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Eddie can’t believe this time is coming.
Eddie can’t believe he has to face this right now and there is no way to go back.
Eddie can’t believe he has to see his baby finish high school and become a college student.
His baby is always curious about everything, who likes to share animal or science facts to his dad, and who always wants to try everything new.
Eddie can’t believe his baby is grown up.
Now, Eddie and his husband sat in the auditorium waiting for their son to receive his diploma on the stage. Eddie can’t stop moving his head to the stage and the crowds around him because he can’t wait anymore.
He was barely showing his emotion because his dad told him to be a man. To never cry and have to be strong all the time.
But, since he met Buck, he always tries to never hide his emotions. Because Buck is always there for him. He never judges him when he pours out his emotions.
Buck will always be his safe space.
Buck notices it, then he places his left hand to his spine and gently rubs it. He moves his head to Eddie’s side then he whispers to his ear “Hey. Breathe, baby.”
Eddie moves his head to face his husband and he frowns along with his pursed lips. Buck just nodded, he is the best at reading his husband's body language.
Buck moves forward to kiss his husband’s forehead, “It’s okay. You’re okay.”
He turns his face and sees Eddie’s glassy eyes “Hey, it’s not the time yet.”
Eddie chuckled and nodded “Yeah, sorry.”
Buck “Don’t be.” Buck moves his hand to place it on his husband’s shoulder and Eddie leans to it.
The event starts. The principal and the teachers gave their speeches to congratulate the graduates.
Then it’s time to call them to the stage for them to receive their diploma.
When it’s time for Chris’ class, they just finished it and did not mention Chris' name. Buck and Eddie have a very big question mark in their heads.
They forgot that every school will always have their best graduate. So far, there are two of them and then
“Our next best graduate will be awarded to Christopher Diaz.”
Everyone in the room does another applause meanwhile Buck and Eddie meet with each other’s faces with their gape mouths. Buck nodded to Eddie and mouthing ‘he deserved it’.
They know their son is a genius, however they will always react like it's new information when other people or the school recognizes their child’s achievement.
Chris walks to the stage and receives his diploma with his new title. Buck was already on his camera after he heard Chris’ name to take his picture and Eddie with his phone to record a video.
While the MC calls another student, Chris searches for his dads in the crowd. When he finally found them, he smiled widely and it caused a lot of damage to his dads. They both broke their tears while waving to him.
This is Christopher Diaz, the same boy who always painted for his family. A boy who someday wants to go to outer space. A boy who always shared his toys with his friends. He is also a boy who doesn’t want his dad to be sad.
Christopher Diaz who is a son of Eddie Diaz, Shannon Diaz, and Evan Buckley.
Buck yells “That’s my boy!”
Both of his Diaz boys and the crowds around them chuckle and he just grinning until his jaw aches.
After the event, now the three of them line up to take pictures in front of the backdrop wall.
They decided to have lunch at Taco Bell, then go home to take a nap before the after party at the Wilsons to celebrate Denny and Chris’ graduation.
===
The 118 family is already there except Maddie and Chimney, because they keep occupied with the baby stuff and Jee’s mood.
When the Buckley-Diaz arrived, they were welcomed with enthusiasm.
“Welcome our best graduate!” Karen yells.
Chris smiles shyly and thanks her before he notices Bobby running toward his beloved grandson with open arms and immediately keeps him in his embrace and kisses his curls.
“I’m so proud of you, Kid.”
“Thank you, Bobby.”
Chris lets go of Bobby’s arms then continues to reunite and hang with Denny on the couch.
Bobby welcomes Chris’ dads and hugs them both at the same time.
They let go of the embrace and Bobby looked at both of them.
“Good job, dads”
Buck nodded “Thank you.”
“He's just so smart and I think he deserved it. Can’t believe that’s my son.”
Bobby smiles “You have a big part of it too. I’m so proud of you, Eddie.”
“And you too, Buck.”
A few minutes later, the Buckley-Hans arrived. They walk a little bit rushed because they don’t want to miss any moments.
They start with dinner, then karaoke, dancing, and taking pictures with the props prepared by Karen.
====
Now Chris has a few months break before starting his freshmen year. He got accepted at UCLA through a scholarship, majoring in Physics and Astronomy.
During the break, he sometimes caught up with his friends or his friends would come over to his house.
Then, he hung out with his friends for the last time before all of them left for college.
He hasn’t hung out with his dads yet except when they have days off they spent it to rest before on shift again.
