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It starts with gingerbread of all things. It starts with Buck spotting a gingerbread village box at the store, the basket hanging limply off his arm as he stands in front of it and contemplates. He did say he’d watch Christopher for Eddie while the man worked a cover 12-hour shift for one of the B-shift firefighters. Buck had offered, begged Bobby really, but he had already pulled too much overtime which ended with Christopher throwing a pretty serious tantrum when he had realized that Eddie was going to miss Christmas Eve. Buck had barely been able to convince the kid that they could still celebrate Christmas at Eddie’s house when he got off shift and, after a conversation with Eddie, decided to allow the kid to open a few of the gifts that Buck still had hidden in the loft. Chris was still upset, a pout firmly in place even after agreeing but it was clear it was more about missing his dad than anything. Buck still hates that he can’t take away all of the pain the kid feels.
Buck grabs the box, flipping it over and reading the back with a small smile. He remembers making something similar a few years back, with Christopher and Denny. One of the photos that Eddie took that day, the three of them looking up at the camera and beaming, still is one of Buck’s favorite pictures of all time. He sticks the box in the basket before he can think any further and turns towards the Christmas aisle without another complaint. Buck had left the Diaz house about an hour ago, with the promise of seeing Christopher soon and that the two of them would have plenty of things to do at Buck’s place while they waited for Eddie to get off. He grabs a set of glass ornaments and some paints, smiling as he remembers how excited Chris was when he got to make his own cards for his class at school. He’d come home beaming that day, practically bouncing off the walls, and neither Buck nor Eddie had been able to stop smiling that night. The kid’s happiness was infectious.
By the time Buck’s checking out, he’s pretty sure that the rest of the store thinks that he’s a crazy Christmas loving giant or something. He’s definitely getting weird looks but it’s not like he can really blame them. He’d probably look too if someone was carrying two hand baskets filled with practically all that was left in the Christmas aisle. He had glass ornaments to paint, gingerbread, icing to decorate the cookies that were also tucked somewhere in the baskets, and he even has two Christmas blankets and a stack of Christmas movies piled haphazardly over the tip of the basket. He definitely went a little crazy and he can already see the look that Eddie will give him. He checks out regardless.
The cashier gives him a raised eyebrow, one that has Buck’s cheeks turning a little pink over the top of his mask, and he ducks his head with a small smile. If the cashier had managed to look that unimpressed, Buck was definitely not looking forward to the judgment that he was going to be getting from Eddie when Chris and him arrive at the loft. The cashier makes a joke about going a little overboard and Buck laughs, not bothering to try and explain the confusion that is his and Eddie’s relationship.
***
By the time Eddie comes by with Chris, the sun is practically gone from the sky and it’s painted in beautiful oranges, pinks, and purples. He’s working a 5p to 5a, admittedly a rather weird shift, but the holiday hours were always a little weird for LAFD so Buck didn’t bother questioning it. Instead, he steps back to let Chris in and smiles when the kid gasps as he takes in the loft. Buck hadn’t just gone overboard at the store, once he had come back and realized he had a few hours left before the Diazes came by, he decided to decorate. A lot. The entire loft was decked out in everything that Buck had been able to dig out of the closet, garland trailed around every available surface and lights twinkling within them. There were icicle-like lights trailing from the ceiling, those had taken the most time, but they cast the loft in a pretty light and Buck was in love with how they looked. Based on the way Chris’ eyes locked onto them, he wasn’t the only one.
“Really man?” Eddie laughs, glancing around the loft with twinkling eyes and Buck ducks his head again in lieu of answering. Christopher is wandering around, wide-eyed and filled with excitement as he takes in the winter wonderland that Buck had created. The ornaments and paint sit on the kitchen table alongside the gingerbread kit, both of which are enough to make Chris squeal in excitement even without seeing the rest of what Buck bought. Presents are piled under the tree, five or six of the ones that Buck and Eddie jointly decided that Chris could open, as long as he behaved for Buck. Neither of them will admit that they might’ve gone a little overboard with gifts this year.
