Chapter Text
Growing up hearing his younger sister’s rhythmic knock against his bedroom door always brought a sense of joy to Eddie, even if he claimed she was bugging him again. As an adult that same familiar knock brought forth a sense of confusion more than anything else considering they now lived several states apart and hadn’t spoken much more than the occasional text message since he last left Texas following Bobby’s passing.
“Sophia! What are you doing here?” Eddie exclaimed as the front door swung open to reveal his eldest younger sister on his doorstep.
“Damn, don’t sound so happy to see me,” Sophia remarked brushing past her brother to let herself in, she dumped her suitcase in the doorway before walking over to flop down on the couch.
“Just a surprise is all,” Eddie answered, swinging the door shut and turning back to pause at her luggage, “maybe a text would’ve been nice.”
“I’m not staying here, don't worry, I’m here because I can’t get into my airbnb until 4pm,” Sophia explained.
“And here I was thinking you came to see me,” Eddie made his way further into his house hovering just shy of the couch.
“Of course I’m here to see my favourite brother,” Sophia defended, “I’m just not staying on your couch.”
“Can’t say I blame you, Buck’s always complaining about it,” Eddie commented.
“You know I think that’s a new record,” Sophia smirked the same devious smile all Diazes possessed.
“For what?”
“For how long you can go without bringing up your Hermosa," Sophia teased.
“Ha ha,” Eddie feigned amusement, “can I get you anything?” he asked, keen to move the conversation along to literally anything else. The two of them sat swapping stories and the time passed them by quicker than they realised, so they were both startled to hear a key in the door.
In came Buck, brown paper bags in hand, accompanied by Theo and Chris, it was now that Eddie remembered Buck was doing pick up today to allow Eddie the chance to catch up on some household chores and wow does that all feel hard to explain to Sophia without some serious ribbing.
“EDDIE!!!” Theo’s voice came bounding across the room almost as quickly as the boy himself, “oh,” he stopped a foot away from the man as he noticed someone else sat with him. Chris trailed along behind flashing his tia a wave of acknowledgement before flopping himself down in an arm chair opposite.
“Hi Theo, this is my sister Sophia,” Eddie explained, darting his eyes up to Buck briefly to ensure he was caught up as well.
“Oh yeah, we’re facebook friends,” Buck commented as he made his way over to shake her hand.
“Nonsense,” Sophia batted his outstretched hand away as she rose to her feet to pull Buck in for a hug, “not all Diaz’s are as prickly as this one,” she explained.
“Ah, he’s not that bad,” Buck joked, stepping back from the embrace to crouch beside Theo, “are you going to say hi?”
“Hi Sophia,” Theo squeaked out, “I’m Theo, and I am 4 years old.”
“Hi Theo, it’s nice to meet you,” she smiled back as she crouched down alongside Buck to speak with the boy at his level.
“Why don’t we grab you a snack,” Buck offered, swooping the boy in his free arm as he carried the bag of perishables in his other hand before leaving the Diaz’s in the living room.
“So, is that one yours also? Because if so you kept that quiet,” Sophia pushed the way she always did with Eddie and both siblings chose to ignore the snort that left Chris at the question.
“Theo is Buck’s kid, he’s fostering,” Eddie explained with clinical precision.
“He’s also the bio dad,” Chris interjected, providing a less black and white outlook on the situation.
“It’s a complex situation,” Eddie continued, providing what can only be described as an understatement.
“He seems to like you,” Sophia pointed out.
“Is that surprising to you?” Eddie pushed back with a raised eyebrow trying to pinpoint the accusation under her words.
“I know you too well for any of this to feel particularly surprising Edmundo,” Sophia remarked with a laugh just on the softer side of being a full blown cackle.
“Don’t call me that,” was all Eddie could fire back, it felt like the easiest part of her sentence to unpack, maybe that was her intention using his full name. That was not something for Eddie to think about right now.
Theo came running back in the room with a juice carton fisted in one hand and an orange in the other, he reached up once he got to the couch awaiting Eddie to pull him up onto his lap. Which the man did with practiced ease, “can you open it for me?” Theo requested holding out the fruit.
“Sure thing gusanito,” Eddie began working his thumbs into the flesh of the orange peeling it away under the piercing gaze of his sister and the impatient huffs of the four year old awaiting his snack.
“So Buck, how’s your day been?” Sophia questioned, taking advantage of her brother being otherwise occupied to capture the attention of his best friend and sink her teeth in.
