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"Dad, where's Buck?"
"He's at the hospital, bud. But he's gonna be fine, the captain told me they're releasing him now and he'll be coming to the firehouse soon,"
"So we're gonna go wait there for him?" Eddie smiled down at his son, marveling once again at the kind and perceptive person that he'd become.
"Yeah, Chris. I think Buck needs us right now,"
"Well then he's got us. I love him, dad,"
"Yeah, buddy, me too,"
Eddie parked his truck outside the firehouse, frowning a little at the unfamiliar RV in the next lot. His frown deepened when he went in and saw Buck's parents sitting at the dining table.
The quiet clacking of his son's crutches brought his attention back to the boy coming up to stand next to him. Chris looked at what his father was frowning at and instantly matched Eddie's expression. Eddie didn't even know his sweet, sweet son could make a face like that.
"Are those Buck's parents? I don't like them very much,"
"You haven't even met them yet kid," Was what Eddie said out loud, but privately he couldn't help but agree. Besides, children were amazing judges of character.
"No, but I heard Buck talk to his sister the other day about them, and he sounded sad. I don't like anyone who makes my Buck sad. I heard him say that they didn't want him. Why would anyone not want Buck?"
"I don't know, mijo. Some people are just like that. They don't know how amazing their son is," Christopher's face settled into quiet determination and Eddie mentally started to worry.
"Take me up there dad, I wanna talk to them,"
"Bud, I don't think that's a very good—" Christopher was giving Eddie his very best puppy eyes.
"Please?" Eddie melted.
Christopher didn't say anything else till his father carried him up, his face settling back into a neutral expression. Eddie was kind of curious, and more than a little worried, to see how this interaction would go.
He set Christopher down at the top of the stairs and let him make his own way to the table. The couple looked up when they heard him approach.
"Are you Mr. and Mrs. Buckley?"
"Yes, dear, we are. And who are you young man?" Mrs. Buckley spoke with a small smile.
"I'm Christopher Diaz. Buck's my best friend,"
Eddie tilted his chin a little and smiled at how much Christopher loved Buck. They were basically co-parenting him at this point.
"I see. My son's been hanging out with 10 year olds here in LA. I always knew that boy was too soft—" Mr. Buckley was cut off mid sentence when he caught the look on Christopher's face.
"Do you know what Buck's favourite breakfast food is?"
The Buckleys looked taken aback at the randomness of the question.
"His favourite movie? The one place in Hollywood that always gives him a discount on his sandwich because he pulled the man who owns the shop out of a fire? Or even that really old band that he likes that nobody else does, but I still listen to it with him when he wants to?"
Buck's parents were slowly getting angrier with every word coming out of Chris's mouth.
"Listen here, young man—"
"How could you? You don't know him. Me and my dad do. He calls us his Diaz boys and he's our Buck. We love him, and he's almost my other dad. And I know he loves us. We're his family, me and my dad and his sister. He doesn't need you two,"
Eddie felt a presence at his back halfway through his son's speech, pride spreading warmth through his chest. Buck had arrived.
Eddie turned around to look at him. There were silent tears dripping down his face, but he smiled at Eddie when he caught him looking. Happy tears then.
He slipped an arm across Buck's shoulders and the taller man leaned into him, the tension slowly draining from his frame. Eddie smiled to himself at the sheer trust Buck seemed to have in him, to relax with his parents right in front of him.
Eddie vowed to never betray the man's trust.
We got you, Eddie wanted to say, Me and Christopher got your back. But somehow, he knew Buck knew that anyway.
"Buck carried me away from a tsunami. He kept me safe, and saved so many other people that day. He saves people everyday, cus that's his job. My dads are heroes,"
Buck cleared his throat after Chris finished speaking, the sound coming out a little wet. All 3 people at the table turned to look at him. His parents looked like they were going to start shouting any minute, but Chris just looked happy to see him.
"Buck!" Christopher shouted and hobbled to his side, wrapping his arms around the man's waist. Buck, in turn, put an arm on Chris's back and gave him a smile.
"Hey, bud. You didn't have to do that,"
"I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to. I love you, Buck,"
"I love you too, buddy,"
The Buckley parents, if they were even worthy of being called parents, seemed to get over the shock of seeing that interaction simulataneously. His mother started to speak.
"Evan—"
"Buck," said the man in question, and Eddie gave his shoulder a squeeze at that. Christopher buried his face in the taller man's side. "My name is Buck,"