it could be love (we could be the way forward)
Buck was in the shower when they got the call.
He’s always been a little afraid of showering on shift– afraid of hearing the klaxons ring while there’s still conditioner in his hair, afraid of having to towel off and dress at the speed of light, and all the awfulness that comes with wrestling clothes over still-damp skin. He’s afraid of the extra minute it takes him to get himself dressed and on the engine being the difference between someone else’s life and death.
He avoids it at all costs, only does it when they first get back from a call and Bobby puts them out of service for a half hour to give everyone time to clean up and grab a bite.
They’d just come back from a three-alarm fire at an office building downtown, a beast of a thing that took three stations four hours to put down. As they pulled back into the station, Buck’s bones ached and his stomach growled and there was soot covering every inch of him. He could feel it in his sweat-damp hair, could smell it every time he breathed. He figured it was clinging to the tiny hairs in his nose, was pretty certain if he blew his nose the tissue would come back tinged in gray.
He was on autopilot as he clambered out of the back of the engine, tucking his gear away and stumbling for the showers on tired legs. His bad leg was killing him. He’d woken up with a dull ache in his knee, and figured it was due to the dark, heavy clouds in the sky and the fact that the temperature had plummeted about fifteen degrees in as many hours.
He’d done his stretches and taken some ibuprofen in hopes of getting ahead of the worst of it, but it was no match for a tough shift with an unrelenting fire. The ache was bone-deep now, radiating up and down his leg with a fierceness that had Buck gritting his teeth and biting back a wince as he stepped into the shower.
He needed the fancy massage gun Maddie had gotten him for Christmas. And maybe some deep heat. The one that Eddie’s Abuela gave him, made from capsaicin from chili peppers grown in her hometown in Mexico. And maybe a nap, too.
But all of that would have to wait another three hours until shift change. For now, a shower was the best he could do.
The only thing better than peeling off his sweaty, sooty clothes was the feel of the warm spray on his back, the heat of it soothing the ache beneath his skin. He tipped his head back and let the water wash away the last few hours, all of the soot and the ash and the sweat and the grime of a job well done and a fire knocked down. It took him three rounds of shampoo until the water ran clear.
He was rinsing out the last of it when the alarm rang and he remembered.
Remembered that Bobby wasn’t here, that gone were the days of a thoughtful captain. Gone were the days of a leader who looked out for his own, a leader who cared enough about the people under his command to afford them a basic respite after all they’d just seen and done.
Gerrard was no Bobby.
It couldn’t have been more than ten minutes since they arrived back, and yet the alarm was already ringing out with another call. Buck hurried out of the shower, toweling off and pulling a clean shirt over his still-wet head as he listened for the details.
STATION 118. HELICOPTER CRASH. 101 SOUTHBOUND. LAFD AIR SUPPORT PILOT DOWN.
His stomach dropped, his heart tripping over itself in his chest.
No. No. Please no.
He shoved down the panic rising in his throat and finished dressing, running towards the bay.
Eddie ran up alongside him. “Is Tommy–”
“–Out on air support."
continue on ao3
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no thoughts head empty what if alt!Gabriel x reader
warnings: none here, but there will probably be some with alt!Gabe in the future
you obviously get big scary dog privilege i mean come on
no one's touching you but him
which......might not always be a good thing...?
at least you're safe from the other alters
he wraps you in his wings a lot
i headcanon Alternate Gabriel to be like 12ft tall so. you're tiny compared to him
he puts his hand on your head a lot. just like. engulfs your entire noggin
i also headcanon that he's able to change size to some degree (look he's probably Literally Satan he can do some Weird Stuff ok)
which means he is able to shrink himself down a bit
but 7'2" is the shortest you've ever seen him
he tends to watch you. a lot
i mean he's gotta perfect his disguise and what would be more helpful than a live subject to study?
listen he loves (well...love might not be quite right) you in his own way but he is also some kind of Creature so he's gonna be a bit odd
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◁ || ▷
Frances: Can you hand me the tape once you’re done?
Dan: I think I used up the last bit, maybe we can stop by the store? I need a new sharpie anyway.
Frances: Wanna go right now? I need a break.
Dan: Ye ye. Kai!
Kai: Sup.
Dan: What happened to your face??
Kai: I tried covering all of the holes but, uh, Frances you might not get the deposit back.
Frances: When do people ever get their deposit back?
Kai: Trueeeee.
-
Dan: YOO we should get a crock-pot-
Kai: Who the fuck says that, Dan?
Dan: Bitch, you’re the one that burns pre cooked fries in an air fryer. Of COURSE you wouldn’t be literate in the art of food.
Kai: OHKAYYY since when did working in fast food make you a food critic?
Dan: I don’t have to be a food critic to know you suck at cooking, right Frances?
Frances: [ a longing sigh ]
Dan: … Frances, you okay?
Frances: Hmm? Oh, yeah, bad at cooking.
Dan: Hold up, what’s wrong?
Frances: Graduation’s coming up.
Dan: Thank god, right?
Frances: And then I leave for De Sol Valley…
Kai: Exciting! Wait, why do you look so sad?
Frances: I dunno, it’s… So far away.
Kai: Only a short two hour train ride.
Frances: And I’ll be alone.
Dan: Facetime?
Frances: I just… [ sings ] Liked this little life.
Dan: You mean being stressed out juggling several jobs and school?
Frances: It kept me active.
Dan: Your anxiety hair literally clogged the sink multiple times.
Frances: I needed to thin it out anyway.
Dan: You’re weird.
Frances: Thanks.
Kai: I mean, is there anything else holding you back?
Frances: I- A lot of things. I’ll sort it out though before I go.
Dan: Well, let us know if we can help you.
Kai: So, you think I can sleep in your room while you're gone?
Frances: I mean, sure but why?
Kai: I think I kind of hate being home now.
Frances: Oh?
Kai: It’s nothing serious.
Frances: Dang- Wait, hold that thought I gotta pee.
Dan: Todo bien? Everything good?
Kai: No le digas nada, pero Atlas está usando otra vez. Don’t tell her anything, but Atlas is using again.
Dan: ¿De verdad? ¿Cómo lo sabes? Really? How do you know?
Kai: Atlas estaba mandando un mensaje a Taryn sobre eso. Hablan... mucho. Atlas was texting Taryn about it. They… Talk a lot.
Dan: Fucking hell. Did you check her phone?
Kai: It was an accident! Sort of. Look, I would prefer skydiving without a parachute instead of watching this unfold.
Dan: I mean, the good thing is he stopped, right?
Kai: I dunno but that doesn’t hide the fact that he lied.
Both: Again.
Kai: He asked her not to tell us, Dan. His friends.
Dan: Yeah, well, he hasn’t necessarily been the most open lately.
Kai: I mean I would have thought we mattered more.
Dan: You can’t take it personal. You know how he gets.
Kai: I just feel like eventually we’re going to get tired of it.
Dan: I’m aware. [ sighs ] Jesus, this is a mess.
Kai: Yep. By the way, he invited us to go to the skatepark, please go.
Dan: Duh. Hopefully it’s not awkward. Don’t make it awkward.
Kai: I won’t!
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