Work Text:
“Maybe try the zoo or something inland this time. I’ll see you later buddy,” Eddie called as he headed toward the door. “Have fun, I love you.”
“I love you too,” Christopher responded.
Buck watched as Eddie disappeared through his door. He wanted to call out to him to come back, that he wasn’t to be trusted with Christopher.
There’s no one in this world that I trust with my son more than you.
“Buck?”
“Yeah kiddo,” Buck turned his attention to Christopher.
“We’re not going to the beach again right?”
“No buddy. We’re gonna try something on dry land. How about the zoo?”
“The zoo?”
“Yeah. We can go look at all the animals and they have a place set up where you can feed giraffes.”
“Cool!”
“Sound fun?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright, let me go get changed. I’ll be right back.”
Buck quickly changed into jeans and a t-shirt and jogged back downstairs to meet Christopher.
“You ready to go?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright.”
Buck slung the backpack that Eddie had left him over his shoulder and helped Christopher off the couch and downstairs into the car.
When they arrived at the zoo it was crowded. It hadn’t occurred to him that a lot of kids were out of school after the tsunami. It should have since that was the whole reason he had Chris today, but it had slipped his mind.
“Okay kiddo there’a a lot of people here so stay close to me alright? We’re gonna take our time and make sure you get to do everything you want to do okay?”
“Like feed the giraffes?”
“Yes we’re going to feed the giraffes.”
“Yay.”
Buck paid for their admission, where he got his first compliment of the day on his adorable son. He and Eddie had gotten enought of the remarks to learn that it was easier to say thank you than try to explain their strange co-parenting situation.
“Okay Chris was do you want to see first?” Buck asked as they stopped in front of the map of the zoo.
“Monkeys,” he said firmly.
“Monkeys it is.”
They made their way toward the monkeys, Christopher stopping to giggle at the chimps running and playing. He wasn’t a fan of the gorrillas so Buck moved him along to the birds.
They entered the cage and were given popsicle sticks covered in bird seed to feed them. Chris laughed when they landed on his head and Buck snapped a picture to send to Eddie.
They moved along from the birds to the polar bears, Chris impressing the zoo keeper with facts he had learned from his science project.
After the polar bears was the seal show that they were both equally impressed with.
“How do they teach them to do that?” Chris pondered as they left, heading in the direction of the giraffes.
“I don’t know buddy. Maybe you can do your next project on seals and find out.”
“Good idea! You’re so smart Buck.”
“You’re the smart one kiddo. Look there’s the giraffes.”
Chris was buzzing with excitement as Buck got them the cups of lettuce to feed them. Buck pulled out his phone and started to video knowing Eddie would want to see.
“Ew it’s slimy,” Christopher squealed as one took a peice of lettuce from his hand. “His tongue is purple.”
“That one is a pig,” Buck laughed at the one giraffe who was pushing the other’s out of the way to get to the food.
“Hey that’s not nice,” Chris scolded. “Look you ate it all.”
Christopher joined him with a big smile on his face, but he was starting to look tired.
“Hey buddy let’s take a break. You want a snow cone?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, let’s go get one.”
Buck led him to a picnic table next to the snow cone stand and instructed him to stay put.
“What flavor do you want?”
“Watermelon.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back.”
Buck kept Christopher in his line of sight as he stood in line.
“What can I get you?” the teenaged boy working the stand asked.
“A small watermelon and a small blue raspberry.”
“Five dollars.”
Buck looked away to dig his wallet out of his pocket when the screaming started.
“Buck!”
He snapped his head up to find a man in a hoodie with Christopher in his arms. He was kicking and screaming but the man was much stronger than him.
“Christopher!”
Buck took off running after him. He caught up to the man tackling him roughly, only having half a mind to slide a hand under Christopher’s head to keep it from connecting with the concrete. He shoved Christopher back before the man rolled them over, landing firm punches to his face.
Christopher was sobbing, screaming his name as Buck tried his best to fight back. The man pinned his weak leg, but he managed to land a firm jab to his throat.
Security hauled the man off of him and Buck dragged himself over to Christopher, taking the sobbing boy into his arms.
“I’m right here,” he squeezed him tightly for fear that he might be snatched away again. “I’m right here. I’m not gonna let anyone hurt you.”
*****
When Athena responed to an attempted kidnapping at the zoo, the last thing she expected to see was Christopher Diaz, sobbing and clinging to a battered and bruised Buck.
