Work Text:
Buck glances up sharply, turning to watch Eddie across the room. He’s sitting with Chris, helping his son with his homework but every so often he makes this weird sound, like he’s trying not to cough but can’t quite hold it in.
Rolling his eyes, Buck turns back to his book.
Chris had been the first one to crumble, taken out by a bug that had been doing the rounds at his school. Buck had followed shortly after and they had spent two miserable days curled up on the couch together watching movies. The only upside, as far as Buck was concerned, was that he’d got to hang with his two favourite people, even if he’d been feeling too sick to actually appreciate it at the time.
Now Chris is back at school and Buck is back at work, but it looks like Eddie might have finally succumbed. Getting him to admit it is damn near impossible though. Buck’s got no idea why Eddie is so dead set against admitting he’s sick.
Eddie’s voice cracks as he helps Chris work through one of his maths questions. The crack becomes a splutter, which becomes a cough and then Eddie is hacking into his elbow while Chris and Buck look on.
Rising from the couch, Buck heads into the kitchen, filling a glass of water before returning to hand it to Eddie.
“Why don’t you take a break,” he suggests. “I can help Chris finish his homework.”
Chris and Eddie both shoot him twin looks of skepticism.
“ You’re going to help Chris with his math homework?” Eddie asks, taking a sip of the water. “Really?”
“It’s fifth grade math,” Buck counters, nudging Eddie up and away from the table. “How hard can it be?” He sits beside Chris. “Show me what you’ve got, bud.”
Chris takes him through his homework and Eddie disappears to the other end of the house. Buck suspects he’s trying to hide how awful he feels, but lets it drop, devoting all his attention to Chris. He’ll corner Eddie later about it.
“You can’t just use the calculator,” Chris tells him when Buck goes to plug the question into his phone. “Mr Willis said we’ve got to show our working.”
“Okay, so you, uh —” Dropping his phone, Buck picks up the worksheet. “You start by— this is division right?”
Chris nods. “Yep, long division.” He takes the worksheet back. “Look.” He writes out the question and methodically moves through to it, explaining to Buck as he goes. “See! It’s seventeen!”
Buck looks down at the column of seemingly random numbers and then across at Chris’s grinning face.
“I don’t suppose you have any English homework you need help with?” he asks hopefully.
“No, I already did it,” Chris tells him, moving onto the next question.
“How about I just sit with you for moral support then?” Buck offers. “I’m not sure I’m going to be much help otherwise.”
“That’s okay,” Chris tells him, his voice lowering to a conspiratorial whisper. “Dad’s not much help either.”
Buck laughs, reaching out to ruffle Chris’s hair. “You’re just too smart for the both of us.”
They both look towards the hallway as a series of sneezes followed by a barking cough echoes down from Eddie’s bedroom.
Buck sighs and turns back to Chris. “What do you think my chances are of convincing your dad to stay home tomorrow?” he asks, fidgeting with one of Chris’s coloured pencils.
“Uh,” Chris glances up at him, lips pursed as he thinks about it. “Zero.” He turns back to his homework with an overexaggerated sigh. “And Dad says I’m stubborn.”
~
Eddie reappears as Buck is finishing up dinner. He puts up a valiant effort while they’re eating, keeping up a steady chatter with Chris but Buck can see that he’s fading quickly— his voice is little more than a hoarse croak and he’s pushing his dinner around on his plate instead of eating it.
Buck takes pity on him, distracting Chris by asking him to help clear the plates away. It works for all of two seconds before Chris is back, leaning against Eddie with his arm around his Dad’s shoulders.
“Hey Dad?”
“Yeah kiddo?”
“Can we watch a movie?”
Eddie hesitates, sniffles, and says, “I don’t know, kiddo. It’s a school night.”
Chris’s face falls. “But it’s still early,” he points out. “And I finished all my homework.”
Buck can see the reluctance painted across Eddie’s pale face. “Hey Chris, I think there’s some ice cream in the freezer, you think you can grab it for me?” He waits until Chris has disappeared into the kitchen before turning to Eddie. “I don’t mind watching something with him if you want to crash early.”
“Is it that obvious?” Eddie asks, smothering a cough with his elbow.
“You look like shit,” Buck tells him with a smirk and starts gathering up the last of the dishes. “I’ll make sure he’s in bed by eight at the latest.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” Buck says, nodding. “We can have a best bud night, only cool kids allowed so you wouldn’t be invited anyway.” Eddie looks up at him in wonder and Buck feels himself flush, still not used to this kind of attention. “I— if that’s okay,” he tacks on nervously.
“Of course it’s okay,” Eddie reassures him. “I know you’re worried about stepping on my toes when it comes to Chris, but you really don’t need to be.”
Eddie has managed to put Buck's fears into words. He loves Eddie, and he loves Chris, but he knows he’s not Chris’s parent and he doesn’t want to cross any lines.
“You’re a part of this family Buck. Chris—” Eddie breaks off to cough into his arm. “Chris loves you. We both do.”
"I just—" Buck's voice cracks but not from illness.
"You're worried because you're stepping into this new role moving in with me and Chris," Eddie guesses.
"I don't want you to think I'm trying to replace Shannon."
"We both know you'd never do that," Eddie reminds him. "But don't diminish your role in Chris's life— in mine— because you're still an important part of it."
"I won't."
"Good." Eddie stands, pressing a kiss to Buck's temple. "Go enjoy your movie with Chris," he says, waving Buck towards the kitchen. “Just remember— once you fill him full of sugar, he’s your problem.”