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It was a nice day out in the park. The sun was shining, it wasn’t too hot, and the whole Buckley-Diaz family was out enjoying their Sunday.
Christopher and Buck were gone, getting food for all of them from a place nearby, and Eddie and Theo were tasked with finding the perfect table for their lunch break.
Theo, as the little ball of energy that he was, was running laps around Eddie’s legs, giggling maniacally, chasing the pigeons that were probably just trying to enjoy their noon. Where that boy got his energy was equal parts a mystery to Eddie but also painfully obvious when he thought about his best friend, who was full of the same restless energy and endless curiosity as his kid.
“Eddie,” the boy stopped right in front of him, giving him his best puppy eyes. “Can we go to the playground?”
“Sorry, buddy, not before lunch.” Saying no to any kid with a look like that wasn’t easy; saying no to one of the kids raised with the Buckley charm was nearly impossible for Eddie.
“But we have a very important task until Buck and Chris get back with our food. We have to find the perfect table for our picnic, one with enough shade that Buck doesn’t get burned and enough sun that we stay warm enough. Can I give you that task?” He asked Theo, his features serious as if he were giving Theo the world's most important quest.
The Little boy seemed to contemplate this for a breath, then his face shifted into a blinding smile, screeching in delight at the suggestion.
Like a scientific explorer, Theo walked ahead of Eddie, examining each unoccupied table in reach and seemingly taking notes on a non-existent notepad. It was almost like Buck with his clipboard.
The resemblance between his best friend and his biological child was uncanny. Both of them were chaos in human form, all unruly curls, loud laughter, and a constant string of
unrelated thoughts. The kid was truly a carbon copy of his foster father.
Ever since Buck started to foster Theo, Chris and Eddie spent even more time than before at the other man’s house, all under the guise of helping out, of course. However, the longer they spent together, just the three of them, the more domestic it felt. The adults packed lunch for the kids; Chris and Theo bickered in the living room, like siblings.
The two boys even looked a little alike, funnily enough; they shared similar curls, the same smile, and their drive for knowledge. And it should feel weird that his son was so much like his best friend; it should feel wrong, but if he was being honest, Christopher was almost as much of Buck’s kid as he was Eddie’s.
At first, he hadn’t noticed when they started to become a family, even after adding Buck to his will and with that practically binding him to the family. He simply attributed it to being close friends. After a lady at the museum had told him what a beautiful family they made, he couldn’t stop noticing. He noticed the way they had a system of kitchen chores, of getting the kids to bed and helping with Chris’ homework, the way they were both emergency contacts for both children in the school and daycare records, and also the way people immediately thought they were a family.
But most of all, he noticed the way his chest grew warm at the thought of them as a family, the domesticity of their home. But also the warm, giddy feeling he got at the thought of Buck alone.
Shit.
That was not the most platonic way to think about one’s best friend. It was funny how these feelings had crept up on him, not making themselves noticeable until they were so big that he was sure they would never go away again. Until they had infiltrated every ridge and groove of his brain.
“Eddie!” A little voice pulled him out of his thoughts. “Eddie, Look! A caterpillar!”
The boy was crouched in the grass, his face about an inch above the ground, a hand already extended to touch the insect.
“Theo, mijo, don’t touch it; we don’t know if it’s venomous.”
The little hand stopped mid-air, a pout appearing on his face almost instantly.
“But how do we know what kind it is?”
“Hold on, let me look it up.”
He pulled out his phone.
“It seems that’s a monarch’s caterpillar.”
“Can we take it with us?”
“No, buddy. How about we take a picture for Chris and leave the caterpillar to get back to his home?”
Theo looked up at him, a smile forming once more.
“Okay!”
He exclaimed, pushing himself off the ground, gripping Eddie’s hand and pulling him along hurriedly.
Before Theo, Eddie had almost forgotten how nice it was to care for a toddler, whose childlike wonder about any and everything was infectious. The little eyes that lit up at the mention of something they liked or their unconditional trust.
For Theo to have a comfortable grip on his hand, he had to bend down significantly, a contortion his body would surely punish him for later, but there really was nothing Eddie would not do for this boy.
The boy kept babbling on about the animal he had discovered while pulling Eddie in zigzag lines across the lawn, still in search of the perfect spot.
When they had discovered a table not too far from the lake, the boss of the expedition finally satisfied, and their location was shared with Buck and Chris; Eddie put Theo on his hip so that he could thoroughly inspect whether their environment and the view that the table offered were to the boy’s standards.
“Edmundo!” A familiar female voice called behind him, startling him.
Slowly, he turned around, coming face to face with his ex-girlfriend.
“Ana, Hi—”
Next to him, Theo whispered, his voice suspicious: “Who is Edmundo?”