“Oh yeah, the usual, took the kids to school, caught up on groceries for the both of us and then grabbed the kids from school and came here,” Buck answered clearly oblivious to the domesticity of his actions.
“Well I am glad my brother has someone taking care of him, eh, is he doing a good job?” Sophia replied, directing her question back to her brother now that he’s holding a handful of discarded orange peel in his hand as his other snaking around the young boy's waist to stop him slipping off his knee.
“I can take care of myself,” Eddie counters in spite of Buck mindlessly taking the peel from his hand and excusing himself to the kitchen once again, now taking the second bag of groceries with him.
“Sure, sure, doesn’t mean it’s not nice to have a big burly man to do things for you,” Sophia continued to tease garnering further barely stifled laughs from Chris as he tapped away at his phone screen, undoubtedly relaying this to Denny in real time.
“I’m a big burly man thank you,” Eddie replied weakly, unable to compress his embarrassment at referring to himself in such a way, “I mean Buck and I help each other - we’re a team.”
“A team… so you’d say you’re partners?” Sophia flickered her eyes across Eddie’s face looking to try and catch him out but he trained his features with military precision, muscles shifting only slightly to move to a frustrated scowl.
“We’re friends, Soph,” Eddie pressed.
“Yes I know that,” Sophia rolled her eyes as if she hadn’t just been insinuating something else.
Eddie ignored her tone as he glanced down to check up on Theo as he worked his way through his after school snack, “doing okay Theo?”
“Sticky,” Theo planted his hand onto Eddie’s chest to showcase just how sticky it was, leaving behind a child-sized handprint of fruit juice on Eddie’s sage green henley.
“Yup, I can see that,” Eddie pursed his lips as his eyes met with the boys, “let’s get you cleaned up yeah?”
“Pwease,” Theo scrunched his face into a smile before collapsing himself into Eddie’s chest signally that he wanted to be carried to the bathroom, which the man of course was happy to accommodate, wasting no time securing both arms around the child and rising to his feet.
“I’ll be right back,” Eddie advised his sister with the hope that even if Buck re-entered the living room before he did the presence of Chris would be enough to stop his sister from being too invasive. He sent Theo back first having been thoroughly scrubbed clean of any residue sugars, Eddie took longer to return as he now really needed a fresh shirt after having the boys grubby little fingers gripping into it as they travelled to the bathroom.
When Eddie reached his living room Buck was back and engrossed in conversation with Sophia as Chris and Theo played some legos at the dining table, “how nice of you to join us,” Sophia remarked patting the couch to her right signalling for him to take a seat, “Buck was just telling me some stories about you.”
“Don’t believe a thing he says,” Eddie joked with a huff as he dropped to the seat.
“Well he was actually telling me about how athletic and brave you are so I suppose he was lying about all that?” Sophia turned her head to ensure Eddie saw the full shit eating smirk painted on her face.
“I like her,” Buck commented, “what do you say we send Eddie back and keep you,” he laughed, placing a gentle double tap against her forearm, an action that did not go unnoticed by Eddie by any means.
“You are not kicking me out of my own house thank you,” Eddie quipped back, eyes laser focused on Buck’s hand until it returned to his own personal space, “speaking of, it’s almost 4.”
“Wooooow,” Sophia drew out with an exaggerated eye roll. She leant back enough to look at Buck who shared the same faux offence, “my own brother trying to get rid of me so soon after I’ve arrived. California has changed you mano.”
“I just thought you’d want to drop off your luggage and relax a little,” Eddie held up his hands in defence, “but you are welcome to stay here as long as you’d like.”
“Ah, you just want to get rid of me before I have a chance to expose all your secrets to Buck,” Sophia teased, not that she knew any of his real deep secrets, no one did - Eddie wasn’t even sure some days if he believed they were genuine or not. But the idea of her spilling them, or more what she thinks she knows, to his best friend was terrifying nonetheless.
“Where are you staying?” Eddie asked.
“Found a nice place on Airbnb, it should be about a 15 minute drive from here,” Sophia shuffled her phone from her bag to show the property to her brother.
“That’s gonna be more like 30 in LA traffic, did you hire a car?” Eddie asked.
“No, ubered from the airport,” Sophia explained.
“Ouch, that couldn’t have been cheap. Did you want a ride to your place? Save you splashing more cash this soon into your trip?” Eddie suggested, knowing what type of premium most drivers will be putting on the peak time ride to solo travellers from out of town.
