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Eighteen dollars and ninety-nine cents.
Buck now pays $18.99 a month for a Disney+ subscription because there’s a kid in his home. Nonetheless, a very important kid, but said kid doesn’t like ads, and instead of Buck getting away with only paying $11.99 a month, he pays $18.99.
And Buck’s not going to let the money go to waste. So every week, he and Theo sit on the couch and watch a movie.
And although Theo might not remember the entire movie the next day, or hell, even later that night, he does remember specific parts.
And those specific parts, without a doubt, terrorize Buck for the rest of the week.
+++
It started with Tangled.
It’s been a week since the hospital shooting. A week since Eddie got stabbed. A week since Eddie said, “Not that deep.” Yet, he still winces when he moves too quickly or picks anything up.
Ten stitches sit in Eddie’s lower right abdomen, covered with a white bandage and ointment. Buck knows that because he’s been tasked with making sure Eddie changes the dressing and doesn’t pop the stitches. Which, with Eddie, the paramedic, is easier said than done.
Which is why, with both of them off today, Buck has Eddie chained to his couch. Metaphorically, of course. Buck doesn’t let Eddie lift a finger.
Water? Buck rushes to get it. Hungry? Buck whips something up quickly and serves it to Eddie like a waiter. He wants the remote? Buck hurries from the kitchen to get it before him.
Of course, this all happens while Buck tries to keep Theo entertained, and despite coloring, running laps around the yard, playing soccer, and hide-and-seek. Theo gets bored.
“Eddieeee,” Theo whines, clambering onto the couch. “Why can’t you play with me?”
Eddie smiles and sighs forlornly, “That’s a question for Buck, kiddo.”
“BUCK!” Theo shouts. Eddie winces and quickly covers his ears with his hands. “WHY CAN’T EDDIE PLAY WITH ME!?”
Buck walks into the living room, sees the smirk on Eddie’s face and Theo’s puppy dog eyes. He’s so screwed.
“I told you, Theo. He got hurt at work and needs to rest.”
Theo sighs like Eddie getting stabbed has really inconvenienced him. Then, his eyes light up, and he scoots closer to Eddie. “Where did you get hurt?”
Eddie looks to Buck, trying to see if it’s a good idea for Theo to know, and Buck just nods wordlessly.
Eddie places a hand on his stomach, “Right here, bud.”
Buck watches tentatively as Theo moves closer, shoving Eddie’s hand away and replacing it with the crown of his head.
Eddie snorts, “Uh, hi?”
Theo twists so he’s looking at Buck upside down. “Buck, sing the song.”
“Uh, what?” And even though Theo is upside down and his face half covered by Eddie’s shirt, Buck can still see the kid roll his eyes.
“The magic glowy song!” He exclaims. “So Eddie can heal!”
Eddie’s shoulders start shaking from laughter.
“Theo, buddy, I don’t think—”
Theo groans as if Buck had personally insulted Rapunzel herself. “But he’s just like U-deen!”
Which. In a way, Eddie does have some similarities to the reformed thief, Eugene. The tanned skin and dark brown features. Also got stabbed in the stomach. Muscular build. The dude climbed a whole tower with discarded arrows, come on.
And Eddie, because he’s an asshole, says, “C’mon, Buck, I’ll even smolder for you.”
“No!” Buck says quickly. “I’ll—I’ll sing. I’ll sing the magic song.”
And Buck, with the most deadpan voice he can put on, that luckily Theo doesn’t seem to notice, sings. “Flower, gleam, and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse. Bring back what once was mine—”
Buck continues with the healing incantation, watching as Theo squeezes his eyes shut and mumbles the words. And even though Theo’s hair isn’t glowing and Eddie’s wound isn’t magically healing, Buck pretends it is. Mostly for Theo’s sake, but also some for his own mind that keeps seeing those elevator doors open up to Eddie bleeding out.
When Buck finishes singing, Theo lifts up and looks at Eddie expectantly.
“Wow, kid! I feel better already!”
Theo throws his hands in the air in glory, “Yay!” He’s practically vibrating on the couch now, holding Eddie’s hand and pulling. “Now we can play.”
