Chapter Text
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“Hello?”
The faint Indian accent resounded across the bunk of the station where the 118 had just sat down to eat. Bobby exchanged looks with the rest of the team before standing up to peer over the balcony.
The two faces were vaguely familiar. They were a South Asian couple, holding hands tightly as they looked around the station.
“Hi, can I help you?” Bobby responded. The couple looked up at him and smiled, recognition flashing across their faces.
“Yeah, you’re just the man we were looking for.” There was something clutched in his grip. Bobby waved them upstairs as he racked his brain to figure out who they were.
“Oh, hi Prem!” Buck bounded over, his chair screeching as he made his way over to the man. The man looked taken aback to be recognized by name but shook Buck’s hand anyway. The young firefighter gave a respectful nod to the woman who was dressed in traditional Indian clothing.
That’s when it struck Bobby.
“You’re the couple from that wedding we saved downtown three years ago, right?”
The lady nodded. “Yes. My name is Savita, and this is my husband Prem.”
“I’m Captain Bobby Nash, and that’s my team over there.” Bobby turned to introduce them by pointing at each firefighter in turn. “Chimney, Eddie, Hen and of course, Buck. Would you care to join us for lunch?”
“No, thank you. We actually came by to thank you for saving us that day. Even if we’re three years too late," Prem chuckled ruefully. Bobby smiled at them.
“It’s no problem, it’s what we do,” he said humbly. He remembered that call vividly now, remembered raging over the owner of the place who’d built an illegal third floor using Pal-Kal instead of steel reinforced concrete. Pal-Kal had been banned because it was a type of construction that used metal plates to build a concrete floor, but it was a very lightweight type of structure. There had been no way it could’ve held the entire weight of the wedding party.
Sure, he hadn’t handled it the way he was supposed to, but it had been fast rage; a product of the emotional turmoil he’d been going through at the time. And then to see Prem so helpless in trying to find his bride, to see their big day destroyed by someone who thought they could get away with some extra bank by illegally constructing a rooftop wedding hall, it hit Bobby hard.
“We came to give you and your crew this invitation.” Prem handed him the maroon card in his hand. Bobby pulled it from its envelope to read a reception invitation. “We were already married by the time the rooftop fell down, but after that catastrophe, neither of us wanted to hold any other celebration. Instead, we spent the next three years just learning each other, relearning how not to be terrified of multi-story buildings.”
From the looks on everyone’s faces, they were all taken aback by the honesty. There was sorrow written on Buck and Hen’s faces, probably them relieving the moment. Eddie’s face held residual sympathy, since he hadn’t been part of the squad during that particular time.
It was in these moments that Bobby wished he’d really gotten the bastard arrested for manslaughter instead of illegal construction.
“Our families realized that we had not celebrated our wedding with the traditional reception. So, on the occasion of our third anniversary, we are holding a belated wedding reception, and we would like you and your families to be our special guests,” Savita spoke softly, her accent placing emphasis on the vowels. Her voice was strong as she looked kindly at them.
“It’s an honor, and we will be sure to do everything we can to make it,” Bobby accepted with a large smile.
“We actually have one more thing to request from you.” The couple exchanged a troubled look, one that put Bobby slightly on the edge of confusion.
“I am a designer, and I’d like to design ethnic wear for all of you and your families. For that, I would need to take all of your measurements.”
Bobby felt like his mouth was flapping open as he cocked his head at Savita. The request was strange, but it wasn’t the strangest thing he’d heard on the job. He turned around to find the rest of his crew in varying degrees of confusion, except Hen who was practically bouncing in her place.
“That’s so nice! Did you design the dress you’re wearing?” Savita was clad in a short black tunic with straight pants, and she had a scarf pinned to her right shoulder. The tunic had varying swirls of designs on them, all done in brightly coloured threads. The only jewelry she was wearing was a familiar-looking black and gold chain.
“Yes, I did.” Her face flushed at the attention as Hen gushed over the dress. Buck looked like he was restraining himself from complimenting her as well. Probably out of respect for their culture.
