddie, however, spirals a little when he finds out.
Reccer says: Very sweet and true to character! Buck WOULD do something like that without realizing the implications of it, and Eddie WOULD crash out a little about it.
5. there's more than teenage wasteland by iphigenias (4k, Teen) Warnings: post-partum depression
Buckleys don’t ask for help. Buck and Maddie try to change that with each other.
Reccer says: buckley siblings my beloved! there's something so tender about buck and maddie trying their very best to be good to each other despite it all, and finding family outside of each other while still loving each other so so much.
6. one dad, two dad by maygrantnash (@eddiebodywantssome) (3.8k, Not Rated) Warnings: none
christopher has a realisation and subsequent question for his two favourite adults
Reccer says: a younger chris questioning buddie is always so fun, and this really captures that kid feeling without going too saccharine.
7. sweet kid, running by Chancy_Lurking (4k, Teen) Warnings: Panic Attacks, Suicide Mention (no attempt), Running Away
Chris flies back to L.A. without asking forgiveness or permission.
Reccer says: incredible teenage chris fic, captures all the angst and anger of being a teen in his situation, and the dynamic with both eddie and buck is pitch perfect.
8. two truths, one big-ass lie by collieflower (2.9k, General) Warnings: none
Where they're hosting the first party of the school year, and two truths/one lie is too easy a game for the Buckley-Diazes.
Reccer says: chris and his friends are so fun, and it's always a delight to see buck and eddie dealing with the teen sass of their kid! the buckley-diaz ability to make their ndes into fun trivia is also always excellent.
9. help is on the way (they said, they said) by donationwayne (@donationwayne) (6.7k, General) Warnings: Minor Injuries, Suicidal Ideation
The 118 venture up to Washington to help battle a wildfire. Buck gets his foot caught in a animal trap. Hen and Buck have a heart to heart about how Buck really feels about his best friend moving to Texas.
Reccer says: hen and buck are such a good pair, and this captures their dynamic so well! with a bonus of the other members of the firefam caring for each other.
10. Team Up for Fire Safety by CourtepointeClementine (@CourtepointeClementine) (17.8k, Teen) Warnings: none
Eddie has been parenting solo for a long time — except maybe he hasn’t? Maybe he doesn’t have to?
Reccer says: a really grounded take on buddie coparenting, incredibly nuanced and sweet and eddie you are such a moron i SWEAR.
11. it's all fun and games (and family) by becausebuckley (@becausebuckley) (8.2k, Teen) Warnings: none
five times buck plans a game night, and one time he's invited.
12. pick me, choose me, love me by trysetmeonfire (@try-set-me-on-fire) (8.3k, Teen) Warnings: Canon-Typical Violence, Injury
Eddie wants to scream. Eddie wants to talk to Buck. There are questions he should ask - Do you know when the bleeding started? How long has it been? How bad does it hurt? Are you injured anywhere else? There is a conversation he wants to have - If I leave you here I don’t know that you’ll be alive when I get back. There are protocols, in disaster situations. If you can only save one person, you save the one most likely to survive. Beyond protocol, you always fucking save the kid. Beyond that, it's our kid. It’s our fucking kid, it’s Christopher, and I am going to get him to the surface and in doing so I am going to leave you for dead. But it’s Buck, and they never really needed words to talk, and Buck is still looking at him, and Eddie knows what he'd say. He'd downplay the injury. He knows the protocol. And he’d already said it, damned him out loud, he’s going to take you back up top and then come back for me.
Reccer says: buckchris nde is always a hit, and this is such a good take on it with established relationship buddie!
13. coastal shelf by theundiagnosable (12k, Teen) Warnings: none
A fic which allows Shannon in death what she didn't get the chance to have in life -- a fully realized and individual personhood-- through the lens of a ghost watching the boys she left behind keep going and the family she lost keep growing.
Reccer says: I liked it!
14. candy bar by snowflake194 (@snowflake194) (1.4k, Teen) Warnings: none
In the immediate aftermath of Buck's kidnapping, Maddie finds the faith and strength to let someone else watch over her brother's hospital bedside.
Reccer says: I liked it!
14. what's waiting out there (we can never know) by Rehearsal_Dweller (@agentsnickers) (112.8k, General) Warnings: franker-than-canon discussion of Buck's canonical self-harm and suicidal tendencies (not very heavy though!)
At 22, Buck got one of his hookups pregnant and decided to keep the baby himself rather than let her be put up for adoption. At 26, he joined the 118. You know the rest, right?