They actually want to spend it to the fullest, so they already told Bobby for four days off before Chris left for UCLA.
Yes, they’ll be still in the same city but college student Chris won’t stay at home with his dads. He wants to get that full experience, so he signed up to stay at the college dorms.
At first, Eddie wanted to disagree because he was still thinking when his baby decided to go to Texas. But, his grandparents were there to keep eyes on him even though he felt a little bit pressured for the chess thing, so did Eddie.
A college dorm? Yes, he could call his dads if he needs anything, but Eddie doubts he would call him or his husband because he is finally “free”. So, he would prefer to do it on his own or maybe ask his friends.
Buck agreed with him but he also didn’t disagree with Chris. Because he made a deal with his son to visit them on the weekend if they weren’t on shift or they would come to his dorm and be hung out at the place around the campus.
Chris huffed “Okay, deal.”
Then, Eddie said the same thing.
===
Now it's his time to spend it with his dads. Buck already told Bobby they will have four days off to prepare everything for college.
They struggled to decide where to go and what to do. When his Buck dad mentioned Universal Studios then they went for it.
Chris uses his wheelchair because he knows it’ll require him to walk for miles and miles. He knew the drill when he went to Disneyland.
So, they go to several safe options, rides and zones. During their walk, they meet a bunch of characters and they interact then take pictures with Chris’ favorites.
Now, they have lunch and Chris talks about his friends and where the college they go to. But Eddie is unusually quiet. He just listens to them talk while eating his hotdog.
Buck stares at him while listening to Chris’ story. Eventually, Chris notices why Buck didn’t look at him, and then he looks at his dad.
“Are you okay, Eddie?” concerns Buck.
“Yeah. I need to go to the bathroom.”
Buck’s gaze doesn’t leave Eddie until he disappears. Then, he looks back again to his son who keeps calling him and only listens after the sixths.
“Yeah?” says Buck.
“Is dad okay?” asks Chris.
“I don’t know.”
Chris actually noticed it too, but he still wanted to enjoy his time with his dads before he left them less than an hour apart.
Buck continues the interrupted conversation with his son.
“So, he goes to UCL-”
“Does he still not want me to stay at the dorm?” Chris cuts him.
Buck falls silent with a concerned look.
“I- I think he still needs time to process it.”
“But I’m eighteen now.” protests Chris who stopped eating his fries.
“Yeah but you’re still his baby” says Buck jokingly but Chris doesn’t find it funny.
Chris didn’t want to do this but he had to get rid of whatever things that tried to pollute his head before he left.
“Is this because I left for Texas?”
He just doesn't want to bring the burden to the campus.
Before Buck responds to that, Eddie is back again to their table.
On his seat, Eddie finally realizes the awkward silence between his husband and their son.
“Uhm… what happened?” Eddie asked.
Chris ignores his dad’s question “Can we go to the gift shop now?”
Buck answers “Yeah, let’s go.”
Eddie is still confused but he stands up and walks with them to the gift shop.
They only bought several items, mostly for Chris to bring them to his dorm.
===
They left pretty early before the close hour because Buck suggested buying new clothes and shoes for his son at the shopping mall.
Their journey to the shopping mall is pretty quiet, just a low volume of the radio, because Chris took a nap in the backseat and in the passenger seat, Eddie decided to get lost in his thoughts again.
Now, they are in a shopping mall. Firstly, they will find a shoe store because Chris has a specific taste in them.
Then, they went to several clothing stores and succeeded in bringing two hoodies, three shirts, and one hat home.
===
They arrive at their house parking lot, the house which the couple bought after they got engaged and Eddie still gets lost in his thoughts and Buck needs to bring him back as soon as they finish showering and curled up in their bed.
As soon as Buck unlocked the door, Eddie opened it and walked back to help his son and he decided to walk with his crutches. They brought them as well, just in case Chris changed his mind to not use the wheelchair.
Chris walks to the porch and waits for his dads take out the stuff from the car to unlock the door.
Buck brings two shopping bags of Chris’ clothes and shoes on his both hands and Eddie brings the Universal Studios gift shop bag.
Buck put down one bag to unlock the door and let his Diaz boys enter the house first. Then, he takes the shopping bag on the floor to his hand and he enters the house and locks it again.
When Buck is already inside, he wants to ask Eddie if he wants to have dinner, but after he places the bag on the floor beside the couch, he immediately goes to their bedroom and is ready for a shower.
So, he asks Chris instead.
