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"Okay, Chris, this is the most important question of the day!" Buck said seriously, narrowing his eyes as he looked back at their son. "Do we start with food or with ball?"
Through the rearview mirror, Eddie watched Christopher match his Papa's mock-serious expression, and he couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face as he turned into the parking lot. Chris and Buck were like two peas in a pod, and Eddie loved everything about it. Their matching smiles, the tandem cheering about pancakes in the morning, the way they both ugly-cried during "Bambi," all of it. They're his favorite people, and he'd never trade them for anything else in the world.
"It's pretty full here," Eddie mumbled under his breath, looking for an open spot.
"You know, I'm pretty sure I told-"
"If you tell me you told me so, I'm divorcing you."
Buck zipped and locked his lips, and threw the key out the window. Chris laughed. This was heaven.
"Can we play with the ball first?" Christopher chimed in, answering Buck's question.
"Sure we can, mijo", Eddie said, not taking his eyes off the road. There had to be a spot somewhere, right?
*
It took way too long to find a spot. They had to circle the parking lot three times until they were lucky, and someone was leaving just as they drove by. Buck and Chris cheered and applauded, and Eddie might have too, but he'd never admit to it.
Thankfully, things became more manageable once they actually got into the park. There were a lot of people there, as Buck had, in fact, told Eddie when they got ready that morning, but they'd found a good spot to toss their ball around relatively quick. It was a good bit away from the picnic area, which kind of sucked, but that was something for Future Eddie to bitch about, Present Eddie was playing with his husband and son.
Chris had discarded his crutches next to their cooler that held all the delicious sandwiches he and Buck had prepared while Eddie had watched and snapped pictures of it because he was only allowed into the kitchen to do the dishes. If you asked him, he'd claim Buck had overreacted when he banned him. It was only a small grease fire, and Eddie had put it out all on his own, not even needing his big, strong firefighter husband to save him. Buck hadn't cared. He'd banned Eddie anyway.
"Hey, good job, Superman!" Buck shouted as he caught the ball Chris tossed him before throwing it to Eddie.
"He's gonna play professionally one day, I tell you!" Eddie laughed, Christopher's blinding grin more than enough to make him forget some of the... less great things around him. Look, Eddie and Buck had gotten together shortly before High School graduation in El Paso. Texas wasn't exactly the most accepting of places, so they were used to the looks they got. It had bothered them at first, how people would constantly stare at them like they had three heads just because they were both men, and the fact that they were a pair of recent High School graduates raising a baby together wasn't exactly helping much. Add the whole thing with Eddie getting Shannon pregnant during Senior Year, her unceremoniously dumping him when he suggested getting married for the kid, and Buck asking him out just a few weeks later, and you had the entire district's attention, alright.
Things only got worse when Shannon gave birth, decided she couldn't be a mother, dropped the baby with him, and then went to a different state to go to college. It was a mess, but hey, at the least, Eddie and Buck didn't care if people stared at them anymore! Score!
Eddie wouldn't change anything about it, though is the thing. Yes, it was messy, and yes, getting where they are now was insanely hard and it probably would have been impossible if it wasn't for his parents' help, but it got them here. Sure, his dad was barely ever home, but his income kept Chris fed and dry under a roof, and his mom was overbearing and always thought she knew everything better, but she was willing to watch the baby while Eddie attended college to earn his PoliSci degree and his license to practice law, and Buck worked while he tried to figure out what he wanted to do with his life to build up a starting capital for when they were on their own, so who was he to complain.
That "Starting Capital" ended up becoming "Christopher's Surgery Fund" when they got the diagnosis, but Buck wouldn't have it any other way. Eddie hadn't been able to help himself after that and so he had proposed with a ring of fake gold with even faker sapphires the same color as Buck's eyes shortly after that. He hadn't been able to afford anything nicer, instead promising something fancier and actually real when they'd pick their wedding bands. Since they had to go to a different state to get married anyway (Thanks, Texas), they'd gone to Los Angeles, where Abuela had given him his late Abuelo's wedding ring, insisting it should go from one Edmundo to another, whether he wore it himself or gave it to Buck. He ended up wearing it himself. Buck insisted on using his faux gold-sapphire engagement ring as his wedding ring, saying that it didn't matter what material it was, he would have married Eddie with piece of yarn. God did Eddie love that man.
"Earth to Eds, you hearing me, babe?" Buck's voice reached his ears, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Sorry, got distracted for a bit," Eddie said, throwing the ball over to Chris. He didn't catch it, but he ran to pick it up just as excitedly, ready to keep playing. Eddie smiled brightly at his son, the kids never ending happiness was inspiring. None the less, he once again became aware of the many stares they got.
Eddie knew that most people who watched them probably thought they were a cute family or that he or Buck were attractive. This was California; people were more open-minded here. Of course, just because people were more open-minded didn't mean all of them were. And Eddie was pretty sure the several people he saw whispering among themselves weren't all secret admirers, especially not the ones with the very disapproving looks on their faces. Or who knows, maybe they disapproved because he and Buck were just so damn sexy it was a crime.
