(I've Had) The Time of My Life by cupcakeL (finished; 38.5k)
"My brother didn't want his Wii anymore, so I said I'd take it!!" Courfeyrac exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air (well, in front of him, but they were definitely up) and instantly almost slid off the sofa. His friends’ expressions shifted from irritated to slightly displeased, so he continued, with a little too much cheer in his voice, "... at least he hasn't sold all the games?"
It didn't work.
"Which games have you got?" Combeferre finally asked, annoyed yet slightly intrigued. Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed the bag and pulled out the three games. He started grinning when he saw the first one.
Jehan has been trying to figure out how to convince both Courfeyrac and Combeferre to date them, while Courfeyrac is in a constant state of bisexual confusion because he’s in love with two of his closest friends and Combeferre is oblivious (or maybe not?). None of them can fully concentrate on their own drama because watching Grantaire pine for Enjolras is far more entertaining.
On a fateful Friday afternoon, Courfeyrac brings home an old Nintendo Wii console and Les Amis succumb to Just Dance 4 Mania.
This is one of the works I’ve posted on my AO3, it’s pretty short and not my usual style, but I started appreciating that kind of light writing a lot more! I don’t know how formatting on tumblr works so hopefully I didn’t fuck it up! You can definitely go and read it on AO3 if you prefer of course, the formatting is better there.
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Princeton is a happy bastard. He’s the happiest bastard around and Eddie is pretty sure that if he continues grinning like that he’s going to explode.
They are on a scene, a minor emergency that isn’t dangerous for any of them. The caller is already being taken cared of by Hen and Chimney, Bobby is talking with passerby and supervising the scene and Buck and Princeton are all cosy. The blond firefighter has the prettiest smile on his face, he’s literally glowing and Eddie feels blessed by that sight. Seriously. However, Princeton is here, receiving all of Buck’s attention—which, rude.
Eddie hates it with a passion. He would have preferred to be the one receiving that smile because that’s how it should be. It’s written in the books, the stars, somewhere. Princeton is not supposed to be in the equation. It’s supposed to be Buck + Eddie not Buck + Princeton and right now it’s all wrong. He knows it, Princeton knows it, Hen and Chim—judging by the smirks he can sense— know it, Bobby knows it, everyone but Buck, bless his heart, knows.
So why the hell is Princeton getting what Eddie should be getting? It does not make any sense whatsoever and he won’t stand for it. But he refuses to make it obvious, knowing it would make Buck frown, or worse, notice, so he glares. He glares so hard that if eyes could kill, Princeton would have died at least ten times and then combusted in fire, but they don’t so the fucker is safe.
Anyway, Princeton is a lucky, smug and happy little bastard, as well as an attention stealer and Eddie wants him gone.
Fuck.
Of course, he would be jealous of a stupid dog.
Ah, yes. Did you know Princeton was a puppy?
.
Puppy meets human puppy
.
It’s stupid. It’s completely, ridiculously stupid. And maybe a little sad too. That’s what Chim tells Eddie once they arrived to the firehouse, Princeton in tow. The puppy is happily playing with their human disaster downstairs. Bobby, Hen, Chimney and Eddie are all seated at the table, talking. Or more like the other three are talking and Eddie is brooding. Now that’s something he would totally deny if asked because Eddie Diaz does not pout or brood. Never.
Chimney and Hen and Bobby—which, once again, rude—are mocking him, he can feel it. They are totally being little shits, something he will never say out loud, and laughing about his pain. No. Eddie is not being dramatic. Eddie Diaz does not do dramatics, that’s Chim’s and Buck’s scene. He really is in pain.
“It’s a dog, a puppy. What did you expect?”, Hen isn’t even looking at him, the magazine in her hand more interesting than whatever is going on with him.
“Right? Buck is almost a puppy himself, they were bound to like each other.”, Chimney adds with a teasing smile.
“Princeton is a golden retriever.”, Bobby finishes, as if it means anything. It kind of does.
“He’s a nuisance that’s what he is.”
“Now I know you don’t mean that Eddie, that’s just the jealousy speaking.”
“I’m not jealous.”
“Sure.”
Buck appears before he can answer, that pretty smile still on his face and maybe, just maybe, Eddie softens just a little. Maybe.
The blond rounds the table, pats Eddie’s shoulder and flops down in the chair beside him. He steals the cup of coffee in front of his best friend and take a sip.
