Work Text:
For as long as Eddie can remember, his mother has written a yearly family update in Christmas cards. She would buy a pack of Christmas cards at the start of November and would have an assembly line set up on the kitchen table, card, envelope, stamp - ready to go. She would then take the pile to the post office and send them out by the third week of November to ensure they arrived in time for her overseas relatives - obscure cousins and great aunts and uncles that Eddie had never met in his lifetime. It eventually progressed to an insert letter that she would write once and get copied at the local office shop then to a typed letter she would print herself.
Once Eddie was old enough for his handwriting to be considered ‘neat and legible’ by his mother’s standards, he was roped in for envelope duties. Name and address on the front, then along the top of the envelope either Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad or God Jul depending on who it was going to, return address on the back, seal and stamp. He was ecstatic the year his mother got self sealing envelopes because the taste was imprinted in his mind forever - you would think they could create a flavoured envelope because honestly, gross.
Before he and Shannon got married, his mother gave him a leather address book with all the family member addresses in it who she considered important enough to warrant a Christmas card family update.
“You’ll have to write your own family update letter now,” she had told him as though she wouldn’t continue to have a section of her own letter dedicated to each of her children and their families. Eddie himself still receives a copy of the Diaz family update - he has since he moved out of home - as though he wasn’t aware of events occurring with his parents and sisters. His mother writes about Chris still but Eddie’s paragraph has grown smaller over the years - a mixture of Eddie not updating his parents on every single moment of his life (and them no longer able to get information from Abuela who was always so proud to talk about her ‘nieto y bisnieto’ ) and just a general decline of approval of Eddie’s life from his parents. It hurts, but Eddie has accepted it now.
Despite receiving the address book and Eddie’s involvement in addressing Christmas cards, he doesn’t actually write his own Christmas card family update until the first year he and Chris moved to LA. He’s not as pedantic as his mother, so maybe they don’t go out until the start of December and honestly he doesn’t have time or energy to handwrite everything so his letter is done on the computer and folded inside the cards which are just signed Eddie and Chris, no greetings or individualisation but hey at least he’s done them right?
🎄🎄🎄
Feliz Navidad ~ Merry Christmas ~ God Jul
Holiday Greetings from Eddie and Chris
This year marks the start of something new for the Diaz boys. We officially moved to LA early this year and have been settling in well to our new home.
Chris turned 7 and started at a great school here which will accommodate his needs while helping continue his independence. His favourite subject is science and he’s very much a social butterfly, making friends quickly. One of my co-workers introduced us to Carla, who is now Chris’ home health aide. She has been an absolute godsend and Chris is thriving with her support.
I completed my Fire Academy Training and have been fortunate enough to join Station 118 as a Probationary Firefighter. It has been a bit of an adjustment going onto shiftwork but with Carla’s, Abuela’s and Tia Pepa’s support, Chris and I have gotten into a rhythm.
We hope you have all had a great year and send you warm wishes going into the holiday season.
Eddie and Chris
🎄🎄🎄
It’s nowhere near as detailed as his mother’s letters have been previously, but he has always been a private person and doesn’t see the need to overshare unlike some of his other relatives - looking at you Great Aunt Alma and your very detailed description of your bunion surgeries or Cousin Juan and your never-ending complaints about your multiple ex-partner baby mamas. Eddie adds a couple of photos of Chris, himself, Abuela, Pepa, Carla and the 118 before nodding to himself in satisfaction.
~ * ~
It has been a crazy year, although every year seems to be getting even crazier really and Christmas comes around faster and faster every year. Eddie doesn’t particularly want to be doing his Christmas cards but it needs to be done and he’s kinda trying to avoid thinking about the decision he has made about his future career right now.
🎄🎄🎄
Feliz Navidad ~ Merry Christmas ~ God Jul
Holiday Greetings from Eddie and Chris
Man, what a crazy couple of years it has been and this year has been no different for us. Chris is still doing well at school and has adjusted back to in person lessons in this post-COVID world quickly. He always amazes me with his resilience and ability to bounce back from even the most unfair of circumstances with a smile on his face.
I am in the process of changing my career from an active firefighter to something more behind the scenes working within the 911 call centre. Some of you may already be aware, but I was unfortunately shot earlier this year by the sniper who was targeting first responders. While my rehab is now complete and I’ve been able to return to active duty I think it’s time for a change. So wish me luck as I will be starting officially in a few weeks time.
With the opening up of everything again Chris, Buck and I have been able to get back to regular visits to the zoo and aquarium. Chris is understandably ecstatic about this and he and Buck often have competitions about who can find out the most random animal fact.
We hope the year has treated you kindly and the next year is good to you all too.
Eddie and Chris
🎄🎄🎄
Another year gone and the letter is done. Eddie adds his usual couple of photos to the document, lingering on the photo of him, Chris and Buck at the zoo before saving it onto a USB for printing.
~ * ~
Eddie flips through his old beat up leather address book, entries have been crossed out, some have been updated multiple times, layers of Tip-Ex crumbling at the edges. Perhaps he should get a new one, or just transfer it all to his phone, but he likes the tradition, the familiarity of flipping through the pages seeing notations and reminders - things like ‘baby Wren born Sept 18’ or ‘divorced - send Joseph’s card via Hugo’. He’s got random slips of envelopes tucked in even after updating addresses and random postage stamps and return address stickers, left over from previous years.
🎄🎄🎄
Feliz Navidad ~ Merry Christmas ~ God Jul
Holiday Greetings from Eddie, Buck and Chris
This year has been a bag of mixed blessings for us. After losing Abuela just before Christmas last year, which closely followed the death of my close friend and fire captain, we started this year, hoping for good things.