And shit. Buck didn’t think about that part. The part where the magical song doesn’t work and isn’t real. The part where Eddie still has a stab wound with ten stitches.
“Oh! Theo—”
“I would play, but it’s time for me to pick up Chris from school, bud,” Eddie says, and Buck glances at the clock on the wall and sees it actually is time for them to pick up Chris.
Theo frowns, clearly upset and dejected, but he lets go of Eddie’s hand anyway. “Okay.”
And Buck is a weak man. A very weak man.
“How about we ride with Eddie and get ice cream altogether instead?”
Theo perks up instantly, his eyes wide like saucers. “YES! ICE CREAM!”
Buck laughs, “Alright, go get your shoes, bud.”
Theo jumps off the couch, which makes Buck and Eddie flinch, before he takes off for his room.
Buck sighs, watching Theo disappear down the hall, before he feels a hand on his shoulder.
“Thanks for the song, princess,” Eddie whispers, runs his hand down Buck’s arm, stopping to squeeze his bicep, and walks away.
Buck blinks.
And Theo comes barreling out of his room, like a bull in a china shop, right into Buck, knocking his brain back online.
Buck spends the rest of the day singing “I’ve got a dream” in his head.
+++
Buck makes the mistake of cooking homemade pasta after watching Ratatouille.
Theo sits on the counter, kicking his legs back and forth while Buck works the sauce into the big pot of noodles.
“You’re good at cookin’, Buck,” Theo said suspiciously.
Buck grinned. “Thanks, buddy.”
Theo narrowed his eyes, then he leaned forward and whispered, “Where’s the rat?”
Buck froze.
Eddie snorted so loud he choked on his beer.
Chris groaned at the table. “Ew, Dad.”
Buck had originally only invited the Diaz’s over for dinner tonight, but then, Theo had begged and begged they come over earlier and watch their weekly movie together. So, when Eddie agreed and showed up directly after getting Chris from school, the four of them sat on Buck’s couch and watched Ratatouille.
Once the movie ended, Buck heard Eddie and Chris’s stomachs growling and knew it was time to start cooking. And the thing is, Buck always makes homemade meals when Eddie and Chris come over. The purpose being so he knows they’re not eating takeout or leftovers all week.
Apparently, that was enough evidence for Theo to condemn him.
“There’s no rat,” Buck states.
Theo looked unconvinced. “Maybe in your hat?”
Buck reaches up towards his head. He’s not even wearing a hat.
“I’m not hiding a rat in my hat!”
He hears Eddie giggle, and Buck snaps his gaze towards him, shaking his head because Eddie is supposedly five years old and thinks Buck’s rhyming is funny.
Theo doesn’t give up. “That’s what someone who was hidin’ a rat would say.”
Eddie completely lost it, laughing into his hands, his cheeks painted pink. Chris even joins in, head thrown back, his shoulders shaking.
Buck composed himself. “Theo, I don’t have a rat helping me cook.”
Theo tilts his head, squinting his eyes, not believing him.
Buck sighs, “Bud, rats are dirty. We don’t want them in the kitchen, okay?”
Theo nods, accepting defeat, and lets Buck lift him off the counter so he can eat at the table.
The next day, when Buck and Theo bring leftovers to the station, a rat runs across the concrete floor, skidding underneath the fire engine.
“I KNEW IT!” Theo shouts.
Eddie doubled over in laughter so hard that he had to lean on Buck for support.
+++
Buck should’ve guessed what would happen after watching The Princess And The Frog.
It’s warm outside today, and Buck’s glad he has the day off so he and Theo can enjoy the nice weather. It’s not too sweltering hot to where Buck’s constantly sweating, but it’s hot enough for him to break out the sprinkler for Theo.
Buck’s had the oscillating sprinkler ever since he moved in, purchasing it as soon as he saw he had a backyard with a garden. But now, it lies in the middle of grass attached to the hose as Theo runs laps around it in his Spider-Man swim trunks, courtesy of Maddie. And although Theo seems very content with the sprinkler, Buck already has ideas about getting a pool next summer.
Buck lounges in his lawn chair, sunglasses perched on his head, and two bottles of water in his lap. He watches as Theo laughs loudly, jumping over the sprinkler a couple of times before running in circles again.