“You know you could have just, I don’t know, made one?”, Eddie says with a smile.
“I could have but why do that when you made one I could steal?”
Hen and Chimney both snort and Bobby has that soft, teasing smile of his. They all know. Eddie always makes a cup of coffee, not for himself, but for Buck. No he never told him it was for him, he will never tell him. What Buck doesn’t know won’t kill him. Eddie is perfectly fine with letting him ‘steal it’.
The moment is broken by a small bark, and seconds after, Princeton is there, looking at Buck with his big brown eyes. The blond is won over and already out of his chair, dropping on the floor to pet the happy golden retriever. He didn’t even finish the coffee.
Eddie hates Princeton.
“Who’s a good boy? You’re a good boy right Prince? You’re the best boy.”
Buck adores him.
.
It’s Friday night. Bobby and Athena invites everyone over for a small gathering. Everyone is here. Karen is animatedly talking with Athena, Hen is holding Nia while she catches up with Maddie and May. The children are all running around outside. Bobby and Michael are also outside and Chimney is with Eddie, beers in hand.
Buck would have normally been right with them, being his happy, loud self and bickering with Chimney at any given chance but no, the man is too busy paying attention to Princeton. Yes. The dog is also here. Eddie doesn’t know how Buck managed to convince Athena to let Princeton at her house. In fact he doesn’t even know why his best friend thought it was a good idea to bring him over but it’s too late to wonder now. The attention stealer is already here and he’s already getting all the Buck love.
At this moment, Eddie doesn’t only hate Princeton, he also hates Athena’s soft spot for Buck, his friends perceptiveness—because he knows they all know—and Buck’s love for the dog.
Eddie is definitely jealous of a dog and it’s not pathetic.
(Except that it kind of is and he knows that.)
They soon get to the table for dinner and the golden retrieved, aka Eddie’s arch nemesis, is forced to stay outside, which, good. Buck does pout, but Athena’s soft spot for Buck has a limit and she doesn’t let his puppy dog eyes fool her. If she gives him an extra big slice of pie when they get to the dessert, it’s nobody’s business but hers.
If you must know, during the dinner, most of Buck’s attention was on Eddie and Christopher. Of course, Eddie basked in it, accepted each smiles as the blessings they were, had as much contact with him as he could and talked as much as he could without looking suspiciously needy for attention. All of this to say that Buck’s attention was on him and not on Princeton.
Eddie counts it as a win. Take that stupid dog.
.
Princeton is everywhere. At the station, at Buck’s loft, at Maddie’s. Everywhere. Eddie draws the line at having him at his house. And by that he means that he pouts the whole day because one, he’s too weak to say no to Buck, two, Christopher is way too happy when he sees the puppy for the first time and three, the image of Chris, Buck and Princeton all happily messing around outside is precious, so precious and so pure that Eddie wants it to be burnt into his retina. The feeling of being a family is very strong and warms his heart.
Eddie still hates Princeton.
.
Princeton is sad today. Eddie is also sad today. The pathetic picture of sadness they make together is as adorable as it is ridiculous. Chimney is terrible for laughing at the two of them and calling them drama queens—how dare he? He went on a whole rant one day because someone drank the apple juice he had brought. Turns out, he was the one who had drunk it and he had forgotten.—. Hen is terrible for encouraging his behavior and taking not one, not two but multiples pictures of the two of them. Bobby is terrible for not stopping them and for participating in their mockery. Eddie doesn’t know when they corrupted him but they did and he doesn’t like it.
“Look at you two, both missing your best friend!”, Hen is way too happy by the way things are.
“First of all, he’s my best friend. Mine. Not his.”, Eddie points at the dog who has his head in his lap, “Understood dog? Mine, not yours.”
Princeton doesn’t even acknowledge him. He’s too sad for that.
“Wow. And Karen calls me possessive.”
“Let him be Hen, he’s experiencing withdrawal.”
Withdrawal. Yes. Buck withdrawal. The reason of his shared sadness with Princeton is the notable absence of one Evan Buckley. The poor guy is down with a very high fever and a terrible cough. Maddie, who thankfully doesn't have a shift today, is currently with him and keeps them updated via messages on the group chat they all share. Princeton, who was brought this morning by Chimney, and Eddie are the one who are suffering the most, both unused to the blond’s absence. So of course the two would pout.
