Word Count: 5,518
Warnings/Spoilers: None in particular for this chapter.

"Christopher wants to see you," Eddie said as they wound the hose into a neat coil to stow in the truck.

"Does he?" Buck said, aiming for nonchalant but feeling as though his skin was about two sizes too small after talking to Hen. And he hadn't told Eddie. And the conversation with Hen had been more than a week ago. And he tried to pretend he wasn't feeling guilty or afraid of Eddie's reaction when he found out.

In the time that had elapsed, Buck had traded texts with Eddie and they'd brushed fingertips in the locker room when no one else was around and he'd even stopped by a couple of days ago simply, ostensibly, to kiss until Buck forgot which way was left and right. At the station, though, Buck had started to feel a little like the lost loser loner kid sneaking around in a relationship with the star quarterback. It wasn't that Eddie was mean or rude or ignored him. He just…kept his distance, Buck supposed. Eddie didn't actively seek him out but when they were near each other at the table or in the rig, his touches were ever-present. It was confusing.

And now they were having a completely casual conversation while storing equipment that included Eddie inviting Buck over like he'd done many times but Eddie didn't want anyone knowing until they told Christopher and so he immediately wondered if that meant Christopher knew or Eddie was working up to telling him and so did that mean Eddie had started to figure out how he felt and-

Honestly. His head hurt. It was impossible to discern if this conversation had multiple layers, displayed in front of everyone who had no idea what was going on beneath their noses, or absolutely no layers, because Buck was invited to Eddie's all the time to hang out with Christopher and everyone knew it and teased him about adopting the kid from under Eddie's nose.

"Yeah. The kid's in love with you, I swear." There was so much light behind Eddie's grin, glimmers of hope and amusement that Buck hadn't seen for months, that he could almost believe Eddie's tattered heart was coiling inwards to repair itself even as Buck's heart unravelled in swathes of fear and uncertainty. "Do you want to come over after shift? Eat pizza? Watch a movie?"

Still, Buck was wary of agreeing too quickly. "You don't have other plans?"

"Pizza with my kid and best friend aren't good enough plans?"

It took a bit of the wind out of his sails at Eddie's use of the word 'best friend'. He knew it was all about keeping up appearances of normality, of not tipping off anyone at the station, but Eddie had said he didn't care if others knew.

And here he was, being called a best friend.

His heart twisted and his blood chilled because he feared that when Eddie figured himself out, that was all Buck would ever be.

He tried to smile in a way that didn't look forced, even as Eddie's face wore a very exasperated expression that ordinarily he'd probably laugh at. "I mean, it's your kid that sold me on coming over. I just wanted to check that you actually wanted me there."

Eddie lightly shoved him with the hose, catching him by his jacket so he didn't lose his balance on the kerbing and tumble to the ground to pull him close. "I always want you there, Buck," he murmured so no one else heard it and, just like that, the switch had been flicked again and for a brief moment, Buck let himself believe that this could be real.

His head still hurt.

"See you tonight then," he said, shifting out of Eddie's grasp to turn towards collecting the abandoned crowbars on the footpath as the clean-up of scattered gear from the extinguished house fire continued.

It wasn't like he was meeting Christopher for the first time, or going over to the Diaz house for the first time, and yet Buck still changed shirts at least four times and his pants twice because it felt like going there this time mattered. He still wasn't sure what to label what was going on, even after Eddie had used us, but surely they had moved beyond just friends. Yet Christopher's approval meant a whole lot more to Eddie and Buck than before, and so dressing nicer seemed necessary.

So he changed his shirt again.

When he realised he was probably going to be late if he didn't get a move on, he ran a hand through his already tousled hair, slipped his arms into his jacket and headed out the door. He still fretted the entire drive, wondering if maybe a shirt he'd already tried on would have been better, and he didn't even know why he was so damn restless.

His fingers tapped against the steering wheel, mentally rehearsing all the conversations he could have with Eddie and Christopher during the night and whether this was it, this was the night they told Chris, and then he could be open and honest about how he felt with his sister and the others at the 118 and-

Buck shook his head. He really needed to stop getting so far ahead of himself. Whatever they did or didn't say to Christopher didn't mean Eddie was going to immediately start opening up to everyone at the station. Buck had said he wanted to take this slow. And he was committed to that, for himself and for Eddie. He just hoped it wouldn't come back to bite him later.

