until we’re bones

tagged by @eddiesgayladder thank you 💗

all my other wips are on the back burner while I work on my theo fic so here’s a snippet from the final chapter which should be finished soon!

buck and eddie looking after theo when he gets ill so warning for sickness adjacent descriptions:

Buck tilts his head in the direction of the sink, 'can you reach the—?'

Eddie gets to his feet to grab the pedialyte, steadying himself with a hand on Buck's shoulder. He hands the bottle over and Buck uncaps it, holding it still for Theo.

'You think you can drink some of this? It's good for you. Small sips, okay.'

Theo does as he's asked, drinking slowly and the three of them wait silently in the suspended stillness of the bathroom, the sound of the cistern refilling, the ambient hum of the extractor fan. Theo is warm in Buck's arms and Eddie's knee is pressed to his shoulder where he's still standing, watching over them.

There's a strange peace to it. The anxiety Buck had felt, with Theo vulnerable and unwell, shifts now that he can see it's likely nothing to worry about to affection so unbound it hurts, lodged sharp behind his breastbone. Affection for Theo, for Eddie and Chris. Maybe it should be harder, more inconvenient, to have been away from home for so long, and it waxes and wanes, how much like a guest Buck feels at South Bedford, but right now, on the cold, hard tile of Eddie's bathroom floor he wouldn't want to be anywhere else. He wouldn't want to be at home, dealing with this on his own.

Theo has managed to keep the pedialyte down, curled up in Buck's lap, head resting against his chest and Buck brushes his hair off his sweaty forehead.

'Shall we try going back to sleep?'

'I'll go make his bed,' says Eddie and Theo looks up at him, nearly tipping the pedialyte all over Buck.

'Want to stay in your bed,’ he says.

Buck looks at Eddie too. Theo hasn't been ill since they've been living here but he has had a few nightmares and on those nights Buck usually sleeps in the living room with him. There are dark circles smudged under Eddie's eyes, they have to be up for work in three and a half hours and it really doesn't seem fair to kick Eddie out of his bed or make him deal with the sharp knees and bony feet of a four year old.

'Theo, it isn’t—,' Buck starts but Eddie is already nodding.

'Yeah, you can stay with us, come on.'

He bends down, taking Theo out of Buck's arms, holding him steady, balanced on his hip, offering a hand to Buck to pull him to his feet and as they head out of the bathroom together, Chris's door at the end of the hall swings open.

Chris leans in his doorway, peering at them without his glasses, 'is everything okay?'

'Yeah, buddy. Theo has a stomach bug,' says Eddie, 'better to go back to bed, don't want you getting sick too.'

'Alright,' says Chris, 'you'll be okay, Theo, even spiderman gets sick sometimes.'

'Peter Parker,' mumbles Theo into Eddie's T-shirt and Chris laughs.

'Exactly,' he says, pushing off from door frame, 'I'll get the bus tomorrow so you don't have to worry about getting me to school.'

Buck is already running through the apologies he’s going to have to give to Chim if he needs to miss a shift and he’d rather take Theo to the doctor to be on the safe side anyway. Their morning will be much simpler if Chris gets the bus and Buck is grateful for it.

‘Thanks, Chris,’ he says as Eddie heads down the hall, ‘night. Sleep well.’

Yeah, there’s no where Buck wants to be more than here.

When you and I were forever wild"