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“Can Jee play today?”
Buck startled as Theo had ran into the kitchen and latched onto Buck’s leg to scream his question, making sure to jut his bottom lip out in a pout.
It’s been 3 weeks since Buck took Theo in and on Thursday he had introduced the toddler to Jee and Nash. Theo was immediately taken with Jee, eagerly following her around the Buckley-Han household proudly roaring as her loyal dinosaur knight and sneaking cheese sticks from the refrigerator. He had his elbows tucked into his sides mimicking a T-rex and offered the stolen treats to her as if they were priceless treasures.
“I don’t know, buddy,” Buck ran a hand gently through Theo’s hair, “we gotta ask her parents first, okay?”
“Okay, ask now!” Theo squealed in excitement, jumping in place as he clutched Buck’s pants in his tiny hands, “Ask! Ask! Ask!”
Buck laughed as he knelt in front of Theo, heart warmed at the little boys excitement, “We can’t ask right now, they’re both working and Jee is at school so she wouldn’t be able to come over right away.”
Seeing the boys eyebrows furrow Buck quickly tickled his sides, pulling a squeal and giggle from the boy.
“But! We can call them right after lunch.” Buck offered smiling softly at the still giggling boy, “If Maddie says they’re free we can go to the park and play with them.”
Theo’s face scrunched up in a familiar pout before he let out a dramatic sigh and rolled his eyes. Something in Buck’s chest ached seeing the little quirks Theo picked up from Eddie and Chris.
“Okay.” Theo grumbled as if this was a major inconvenience in his life, “but you gotta cook fast, Buck! I really really reaaaaally miss them!”
“I’ll try my best, kid.” Buck resisted the urge to melt through the floor and instead saluted at the toddler seriously.
A small whoop echoed throughout the kitchen as Theo started jumping up and down again, arms flinging wildly in the air. Buck laughed, standing back up and grimacing at the ache in his bad leg. Unfortunately that was a quirk Theo randomly picked up from him.
Chris had cackled the first time they realized it. Theo had stood up from playing with his legos one afternoon and grimaced with a heavy 'oof'. Buck had been immediately concerned, asking Theo what was wrong and frowned in confusion when the little boy proclaimed with all the energy he had that he needed a red sock for his lego lizard and ran off into his room completely fine.
When Buck had glanced at Eddie to ask if he knew what that was, he stilled when he realized Eddie was already staring at him, eyes slightly squinted as if he was trying to figure something out. Only when Theo's voice called out for help from the bedroom and Buck stood up from his place on the carpet did both Diaz's burst out in unexpected laughs, startling Buck.
Apparently while Theo had picked up Eddie's cute pout and Chris' sassy eye roll, he had picked up the way Buck winces and scowls when his legs aches from sitting in place for too long. Chris had cheerfully made old man jokes throughout the day after that, Theo happily echoing the teens teases. Betrayed by his own kids.
Buck smiled at the memory before turning to Theo, hands on his hips, “Alright, little man, do you want to do some coloring at the table or do you want to play with your big legos in the living room?”
A moment passed as Buck allowed Theo to contemplate his choices. These were important, life changing choices for the four year old.
Buck started opening the cabinets to pull out the spices he needed for pasta, smiling to himself as he listened to Theo's dramatic 'hmmm's. It didn't take long before he heard an enthusiastic 'ah ha!'.
“Can I color my super book, please?”
The super book.
As if the little boy wasn’t already star struck by the teen, the moment he learned that Chris was also called Superman, Theo had insisted they be superhero partners. Spider-Man and Superman had to be the best of friends, just like Theo and Chris.
Buck's ears were still recovering from the little boy’s overexcited screams the day they went over to the Diaz household for dinner and Chris had sheepishly presented a coloring book to Theo that he made himself. Within the book were pages filled with just the two heroes, most where pages Chris had scoured the internet to find and a few pages were Christoper Diaz originals.
Theo had proudly proclaimed the book as his favorite and always asked Buck to take a picture of whatever page he finished so he could text it to Chris.
“Of course,” Buck grinned as Theo squealed and spun around excitedly, “c’mon, you can help me carry what we need to your table.”
“Yay!!”
~
Glancing over at the table Theo was supposed to be at, Buck paused, hand frozen mid-stir. Last he checked a few minutes ago, Theo was absorbed in his coloring, eyebrows furrows and tongue stuck out in concentration.
Quickly turning off the oven, Buck glanced around the kitchen and dining room before moving towards the living room.
“Theo?”
Silence.
Buck’s chest tightened as his eyes darted to the front door to make sure it was still closed and locked. Confirming it was, he continued to walk around the living room to see if his little boy was maybe hiding around there. There were a few times Theo had fallen asleep behind the couch or under the table trying to snack in secret.
Nothing.
Before the panic could set in any more, a soft giggle was heard from Buck’s bedroom. The firefighters shoulders relaxed as he made his way to the room, tilting his head in confusion as he heard Theo’s voice float through the hallway.
“You promise?? Super, super, promise? We can’t do a pinky promise! I can’t see you, silly!” Theo was sprawled out on the bed laughing with his whole body as Buck’s phone was pressed against his ear.
When the hell did he get his phone? Buck patted at his empty pockets and sighed, momentarily thanking whatever god he needed to thank that at least the 4 year old didn’t know how to order an uber.
“Theo, who are you talking to?” Buck approached the bed, eyebrow raising pointedly at the boy.
“Oh uh, Buck found me.” Theo whispered loudly into the phone, eyes wide before whoever was on the other line said something that made him break out into another set of giggles, “Okay, don’t forget, aunty Maddie! Bye, bye, bye, I love you!”
Buck gaped at the kid and barely processed Theo shoving the phone into his hand, clambering off the bed with a happy wiggle, and promptly hopping out the room one foot at a time as he yelled back at Buck.
“I’m gonna go finish my colors before Jee comes over!”
Looking down at the caller id Buck let out a strangled noise.
911
“Hello? Maddie?” Buck tried not to sound panicked as he brought the phone up to his ear, “I’m so sorry! I don’t even know how he got my phone!”
His sister’s laughter sounded through the phone as he groaned, running his hand down his face and falling back onto his bed.
“Imagine my surprise when Linda called me over because a little boy was on the line claiming his aunty Maddie worked a the '911 place thingy' and he had a very important question to ask.” Maddie snickered in amusement as Buck let out a sigh and sat up, heading back into the kitchen to keep Theo in his line of vision.
“I’m so sorry, Maddie. I don't even know how he knew to call 911. Well…” Buck turned the corner and quietly sighed at Theo sitting back in his little chair, attention back to his book again, “Actually that might be my fault, I might have gone a little overboard earlier this week in explaining what we all did as first responders. I really didn't think he'd use this information against me to call you for a playdate though.”
Maddie let out a soft hum, “I remember when Jee called 911 one night cause Chimney was working a 24 and she was sad he couldn’t tuck her in. She couldn’t read yet but she definitely knew her numbers.”
Buck chuckled at that memory.
They were in the firetruck when Josh’s voice came through the radio requesting a good night from Chimney and Jee’s little voice squeaking out a ‘hi, daddy!', Chim had looked flabbergasted for a second before his expression melted into a tender smile.
“Kids, huh?” Buck whispered softly as Theo glanced up at him and smiled with all his teeth.
“Cute, but they keep you on your toes,” he could almost hear the smile in her voice, “okay well, since his very important question has been asked and answered, I’ll let you go. You know it’s a crime to call 911 for a non-emergencies, right?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll just tell Athena he learned it from Jee.” Blue eyes rolled as Maddie let out an offended gasp before laughing, “Alright, text me the details later. Bye, Maddie.”
“Bye, Buck. Tell Theo I love him. And I love you.”
“I will, love you too.”
When Buck hung up he turned towards Theo and folded his arms. Theo looked up and gave him a sheepish smile. Buck sighed as he walked over to the children’s table, kneeling next to the kid. He gently put his hand over Theo’s that was coloring and waited for him to give him his attention.
“Theo, I know you want to play with Jee, but that was not okay.”
“But you said Aunty Maddie works there!” Theo pouted, "You were taking sooo long, I wanted to help."
"I appreciate you trying to help, but I said we would call after lunch, remember?"
Theo frowned and nodded.
"Remember what we talked about the other day? 911 is for emergencies only, not to call for fun.”
“But it was an emergency!” Theo whined, hands fiddling with the sleeve of Buck's cardigan.
Buck had to bite back his smile, “No, it wasn’t. Emergencies are for when you or someone else is hurt or in danger. Were you hurt or in danger?"
Brown curls bounced as Theo shook his head.
“Next time, if you want to call aunty Maddie you can ask me and I’ll call her for you. We can call her personal phone number. That means it will go directly to her, you don’t have to call 911 and ask for her. Okay?”
“Okay, Buck.” Theo softly replied looking down at his hands pinching the pink fabric between in small fingers, lip wobbling, “Are you mad at me?”
“No, honey,” Buck opened his free arm and immediately welcomed the boy into a hug, “I’m not mad, I just don’t want you to call 911 unless it’s an emergency. A real emergency. Okay?”
He got a mumbled okay into his shirt. Buck’s heart was definitely melted. He gave one last squeeze before pulling away, brushing Theo’s hair out of the boys eyes. They’ll definitely have to get a trim soon.
“Wanna help me clear the table and wash our hands so we can eat?”
“I can do it super fast!” Theo exclaimed as he started gathering up the items on the table, Buck laughed as he helped.
~
Eddie threw his head back as he laughed, “He did not.”
After spending the afternoon at the park with Maddie and the kids, Buck and Theo had gone over to the Diaz resident for dinner. Theo had been falling asleep at the table among the chatter before he decided to crawl into Eddie's lap to fall asleep against the man's chest. It was a moment Buck wished he had his phone out to capture the teary look of surprise and adoration on Eddie's face.
Chris had snickered at the smitten look on his dad's face before offering to eat Theo's dessert for him so it wouldn't go to waste. Eddie had gave him a mock glare before Buck ruffled Chris' hair and slid his slice of cheesecake to the gleeful teen.
After Chris had helped Buck clean up he announced he was heading to bed, pausing when Eddie reminded him it was a school night and to be in bed by midnight. The teen had simply rolled his eyes, only bidding good night to a drooling and sleeping Theo before heading to his room.
Buck had been lounging on the couch waiting for Eddie to come back after insisting Theo could sleep in his bed instead of making them drive home so late. When Eddie had come back Buck had immediately jumped at the opportunity to tell him about Theo's incident earlier in the day.
Buck tried to ignore the fluttering in his stomach as he watched Eddie’s eyes sparkle in delight, “He did! He was laid out on the bed kicking his feet and everything.”
“Only your kid, Buck.” Eddie smirked behind his beer.
“Excuse me,” Buck squawked, “your kid has literally ubered to my place before without your knowledge.”
There was a pause and before Buck could overthink it, Eddie shrugged, pressing his knee against Buck’s, “Okay, then. Only our kids.”
Buck inhaled sharply and stared owlishly at Eddie before clearing his throat, looking away flustered. Our kids. His heart ached with a yearning he’s been trying to suppress since he realized what that feeling was.
Eddie's straight.
And a renter.
He didn’t mean it in that way.
“You know,” Eddie’s voice brought his attention back and when he looked over at his best friend, he noticed Eddie had shuffled closer on the couch, “I’ve been thinking-”
“Oh no," Buck interrupted teasingly, "last time you had a great idea you bought a house in Texas."
Instead of shoving him and laughing at the comment, Eddie gaped at him, eyes wide as if caught red handed. Bucks stomach dropped.
“Wait. Have you- are you serious?” Bucks voice broke as he felt rising anxiety.
He knew things were getting too good. This domestic game of house they've been playing had to come to an end eventually.
“Well-”
Buck shot up from the couch, “I have to go. To the store. I forgot to get the thing I meant to get earlier.”
Eddie quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him back onto the couch, “It’s 11:48pm, the stores are closed! Buck, listen I’m trying to tell you-”
“I think I hear Theo calling for me.” Buck tried to shake Eddie's hand off him to leave, but Eddie's grip was firm.
“You know damn well he did not.” Eddie exclaimed, growing frustrated at the brunettes attempt to flee, "The kid sleeps like a rock and we'd both know if he woke up."
“Must’ve been Chris then.” Buck made another attempt to get off the couch and Eddie growled in frustration, crowding Buck into the corner of the couch and trapping him between his arms leaving the man to stare mouth agape at him and their closeness.
“Buck, will you just listen!” Eddie huffed out annoyed. “I’m trying to tell you I’ve been looking at houses here in LA. For us.”
"Us?" Buck squeaked out, "As in…"
"Chris, Theo, me, you."
"But, why?" It's not that this wasn't what Buck wanted, but he wasn't sure if Eddie knew what he was suggesting. He didn't know if he could handle living platonically with Eddie and raising their kids together just as coparents and nothing more.
"Because, Buck," Eddie let out a soft sigh before looking determinedly at Buck as if he just mustered up all the courage he had in him, "I'm tired of pretending like I'm not in love with you. I'm tired of pretending like I don't want to reach across the dinner table to hold your hand or kiss you good night and good morning every day. I'm tired of pretending like this life we've been building together isn't all I've ever wanted. I'm in love with you and I think… I know that you're in love with me too."
Okay maybe he did know what he was suggesting.
"You love me?" Buck's voice wobbled as he finally spoke.
Eddie's eyes softened, "I do."
"Enough to want to live with me and Theo?" Buck's vision was blurring before Eddie's thumb gently wiped the tears from his eyes.
"Enough to marry you tomorrow if you let me." Eddie nodded seriously.
Buck let out a wet laugh, "Jesus, Eddie. At least buy me dinner first."
"I did," Eddie smirked triumphantly, "From your favorite Thai place too."
Buck stared at his best friend astonished before bursting out into laughter, his hands snaking up to rest at Eddie's waist, "Well, who am I to say no to that."
"Yeah?" Soft brown eyes looked into his hopefully.
"Yeah," Buck whispered, leaning in to press his lips softly against Eddie's, "I love you, too"
Before he could pull away much farther, Eddie's hands found their way to his cheek, pulling him back in to deepen the kiss. Buck couldn't help smiling into the kiss and his heart skipped when he felt Eddie smiling into their kiss too.