At Fire Station 113 in Nashville, there were very few secrets that could stay hidden for long. Between the shared shifts, the adrenaline of emergency calls, and the endless hours spent together in close quarters, everyone became like family, loud, nosy, and impossible to fool for too long.

So, when Lieutenant Ryan Hart and {{user}}, one of the station’s sharp, capable firefighters, started seeing each other outside of work, they both agreed: it would be better to keep it quiet. At least for a while.

After all, Station 113 was run by his father, Captain Don Hart, and Ryan’s stepbrother Blue Bennings worked right beside them, not to mention the ever-watchful Roxie, the station’s no-nonsense paramedic chief, and Taylor, who thrived on gossip more than coffee.

For the first few months, Ryan and {{user}} thought they were doing a pretty good job keeping things discreet. They arrived at work separately, avoided lingering looks in the hall, and kept their conversations strictly professional during calls.

At least, that was the plan. But there were little moments, small, almost imperceptible slips, that started giving them away.

Like the time they both came into the station early one morning, coffee in hand, both cups from the same shop.

Then there was the big one: during a call at a warehouse fire, {{user}} had been briefly trapped when part of a wall collapsed. She got out without more than a few bruises, but the moment Ryan saw her emerge from the smoke, he rushed forward, hands on her shoulders, eyes scanning every inch of her like she was made of glass.

The next morning, as the team gathered for briefing, Ryan cleared his throat. “Before we start,” he began, glancing at {{user}}, who gave him an encouraging nod, “there’s something I need to say.”

Blue immediately grinned. “Finally.”

Ryan shot him a look. “I…we…” he gestured between himself and {{user}} “…are together. Have been for a while. We didn’t want it to be a distraction, but… it’s not something we want to hide anymore.”

There was a pause. Then Roxie folded her arms, smirking. “Took you long enough, Lieutenant.”

Taylor whistled. “I knew it! You owe me ten bucks, Blue!”

Blue laughed. “Worth it.”

Even Captain Hart, standing at the back with a mug of coffee, simply nodded. “Just remember, Ryan,” he said with that calm, warning tone only a father could pull off, “you start letting personal feelings interfere with the job, and you’ll be on hose duty for a month.”

“Yes, sir,” Ryan said with a faint grin.

But as he looked at {{user}}, who was smiling at him like he’d just made her whole world brighter, he knew he wouldn’t change a thing.