Chapter Text
Buck liked his life. He liked his job and his friends. He had worked his ass off to end up at the 118. The crew was closer, resembling a family unit more than a group of coworkers. Buck couldn’t believe that raw, sheer, dumb luck that had ended up with him at that specific station. For the first time in nearly a decade, nothing was meticulously preplanned.
Which was weird on its own. Buck had horrible luck; you could ask anyone who met him. If something went wrong during a call, Buck was caught in the crossfire. If someone was going to trip and fall down the stairs, it was Buck. If the sky were falling and projectiles were screaming down, Buck was getting hit.
The luck it had taken him to get into the 118, his first station, mind you, had never sat right with him. Then again, lots of things didn’t sit right.
Like the fact that on his last shift, he’d nearly been taken out by a supporting beam that the flames hadn’t even reached yet. Logically, Buck knew there was no reason for it to fall, and definitely no reason for it to fall directly at him. In a previous life, Buck would have thought it was planned. In this life, he chalked it up to a freak accident. Those things happened every day; he saw it every day. It was just a freak accident.
But then, Edmundo fucking Diaz showed up in his locker room, and Buck knew. He knew someone was trying to kill him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buck had just been a kid when he’d tried out for the SEALS. Back then, everything was a blur. He could have been eighteen or nineteen; he really couldn’t remember. It didn’t truly matter, though, because Buck never became a SEAL. At least he’d been honest about that.
No, Evan Buckley never became a SEAL. Instead, some independent organization saw his good looks, charisma, stamina, strength, and intelligence and offered him a different kind of job.
When you’re a kid, spy movies are the coolest thing ever. Every kid wants to be a spy at least once. Well, Buck can safely say it’s nothing like the movies. Honestly, a lot more sitting around and waiting than what they show, but he supposed the movies wouldn’t be nearly as interesting with all that waiting.
The organization Buck had been recruited to was technically independent from any world government, but was frequently contracted out by those same governments. As an American-based company, more often than not, they were working for the U.S., but that didn’t stop them from doing the occasional mission for government and independent clients across the pond.
Every spy at the organization had a team of five or six. There were specialists in each team, but Buck liked to think they were all well-rounded. Buck excelled in infiltration. He had a knack for changing himself until he was exactly what the mark was looking for. Whether that was a ditzy piece of arm candy for a too old drug lord or a stone cold right hand for a trafficking ring. Buck could mold himself into anything if he tried hard enough. Close-range combat was his bread and butter. With his sheer size and speed, if he managed to get his hands on you, it was all over. He’d snapped more necks than he cared to remember.
That was all behind him, now, though. At least, it was supposed to be.
Spies had expiration dates. While yes, a vast majority ended up dying in the line of duty, those who survived didn’t stick around for more than a decade. Usually. Buck had been part of that statistic. He’d officially retired at the age of twenty-five and spent nearly a year bouncing around the country, trying to find his new calling. By twenty-six, he’d graduated from the fire academy in Los Angeles and was joining up with the 118.
He’d left his old life behind, compartmentalizing the things he’d seen, heard, and done into the smallest boxes in his mind. Most days, he could forget that he’d even been there. Today was not one of those days.
A neighbor in his apartment building had slammed a pan early that morning, startling Buck from his sleep like a gun had gone off. He’d thought one had. He’d woken up back in his mindset of two years ago, when any loud noise could mean imminent death. It had taken him longer than he cared to admit to calm back down and remember that he was in his loft, not overseas.
Because of that, he’d been late to work. Technically, not late, but later than he liked to show up at the station. He was already grouchy and irritable, but shoved it aside as he joined his coworkers outside the locker room.
He’d been spouting off about a body scan he’d gotten. Buck knew that the percent of fat and muscle didn’t actually mean much; functional muscle was what mattered, but for the first time in his life, he didn’t have to worry about functional muscle. He could be flippant with his body, shape it to whatever he wanted. There was no one breathing down his neck on his physical appearance or his abilities. His team knew he could do what was required of the job, and that was all that mattered. It was a small freedom he wasn’t quite used to yet.
“Now, that is a good-looking man,” Chimney had said, his voice taking on an edge of awe that Buck hadn’t heard often from the other man.
Hen hummed low in the back of her throat before adding, “Where’s the lie? And I like girls.”
Buck felt a prickling sensation on the back of his neck and knew he was being watched. He shrugged it off, reminding himself that he was just a civilian now. He glanced behind him, through the windows of the locker room, and felt his whole body go rigid.
What he was seeing was impossible. Buck had been the one to retire and put that life behind him. He was supposed to be done, out, with nothing left to haunt him other than memories.
So why the fuck was Eddie Diaz in his locker room after nearly two years?
Buck gritted his teeth, already pissed off. He wasn’t sure why Eddie was there, but he knew it wasn’t anything good. Eddie was what they liked to call a for lifer. The only way that man was leaving the job was in a body bag. The idea that Eddie had just had the same retirement plan as Buck never even crossed his mind. Eddie was undercover, and Buck knew he was the reason.
Someone was trying to kill him.
