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“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” Eddie sighs. He’s holding a letter in his hands. It’s from the Christopher’s school confirming that both he and Shannon will be chaperoning Christopher’s school camping trip this weekend.
“What do you mean?” Buck asks, taking a bite of his granola bar.
“I signed Shannon and me up to chaperone Chris’ trip. But it was before we decided we weren’t going to work out and she left us again.”
That doesn’t sting as much as it used to. It’s been months. Christopher seems okay with everything and he’s happy. That’s what matters.
“They’re expecting the extra help,” Eddie sighs. “I can’t just tell them they’re down a person.”
“I’ll do it,” Buck offers.
Eddie looks over at him, trying not to get his hopes up. “Really?”
“Yeah of course dude. It sounds like it could be fun.”
“You think a school camping trip is fun?”
Buck shrugs, “Why not? I get to spend time with my two favorite dudes.”
Eddie smiles, “You’re just in it for the s’mores, aren’t you?”
Buck laughs, “That’s just added incentive.”
Eddie expected chaos. And it certainly is when they’re trying to wrangle all the kids together and into the four vans that are taking them. But once that’s handled it’s all sort of calm. Eddie is driving one of the vans with Buck riding in the front and Christopher and his friend Thomas in the back. They’re talking quietly to each other about one of their favorite movies.
It’s nice seeing Christopher talking to someone like that. He’s had a few friends over the years but with as much as he moved and changed schools he’s never really had a chance to keep in touch with them. Eddie is hoping that can change. Now that he’s finally getting settled and comfortable into his school Eddie isn’t planning on uprooting him.
It’s less than an hour drive to the campsite. They have one by the water, which Eddie knows is going to offer them a spectacular view of the setting sun.
“What do you mean you’ve ever gone camping before?” Buck asks.
Eddie turns around to see him addressing Christopher. “We’ve never gone,” Christopher tells him. “Mom didn’t like to camp.”
“Oh man,” Buck says, grinning down at him. “Well you are in for a treat.”
“Don’t let him get your hopes up,” Eddie tells him. “Sleeping in a tent isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
“He’s just jealous your tent is cooler than his,” Buck mock whispers to him.
Eddie shakes his head and fondly smiles at the two of them, “He’s not wrong. You have the coolest tent here.”
“Not just here,” Buck says. “But in the state. Maybe even the world.”
Christopher beams at him, “I do love Ninja Turtles.”
“As you should. The Ninja Turtles are awesome.”
“Are you going to help me with these tents?” Eddie asks him. “Or just stand around all day.”
“Well you seem to be doing a pretty good job yourself,” Buck says.
“The faster we get these done, the faster we can get the fire going and the s’mores.”
That seems to snap Buck into action. He rushes over to Eddie’s side and takes one of the poles from him. Together they work on getting up their tents, and then move to help the others with set up.
When it starts getting dark they bring out the s’mores. They all sit around the campfire, with their sticks in their hands as they roast their marshmallows over the fire. It’s been a long time since he’s hand a s’more like this. Not since he started dating Shannon and he stopped camping as much.
It’s nice. He forgot how much he liked them. From the looks of it, everyone else does too.
“These are awesome,” Christopher says. His hands and face is covered in chocolate and marshmallow. He doesn’t seem to mind. He’s grinning over at them.
Eddie watches as Buck casually pulls out a wet wipe and starts cleaning off Christopher's face and then his hands. Christopher lets him with only minor complaint.
“They’re better if you’re not wearing them,” Buck tells him.
“Does that count for you too?” Christopher asks him.
“Well yeah, of course,” Buck says, his brow furrowing in confusion.
Eddie laughs and without thinking, grabs one of the wipes and cleans the marshmallow off Buck’s chin. He stares at Eddie with wide eyes, until Eddie drops his hand and looks away.
“See buddy? We all need a little help staying clean,” Buck tells Christopher.
“Not Dad,” Christopher says. “He never gets dirty while he’s eating.”
“Oh he does,’ Buck says. “I’ve seen him eat chicken wings. It’s not pretty. He’s probably just sparing you from seeing that.”
Christopher laughs, and soon Buck is joining him. Eddie feels a tightness in his chest at seeing them together like this. They’ve been getting closer over the past few months. Buck has become a constant fixture in their lives. Someone that is always there. Whether it making Christopher’s lunches or picking him up from school or helping him with his homework. Or apparently even cleaning his face off when he makes a mess.
When Buck makes a comment about Eddie and pizza sauce, Eddie throws a marshmallow at him. All Buck does is laugh and tell him he’s wasting perfectly good food.
The kids go to sleep around ten, and soon after some of the parents and other chaperones start filtering into their own tents. Buck wanders off down towards the water, and Eddie can’t help but follow, his curiosity getting the better of him.
“What are you doing?” Eddie asks, watching as Buck lays down on the ground.
“You can see the stars out here,” Buck tells him. “You really can’t in the city. Not like this.”
Eddie looks up, taking in the sight of the sky scattered with stars and the moon hanging half full among them. He lays down on his back next to Buck, and looks up at the clear night sky. It’s been a while since he really stopped and let himself appreciate how pretty it can be.
Eddie looks over at Buck. He has his head resting on his arm as he looks up at the stars. He looks so at peace and relaxed out here. They’ve both probably needed this. Some time away from the chaos of their everyday lives. As much as they love their jobs sometimes it’s nice to just have some time away.
“I’m glad you came,” Eddie whispers.
Buck turns his head to look at him and smiles, “Yeah. Me too.”
“I know Christopher was happy to have you here,” Eddie tells him. “He was so excited when I told him you were coming. He made sure to have me pack extra chocolate just for you.”
Buck laughs, “Kid knows the way to my heart.”
“Funny, I thought that was with beer,” Eddie says.
“There can be more than one way,” Buck tells him, the smile not leaving his face. “You both are just good at figuring me out.”
Eddie feels Buck’s hand brush against his and turns his over. Neither one says anything as his hand slides into Eddie’s.
“We care about you,” Eddie says.
“I care about you too.”
He leans his forehead against Eddie’s and Eddie sighs, closing his eyes. He doesn’t know what this thing between them is. And as much as he wants to know it doesn’t feel like the time. Their lips meet in a soft kiss, and Eddie promises himself that they’ll talk about this. They’ll figure it out. For now he just lets himself enjoy this moment with Buck.