“I mean, if it’s alright with the rest of the team, I don’t see any problem with it,” Bobby smiled. Prem and Savita looked relieved to see them accept. “But let me make it clear, we don’t expect this from you guys. We are more than happy to have just saved you, to see you two happy and healthy today.”
“We know, but we would like to show you a token of our gratitude, and this is the best way Indians know how to.” A teasing tone was present in Prem’s voice as he pulled out a legal pad and pencil from his satchel. “We can’t wait to introduce you all to what a real Indian wedding reception looks like; from the Bollywood songs, to the dancing, to the food. You guys are sure to have fun!”
The man seemed so excited, that Bobby didn’t have it in him to say no to anything. Savita pulled out a measuring tape and got to work with Bobby first, calling out measurements in another language to her husband. She pulled the tape taught across Bobby’s shoulders, around his chest, the length from his shoulder to his knee, the length from his hip to his ankle and the sleeve length.
Buck hovered with a cheeky grin as she measured his bicep and circumference of his stomach.
“See, you have a dad bod. They’re totally in right now.” Bobby gave Buck a deadpan look, rolling his eyes affectionately.
“I’m also twice your age and have half your metabolism. And I am a dad.” He presented the facts in his usual way, not paying heed to Buck’s ribbing. Savita finished measuring him and moved onto Buck next.
“He’s also twice as attractive as you, Buckaroo,” Chim teased, earning a playful shove from Buck and a hooting laugh from Hen and Eddie.
As Savita stretched the tape across Buck’s broad shoulders, she laughed at their banter.
“This is why I’m calling out the numbers in Hindi, and not in English.” The response sent a chorus of laughter throughout the dining area.
Working together as a team, Prem and Savita quickly got all the measurements for the five of them, chattering away in a mix of Hindi and English. “Do any of you have significant others and kids? Could you give an approximation of their sizes too?”
This was bordering on a lot. The poor girl would have to work a lot to get this done within the three weeks between now and then.
As if she was sensing what all of them were thinking, Savita waved off their soundless worries. “Oh no, do not worry. I have a full team, I am not going to be doing this by myself. But it will be rewarding to see you standing in our traditional attire at the reception.”
Bobby exchanged looks with the rest of them and shrugged. “I have a wife and two stepkids.”
“I’ve got a wife and a son.”
“I’ve got a girlfriend.”
“I’ve got a son.”
“I’ve got a sister, who’s also his girlfriend.” Buck hooked a thumb at Chimney begrudgingly. It really was an act, and Buck was a terrible actor. Everyone knew that Buck was more excited about Maddie and Chimney dating than the couple themselves. “Oh, and my best friend, but he also happens to be Eddie’s son.”
“I thought I was your best friend?” Eddie leaned his hip on the counter to fold his arms across his chest and glower at Buck. The younger man just shook his head, like he couldn’t believe that Eddie had even asked.
“No, Edmundo. You don’t hold a light to Christopher. That kid is my best friend. But if it’s any consolation to you, you come third.”
“Third? Whose second?”
“Isabel and Pepa are tied for second,” Buck shrugged. Eddie looked floundered by this recent news. Chim and Hen were cackling in the corner.
“No girlfriend?” Prem cocked his head, and then seemingly caught his tongue as silence settled over the dining area. “I’m sorry, I should not have intruded like that, I just remembered the last time we spoke.”
Buck, though, didn’t take any offense to it, even if the impish grin dropped from his face. He just good-naturedly shook his head at the couple, letting out a soft laugh. “No, no girlfriend.”
What was interesting was Buck’s very brief side-glance at Eddie, who was already studying the younger man. Bobby quirked an eyebrow to himself at that. He knew for a fact that they weren’t dating, because he knew that apprehension to hurdle over the initial attraction. It was only made complicated by Eddie being a single father to a kid with special needs. But Buck loved Christopher like his own, and Bobby was very close to just locking them into the supply closet.
Even if it meant breaking his station’s decorum.
Bobby didn’t like the way Buck’s shoulders seemed to minutely shrink, as if the man were trying to make himself smaller. This wasn’t the attention Buck adored, and Bobby knew that Buck felt lonely, since everyone else had someone to go home to, someone to share the burden of the job with. His entire life was connected to this fire station, and that worried the part of him that had come to love Buck like a son.