“Ah, I knew there was a good man in you,” Sophia joked, “Will your man here be alright without you for a bit?” she asked, nudging her elbow into Buck teasingly.
“Yeah, course,” Buck laughed back, “We always have more fun without him anyways,” he winked with a smirk crawling up his face.
“Well, since I have a ride now, we better get going,” Sophia stated.
“Will you be back for dinner?” Buck asked as the Diazes started to make their way from the couch to where Sophia’s discarded luggage sat.
“Are you cooking or Eddie?” Sophia leaned against the front door in waiting with a smile set firmly in place.
“It will be me, we were planning on having pasta, if that’s okay with you?” Buck asked, looking between both Diaz siblings for confirmation.
“Sounds perfect, all I need to do is check everything's okay with the accommodation and freshen up a little so maybe Eddie you could just wait around and we can come straight back together?” Sophia suggested.
“Yeah, that makes the most sense if you’re going alright alone that long?” Eddie looked to Buck for assurance this time.
“Stop tempting me with a good time Eds,” Buck leant against the entry arch as his eyes stayed locked with the warm brown of Eddie’s, “we’ll be fine without you for a bit. Go and enjoy your sister's company,” he continued shooing them away with his hands.
“Hey, hey, let me say goodbye to my boys first,” Eddie swatted away the other man’s hand and brushed past him letting their shoulders collide in a playful manner. He ruffled a hand through Chris’ curls as he pushed a kiss into Theo’s with a promise to be back as soon as possible, “see you later,” he added to Buck as he followed Sophia’s lead out the house.
“Thank you for this,” Sophia commented as they walked to Eddie’s truck, “I really appreciate it.”
“Maybe you can pay me back by watching what stories you’re telling Buck,” Eddie requested whilst propping the passenger door open, “I’ve got your bags,” he added as he further gestured to her to take a seat.
“What a gentleman,” Sophia replied as she slipped past him into the car, he made quick work of popping her bags in the back and making his way around to the driver's seat.
“Have you got the address?” Eddie questioned, buckling his seatbelt and checking his mirrors.
“Yeah, did you want me to just put it in the nav?” Sophia asked.
“Please yeah,” Eddie gestured to the screen. As soon as the route was provided on the screen before them the drive began, they lasted almost two minutes of generic pop music filling the car before Sophia decided to break through the quiet.
“So are you seeing anyone at the moment?” Sophia queried, leaning back against the head rest and turning slightly to look at her chauffeur.
“You’re worse than Pepa sometimes” Eddie deflected, keeping his eyes focused on the road as opposed to his sisters prying.
“That’s not an answer Edmundo,” Sophia commented in a sing-songy voice.
“Stop calling me that,” Eddie replied, continuing to avoid the question.
“You know it’s fine if you’re dating Buck.” Sophia commented catching her brother off guard enough for him to turn his head to look at her as she continued to speak,”I don’t have an issue with that, he seems nice, attractive, I get it.”
“I’m not dating Buck,” Eddie snapped his head back to the road, staring more intently than safe driving needed, “and don’t talk about him like that,” he continued with something between disgust and distress thick in his voice.
“Shame, you guys would be a cute couple,” Sophia commented, turning back to face out the windscreen herself, “so are you seeing anyone that’s not Buck?”
“No, okay, I’m not dating anyone - are you happy now?” Eddie grumbled, his grip on the steering wheel tightening in frustration.
“Of course I’m not happy Eddie, I want you to be happy,” Sophia shot back, “have you dated anyone since you and Chris came back to El Paso?”
“No, but it’s fine. Genuinely, I’m happy enough with my life as it is,” Eddie replied, certain in himself that this was true. No girlfriend has ever brought him the joy that the past few months have, he was genuinely happy with how things were.
“Your life being you, Buck and your two kids?” Sophia asked in the accusatory tone that made Eddie feel caught out in a lie despite him speaking from an honest place.
“We have two kids between us, not together,” Eddie clarified, as if the semantics really mattered, “I don’t see why you’re making a big deal out of this.”
“Maybe if you were more open on the phone, it wouldn’t have to be,” Sophia remarked, “when exactly were you planning on telling us about Buck’s mini me.”
“Theo isn’t my news to share,” Eddie replied, doing his best to ignore the bile rising in his throat as he said it, “do you want me to tell you about all my friends' kids as and when they have them?”