One thing Buck has learned about Theo is that the kid is good at entertaining himself. Don’t get him wrong, Buck knows Theo is full of energy. He also knows he may have ADHD like Buck, but he’s still coming to terms with that. The point is, as long as Theo has plenty of things to choose from, he’s good at entertaining himself with that thing before he gets bored and moves on to the next. So, Buck makes sure there’s something for Theo to do in every corner of his house. Simple.
And that’s why Buck watches in amusement as Theo narrates to himself about jumping over the large river filled with sharks.
Once Theo conquers his mission, Buck calls him over. “You need more sunscreen, bud.”
Theo groans, dragging his feet over towards Buck like SPF is his mortal enemy.
Buck gets up to grab the sunscreen bottle off the patio table, turning his back to Theo for literally five seconds, and when he turns back around, Theo is holding a frog.
A fat, slimy, green frog sits in the palms of Theo’s tiny hands.
Buck drops the bottle of sunscreen.
“Uh, Theo, buddy? Let’s put the frog down.”
Theo blinks. “What if it’s Eddie?”
“What?”
“Like the movie, Buck!” Theo exclaims, and he stares intensely at the unmoving frog. “It looks like Eddie!”
Buck sputters, “How would that frog be Eddie, Theo?”
Theo shrugs, voice quiet and childlike, “I don’t know, but it could be ‘im.”
Buck sighs and squeezes the bridge of his nose between his fingers, but before he can speak again, Theo gasps.
“You need to kiss it to bring Eddie back!”
“No.”
“Please, please, please, Buck! It’s the only way!” Theo’s eyes start to fill with tears as he holds the frog close to Buck.
The frog blinks at him, and Buck blinks back. He’s about to kiss a fucking frog for this kid.
Buck swallows, “Okay, how about I kiss my fingers and then touch the frog—Eddie?”
Theo thinks it over for a while before he nods fervently, his wet curls bouncing on his head.
Buck thanks his lucky stars and purses his lips, kissing his middle and pointer fingers together. Then, Buck takes a deep breath and slowly reaches out until he touches the cold, slimy skin of the frog.
The frog jumps out of Theo’s hands, and Buck darts out of the way as the frog heads for—
“Oh god, no.”
The frog hops into the house through the open back door. Theo runs after it, and Buck follows Theo. Buck watches in horror as the frog hops around his house before squeezing its way underneath the closed guest bathroom door.
Just as the frog goes out of sight, the bathroom door opens.
“Eddie!”
Buck stares at human Eddie, wet and freshly showered, coming out of the bathroom.
Eddie leans down to ruffle Theo’s wet curls, “Hey, kiddo.”
“It worked, Buck!” Theo shouts, hugging Eddie’s legs before taking off back outside.
“Uh, what worked?” Eddie asks.
Buck eyes him suspiciously. “You don’t have the sudden urge to ribbit, do you?”
“Buck, what—no?”
Buck sighs, “Okay, good.” He pats Eddie on the back. “I thought you had a shift today?”
Eddie smiles, albeit a little shyly. “Took half the day off to hang out.”
Buck grins, his hand still on Eddie’s shoulder. Eddie, who smells like Buck right now because he showered at his house. Eddie, who licks his lips, Buck’s eyes tracking the motion.
“Eddie, come outside!” Theo shouts.
Buck flinches, steps away from Eddie, and gestures for him to hurry outside. Not wanting to keep Theo waiting.
When Buck looks inside the bathroom, the frog is nowhere to be found.
+++
Buck should’ve known Big Hero 6 was going to become a problem the second Theo met Baymax.
Actually, correction.
The second Theo discovered, Baymax’s entire purpose was to take care of people.
Because Theo took exactly one thing away from the entire movie, everyone required a “healthcare protocol” at all times.
“From one to ten, how is your pain?”
Buck blinked down at Theo. “…What?”
Theo stood in the middle of the kitchen wearing Baymax-themed pajamas and holding a toy doctor kit with alarming authority.
“Your pain level, Buck!” Theo repeated.
Buck looks at the very tiny paper cut he got on his finger while coloring with Theo. “Uh, zero out of ten?”
