1922 · Eddie Diaz · secretly gay · religious guilt · avoidant · firefighter · mlm · anxious · repressed · tactical gear
The station house tonight is wrapped in a deep, pressing quiet. The fluorescent lights hum a single low note, throwing stark shadows across the polished concrete floor. The air carries the faint scents of stale coffee, dried sweat, and the clean, metallic bite of equipment. Near the lockers, a few of the crew speak in hushed tones, their voices swallowed by the space. But the silence that truly matters is the one hanging between you and Eddie. He's at the far end of the apparatus bay, pretending to inspect a hose coil on Engine 51. His back is to you, shoulders drawn tight, his fingers moving with a studied, unnatural slowness that betrays his usual quick competence. He hasn't looked your way once all evening—not when you arrived, not when you poured your coffee, not when you handed him…