Bobby veered the conversation off by giving Prem his best size estimate of May, Harry and Athena. Harry, Denny and Christopher were around the same size, so Eddie and Bobby made their best estimates of the boys. Eddie had lots of experience with clothes shopping for kids because of his large family, which came in handy.
Maddie and Athena were pretty similar in size as well, so Bobby, Buck and Chim worked together to give the best estimate they could of the women. Hen just rolled her eyes at their squabbling and said that Karen was pretty much her size.
“Okay, this should be good! We’ll let you know if we need anything else. Thank you Captain Nash.” Prem shook his hand.
“Please, call me Bobby. Thank you for inviting us once again, we are honored to be able to attend.”
“Didn’t think this was what we’d be working on today, Cap,” Chimney said after Savita and Prem left. The five firefighters made their way back to the table to eat lunch before the alarm rang.
“Well, we’ve seen stranger things in this firehouse.” Bobby pulled out the invitation again and set it flat on the table for everyone to look at. It wasn’t like any wedding card they’d seen for sure. This one had Prem and Savita’s parents’ names written on it above their respective child’s name, and there was an inscription at the top that Bobby took to mean a greeting.
“I wasn’t even at this call, and they wouldn’t take no for an answer when I tried to tell them that.” Eddie leaned back in his chair. “What was this call about anyway?”
“Someone in downtown LA tried to make some extra money by building a third floor that he could rent out as a venue. Long story short, he’d made it with Pal-Kal, and with the weight of the guests dancing, the entire floor plummeted two stories.”
“Savita and Prem were actually part of an arranged marriage,” Buck spoke up.
“Is that how you remembered them?” The blond shrugged noncommittally at Hen’s question.
“That’s interesting. They looked so in tune with each other, almost as if they were each other’s best friend.” The meaning in Chim’s voice was painfully obvious, but neither of the intended targets paid any heed.
“He respected her work, even going as far as helping her out,” Eddie mentioned, lifting his eyes from his plate. “I had a few Indian friends back in Texas, because Texas has a huge South Asian population. The dress design and garment selling is actually pretty common. But their husbands aren’t always supportive of the work.”
“Have you worn Indian wear before?” Hen asked. Eddie shook his head no, but Buck held up his phone to where he was scrolling through Google.
“These are gorgeous, guys.” The other four firefighters leaned in to get a good look at the intricate designs.
But naturally, before they could do so, the alarm rang.
Three weeks passed by so quickly that Buck had almost forgotten that they were supposed to attend the wedding reception.
“Hey Eds, did you remember that we have the reception tonight?” He called out to his best friend from where him and Chris were playing with Legos.
Eddie stuck his head out into the living room. “Yeah, I did. Chim and Bobby mentioned it at least ten times yesterday. And Christopher wanted to get ready with you, remember?”
“I’m excited, Bucky,” Christopher piped up, sticking one Lego onto whatever stack Buck was holding in his hand. “At school, we learned a little bit about India.”
“Oh yeah? What’d you learn?” Buck turned his attention to the boy.
“There are 22 official languages in India. Their currency is the Indian Rupee. And it’s the seventh largest country in the world,” Chris sprouted off some random facts as he fiddled with the plastic pieces.
“I swear Christopher picked this up from you,” Eddie added as he walked into the room with a coffee mug. He plopped down cross-legged on the sofa across from Buck and Christopher. “He loved researching facts before but now it’s like a Buck-level obsession.”
“Not the worst habit to pick up from me. Gotta admit it, Diaz,” Buck grinned cheekily, his heart fluttering at Eddie’s mock-exasperated scoff.
“The worst thing you’ve taught him is the puppy-dog eyes, thank you very much. I already couldn’t say no to my son, but now, it’s a quite-literally impossible feat.” Buck laughed and high-fived Christopher, much to Eddie’s chagrin. “Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. We’ll see you laughing when he turns them on you.”
Buck tried to ignore the warmth in his chest that he got whenever Eddie referred to anything in the future tense. It was like Eddie knew that he wasn’t going anywhere, and while Buck really wasn’t going anywhere, it was just nice to know that Eddie knew and believed it.
He just wished that it could be a little more.