“What? Come on!” Buck mock whines when Eddie levels him with a look that tells him exactly what he’s thinking, “Most of this wasn’t bought today, I promise. I-I had all of this stuff left over from the years and I only bought like a hundred dollars of things today at the store. Gingerbread houses, ornaments and paint, stuff like that!” Eddie raises an eyebrow, looking thoroughly unimpressed with everything going on at the moment, but by the time Buck finishes speaking, Eddie is barely holding back the judgmental look. His lips are still upturned though and Buck knows he’s not really mad.
“I only spent a hundred dollars.” Eddie mocks, rolling his eyes and bumping Buck’s shoulder before leveling a stare back at Buck as Chris goes heads into the living room to look at the stack of DVDs, “You say that, as if you haven’t already spent hundreds on him for Christmas. You, geez Buck. You really didn’t have to do this.” Buck smiles, rubbing the back of his neck to try and combat the heat flushing across his cheeks but Eddie’s still smiling.
“I know I didn’t have to but I know you really wanted to make Christmas Eve special and now you have to work. I mean, I can step up and do this for you, then I will.” Buck shrugs, trying to convey that it’s really not a big deal but Eddie’s face softens just a little, “Besides, I know that he was pretty sad that you guys couldn’t spend today together, so I want to make it the best night I can. We’ve got some gingerbread houses to make and some movies to watch. I also grabbed ornaments we can paint. And I picked up some stuff to make cookies tonight or tomorrow, we might not get time with everything else.” Buck smiles again when Eddie gives him an exasperated look and follows the older man into the loft, watching him as he takes in the décor that Buck had put up.
“You went a little overboard.” Eddie murmurs, stepping in front of the tree and gently flicking one of the ornaments on the tree. It’s one that Christopher gave him last year, one of those ones that they make in school the day before break, and it had nearly reduced Buck to tears. Nobody has to know that he cried for nearly an hour after Eddie and Christopher left for the evening but the ornament has middle of the tree rights from now on.
“Maybe.” Buck shrugs, refusing to confirm or deny Eddie’s statement so there’s no evidence later, but he manages a crooked smile when Eddie bumps up against him again, “I just wanted to give Chris a good Christmas Eve.”
“I know. Thank you Buck.” Eddie whispers before he takes a step towards Chris, pressing a kiss to his curls and bidding him goodbye. Buck stands by the tree, watching them with an indescribable feeling of overwhelming happiness as he watches the two of them. Eddie rests a hand on Buck’s neck, giving it a squeeze before he leaves and the words are on the tip of Buck’s tongue as he locks the door behind Eddie. I love you .
***
Chris was ecstatic, talking a mile a minute and on probably the worst sugar high that Buck had ever seen him on. That was saying a lot, considering he tends to indulge the kid far more than he should. Home Alone is playing in the background and gingerbread is spread out on Buck’s coffee table, streaks of concrete-like icing coating random spots on the top but he can’t bring himself to care. He knew well and true what he was getting into, it was definitely worth it to see the way Chris was beaming. That kid could light up a whole room with just a smile.
“Alright buddy, what do you think? Gum drop roof?” Buck asks, holding up the packet of gumdrops that had come within the box set he bought. Chris’ house is perfectly constructed, standing tall and firm on the coffee table. Buck’s...well his might be a little lopsided but it’s still standing. Chris had laughed so hard he nearly cried when Buck finally gave up on trying to straighten out the walls to the house.
“Yeah! And we can use them to make candy bushes outside too!” Chris reaches for the bag, tearing it open so quickly that the gumdrops explode in every direction which succeeds in setting them both off into peals of laughter again. Buck grabs all that he can from the ground, thankful that he had cleaned after decorating and blowing on them dramatically. He sets them down beside Chris’ house, allowing him to still decorate with them and knowing full-well that the kid won’t end up eating any part of the house. As much as he loved making gingerbread houses, Chris was not a fan of actual gingerbread.
“Bucky! You should use the candy canes to make your house straight!” Chris teases, presenting a bag of miniature candy canes and waving it in front of Buck with a smirk that looks far too much like Eddie. Buck grumbles a protest, furrowing his brow and pouts his lips exaggeratedly as he takes the bag from a laughing Christopher. The boy is hunched over and his face is red from laughter.