“Do you wanna have dinner first? I could make pasta or instant noodles maybe?”
Chris yawns before he answers “I think I’m good. I miss my bed so bad.’’
Buck nodded “Shower first.”
Chris just grunts and rolls his eyes.
Buck watches him walk in the hallway to his bedroom “Night, Chris.”
“Night, dad.”
===
When Buck enters his and Eddie’s bedroom, Eddie hasn’t left the shower yet.
He sits on the bed and never stops to think if he should knock on the bathroom door or not
But before he finished his thought, he already hears the door unlocked and Eddie finally comes out with only a towel that covers his lower part.
Buck stares at his husband’s back for a while when he looks out for a shirt and shorts to wear.
Eddie can feel it. He knows he’s being watched.
“What?” Eddie asks without turning around.
“No.” Buck answers him quickly.
“You’re not going to shower?”
“Yeah, now I’m going to.”
Now, Eddie turns around when Buck is already walking to the bathroom.
After Buck finished, he saw Eddie lay down on his side facing the wall with the cover beneath half of his body
Buck joins him and stares at his husband’s back. He can’t see him like this, carrying his burden alone. He had spent time giving him space all day, so the urge to bring him to his embrace is getting stronger.
Then, he hears a muffled sound.
“Eddie,” whispers Buck.
Buck closes the space between them and places his hand over Eddie’s waist and slowly goes to his stomach and rubs it.
“Hey, baby. I’m here,” says Buck to his neck, then he kisses it.
Eddie rolls back to face Buck and puts his arm around his waist. He buries his face on his husband’s neck and lets the tears fall down on it.
Buck gently rubs Eddie’s back and keeps soothing him, “Shh… shh. You’re okay, baby. I’m here.”
Eddie’s breath hitches, “Buck I-”
He pulls away from Buck’s neck. Wet red cheeks and glassy eyes on his face. ‘Beautiful’ Buck’s heart whispers. Buck snaps and he wipes Eddie’s cheeks with his thumb.
Eddie does as his husband told him to and starts to speak again.
“I’m not ready yet, Buck.”
Buck stares at him. He knows what he’s talking about but he just wants to make sure.
“Not ready for what?”
Eddie stares at him back, “Chris leaving us.”
Buck hums and nods “I can see that. Why are you not ready yet?”
Eddie silences and Buck waits.
“What if he doesn’t need us anymore?”
Buck wants to answer that but Eddie keeps talking.
“What if he doesn’t wanna go back home?”
Buck cuts him “Eddie.”
But Eddie didn’t listen “To us? What if he wanna stay on his own forever?”
“Eddie.”
“What if he met a stranger and they took him again.”
“Buck what if-”
Buck can’t take it anymore. He leans forward unconsciously, his lips are already on Eddie’s. He keeps pushing them gently and Eddie kisses him back. He slips his hand on Eddie’s shirt and rubs his spine. Tears fall down again on Eddie’s cheeks because Buck can feel it on his own.
Buck tries to wipe them on Eddie’s but his lips are busy on his. Eddie grabs Buck's shirt and he groans because Buck keeps deepening the kiss until he forgets how to breathe.
Buck pulls it out slowly and wipes his husband’s cheeks, “Eddie, look at me.”
Eddie obeys, he stares at his husband with his doe eyes. Buck’s weakness.
Buck stares at him for a while and continues “Chris is gonna be okay.”
Buck also can’t believe those words came out from his mouth. He also wants to protect Chris forever but he should trust him too, so he can experience and learn a lot of things on his own.
Eddie stays silent.
Buck continues, “He’s eighteen now and he still has us. No matter where he goes, he will always be ours.”
Eddie nods “Yeah, he is.”
Buck kisses his temple and brings him back to his embrace.
They sleep curled up under the blanket until the sun comes up.
===
Buck is in the kitchen. He brews coffees for himself and Eddie. Then, he makes strawberry juice for Chris. This morning’s main dish is breakfast wraps because he recently bookmarked the recipe on his TikTok.
Eddie’s already out of his bedroom and comes to the kitchen. Buck hasn’t noticed him yet until he gets closer to him.
Eddie slips his arms around his husband’s waist and lays his cheek on his shoulder. Buck stops cutting the cabbage, and puts the knife beside the cutting board. He turns around and pulls Eddie to his embrace.
They stay like that for a while. Buck knows Eddie really needs this, so he just lets him. He kisses his head and rubs his back.
Buck breaks the silence. “Your coffee’s ready.”