“You know we get off soon right? The moment our shift is over you can go to Buck and stay with him. I don’t recommend it because I don’t need another sick firefighter but knowing you, you don’t care about my advice. You will have to take Princeton with you though.”
And he does. The moment they get off, he’s racing to his car, Princeton on his tail, under his teammates amused gazes. When he arrives, he meets Maddie at the door. She tells him that her brother is awake, wishes him good luck, pats Princeton’s head and leaves with a wide smile.
Eddie is thankful for his Abuela agreeing to take care of Chris tonight, he knows Buck would have love to see the kid but they will have to wait until he gets better.
Princeton makes a beeline for the top floor and Eddie follows. He’s greeted by the sight of a grinning Buck, buried under a heavy blanket, running his hands over the overly excited puppy. Buck’s grin widen when he sees him and Eddie is quick to join them.
Yes, Princeton gets a pat or two from him.
Time passes by, Eddie heats up some soup Maddie made earlier, Princeton eating some dog food not too far from him, and brings it to Buck. They end up talking quietly about everything and anything and they are joined by the golden retriever later on.
Buck’s head drops on Eddie’s shoulder, his eyes are glassy and dropping. He’s tired. Princeton is curled up at the end of the bed, already asleep. Eddie is about to leave them be, still debating between staying and sleeping on Buck’s couch or leaving all together. As if sensing his inner conflict, Buck stops him from going anywhere.
“Stay?”
And how can Eddie say no when he looks at him like that?
They all sleep well that night.
.
Eddie kisses Buck on a Sunday. Princeton is here, so are Christopher and all of their friends.
Eddie kisses Buck on a Sunday and it’s perfect. Everyone is happy and smiling and cheering, and Buck is beaming.
Eddie kisses Buck on a Sunday, Princeton is running around, Bobby is tearing up because that’s his pseudo-son finally getting the love of his life, and Maddie is giving Eddie the most ridiculous and weirdly threatening shovel talk—she can’t stop smiling. Athena is getting money from Chimney and Hen and Karen because she won the bet.
Eddie kisses Buck on a Sunday and knows he will do it everyday.
He doesn’t hate Princeton anymore, he never really did, and now he gets the attention he always wanted. But he does whisper to the puppy that he won. Because he totally did, fair and square.
Oops I did it again! Here’s the 3rd installment of my series “Puppy meets...”. Most likely the last one as well...or the second to last. I don’t know. This one features some Jealous Buck and is unnecessarily long. I definitely recommend reading it on AO3 just because it looks better there but here you go.
——
Eddie would like to start by saying that for once, this is not on him. He isn’t the jealous one this time. In fact, he’s nothing but an innocent bystander, forced to watch his boyfriend get all huffy because of his irrational jealousy. Very irrational.
How the tables have turned.
He now understands why Hen and Chimney never stopped mocking him, back in the days he would get ridiculously jealous of Princeton...or of Leopold. To his defense, Leopold was and still is a little shit who wants all of Buck’s attention. Just saying.
So, yeah, Eddie’s not the jealous one and Buck is. It reminds him of the first time he had met Buck, back when he had first arrive. The guy had huffed and acted like an asshole for a whole day just to turn out to be one of the most genuine and kind person Eddie has ever met. Evan Buckley is the softest dork Eddie Diaz has had the chance to meet, do not be fooled by his height and cocky attitude.
Eddie loves Buck with all his heart, but if he has to hear him complain about how ‘Princeton doesn’t love him anymore’ one more time, he’s going to have to kill him.
Ok. That’s a lie. He could never, but he would find a way to shut him up. Mark his words.
Was he that ridiculous when he was jealous of Princeton?
(not Leopold, his jealousy because of Leopold was VALID)
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Puppy meets Probie
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Princeton is mad at Buck. Or at least that’s what the blond firefighter thinks if his rant about how ‘Princeton absolutely despises him now’ means anything—which can’t be more wrong. The dog adores Buck just as much as the firefighter loves him. No, seriously, they say dogs are men’s best friends but Princeton and Buck? That’s another level of man to animal friendship. They do everything together. Eddie is pretty sure Buck gets the dog a puppy coffee at Starbucks at least once a week. He brings him everywhere, the beach, the park, Athena’s—Eddie still can’t believe how much Buck has her wrapped around his little finger, because he distinctly remembers her saying that no dogs will ever put a paw in her house. How convincing.—. Buck is the one who takes care of Princeton the most at the station and outside of it. They are always together—with Eddie too because, it’s Buck&Eddie and not Buck and Eddie, never forget.