“Eddie Diaz, our new recruit,” Bobby had said, snapping Buck back to reality. It was impossible to miss the beaming pride in Bobby’s voice as he talked.
It grated on Buck’s nerves. “What the hell do we need him for?” Buck grumbled. He knew he couldn’t blow Eddie’s cover, especially if he wanted to keep his own. That didn’t mean he had to be happy the guy showed back up in his life.
“He served two tours in Afghanistan, got a silver star,” Bobby explained. “It’s not like he’s wet behind the ears. The guys at station six wanted him, but I managed to talk him into joining us.”
What a load of fucking shit, Buck thought bitterly. Eddie had never actually been in the military. His story was similar to Buck’s. He’d enlisted, but before anything was finalized, he’d been scooped up by the organization. They’d been on the same team. They’d been partners, for crying out loud. Buck knew Eddie’s story, and that wasn’t it.
Not only that, but station six had never stood a chance. Eddie was always going to pick the 118. He was there for Buck, after all.
“C’mon,” Bobby said, nodding toward the locker room. “I’ll introduce you. He likes to be called eight pack.”
“Bullshit,” Buck said under his breath. He knew for a damn fact that Eddie would hate being called anything but Eddie. He didn’t even like it when people called him Diaz.
Whereas Buck had been living like a normal member of society for two years, Eddie apparently had never had an off day. Buck was having a hard time schooling his features, but he hoped the rest of the team chalked it up to his jealousy around the stupid firefighter calendar. Eddie, on the other hand, was having zero issue pretending that he’d never met Buck before. There wasn’t even a flicker of recognition on his face as his eyes passed over the crew. Not even a lingering glance at him.
That just pissed Buck off more.
After short introductions, the alarm had sounded. He’d ended up in the engine, sitting across from Eddie. His scowl hadn’t budged an inch, and he was about to make it Eddie’s problem. He really didn’t care what his team thought about his behavior; he knew Eddie wouldn’t be sticking around, anyway.
“So, is your full name Eduardo?” Buck asked, knowing damn well it wasn’t. He vividly remembered a late-night conversation the two had had, not long after they were paired up. Their adrenaline was keeping them up, and the only thing to do about it was talk. Eddie had mentioned that getting mistaken for Eduardo had always gotten on his nerves.
Finally, a glare in his direction that said Eddie knew exactly what he was playing at. “No,” was the clipped response Buck received.
Absently, Buck wondered how hard he could push before Eddie blew his cover just to yell at him.
“People ever call you Diaz?” Buck mused, a faint smile quirking up the edge of his lips as Eddie’s jaw twitched. It was a barely there movement that he highly doubted anyone else on the team noticed.
Eddie shot him a hard look. “Not if they want me to respond.”
Now, Buck was thinking about what persona Eddie had taken on for this undercover mission. Usually, their covers for something as simple as infiltrating a firehouse would be charismatic, outgoing, nice. Eddie was acting more like himself than an undercover agent. On edge Eddie, for sure, but still just… Eddie.
That was really throwing Buck for a loop.
Nothing pissed Buck off as much as Eddie being right on their first call. Of course, Buck knew that Eddie was a trained medic; every team at the organization needed one, and theirs had been him. Buck knew that, but it didn’t make him feel any better. It made him feel rusty, inadequate.
That was probably why he’d blown up in the gym after the call.
Buck realized that he wasn’t making Eddie’s undercover mission any easier, but Eddie knew him. He knew exactly how to push his buttons, and oh boy, was he pushing. Buck had ended up yelling, snapping at Chimney until he’d just left.
Buck and Eddie were alone for the first time in years.
As soon as Chimney had left and there was no one else around to hear them, Eddie raised a brow. “You done?”
“I’m gonna fucking kill you,” Buck hissed, still seething.
Eddie’s features immediately softened as he let his mask slip. “Missed you, too, Buckley.”
“Don’t,” Buck snapped, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. “Don’t act like this is some sappy reunion. You’re here because someone wants me dead.”
“Protecting you means I can’t miss you at the same time?” Eddie asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “Do you think I was the only one that could have done this? They didn’t even want me to come because you know me. They wanted to plant an agent you’d never even heard of and keep you in the dark. I’m the one who pushed for this assignment.”
Buck scoffed at him, rolling his eyes and displaying more emotion than he was comfortable with. He wasn’t used to interacting with the ghost from his past as the present version of himself. It twisted his gut to be this open with an agent, even if it was Eddie. “Good for you, want another imaginary silver star?”
Eddie threw his hands in the air. Finally, Buck was making him crack. “I didn’t get to pick my story, Buck. You know that. Why’re you being so difficult?”
“Because you’re not supposed to be here!” Buck yelled, uncaring if someone from the team heard him. It’s not like he was revealing anything he wouldn’t say to their faces. He didn’t want Eddie there, regardless of his past.
“I retired,” he hissed, lowering his voice now. “I’m out. I’m done. You weren’t supposed to show up and fuck up the life I managed to make for myself.”
Eddie scoffed at his words. “The life you made?”