Eddie pulls back but he’s still in Buck’s arms “Okay. What are you making?”
Buck meets his eyes “Breakfast wraps. Found it on TikTok.”
Eddie just nods and ready to leave but Buck stops him and kisses him on his lips. Eddie kisses back slowly. When they finished, Eddie brought his coffee to the living room and Buck continued to make the wraps.
There is Chris’ suitcase and his backpack. He already packs before they went to Universal Studios (Buck’s advice, so he could check again and again before leaving).
That is what Eddie is gonna do, check Chris’ stuff again before he leaves tomorrow. A few minutes later, the crutches sound came out. The boy walks out straight to the kitchen to see what’s for breakfast.
Chris takes a seat on the dining chair “Morning. What’s for breakfast?”
Buck steps closer to kiss his son’s curls “Morning, Chris. I make breakfast wraps. I saw it on TikTok.”
Chris sips his juice with a little smug on his face “Told you, TikTok is helpful.”
Buck grumbles and ruffles his hair, then back again to finish the wrap.
“Where’s dad?” Chris asks.
“Living room.”
Chris just nodded and later on his dad called him.
Eddie yells “Hey Chris. Let’s pack this.”
“Pack what?” Chris yells back from the kitchen.
“Your new clothes and shoes” Eddie replies.
“Can we eat breakfast first?”
“I think you should do it now, so you have more time to rest later.”
“Yeah, but I want to eat breakfast first” says Chris, sounds frustrated, cause he just woke up and got a little cranky.
“What if you forget it later?” Eddie yells again.
Chris grunts “I won’t, dad!”
“You have to pack your toiletries later right?”
Chris didn’t answer this time, he just stared at his glass of strawberry juice that was already half empty.
Buck turns his attention back at Chris who sits quietly and looks upset. He wants to interfere before it explodes.
But before that, Chris already pushes the chair, grabs his crutches and goes to the living room. Buck wants to follow him, but he needs to get the breakfast done and at the same time he gives them some space too.
Once Chris sees his dad, he just stands there staring at him, busying himself with the opened suitcase. Eddie notices his space gets dark and he lifts his head and stares back at the boy in front of him.
Chris steps closer to his dad on the couch. He moves his dads’ hands to the sides one by one. Then, he puts his crutches beside the couch.
He climbs to his dad’s lap and sits sideways. He puts his arms around his dad’s neck and buries his face. Eddie freezes, doesn’t know how to react.
This is so out of the blue. His eighteen-year-old son initiated affection. This is not real. This can’t be real. Probably he’s not awake yet.
But, when he tries to put his arms around his son, he can feel that he's there. His son’s breath makes his neck shiver.
He slowly rubs his son’s back, “C-Chris? What are you doing?”
His eyes sting and his heart beats rapidly. He can feel Chris shift a little, leaning on Eddie’s shoulder.
“Hugging you” Chris answers simply.
“Why?”
“Cause I think you need it.”
Oh no. This can’t be real, right?
Eddie finally lets his tears out and Chris just listens to the muffled sound.
“I’m not going anywhere, dad.”
Eddie can’t do this. His son worries about him. It should be the other way around.
Eddie needs to get himself together, so he rocks his grown son gently, “I know.”
Chris continues “I will call you as often as possible.”
Eddie shakes his head, “No, just call whenever you need me or Buck.”
“I know. But, what if I just want to call you or Buck?”
“Of course you can. You really can.”
Chris pulls away and finally sees his dad’s face, “But…”
Eddie tilts his head and Chris continues, “But please don’t be sad when I’m away.”
Someone please call 911 or Eddie could never recover from this, ever.
His son rarely talks about what he feels except when he’s being asked first. But, now he just poured it to his dad while getting comfortable in a hug that he initiated.
Eddie shuts his eyes that cause the tears falling so quickly to his cheeks then his neck.
He opens his eyes again, “No, I won’t and please don’t think about me, just focus on your study.”
“I’ll try.”
Chris rubs his fingertips cause there’s something else he wants to say.
He looks at Eddie, “and dad.”
Eddie looks at him fondly, “and what?”
“I’m sorry that I left for Texas.”
Eddie’s chest hurts. Those days were hard but it was never his son’s fault. He also didn’t expect that he would be gone with a stranger. That was harder, but he’s safe now.
“Hey, it’s okay. Don’t apologize. You’re here now, that’s what matters.”
Eddie kisses his son’s cheek. When he finished, Chris laid his face again on Eddie’s shoulder. Eddie rocks him again and rubs his curls on the back.