That’s kind of the problem. You see, the reason for Buck’s melodrama is the lack of time the man and his dog—and let’s face it, Princeton is Buck’s dog and Buck is Princeton’s human—have been spending together. And it’s all because of a new recruit.
It’s not everyday the 118 gets a new recruit. In fact, the last recruit they’ve had was Eddie. It was a surprise to all of them that anyone would be willing to join them after the firetruck explosion affair and the incident with the well. The 118 is known to be...hum...very accident prone.
The new probie is nice, younger than any of them, a little bit of a hot-head but good at his job. He is pretty nervous around them all, particularly Buck which still surprises everyone. In the firehouse, Buck has to be the least intimidating person around despite being one of the tallest. He’s just a giant dork, that’s common knowledge.
Anyway, the new guy, Elliot Morgan, is very sweet, always ready to help and very easily excited. They welcome him with open arms—Eddie did smirk at Buck at that and asked him if he was going to be mean to the new guy like he did with him. Buck answered by sticking his tongue out.—, they even invite him over for drinks with the whole station—except for Bobby and Davis—to celebrate his arrival with them.
So yeah, probie is nice and they all appreciate him, including Princeton.
Particularly Princeton.
That’s a problem. A very big problem.
.
They are all together in the loft, chatting about everything and anything, waiting for the alarm to rig at anytime.
Usually Princeton would be near Buck, laying down by his feet, just existing, and Eddie would fake being jealous, much to his boyfriend’s amusement and the others teasing. Keyword being usually.
“Where’s your twin?”, Hen, who’s sitting in front of Buck, says as she looks for Princeton.
Buck shrugs but he’s also confused, Princeton is nowhere to be seen.
“I don’t know, he’s usually right here. Have you seen him?”, Buck frowns in concern.
Deciding that he should go and find the dog, the firefighter gets up and is about to go down the stairs to get him when Princeton suddenly appears...with Elliot by his side. Buck goes to pet him but the dog sidestep him and follows their new recruit instead, who is completely oblivious to the situation.
Hen and Eddie exchange surprised glances and Chimney is staring at Princeton who is sitting beside probie and looking at him as if he hung the moon.
Oh.
That’s not normal.
That’s a Buck stare. The one Princeton gives Buck. Only Buck. Buck who seems as confused as all of them, hand still outstretched and a completely lost look on his face.
“...Princeton?”
The golden retriever doesn’t even turn to look at him, ignores him completely and continue to look at the probie who’s talking in hushed tone with another firefighter and remains oblivious to the situation.
If looks could kill, the beam above Elliot would have fallen and crushed him under its weight, killing him instantly.
Who knew Evan Buckley could look so mean?
And they call Eddie dramatic? Please.
.
Buck would like to say that it doesn’t sting one bit. He would like to say that his pride isn’t damaged, that he isn’t saddened at all, that he doesn’t take it as betrayal, that he doesn’t care at all. But as he look at probie and Princeton having the time of their lives, cuddling without a care of the world, as if they were best friend, the jealousy he’s feeling goes up tenfold.
He is supposed to be the one with Princeton right now. The dog has been ignoring him for three days straight and everyone has noticed it. Everyone but probie who continues to be his sunshiny, oblivious self—which rude, Buck is supposed to be the sunshine one—.
The thing is, Buck can’t even blame the guy, he’s done nothing wrong. Elliot is just happy because Elliot loves dog. He’s giving all of his attention and affection to Princeton. He even takes him in some nights. Like tonight for example.
The problem is that tonight, Buck is supposed to bring Princeton with him to his apartment. So imagine his surprise when the dog follows Elliot out instead of him.
“Princeton?”, he yells to get his attention.
Their new recruit startles and turns around. When he sees Buck’s frown he smiles shakily.
“Hum...is...is everything alright?”, he stammers out, looking anywhere but at Buck’s face.
And the thing is, Buck wants to be mad, wants to ask him what the hell does he think he’s doing and where is he taking Princeton, but the dog isn’t even paying attention to him and the kid looks like he’s ready to bolt. Swallowing his jealousy, he relaxes his face.
“It’s nothing Elliot, you’re taking Princeton in tonight right?”
“Ah! Yes! Why, am I not supposed to? Is he supposed to stay at the firehouse tonight? I can leave him!”, the young man nervously says, glancing sadly at the golden retriever beside him.