Chris has settled back into school quickly, and has been accepted into a higher academic stream due to his outstanding results in entry grading exams. This means certain classes he takes are at the year level above his age group. He is also able to attend invitational academic events throughout the year. His focus is mainly on technology and engineering pursuits and Buck and I couldn’t be more proud of him.
The other bit of exciting news for us, is that Buck and I made it official and got married in September this year. I proposed to him in February and while the plan was to get married next year we had a couple of scares with a family member’s health and a severe incident involving Buck and another team-mate being trapped in a subway collapse. While this is not the first (and I’m sure won’t be the last) time Buck (or I) have had a scare like this, we decided to have a small and intimate ceremony as soon as Buck’s injuries healed.
I’d like to take this opportunity to remind you all that tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone. I know that more than almost anyone, so make sure you hug your loved ones tight and let them know you love them at every opportunity. Make sure you use the good dinner sets and cutlery, eat the second cookie and savour the hot chocolate with your special people.
The Diaz Boys
(Eddie, Buck and Chris)
🎄🎄🎄
“What’s all this?” asks Buck as he takes a seat next to Eddie, gesturing to the Christmas card assembly line.
“My annual Christmas card and family updates,” Eddie replies absently as he addresses the card he’s just sealed to his great Uncle Noah and his wife Celine, moving the ruler keeping his place on the address book to see who is next.
Buck watches as Eddie writes his, Buck’s and Chris’ names on the inside of a card, folds a printed letter to tuck into it and places it in an envelope. He is able to skim read the letter from his position and smiles at the images Eddie has chosen.
“Can I help?” he asks.
Eddie looks up, pleasantly surprised, “Sure. Did you want to assemble and sign the cards or do the envelopes?”
“I’ll do the envelopes,” Buck smiles as Eddie rearranges the assembly line and shows Buck where he is up to in the address book, sneaking a quick kiss before returning to the next card.
~ * ~
Eddie sits down to type out his annual Christmas card update, there aren’t as many to send out this year - a combination of older family members passing away and other family members who told him in not so many words that they did not approve of his relationship with Buck. The words were unkind but ultimately he’s glad to have cut those toxic members off his list and out of his family. He would not give up his happiness for anyone, not anymore.
🎄🎄🎄
Feliz Navidad ~ Merry Christmas ~ God Jul
Holiday Greetings from Eddie, Buck, Chris and Beau
The Diaz family has grown in size again. Meet Beau. Beau is our emotional support/service Cavoodle. He has been trained to help with small tasks around the home and gives great cuddles.
Chris is in his final year of high school and is hoping to get into UCLA to study Computer Science and Engineering so this next year will be another big year for him academically. He aced all his exams this last school year and was able to attend a tech expo with his friends in New York which solidified his choice of degree.
Buck and I are still at the 118, albeit I am still continuing with expanding my paramedic knowledge and sat my senior paramedic exam earlier this year. This doesn’t change my position as such, just that I am able to step up into leadership roles when they present themselves.
Buck has been mentoring more probationary firefighters as they rotate through the stations. He earned himself recognition from the higher ups in the academy as they adopted one of his training routines for fresh recruits after seeing him work with a group of potential recruits one weekend.
We hope this past year has treated you all well and wish you all the best for the coming year.
The Diaz Family
(Eddie, Buck, Chris and Beau)
🎄🎄🎄
As is Eddie’s tradition, he adds a collage of images of his family, Chris at the tech expo, Buck and Beau on the couch, Eddie and Buck at the beach, Chris and Buck baking in the kitchen covered in flour, Chris, Jee and Robbie cuddling on the couch, drinking out of matching cups and one of the 118 family, including partners and children from Eddie’s birthday. He smiles as he lingers over each image, feeling a content warmth in his chest over his family.
“Hey, what are you up to?” Buck asks as he wraps his arms around Eddie from behind the chair and kisses him on the cheek.
“Annual Christmas card update letter,” Eddie replies as he makes sure he has saved the document in the correct place and not to the nebulous OneDrive that ate his half completed paramedic essay earlier this year.
“I like that photo of the kids,” Buck muses.
“Same, hence why I chose to include it,” sasses Eddie.
“Ooh sassy Eddie is here. If you’re gonna be like that I’ll just keep these almond maraschino cookies all to myself,” singsongs Buck as he steps back from the chair to Eddie’s side.
“Not a chance,” Eddie moves quickly to pull Buck down into his lap, taking a bite of the cookie between Buck’s fingers.
“How?” Buck is speechless, jaw dropping as he tries to calculate exactly how he ended up in this position.
“Skill,” Eddie mumbles as he quickly chews and swallows.
“Right,” Buck quickly regathers and pops the rest of the cookie into his mouth before Eddie can steal it, prompting a dismayed noise from Eddie.
“There’s plenty more, I promise,” Buck assures him, “But I can think of other things to occupy our time before Chris gets back.”
“Really,” Eddie drawls and he pretends to think, “I suppose I do need to vacuum the floors and fix that squeaky door to the garage.”
“Eddie!” Buck sounds outraged, “Seriously?”
Eddie can’t help but laugh, and leans in to nuzzle at that spot on Buck’s neck, mouthing it before saying, “I suppose I could be convinced to do some other things.”
Buck’s breath hitches, just as Eddie knew it would and he stutters, “Th-that sounds promising.”
Eddie pushes Buck into a standing position, smacking him across the rear, “Let’s go then, cowboy.”
The pair race to the bedroom laughing which quickly morphs into gasps and moans. The cards will get finished another day.