Catching the ball Buck tossed him, Eddie was happy. Which was a weird thing to say to be honest. After Shannon told him she was pregnant, Eddie was a giant ball of worry and anxiety for a long time. If it wasn't his impending fatherhood, it was Shannon breaking up with him or becoming a single parent at the age of 18 from one second to the next. Buck had been in the picture by then, sure, but they weren't all that serious yet, and Buck was very adamant about not being included in any kind of decision about Chris, fearing he'd just mess the baby up (which was probably Margaret and Phillip's fault, because really, when wasn't something Margaret and Phillip's fault).
But now? Now Buck was almost a fully-fledged firefighter with the 118, and Eddie himself had recently passed the Bar exam and was slated to start at a small law firm specializing in civil law next week; they had Carla (Eddie wasn't Abby's biggest fan, but god was he thankful that she had brought Carla into his and Buck's lives) and thanks to her, Chris was enrolled in a great school catered to children with disabilities, more than half of the tuition fees paid by the state thanks to a program to benefit parents of disabled children. The only thing left was for Buck to formally adopt Christopher, which was already filed and only needed to get approved at this point. But of course, this took (way too much) time.
So yeah, Eddie was happy. And it was weird because he wasn't used to being happy anymore.
It was that inherent happiness that made him ignore the whispers, the obvious taunts and names, and the slurs that were directed at Buck and him.
But then, it wasn't about Buck and him anymore.
"Still can't believe they let fags raise children these days!"
"Think they adopted the retarded kid 'cause no one else wanted him?"
Eddie dropped the ball. What. The. Fuck. Even.
"Makes sense. They're not normal; figures they'd pick one that wasn't either."
They weren't even whispering. They just said it out loud, at regular volume, perfectly audible. Buck had heard it, too, if his smile and jaw dropping were any indication. And, given the confused furrow in his brow, so had Christopher!
Eddie exhaled through his nose, pretty sure that if he were a cartoon, it would be steaming. He didn't care what people thought about him. He didn't care if people called him "Wetback” or "Beaner” or "Faggot” or any other slur they could think up. He's heard it before, countless times. Those words didn't mean anything to him anymore.
Attacking his kid? Throwing a slur at his seven-year-old son? That he wouldn't stand for.
With a grim expression, Eddie turned to the people who thought that kind of language was appropriate. It was a family. A husband, a wife, two kids, one boy around Christopher's age, and a little girl, maybe three or four. And the parents just threw around slurs like that in front of their children. Eddie hoped the kids wouldn't pick that up from them for everyone's sake.
Eddie was seething. The "Hot magma in a volcano, threatening to erupt" kind of blood-curdling rage. His eyes narrowed at the assholes, a slight growl escaping his lips. His fists clenched at his sides, he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down and failing miserably. If anything, the oxygen only fanned the fire inside him. Then the father raised an eyebrow, and that was the straw that broke the camel's back somehow. Who the hell did these people think they were? With another deep breath, Eddie was ready to walk over there. Except Buck had different plans.
"Eddie, no," he murmured into Eddie's ear, putting a supposed-to-be-calming hand on his shoulder. "Let's not cause a scene here."
"Did you hear what they said?" Eddie hissed out, unable to mask the venom in his voice.
"Yes, I did," Buck answered. "But what are you gonna do? Beat them up?"
Yes! Eddie wanted to say. Yes, I'm gonna beat them up. Are you kidding?
"Am I supposed to do nothing?" he asked instead, his eyes breaking from the family for the first time since he turned their way. He looked into Buck's face, the man's expression more concerned than anything, though Eddie could definitely see traces of Buck's own anger around his eyes.
"What, you think getting arrested for physical assault is gonna help anyone?" Buck countered, and fuck, Eddie couldn't even argue with this. "We're gonna be the bigger people, grab our son and leave. We're overdue for lunch anyway."
Eddie wanted to disagree. He wanted to go over there, puff his chest, stare asshat dad down and smack a bitch the way toxic masculinity demanded him to. It would be justified; that nasty little part of his brain said, you're just protecting your family. But the more rational part of his brain knew that Buck was right.
"Eddie," Buck tried again. "We need to put Christopher first."
And there it was. The one thing that always made sure Eddie was gonna behave. It was almost unfair that Buck practically used their son as a weapon. But, of course, his husband was right. Their son had to be their priority.
With one final huff, Eddie turned and grabbed the cooler and Christopher's crutches from the ground while Buck picked up their son. Eddie sent one last glare the other family's way, and then the Diazes were off to the picnic area.
*
As they settled at a table and took out their drinks and sandwiches, Buck and Eddie had an entire silent conversation.
Buck raised an eyebrow. Should we talk to him about this?
Eddie inhaled deeply, shrugging but ultimately nodding his head. I don't know. Yes, I guess...
Buck sighed, his eyes briefly darting upwards. Okay. How?
Eddie tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. You're asking me how to talk about feelings?
Buck rolled his eyes, a fond smile gracing his lips. Okay, point taken.
