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“I want to make Buck something special,” is how Christopher greets Eddie on his day off.
Eddie’s just got up, about half an hour ago when Christopher refused to nap any longer and started wriggling and demanding breakfast. Buck has already gone to work, leaving only a faint memory of a kiss behind and Eddie’s grumpy until he gets his second mug of coffee and so right now, he stares blearily at his wide awake, enthusiastic kid and tries to summon up energy from somewhere. “What?”
Christopher rolls his eyes, but explains anyway, like Eddie is stupid for not knowing his thoughts via coffee osmosis. “Buck’s got my advent calendar, I know how much he loves it. So I want to make him a special present for Christmas. I know I’ve bought him some things, but I want to make something. Something that will make him smile so wide and let him know how much I love him. Can you help?”
It makes Eddie's eyes prick with tears and he has to blink rapidly, it’s so sweet how much Christopher loves Buck. “I’ll help, of course, I will,” he says and Christopher beams. “What are you making?”
“I don’t know,” Christopher admits, “I always do him pictures, so I’d like something different. But I don’t know what.”
“Well, lets look,” Eddie turns and grabs his tablet, sitting next to Christopher with their breakfast and - thankfully - his cup of coffee and they look for ideas.
“I want to make this,” Christopher eventually says, and Eddie looks to see he’s found a website with different infused sugars. “Because Buck loves to bake and I think he’ll like these. And he can keep them in our kitchen because it’s his now as well as ours.”
“Ok, it’s a plan,” Eddie nods, making a note of what they need.
“It’s a secret,” Christopher corrects him and Eddie nods and laughs, shaking his head. It’s clear who is the one in charge here.
They sort out the recipes over the next few days, buying pretty glass jars from the shop and making the infused sugars three weeks before Christmas so they have time to infuse properly. They start with different types of sugar, because Christopher wants to see which one Buck prefers, cane sugar, beet, coconut. Eddie thinks about saying to just get one and takes one look at his pouty face and buys them all. He has the best and worst puppy eyes at the moment, something he’s sure he’s picked up from Buck. And yet, it’s also the cutest thing ever too.
They spent a happy afternoon when Buck is at Maddie’s - she’s in on the secret and is keeping him busy and will text Eddie when he’s on his way back - making the sugars. They use vanilla pods, cinnamon, lavender, rose, cayenne, orange zest, mint, cardamom, espresso and stem ginger. Christopher smells each ingredient before he stirs it in. He likes the ginger and vanilla, and isn't too keen on the espresso or lavender, but “Buck may still like them, Dad, so we’re doing all of them!”
They hide the decorated jars in Christopher’s room, where Buck won’t find them, and then plan the recipes or suggestions to go with them, typing them out on the tablet. Eddie plans to print them when he’s at work, and Buck’s at home with Christopher next, and then Christopher wants to bind them together into a ribbon bound book. The vanilla sugar for coffee, a brownie recipe with cinnamon sugar, ice cream with lavender sugar, rose sugar jam, chocolate chip and cayenne sugar cookies, orange sugar cake, apple pancake with cardamom sugar, chocolate cake with espresso sugar, the list goes on and on. Christopher licks his lips at the chocolate and cayenne cookies and Eddie imagines cocktails that he can make for Buck as he won’t be allowed near the baking side of things.
The sugar matures nicely in Christopher’s room, both of them sneaking looks when Eddie’s reading the bedtime story and they’ve sent Buck to make hot chocolate or take a shower, they bind the recipe book with red ribbon and Christopher painstakingly hand decorates each page and label carefully. When they’ve finished, the whole thing is beautiful and Eddie is so proud as he looks over the obvious care and love that every single item shows.
Christopher is buzzing and begs for them to give Buck the gift on Christmas Eve rather than waiting overnight and Eddie can’t say no, not when he knows how much this means to his son. So when Buck disappears into their bedroom to get changed into loungewear, they sneak into Christopher’s room, collect the gift in the beautifully wrapped box and Eddie carries it carefully into the lounge.
There’s a matching gift on the table and a rather shy looking Buck sitting waiting and when he sees what Eddie is carrying his gaze darts between the two boxes. Eddie takes one look at an overjoyed Christopher and starts to laugh. “You made me a present, mijo?” he says.
Christopher hugs him and then makes his way to pat Buck’s cheek gently. “I made you both presents, Dad and Buck,” he says, simply. “Because I love you both and I wanted to do something special.”
“You told me it was a surprise,” Buck says, sounding choked as he gazes at what Eddie is holding.
“It is! A surprise for you both!”
Buck opens his gift first, with Christopher sitting next to him and touches every single jar with reverent fingers. He flicks through the booklet, his fingers lingering on the drawing and words and when he looks up, Eddie can see he’s overwhelmed. His eyes are luminous and wide, filled with happy tears, and his mouth is quirked into a truly beautiful smile. “Chris,” he says, his voice so low and full of love. “These are amazing. I love you.”
“I love you too,” Christopher smiles as he allows Buck to hug and kiss him. Eddie rests his hand on Buck’s back, loving the way he looks up to Eddie and mouths a wow and a thanks and an I love you at him.
“Dad! Your turn now!” Christopher brings them back to the present day by means of shoving the box at Eddie and he takes care opening it, knowing just how much work Christopher has put into both of them. His son is so wonderful, he’s so lucky and Buck helped, he knows that, and it just makes his heart fill and flutter even more.
Inside the box is a cream and purple blanket, with big loops and soft wool. He pulls it out and shakes it and it’s perfectly imperfect and so soft and warm and he looks at his boys with full eyes and heart.
“Thank you,” he gets out through a throat thickened with tears and Christopher grins and burrows into his chest for a hug.
“He finger knitted it,” Buck whispers as he presses a kiss to Eddie’s cheek, both of them so full of love for their family.
“It’s perfect and so are you two,” Eddie declares.
The hug lasts for a while, and when they break apart, it’s only so Buck can hold each one of his sugars and Eddie can drape the blanket over their shoulders.
And then Christopher lifts his head up, with a proper grin on his face and says, “so, do I get to open two presents tonight? Because you each had one off me, so it’s only fair right?”