fallintofallfestival prompt fill

[lovemeanyway]

Having just returned from break, Eddie is ready to get back to work, adjusting his headset as Josh walks up to his station. They aren’t friends, exactly, but they’re friendly and it hasn’t been uncommon in the past for him to stop by and ask how Christopher is doing.

“Sue sent me over to let you know you have a visitor,” Josh says. “She told me to reassure you it’s fine to take a longer break.”

Instantly Eddie’s thoughts go to Christopher. Did something happen?

Reading the sudden panic clearly showing on his face, Josh quickly adds, “It’s not about Christopher. There’s a firefighter here to see you.”

“A firefighter?” Eddie repeats, new worry for his siblings replacing his worry for his son. The only reason it isn’t overwhelming is that Josh doesn’t seem very concerned. If something had happened, he’d probably be approaching Eddie in an entirely different manner. “Jack?”

“No. Whoever he is, he’s in the breakroom.” Josh shrugs. “And very cute. Try to find out whether or not he’s straight for me, will you?” he says, giving Eddie a conspiratorial wink before heading to his own work station.

The entire walk to the breakroom, Eddie tries to think of a reason why a firefighter who isn’t his brother would be visiting him. Aside from the call with Lily several weeks ago, he hasn’t even interacted with any outside of family nights when Jack and Shay have come over for dinner with him and Christopher. Fears of his brother or sister being hurt take stronger hold the closer he gets to the breakroom. What if they simply hadn’t told Sue or Josh it was an emergency?

Stopping in the doorway, Eddie breathes a sigh of relief. Sitting at one of the tables is Firefighter Buckley - they’ve never met, but he watched the interview and recognizes him immediately. If something had happened to Jack or Shay, there’s no reason why this particular firefighter would have been sent to give Eddie the news.

“Hey,” Buckley says, getting to his feet the second he sees Eddie. “I’m Buck. I mean, I’m Evan - Evan Buckley. But everybody calls me Buck. We - we talked on the phone the other day. The Lily Coughlin call?” He sounds uncertain, like Eddie may have forgotten.

“Yeah, I remember,” Eddie reassures him. It’s unlikely he’d forget any time soon. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“Not help with, exactly.” Buck hesitates. “Did you get the invitation?”

Eddie doesn’t need elaboration to know what invitation he means. It had come in the mail the week before, with a handwritten thank you letter from Lily, asking him to come to a celebration in his honor - along with Sergeant Athena Grant and Firefighter Evan Buckley.

He’d thrown the invitation away and stuck the letter on the side of his fridge with a magnet so he’d remember to show Christopher the pictures Lily had drawn on it - a horse that had nothing to do with anything that had happened that day, but was very well done and sporting a rainbow bow around its neck.

“I did,” Eddie finally says, realizing he’d been quiet for too long.

“Cool… cool. So are you gonna come?” Buck asks. “Because Emma - Lily’s mom? - Emma came by the station today and said you hadn’t responded to say you’d be there and she really wants you to come. Just to say thank you in person.” He looks as awkward saying all this as Eddie feels listening to it.

“So she sent you to ask me?”

“No. No, no she didn’t send me,” Buck says in a rush, taking a step toward Eddie. “I offered to come see if you got it. Because I also want you to come. I - I wanted to meet you.”

Eddie’s cheeks warm a little at that, because Josh is right - he is very cute. By the way Buck is suddenly grinning at him, he figures the blush is noticeable and dies a little inside.

“I’m sorry to disappoint both of you, but I’m not going,” Eddie tells him, a bit more gruffly than intended. The grin dies in an instant. Feeling like he needs to explain, Eddie says, “All I did was answer a call. That’s not worth any kind of ceremony.”

“That's not true," Buck says slowly, like he's mulling over Eddie's reluctance and isn't sure how to address it. "But it’s not. A ceremony, I mean. It’s just a barbecue for us and our families.” Buck rubs the back of his neck, looking embarrassed as his gaze shifts away from Eddie. “I… uh, I - my sister might not be able to make it. And I don’t really have a lot of friends here… So, uh, I was hoping you’d go. And maybe we could get to know each other.”

An uncomfortable silence settles between them again.

“You know what? This was a bad idea,” Buck says finally, shoving his hands in his pants pockets. “I’m sorry for bothering you. I’ll, uh, I’ll let Emma know you’re busy.”

Eddie can’t help but notice Buck’s ears have gone red and wishes he was better at this. Sometimes he knows just the right thing to say, and other times - like right now - he gets stuck, making things worse by saying nothing at all.

“Wait,” Eddie says, just as Buck reaches the door. There’s a hopeful expression on his face when he turns back. “I’ll think about it.”

That same grin from before slides easily back into place, Buck bounding forward and holding out his hand. It takes Eddie a moment to realize he’s holding out a slip of paper, waiting for it to be taken.

“Text me when you decide to say yes?” Buck asks, almost sounding flirtatious.

Eddie doesn’t answer, but he nods, taking the slip of paper that very clearly has Buck scrawled on it above a phone number and tucks it into his pocket. Whether or not he’ll actually use it is undecided.

It’s only later, once Eddie’s nearing the end of his shift, he realizes that slip of paper with Buck’s phone number was already waiting inside the other man’s pocket before Eddie got there. Because he wants a friend, he reminds himself. If he’s being honest with himself though, Eddie has to admit he wouldn’t mind in the least if it had been for an entirely different reason, and it’s been a long time since he’s felt that way.

Comments

[mkrobinson]

I like it!