“You already do, you told me about Hen’s fostering and you texted me after Baby Nash’s birth, heck you told me about Buck’s sperm donation that created Theo, but you never thought to mention him now that he’s a prominent person in your life?” Sophia held out her hands presenting her through evidence to the metaphorical table as she awaited Eddie’s counter argument.
But he didn’t have one. She was right, at least about him. It was strange that he didn’t say anything about Buck taking on Theo. It wasn’t a conscious decision he made, it just didn’t feel like something he wanted to share. His sisters knowing wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world he supposes, Sophia liked Theo even if he is getting teased over it which wasn’t surprising really.
His sisters enjoyed picking into him whenever he made a comment a little too domestic about him and Buck, it bothered him at first but since coming back from Texas he started to let himself indulge in it a little more. Nothing crazy, just letting himself hear a non-judgemental outsider's perspective on what’s going on between them - something he is finding out is much easier to digest through a phone screen.
And maybe she had a point sometimes, after all in the past 3 months Eddie can’t think of a single day they didn’t see each other whether it was at work or family dinner night, or just a drink in the garden whilst the kids played. They were close, probably closer than a lot of friends are. But that doesn’t have to mean they’re together or want to be together.
They’re more than friends but there’s a million things labelled or not between friends and boyfriends and Eddie’s sure they fall somewhere safe on that line. And if his parents were to ask he’d say just friends was a sufficient title and he’d do whatever he could to avoid mentioning Theo’s existence at all. Which feels unfair to do to the boy but letting his parents anywhere near him would be far worse so sometimes things are better kept separate. And sometimes separate means secret.
“Please just don’t tell our parents, they’ll make a big deal out of it and I don’t want him to have that on his shoulders, he’s been through enough,” Eddie asked, soft and quiet.
“This doesn’t have to go further than us,,” Sophia’s previous cheeky demeanour was shed as she recognised the concern spread on her brother's face, “but saying that Adri will be pissed if she finds out you kept this from her so maybe consider telling her too.”
“Maybe we could facetime her whilst you’re here and introduce her to him?” Eddie suggested.
“How often is he over?” Sophia asked, taking a gentler approach to her questions now that Eddie’s icy exterior had started to thaw.
“Buck and I hang out most nights,” Eddie admitted waiting for another teasing poke to come, none did so he continued, “we alternate between whichever house is easiest with the kids plans - trying to make sure they get equal time in their own beds,” he continued to explain.
“I’m glad that they make you happy,” Sophia said gently as they pulled up on the airbnb’s driveway, “that’s what you deserve Eddie, happiness,” she continued with a gentle smile as she shifted to face him across the centre console.
“I’m trying to do better at believing that recently,” Eddie smiled back, “nothing like having an over-energetic four year old around to remind you how much joy there is in life.”
“I know I only met him briefly, but for what it’s worth it seems like he’s pretty grateful to have you in his life as well,” Sophia commented, knowing what to say to warm her brother's heart as easily as she knows which buttons to press to get on his nerves, “can I ask what happened to cause Buck to take him in?”
“Uh yeah, probably easier than Buck trying to explain it. Theo’s parents - Buck’s friends - were in a car accident, only Theo survived it. We, um, our firehouse were the ones called to the scene, it was a pretty hard one for everyone involved but especially Buck. He decided to foster him a little bit after that and honestly Soph, if he hadn’t…”
“You would’ve,” Sophia exhaled over the words as she finished her brother's thought.
“I would’ve talked to him about it of course, but I just, I’m glad that Buck decided to go for it. He’s a really great dad,” Eddie remarked.
“He was a big part of Chris’ life too, right?” Sophia asked.
“Still is,” Eddie replied, never having been one to let Buck’s place and importance in Chris’ life be diminished, “that’s how I knew he’d be so good with Theo.”
“How’s Chris with him?” Sophia continued her way through the family tree she was conceiving in her mind.
“He was made to be someone’s big brother, he’s just such a natural at it,” Eddie shook his head in disbelief, “I’m only sorry I couldn’t give him a sibling sooner.”
Sophia considers pushing on him referring to his and Buck’s kids as siblings and the bigger insinuation that proves, but that’s not what he needs right now, not when he was willing to be more vulnerable about what’s going on with him and Buck in this one car ride than he had been in all the years he’s known the man.
“Come on, let’s go in,” Sophia nudged her elbow into her brother before hopping out of the truck, there would be more time to speak later.