"They all baby him. I mean, come on, the kid's sixteen- when's he going to grow up?" When the B-shift firefighter had first made the comment, I ignored it.
It hadn't been directed at me, but I just happened to be the other side of the truck when he said it. It hadn't bothered me to start with. Until I realised how true the statement was.
Buck and Eddie had always been helicopter parents since they started fostering me a few months ago. Bobby wasn't much better and the others tried to keep it casual.
But I picked up on the way they checked up on me, or pulled me in for a hug, or fussed over me when I wasn't feeling great.
It had taken two days for me to start pulling away from the treatment. The firefighter was right, I'm sixteen. I shouldn't be acting like some needy kid.
In my old foster homes, I'd definitely have been given a kick or two by now. Maybe that's what I needed from these guys; a reaction. But man did I feel like an ass.
"Morning Blue, how'd you sleep?" Buck greeted as I shuffled into the kitchen.
I grabbed a glass of water and shrugged my shoulders, "Fine, the usual." I stated nonchalantly.
Immediately, the pair shared the same look they'd been doing the past couple days. The one where they realised something wasn't quite right with me. I mean, when did it reach the point where they could read me so well?
"Has anything been bothering you lately? Something you want to talk about?" Eddie asked lightly.
"I said I was fine." I bit back, forcing myself not to cringe at the attitude.
Luckily, Chris was already on his way to school before I got up. The last thing I needed was to stress him out when he wasn't involved.
Buck looked ready to say something, but I turned away and walked out the room. I wanted to walk to the firehouse today instead of driving with Buck and Eddie. It's what I used to do after all.
I slung my backpack over my shoulder, ignoring Eddie as he hovered in the doorway. "We're not leaving for another fifteen minutes, kiddo." He reminded me softly.
"I'm walking today. See you guys there." I could hear Buck drop whatever he was holding in the kitchen, then his footsteps draw closer to the hall.
Quickly, I swung the front door open and ducked out. It slammed loudly behind me, causing me to flinch at the echo in the quiet street. I pushed the guilt down as hard as I could and walked down the street in the direction of the firehouse.
This was fine. This is how things should be. I just had to make it through this hard stage, before the team would eventually move on and stop fussing over me. The plan would work.
The walk to the firehouse wasn't as freeing or relaxing as I had hoped. My shoulders ached from how tense they were and I had to keep taking deep breaths to pull some oxygen into my lungs.
When had I gotten so weak?
Buck's jeep had pulled into the firehouse car park swiftly, which normally happened when Buck was stress-driving. Eddie was no doubt trying to calm him down the whole ride.
I walked past the vehicle, forcing myself to keep my head forward as I listened to them clamber out the vehicle.
"Morning Coop!" Bobby greeted as he seemed to be looking at the firetruck.
"Morning sir." I answered, giving a slight nod before I headed over to the locker rooms.
Old me would use formalities. Bobby was my superior- not my friend.
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Cooper and his Firefighters | 9-1-1 Oneshot Fanfic
Fanfiction'From Intern to Family' is a fanfic written by me, which all of the oneshots in this book are based on. So, you'll need to read that for this book to make sense! Hope you enjoy some more moments between Cooper and the crew!