“No don’t worry. Have a nice night, man.”
With a wide grin, the probationary firefighter grins and waves goodbye, walking away to his car with Princeton by his side. Buck watches them go and, after a minute, feels a hand on his shoulder. Eddie.
“Let’s ride together? Chris is at Abuela’s tonight. We can come in together tomorrow.”
“Yeah...”
Buck ends up pouting for the whole ride from the fire station to his apartment.
.
“But you have Leopold?”
“Not anymore...she’s always with Charles X now.”, Buck huffs, his eyes on the two cats who are playing a little bit further away.
“And Charles X? I mean he seemed pretty attached to you when I first got him.”
“Yeah but now he just hangs out with Leopold.”
Remember when Eddie said Leopold was an attention seeker and stealer? Yeah. It’s still true.
“I just can’t believe he forgot tonight was Buck-ston night”, Buck says around his beer.
Eddie snorts and shakes his head. Buck-ston nights are not a thing, if it was, it would happen way too often.
“So what? You’re gonna tell probie to not approach Princeton? Or better, get a new dog to occupy him?”
“I’m not you mister Let’s-buy-a-new-kitten because I’m jealous of Leopold.”, Buck grins playfully, “And that would be mean, Prince is allowed to hang out with everyone.”
“Don’t act like you didn’t pout and complain the whole way to your apartment.”
“He forgot our Buck-ston night! It’s tradition! I thought you were a traditional man, you’re supposed to understand.”
Eddie chuckles at his boyfriend’s antics. The blond is pouting a little—even he denies it—, his pink lips slick with beer and h’s still complaining about Princeton absence. Suddenly, an idea comes into Eddie’s mind. He loves Buck with all his heart but knowing the man, if he does not change the subject, he will end up rambling about Princeton and Elliot the whole night. Eddie doesn’t want to listen to that. He has other plans.
“Evan.”
The blond doesn’t seem to register the mention of his name and continues his rant. Annoyed by the lack of response, he decides to change tactic. With a burst of strength, Eddie lifts Buck onto the counter and stands between his legs, a smug smirk on his face.
“So? Wanna keep complaining about Princeton or...”, he trails off, his eyes switching between staring into baby blues’ and rosy lips.
“Depends...are you going to do anything or just stand there looking all smug?”
Eddie’s smirk widen and his hands tighten around Buck’s hips. He gets closer to his boyfriend whose arms are now around his neck, and lets his lips hover over Buck’s, not quite touching.
“And what if I just stayed there?”, he whispers as he feels Buck’s breath hitch. Eddie knows how much he loves this little thing between them, some sort of game of who will give in to the thick sexual tension around them.
“And what if you didn’t?”
Eddie brushes his lips over Buck’s, and when the younger thinks he’s going to go for a kiss, he moves to the side, mouthing at Buck’s jaw instead. The blond’s arms around his neck tighten and one of his hands find itself tangled in short brown strands. Eddie continues peppering opened-mouth kisses along Buck’s jaw and slowly goes lower, for his neck.
“Eds...”, Buck lets out a soft sigh, tugging at the hairs in his hand.
Eddie hums, scrapping his teeth on that one sensitive spot and slips his hands under the cotton shirt, touching smooth skin and a rock hard body. He then lifts his head up, leaving Buck’s neck alone and drops a tender kiss on his lips. One becomes two, three, four and soon they are exchanging deeper and longer kisses, pulling each other in, closer, so close. Hands start to wander, a caress here, a brush of fingers there, a clutch or a tug. They are panting when they separate, Eddie’s hair is a mess, Buck’s shirt is all askew, their lips and cheeks are flushed and their pupils are blown wide and they are incredibly happy.
“We should...”
“Yeah...”
Let’s just say that Princeton and Elliot are the furthest thing from Evan Buckley’s mind the whole night, instead, his brain is filled with Eddie Diaz. Eddie, Eddie, Eddie and only Eddie...
His neighbors can confirm.
.
Eddie needs to have a conversation of the utmost importance with one Princeton...Buckley? 118? With Princeton. Yes, he is very much aware that Princeton is a dog, thank you very much, but the dog is a golden retriever and he read somewhere—Ok, Buck told him— that they are very intelligent so Prince will understand him.
The firefighter corners the dog while everyone is busy around the firehouse and crouches in front of him. Princeton, the good boy that he is, gets closer to him, tail wagging in happiness. Eddie pats his head, unable to resist and after looking around to make sure no one was around, started talking.