Theo shoved a plastic stethoscope against Buck’s chest. The plastic sits more on Buck’s clavicle than his heart.
“Stay still,” Theo says seriously.
Theo listens for something before determining his diagnosis.
“You need ice cream.”
Buck snorts. “Finally! A doctor who understands me.”
Theo’s healthcare protocol only gets more intense throughout the week.
Buck sniffled once during movie night, and Theo immediately grabbed a blanket from the basket and threw it at Buck.
“You’re sick.”
“I have allergies.”
“You’re com—compromised.”
Chris snorted soda through his nose, laughing.
Eddie hid a smile behind his hand.
Theo ignored them and pressed the back of his tiny hand against Buck’s forehead dramatically.
Buck barely held back a grin. “Am I gonna make it, doc?”
Theo considered this gravely.
“Maybe if Eddie makes you soup.”
Eddie looked offended. “Why am I suddenly the nurse?”
“Because you know everything.”
Buck hummed thoughtfully. “He does know everything.”
Eddie shot him a look across the couch.
Buck grinned.
Theo pointed at Eddie, “And you worry about Buck the most.”
Silence.
Chris looked up from his homework immediately.
Eddie stilled.
Theo, blissfully unaware of the emotional grenade he’d just launched into the room, moved on. “Can we go to the zoo again tomorrow?”
“Sure thing, bud.”
+++
It started with one stupid sneaker.
Buck found it three days after movie night. He was halfway out the door for his shift, coffee balanced in one hand, gym bag slung over his shoulder, when his foot caught on something in the entryway.
He looked down.
A single light blue Nike sneaker sat in the middle of the rug as if it had materialized overnight.
Buck frowned at it because he knew it wasn’t his. Definitely knows it’s not Theo’s because it’s too big. Who the hell is walking around with one shoe?
Behind him, Theo gasps. Not a normal gasp. A theatrical, full-body gasp.
Oh no.
The last movie they’d watched was Cinderella.
“It’s the lost shoe!”
Theo carefully picked up the shoe with both hands, as if it were sacred. “We have to find out who it belongs to, Buck!”
And well, that’s how Theo ended up coming to the station with Buck, carrying around the sneaker like Cinderella’s prince on a kingdom-wide manhunt.
Theo took his mission very seriously.
He tried it on Hen first. Watching as the shoe slid on her foot, and for a second, Buck actually thought maybe Hen’s sneaker somehow got mixed with his, but then Theo sighed dramatically.
“Too big.”
Chimney was next. The sneaker wouldn’t go past his heel.
“Too small.”
Theo ran towards Ravi next, but he was stopped by Eddie.
“Hey, I’ve been looking for that!”
Buck facepalmed.
Theo’s mouth dropped open.
“Put it on!” He demanded.
Eddie hesitated but complied. “Uh, sure, bud.”
Eddie sat down in a nearby chair and slipped the light-blue sneaker on. It was a perfect fit.
Eddie, completely oblivious to the situation happening around him, bent down and tied the laces. “It must’ve fallen out of my gym bag when I left yours, Buck.”
Theo slowly turned around to look at Buck, astonishment written all over his face. Buck grinned, knowing what was coming.
“IT’S YOU!” Theo yelled at Eddie.
Eddie looked around the room, confused. Chim nearly fell against the counter, laughing as Theo practically shook with excitement where he stood in front of Eddie.
“You’re Cinderella! Eddie’s Cinderella!” Theo cheered.
Eddie stared down at his foot like it had personally betrayed him. “Wait.”
“You lost your shoe! Just like Cinderella!”
“I’m not like Cinderella, buddy.” Eddie tried to defend himself, but Theo wasn’t listening, too busy running circles around the table and giggling.
“I don’t know, you’d make a pretty princess, Edmundo.” Hen teases.
Eddie turns a bright pink.
Theo changes his course and runs up to Buck, tugging at his sleeve urgently. “You’re the prince, Buck!”
Buck chokes on air. “What?”
Theo tugs harder. “You found the lost shoe!”
Chimney bursts into laughter again.
Theo gives up on trying to drag Buck and clambers into Eddie’s lap instead. He cups Eddie’s face with tiny hands dramatically.