“Oh, I miss this.”
Buck just finished with the wraps and he’s been trying to listen to his Diaz boys but he can’t hear anything. He thought they already had the conversation.
He walks out from the kitchen to the living room. He calls both of them when he gets closer, “Guys, breakfast rea-”
He freezes when he sees his two beloved people snuggling on the couch. He pursed his lips and his eyes felt warm.
The ones on the couch stay like that and didn’t notice Buck is already in the same space with them.
Eddie lifts his head, eyes meets Buck’s, “Buck. You okay?” Chris also turns his head to see the person behind him.
“Yeah. I- I thought you guys already talked about- you know.”
“We did,” Eddie answers him softly.
Chris thinks his other dad needs a hug too, “Come here, Buck.”
Buck can’t say no to Chris so he sits beside his husband with his son on his lap. Chris takes off his arm around his dad and offers them to Buck. Slightly, Buck shifts to Eddie’s side and closes his space between him and Chris.
Buck has the same reaction as his husband when Chris initiated the hug. He just experienced the rarest moment ever and he will definitely cherish it forever.
“What is this for?” asks Buck and he looks at Eddie with his lifted eyebrows.
Chris leans his cheek on Buck’s shoulder and answers him simply, “I think you might need it too.”
Buck’s eyes are still on Eddie and his lips wobble. His eyes are glassy and finally the tears running down his cheeks. Eddie gently rubs his husband’s curls and shifts his body to kiss his temple.
Buck then answers him with a muffled sound, “I think I’ll always need it.”
“But you can ask dad if I’m not around.”
Buck pursed his lips and furrowed his brows still looking at his husband “Of course.”
Eddie smiles and Chris pulls away from Buck. Chris looks at both of them and, “I love you, dads.”
“We love you too,” says Buck.
Eddie stares at his son, still thinking that he’s in a dream, “Can’t believe he’s our son.”
Buck chuckles and nods, “Yeah, we’re so lucky.” Eddie agrees.
As the closure, they do a group hug. They sure believe that they’re gonna be okay.
===
They had a breakfast with different topics of conversation and they shared a laugh. Everything just feels so right and warm.
After breakfast, Chris did what his dad asked before breakfast. He checks again and packs the new stuff they bought yesterday.
Everything was packed already except the toiletries because he still needs to use it and he plans to buy the new ones for additional supplies while in the dormitory.
Before they went to the grocery store he asked his dad if he could go to his mom’s grave. His dads agreed and they went to the florist to buy a bucket of sunflowers for Shannon before the grave site.
Chris takes a seat beside the tombstone and looks at his dads standing behind him to let them know that he will start to talk to his mother. They both nod and Chris look back again to the tombstone and place the sunflowers bouquet in front of it.
“Hey mom. It’s me again.”
He pauses and continues again, “I’m here with dads. I wanna to tell you that I’m going to college soon.”
Behind him, Eddie smiles proudly at Buck and Buck does the same. Then, Buck places his hand on his husband’s spine.
They continued to listen to their son, “I actually had two choices, MIT and UCLA.”
“But since I got a scholarship from UCLA, I decided to take it. I chose physics and astronomy.”
“But, beside that, I chose UCLA so I can still be close to dads and… you.”
Eddie’s eyes widened after he listened to the reason why his son chose to spend his college years in LA. His eyes become stingy but he hears Chris continue.
“I think because I can’t be away from dad and vice versa.”
Eddie lowers his head after he feels his cheeks wet and Buck brings him to his arms immediately.
Chris continues again, “And in a few days, I’ll start my freshmen year and I know it’s still in this city, but I will stay at the college’s dorm.”
Buck wipes out Eddie’s cheeks with his thumb and kisses his temple.
“I think that’s it. Wish me luck, mom.”
Chris turns around and he appears with his concerned look when he sees red eyes and nose on his dad’s face.
“Dad, are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m good. Now my turn.”
So, Eddie sits down beside his son and starts to talk to his late wife.
“Hi Shannon.”
“He just told you, right? In a few days our son will officially become a college student. I still can’t believe it, you know?”
“Thanks to you he got his scholarship because I learned that a child’s intelligence passed down from their mother.”
“Buck told me that and I think I agree. So, thank you.”
Buck smiles and he meets Eddie’s eyes who smiles at him.
Eddie turns around and he looks at the sunflowers. They are so Shannon—bright and pretty.