“Now listen you adorable little shit, you know how I started to appreciate you right? And I let you be Buck’s best friend? If you want that to continue you can’t pull shit like that.”, he stares at Princeton in the eyes and watches as the dog cocks his head to the side in confusion, “Don’t act all cute, you know what you’ve done! Buck needs love alright and you’ve been ditching your duties mister, you’re supposed to give him love everyday, all day. He’s pouting Prince! Pouting. Ok, maybe not pouting, but he’s complaining. A lot. So you gotta apologize man, and give him lots of love.”
Princeton stares at him, now sitting in front of him, head still on side, and his tongue hanging out.
“What’s wrong with you? I thought you loved Buck! You can’t just ditch him because there’s a new guy, man, that’s not fair! Remember who gave you that firetruck toy you love so much? What does Elliot even have that Buck doesn’t? I mean, kid’s nice but he doesn’t love you the way Evan does, I thought you knew that. You know that right? Stop looking at me like that you giant goofball, you need to go and apolo—”
“Are you seriously scolding Princeton right now?”
Eddie startles, loses balance and falls on his butt. He turns around and sees Chimney smirking down at him, Hen with her phone out, most likely recording him, and Bobby who’s shaking his head in fond exasperation. Before he says anything, he looks around trying to see if Elliot, or worse, Buck was around and heard his little conversation with the station’s mascot. Thankfully neither of them were in sight.
Refocusing on his three teammates, he clears his throat and gets up from his spot on the floor, cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Hen is still filming, trying her best to contain her laughter.
“Hum...how, how much did you hear?”
“All of it man, all of it.”
“Seriously Eddie? Scolding a dog because your boyfriend is jealous of probie? A dog?”
“It’s Princeton!”, Eddie groans, glaring at the dog who’s looking at him innocently beside him, “He’s like Buck’s best buddy!”
“Still a dog.”, Hen shakes her head at him, pulling her phone down, “Damn, I’m so sending this to everyone.”
“Can’t believe I used to think of you as one of the sane ones, Eddie.”, Bobby says with a smile.
“Him? A sane one? Please Bobby, he bought a whole cat to distract Leopold.”
“Modern problems requires modern solutions.”
“That’s not how it works!” Chimney throws his arms up, shaking his head at Eddie’s ridiculous motto, “You can’t keep saying that every time Charles X is brought up.”
Hen laughs suddenly watching the video she had just taken, “Edmundo Diaz, I’m so playing this the day of your wedding.”
They continue to tease him—even Bobby—until they get tired of him. Firefighter Johnson makes the mistake of passing by them and Hen goes after him, talking about a video she needs to show him.
Eddie knows that soon the whole station—plus Karen, Athena and Maddie—would have seen the video and truly hopes it never reaches Buck nor Elliot.
He also hopes Princeton did understand everything he had said. He will make him watch the video to remind him if he has to.
But first, he needs to drown in his embarrassment.
.
Just as Eddie thought, the video has been seen by almost everyone in the firehouse. They all snicker at him whenever he passes them and it goes on until he gets off his shift. He refuses to admit that it was quite funny to watch.
The thing is that now, everyone is aware of the Buck-Princeton-Elliot issue...and that’s how Elliot who has been oblivious to everything, learns about it...and has a mini freakout.
It’s all thanks to three other firefighters who, maybe, should have checked their surroundings before speaking. Just maybe.
“Hey! Teagan, do you think probie is going to stay here long?”, Brett nudges his co-worker as they clean one of the trucks.
“What do you mean? Morgan’s pretty neat, does his job, shows up on time, hasn’t set the kitchen on fire so far, which is far better than you and you’re still here.”, she replies with a raised eyebrow, “Why? Did he tell you something?”
“You haven’t seen the video?”
“The one with Diaz? Sure. What does that have to do with anything? I thought we’d established that whenever Buckley is involved we shouldn’t try to understand him?”
“Exactly.” Villegas pipes up from the inside of the truck, “Imagine if Princeton doesn’t listen to what he said, what do you think will happen?”
“Villegas, Brett, please don’t tell me you think Diaz would do something to Morgan because of Princeton.”
“I mean, there’s no way we’re getting rid of the dog, you know that, so probie it is.”, Brett looks at her with an amused grin.
“Cap would—”
“—Please Teagan, we all know how Cap loves Buckley like a son. He would do anything for the kid. And Diaz would totally support this. They might even get Han and Wilson on the case.”
