Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Okay, okay, this one—watch this one,” Buck says, already grinning as he taps on the next TikTok with sticky popcorn fingers.

He’s stretched across the couch at the firehouse, feet in Hen’s lap, phone tilted between the three of them. Hen’s nursing a soda, Chimney’s half-finished his burrito, and the shift’s quiet — no calls, no chaos. Just a little downtime before the next emergency.

Onscreen, a guy’s trying to do a backflip into a kiddie pool and ends up launching himself straight through a fence. All three of them wince and laugh.

“Oh my god,” Hen snorts. “That man has no spine now.”

Chimney cackles. “Play it again—no, wait, send that to me.”

“Right?” Buck grins, flicking through a few more. “People are insane.”

They go through a few dance trends, a dog singing along to Mariah Carey, and a woman doing insane eyeliner transformations. The laughter’s easy. Light.

Buck’s just about to scroll again when the screen suddenly changes.

The music kicks in first.

🎶 “Yeah! Okay! Lil Jon!” 🎶

And then the video starts.

A quick montage. Cuts perfectly to the beat. Eddie — pulling his helmet off in slow motion, sweat-slicked and squinting in the sunlight. Then: Eddie walking through a smoky hallway, turning his head just enough to catch the camera. His jawline could slice bread. His turnout coat swings open at the hips.

🎶 “Take that and rewind it back…” 🎶

Another cut: Eddie on a ladder during a call, yelling something, eyes intense, jaw clenched. The video zooms in slightly — not enough to be obvious, but enough.

Then: Eddie laughing, fully geared up, soot smudged on his cheek, smiling at someone off-camera.

Then: Eddie pushing open the firehouse bay doors in slow motion like he’s entering a music video.

🎶 “Lil Jon got the beat to make your booty go—” 🎶

The video ends.

Silence.

Buck stares at the screen, stunned. His soul has left his body.

Chimney’s mouth is wide open. “Was that—?”

“Was that Eddie?!” Hen finishes, leaning in closer. “Wait—go back. Go back.”

Buck, absolutely panicked, fumbles the rewind. “No, no, that’s—uh—it wasn’t—”

But the video plays again, and this time all three of them are watching like it’s the Zapruder film. Paused at each frame. Hen actually gasps at one point.

“That’s so many angles,” Chimney says. “Who—who even made this?!”

“It’s tagged ‘@buckleyssmutpage’—wait, what?!” Hen chokes.

“I’m gonna pretend I didn’t read that,” Buck mutters, now bright red.

“Oh my god,” Chimney says, laughing so hard he nearly drops his food. “You’re blushing! You’re actually—holy shit—Buck is blushing!”

Buck covers his face. “I’m not!”

“Dude,” Hen deadpans. “You look like a tomato.”

“I wasn’t expecting it! I didn’t even know he was on TikTok!”

“He’s not,” Chim says, squinting at the username. “Someone else made this. Like… a fan. This is a fan edit. Of Eddie.”

“A very thirsty one,” Hen adds. “And—okay, hang on. Why is it actually really good?”

Buck groans into his hands. “I hate it here.”

“No, Buck—this is amazing. You need to show him.”

“Absolutely not!”

Chimney leans over the couch. “You sure? You could be like, ‘Hey, look at this super flattering, hyper-sexualized tribute someone made of you. I saved it to my favorites.’”

“I didn’t favorite it!”

“You didn’t?” Hen arches an eyebrow. “So… why are you still holding your phone like that?”

Buck flings the phone across the couch. “Because I’m broken! That was Eddie, and his shirt was—his jawline, and that music, and—he looked so hot!”

There’s a beat of silence.

Then Chim goes, “You said that out loud.”

“I know! I heard myself!”

Hen grins. “So when are you confessing your undying love?”

“Never,” Buck mutters.

“Oh come on,” Chimney says. “That video alone could convert a straight man. If I looked like that, I’d make my own edit.”

“I just—” Buck runs a hand down his face. “I need to bleach my brain.”

“You need to bleach your phone, because I know you’re watching that again later.”

Buck throws a couch pillow at him.

Hen just leans back, smirking. “You know, if we really cared, we’d tell Eddie he’s TikTok famous.”

Buck sits bolt upright. “If either of you even thinks about it—”

Chim grins, already pulling out his phone. “Too late.”

“Chim!”

“I’m just texting him a vague question,” Chimney says, clearly lying. “‘Hey, do you know you’re a sex god on TikTok?’”