He parked his truck behind Eddie's, only realising how empty his hands were as he climbed the stairs to Eddie's porch. Should he have brought drinks over? Or a little gift of something to give to Christopher? But why would he give Christopher a gift out of the blue? Maybe he should leave so he could buy some beers? Or just-

"Dad! Buck's truck is here!"

He flushed as he heard Chris' crutches tapping towards the door, wondering if the kid had been spying out the window and waiting for him, wondering if the kid had seen his restless fidgeting on the walk up to the porch, wondering if the kid had been waiting for him to knock and then frowning in confusion when he hadn't.

"Are you okay with the door?"

"I got this, Dad." There was a scrabble of hands and Buck knew the thunk against the door was Christopher's crutches against the timber, and then there was a clunk of the lock turning and the door finally opened and light from the foyer spilled onto his face.

"Buck!"

Despite all of Buck's nerves on the drive over, he was filled with instant warmth as he took in Christopher's bright grin and enthusiastic greeting.

"Hey, little man. A little birdie told me you wanted to see me."

Chris held out his arms and Buck scrooped him up, propping the kid on his hip with one arm securely underneath him and kissing his cheek. Chris giggled, fingers tugging at Buck's shirt while crutches bumped against his arm. "I missed you, Buck!"

Buck bounced Chris a little as he stepped inside Eddie's house, toeing off his shoes and glancing down the hallway where Eddie was watching them with that soft smile which Buck was starting to associate with the way he held Christopher and loved him like he was his own kid sometimes. "I missed you too, champ. I'm sorry I haven't been by in a couple of weeks."

"It's okay. You're here now."

Buck cradled Chris' head and kissed the top of his hair as he wandered through the corridor towards Eddie. "I am. I'm all yours until bedtime."

"Yay!" Christopher cheered and Buck couldn't help but smile.

"Bud, didn't you have something you wanted to show Buck?" Eddie prompted, eyebrows raising.

"Oh yeah! Stay here, Buck!" Chris said, squirming until Buck put him down and then rushing towards his room.

"Hey," Eddie said, grabbing at Buck's waist and pulling him in for a quick kiss that made his head spin.

He smiled, hand settling on Eddie's arm. "Hey, yourself." None of this might've been what he'd imagined on the drive over but all of this were perfectly acceptable alternatives. "How are you?"

"You're here, I'm great," Eddie said with a kiss to his cheek and a wink when he heard Chris' clattering footsteps headed their way.

Buck didn't get a chance to respond to the way Eddie's words made the butterflies flutter in his stomach because Christopher came into view, a piece of paper clutched in his hand. Eddie's hand slipped from his waist and Buck could feel the warm imprint linger against his skin through his jacket and shirt.

"This is for you," Christopher said when he was close enough, thrusting the paper towards Buck with a shy smile.

He grasped the paper and felt his breath catch, swallowing against the prick of tears that he felt at his eyes. Under a large, printed heading of 'MY HERO' was a drawing that had to be him because the figure had spiky yellow hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in casual clothes, not his firefighter gear, and his hand was holding what had to be a self-portrait of Chris. The proportions in their heights was off but both figures had large smiles.

"D'you like it?" Christopher asked, his voice filled with nerves as his eyes wandered between Buck and Eddie.

"This is…" His voice cracked as he looked at it, unsure whether he was so thoroughly touched because Chris had drawn him or because of the heading emblazoned at the top of the page. He was Chris' hero? It took his breath away and left him feeling more emotional than he knew how to say. He knelt in front of Chris, holding out his hand to beckon the kid closer. "This is amazing, kiddo. Thank you."

Christopher beamed, closing the couple of steps between them to fall into Buck's arms for another cuddle. Buck squeezed him extra tight, inhaling his familiar scent, and taking enormous care not to crush the picture against the kid's back. "I'm glad you like it."

"Like it? I love it," he assured, pressing noisy kisses all over Chris' hair and making the kid giggle and push him away.

Eddie ruffled his fingers through Christopher's hair, his other hand resting lightly on Buck's shoulder. "Told you, bud. Buck's a big softie."

"Softie?" Buck protested as Christopher laughed, clasping his hand around Buck's fingers and dragging him towards the couch. "I'm no softie."

Christopher made him sit on the couch and crawled into his lap, hands curling into Buck's shirt as he fixed his big eyes and bright grin on Buck. "Did Dad tell you about the bird in the park we saw last week?"

"He didn't, but I'd love you to tell me," Buck said with a smile as Eddie wandered in and flopped onto the couch next to them. Eddie's arm draped along the back of the couch, fingertips brushing against the back of Buck's neck. He fought the shiver that the gesture created, glancing at Eddie accusingly who didn't even attempt to look contrite about the effect his actions were having, and forced his attention towards Christopher telling him a story about a coloured bird that he'd spent the rest of the week trying to draw in class at school.