“I refuse to believe Cap would fire probie just for Buckley’s pretty eyes.”, Teagan snorts, shaking her head at the thought of such thing happening, “And even if he did, what if Morgan goes and complain about that? Abuse of power or something. This station is on the news pretty often, we don’t need anymore attention.”
“Buckley’s eyes do be pretty.”, Brett mutters. Teagan and Villegas both ignore him.
“Did you know they nicknamed us the hell-station? As if the 136 don’t almost die every two weeks.”
The three laugh lightly and resume to their tasks, changing the subject to the 136 last stunts and comparing it to their own.
Unbeknown to them, a certain probationary firefighter heard everything.
Elliot Morgan does the only thing he can do, he freaks out.
.
To say that no one was ready for what happened would be an understatement. A bomb going off in the station had more chance to happen than that. Honestly.
Buck really doesn’t know how he ended up with an armful of Elliot Morgan, with tears in his eyes and snot up his nose, at seven-something in the evening, in front of everyone. He really doesn’t but damn, would he like to.
It goes like this.
They are all gathered up in the loft, chatting in small groups except for Elliot. Bobby and Johnson are behind the stove, both listening to Hen, Eddie, Chim and Buck. The four were in an animated debate about summer camps.
“I don’t even know why you’re in this conversation Chim, you don’t have children.”, Hen looks at her best friend slyly as she says this.
“Hey! Buckaroo here doesn’t have children neither but you’re not telling him anything!”
“I will have you know Chim that I am Eddie’s proud co-parent and I love Christopher as if he was my son.”, Buck says from where he’s standing.
Cue heart eyes between their station’s lovebirds much to their dismay.
“Great Chimney, you set them off.”, Hen complains but everyone can see the fond smile plastered on her face.
The two star protesting, saying that they aren’t doing anything wrong. Hen and Chimney soon join in with teases to everyone else’s amusement. Bobby shakes his head at their behavior and gently tells them to calm down.
When Elliot enters the loft, however, everyone can sense the tension in his shoulders and the way he’s avoiding anyone’s eyes. They all quiet down but try to not make their worry known and continue with their antics. Focused on the new recruit, Bobby’s about to ask him what’s wrong when he speaks before him.
“Please don’t fire me!”
Every firefighters in the loft stops what they are doing, their attention on the very nervous probie who had just shouted. Hen exchanges worried glances with Eddie, Buck and Chimney. They are all confused with what’s happening.
“Is there a reason for me to fire you?”, Bobby asks slowly with a slight frown. Elliot has been a very good probationary firefighter so far, what could he have done to warrant him to get fired.
Instead of answering him, the kid throws himself in Buck’s arms, who is startled by the sudden weight in his arms, and starts crying right there. Everyone seems shocked by Elliot’s behavior.
“I’m so sorry!”, the young man says between soft sobs and incoherent mutters, “I didn’t know!”
“Wh—Elliot what are you talking about?”, Buck looks around with wide eyes, trying to find someone who may know why their new recruits was sobbing in his arms.
“I swear I didn’t know! Please don’t ask captain Nash to fire me!”
The collective gasp that resonates through the loft is not dramatic at all.
“Why would I ask Cap to fire you Elliot?”, Buck tries to soothe him, still completely lost by what’s happening, “Did something happen? Is it the Jeep? You nicked it or something? It’s totally cool dude, shit happen. I wouldn’t ask Bobby to fire yo—”
“No! Because of Princeton!”
“Prince...ton? What’s going on with him? Did you give him something he shouldn’t eat? It was chocolate wasn’t it? We can go to the vet, don’t worry, he will be fine.”
“No! I didn’t give him anything! I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to approach him!”
By now, the situation seems to dawn on the rest of the firehouse, everyone looks like they finally understand what’s happening and the reason behind Elliot freak out. Everyone but Buck.
“Elliot, I really don’t understand what you’re talking about. Princeton is the firehouse’s mascot, everyone is allowed to approach him. Bobby can’t fire you because you’re spending time with the station’s dog...”, Buck looks even more lost as he ruffles Elliot’s hair.
“But...the video?”, Elliot sniffles, letting go of Buck who winces at the wet spots on his LAFD shirt.
At the mention of the video, everyone’s eyes snap to Eddie whose eyes are wide. Hen has the audacity to smirk at his embarrassment. Buck, thankfully, doesn’t notice the attention that’s on his boyfriend.