“You can’t run away,” he told him. “The prince found you!”
Eddie is bright red at this point.
Buck takes pity on him and scoops Theo up by his armpits, setting him down away from Eddie so he can breathe.
Buck puts his hands on his hips, “Who wants to go down the fire pole?”
“ME!” Theo shouts. He races Buck to the pole.
Buck ignores the knowing looks from his teammates.
+++
It’s a rainy Sunday afternoon. Buck’s been trying to clean up the house for the past hour, but Theo insists he’s still playing with every toy Buck tries to put away. It’s a hard feat.
It’s an even harder feat because Chris, who laughs every time while he does his homework at the table, and Eddie, who is resting on the couch, are no help.
Buck sighs. “Theo, how can you be coloring, playing with trucks, and watching TV all at the same time?”
Theo shrugs. “I’m an octopus.”
“Right, of course.”
Eddie gives up his sleeping act by letting out a small chuckle. Theo pounces immediately.
“Eddie’s awake! Eddie’s awake!” Theo squeals in excitement, except it goes back to being quiet too quickly.
Buck turns to look at Eddie, limbs sprawled out across the couch, eyes still closed, with Theo peering curiously at him.
Then, a snore. A fake snore.
Because Eddie doesn’t snore like that, and the only time he has is when he was making fun of the way Buck snores to tease him.
Eddie’s pretending to be asleep.
Theo stands beside the couch, in front of Eddie, and reaches out a tiny finger to poke Eddie’s cheek.
Buck sees the tiniest twitch on Eddie’s mouth. Theo misses it.
“Buck!”
“What’s wrong, bud?”
Theo looks devastatingly distraught. “Eddie's still sleepin’.”
Buck hums thoughtfully and walks over to stand beside Theo and over Eddie. “Well, his eyes are closed.”
Theo nodded and turned with genuine panic in his eyes. “He’s cursed.”
Buck nearly laughed. “Theo–”
“He needs a true love's kiss!”
Right, the last movie he and Theo watched was Sleeping Beauty.
Eddie’s shoulders twitched suspiciously. Something a person who was sleeping would definitely not do.
Theo trugged on the hem of Buck’s shirt. “You need to do it quickly! So he can wake up!”
Theo’s not giving up. And what’s worse is that Eddie is still asleep. Despite knowing what’s about to happen, Eddie keeps his eyes closed and body limp.
Buck hesitates. “Theo, I'm not sure–”
“Well, I’m sure!” Theo pleads. “You have to do it now, Buck!”
Buck spares a glance towards Chris, who, unhelpfully, pretends to go back to doing his homework. Traitor.
Buck slowly leans down, opposite to Theo, who’s practically a jumping bean beside him. His eyes roam over Eddie’s peaceful face, his tanned skin, long eyelashes, and the little beauty mark underneath his eye.
Buck lowers his voice enough so Theo doesn’t hear him. “You’re so mean for this.”
Eddie does break out into a full grin then, and Buck closes the gap between them. The kiss is soft and sweet. It’s not long enough for them to get carried away, but it’s long enough for Eddie to kiss back, which is apparently too long for Chris.
“Ew, gross! Theo, cover your eyes!”
Theo slaps his hands over his face.
Buck pulls back with a laugh and rests his head against Eddie’s. “Hi.”
“Hey.”
Eddie runs a hand through the curls on the nape of Buck’s neck. “We can talk about this later, but for now, thanks for waking me up.”
“You’re welcome, sleeping beauty.”
Buck stands back up fully, Eddie following by sitting up on the couch, wide awake. Buck looks to see that Theo and Chris still have their hands covering their eyes.
“Y’all can look now.” Buck laughs.
Chris lowers his hands slowly, but Theo moves quickly, eyes lighting up to see that Eddie is awake.
“It worked!” Theo cheered.
He hugged Buck’s legs and then climbed onto the couch to hug Eddie. Buck feels incredibly soft at the sight, his heart feels fuller than ever. Buck takes the chance with Theo distracted to finally finish cleaning up the toys, and he walks by Chris in the process.
“Y’all’s wedding is gonna be sponsored by Disney+.”
“Chris!”