“Okay, okay, stop making fun of my gingerbread house! I’m trying my best over here, we can’t all be incredible like you!” Buck whines but he’s unable to keep the smile off his face, not when Chris stops laughing for a moment to look at him with a look that is a carbon-copy of the one that Eddie gives him when Buck has done or said something stupid. It’s more funny than it should be, Buck thinks, even as more laughter bubbles up and he finds himself unable to stop even when his stomach and cheeks start to ache.
Later, when Buck is moving the gingerbread houses from the coffee table to the bar so Eddie can see them tomorrow morning, he’ll wish tonight never had to end. He’ll brush a hand across Christopher’s forehead and tug the blanket further around the kid’s shoulders with a smile. When he’s done cleaning, he’ll set up the couch for him and Chris to sleep on for the night and wonder if this is what it’s like to have a family. He’ll wonder a lot of things, in the silence of the night, but for now, he relishes in the time of now.
***
Buck wakes up to the sound of a key twisting in the door of the loft and he resists the urge to bury his head into the blankets that he’s been curled under on the couch. He opens one eye, squinting against the darkness, and spots Christopher still fast asleep in the cocoon of blankets that the younger boy had made last night during one of their movies.
He stretches out, biting back a groan as his knee twinges a little painfully from the cold, and pads across the floor barefoot until he’s standing near the entryway. Eddie hasn’t noticed him yet, back turned as the lock clicks and Buck watches as the older man slides off his boots. He looks exhausted, hair wet against his head and shoulders slumped as he kicks at the boots until they slide off. Keys are dropped into the bowl by the door and finally, Eddie turns around. A small noise of shock and Eddie’s stumbling back a bit before Buck is reaching out to steady him, a finger coming to his lips to tell Eddie to be quiet.
“Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Buck whispers, making sure to keep his voice as low as he can and he glances over his shoulder to make sure that the lump that is Christopher is still unmoving on the couch, “He’s still out, you shower at the station?” He gets a nod in return and Buck nods, trailing back into the living room with a small smile on his face. The room is still rather dark, but the lights from the city and cars passing by are enough to illuminate the apartment just enough. He hears more than sees Eddie come to a stop near the bar, a soft sound that is a mix between a gasp and a laugh has Buck coming to a stop as well.
“This one's yours?” Eddie whispers, waving a hand at the lopsided gingerbread house with a nameplate in front of it that Chris had designed, “You’re a firefighter, you should know building structure.” Eddie lets out a breathy laugh, like he’s biting back the full laugh so he doesn’t wake up Chris and Buck swallows back the protest for a small smile instead. He comes to stand next to Eddie, swaying to the side just enough so that they’re arms bump together as they breathe.
“Yeah. You’d think so huh?” Buck laughs softly, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth to muffle the sound and he can feel Eddie watching him out of the corner of his eyes, the small upturn of Eddie’s lips give that away, “I never thought that a cookie house would be so difficult! Chris really showed me up, Eds. Your kid’s amazing.” Eddie softens, almost imperceivable as he always does when Chris is brought up, and Buck’s chest warms at the affectionate look he gets. He watches as Eddie glances back over to where Chris is still wrapped up in a lump on the couch, hair visibly sticking up in all directions even from where they’re standing and bites back a beaming smile when Eddie turns back to meet his eyes.
“Yeah. He is.” Eddie agrees and they fall silent for a few moments, the normal sounds of the city coming to life around them just perfectly quiet for Christmas morning, “We did a good job.” Eddie says it so easily, without a second of doubt, that Buck almost doesn’t notice it. What he does notice is Eddie reaching down to gently lace their fingers together and squeezing tightly. Buck’s face lights up with red when Eddie turns to give him a tentative smile, something filled with such love and beauty that Buck wants to keep it forever. Buck squeezes back.
Later, three years down the line when they’re getting married, Buck will tell the story of how gingerbread was what ended up getting them together. Their entire family will laugh and smile softly as they watch Buck tell the story. Out of all the ways that Buck and Eddie could get together, it’s oddly fitting for it to be something as simple and obscure as gingerbread. They wouldn’t have it any other way.