Christopher had been dozing against him for a while, tucked under his armpit and fingers loose against his chest. Eddie had turned the subtitles on for the movie when Chris had finally started to nod off, catching Buck's eyes.

"You okay with him there?" Eddie murmured, thumb smoothing circles against the back of Buck's neck and continuing to distract him from most of whatever was happening in the film.

"He's good," Buck said, nosing a kiss among the curls. "I can carry him to bed when the movie finishes."

"You sure?"

"Promise," Buck said, tilting his head to rub his cheek on Eddie's arm and then planting a kiss on the crook of Eddie's elbow. "It's... It's comforting being able to hold him. After everything, it's- it's reassuring. It helps with the anxiety. That he's okay."

"You still feel that?"

Buck looked down at Chris' face, the sweet slackness of dreamlessness as he breathed through slightly parted lips. It was enough of an answer to Eddie's question as he touched Chris' cheek like he was handling a butterfly. "How is he?"

"He's good." Eddie's fingers scraped at some of the hair at the back of his neck and Buck felt his concentration waver. "He still has the occasional bad night but they're few and far between these days."

Buck hated that Chris still had anything from that day that haunted him, especially when he was such a radiant beacon of hope and light when he was awake. Cradling Christopher's jaw lightly, he stroked his thumb over the arch of his cheekbone and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead.

Eddie lightly tugged at his hair, obviously aware of the guilt that pooled in Buck's stomach. "Hey. It's not your fault."

"I know." It was a natural disaster. It was a tsunami. He couldn't control it. He'd done his best. He'd saved Christopher. They'd both survived. He knew all of that. But Chris feeling any pain due to an accident or misfortune still hurt Buck. And Buck knew how much the tsunami still affected him. "I know, Eddie."

Eventually his attention drifted back to the TV but he wasn't really sure what was happening in the movie because Eddie's fingers were still against his hair and his neck and distracting him as well as grounding him in the present so he didn't spin into the past. He tried to soothe his jangled nerves by concentrating on the weight of Chris against him, consciously trying to detach the demons from his mind that still lurked around him. When the movie ended and the screen rolled with credits, Eddie switched off the TV and quirked his brows towards Christopher.

"Bedtime for the little guy. You sure you want to carry him?"

"It's fine," Buck said, scooting an arm beneath Chris' thighs and folding the kid into his chest. Chris stirred, mumbling a sleepy protest as Buck rose to his feet. "Bed is more comfy than me, champ."

"Mmm… Don't wanna," Chris said as Buck moved slowly towards his room, swaying Chris from side to side as he kissed his hair. "You're warm."

He repressed a chuckle, poking a foot to Chris' door until it opened and he was using his instincts to remember how many steps until he reached the bed. "I gather all the heat from the fires like a superhero so I can keep you warm."

Chris hummed, his grip tightening instinctively when Buck lowered to the bed and gently set Christopher among the blankets. "Don't leave, Buck."

"I'm right here," he assured, sitting on the edge. In the faint light spilling from the family room, he could see Chris' eyes struggled to stay open as Buck ran fingers through the curls. "Your dad and I aren't going anywhere, kiddo."

It was maybe a step further than he wanted to go, or that Eddie was ready for, but a sleepy smile crept over Chris' face. "You make him happy," Chris whispered, like it was a secret he was admitting right on the cusp of falling asleep.

"Yeah?" Now it was his turn to have a dopey smile because he'd never really thought of himself as someone that could make Eddie Diaz happy. He never thought he'd really have the chance to do something like that. "He makes me happy too."

"Do I make you happy?"

He leaned down to press a kiss to Chris' forehead, tracing fingertips over the curves of his face. "You make me the happiest, buddy."

Chris' eyes flickered open again, a satisfied glimmer in their depths as he met Buck's gaze. "I love you, Buck."

Buck felt like his stomach and tongue coiled into knots even as his heart expanded several more sizes in his chest because he just felt so much for this kid. But if Chris couldn't accept his relationship with Eddie, or Eddie decided he didn't love him or they couldn't be together, he also knew he was risking so much that he wasn't sure if he'd be able to live with himself.

"I love you too, my little angel."

He stayed with Chris long after the boy had fallen asleep, fingers stroking through the blond curls and quietening anxieties until Buck almost felt lulled to sleep too by the sound of Chris' steady breathing.