He cleared his throat, looking towards Christopher, who was silently eating his sandwich. He was clearly troubled, and it made Eddie want to jump up and go pummel asswipe Mom and Dad into the ground for making his little boy feel like that.
"Chris?" Buck began gently. "I think we should talk about what happened back there."
Eddie nodded. "Yeah, those people said some pretty nasty things. And that's an understatement, really."
"Are we not normal?"
It was like someone took a sledgehammer to Eddie's heart and shattered it into a million pieces. And it was all their fault.
Eddie stared over at Buck, an exasperated look on his face. Can I go kick their asses now?
Buck huffed, clearly annoyed and shook his head. No. Stop.
Damn it. Eddie rolled his eyes. He then addressed Chris.
"Buddy, we talked about this before. You know we don't use that word to describe ourselves or anyone else."
"Dad's right, superman," Buck chimed in, wrapping an arm around Christopher. "No one is normal. We all have something that makes us weird to other people. Like the fact that your dad burns water every time he makes spaghetti."
The last part was punctuated by a teasing smirk thrown Eddie's way. Okay, fine. Two could play that game.
"Right, or the fact that Papa will talk your ear off and never stop if you let him," Eddie said with an exaggerated smile of his own. Buck only laughed.
"Joke's on you, babe; I do that on purpose to annoy people."
The slightest ghost of a smile graced Christopher's lips, clearly enjoying his dads' antics, but not enough to make him forget.
"They called us mean words," he pointed out, staring at his half-eaten lunch. "They... they called me..."
"Chris, please, don't say that word, never say that word," Buck hugged Chris and held him close to his chest. Eddie agreed. Chris should have never heard that word in the first place, especially not at this age.
"You're not 'retarded', Christopher," Eddie began, grabbing his son's hand and gently rubbing its back with his thumb. "You have CP. That makes you disabled, yes, but it doesn't make you any more or less of a human being than everyone else."
"That man had no right to say anything about you," Buck added, carding his hand through Chris' hair, the little boy leaning into his Papa's touch. Buck looked back at Eddie. “And just so we're clear, I don't want you saying that word either.”
“I won't anymore, sorry about that.”
"What was that other word?" Christopher asked then. "The one with 'F'?"
Buck sighed deeply. This was going to be complicated.
"It's a mean word for men who are in love with other men," he explained. "Like your Dad and me."
"Some people believe that it's wrong when two men or two women are in love with each other," Eddie continued. "And that awful word is what they came up with to make them – us – feel bad."
Chris, hopelessly confused at this point, threw his arms up in frustration. "But that doesn't make any sense! Why would the love be bad just because it's two boys or two girls?"
Eddie chuckled because didn't “it doesn't make sense” just describe bigotry as a whole. "Easy. They think it's not normal."
His son looked at him at that, genuine worry and curiosity displayed on his young features. "But it is, right? We're normal?"
Buck gently rubbed Christopher's back to soothe him. Eddie could see he was trying to figure out what to say.
"No one and nothing is normal, Christopher," Buck said eventually. He gently placed his index and middle fingers under their son's chin, making him look his way. "But two boys or two girls falling in love with each other? That happens all the time, and not only with humans, you know? Animals can also fall in love with the same gender."
Chris' eyes widened at that. He clearly hadn't known about that yet. "Really? Can they really, Papa?"
Buck nodded eagerly, glad that the boy's enthusiasm was coming back. "Yes, of course! Penguins, for example. Sometimes two boy penguins or two girl penguins mate with each other, and the rest of the colony doesn't even care. And penguins mate for life, you know, so when two fall in love, it's special, no matter if it's two boys, two girls, or whatever!"
Chris blinked, clearly not having expected something like that. But Buck wasn't done with his explanation yet, though.
"And sometimes, two gay penguins find an abandoned egg. And then they take care of the egg and take turns sitting on it until it hatches", Buck went on. "And then, when the baby penguin is born, the two penguins care for it and raise it because they're that baby's moms or dads now."
Chris' jaw dropped in absolute amazement as if his Papa had just found out how to turn metal into gold. "Baby penguins can have two dads?"
Eddie and Buck nodded. "Yeah, of course," Eddie said. "And a penguin chick having two dad penguins is just as valid as those that have a dad penguin and a mom penguin."
"The colony doesn't care. They just want all the penguins to be happy", Buck concluded, ruffling Christopher's hair. Finally, a genuine smile cracked back onto their son's face, and he filled their ears with his infectious laughter.
"Does that mean we can be penguins?"
Sharing a glance and a smile, Buck and Eddie looked at their kid.
"Of course, we can, superman," Buck says. "From now on, we're two awesome Dad Penguins, and you're our little tiny baby chick."
The newly appointed Papa Penguin started tickling his nestling all over, both of them erupting into the precious, joyful laughter Dad Penguin Eddie loved more than anything in the world.
At this moment, it didn't matter whether or not people accepted them. It didn't matter whether or not people thought people like Buck and Eddie should be allowed to raise children. It didn't matter which words they thought up in an attempt to hurt them. As long as they had each other, they'd be able to make it; no matter how high the flood, they'd swim above it.
Just like the penguins that they were.