Reccer says: This fic is so so so so wonderful, oh how i wish i could read it for the first time again!! A re-read will have to do <3 Lovely delicious slow burn canon rewrite with Buck and Eddie both as single dads weaving their family into one! Buck's OC kid is such a delight!
15. Exhibit B by Daisies_and_Briars (@cal-daisies-and-briars) (10.9k, Teen) Warnings: none
Seven years in the future, an adult Christopher has a chance to see his grandparents - and subsequently, his father - in a new light, on a family trip to El Paso.
Reccer says: This is a very interesting and nuanced take on the difficulties of family members having different relationships with one another, and growing up to realise that someone you love maybe doesn't treat the other people you love in a way that you can bear.
16. three clicks and i'm home by astrolesbian (9k, Teen) Warnings: none
eddie moves back to el paso. adriana tries to pick up where they left off fourteen years ago, with mixed results.
Reccer says: a true tour de force of sibling relationships, of the messiness of family dynamics, and of figuring out what your relationship is like now you've both grown up and apart
17. we're overdue for a revival by saintsnames (21.3k, General) Warnings: ableism, religious trauma
While in Texas, Chris starts going to healing services at the church.
Reccer says: This really grapples with ableism, religion, and trauma. On what it means to let someone else make choices in how to raise your child, especially if you realise too late that you disagree with the choices they make. It's aching and carefully written and painful and truly beautiful
18. I'll stand by you (won't let nobody hurt you) by heroic_pants (5.3k, General) Warnings: none
Maddie is there on the day Buck is born, and the day his daughter is. She can't help but compare the two.
Reccer says: This is soooo lovely! Makes me weep, but in the best way, just a perfect little microcosm into how much Maddie loves her little brother(s)
19. lonely little love dog by little ghost (@ghostlandtoo) (24k, Mature) Warnings: None
When the 118 is closed for reconstruction after an earthquake, Buck is a floater for different stations around the city. He tries not to let it get to him. Much.
Reccer says: this is one of the most aching, lonely, devastating fics in the fandom. you really feel the lack of ties, buck slowly floating into the ether, and how important the firefam is, how much they love and support each other
20. a cold world for such a long life by Daisies_and_Briars (@cal_Daisies_and_Briars) (12.9k, Teen) Warnings: none
Eddie befriends Bobby's estranged older brother in a virtual support group for queer adults struggling to come out. The only problem? He has no idea that's who Charlie is.
Reccer says: The difficulty of estranged relationships, of trying to mend broken bridges, of coming out to the people you love. Of making up for the hurt you've caused, and growing and bonding in your most vulnerable moments.
21. oh, come when you're called by lesbianrobin (@lesbianrobin) (8.3k, Teen) Warnings: none
Chris wants his dad. He wants his bed. But he can't have those yet, and he and Dad never really text because if Dad’s not working they’re usually together or one of them is too busy to text, so texting Dad feels weird, but Buck… He can text Buck.
Reccer says: Chris spends his time in El Paso thinking about his relationship with his dad, and his dad's relationship with his parents.
22. bashed out by ProsperDemeter (37.3k, Teen) Warnings: Minor character death, implied referenced canon self harm and suicidal tendencies
Margaret dies while Eddie's in El Paso with Chris, and Buck's not initially inclined to tell him.
Reccer says: A deeply painful and cathartic look at difficult family relationships and grief
2.4K words | explicit
rope bondage | kink discovery | first time | submissive eddie diaz
originally posted here on the @weewookinkmeme
a thousand dreams awake [on AO3]
"Seriously?" Eddie says, in that dry, fond tone that means he's probably going to go along with this, he's just gotta give Buck shit about it first. "You don't have anyone else to practice on?"
"I mean, I could ask Chim, but I feel like that might be weird," Buck says, just to watch Eddie snort into his beer. They're in his kitchen, lights down low, dishwasher humming quietly, and Buck likes the way Eddie looks here, in his space, in moments like this. He's not thinking about that too much if he can help it. "No, I mean, there's classes and everything—I've taken a couple—but there's only so much practice you can get in during a session. And, I don't know. It feels kinda weird to ask a hookup to be my guinea pig, you know?"
"Oh, but I can be your guinea pig," Eddie teases. "I see how it is."
"You can say no," Buck points out.
"Nah," Eddie says, like Buck knew he would. He drains the last of his beer, shakes his shoulders out, and grins up at Buck, soft-edged and warm. "You got all the stuff for it now?"
