Buck/Eddie AU: Good News on My TV Screen
AU: Buck is a news reporter, Eddie is a firefighter, and they meet at the scene of an accident.
CW: mentions of a gun and a gunshot, multiple car accidents, Buck’s parents being terrible parents
That night, after Christopher was in bed, Eddie grabbed the remote and flipped on the TV. He found himself checking his watch, then flipping through channels until he found the call sign matching the one he had seen on the side of the camera that morning.
And there he was, the reporter from the accident. He was standing by the side of the road, a broken off bumper, shattered glass, punctured tires all littering the scene behind him, but not a single injured person or smashed car. “Our thoughts tonight are with all those affected by this tragedy, and with the brave first responders who help without hesitation,” the man was saying. “I’m Evan Buckley, with Skywitness News 8. Back to you, Taylor.”
Evan Buckley. Now Eddie had a name to match the face. And confirmation that the face was just as attractive as he remembered.
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The car crash was absolutely horrendous, which of course meant all the news crews were out, cameras pointed directly in close up on the most heartbreaking, bloody scenes they could find.
And there were plenty to find.
“Assholes,” Eddie muttered under his breath, as he and Hen worked to free a sobbing woman who had been pinned between the greviously injured driver and the passenger side door when one of the cars had spun out of control and smashed right into them. The woman finally extricated, they carefully moved her onto a stretcher, two paramedics quickly rushing her into an ambulance. The situation was finally as under control as it was going to be, when from the corner of his eye Eddie saw a camera swing right towards them.
“Hey, no, not cool,” someone suddenly said, and Eddie looked up to see a reporter step in front of the camera with his arms out to his sides, effectively blocking the camera’s view of the injured woman.
“The network-” the cameraman began, but the reporter shook his head, standing his ground.
“The network brought me here for a reason, and it wasn’t to profit off anyone else’s pain,” Eddie heard the reporter say firmly, and the cameraman walked off with a grumble, camera pointed at the ground.
And then the reporter turned to them, and all Eddie could think was oh god, eyes, hair, birthmark, arms, muscles, and he would have missed entirely what was being said to them if it wasn’t for Hen sharply nudging him with her elbow.
“I’m really sorry about that,” the reporter said. “I know how busy you are, but I wanted to make sure I said that. Thank you for all you do.”
And as he hurried away towards where his cameraman was now, Eddie tried very hard not to let his gaze follow, but Hen’s snort of laughter clearly indicated he had failed miserably.
“Don’t make me report you to HR,” she teased, smirking at Eddie, who managed to take his eyes off the reporter long enough to roll them epically at Hen.
That night, after Christopher was in bed, Eddie grabbed the remote and flipped on the TV. He found himself checking his watch, then flipping through channels until he found the call sign matching the one he had seen on the side of the camera that morning.
And there he was, the reporter from the accident. He was standing by the side of the road, a broken off bumper, shattered glass, punctured tires all littering the scene behind him, but not a single injured person or smashed car. “Our thoughts tonight are with all those affected by this tragedy, and with the brave first responders who help without hesitation,” the man was saying. “I’m Evan Buckley, with Skywitness News 8. Back to you, Taylor.”
Evan Buckley. Now Eddie had a name to match the face. And confirmation that the face was just as attractive as he remembered.
Eddie hurried into the gym at Christopher’s school, still in his uniform. Glancing quickly around, he spotted Christopher in front of a table, his science fair project displayed right behind him. “Daddy!” Christopher exclaimed in delight, as Eddie scooped him into his arms for a tight hug. “You made it!”
“I promised you I would,” Eddie answered with a smile, running his fingers through Christopher’s curls as he set him back down.
“So this is your dad,” a warm voice sounded from nearby, and Eddie turned to come face to face with Evan Buckley himself. “Oh, hi!” The reporter ran his free hand over his hair, smoothing down his own curls, balancing a microphone in the other hand. “I hope it’s okay, I was talking to Christopher here about his science project. I want to start a segment highlighting great things schools are doing in the area. Of course, I’d get you to sign off first before I used any footage, I promise.”
“Dad, Buck is so cool!” Christopher exclaimed, tugging on his dad’s hand. “He knows all about volcanoes! He was telling me the biggest volcano ever is on Mars!”
“That is very cool,” Eddie chuckled, reaching a hand out. “I’m Eddie Diaz, and you’ve already met Christopher. Heads up, you’re his new favorite person now.”
“Evan Buckley, but my friends call me Buck,” Buck said, shaking Eddie’s hand, “and I don’t know about that.” Buck’s cheeks were now tinted red, one hand rubbing the back of his neck. “He was talking about you and how much you helped him with his project.”
“Chris always says I can’t cook, but at least I can mix baking soda and vinegar,” Eddie chuckled, and Christopher grinned, leaning closer to Buck.
“He burns everything, and he’s a firefighter!” Christopher whispered with a mischevious smile, and Buck burst out laughing, Eddie’s cheeks now quickly turning red. A classmate approaching caught Christopher’s attention, and he quickly turned, eagerly picking up the vinegar bottle for a demonstration.
“I love kids, and you have got one great kid,” Buck said, giving Eddie a wide smile, before suddenly clapping his hands together in excitement. “Oh, hey, we have a program at the station, kids can come in and do the weather report, do you think Christopher would be interested in that?”
“He would love that, that would be amazing,” Eddie said, grinning as Christopher, who had been listening, came barrelling over and threw his arms around Buck’s legs in a tight hug.
“Thanks Bucky!” Christopher exclaimed. Buck knelt down as Christopher immediately moved to throw his arms around Buck’s shoulders, Buck hugging back tightly with a look Eddie would swear was a combination of disbelief and wonder. He needs more hugs Eddie couldn’t help but think, his blush darkening at the unexpected idea.
“Here, let me give you my phone number,” Buck said as Christopher noticed his project was attracting visitors and hurried back. “So we can schedule getting Superman here on to do the weather,” he added quickly, flushing as he reached out his hand.
“No, right, of course,” Eddie nodded, passing his phone to Buck, who quickly typed his number in. Eddie immediately sent a text to the number
and immediately followed that by mentally slapped his forehead in exasperation that that was the best he could come up with.
“Got it saved,” Buck promised, flashing Eddie a grin as Eddie’s phone dinged, revealing the message
Buck texted Eddie first, to suggest some possible dates and times that wouldn’t interfere with Chris’ school schedule.
Eddie texted back to confirm.
After, Eddie sat on the couch, staring down at his phone, fingers hovering, but before he could psych himself up to text something else, anything else, Buck had texted the title of a book about volcanos he thought Chris might like.
Chris immediately begged to go to the library, and when they got back to the house, Eddie texted Buck a photo of a stack of ten books about volcanos, Mars, and the weather with the message
He now wants to be a weatherman astronaut volcano scientist.
What, not a news reporter? My heart is breaking. :( ;)
Eddie snorted, before quickly typing back
Just give him time. He’s already decided you’re the coolest person he’s ever met.
Do you think I’m the coolest person you’ve ever met too? Just need to know if I need to work harder to win over both Diaz boys.
Eddie paused, taking a deep breath before responding
Maybe I just need some more time too. And you can only be second coolest. Christopher is always first place.
Seems fair to me. And I like the idea of more time.
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