"Sleep well," he whispered, offering a final feather-light kiss to Chris' hair before he retreated from the room, fumbling along the wall for the nightlight and then leaving the door slightly ajar. He returned to where Eddie was sprawled against the couch reading something on his phone and looking dangerously close to dropping it on his face. "Hey."

Eddie's eyes brightened when Buck reappeared, setting his phone on the coffee table and holding out a hand that Buck grasped. He let Eddie lure him into a kiss, sinking onto the couch on top of Eddie and bracketing his shoulders as he tried to keep some of his weight off. He smiled, eyelids drooping with contentment, when Eddie's other hand cradled his cheek.

"Can I ask?" Eddie murmured as he adjusted his legs, which allowed Buck to settle a little more weight against the couch.

He forced at least one eye open, eyebrow raised.

"You…said holding Christopher helped you," Eddie said uncertainly, fingertips dancing over Buck's birthmark. "Is that… Are you still feeling all that?"

Buck hesitated, his eyes falling away from Eddie's and wishing he wasn't so thoroughly wrapped in Eddie's embrace so he could either pull away or hide. It was enough of an answer though. It always had been when Eddie asked him so directly.

"Buck…" Eddie sighed, the fingers against his cheek tightening slightly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Buck shrugged, cuddling into Eddie's chest in an attempt to avoid his concerned stare. He could feel Eddie's gentle, steady heartbeat against him, the slow expansion and contraction of his ribcage. Fingers traced down his spine, soothing and slightly ticklish at the same time. He wondered if he'd ever tire of the quiet moments like this where he felt like most of his problems melted away.

"Evan?" Eddie prompted, clearly unwilling to let any of this go and reminding Buck far too much of his insistent older sister once he got going. And maybe Bobby. And also Hen. He didn't include Chim because he always suspected the guy just wanted new ammunition to tease him about, but he knew Chim cared in his own way.

"I'm always anxious," he said, like it was an excuse and a reason and everything in between all rolled into one simple, three-word sentence. "So yes, Eddie, I still have nightmares. They aren't always about the tsunami, they aren't always about the bombing, but sometimes they're vivid and they're awful. And the ones where I lose Christopher are…" He shook his head against Eddie's chest, biting the inside of his cheek. "They're far scarier than anything that happens to me."

Eddie ran a hand through his hair. "You really need to stop holding all of this in, Buckley."

And Buck… He knew he couldn't deny he had a problem. Not to Eddie. Not when Eddie had been a self-destructing, ticking timebomb too. Not when Eddie had held him after the nightmares or brought him back from a panic attack. Eddie would just repeatedly call him out on his shit. He wouldn't even put it past Eddie to drive him to a therapist's office like they were going somewhere exciting, dump him in the chair, and then flee the room like Buck was some sort of dog that was going to the vet for the next round of shots.

"Please, can we stop talking about this?" he said, shifting against Eddie until he could prop his chin against Eddie's sternum and look up at him with a slight pout. "Please? I'd much rather spend this time kissing you than talking about all this."

He could tell Eddie wanted to keep pressing against the festering wound from the concerned look in his eyes, so Buck made the decision for him – sneaking a hand under Eddie's Henley and dipping fingers into the grooves of his abs that he'd spent an hour memorising. Eddie's eyes fluttered, the determined look faltering as his lower lip parted around a breath.

"You're playing dirty," Eddie mumbled, making a small grin break across Buck's lips.

"Oh, this is what you call dirty?" he mused, leaning forward and then pausing, just out of reach of Eddie's mouth as his fingers inched higher. Eddie's muscles quivered beneath his touch, an intensity gathering in his darkening eyes as Buck maintained the eye contact without flinching. "This is dirty?"

"It is," Eddie confirmed, the hand that had been in his hair a moment ago securing against the back of his neck in the same spot it had been all night while slowly driving Buck crazy. "Are we going to do this here or move it to the bedroom?"

"Chris?"

"Would sleep through a tornado," Eddie said and Buck couldn't do the whole self-restraint thing any longer. He leaned in, grasping at Eddie's shoulder as they kissed and feeling as though his body was increasingly speckled with spots of heat and need because Eddie was quickly becoming more confident with his tongue, and where to place his hands, and how to get Buck shifting over him, and Buck… It had been a long time since he'd let anyone really manhandle him the way Eddie did but he revelled in it, the way Eddie was rapidly learning how to adapt his knowledge of sex to leave Buck breathless and wanting.