Buck lunges. “I’m gonna kill you!”

Chapter Text

The worst part isn’t that Eddie finds out.

No, the worst part is how he finds out.

Because Hen and Chimney are demons in human form, and Buck should’ve known better than to trust them with something as fragile as his entire emotional well-being.

It happens the next day. Shift change. Everyone’s in decent spirits. Eddie walks in, all sunlit and casual, sleeves pushed up and hair still damp from the shower — unreasonably handsome, which feels like a personal attack considering what Buck’s been trying not to think about for the past twenty-four hours.

Buck’s mid-conversation with Bobby about engine maintenance when he hears it:

“Hey, Diaz,” Hen calls, like it’s nothing. “You ever think about going into modeling?”

Buck chokes.

Eddie slows, gives her a confused half-smile. “Uh… no?”

“Oh, weird,” Chimney says, walking by with the kind of casual menace Buck has learned to fear. “You’ve already got a whole fanbase.”

Eddie blinks. “What?”

Hen pulls out her phone. “You’re TikTok famous.”

Buck nearly drops his coffee. “Don’t you dare—”

Too late. She’s turning the phone around. The music starts.

🎶 “Yeah! Okay! Lil Jon!” 🎶

Buck watches in abject horror as Eddie watches the video — his video — unfold in front of him, slow-mo and all. The helmet removal. The smoky hallway. The ladder. The bay doors. All set to the thirstiest soundtrack in history.

Eddie stares at the screen.

Hen and Chim are already giggling.

Buck wants the earth to open up and swallow him whole.

After a long pause, Eddie hums, “Huh.”

Huh?! Buck stares at him. “That’s all you have to say?”

Eddie tilts his head, genuinely thoughtful. “Didn’t know someone was filming me.”

“That’s your takeaway?”

Chimney grins. “Not the part where you’re being turned into a sex symbol by internet strangers?”

Eddie shrugs. “It’s flattering, I guess?”

Buck is going to implode. “Flattering?!”

Eddie glances over, eyebrows raised. “What, you didn’t think it was flattering?”

Buck opens his mouth. Closes it. Opens it again.

Hen doesn’t help. “Buck watched it like six times.”

“I did not!”

“He’s lying,” Chimney stage-whispers to Eddie. “He practically fainted the first time.”

Eddie turns fully toward Buck now, something suspiciously amused sparking behind his eyes. “Is that true?”

“Nope,” Buck says, too fast. “Nope. I’m fine. Totally normal reaction to a completely normal video.”

Eddie nods slowly. “So you did favorite it.”

“I did not!”

Eddie crosses his arms. “Did you like it?”

“…Define like.”

“Oh my god,” Hen cackles.

Eddie steps closer, just enough to be in Buck’s space, voice low and teasing now. “It’s okay if you did. You know. Liked it. Found it… hot.”

Buck is going to die. Actually die. “Why are you like this.”

“I mean,” Eddie says, eyes dancing, “I was impressed by the editing.”

“Oh, were you.”

“Yeah. They really captured my good side.” He pauses. “All of them.”

Buck covers his face with both hands. “You’re enjoying this. You’re enjoying this so much.”

“I really am.”

Chimney adds, “Don’t worry, Buck. I’m sure there’ll be an edit of you next.”

Hen grins. “Probably already is.”

Eddie smirks, leaning just slightly toward Buck. “Think anyone’s made a thirst trap of us together?”

Buck blinks. Brain short-circuiting. “Wait—what?”

Eddie just grins wider. “C’mon, Buck. Internet’s already doing half the work. All we need is a decent lighting setup and a playlist.”

Buck stares. “Are you flirting with me?”

Eddie shrugs. “You tell me.”

Hen and Chim scream.

Buck looks like his soul has vacated his body. “I need to sit down.”

“You are sitting,” Hen laughs.

“I need to sit down again.”

Eddie claps him on the shoulder. “Take your time, man. I’ll be over here… being TikTok’s favorite fireman.”

Buck groans, collapsing sideways on the couch as Hen and Chim absolutely lose it.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Bonus Scene: Later That Night

Buck opens his messages to send Eddie a meme.

There’s already a text waiting for him.

[11:42 PM] Eddie: you sure you didn’t favorite it?

[11:43 PM] Eddie: [Attached: Screenshot of Buck’s “Liked” videos. The edit is clearly in there.]

Buck screams into his pillow for 14 minutes.