“What video?”, he asks slowly.
“The one with Eddie and Princeton? Where he tells him about how you weren’t happy that I played with him?”
Eddie has the decency to smile sheepishly at Buck’s questioning glare.
“I didn’t exactly say that.”, the man mutters.
“And what Teagan, Villegas and Brett said? About Captain Nash firing me if you asked him to?”
The three firefighters startle at the mention of their names. They look at each other before looking back at the still panicked probie.
“But probie, we never told you that?”, Teagan tells him carefully, trying to remember if they had actually talked with him.
“No, you didn’t. I heard you. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop but I was working on the ambo and I hear you. I heard what you said about Captain Nash doing anything for Buck’s pretty eyes because he’s his son. And that he would fire me because I made Buck unhappy! I’m so sorry, I really didn’t mean to!”
Both Buck and Bobby are lightly blushing, stunned by what Elliot had just said. It’s no secret that Bobby is Buck’s father figure and Buck is like a son to their captain, but that doesn’t mean they are used to hearing it.
“My...pretty eyes?”
“The prettiest.”, Eddie says under his breath and, thankfully, no one hears.
“Probie,”, Brett snorts from his place beside Teagan, “We were joking around. Cap would never do that to you. We’re really sorry but none of what we said was serious.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, Buckley wouldn’t ask anyone to fire you neither, have you seen the guy?”
“A whole ass puppy.”, Hen chimes in with a smile.
“Hey!”
Everyone start laughing, the tension in the loft finally receding and a lighter atmosphere comes around them.
“So I’m not getting fired...?”
“No one is getting fired kiddo”, Bobby smiles softly.
“And me taking care of Princeton...?”
“Was never a problem in the first place.”, Buck nods.
“So the video...?”
“That’s totally on me.”, Eddie smiles sheepishly.
“Elliot, you know how Eds and I are together right?”, at the younger’s nod, Buck continues, “Well, at the beginning I was kind of jealous, cause I was used to having Princeton by my side like, all the time. Completely irrational, you’ve done nothing wrong, and, well, I may have complained once or twice to Eddie here.”
“Oh...”
Elliot seems to finally realize the way he has freaked out in front of everyone and flushes lightly under the attention. Granted, Eddie and Buck are the ones who were ‘exposed’ and kind of ridiculed but he is the one who had cried and begged to not be fired. Maybe he had overreacted a little. Just a little. What can he say, he really likes the 118.
“Come on dude, let’s go and see how Princeton is doing. I’m sure he misses having company.”
Elliot beams and goes down the stairs, calling out for the station’s dog. Before joining him, Buck looks at Eddie and grins slyly.
“So...”, he singsongs, “do I get to see that video?”
“Absolutely, I’m sure you will love it Buckaroo. Eddie here went all out to remind Princeton how much love he’s supposed to give you.”, Chimney laughs, phone already in hands.
“Great! Send it over, I’m sure Abuela, Pepa and Carla will love to see how much of a gentleman Eddie is.”, Buck’s grin widens, happy to be able to make fun of his partner, and his eyes are still on Eddie, “You really have my back in any situation don’t you?”
“Well, I did say I would.”
“I’ll just have to marry you if you keep that up.”
And with that Buck is gone, calling out for Princeton and Elliot. The loft stays eerily silent for three to five seconds, every firefighters too shocked to do anything but stare, jaw-slacked and eyes wide, at an equally shocked Eddie.
“D-did...did he just...”, he croaks out.
“Holy shit...”
“Oh my god!”, Hen lets out loudly, “Buck wants to marry Eddie.”
Suddenly, chaos takes back its place in the loft. Everyone is speaking at the same time, Chimney is typing frantically multiple texts to Maddie, Bobby is tearing up and Johnson is patting him on the back with an happy smile on his face, Hen and Teagan are already browsing the web, looking for venues and decoration ideas and comparing the prices, and Villegas and Brett are trying to make Eddie come out of his trance.
It’s not a proposal, not really, they all know that. Buck hasn’t even realized the gravity of his sentence, too busy caring for Princeton with their probie. It’s not a proposal but it’s something, a statement, an opening to a new chapter of their lives, a ‘I think we should get married’, a ‘I wanna marry you one day’, a ‘I don’t see myself with anyone other than...you.’.
It’s not a proposal but it’s a projection in the future.