"Bedroom?" he said when the curve of Eddie's rough palm slotted against one of the curves of Buck's ribs.

"Please," Eddie mumbled between the kisses and even though Buck really didn't want to move because that was awkward and difficult and required more effort than he was willing to make, he pulled Eddie to his feet. Eddie grasped at his cheeks with both hands as he closed the small, two-inch height difference between them to kiss him until he was dizzy and clinging to Eddie's trim waist with trembling fingers.

"What…was that for?" he said, gazing at Eddie while he tried to collect all his errant thoughts into something resembling coherency. Which was hard when it still felt like he was seeing fireworks behind his eyes and feeling them explode in his stomach.

Eddie shrugged, pressing a chaste kiss to his mouth and the tip of his nose. "Because I can."

Which…seemed like a perfectly acceptable reason to Buck. He grasped at one of Eddie's hands and led the way to his bedroom while Eddie attempted to turn off the living room light. Buck barely got the door closed before he was reaching for the hem of Eddie's shirt and it was only because Eddie made a ragged hushing noise that Buck didn't moan as loudly as he wanted to when he felt the scrape of Eddie's teeth against the junction of his shoulder and neck.

Tendrils of light were creeping through the curtains the following morning when Buck awoke, Eddie's weight comfortably spread across his bare chest as the other man continued to sleep. He smiled as he took in the slightly parted lower lip as Eddie exhaled through his mouth, and the way Eddie's eyelashes feathered across his skin, and the shadows that criss-crossed the bits of exposed tan skin where the sheet had slipped to his waist during the night.

He leaned his head back to stare at the ceiling and released a slow breath of happiness, wondering if this was truly something he was allowed to want or have. It seemed too good to be true that he had Eddie in his arms and Christopher accepted and loved him. After everything that had happened, after everything they had both gone through in the past twelve months, Buck still struggled to believe he deserved it or was allowed to truly accept it.

"Stop thinking," Eddie mumbled, his voice rough with sleep, and Buck hid a smile by biting his lower lip, threading fingers through mussed brunette hair as Eddie stirred slightly against him. "s'too early for thinking, Buckley. Go back t'sleep."

"Okay," he whispered, gazing at the lines of Eddie's face as they smoothed out and he drifted beneath the thin layer of consciousness again.

Buck must've also dozed off for a little while because when he woke again, he distinctly felt like he was being watched. He rubbed a hand across his face, expecting to find Eddie staring at him and he had a teasing comment on his lips as he opened his eyes.

What he found instead nearly made him shriek.

"Chris!" he said, a strangled sort of gasp at the kid leaning against the doorframe with a goofy smile on his face. "Uh- Good morning, bud."

"Hi." Chris folded his little arms over his chest and reminded Buck far too much of Diaz Senior when he wanted to pin Buck down for an answer to something important. "Why are you in my Dad's bed?"

Buck floundered for an answer, especially one that could explain why neither of them had shirts. And Eddie was sprawled across his chest. At least Eddie had insisted they put on pants before falling asleep. He could be grateful for that.

"It, uh…got really late so your dad let me stay over," he whispered, gesturing nervously towards Eddie against him. "And we got…really overheated. With all the blankets. And I didn't have my pyjamas with me. And your dad-"

"He doesn't usually wear a shirt to bed anyway," Chris said with a shrug, inching into the room and then clambering onto the bed beside Buck, his face inches from Eddie's. "He looks peaceful."

Buck glanced down at Eddie as he stretched out his arm so Christopher could tuck into the crook of his armpit again. With the increased light spilling through a gap in the curtains, he could see what Chris meant. There was usually something guarded about Eddie, something in his expression that was always laced with a hint of uncertainty as well as plenty of furious determination. It often made Buck's skin flush when Eddie looked at him like that, and he'd certainly felt his blood pulse faster in his veins when Eddie had looked like that last night. But like this, fast asleep and with all the tension erased from his face, he looked younger and calmer and less like a veteran, and a firefighter, and a single parent, who was always trying to hold the world on his shoulders.

"He reminds me of your sleepy face last night in my arms," Buck teased and Christopher hushed a soft giggle, his curls tickling Buck's arm. Then his expression sobered, his head tilting so he could meet Buck's eyes and something shy in his smile.

"Buck? Can I ask you something?"

"Anything, buddy."

"Do you like my dad?"