At the sound, Ana’s gaze shifted onto Theo, a genuine smile on her face.
“That’s me, mijo.”
The boy looked amazed: “Like Chris isn’t just Chris?”
“Yeah, just like that.” A wide smile spread across his face. “Theo, meet my friend, Ana.”
Hesitantly, he took her hand and shook it.
“Hello, Theo!” Her gaze shifted back onto Eddie. “It’s good to see you again. How have you been?”
“Pretty well, except for a couple of incidents at work, but today is all about the day off and the nice weather. How about you?”
Eddie would not consider himself socially awkward; he knew what to say and when to say it, but one thing that never got any less awkward, no matter how often he was thrown into the situation, was talking to someone he used to know well but hadn’t spoken to in a long time.
“My partner and I had the same idea.” She turned, scanning the people around them, seemingly for said partner. When her eyes were back on the little boy in Eddie's arms, she
asked: “How old are you, Theo?”
“Four, but Chris says I’m going to be as big as him in no time.” He beamed.
Ana chuckled softly: “I’m sure he is right. How is Christopher, anyway?”
“He is great, almost in high school now and smarter and sassier than ever.”
In his arms, Theo added: “And he is sooo tall.” His arms stretched to emphasise his point.
The woman across from him laughed softly: “I’m sure.”
The boy shifted on his hip: “Eddie!” He whined. “I’m hungry.”
“Buck and Chris will be back really soon, and then we’ll have lunch, okay?”
He buried his face into Eddie’s shoulder: “Okay,” he mumbled.
Across from them, Ana smiled knowingly: “Did you two finally figure it out?”
“Figure what out?”
She seemed taken aback, a little embarrassed.
“Oh, I thought--, I mean, this is the second kid you have that is basically a carbon copy of your best friend. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed.”
Oh. Had he been that obvious, even while he was in a relationship with her? That was a mortifying thought. No wonder he had been such a horrible boyfriend to Ana or Marisol, even if he hadn’t known at the time. At least he was aware of it now, a salvation for the poor women of LA.
“No—we’re not—” he coughed. “Theo is Buck’s. We just help each other out from time to time.”
Her smile was still knowing, but her eyes were a little sad. She opened her mouth again, probably to reply, but she was cut off by a call from beside them.
“Baby? I got our drinks.”
Ana’s mouth shifted into a grin, and both Eddie and Ana turned to look at the owner of the voice. Carrying two cups and walking towards them was a redheaded woman. A very familiar redheaded woman:
Taylor Kelly.
What a joy.
She came to a halt next to Ana and, friendly as always, did nothing to conceal her discontent about seeing him.
“Diaz?”
“Kelly.”
Eddie’s brain short-circuited. Taylor and Ana? As a couple? Holy Shit!
Theo shifted again to face the unfamiliar voice and let out a tired sigh.
Taylor’s eyes landed on the stirring boy and widened almost comically.
“Oh WOW. That—wow.”
Ana laughed and took one of the cups from Taylor’s hand. “That’s what I said.”
“So, you and Buck? Finally?”
He felt the familiar annoyance when she spoke, as he did when she and Buck had been together.
“No.” He sighed deeply. “Was I always that obvious?”
He wasn’t sure if he wanted an answer to the question, but if anyone would be honest with him, it was Taylor Kelly.
“Of course.” It came out more like a laugh. “But it wasn’t just you.”
Wait.
“What?”
“Diaz, you are hopeless.” The amusement in her voice mixed with her default judgment.
The woman next to her slapped her arm good-naturedly: “Baby, cut him some slack; realising that you are queer with a catholic upbringing isn’t that easy.”
He had never considered the combination of Ana and Taylor, but after seeing them interact, they did kind of make sense. Ana’s calm and gentle nature with Taylor’s restless searching. They could probably balance each other out.
“How long have you been together?”
The redhead's gaze went a little warmer as she looked at her girlfriend.
“Two and a half years, next month,” Ana replied, smiling brightly.
“That’s great, I’m really happy for you two.”
“Unlike you, Diaz, I got my head out of my ass and actually asked her out. It’s great; you should try it.” It wasn’t purely judgemental; there was sincerity buried in her statement.
Before he could give an appropriately snarky reply, Ana’s phone pinged.
“Shit, we have to go. It was good to see you again, Edmundo, and it was very nice to meet you, Theo.”
Ana smiled and turned around; Taylor lingered for a second.
“Seriously, tell him. Trust me this once: he feels the same.”
And with that, she hurriedly followed the curly-haired woman and left Eddie standing on the grass, completely in shock.
Taylor Kelly, the reporter who famously did everything to tell the truth, even risking her own relationships, had basically just told him that his feelings, which he had thought were unrequited, could be reciprocated. What the actual fuck?