Buck clears his throat. Somehow, at the moment of it all, he's still taken aback by Eddie's easy agreement. "Yeah. I, uh, I have the stuff."
"Cool," Eddie says, setting his bottle down and giving Buck an expectant look. "No time like the present, right?"
Buck breathes out, sets his own bottle down. His heart is beating fast, all of a sudden. "Right."
Pride is about celebration, community, identity, and the freedom to understand yourself on your own terms. This week's recs highlight queer stories about Buck, Eddie, and the many ways fandom explores who they are and who they could become.
25 fic recs under the cut
1. double take, triple take by kermytheefrog (tardigradeschool) (10.6k, Teen)
Warnings: passing references to homophobia and transphobia
Between the ages of 0 and 31, Buck speedruns the L, T, and B in LGBT. (Eddie will have to take care of the G.)
Reccer says: I liked it!
2. taking steps is easy (standing still is hard) by peppermintyero (12k, Teen)
Warnings: Internalized Transphobia
In which Eddie is back from El Paso and it's like nothing has changed. Except things have changed. Because Eddie is non-binary.
Reccer says: I liked it!
3. Lessons in Flirting (Unintentionally and Definitely Not Romantically) by shrimprangoon (45.3k, Teen)
Warnings: none
“the one where Eddie subconsciously flirts with Buck without realizing and Buck is actively trying not to have a heart attack at work about it” - set post-Chris returns from Texas in a world where Bobby lives, this chat-heavy fic is a hilarious getting-together adventure featuring a beautiful Pride scene.
Reccer says: Definitely one of the funnier fics I’ve read! Very fun.
4. I’ll tell them put me back in it (and I would do it again) by paleredheadinascifi (4.8k, Teen)
Warnings: none
Eddie doesn't know how to make his listening history private. Buck doesn't know what to do with the words in front of his eyes. Chris cannot believe he has to deal with either of them.
Reccer says: pride but it's buck coaching chris through a gay crisis he is Not having while eddie pines
5. perfect boys with their perfect lives by littlesnowpea (3.9k, Teen)
Warnings: none
“Buck is bi,” Eddie bites out. “And I don’t like it.”
There’s a long pause. Then:
“Okay,” Frank says. “Let’s unpack that.”
Reccer says: eddie being insane and barking over buck coming out and spiraling over it is. my favorite.
6. Christopher Diaz and the Gay Agenda paleredheadinascifi (4k, Teen)
Warnings: none
Christoper hyper-fixates on Queer Eye and takes it out on his freshly gay father. Buck's there, too.
Reccer says: chris being aggressively supportive of gay!eddie in a way that is concerning to all, my beloved
7. slow burn by paleredheadinascifi (3.8k, Teen)
Warnings: none
Christopher has some questions. He asks the two worst possible people.
Reccer says: eddie having a sexuality crisis over buck explaining queer theory to chris! they're so family-shaped in this, and aspec!eddie is. so important.
christopher as way of making buddie confronting their feelings! eddie spiraling! buck being terrified!
8. The key to your door should unlock mine by ListenToThat (25.2k, Mature)
Warnings: none
Eddie questions his sexuality, panics a bit, and then goes after what he wants (ft. some drama).
Reccer says: Aroace spec Eddie!!
9. burn this house to the ground by thelonggoodbye (@hawkslonggoodbye) (45.9k, Mature)
Warnings: Homophobic language, suicidal thoughts, implied/referenced suicide attempt, ableism
Eddie's anxious POV after Chris leaves for Texas
Reccer says: The writing style is gorgeous and this author really has a great sense of the characters' inner lives
10. Open Secret by Wabisabipapi (@Bucksgreyhairs) (4.8k, Explicit)
Warnings: Buck has a threesome with other people (offscreen)
After 9x07 Eddie gets jealous and ragebaits himself into queerdom.
Reccer says: Some of the hottest dialogue I've ever read before the smut. Yummmm
11. Sometimes You Just Gotta by ZinnyDark (@zinnydark) (18.6k, Explicit)
Warnings: none
Eddie gets a vibrator. Buck helps.
Reccer says: This is so well-written and super hot smut. I'm reccing it for pride because I think kink is an important part of pride, and it's Eddie exploring his sexuality.
12. hold onto that feeling by Rehearsal_Dweller (@agentsnickers) (2.1k, Teen)
Warnings: internalised homophobia, the inescapable homophobia of the 00s
Buck thinks on the Glee Speech and his own sexuality
Reccer says: This really digs into the homophobia that Buck would have also grown up with, and what that has meant for his own sexuality longterm, and coming to peace with that. There's also a beautiful sequel fic centred around Eddie's introspection as well.