“To be honest, I was having a hard time dealing with his decision to stay at the dorm, but I think he’ll be fine, cause he's the bravest kid I’ve ever known.
Eddie sniffles, “yeah, we’ll be fine.”
“I think I’m done. Let’s-”
Buck steps closer to the other side, across from his boys and lowered his body, “If you don’t mind, I wanna talk to her too.”
Eddie nods, “Okay.”
So, Buck starts, “Hi Shannon, I have not much to say. I just wanna thank you for everything. I’m so honored to take care of your son and I promise I’ll be doing it for the rest of my life.”
He pauses and looks at the people in front of him before continuing again.
“And Eddie’s been nothing but a great dad for Chris. I’m so proud of him.”
“I think that’s from me. Have a good rest, Shannon.”
Buck and Eddie are behind Chris when they’re walking back to the parking lot. They’re holding hands and Eddie leans closer to Buck’s side, “I’m so proud of you too, you know?”
Buck looks at him and smiles, “I know.”
Eddie smiles back, “Good.”
===
They didn’t spend much time at the grocery store and eat dinner at home because Buck wanted to make pasta carbonara.
As expected, it was good and Chris said he might be craving it again while he is in the dorm. So, he asks Buck if he could make it again and send it to the dorm and of course it’ll be Buck’s pleasure.
Buck said he could ask him anything he wants and he’ll make and send it to him. If he’s on shift he will make it the day after.
The dinner is finished and they should be sleeping soon because they will go to UCLA as early as possible to do the campus tour. Then, they will help Chris to find his dorm room and set up some stuff.
===
The sun shines so brightly is a sign for a good start, Buck thinks. He drives them to the places in UCLA as much as possible because he’s been curious too with this prestigious college.
He couldn’t agree more after they arrived in the Physics and Astronomy building. Both of him and Eddie are in awe to see everything around him. Chris just shows his non-chalant expression but eyes can’t lie.
After they finished the tour, they immediately went to the dorm. They went to room number 317, it’s on the fourth floor, so they use the elevator.
Now, they’re in the front door and Eddie decided to knock first just in case someone is already inside.
Eddie was right. A brunette boy wearing glasses, “Wait a minute.”
When the door opens, the boy greets them first, “Hi.”
Eddie replies, “Hi. I think this is my son’s room.”
The boy looks at him, then Chris, “Oh yeah yeah. My first roommate.”
Eddie smiles, “Yes.”
“Come in.”
“Thank you.”
The three of them come inside the room. There are two bunk beds with one bathroom and a small kitchen. Kind of reminds Eddie of when he enlisted.
Chris sits on the bed across which seems claimed by his first roommate, the stuff on it says it all.
“I think I’m gonna take this.”
The boy who is still standing nods.
“I’m Chris by the way,” reaching out his hand to him.
The boy takes it and introduces himself, “I’m Neil.”
Buck and Eddie look fondly at them and they both snap when Neil offers his hand to them.
Eddie grabs it, he sways his hand to Buck “This is Buck and I’m Eddie. We’re Chris’ dads. Nice to meet you.”
Neil smiles, “Nice to meet you too.”
When they finished the introduction, Eddie asks Chris if he wants to unpack.
“Now, do you wanna us to help unpack or?”
“Yes, I think. But just put the clothes in the dresser and I will unpack the toiletries.”
Buck and Eddie say in unison, “Okay.”
===
Before Buck and Eddie go home, they decide to have lunch at the dorm cafeteria with both Chris and Neil.
They learnt that Neil is majoring in the same major as Chris. Chris was so glad and so were his dads. Neil was in awe when Chris told him that his dads are firefighters. Neil told Chris too that his father is a doctor and his mother is an elementary school teacher.
Time flies so fast, it’s time for Buck and Eddie to leave the campus. Neil comes with them to the parking lot.
Eddie brings Chris to his embrace and kisses his curls, “Be good, okay? Please call me or Buck if you need anything.”
“Okay, dad.”
“Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
It’s Buck turn, “Hey Superman. A college student huh?”
He pulls him into his arms, “So proud of you. I know you can do it.”
“Thank you… dad.”
Buck smiles and kisses his curls, “I love you, kid.”
“Love you too, dad.”
They both pull away and say goodbye to each other.
“Take care, both of you” says Eddie to his son and his new friend before he opens the car’s door.
Chris replies, “Will do! You too!”
Now, Buck and Eddie are inside the car. Eddie breaks the silence from the passenger seat, “We did it, baby.”
Buck smiles at him, “We did.”