"OMG Eddy, you even sound like him.....!!!"
"WTF.. for real?"
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Firefighter Eddy thought this was one of the weirdest conversations he'd ever had with anyone but he was happy to indulge in it to help Zookeeper Brett distract himself from his fear of heights.
"Eddy.. just...keep talking.. anything.. please.."
"Okay, so Brett, what are you gonna do once we get back on ground?"
"I.. I'm gonna put her back into her carrier... and take her back to the zoo clinic... we ...need the vet to check her to make sure she hasn't hurt herself while she's been out here.. and.. and.. what else.. um.. I need to .. write up an incident report... and.. get my boss to sign it..."
"Okay.. that's good.. Look Brett I need to ask you something."
"Y, yes..?"
"Why did you ask if Brett and I.. my colleague and I.. aren't together?"
"B.. because, I.. I think the Firefighter Brett is.. crazy about you..."
"WHAT !?!?"
"It... it's the way he looks at you..."
"OMG."
"Do.. you like him?"
"Yeah, of course I like him. We've been working as partners for years."
"Not that way, but.. y'know... "
"I... I don't know.. I never..um..."
Firefighter Eddy was lost for words as he continued to operate the cherry-picker.
Brett jolted when he felt the cherry-picker platform come to a halt.
"Brett.. we're back down. You okay?"
Brett closed his eyes and gave out a soft groan.
"Yeah... I'm okay. Thanks for keeping me calm, Eddy..."
So perhaps Firefighter Eddy succeeded in keeping Zookeeper Brett calm by encouraging him to talk. However, after listening to what was said, Firefighter Eddy was not calm at all.
"...Brett???"
Zookeeper Brett snap opened his eyes and looked down towards Concertmaster Eddy. He let out a wry smile.
"Hey Eddy... we got her...!"
"Are you feeling okay?"
"Um... yeah.. I'm.. okay..."
Brett's voice hitched. He hastily let go of Firefighter Eddy's forearm. Concertmaster Eddy tried to approach him as Zookeeper Brett climbed down the cherry-picker.
"Eddy.. hang on a sec.. I need to put Francis in her carrier first..."
"Okay..."
Zookeeper Brett walked over to the carrier and placed Francis inside and secured it. He then rushed over to Concertmaster Eddy.
"Eddy.. I need a hug..."
"Okay."
Concertmaster Eddy gave Zookeeper Brett a tight hug. Eddy knew Brett wanted to be held tight.
"...Are you scared of heights, Brett?"
"OMG was it that obvious?"
"It seemed so to your doppelganger firefighter Brett."
Zookeeper Brett chuckled.
"..Okay... I'm good now. Thanks Eddy."
As Concertmaster Eddy loosened his hold around him, Zookeeper Brett turned around to the two firefighters and smiled.
"Thank you so much for your help, guys!! Do I need to fill out or sign anything?"
Firefighter Brett showed him a tablet.
"I've added notes to our call-out report. You agree to what I've written here?"
Zookeeper Brett read through the sentences and nodded.
Firefighter Brett smiled.
"Alrighty, I'd say we're done."
"Eddy.. I have to get back to the zoo."
"Of course. I need to get back to rehearsal as well. Are you going to be okay? Call me when you're done?"
"Yes and yes."
"Okay..."
They looked at each other, then they both noticed the two firefighters were looking at them. It made the couple feel awkward.
"...So, I'll um.. catch you later.."
"Yeah.. I'll make it up to you later..."
Eddy grinned.
"Good and lookin' forward to it..!!"
Of all things, they decided to part on a bro-fist..!!
The Zookeeper left with his colleague and barking owl, back to the zoo and the Concertmaster had gone back to the Opera house for his afternoon rehearsal. Firefighters Brett and Eddy were riding back to their Firestation. Eddy stared from the passenger seat at Brett's side profile.
"Brett."
"Yah?"
"You look an awful lot like that zookeeper."
Brett held his deadpan expression while he drove the firetruck.
"You recogn?"
"Yeah.. I never noticed how long your eyelashes are."
"OMFG what are you looking at !?"
"I dunno. I just didn't notice it till I saw your doppelganger."
"Well, I thought that the other Eddy was your doppelganger."
"Oh c'mon he didn't look that much like me??"
"I think he did. If you cropped his hair, gave him a tan and beefed him up a bit..."
Eddy chuckled.
"...Those two were kinda sweet together."
"Yeah."
"Brett?"
"Yah?"
"...are you scared of heights?"
Brett almost lost control of the firetruck. He stammered.
"I... I can still do my duties Eddy..."
"Yeah, I know that of course. I know that better than anyone else. But if that zookeeper was your doppelganger and if you're anything like him... I really admire what you do every day with me in your line of duties."
Brett glanced at Eddy.
"..thanks, Eddy."
"And now I know why you keep tapping your boot against mine when we're up high somewhere... but did you want me to put my hand on your shoulder from now on? Judging from what worked on the other Brett, I think my palm on your back might work better than on your shoulder."
Brett almost lost control of the firetruck again.
"E, Eddy... I..."
"Oh f*ck this. We can't talk about this while we're on the truck otherwise you'll get us both killed...!!"
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A/N: This concludes the Twoset Firefighters & Twoset Zookeeper series' Mashup story! What I thought would be a one-shot ended up with 4 chapters! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have writing it.
And a big thank you again to dustman22 for the inspiration and consultation to make this story possible! Much appreciated!!
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What if I ain't no violinist?
FanficA collection of one-shot and short stories of parallel worlds about Twoset Violinists Brett and Eddy. What if instead of becoming musicians, they pursued different careers? Please come along and take a peek into some alternate worlds, where they wil...
