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“Dad! How does it look?” Chris shouted, his voice booming with pure happiness and confidence.
Eddie gave the snowman a good once-over. The thing was… definitely a sight. Its different tiers were lumpy— the bottom two were nearly just piles of snow instead of tightly-packed snowballs. The snow Chris used had been trodden on by countless different people, so the snowman was half brown instead of that picture-perfect pristine white. Uneven and immature branches protruded from the sides, not doing a very good job of imitating arms. Most of the rocks had been blanketed by the snow, so Chris opted to use Eddie’s soda bottlecap for the snowman’s eye. The problem was that Eddie only had one soda bottle, leaving the snowman a cyclops. He lacked a mouth, also thanks to the lack of rocks. Another stick substituted for a carrot, sticking out from the middle of the snowman's face.
Any other person walking by would’ve probably thought: Yeesh! What the hell is that supposed to be?
But to Eddie, with his pride and joy beaming right beside it with a red nose, it was the best damn snowman he’d ever seen. In fact, Guinness should come give his son an award for World’s Most Amazing Snowman!
“It looks amazing buddy! I think all the other kids would be so jealous that you outdid them so easily,” Eddie laughed out, his cheeks sore from how hard he was smiling.
Chris giggled, and turned his attention back to the clumpy figure. He stuck his tongue out in thought and furrowed his eyebrows, as if something was off about the snowman.
“What’s wrong, pal?” Eddie asked, walking up behind Chris and placing his hands on Chris’s small shoulders.
Chris frowned. “He has no scarf. He’s gonna get cold.”
Eddie mimicked his son’s frown. Neither he nor Chris were scarf people— they were both wearing thick coats that covered their necks, and Chris was sporting a beanie that was slightly too big. “Well, we don’t have one of those. But I’m sure he’ll be fine! You built him perfectly—“
Eddie’s monologue was cut short by Chris bolting out of his arms. The boy waddled over to a very broad man, and Eddie immediately pursued. The man had a polka-dot scarf wrapped around his neck, making Chris’s plan clear as day to Eddie. Despite his son’s use of crutches and the snow being somewhat high, he outran Eddie with ease.
“Chris! Get back over here!”
The demand fell on deaf ears and Chris tapped the leg of the man very gently. “Sir? Excuse me? Can I borrow your scarf? I don’t have one and my snowman will get cold without it!”
Eddie panted as he shuffled through snow to catch up. He was ready to scold his son when the man turned around. Soft blonde curls, full pink lips, and a splotch of color matching said lips dotting his eyebrow— the man was downright gorgeous. Eddie stopped in his tracks when the man replied to Chris.
“Hey little man! Sounds like you’re in a real pickle. Don’t you worry though!” He quickly unwrapped his ridiculously-patterned scarf and placed it into Chris’s tiny waiting hands with a stupidly handsome smile. “Make sure you tell your snowman friend that Buck gives his holiday wishes!”
Chris smiled back, giggling in delight. “Thank you, Buck! I’m Christopher.” He held the scarf in his hands like it was the most valuable thing in a 300-mile radius.
Eddie’s brain came back online and he shambled awkwardly over to the two. He was still struggling to formulate a response when the man— Buck— spoke up again. “I hope you don’t mind,” he said softly, quiet enough so Christopher couldn’t hear, “he was just too adorable to not help out.”
Eddie’s cheeks turned slightly pink at the sheer thoughtfulness of Buck. “Y-you didn’t have to,” he stammered out quietly, lost in the blue wells of Buck’s eyes.
Buck giggled, much too cutely for Eddie’s sanity, and replied. “Nonsense! I love kids, you seem to have a great one.” Buck nudged Eddie to face behind him, his smile widening.
Eddie turned to see Chris giddily wrapping Buck’s scarf snugly around the snowman’s misshapen neck, and his heart melted at the sight. “He seems amazing,” Buck continued. “You guys are doing a great job.”
Eddie frowned. “I’m all he’s got.”
Buck didn’t falter, and placed a gentle hand on Eddie’s shoulder. Eddie’s breath hitched, and his face grew warmer when Buck spoke softly. “Well, I hope you’re not worrying. ‘Cause to me, you’re raising one of the best boys I’ve ever seen.”
Eddie’s eyes teared up a bit, and he turned back to Buck, whose smile was as bright as ever. “Thank you,” Eddie murmured. “That means a lot. I’m Eddie, by the way.”
Eddie looked into Buck’s eyes, and he could almost swear that Buck’s face flushed a bit. Maybe it was just the cold, but Buck’s hand was still on his shoulder, tracing small patterns. The tension was cut short, though, by Chris’s squeals of delight.
“Dad! Come look! He looks so cool now!”
“Well, Eddie,” Buck drawled, grinning, “could I have the honor of meeting this infamous snowman?”
Eddie nodded dumbly, a stupid smile breaking out on his face. “Yeah… yeah, of course! Chris seemed to, uh, really like you,” he said in a slight daze. The sight of Buck blushing was slowing the gears in his brain.
“You can tell me if I’m reading this wrong,” Buck said, “but I’d also love the chance to get to know you. Maybe over a cup of coffee?”
“Yes!” Eddie blurted out instantly, wincing in embarrassment when he realized. Buck only chuckled, though. “I mean, yeah. That would be nice.”
“Perfect. You’re really cute, by the way. It’s easy to see where your son gets it from.”
Eddie almost collapsed right then and there, but opted to grab Buck’s hand and lead him over to a smiling Chris and his newly-clothed bumpy snowman.