Chapter Text
Eddie could tell from the moment he saw his sons face at school pick up after his shift, that something was wrong. His normally joyful and relaxed face was pulled tight as if he’d smelled something awful, the weight of his head looked heavy as it hung low on his shoulders.
Trying to remain hopeful that Christopher was merely exhausted from a big day at school, he got out of the car to greet him.
“Hey Buddy, how was school today?” he followed their normal routine, heading over for a hug before taking his bag to place in the front seat. If he was extra lucky Chris would even allow Eddie to help strap him into his car seat, a job that was often completed alone now that he was a ‘big boy’.
Today however was different.
Chris ignored the question entirely or at least didn’t seem to hear it over his own thoughts as he shrugged off his father’s hug and continue to walk to the car alone, backpack still weighing down his shoulders.
Eddie tried to keep his face in check, determinedly not looking around to see if any of the other parents picking up had seen the rejection. He did quickly flick his eyes up to the gate Chris had just exited from, noticing a teacher lingering around, nodding her head when she caught his eye as if gesturing him closer.
Quickly making sure Chris was ok getting himself into the truck alone, Eddie made his way over to the older woman.
Mrs Kent was Chris’s homeroom teacher this year, and major step up from the young and inexperienced teacher he had had last year, who knew barely enough about teaching regular children, let alone a child with additional needs and adaptations. The 65 year old was a breath of fresh air when Eddie had first met her at parent teacher meeting and he was hoping she could clear up the questions he was sure were showing on his face.
“Hi Mr Diaz, sorry to keep you behind.” The kindness in her smile often reminded Eddie of a motherly touch. “I just wanted to address some things that went on during class today”
Eddie returned her smile gratefully. “Hi Mrs Kent, is Chris okay? He seems a bit off” he tried to keep his voice light, he has a habit of going off at school teachers and it was something he would very much like to keep in check this time around.
“He has been absolutely fine all morning, very happy to join in on activities and acting his normal chatty self. However, I noticed that when the children all came in after lunch, he seemed different. I could tell something was upsetting him, he was withdrawn and looked as if he had been crying”
As soon as Eddie heard that Chris had been crying his dad senses went off. He knows his kid. He doesn’t like to cry in public, no matter how many times Eddie reassures him that its ok to be upset. He has always been one to hold it in until he was home, or alone with Eddie or Buck.
He bites his tongue to avoid interrupting the woman, wanting to hear the rest of the story.
Mrs Kent continued “I had a quiet moment during free reading where I managed to pull him aside. When I asked about what was upsetting him it just seemed to make him more unsettled. I didn’t want to push the issue and upset him in front of everyone, but I think maybe he may open up more once he’s at home?”
Eddie could hear in her voice how much she herself was worried and sent a quick prayer of thanks for getting such a kind woman looking out for his boy.
“Thank you for telling me. I’ll have a talk with him tonight and see if I can get to the bottom of what happened.” He looked back towards to car as he answered, smiling somewhat sadly at the image of his boy hunch over in his car seat.
“Hopefully its nothing to big, I hate to think of anything happening with my students right under my nose.” She reaches out to squeeze Eddies arm quickly before dropping her hand. “Please keep me updated if he opens up to you, if anything happened on this end, I won’t hesitate to do whatever I can to help. I have a no-nonsense policy in my class, I assure you”
Eddie smiles gratefully, promising to keep her updated. He could only hope that Chris was just tired and overwhelmed from a big day at school.
Saying goodbye, he made his way back to his truck, hoping up into the driver’s seat.
He didn’t want to bring attention to whatever had happened straight away but couldn’t help himself turning around. “You ok Buddy? You’re awful quiet back there?”
The light and joking tone obviously not enough to break through, but the half-hearted hum he gets back in return at least tells him that Chris is listening.
He schools his face into a neutral expression and turns the car on. “Alright Buddy, let’s go home”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The ride home was one of the quietest trips home from school since they moved here. Normally Christopher's voice was on a continuous cycle of every single thing that had happened during his day, down to the minute details Eddie wasn’t sure anyone would normally remember or care about. But knowing that they were important to his son, Eddie would happily listen to and comment on each and every detail.
His ride home was different. Christopher didn’t say a word the entire trip, preferring to look out the window at the houses they both have memorised, taking this route to and from school every day. Eddie had tried to engage the boy in conversation a few times, before giving up and allowing the silence to overtake them. He could only imagine what was going through the 8 year old’s head right now.
When the two got back to their house, Eddie was quick around the car to help open the door and assist Chris any way he accepted. Which this time was limited to allowing Eddie to hold his school bag. The two silently made their way into the house and within a minute of the front door opening Christopher was down the hallway and closing the door to his room.