That was when it clicked for Buck. He hadn’t ended up at the 118 by chance, or luck, or accident. Even after he’d retired, someone else was still pulling the strings.
“What the fuck did you do, Eddie?” Buck asked. Eddie had never managed to pin him in hand to hand combat before, but now he had two years on Buck. A lot could change in two years. Buck was itching for a fight he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to win.
“I didn’t do anything,” Eddie said simply, shrugging his shoulders. “Teagan wanted to make sure you ended up somewhere decent. He poured over files until he found a station he thought was a good fit, made sure you ended up here.”
That made sense. Teagan had been their technician and Buck’s unofficial big brother. He was the one that had gotten into his parents records and found out about Daniel. He was the one that had made sure Buck made it back from every mission.
A year ago, Buck had received an unmarked package with no return address. His stomach had dropped out when he saw it, knowing that it couldn’t have been anything good. Inside, he found Teagan’s disabled watch. Every agent had a comm device, the watch had been Teagan’s. Buck knew what it meant. Teagan was dead and the watch was all that was left. Somewhere in the mountain of paperwork the organization made them fill out, Teagan had made sure Buck would get it, that Buck would know.
He’d cried that day, harder than he remembered ever crying before.
Buck swore quietly under his breath, because of course, the 118 had been Teagan’s doing. He should have known Teagan wouldn’t have let Buck go without making sure he’d be okay.
“Whatever,” he said, shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter. This is my life now and you don’t belong here.”
“Why do you think I’m here, Buck?” Eddie asked, suddenly sounding exhausted. “You know this isn’t some kind of vacation, right?”
“Someone wants me dead,” Buck said with a nod. “That doesn’t mean I need a babysitter.”
“Someone wants the whole team dead,” Eddie corrected, a heaviness creeping into his voice. “We’re the last two standing, Buck. Everyone else is gone, retired or not.”
Buck blinked, taking in the new information. He’d known Teagan was gone, but knowing the rest of the team was dead hit him like a truck straight to the chest. “All of them?” Buck asked, even though he didn’t need the clarification. Eddie had been pretty fucking clear.
“It’s just us,” Eddie said with a nod.
Buck blinked, once, twice, and then he was pissed again. “And you’re the one who came for me?” he seethed, because it had Eddie Diaz written all over it. “You knew there was someone specifically targeting the team, and instead of protecting yourself, you created a two birds one stone situation? Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
Eddie bristled, always on the defensive. “I’m trying to keep us both alive,” he snapped, shifting closer to Buck’s space.
“You’re not stupid, Eddie,” Buck shot back. “You have to know just how stupid you were to take this mission. You made the target bigger, easier to hit.”
“I couldn’t risk it!”
“Couldn’t risk what?” Buck pressed, his anger clouding his mind and limiting his thinking.
“I couldn’t risk someone else protecting you,” Eddie admitted in a rush, clearly just as lost in the argument as Buck. “I couldn’t risk putting your life in someone else’s hands. Everyone else is gone, and I’ll be damned, Evan, if I lose you, too.”
Buck… didn’t know what to do with that information. One part of his brain wished Eddie had let some nameless agent take the mission. He wished he could still be ignorant and unbothered by the fact someone was trying to kill him. He longed to sit back and let someone else deal with the bad guy for once. The other part knew exactly why Eddie had been unable to let that happen. If the roles had been reversed, if Eddie had been the one to retire and Buck stayed behind, Buck wouldn’t have been able to let someone else take the mission either. He’d need to be there, watching Eddie’s back himself.
Fuck, Buck finally understood exactly why Eddie had shown up in his life after two years. He couldn’t even be mad at the guy.
“God damn it,” Buck mumbled, right before he grabbed the front of Eddie’s shirt and pulled him into a bone crushing hug. Physical affection had never really been a thing back at the agency. Agents were too on edge to enjoy the touch, but Buck was no longer an agent. Buck was touch deprived, and he knew for a damn fact Eddie was, too. He knew Eddie needed the hug just as much, if not more, than Buck. His point was proven when Eddie’ untensed and basically melted against Buck.
“I’m still pissed,” Buck grumbled, his chin tucked against Eddie’s neck.
Eddie let out a choked laugh. “I’m not exactly pleased about the situation, either.”
Buck pulled away, keeping one hand on Eddie’s shoulder. It was more to steady himself than anything, but he was pretty sure Eddie knew that. “Fuck, this is gonna be hard,” he mumbled. He glanced up at Eddie and added, “to pretend we don’t know each other.”
Eddie shrugged one shoulder, because to him this was everyday life. “You should probably know, we’re gonna be partners. Captain Nash was specifically looking for someone to pair with his hotheaded newbie.”
Now, it was Buck’s turn to shrug, a knowing smirk slipping onto his lips. “What can I say? Old habits die hard.”
“Still a reckless idiot, got it,” Eddie jabbed back, heading toward the exit of the gym with Buck hot on his heels.
“Hey!” Buck called in mock offense. “At least I’m not killing people anymore.”
“Should I be offended?” Eddie called back.
“Always, Diaz.”
“You know I hate that.”
“Oops.”