Theo, whose face was pressed into his shoulder again, mumbled into his shirt: “She didn’t like you, Eddie.”
Kids, their honesty was always a joy.
“I know, buddy.” he slowly let the boy down onto the ground. “How about we already get out the drinks. Then we can eat as soon as Buck and Chris return.”
“Okay.” His voice was small and distracted, his eyes scanning the park rapidly for the missing family members.
When they were both seated, the little voice picked up again, this time a little whinier: “Eddie? When are they coming here?”
He sighed, empathetic of the hungry toddler: “Not too long from now; the queue was probably very long.”
In Theo’s sigh that followed, he sounded like the weight of the world had just been dropped on his shoulders. He took his little head in his even smaller hands.
“What did the lady who doesn’t like you think you should tell Buck?”
Great, now there was another child on his case, in addition to the many adults who probably also had money on their non-existent relationship.
If he told Theo the entire truth, his feelings would be out of the bag the second Buck got within earshot of the boy, who had inherited his inability to keep secrets or to be mysterious from Buck.
He could lie, but even the thought of that felt horrible.
So, his only option was to be as vague about it as humanly possible and hope that the kid would be distracted again soon.
“She wanted me to tell Buck that I like him.”
Okay, maybe he could’ve worded that a little better. But the damage was already done.
“But that’s silly.” he gave him a severe look. “You’re his best friend; of course, you like him!”
“Yeah, but let me tell him about it, okay?”
In response, Eddie received an agreeing shrug before the boy bolted.
He jumped off the bench they were sitting on, seemingly spotting something behind Eddie, and took off running. Eddie's heart nearly stopped until he heard him scream: “BUCK!”
Behind him were Buck with a huge takeout bag in hand, and Christopher, smiling excitedly at Theo. Warmth made its way through Eddie's body.
Everything was the way it was supposed to be: Buck, Eddie, Chris, and Theo, their little family spending quality time together.
Proudly, the small boy presented their table: “It has the perfect amount of sunshine but enough shadow for you to not start smoking.”
Buck gave him the sweetest but also lightly exasperated smile Eddie knew.
“Wow, bud, really nice of you; did Eddie put you up to this?”
Chris ruffled Theo's hair affectionately: “I mean, he’s not totally wrong. I can practically see the smoke coming off your nose.”
“Betrayed by my own family- unbelievable. Be nice to those who pay for your lunch.”
After a second, he smiled mischievously: “You know what? I’ll just eat your food!”
The older boy just deadpanned: “Buck, my burger has meat in it.”
“Sh—Shoot! Alright, then I will give it to your dad.”
His gaze met Eddie’s, and – yeah – a single look into those eyes and there was no denying it, he was completely and utterly gone. He felt his cheeks grow warm.
In a tone that suggested that he was anything but serious, he accused: “I thought you raised him better than this.”
Eddie seriously hoped that he did not look as lovesick as he felt in this moment, but it was unlikely. Even Chris made fun of him for apparently making ‘heart-eyes’ at his best friend.
“I actually think that that attitude was your influence.”
His son had probably been right; Buck actually seemed a little red around the face.
“Can we finally eat now?” Theo was staring at the bag Buck had deposited on the table, looking as if his last meal had been a month ago.
“Yes, buddy.”
When the man did not move to pick the food out of the bag, Eddie took it upon himself: “I’m guessing the nuggets and fries are for our little starving monster; here you go.”
He set the food down in front of the boy, who immediately dug in.
“A veggie burger with curly fries for Buck, one with bacon for the other monster—”
“Rude.”
“And—oooh—does that have avocado?” he pulled out his own lunch.
Buck smiled: “It has guacamole on it; it looked quite fancy. We thought it would be totally your thing.”
“Thank you—”
“We met some of Eddie’s friends when you were gone.”
It was actually surprising that Theo didn’t tell them about it the second they had appeared in his sight, but Eddie would have preferred for him to be the one to start the conversation, with a little more preparation.
“You have friends?” His son deadpanned.
Okay, maybe Chris did get his sass from him; he would never admit that, though.
“One of them didn’t like him very much.”
Both Chris and Buck burst out laughing at the statement.
“Who was it?”
“You will not believe me when I tell you.”
“I got struck by lightning once; try me!” His casual tone did not alarm him as much as it used to, but it did not go without effect; Chris’s and Eddie's laughter came a little more forced after.
“It was my ex-girlfriend and your ex-girlfriend.”
Buck’s eyes widened in disbelief: “Could you clarify which ones?”
“Taylor and Ana.”
“And they were holding hands,” Theo added proudly.
“Wait, what?”
There was genuine shock all over his best friend's face.
“They’re together?”
Eddie let out a laugh: “Yeah”
Chris seemed about as shocked as Buck was: “I take it Taylor was the one that didn’t like you?”