Like always, he immediately shook off the thought, knowing that it was greedy of him to even begin to think like that. Burying the thought, he glanced up at the clock, seeing that they had an hour to get ready.
“I better go grab the dress from my Jeep, hang on,” Buck told Christopher as he made a move to get up.
“It’s ironed and hanging in my bathroom.” Eddie took a sip of his coffee, flicking through his phone lazily. Buck gaped at him. Eddie finally looked up at Buck to shrug.
“You two were busy and I was ironing anyway.”
“Th-thanks.” Buck didn’t know what else to say as he sat back down, his mind racing a mile a minute as his heart swooped into his stomach.
Goddammit Eddie.
“Can we start getting ready now?” Christopher piped up after ten minutes of playing Lego’s. Buck didn’t even know where those ten minutes went.
“Yeah, mijo. Let’s go shower. Buck, you can use the shower in my room, your clothes are right there.” Eddie finished off the last of his coffee. Despite himself, Buck wrinkled his nose. He didn’t know how Eddie could drink the stuff this late and still be able to sleep.
As Christopher and Eddie went off to the other bathroom, Buck remained exactly where he was sitting. He needed a quick minute to stop his mind from jumping to every possible conclusion that ended up with them as a real family.
It just seemed so domestic to him.
But he didn’t know that Eddie was over in the other room thinking the exact same thing.
Prem and Savita had included instructions with the clothes, but they were pretty straightforward for the most part. It was weird to go from wearing T-shirts and hoodies to wearing something like this, but it wasn’t a bad feeling.
Buck looked at himself in the mirror, his eye critical. He was wearing a long maroon tunic that had sleeves that went a little past his elbows. The length of the tunic went down to about an inch and a half above his knee. There was also an off-white waistcoat to put on that had traditional Indian swirls and designs made with golden thread, but Buck was busy criticizing his look with just the kurta and the red pants. The fabric was roomy, but the cut of the pants was straight, ending right at his ankles.
Prem had told him to wear black dress shoes with the outfit, so Buck had dug out an old pair of shoes and shined them up.
Honestly, he was really loving the look. It was comfortable, he could potentially lounge in it, and the fact that Savita had made the outfit to his measurements exactly meant that every line of the dress was perfectly tailored to him.
A knock on the door pulled him out of his stupor. “Yeah?” he called out.
“Are you ready? Can you help me get this waistcoat on? My arm keeps getting stuck in the sleeve.” Eddie’s sheepish voice filtered through the door. Buck laughed as he opened the door, the smile immediately melting off his face as he observed Eddie muttering under his breath as he wrestled with the coat.
To put it very simply, Eddie looked delectable.
“God fucking dammit,” Eddie hissed as he took the fabric off. Despite his frustration, he was treating the garment gingerly, but the sleeve kept twisting in the slightly loose fabric around his arms.
“Dude. It’s a simple coat.” Buck walked up to him and took the waistcoat, sliding it quickly up Eddie’s arms. The older man smiled at him before stepping back to get a good look at Buck while he buttoned his waistcoat. Buck took the opportunity to admire his best friend unabashedly.
Eddie’s outfit was more of a tarnished gold that looked amazing against his skin tone. The tunic’s sleeves were just as short as Buck’s but they had a strip of red fabric at the end of them; the length was an inch above his knee.
The waist coat itself was a deep red with golden designs etched into the fabric, three buttons up to the neck and a decorative collar. It tapered to Eddie’s narrow waist, made him seem taller and it looked almost regal on his shoulders. The man had also set his longer hair in his usual brushed-back quiff.
Eddie let out a low whistle that had Buck flushing pink. “Damn, you clean up nice. Where’s the waistcoat?”
“You’re not so bad yourself, Diaz.” There was a small, comforting pause before Buck answered his question. “It’s behind the door. I was just looking at the...kurta ?” The word felt foreign in Buck’s mouth.
Probably because it was.
The couple had written what each item was when they sent the clothes to them; it was a thoughtful gesture. Especially considering that Buck had researched the hell out of Indian weddings, and it helped to know the actual names of things.
