Work Text:
Eddie stared in disbelief at his parents. He could not believe that they had showed up here intending on taking his son to Texas and hadn't even had the common courtesy to call him first. And he could not believe that Chris was going behind his back and planning on leaving the state without thinking about saying anything to Eddie first.
He understands that Chris is hurt and that he is mad at Eddie. But this is not happening.
"Stop."
He interrupts his parents and turns to Chris. "Go to your room."
"No! You can't tell me what to do!"
"As long as you are under 18, yes I do get to tell you what to do. Go to your room while I talk to my parents."
"Eddie, do you really think behaving like this is going to help anything?"
Eddie waited until Chris had stormed into his room before glancing at Buck. His best friend nodded and followed Chris, intending on making sure Chris stayed put and didn't try to listen in.
"First, Chris is not going to Texas with you. You are not his legal guardians and do not get to make that kind of decision for him. Chris is a minor and in my custody. Beyond that, he has medical appointments here that he can't just skip out on. And you don't have the legal authority to handle any of that for him."
Ramon deflated a little at that. It was clear that his dad hadn't thought about the logistics of the situation.
"Second, I will not allow this disrespect from you ever again. You turning up here without a call or text was beyond inappropriate. One of you should have called me the second you talked to Chris. If I hadn't been here and you had taken Chris, you could have been arrested for kidnapping. And if you try to take him without my permission, I will call the cops."
Helena puffed up a little, ready to start arguing with Eddie about her right to take Chris.
"If I had done the same thing as a teenager and called Abuela, neither of you would have been remotely okay with me or her making that kind of choice. In fact, I probably would have been grounded until I was out of your house."
Helena glared at Eddie. "You are clearly unable to take care of Chris. It's best that he comes with us for the time being. You can get paperwork together so we can properly take care of Chris and his needs."
"Not happening. I'd like both of you to leave. And I don't want to talk to either of you right now. I screwed up and made a big mistake. But I haven't lost my mind. I would never trust you to take care of Chris with the way you still disregard his medical needs. So, I'm going to talk to Chris. When I get out of his room, you had better be gone."
Eddie headed down the hallway without looking back at his parents. He asked Buck to come into the hallway and quickly discussed the situation with his best friend. Once Buck agreed with his idea, he walked into his son's bedroom.
"I don't want you in here."
Eddie sat down at the desk without acknowledging the disrespect. He did deserve some from Chris so was going to overlook it for now.
"Right now, you don't get to talk."
Chris glared at his dad but didn't say anything.
"You're not going to Texas. You are still a minor and your grandparents don't have any legal rights to take care of you. You have school and medical obligations here that you are not allowed to skip out on."
He could see Chris looking for ways to argue with that when it was clear that he had not thought about any of that when he had called his grandparents.
"I am very upset that you snuck behind my back and called my parents like you did. And you are not allowed to go anywhere alone with them for the time being."
He held up a hand when Chris started to protest. "But you do deserve some space so you will be staying with Buck for now."
Chris glanced at the door at Buck who nodded.
"But for the rest of the school year, you are grounded. No dates with anyone. No movie nights with friends. I won't take your phone away but you will be off of the phone by 9 pm."
"That's not fair!"
"Chris, you were planning on leaving the state without talking to me. I am not positive that you would have still been here if your grandparents had shown up while I was out. No matter how mad you are at me, that is not acceptable."
Buck moved into the room. "We'll get you a bed and stuff for my place. But I am going to require that the two of you attend therapy together. Because running away never makes the situation better. The two of you have a lot you need to fix and you can't do it by leaving the state."
Chris argued with Buck for a few minutes before Eddie spoke up.
"That's enough. Buck has agreed to this so you won't have to be with me all the time. But you aren't going to talk to him like that. He deserves more respect from you."
Chris looked down. "I'm sorry, Buck."
Eddie stood up and moved towards the door. "Get your suitcase out and pack just what you need for now. You can get more stuff later."
Eddie pulled Buck down the hallway.
"Thank you for agreeing to take him in. I know this is a huge imposition."
"You know I love Chris. I don't mind doing this. But I was serious. You both have to go to therapy."
Eddie made a face but agreed. He knew that he couldn't fix this with Chris if the two of them didn't talk. And they needed someone neutral to help them out. His parents definitely wouldn't have cared about that if they had managed to take Chris.
He just hoped that this was something that could be fixed.