infinity [9-1-1: Buddie One-Shot] (COMPLETE)

Infinity

Buck smiled at his reflection, once he’d slicked his hair with gel until it sat perfectly on top of his head in a way that he liked, bit his lip before he chuckled despite himself, and practically skipped down the stairs and out his front door.

~~~

While Eddie sat at home, waiting for the blonde to arrive, he nervously fidgeted with his fingers as he considered all the ways he could potentially fuck this up. What would he say? How would he say it? He already knew what the easiest way to go about it was; Buck, I love you. But the four, simple words only made his chest tighten and his throat swell. It was annoying, and it was frustrating, because he couldn’t understand why he’d let so many moments go by without saying the words. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t ready; he was so ready, for Christ’s sake.

‘Then why is this so fucking difficult?’ He wondered to himself, silently.

Eddie sighed sharply, scrubbing a hand over his face. He checked the time on his phone, a frown appearing on his face; Buck should’ve been there by now. It never took this long for the blonde to show up at Eddie’s (and let’s be honest, Buck drives his Jeep like Dom Torreto on a race). He opened his messages and began typing a quick message before stopping, and deleting it altogether; if Buck was driving, he wouldn’t be able to respond to a text. Eddie dialed the younger man’s number instead.

Straight to voicemail.

What the fuck? Did Buck turn his phone off?

Eddie bit his lip before he began speaking, “Hey, Buck, uh... Just checking to see where you are, and if everything’s okay. If something came up, we can do this another time. Let me know.” He hung up and rested his phone on his thigh, still gnawing his lip between his teeth nervously. Eddie couldn’t explain it, but for whatever reason, his stomach was in knots. He felt like something was wrong.

And the knots only intensified after an hour of waiting and three more voicemails being left to Buck’s phone. When his own phone started vibrating, he jumped for it, expecting to see Buck’s name on the caller ID. But instead, he got Maddie’s name, and Eddie felt his heart plummet into his stomach.

“Maddie?”

“Eddie,” she answered, her voice raw and trembling, and Eddie could hear Chim’s voice in the background sounding grave, “You have to come to the hospital. Buck...” She trailed off with a choking noise, and it sounded like she was trying to catch her breath. Eddie’s heart was hammering against his rib cage.

“Maddie, what’s wrong with Buck? Why’s he in the hospital what– ?”

He was cut off when Chim took the phone, “Buck was in an accident. He got struck by another vehicle on his driver’s side. He’s... He’s in bad shape, Eddie.”

Eddie grabbed for his keys, already halfway out the front door when he asked, “Which hospital?”

“Cedar Sinai medical center.”

~~~

The moments after the phone call were a blur; Eddie didn't remember calling Abuela to tell her he was going to the hospital because Buck had been in a serious wreck, he didn't remember driving, he didn't remember entering the hospital and asking for "Evan Buckley? His sister, Maddie, called me, she said he was brought in", he barely remembered Maddie's arms extending towards him in a hug, but he remembered the sharpness of her sobs in his ear as she gripped him tight. He remembered her trembling voice as she told him Buck was taken up to the OR for surgery; "he was really banged up when they brought him in, I barely caught a glimpse of him, but, oh god, Eddie, it didn't even look like him."