Chapter Text
Buck is fully awake by the time they get home and they order pizza. Eddie sets up Moana and tells Chris to go change, since he had been asleep none of them had changed out of their bathing suits. They had all been dry anyways, so it wasn’t a huge deal but it was uncomfortable after such a long day.
Before Buck can head into the bathroom, Eddie corners him in the hallway. Eddie lays a hand where Buck’s shoulder meets his neck, his go to spot to get Buck to pay attention to him.
“Hey, I’m proud of you. I know you were putting up a brave face for Chris, but I don’t want you hiding from me too. You gotta tell me what you’re feeling so it doesn’t eat you up, okay?” Eddies hand squeezes lightly as he waits for Buck’s response.
Buck broke eye contact, staring at the floor. He felt a blush rise to his cheeks, for a number of reasons. Eddies hand on him felt nice, more than nice and hearing the man say he was proud of Buck flipped his stomach all around. “Thanks.”
Chris, in an act of uncharacteristic sneakiness, slowly cracked his door open to watch Buck and Eddie.
“Did you notice that all the other parents thought we were together?” Buck asks, eyes making their way back to Eddies face. What he saw there surprised him, Eddie has his own blush painted on his cheeks. “You did! Why didn’t you tell anyone the truth?”
Eddie sighed. “What’s the truth, Buck? You parent my kid. We parent Chris together. We act like we’re together, in almost every way except physically and more and more often I feel like we’re toeing the line of friends and more. We don’t talk about it, I don’t know what you think about it. I don’t know how you feel about men-” Eddie broke off, hand squeezing again. “There is a lot I don’t know about. A lot I think, but can’t be certain. I just-” Eddies eyes searched Buck’s face for some hint of what he thought but Buck was slack jawed and silent.
Eddie continued, “Are we ever going to talk about it? What does it mean? Why are we ignoring it?”
“Do you-” Buck gulped, “Do you want to kiss me?” His hand came up to hold onto Eddies ribs, his fingers splayed wide, grip soft and hesitant. “I didn’t know how to bring it up. I didn’t have a plan I was just going to be in yours and Chris’s life until I wasn’t allowed anymore. But I don’t want- Eddie, I don’t want to leave it. I love being with you and Chris, I love that he treats me like a parent. I was so scared that you would notice and send me packing for overstepping.”
Eddie shook his head, “I loved it too. I love seeing you too together. You two are everything I want. Our life is exactly what I want. I would never send you packing for any reason. I-” Before he could continue on his confession a noise broke through that made them both jolt.
“Kiss already!” Christopher cried, bouncing happily where he stood, “You guys talk too much!”
Buck laughed and pulled Eddie back to him, Eddie slid his hand up Bucks neck to grasp his cheek, his other hand doing the same on the other side. They both slowly approached the other, when they finally met it was perfect.
The kiss wasn’t anything too wild, due to Christophers presence, but their lips pressed together in one soft, dry kiss, and they both immediately pulled away to gauge the others reaction. Then they came together again, hands clutching, to once more kiss, harder and longer this time. Chris cheered in the background, which made them smile and disrupt the kiss. Buck laid his forehead against Eddies and simply touched their noses softly, sliding them together with a smile on his face.
“Okay okay, not too much now.” Chris warned, still in his hiding spot behind the door.
“Oh, really, Mister? What were you doing spying on Daddy and me anyways? Huh?” Buck dropped down to be eye level with Chris, who giggled and, upon realizing he had no where else to go, spun back into his room. “Oh-ho, not so fast! I’m gonna getcha!” Buck tore into Chris’s room and captured him easily, pinning him in his arms and ticking the boy to tears.
Chris gasped with laughter and managed to squeal out some apologies in between manic giggles. Buck didn’t let up. “Nope, not good enough. I’m not gonna stop until the pizza gets here.”
Chris wriggles uselessly, gasping, “Daddy! Daddy, help!” Before Eddie could intervene, the doorbell sounded. Buck stopped immediately.
“Ooh. You, sir, got lucky today. Next time won’t be so easy.”
While Eddie went to grab their pizza Buck and Chris lounged on Chris’s bed, both catching their breath. When Eddie came back they had their heads ducked together, talking softly. Eddie took the opportunity to go change into sweatpants and a new shirt.
When he left his room, the boys were still in Chris’s bed. “C’mon. Pizza and movie time. Buck still has to change his clothes.”
Chris grabbed his crutches and headed for the living room. Buck smiled softly up at Eddie from Chris’s bed. Eddie leaned down to grab his hand, he dropped a kiss to Buck’s forehead and pulled them both up. “Go on, get some regular clothes on. We’ll wait for you to start the movie.”
“Oh, goodie.” Buck said sarcastically, with a roll of his eyes. He quickly dropped another kiss on Eddies mouth, before Eddie could react he was walking away. “I’m never going to get used to that.”
Eddie grinned, he didn’t think he would either.