Eddie let out a loud sigh. He had no idea how to start this conversation.
Growing up, his relationship with his parents was always good but they often fell into the stereotype of never actually taking about emotions or discussing anything that related at all to ‘feelings’. Preferring to bottle it up or work through things alone. While this never had any really damaging effects to Eddies development, he was determined to break the pattern with his son, wanting him to have a healthy relationship with his own emotions. Eddie himself was still figuring out how to do that.
Deciding that Chris must be exhausted from school, he headed to the kitchen to make him a snack. Perhaps that would help bring up his mood enough to talk about what was going on.
Fixing one of Chris’s favourites, apple slices and peanut butter, he called across the house. “Chris! Snack time!”
He paused afterwards to listen and determined no movement at all coming from his sons room. Huffing a little at being ignored, he packed away all the ingredients and utensils used and pick up the plate himself, walking down the hallway.
“Chris.” As he came to a stop outside Christopher's room, he listened for a moment before knocking. “Christopher”
Sighing again, Eddie moved to open the door. A something he normally wouldn’t do without permission first, however he’s pretty sure this gave him an exception.
The first thing he noticed was Chris, laid out on the bed as if he had thrown himself across it in a fit on pre-teenage angst. His crutches have obviously been dropped in a haste, laying haphazardly on the bedroom floor.
He set the plate of food down on the bedside table, moving to perch on the only remaining corner of the mattress not currently taken up by a thrown limb. He ran his hand through the soft curls atop the younger boys head for a few moments, hoping to bring any form of comfort he could in that moment.
“Chris” he kept his voice low and soft as if it were very early in the morning “Can you roll over or sit up please?”
At first Eddie believes Chris may ignore him. But a few drawn out moments later the boy began to move, huffing at the effort as he pulls inside into a seated position, leaning against the wall for support.
It was somewhat of a relief to see the boy hadn’t been crying again, but Eddie still couldn’t shake that something was wrong. He knew there was no point beating around the bush, Chris was smart and Eddie wasn’t going to patronize him by assuming he didn’t know exactly what was happening.
“Can you tell me what happened today? Mrs Kent told me you were upset after lunch time, and I don’t think I’ve gone this long without hearing you speak since you said your first word.”
Chris briefly looked up at his day before breaking eye contact to look back at his bedsheets. “I don’t want to talk about it”
Eddie knew that would be his respond, but he had to try again. “I know you probably don’t want to talk about it. But it’s very important to me that I make sure you’re ok. I can see that your upset and I need to make sure nobody has hurt you”
Chris looked even more miserable if that was even possible, Eddie knew it was the guilt Chris sometimes felt whenever his dad was upset. As if it was his responsibility to make sure he didn’t add any extra stress. It was something they had spoken about in length before, and were still working through as a family, that Chris would never be a burden to his dad.
“I need you to talk to me Chris. I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s wrong”
Chris clenched a hand in the sheets in his bed, pulling at the fabric as he attempted to sooth himself.
“I’m fine Daddy, I’m just tired and my head hurts from all the thinking”
Eddie knew that was an intentional ‘Daddy’.
Chris hardly called him Daddy anymore, preferring dad nowadays. but he was quick to figure out that a well timed ‘Daddy’ could get him almost anything he wanted.
“Okay” Eddie wanted to push more, but could see the grip that Chris had on his own emotions slipping and didn’t want to cause him anymore upset than he was already in. “but you know you can come to me about anything right? Not matter how little and silly you think it is, okay?”
Chris nodded his head, offering no more words.
“Here’s a deal” Eddie wasn’t above bribing his kid into a better mood “You eat your snack and get change into some comfy clothes, and we can have a movie night tonight. Pizza and everything”
Chris look marginally happier at this offer, looking hesitant for only a moment before asking “Can Bucky come?”
Eddie couldn’t help but smile. The relationship between Chris and Buck had been sealed almost faster than that of the two firefighters themselves. The two had become best friends within a matter of days after meeting and Eddie knew that Buck provided a comfort to his son that was different that what he could give himself.
“I can ask”
Chris let a smile slip onto his face for a brief moment and Eddie felt like crying happy tears. He was no where near solving the mystery of that happened during lunch but if he could bring a smile to his face then he was a step closer to figuring it out.
“You get dressed, and I want to see that plate empty when I get back” He added a hint of what Buck had coined his “dad” voice to the sentence. If only because he knew it never failed to make Chris laugh.
As he exited the room phone in hand, he did his best to remain hopeful that everything would work out in the end.