𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨. Evan Buckley ¹

thirty eight

BEAUTIFUL MESS.
chapter thirty eight.

"That's the biggest damn fire I've ever seen."

Hunter snorted at chimney's words as they stared up at the building that was most definitely not in flames. "Guess we got here too late," Hunter mumbled back sarcastically, "might as well cut our losses."

"Yeah, who's gonna explain that to the new fire marshal?" Hen asked from her spot at the fire hydrant. All of the core members of the 118 looked over at the large office building and sighed, knowing what was waiting inside for them.

"Leave that to me," Hunter sighed as she lifted her sunglasses off her head and put her helmet on before adjusting her turnout gear, "he gives us shit and I'll kick his ass—"

"Hunt, no," her captain said sternly but only earned an eye roll in response from the Callahan, "I'm not breaking up anymore fights between you two. That's over."

"Then don't break it up?" Hunter said, but it came out more like as question. She wouldn't actually fight him, well it was more like a fifty-fifty chance on if she would or not. It had been awhile since she sparred and Buck was good competition. Plus, hitting the smug smirk off his face was like a form of free therapy sometimes. She walked away with a hose in her hand, "if it's a fake fuckin fire then why can't I use a fake fuckin hose."

Hunter heard Eddie mumbled something under his breath about fire drills as she entered the building with Bobby and Hen followed closely behind.

"So what's the excuse?"

The blonde Callahan turned to face Fire Marshal Buckley with a fake smile. "Well-"

"How are we doing?"  Captain Nash cut Hunter off from saying whatever she was about to. She hadn't even noticed Bobby had walked up behind her but it was probably good that he did.

"Oh, you don't wanna know," The Buckley said with a sigh.

"There were two bussed blocking us," Bobby argued.

The Buckley tisked with a fake look of disappointment as he looked down at his papers. The collared shirt and tie must have been getting to his head. That, and he just enjoyed his moment of power a little too much. "Yet the 144 still beat you here by four minutes-"

"They're stationed five blocks closer, dumbass," Hunter mumbled under her breath.

"What was that, firefighter Callahan? I didn't quite hear you," buck said as she walked over and threw and arm over her turnout jacket.

"I said, does that clipboard make you feel powerful," she retorted sarcastically with an eye roll and a tight lipped smile.

"Oh, I might just have to right you up for that comment-"

"Go ahead and try Buckley," she told him, removing his arm with a laugh.

Buck watched as she walked away with a genuine smile. It was different now, he liked that they could joke and not hate each other. It seemed like they had come so far since she first joined the firehouse.

It was only a few hours later when she had seen the Buckley boy again. She had walked into his apartment, more so, she strode. "You better not be the reason I lose my job," she joked.

"Now, why would I help with that? I think you'll do a good job of that on your own." He retorted with fake confusion as he grabbed the blonde by her waist and pulled her down on the couch next to him, her legs flung across his lap but he didn't mind.

"Oh I don't know," she said as if she didn't have a clue.

"Don't worry," he reassured her, placing a hand down on her thigh, "I'll make sure the 118 passes just for you."

"Oh how'd I get so lucky," Hunter asked but it sounded more like a statement instead of a question.

"Hmmm, seems like I'm the lucky one. I mean I got my pretty girl by my side through all of this."

Hunter smiled but didn't response, she wouldn't have known how to. My pretty girl. That was new, she had thought. There was still an unspoken consensus between the two blonds. It was funny almost, how the two acted in private versus them in the eyes of the 118. To the 118, they were still just gunshy best friends that still argued a lot.

It was weird, sometimes they would fall asleep in each other's arms. Other times they would be at each other's throats until someone broke the argument up. Buck chalked it up to the fact that there were a lot of unspoken things that needed to be said about them, things that Hunter wouldn't ever say at this rate.

The blonde laid herself out further across Buck and stretched as she got herself comfortable. "I'm stopping by tomorrow with your guys' results," he said with a cheekish grin.

Hunter resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her luck. She had been trying to keep Buck out of the firehouse in hopes he wouldn't see Lena Bosko— she knew how he was about people coming in to 'replace' him. Hell, look at what happened when Hunter and Eddie first joined. The girl didn't particularly like Bosko either, she seemed arrogant and up to no good.

The entirety of the 118 was glad buck took his new assignment with pride. Well, at least tolerance. He wouldn't admit it but he hated the light duty and was trying to put on a front. Most of everyone could tell it was killing him. 

"You don't gotta do that—"

"What? You don't wanna see me?" He asked, feigning offense.

"No, I tend to go to work in hopes of getting away from you," she joked back as she sat up and looked the boy in the face.

"Oh, so that means you'll be wanting me to cancel our doordash order so you can back to your own apartment?" He challenged her, pulling out his phone.

"Oh no, I never said that," Hunter laughed as she sprung up grab his phone and prevent his hoax of a threat.

"Mhmm, nope, I've already decided," Buck said holding his phone out.

"Oh really?" Hunter challenge him back, "I'm not afraid to hit a crippled."

"Hit me and I might just have to call my lawyer."

Hunter rolled her eyes with a smile as she reached out to grab his phone from across his body, "no one of that prestige would work with you."

"Oh really?" Buck repeated her words from earlier and grabbed her waist that was still stretched out in front of him and pulled the girl into his lap, "I— I don't really know what that word means but—"

Hunter laid her head down on his shoulder as she laughed, her knees sat on either side of his hips as he rubbed the backs of her thighs with a soft smile that she couldn't see.

This was hard for Buck, there was many things he wanted to experience with Hunter. But he knew in her mind the two were just friends, so he did his best to put that front up too. And it worked, no one knew the thoughts either of them had or the ideas that crossed their minds.

Buck was pulled from his thoughts by the knock on his door. Hunter pulled herself off of the man with a groan, grabbing at her hip that felt pain as she adjusted, "food's here," he observed as he left with a saddened sigh.