He froze, eyes almost certainly widening as his gaze flicked between Eddie – still fast asleep – and Chris – very awake and alert. The obvious answer to the question was yes, of course but he had a feeling Chris was prodding at something deeper than them simply being friends. There was a nervous curiosity to his voice that was definitely searching for something more than just liking Eddie, like Chris was trying to determine if he could trust Buck with his father's heart. He doubted Christopher had the ability to think through all that – he was still only a kid – but he knew the kid was perceptive and smart. Chris had seen his father love and lose Shannon, so it would make sense that he was protective of his father's feelings and anyone that entered their two-some bubble.

"I… Yeah, Chris, I do," he admitted. Like Eddie, Buck didn't want to lie to Chris. Not when he needed Chris onboard with him and Eddie so they could start actually working out what all this was turning into. Not when he wanted to keep his relationship with Chris honest and full of warmth and love so that the kid could come to him about anything. "I really, really do."

"Good," Chris said, curling towards Buck's body and his father and touching his small hand to the skin above Buck's heart. "I like how happy he is when he's with you, Buck."

Buck dropped a kiss to Chris' hair and lightly set his spare hand between the wings of Eddie's shoulder blades, careful to avoid waking him. "I like how happy you both make me."

Chris smiled, head settling against Buck's shoulder and lying quietly against him. Buck wondered what he'd done to be rewarded with this opportunity. What sort of God had nearly killed him so many times, had actually taken Chris away from him for hours in the middle of an absolute crisis, and yet had allowed him to have the two Diaz guys snuggled against him in the early light of morning like he belonged in their family? He could see himself becoming far too comfortable wanting this every morning and that was…terrifying, if he were honest.

It was maybe half an hour before Eddie finally started to stir and shift, sleepy mumblings that were half-English and half-Spanish and utterly incomprehensible to Buck but they made Chris giggle. Which made Eddie go very still before his eyes snapped open, catching his son staring at him with big eyes behind his lenses from his position of being perched on Buck's shoulder.

"Christopher."

"Dad," Chris echoed with a touch of sweet innocence.

"What…are you doing here?"

"He was up early," Buck explained with an amused grin as Eddie's eyes swept over Christopher first before meeting Buck's gaze. "We decided to have a cuddle party and stare at you while you slept."

"Yeah! You looked so happy to be sleeping that we didn't wanna wake you."

A faint smile twitched Eddie's lips as he shifted some of his weight off Buck's body to press against his side, an arm draping over Buck's torso so that he could curl his hand around Christopher's waist on Buck's other side.

"Does this mean you're gonna kiss now?" Christopher said suddenly and Eddie's eyes flashed to meet Buck's, a flicker of fear evident around the edges and all the tranquillity from his sleeping face replaced with the guarded tension that Buck was more familiar with.

"He, uh…asked if I liked you," Buck said, eyeing Eddie's reaction carefully.

"He said yes," Chris supplied helpfully and Buck wondered if his face flushed with embarrassment as much as he felt it did with the way Eddie's eyebrows arched at him. "Do you like Buck, Dad?"

Eddie hesitated and for a moment, Buck thought his heart was about to be dropped over the edge of a cliff. Then Eddie smiled, that small, soft smile which always seemed reserved for him and Chris.

"Yeah, bud. I do." His hand rubbed against Christopher's waist, inadvertently lifting Buck's heart off the edge of a very painful and dark precipice and almost certainly making it easier to breathe. "How does that make you feel?"

"I like Buck too," Christopher said simply, like it was the most obvious thing in the world and he hadn't said it a thousand times before.

"So you reckon we should keep him?" Eddie teased, a sparkle entering his eyes that still made Buck gape in mock protest and look between the two of them.

"What am I? A puppy?"

Christopher snorted around a fit of giggles.

Eddie nuzzled a soft kiss to Buck's shoulder and Buck didn't miss how some of the tension leeched from Eddie's shoulder blades when Chris didn't make any sort of adverse comment to the gesture. "Puppies are better behaved."

"They eat almost as much as you though," Chris pointed out, eyes wide behind his glasses. Buck turned his outraged expression on the kid, who burst into fresh laughter. Though that might also have been something to do with Eddie wriggling his fingers against Chris' skin to tickle him within an inch of his life.

"What is this? Why am I being targeted so brutally first thing in the morning?"

Eddie just smiled, capturing his lips in a tentative kiss that had Chris making some sort of "Awwww" sound in the background. "Teasing is what the Diaz family does, cariño."

Buck kissed Eddie's cheek, then pressed a noisy one to Chris' forehead. He couldn't believe this could all be so easy and free and light. He couldn't believe he could have something that made him feel so warm and full.

~TBC~