Lips pursed, Eddie nodded; his son just laughed.
With a solemn expression, Theo leaned over to whisper in Eddie’s ear: “Are you going to tell him?”
Buck’s brows furrowed in confusion.
Apparently, Theo had also inherited Buck's inability to whisper.
“Tell me what?”
“At home, okay?”
His son took one look at his expression, and his lips ticked upwards. He tilted his head as if to ask: Really?
Eddie nodded slightly in his direction, and the smile spread even further.
Buck luckily didn’t notice the interaction, too busy studying Theo confusedly.
“Seriously, tell me what?”
“Don’t worry about it, really.”
When they got home in the afternoon, Eddie was already anxious about what was to come. Chris excused himself right away to go and play video games, and Theo was completely wiped out from all that sun and running, which left Buck and Eddie alone in the kitchen, nursing a cup of coffee each.
Buck was the first to break their comfortable silence, restless energy coursing off of him: “So, Ana and Taylor?”
Eddie huffed a laugh: “I was about as shocked as you were, especially when Taylor called Ana baby.”
Buck smiled softly: “I’m glad they found each other. But I always wondered: Why did you and Taylor hate each other so much?”
His heart stuttered in his chest; it was now or never.
“I guess I have a jealous streak.” His gaze was pinned on the cup in his hands, a blush creeping up his neck.
He heard Buck shift across from him: “But there was no reason to be; you were and still are my best friend; there was never any competition.”
His breath shuddered on the way out as he lifted his eyes to meet Buck’s. His head was tilted slightly, and a single curl fell on his forehead, almost meeting his birthmark. The light that came through the window behind him made him seem even more ethereal than usual, and Eddie Diaz was so, so in love.
“Buck,” he paused, taking a shaky breath. “You’re my best friend.”
He hoped it could convey everything he felt for his best friend, every bit of the warmth when their eyes met, every little flutter of his heart, and the safety he brought.
The look of confusion softened ever so slightly: “I know, you’re my best friend too.”
His hands tightened around the cup and his throat constricted: “You don’t get it, Buck, you’re my best friend, but you are also so much more than that,” he inhaled sharply “ You are the person I trust the most in the world, not just with Chris but with everything, you have basically always been the second name on any list of emergency contacts. You are my son’s second parent; you know me better than anyone else, better than I want anyone else to know me; you listen, even when my ideas are dumb, and you talk. You talk so much with so much excitement; I don’t ever want to listen to anything else.”
Buck’s mouth dropped open, a gentle redness spreading through his entire face.
“You are the first person I ever want to talk to when something good happens, and the only person I also want to talk to about the bad stuff. You do everything with such a passion; I genuinely don’t think the world deserves someone as good as you. Chris, Theo and you make this place feel like a home, and if I’m being honest: the few months of waking up next to you were some of the mornings of my entire life.”
The other man’s eyes shone, his face displaying what could only be described as awe.
“And days like today, with a moody teenager and an overly energetic toddler, are the best days ever. I love the little family that we have; I love you. You are my person, Buck.”
When he finally stopped, it felt like he had just run a marathon, each breath shaky, but he felt at least ten times lighter.
A sniffle from across broke the deafening silence. Buck’s cheeks were fully pink now, a light sunburn mixed with the most beautiful blush Eddie had ever seen.
“You really mean that?” It came out quiet and raspy.
“Of course.” he felt his eyes grow a little wet as well.
Both of them stood up from their chairs, slowly, as if not to break the serenity of the moment. They met at the end of the table, faces mere inches from each other.
Eddie could feel Buck’s breath on his face as he whispered: “Was that what Theo was talking about earlier?”
He nodded softly, a hand coming up to gently trace his jawline. He could feel Buck’s breath hitch at the gesture.
“You are my person too.”
And with that, he leaned in, their lips touching softly. A warm tingling sensation spread throughout Eddie's body, from his toes right into the parts that were touching his best friend. Eddie could not hold back his grin; he had to lean back. That also allowed him to look at his best friend from this distance, at the blue of his eyes and at his sunkissed cheeks.
“I love you,” whispered Buck before pulling Eddie back in for another kiss, less experimental this time, more certain.
It did not last long, though, broken by Buck pulling back, as if struck by a thought, a look of confusion in his eyes:
“Wait; how the hell was this prompted by you talking to our exes?”
A breathy laugh escaped Eddie: “At first, I was talking to Ana; when she saw Theo, she was like, ' Wow, you two finally figured it out? And then Taylor came over and asked the same thing. When I said no, she basically called me an idiot and told me to tell you; that’s how Theo got the idea.”
Buck’s smile was blinding: “Well, I’m glad my ex does not like you, then.”