13. we'll be carrying each other by dusktillmidnight (@thegirlwithataser) (10.5k, Teen)
Warnings: none
Buck and May develop a sibling relationship, and bond over being queer, all while painting their nails together.
Reccer says: May coming to terms with being a lesbian is perfectly balanced with Buck pining over Eddie, and throughout their relationship to each other is central and v cute
14. you've got my devotion by kryptonian (12.8k, Mature)
Warnings: internalised homophobia, brief references to canonical cheating, two sentences about Bobby in a government morgue
Someone leaves first. There’s no other version of this story. But sometimes, they come back, too. (or sapphic buddie do the Texas arc onwards)
Reccer says: This is a really beautiful and thoughtful genderswap, with a very good exploration of compulsory heterosexuality. It's also a MASTERCLASS in pining.
15. we keep this love in a photograph by burnthatbridge (2.3k, Teen)
Warnings: none
Eddie comes out. Hen downloads him a dating app. Chim writes his bio. Buck supplies the photos.
Reccer says: This is so sweet and aching and makes me cry truly every time
16. tell me don’t, crawl back in by oneofthesirens (@oneofthesirens) (5.7k, Teen)
Warnings: Author Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings
Buck kisses Eddie over a kettle. Eddie’s straight. Eddie kisses Buck over pans. He’s — not so straight.
Reccer says: a foundational text of this genre (Buck making a move, Eddie thinking he's straight and rejecting it, Eddie haunted for weeks by what-ifs), and this one is extremely sweet and well written - you really get the sense that beyond also loving each other they really LIKE each other
17. Is It Stormy Where You Are? by Chash (@ponyregrets) (2.7k, General)
Warnings: none
Taylor and Buck bump into each other while Eddie's in Texas, and talk about being bi, among other things.
Reccer says: They have a very fun and real dynamic
18. But Honey I'll Be Seeing You by asexual-fandom-queen (writeordietrying) (@asexual-fandom-queen) (3k, Teen)
Warnings: none
Buck and Taylor run into each other at Pride, which Eddie does not love.
Reccer says: The are that Buck and Taylor have for each other bleeds through this fic, and it's so fun to see an aro!Taylor
19. Lifelines by hetrez (17.6k, Teen)
Warnings: past homophobia, past biphobia, aftermath of a tsunami
AU where Buck and Eddie meet just after the tsunami and talk about being in the closet.
Reccer says: They have a very engaging and fun dynamic in this, and it's heartfelt and funny and poignant by turns.
20. do i make you proud? by youcantsaveeveryone (@loadedwithrocksalt) (24.7k, Mature)
Warnings: Internalized Homophobia
In one Pride Month, Eddie meets an old friend, learns about himself, comes out to people who love him and learns to be proud (in roughly that order).
Reccer says: It's the coming out arc Eddie should have in canon :')
21. you still make sense to me by farfromthstars (@doeeyeseddie) (31.1k, Mature)
Warnings: none
Eddie tries to figure out what he wants from a relationship and why it has never felt completely right before, and discovers a lot of things about himself on the way. Meanwhile, Buck has to work through his own issues and realizations.
Reccer says: Beautiful exploration of Eddie’s sexuality specifically!
22. stay (i would even wait all night) by sunflowerbuckleys (flashhwing) (@sunflowerbuckleys) (3k, Teen)
Warnings: none
During the road trip back from Nashville, Buck and Eddie stay at a motel, where Eddie comes out to Buck.
Reccer says: I liked it!
23. What's a little love between friends? by Graceful_Ashes (@graceful-ashes) (15.8k, Teen)
Warnings: Mildly dubious consent
Buck confesses to being in love with Eddie, just to clear the air, so there's no secrets between them. Eddie is cool with it. They continue being friends, nothing changes…
Until Eddie starts acting more and more unhinged.
Reccer says: I liked it!
24. here’s my first hello by justhockey (4.3k, Teen)
Warnings: none
Eddie comes out to Buck as they're getting ready to go to Pride.
Reccer says: I liked it!
25. This Old Love Has Me Bound by allyasavedtheday (@littlespoonevan) (9.5k, Teen)
Warnings: none
Buck comes out, tries to figure out if he missed any signs of it in his own past. Luckily for him, he keeps getting interrupted before he can think about Eddie.