“Why is it always him?” she muttered before moving toward the pair.
“Athena?” Buck questioned as she knelt next to him.
“What happened Buck?”
“Someone tried to take Christopher,” she could see that saying it out loud made it more real to him as the tears filled his eyes.
“It’s okay Buck. You and Christopher are alright. You did good. I’m going to call Eddie, we need to get you to a hospital and get you fixed up. You tore some of your stitches. And we’re going to need a statement from both of you.”
*****
Eddie rushed in to the zoo, following Athena’s instructions to find Buck and his son. Chris had obviously been crying, tear tracks down his face and eyes bloodshot. He was sitting on a bench next to Buck, clinging to him. Buck had and equally tight grip on him.
“What happened Athena?”
“Someone tried to kidnap Christopher when Buck wasn’t looking. He turned his back for a few minutes but that was all it took. We need to get a statement from Christopher but we have to have a parent present. And Buck needs to go to the hospital, he tore some stitches fighting the guy off.”
“As if they haven’t been through enough,” Eddie muttered.
“Tell me about it.”
“Daddy,” Christopher had spotted him.
“Hey mijo. I’m so glad you’re okay,” Eddie sat down on his other side, tucking him against his side. “Buck are you alright?”
“I will be. Athena says I have to get stitched back up.”
“Yeah you do,” Eddie ran a gentle hand over Buck’s arm. “Thank you for taking care of him. Again.”
Buck looked like he wanted to say something but Athena approached them.
“Buck the EMTs are going to take you now.”
“No,” Christopher protested. “You can’t take my Buck.”
“Buddy Athena needs you to talk to her for just a minute then we can go to the hospital with Buck okay?”
Christopher looked to Buck for reassurance.
“I’ll be okay buddy. Be brave for me and I’ll see you soon. Okay?”
“Okay.”
As Buck was led off by the paramedics, Athena crouched in front of them.
“Chris can you tell me what happened? Just do the best you can.”
“I was waiting on Buck to get snow cones. I was sitting at a picnic table and this guy kept walking by. Then when Buck turned around he grabbed me. Then I started screaming and Buck came to save me.”
“Do you remember what he was wearing or what he looked like?”
“He had on a red hoodie. I don’t remember his face.”
“Okay Christopher thank you.”
“Good job mijo.”
“Can we go see Buck now?”
“Yes buddy we can.”
*****
They sat with Buck while he was being stitched up and drove him back to his loft when they were given the all clear.
Christopher was bone tired so Eddie took him upstairs and tucked him into Buck’s bed.
“Rest now okay? I’ll be right downstairs if you need me. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Eddie stopped to grab Buck some comfortable clothes from his dresser, then sent him into the hall bathroom to change.
They sat on the couch in silence, Buck picking at a loose thread on his shorts.
“Buck I can hear you thinking. What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?”
“I failed him again. I almost lost him again. There’s no way you trust me with him after this and I don’t blame you.”
“Buck this wasn’t your fault. Just like the tsunami wasn’t your fault,” Eddie scooted closer so that he could wrap an arm around Buck’s shoulders. Buck made himself small in his arms. “You had no control over either of those situations and both times you saved him. You had no idea that a tsunami was going to hit and you had no idea that some crazy guy was going to try and snatch Christopher. I will always trust you with him. You protect him and you love him just as much as I do. You didn’t fail him today Buck. You saved our son.”
“Our son?” Buck tilted his head to look at him.
“Yeah our son. I’m not sure if you noticed but we’ve been co-parenting for a while now. Christopher loves you like another dad, and I don’t have a problem with that. This little family we’ve made has grown on me.”
“Eddie?”
“Yeah?”
“Kiss me?”
Eddie didn’t answer with words. Instead he pressed his lips to Buck’s. There was no heat or urgency. He moved against him slowly, waiting for Buck to open up to him.
When he pulled away Buck sank into his arms.
“I love you,” he murmured against his chest.
“I love you too. The fact that it’s taken you this long to notice is a little absurd.”
“Hush I’m oblivious.”
“Yeah I know.”
“Daddy? Buck?”
“Duty calls,” Buck said.
He extracted himself from Eddie’s arms and they both made their way upstairs to Christopher. As they curled up in bed with him, Chris falling back asleep almost instantly on Eddie’s chest, Buck found himself wondering where the kiss left them.
That was a conversation for another time. For now he was perfectly content to curl up in bed with their son.