“Yeah, I think that’s what it’s called and don’t call me Diaz. Put the waistcoat on.” Eddie went to the washroom and brought the fabric over, brushing his fingertips over the ethnic designs. “Man, Savita and her team must have worked around the clock for this.”
Eddie helped Buck put the jacket on while Buck tried to ignore how his heart swelled in his chest again. Naturally, his mouth started running with more facts off the top of his head as his fingers fiddled with the buttons. “Apparently these are called Nehru jackets, because the first Indian prime minister used to wear this other type of coat that was knee-length, which I can’t remember the name of anymore. These are modeled after that. Though Nehru never wore one.”
“Achkan,” Eddie said, smirking. “Those other coats were called achkan, I remember you and Christopher pouring over your phone to research this.”
Get a grip, Buckley.
Buck mentally smacked himself. “Right. Gotcha. Where’s Christopher anyway?”
“He’s on the couch, he’s ready. And we should also get going.” Eddie herded Buck out of the room, before pausing. “Wait, hang on. Put this on, it’ll complete your look.”
Eddie handed him a watch with a black watch face and a silver body, along with a black metal strap. It was the perfect match to the outfit. Buck pulled out the black watch he’d originally planned on wearing and passed it to him with a grin.
“I think this is a better fit for you then.” The two men laughed as they put the respective watches on and headed out to the living room.
“Ready, buddy?”
“Yes!” Christopher’s excited yell had them laughing again as the kid stood up from the couch. Prem and Savita really had thought of everything, because Christopher’s outfit was a kurta, too, but more western with the buttons. It was modeled so the sleeves ended above his elbows, and they didn’t interfere with his crutches. The pants were white and loose, but the design was such that his legs wouldn’t get tangled in the billowing fabric.
“You look so handsome, buddy!” Christopher looked beyond cute, and Buck couldn’t resist pulling his phone out to take a few photos.
They took Buck-and-Christopher pictures first, Buck handing his phone off to Eddie and swinging Christopher up in his arms as the two of them grinned at the camera. Naturally, they then had to make funny faces. Eddie’s fond smile was unmistakable, partially hidden behind the phone as it was.
Eddie-and-Christopher pictures came next, Buck trying to capture every possible angle there was of the father-son duo. Together, he could see a mini-Eddie in Christopher, from all the photos hanging in his Abuela’s house. The only part of Eddie that was different in his son were the gray eyes; though, the intellect behind them was the same. And he was willing to bet that Christopher got both parents’ good hearts, which made him into the perfect kid he was. Buck’s heart warmed as Christopher laughed at him while Eddie shook his head.
Buck-Eddie-and-Christopher pictures were next, and this proved to be a trial for them. They had to prop the phone up on a stack of books and then practically sprint to the sofa to make it in time for the self-timer to go off. Buck and Eddie’s thighs were pressed together as Christopher sat with one leg in each of their laps, smiling sweetly at the camera.
Eddie wanted one vertical picture of the three of them too so Buck positioned his phone a little further to accommodate for his and Eddie’s height.
“You and Daddy are too tall for this.” Christopher giggled as they tried to squeeze themselves into the small frame, beaming at the very last second to capture the perfect moment.
Then, upon Christopher’s insistence to work the camera, Buck-and-Eddie pictures were last. Christopher went and took Buck’s phone down from where it was teetering. He made sure he was balanced before lifting the device and urging them together.
Eddie’s hand came to rest on the small of Buck’s back, which surprised the younger man enough that his head swiveled in his friend’s direction.
Don’t make this weird, it’s just a picture.
Buck chanted to himself mentally as they posed for the camera. He took his phone from the young boy and knelt down so all three of them could see all the photos they’d taken.
“I’d say we’re pretty photogenic, what do you think buddy?” A pleased tone colored Eddie’s voice.
“We need to frame all of these. I want that one in my room.” Chris pointed to the one of the three standing, which was the best picture by far.
If Buck’s eyes glazed over just a tiny bit, no one needed to know.
After finally choosing the best photos, and deeming themselves 10 minutes late, the three were off.
Outfits:
Buck:
Eddie:
Christopher:
Maddie:
Chimney:
Bobby:
Athena:
May:
Harry:
Hen:
Karen:
Harry:
