Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The kitchen is a mess.

There is egg yolk dripping into the sink from a shell that didn't break all the way. Flour on every surface it could conceivably touch. There is a dollop of batter stuck to the ceiling that Buck is choosing to place as a later task, so that he does not lose focus for what he is currently doing, lest he get berated again.

"Focus, Buck!" Theo commands from the supreme authority of the chair he's standing on in the kitchen, using one of Buck's shirts as an apron, and using a ladle like an orchestra conductor.

He is a tyrant and Buck regrets ever letting him watch Gordon Ramsay.

He is also, too adorable to ever say no to, which means Buck obviously had to drop everything he thought he would be doing today, to lay himself at the feet of Cake Master Theo.

Don't get him wrong, he is right where he wants to be.

While true, he could've been washing the pile of clothes that have gotten a little out of control for the majority of the week, or he could've been cleaning the bathroom, or tending to the garden he and Theo finally started two weeks ago, but this task is definitely more important, in the grand scheme of things.

You see, this morning, Buck was awoken from his sleep via a tiny terror jumping directly on his back, demanding he wake up and head to the kitchen.

So, of course, after completing the world's worst crawl from bed routine anyone has ever seen, he complied, and was greeted with the sight of Theo standing on a chair, with a clipboard too large for him to hold onto correctly, and a checklist made of crayon.

"I see we have an agenda today." Buck had smiled, simply choosing to go along with it for the sake of his sanity, and he was admittedly curious what new idea Theo had cooked up in that head of his.

"Today!" Theo started at a volume entirely too loud for how early it was, but Buck had long since accepted that as his base level in the morning, "We have a missing!"

Buck does his best to stifle a chuckle as Theo pauses, looking down at his clipboard with extreme focus before he gets off the chair, walks over to Buck, and shows him the clipboard.

"How do I say this word?" He whispers.

Buck smiles, hopelessly endeared by the little menace in front of him. He bends down, looking at the heavily misspelled word, he decides to use context clues and guess what he's trying to say, "Mission?"

Theo smiles, looking at the clipboard, nodding to himself before tottering back to the chair. Before he climbs up he turns around, whispering loudly, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, kiddo." Buck grins.

Theo climbs back up in the chair, reclaiming his spot and lifting the clipboard up again, "Today! We have a mission!"

Buck stands up, crossing his arms and making his face look as serious as he can be in this moment so Theo knows he's taking this with the utmost importance, "Sir, yes sir!" He salutes.

Theo giggles, "I'm not a sir, Buck, I'm Chef Theo."

"Heard loud and clear, Chef Theo." Buck salutes again, winking playfully.

"Buck will be my trusty assistant!" Theo announces to the kitchen, as though performing a speech in front of a crowd of thousands.

"And what will I be assisting you with today, Chef Theo?" Buck grins.

"A cake!" Theo smiles, wide and uncontained and missing a tooth from his bottom row from a stray ball last week, "A special cake for a special guy who we love very much!"

Buck's heart breaks into a million tiny pieces and melts on impact at that, his voice cracking slightly as he says, "A special guy, huh? And does this special guy's birthday happen to be today?"

"Yes!" Theo says excitedly, "And we are going to give Eddie–", he pauses, his mouth forming a surprised 'oh!' before he corrects the slip-up, because apparently Buck isn't supposed to know the cake is for his best friend, "I mean, we are going to give the special guy– a totally awesome cake!"

"And what exactly does this totally awesome cake look like?" Buck asks.

"Yes!" Theo says, in lieu of a real answer, "And here are the stuff!" He turns the page on his clipboard, revealing a second sheet with varying font sizes written in a multitude of crayon colors.

Buck takes a look at the ingredient list, doing his best to interpret what exactly Theo thinks constitutes a cake being made of.

The ingredient list is as follows:

• CAKE!!!!

• CHOCOLATE!!!

• SPRINKLES !!!

• CHOCOLATE CHIPS!!!

• SWIRLY STUFF!!!

• MAGIC!!!

• sugar?

• COOKIES!!!

• the dusty white stuff Buck likes to use

• CHOCOLATE !!!

• spoon

• lick spoon :D

• eat cake

• BAKE CAKE FIRST !! VERY IMPORTANT!!

• EAT CAKE !!! :D

• HAPPY EDDIE DAY !!!

Buck looks between the ingredients listed on the page, and Theo's overly proud smile as he gestures to the oven, "Cake time!"

Buck snorts, ruffling his hair, "Sure, kiddo. We should maybe get some ingredients from the store though? I don't think we have nearly enough chocolate for what this recipe requires."

"We're gonna go get chocolate!!" Theo gasps excitedly.

"Yes we are." Buck smiles.

"At the big store?!!"

"Yes, that's where they keep the chocolate." Buck laughs.

"But you never let me get chocolate at the big store!!" Theo starts jumping excitedly and Buck makes the executive decision to hoist him from the chair before he slips and breaks his neck.

"We're going to make an exception this time." Buck says, placing Theo carefully on the floor, "After all, we need to make sure this cake is super totally awesome, yeah?"

"Yeah!!" Theo shouts, stars in his eyes at the idea of getting something sweet.

"Then let's get this mission started."

And so, after a trip to the grocery store wherein Buck allowed Theo to dictate which chocolate would be appropriately 'totally awesome' and then spent approximately two minutes to mourn the version of himself later tonight that will have to wrangle Theo down from his inevitable sugar high for bed time, they made it home with the necessary ingredients.

Buck spent about ten minutes allowing Theo to pick out a random shirt from his pile of sacrificial clothes and then configuring it to his body as a makeshift apron.

Then they came back to the kitchen and very promptly got to work.

Well, Buck got to work, Theo took his throne upon the designated kitchen chair and started barking orders.

He's a very adorable tyrant.

Buck has been multitasking since they started, explaining to Theo why he was adding ingredients to his recipe.

Buck pulls the eggs out, Theo asks: "Why are you making breakfast, Buck?"

Buck then has to explain that eggs are actually multipurpose and that no, the cake will not be scrambled, and no, he is not making a chocolate omelet.

Buck pulls out flour and Theo asks: "Is that the dusty white stuff?"

Buck then explains that yes, it is the dusty white stuff and no the cake will not turn into dry crumbles.

Buck adds vanilla extract and Theo says: "That smells weird."

Buck explains that vanilla extract is used in most baking recipes and that it will be used to balance out flavors.

Buck measures out salt and Theo says: "That's wrong, Buck, we need sugar!"

Buck explains that they will absolutely be using sugar, but that salt is just as necessary when it comes to baking a cake.

Buck pulls out the white sugar and brown sugar and Theo simply yells: "SUGAR!!"

Buck responds with his own very loud, "SUGAR!!"

Buck pulls out the mixer, pouring the dry and wet ingredients into the mixing bowl, picking Theo up so he can sit on the counter and watch the batter mix together.

"IT'S SO LOUD!!" Theo shouts with a large grin on his face.

"What? I don't think I can hear you." Buck jokes, leaning his ear in closer.

"IT'S LOUD!!" Theo shouts again his giggles coming through clear as day.

Buck stops the mixer once the batter looks smooth enough, removing the bowl from the center and placing it on the counter.

Theo leans over into the bowl with a wide mischievous grin, "Chocolate." He whispers.

"Sorry, kiddo," Buck warns, reading his expression clear as day, mostly because he used to try the same thing with Maddie, "But it is not good for you to consume raw batter."

"But it's chocolate." He pouts, his eyes going big and round and unfairly cute.

It's ridiculous, how quickly the kid has perfected the specific brand of Diaz puppy dog eyes, and even worse that he knows how well it works on Buck. He should've known better than to let Chris teach him all of his sneaky ways.

But he has to be the adult here, and stand firm. Raw batter is not good for children.

"Kiddo…" He sighs.

"Pleeeeeaaase." His pout upgrades, his cheeks puffing up and his voice going all sweet and Buck is only human and really who is he to deny a child of a core memory experience, every kid has done this at some point, he would be a bad parent really, if he didn't allow Theo to do this and–

"Okay, fine." He caves, sighing as he grabs a spoon, "But you get one scoop, and that's all, okay? I don't want you getting sick from this."

"Okay!" Theo nods, not paying much attention to Buck when there's a small spoonful of uncooked chocolate cake batter in front of him.

Buck shakes his head with a laugh as Theo grabs the spoon from him.

He checks the temperature of the oven, making sure it's preheated to the correct degree and making sure his cake pans are appropriately buttered to prevent sticking. He pours the batter into two pans, making sure they're as even as possible and then he slides them into the oven to cook.

"And now we wait." He says as he closes the oven door.

"Wait for why?" Theo asks.

"For the cake to cook." Buck answers.

"How much does that take?" Theo asks.

"An hour."

"What's a hour?"

"60 minutes."

"How long is 60 minutes?"

"3,600 seconds."

"How long is that?"

"About 3,600,000 milliseconds."

"What's a milliseconds?"

"A million seconds."

"Can you count to a million?"

"Probably. Let's not test it out today." Buck answers.

Theo pauses for a moment, both of them standing in the kitchen and watching the oven bake.

"How long is–"

"Okay," Buck claps his hands, "How about we do something else while the cake bakes?"

"Like what?"

"You can show me how you think it should be decorated." Buck smiles.

"Okay!" Theo grins, grabbing his clipboard and flipping it to a new page and grabbing a handful of crayons to illustrate with, "The icing has to be on it!", he says as he scribbles on the page, and Buck can't help but agree, the icing should absolutely be on it.

"It has to have the chocolate dots and the chocolate bars and gummy worms!" Theo grins, coloring different depictions of various candies.

"It does, huh?" Buck smiles.

"Yes! Eddie likes candy! He likes the worms and the bars!" Theo nods excitedly.

Buck isn't sure on exactly when Theo conducted this candy investigation to figure out which specific treats Eddie enjoys, but he's filled with joy at the fact that he knows which ones he likes, and its true. Eddie would never admit to it outside of Chris, Buck, and Theo but he's a sucker for candy. He loves a sweet treat and gummy worms are some of his favorites, not the sour ones though.

Buck remembers the singular time he got Eddie sour gummy worms and he spent fifteen minutes pretending like he wasn't pouting on the couch over it. It was endlessly endearing and it sent an arrow straight to his chest over how cute he'd looked. Buck bought him a pack of regular gummy worms for a week straight to make up for it.

And now this sweet kid is planning out a whole cake just for him, because that's how much he loves Eddie. It's almost enough to send Buck to an early grave, how sweet it is.

"And there has to be sprinkles! The rainbow ones for color!" Theo grins excitedly.

"That's a great idea." Buck agrees.

"Buck?" Theo says, coloring in specific spots on the cake where he thinks the candy and sprinkles should go.

"Yeah?"

"Will Eddie like the cake?" He asks, his voice going a little shy on the edges as he looks up at Buck.

Buck does his best to ignore the specific urge to lay on the floor and die at hearing those words, "Yeah, I think he will. Do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because he loves chocolate." Buck points to the wrappers from all the left over chocolate scattered around them, "And he loves candy." He gestures to all the candy packs they picked out, "But most importantly, do you know why I know for a fact that he is going to love this cake?"

"Uh-uh." Theo shakes his head, his curls whooshing atop his head.

"Well, that's simple." Buck says, moving quick and picking Theo up in the air, spinning him around fast and causing a giggle storm as he settles him on his arm, "I know Eddie will love this cake because Eddie loves you, Theo. You could dress up as his worst nightmare and he would still love anything you do."

"Really?" Theo plants his cheek on Buck's chest, his giggles dying down.

"Yes, really. Unconditionally." Buck smiles, patting his back.

"You promise?" He says around a whisper.

"I promise, kiddo." Buck kisses the crown of his head.

"Okay." Theo says, like he believes him just from that promise alone. It's hard sometimes for Buck to remember that for kids, it really is as simple as just making a promise and sticking to it.

Not that he believes he was lying about what he said. He knows how true it is.

Theo hasn't been around for long, but it doesn't take a century to learn how to love a kid this cute. In fact, it took no time at all.

The minute Buck had told Eddie about his decision to take care of Theo, and then started asking him for advice on how to raise a young boy alone, Eddie had gone out of his way to reassure him that he wasn't alone. He promised Buck that he would be there every step of the way, just like how Buck had done for him and Chris.

And he kept that promise.

For every late night that Buck had been at his wits end with trying to get Theo to sleep, Eddie had been there with some super secret jedi dad trick that would get him to sleep in less than five minutes. When Buck wasn't sure how much nutrients were too much for a growing boy, Eddie helped him size up his grocery list. When Buck had trouble juggling Theo's doctor's and dentist appointments with his work schedule, Eddie stepped up to cover his shift. On the days where Buck was too exhausted to cook a full meal, Eddie would either invite them both over or just bring Chris along to Buck's for a family dinner.

They ended up having family dinner on most days.

And it wasn't just Eddie either, Chris also stepped up in a way Buck never saw coming.

The moment Chris and Theo saw each other, there was about two seconds worth of hesitation before Theo asked Chris if he liked Superman, because he noticed one of the small stickers on his crutches, and Chris had simply said, "Yeah, he's cool."

"I like Spider-man!" Theo had declared.

"Spider-Man is pretty cool too." Chris had nodded.

"You think so?!" Theo had said with stars in his eyes.

And from then on they were inseparable so long as they were in the same room.

If Chris wanted to play video games, Theo was right next to him, either learning the controls or coloring a picture while they talked about nothing at all. When Chris wanted to eat something specific, Theo was on board immediately because he wanted to try all the foods that Chris ate. When Theo throws a tantrum, Chris is right there next to him calming him down while also explaining its okay to be upset, but that there are other ways to express it. When Theo is confused by something, he bypasses Buck completely and just goes to Chris about it instead.

When Chris is listening to music, Theo listens to the same thing for a whole week so the next time he sees Chris he can say he knows the lyrics (sort of). When Theo gets frustrated by his homework, Chris is there to explain it to him. When Theo is mad at Buck or at Eddie, he goes to Chris about it until he's ready to talk to them about it.

Buck never expected that they would become a family so quickly, but before he knew it, people started to refer to them as the Buckley-Diaz household. Not two separate houses, not different groups of people. One group. One household. One family.

Buck had felt it was almost too good to be true, especially because of the secret feelings he'd been harboring for his best friend.

One night, after dinner had been eaten and the dishes were placed on the drying rack, Buck had decided to bring up his concerns to Eddie.

He was worried that he'd feel uncomfortable with people calling them a family, a singular household. He was worried Eddie would resent the implications of it, that it was anything other than what it was. A best friend helping another best friend. But was that really all that was? Buck was also worried that the only reason Eddie had stuck around for this long to help out with Theo, was because he wanted to pay back some sort of debt for all the years Buck had been around to help with Chris.

Eddie had simply looked at him from across the kitchen, leaning against the fridge with an expression Buck couldn't get a clear read on. For the first time in all of their years of friendship, Buck had no idea how Eddie was going to respond.

He had prepared himself for Eddie laughing it off, changing the subject to something more lighter.

He had prepared himself for Eddie to brush it off, saying that it's no big deal and he doesn't care what other people say about them anyway.

He prepared himself for Eddie to be angry, to scoff, and say that other people should mind their business, and they don't what they're talking about.

Buck had not, in a million different versions of his reality, prepared himself for Eddie to cross the kitchen floor in four easy strides, back him up against the counter, hold his face in his gentle hands, call him an idiot, and then kiss the living daylights out of him.

Needless to say, Buck's concerns had subsided after that.

They've been together for four beautiful months since then, although it feels like longer, because in the grand scheme of things, what is four months compared to nine years (and counting) of having each other's back's.

Buck brings Theo to his bed, settling him in for his nap so he doesn't get a crook in his neck from using Buck's chest as a pillow. He tucks him in, pushing aside some of his wild curls as he dozes. For someone with so much unending amounts of energy, it really is terribly heartwarming to watch the little guy rest.

Until he wakes up with twice as much energy he had before he shut his eyes. Then it just turns into a circus.

But, also, Buck really wouldn't have it any other way.

He doesn't care that Theo is loud, and energetic, and sometimes occasionally destructive. Buck only cares that Theo is happy, that he is loved, and that he is comfortable. Everything else is second.

He makes his way back to the kitchen, deciding to tidy up while the cake finishes cooking. He throws out all the wrappers, wipes down the counters, washes the mixer paddle and the bowl, and just as he's done placing it on the drying rack– the front door opens.

Buck whips his head around, his eyes wide as he checks the time on his phone. He completely forgot that Eddie said he'd be over with Chris around this time. He'd gotten so caught up in everything that it completely slipped his mind.

"Hey, Buck." Chris says casually as he and Eddie come through the door, having used the spare key Buck gave him.

"Heyyyy, so, uh, I love you both." Buck makes his best attempt at a smile as he whispers to them.

"Okay?" Eddie grins, whispering back to him as he awkwardly closes the door behind him, "Why do you seem suspicious? And what smells so good?"

"I'm not suspicious, and nothing smells good." Buck says, his eyes absolutely not darting to the kitchen.

"You have flour and chocolate on your shirt." Chris points out entirely unhelpful.

"Okay," Buck sighs, "I love you both dearly, but you can't be here–"

"Since when?" Chris snorts.

"Yet." Buck finishes, looking between the both of them, the kitchen, and the hallway to Theo's room, "You can't be here yet."

"Do I get to know why?" Eddie asks, his smile adorable soft.

"Not yet. Theo is asleep for his nap and he will be absolutely devastated if he wakes up to find you here." Buck huffs.

"I don't think Theo's ever been devastated to see me." Eddie smirks.

"He will be if you end up ruining the surprise that he worked very hard on." Buck argues, folding his arms with a pout.

"A surprise?" Eddie catches on, laughing as he comes closer and pulls Buck into his embrace, "I get a surprise today?"

Buck loses the pout fairly quickly as Eddie's warm arms encase him, "Yes, you do. More than one, but the other thing will be saved for later."

"Please don't be gross in front of me." Chris mutters, "It is literally all I ask."

"And Theo worked very hard on this surprise?" Eddie says, his eyes shining with warmth.

"Super hard. The hardest, really. He was very dedicated to the task." Buck nods.

"And I can't be here until its ready?"

"Exactly." Buck says, "Which is why, again, I love you both, but you need to get out. At least for now, until I covertly send you a well timed text to let you know to come back."

"Covertly?" Eddie laughs.

"It has to be just subtle enough to ensure that Theo doesn't catch on to just how quickly you arrive." Buck instructs him.

"You know I'm not good at faking surprise." Eddie points out.

"Eddie, sweetheart, he's four. I'm sure that as long as you gasp at the right decibel he'll be convinced you had no clue about all this." Buck leans in and kisses him quickly, lightly pushing him to the door, "Now hurry up and leave before he senses a disturbance in the force based off of Chris' presence and wakes up early from his nap."

"That's not a thing." Chris says.

"It's happened before, I'm not taking any chances." Buck smiles.

"Okay, okay," Eddie laughs, opening the door again and kissing Buck on the cheek, "See you soon then?"

"Very soon." Buck promises, ruffling Chris' hair and shutting the door behind them.

He sighs against the door for a moment, peeking into the hallway to make sure Theo is still asleep as he goes back to the kitchen.

The timer goes off, suggesting that the cake is done cooking so Buck pulls both pans out, holding his breath as he eases them out onto a cooling rack. He does a silent fist pump at the achievement of both cakes coming out whole and intact.

He lets the cakes cool as he brings out the icing Theo had picked out at the store, along with the sprinkles and the candies.

He could very easily decorate this cake by himself and be more than efficient about the whole process.

But then, where's the fun in that?

He goes to Theo's room, knocking on the door and peeking in to see if he's awake.

Sure enough, he's sitting up in bed, his face focused with his tongue poking out in concentration as he colors on a sheet of paper.

"Hey, kiddo, you awake?" Buck says, opening the door fully.

Theo gasps loudly, hiding the paper under his blanket with an adorable 'oh-no-I-just-got-caught' expression, "I'm awake!"

"Drawing something?" Buck asks.

"No!" Theo answers immediately almost on reflex. He pauses, glancing at his blanket with pink cheeks, "Yes." He changes his answer, "It's a surprise for Eddie."

"Okay." Buck decides to cut his losses and take that as an acceptable answer, as opposed to making him uncomfortable by forcing him to show Buck what it is before he's ready to, "The cake is done cooking, would you want to help me decorate it?"

"It's time for the icing part?!" Theo smiles wide.

"Yes, it's time for the icing part." Buck laughs.

"Can I lick the spoon!!" Theo says, less like a question and more like a forewarning of what's to come, inevitably.

"Sure, but only after we're done using it. Got it?" Buck says.

"Yes!!" Theo celebrates to himself, whooshing his arms through the air in triumph.

Buck stacks the cakes, grabbing the icing and taking the lid off with a dramatic flourish.

They spend the next twenty or so minutes carefully (or as careful as you can be when a four year old has the power of icing in his hands) spreading the icing over the cakes. Buck tries to make sure it looks as evenly coated as possible, Theo tries his best to stab the icing into the cake. All in all, it doesn't turn out too bad.

For the last touches they add the assortment of candies that Theo picked out, sticking the pieces into the icing for stability. Overall, it looks kind of awful, but Buck is proud nonetheless because he knows it'll taste good.

"It's a movie piece!!" Theo smiles triumphant.

Buck tilts his head for a moment, translating what Theo thinks he must've said correctly, "Yes, it's absolutely a masterpiece."

"Will Eddie be happy?" Theo says in a small voice.

Buck smiles, feeling his heart grow approximately three sizes, "Yeah. Eddie's gonna love it. In fact…" Buck makes a show of peeking out the kitchen window, discreetly sending a message to Eddie, "I think Eddie and Chris just got here."

Theo gasps, climbing on a chair and looking out the window, "It's time!!"

"Shall we greet our guests?" Buck laughs.

"Yes!!" Theo runs to the door just as it opens, Eddie and Chris coming over for the first time today. "EDDIE!! CHRIS!!"

"Theo!" Eddie laughs, scooping him up and spinning him around with just as much enthusiasm.

"Hey Theo." Chris smiles.

"You have to sit over here!" Theo says once Eddie places him back in the floor, grabbing Eddie's hand and guiding him to the couch.

"Oh? I do?" Eddie asks, his tone suggesting confusion but his face biting back a visible grin, "And why is that?"

"Because!" Theo announces, "It's time for the super extra totally awesome super surprise!!"

"That's a lot of words little man." Chris grins.

"There's a surprise?" Eddie gasps, his hand covering the smile on his face and Buck tries not break his composure and laugh, "For me?"

"Yes!" Theo nods, "So you have to sit here, okay?"

"Do I have to cover my eyes?" Eddie asks.

"No!" Theo says, walking to the kitchen, then he stops. Turning around for a moment he nods suddenly, "Yes!" He declares, having changed his mind in those two seconds.

Eddie complies, covering his eyes with one hand, barely able to contain the grin on his face anymore, "Alright, alright, my eyes are covered."

Theo takes Buck's hand, dragging him to the kitchen, "You get the cake, I have to get the other thing." He instructs, running off to the hallway.

Buck has no clue what 'the other thing' is but he is nothing if not a good baking assistant, so he grabs the cake, making sure he balances the plate correctly so as not to drop it, as well as a knife to cut the slices and a lighter for the candle placed on top.

He sets the cake on the living room table, almost laughing at Chris' immediate snort at the sight of it.

"Wow, I can see a lot of work was put into that." Chris grins.

"It was a hard task, but we got it done." Buck smiles.

"Neither of you are inspiring a particularly good image right now." Eddie deadpans, still covering his face.

"All you need to know is that it's edible." Buck shrugs.

"Was there a concern that it wouldn't be?" Eddie laughs.

"I'll show you Theo's ingredient list later and you can make that judgement for yourself." Buck says.

Theo pops his head out from the hallway, peeking around the corner, "Are your eyes still hiding?" He whispers loudly.

"Yes." Eddie chuckles.

Theo inhales visibly, his cheeks puffing up as he comes around the corner, holding something behind his back that Buck can't see. He stops in front of Eddie, looking nervously between him and the cake.

"Buck you have to do the fire!" Theo whispers shouts.

Buck nods, "Yes, of course Chef Theo, that is my mistake." Buck grins as he lights the candle on top, not necessarily representative of Eddie's actual age, but Theo figured that a candle with the letter 'E' on it was good enough, and Buck couldn't argue with that logic.

Theo taps Eddie on the knee, "Open your eyes!"

Eddie does as he's told, removing his hand from his eyes, going wide eyed at the cake in front of him, grinning at the sight of it, "Woah! That is one impressive looking cake, did you do this all for me?"

Theo nods, "It's your favorite! Surprise!"

Eddie smiles, his hand over his heart as he looks at Theo and the cake, "Thank you, I'm so glad you surprised me with my favorite cake today."

Buck bites back a smile, knowing this is nowhere close to Eddie's favorite cake flavor, but endeared nonetheless by his commitment to the bit.

"Can I blow out the candle now?" Eddie asks.

"No!" Theo shakes his head, "We have to sing the Happy Birthday song. Right, Chris?"

Chris nods in agreement, "That's right. It wouldn't be a birthday without the birthday song."

"Well, we can't have that." Buck chuckles, nodding along at Theo to start.

Theo starts the song, his voice loud and terribly off key and absolutely perfect. Buck and Chris join in just as loud, their voices echoing throughout the house as Eddie laughs, his face painted with joy.

"Thank you, thank you." Eddie laughs as the song ends, leaning forward to plant a kiss on Theo's forehead, and on Chris' despite him rolling his eyes at his dad's affection, "Can I blow out the candle now?"

Theo nods, rocking back on his feet, "Yes! You have to make a wish!"

Eddie makes a show of thinking for a very long time on what his wish should be, making sounds like 'hmmm' and 'mhmmm' before nodding to himself. He leans forward, locking eyes with Buck for a moment before closing his eyes and blowing out the candle.

"What did you wish for?" Buck asks.

"No!" Theo chides Buck, lightly kicking him, "You can't say the wish, 'cause then it won't come true!"

"Theo's right. Everyone knows that Buck, obviously." Chris grins.

"You trying to ruin my wish, Buck? On my birthday? That's low, man." Eddie teases.

"Okay, okay, sorry I asked." Buck laughs.

"Can we cut the cake now, I'm hungry." Chris says.

"Sure, yeah," Buck nods, grabbing the knife, "Eddie gets first slice though–"

"Wait!!" Theo says, making Buck pause as he looks at him.

"Yeah, kiddo?" Buck asks.

"There's– I have a thing." Theo announces, his cheeks going pink from how shy he's suddenly being, "For Eddie."

Buck melts straight through the floor as he looks between Theo and whatever it is he's been holding behind his back, "Okay, you can give it to him if you want."

Eddie nods encouragingly, a gentle smile on his face, "You have a gift for me?"

Theo nods, puffing his cheeks as he visibly exhales, taking a step forward and handing Eddie a sheet of paper, "I draw this for you. I hope you like it."

Eddie takes the paper, looking down at it and going still for a moment. He looks up at Buck, his eyes suddenly very watery as he looks back at the paper and then Theo.

"You drew this for me?" He asks, his voice very, very soft.

"Yeah." Theo nods, leaning forward as he points at the drawing, "This is you, and that's me, and that's Chris, and that's Buck, and this one is abeela."

"Oh," Chris blinks for a moment, looking over Eddie's shoulder at the drawing, "Theo, did you draw Abuela?"

"Yes!" Theo nods, "You always tell me stories about her, and Eddie always looks really happy when he talks about her. But you said she's not here anymore, like your mom, and my mom and dad."

"That's right." Chris nods.

"So I put her here!" Theo smiles, gesturing at the drawing, "Because you said even that she's not here no more, she's still with us. Watching above. So I put her above Eddie, so he can be happy."

Buck tries his very best not to cry at hearing that, because that's just about the sweetest thing he's ever heard and he loves this kid so damn much.

"Are you happy, Eddie?" Theo asks, his voice shy again.

"Am I happy?" Eddie says, looking down at the drawing for a moment before putting it down on the table and scooping Theo up in a tight hug, holding him close and laughing wetly, "Yes I am very happy, Theo. I'm the happiest I could ever be, thank you. Thank you so much for this wonderful gift."

"You like it?" Theo asks, wrapping his small arms around Eddie.

"I love it. I love it so much." Eddie says, a stray tear falling down his cheek as he kisses Theo's cheek and his curls, "And I love you for making it for me. Thank you, Theo."

"I'm happy you like it." Theo says, smiling over Eddie's shoulder.

"Oh I do. I really, really love it. In fact, I think this deserves prime real estate, don't you?" Eddie smiles pulling back.

"You know, I think there's a perfect spot on the fridge, just waiting for something to fill its place." Chris smiles.

"That's an excellent idea." Eddie agrees.

"What's real states?" Theo asks.

"Don't worry about that," Buck says, not exactly wanting to discuss property values, "Who wants cake?"

"Cake!!" Theo squeals delighted.

"I'll take whichever slice has the most gummy worms packed on it." Eddie grins.

"Coming right up." Buck laughs, cutting into the cake and divvying up four even slices, sliding them onto plates for everyone.

"Oh, this is actually really good." Chris says impressed.

"I told you it was edible." Buck laughs.

"Our cake was a suppress, Buck!" Theo smiles with chocolate all over his face.

"Yes, our cake was a success." Buck agrees, grabbing a napkins and cleaning the boy's cheeks.

"Thank you for the cake, and the drawing, Theo. I think its safe to say this is the best birthday ever." Eddie smiles, eating another piece of his cake with a happy smile.

"That was very sweet of you, kiddo." Buck smiles, ruffling his curls.

"I like sweets." Theo says around a mouthful of chocolate.

"That was never in doubt." Chris snorts.

"Do I also get a cake a tomorrow?" Buck asks with a teasing grin.

"No, this cake is Eddie's, you get– oh." Theo smacks a hand over his mouth, shaking his head as if to silence himself.

"What was that?" Eddie smiles.

"Nothing at all, and he will never tell you, right Theo?" Chris says pointedly.

"Right!" Theo nods firmly, "It's a surprise!"

"Exactly," Chris says, pointing at Buck, "So you have to be patient and don't spoil it for yourself."

"Yes, sir." Buck laughs, saluting Chris.

Buck may not know what's in store for him, but he's happy with today either way. Getting to see the smile on Eddie's face is more than enough.

Having their family together like this, eating a strange cake in the living room, is more than he could've ever imagined he would get.

Looking around, Buck can say without a doubt, he's happy. He wants to keep spending birthdays with Eddie and the boys like this for as long as he can.