CHAPTER TWO
WHATTA MAN

Let it be known that if Bobby wasn't killed in a freak accident of some kind, firefighting or otherwise, or the heat didn't take him out, you could bet that Collin would be the first one to do it and claim self-defense.

     He truly had no idea what was running through Bobby's mind when he had him transfer during the start of the summer, knowing good and damn well that Collin would be walking into the heat when he finally touched down in Los Angeles. All during prime earthquake weather, too. (He hoped he wasn't going to die during his first call.)

     The old man was trying to kill him before he even had the chance to start, and he was already in desperate need of a shower. For now, he hopped into the bathroom and prayed to whatever deity in earshot that he could wrangle out the coldest shower possible before having to get dressed and head out the door while his uncle waited in his truck in front of the building down below.

     "Any reason why you decided to have me come here when it's already a whopping ninety-five degrees outside? Did you want your only nephew to drop dead from heatstroke?" Collin asked, clambering out of the truck, grabbing his duffel bag out of the bed as he did so, aviator sunglasses perched atop his nose. "Just be glad I haven't decided to go shirtless yet."

     It was safe to say that during his training at the academy, Collin had put on a decent amount of muscle and a little more as he moved up to probie status at his old station in Minnesota. Some shirts stretched across his chest rather obscenely, sleeves hugging his biceps and triceps perfectly as he flexed. He wasn't a stranger to the women who'd bat their lashes at him, and then he'd politely decline as he had a serious girlfriend. Now, he didn't. And it wasn't like he was going to go all out and sleep with the first woman he came across, that would just be petty. He was heartbroken, yes, but he knew that in order to get over someone wasn't to get under someone else.

     Besides, this was finally his time to learn more about himself as he lived on his own for the first time, figuring out what he liked and didn't, he'd give himself at least a month before he began thinking about women—or men—again.

     Collin marched into the station, duffel bag over his shoulder as he found a dirty blond (he could've sworn it was red a second ago, maybe it was a trick of the light) bound down the stairs that led up to the mezzanine, waving his phone around. Buck, he remembered from the first time he visited the station when he was a little younger.

     "Guess who just dropped another half percent?" Buck raised his screen, showing off his latest DXA scan.

     "And why would you wanna do that?" Hen asked, walking over to join the conversation even though she probably had an idea as to where it was going to go.

     "Because we are a week out from submissions being due for the Hot Days, Smoldering Nights: Men of the LAFD wall calendar."

     Hen could only stare blankly at the blond/redhead. "Do you have to use the whole name?"

     "Oh, come on. It's for charity," Bobby soon piped up, joining in. Collin trailed close behind and he could see Hen's face slowly begin to wither at Bobby's answer. Not him, too. "What? They say that a man looks his best when he reaches fifty."

     "Alright, well, you're both wrong," Chimney chimed in, "I think it's time that sororities all across the great nation experience an Asian sex symbol. It's our time."

     "And I think that's great," Buck stammered, doing his best to keep himself from cracking up, "I like that you two are going up for it."

      Hen could only roll her eyes at the ever-so quickly rising level of testosterone she was surrounded with.

     Bobby scoffed. "And you're only saying that because you don't think we can make it."

     "I didn't say that, but they are only picking one candidate from this station."

     "Now who the hell is that? And please don't tell me he knows about the calendar," Chimney asked, looking in the direction of the entrance. Collin was finally in full view of the rest of them, duffel bag in hand and over his shoulder, Ray-Ban aviators on his face as the navy shirt he donned pulled across his chest and biceps in a practically sinful manner, a pair of Dickies shaping his thighs (and ass) as he waltzed into the group in a pair of combat boots. And as soon as his sunglasses came up off his face before being tucked on the collar of his shirt, Buck found himself in a twinge of trouble.

      "Guys," Bobby started as he walked towards Collin to throw an arm around his shoulders, "I don't know if you all remember, but this is my nephew Collin. He's visited a few times and is now officially joining the one-eighteen as of today."

     "Nice to see you again, Collin," Chimney was the first to greet him and then asked, "do you know anything about a calendar?"

     "No." Collin creased his eyebrows in confusion and shook his head. "Should I know about a calendar?"

     "No," Chimney was quick to answer as he shook his head, "Not at all."

     "Good to see you again, Border Collie." Hen nodded. Collin nodded back, chuckling softly at the nickname, his eyes then landing on Buck as he gave him a quick once over. "Do you wanna say anything to me?"

     "You're not scrawny anymore." The connection between Buck's brain and mouth seemed to have snapped as those words left his mouth. Collin huffed out a laugh. "I'd hope so. I can't go around saving lives looking like a frail, Victorian child."

     "That's true, I guess," Buck returned, laughing awkwardly. Collin looked around then, eyes landing on another body. "Now who the hell is that?"

     "That is Eddie Diaz," Bobby supplied, "new recruit, former Army medic. And please, don't ogle at him. I am so very happy that you are confident and comfortable in your bisexuality, kid, but for the love of God, keep your hands to yourself. I'll introduce you guys to him."

      (That was not information Buck needed to hear.)

     "Uh, wh-what do we need him for?" Buck stammered, mouth going dry around the edges. He didn't want to say that he was feeling particularly threatened at the fact that there were not one, but two new recruits, but they were also undeniably attractive (what? He had eyes) and he wasn't sure if he was ready to be replaced just yet. But before he could delve deeper into his self-pity, the alarm sounded, rounding up the firefighters as they tugged on their turnout gear and grabbed their helmets before heading for the engine and ambulance.

     Collin found himself situated between Eddie and Chim on one side, with Buck sitting across from him and Hen sitting across from Eddie. With newfound muscle gain also came a second growth spurt as Collin was now mainly all legs, and now those legs were mashed against Buck's knees, who refused to accommodate, so Collin did what he could only do, really—manspread and trap Buck's knees in between his, for sake of comfort.

     "Can I ride shotgun next time?" Collin asked into his headset mic. "No" came Bobby's quippy, rapid fire answer, "not unless you wanna figure out this map of Los Angeles."

     "Is it stupid to ask why we haven't upgraded to GPS yet? Actually, don't answer that because I saw the State Farm road atlas you keep in the seat pocket when I got into your truck this morning."

     "It's still useful, Collin."

     "It's from the nineties, Bobby. It doesn't account for any new roads or highways that are built in this era."

     "Well, when your car comes in, you can set up the GPS however you like. I'm gonna stick to my trusty roadmaps."

     "See? That's what I'm talking about!" Eddie was quick to pipe in, "Technology's getting too advanced. I don't need my toaster to have a touch screen and I definitely don't need my refrigerator to have wifi."

     "Then give your toaster a lobotomy," Collin deadpanned, "find a way to make it stupid." He could then feel Bobby resisting the urge to smack him upside the head from the passenger seat.

Author's Note / 111324

surprise ! i could've gotten this chapter out a long time ago but i was planning on writing a lot more than just 1000+ words and that hasn't happened in months sooooo here we are ! yay

thank you for reading <3