Chapter Text
Eddie has just started packing Christopher’s lunch when he hears bells jingling up and down the hallway. He groans, pulling a long sip from his coffee – the first cup of the day, fresh from the pot, but not quite into his bloodstream yet – and abandons the half-made sandwich on the counter.
“Chris!” He calls across the house, making his way over to the kitchen doorway. “Buddy, we talked about this. Bells are an after-school toy!”
Eddie’s head is already starting to throb, wholly unprepared for this much racket at 7:15 in the morning.
“It’s not me, Dad!” Chris’ voice is considerably closer than the noise of the bells. When Eddie looks around the living room, instead of trying to crane his neck down the hall, he finds that Chris is telling the truth. He’s sitting on the floor, wrestling with his sneakers. Eddie watches him just long enough to make sure he’s not getting frustrated, then goes back to trying to suss out the source of the noise.
His heart starts pounding as he wonders if there’s an intruder, some … holiday-themed burglar turned up to wreak havoc on his belongings and his sanity.
But no, it can’t be. There’s no way someone could have gotten in, not with the doors all locked, and Buck still fast asleep in Eddie’s bedroom. Besides, what kind of burglar would bring jingle bells to the home invasion, festive or otherwise?
He doesn’t have to worry much longer, though, because the next thing he knows, Buck is jumping around the corner, landing at the edge of the living room and waving his arms back and forth. The bells are even louder now, but at least Eddie knows where they’re coming from, as he hides a grimace around his mug.
Buck is wearing a sweater knitted to look like an elf’s body, belt and buckle stitched around the middle, candy cane-striped sleeves and all. And it’s adorned with dozens of bells, running in lines up and down his arms and scattered across the torso.
Every time he moves, the whole sweater rattles, down to the way his shoulders are shaking as he laughs at Christohper’s excitement.
“Whatcha got there, babe?” Eddie twists his lips into a smile, but it’s not as forced as he’d thought it would be. The sweater is driving him up the wall, sure, but he can’t be too mad about it. Not with the way it’s making his boys smile and laugh. If it were at least 8 a.m., he’s pretty sure he’d be laughing too.
“It’s called holiday spirit, Eddie,” Buck rolls his eyes playfully, like it should be the most obvious thing in the world.
“It’s December 13th.” Eddie isn’t opposed to Christmas, by any means; the tree has been decorated since the day after Thanksgiving, and he’s bought red and green paper napkins for Chris’ lunches.
But the bells. Dear god, the bells. Buck isn’t even moving right now, but Eddie can still hear them echoing inside his head.
"Yeah, the first day of Christmas.”
“What?” Eddie walks backward across the kitchen to finish assembling Chris’ lunch, but he can’t keep the curiosity out of his voice.
“ Y’know, ‘on the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me …”
“A partridge in a pear tree!” Chris shrieks from the living room.
“Exactly! And I know, they’re technically supposed to start on Christmas, and run until January, but people look at you funny if you wear the sweaters after the 25th, so here we are.” Buck shrugs, and Eddie zips the lunchbox then tops off his coffee and drops into one of the dining chairs. “It’s time to start celebrating!”
Eddie can’t help rolling his eyes, but he’s pretty sure he makes it look affectionate. Except that Buck sees right through him, has always seen right through him, and jingles his way across the kitchen to stand behind Eddie’s chair.
“Hey, everything OK?” The noise is still grating, maybe even worse now that it’s so close, but he can feel Buck’s presence, feel the warmth radiating from his body, even through the offending garment, and there’s comfort in his proximity. Even when he’s driving Eddie nuts, Eddie wants Buck nearby, feels better just for having him close enough to touch.
“Yeah, just … tired, still.” He takes another long drink, rubbing at his temple with his free hand. It cuts back the throbbing in his head just enough that he thinks he can make it through the morning, maybe drop by the station for some earplugs on his way back from dropping Chris off.
But the jingling picks back up, this time right in his ears. Almost as soon as he registers the noise, before he can lean away from it, Buck’s hands are coming down on his shoulders, his fingers kneading at the tension underneath Eddie’s skin. There’s hardly enough motion for the bells to ring, once his hands are settled, and Eddie relaxes into the gentle touch.
His eyes droop closed as he sags back into the chair, letting Buck soothe his aching shoulders. A few moments later, they flutter a bit when the jingling noises resume, but this time they’re quiet enough that it’s not as torturous as it had been a few minutes ago.
Besides, Buck’s lips are brushing across his hairline, kissing his temple softly, like Buck somehow knows exactly where the throbbing is the worst. It’s an awkward angle, Eddie knows firsthand, arching over far enough to reach the front of his head without having to let go of his shoulders. But Buck does it anyway, knows it will make Eddie happy, even if his own back pulls taut for a moment.
He’s always taking care of Eddie, always knows just what he needs, jingly sweaters and all.
When Buck leans back upright, Eddie reaches across his chest to rest one of his own hands over Buck’s and squeeze his fingers lightly.
“Eddie?” Buck doesn't stop massaging, but Eddie can feel his breath against his ear, like he’s leaning down closer to him.
Sure enough, when he turns his head, Buck’s cheek is right there, at the perfect level for a gentle kiss.
“Mmm, merry first day of Christmas, Buck.”