#theo riley

[ryliversbuddie]

[retroize]

eddie watching theo while buck runs errands, chris is eating candy and theo asks if he can have some so chris says "i don't know, go ask my dad" so theo starts running looking for eddie and yelling "MY DAD, CAN I HAVE CANDY? MY DAAAAAAD" because that's what chris calls him!

[desertdinerbuddie]

You know what, I’d love it if we started s10 with Eddie and Maddie at odds with each other over the Theo situation.

Maddie is being distant and disapproving, keeping herself and Jee away from Theo, stressing at every opportunity that it’s only temporary, etc.

Meanwhile Eddie is being over-invested and defensive, putting himself right in the middle of it all and barking like a guard dog any time anyone tries to get near Buck or Theo, or to question anything Buck does, or to even suggest he might need their help.

Ultimately it’s because Maddie is terrified that Buck will be broken hearted if Theo’s grandma or whatever turns up and takes him away, so she’s trying to protect him by being cautious and careful with how far she connects with Theo, trying to model a safe route through a rough situation.

And Eddie is working through his own issues about both the way his parents made (make) him feel inadequate when he was (is) trying to care for Chris, and also his massive guilt about not being the supportive partner Shannon needed for those first few years, by making Buck feel like his decisions are good ones no matter what anyone says (including Buck when he questions himself or wants to ask for help from other people), and showing him that Eddie has his back.

So they’re both coming from a place of love and support, but they’re approaching it so differently that it creates tension and conflict between them, which makes everything worse.

I just think it’d be hilarious if their first ever one on one scene is them passive aggressively fighting over who’s best at loving Buck.

[buckbpd]

scene i would die to see in season 10: theo giving eddie a juice box. eddie thinks theo wants him to poke it open for him but no, theo insists that it's for eddie and that eddie absolutely needs to drink some juice. added bonus, albeit too unsubtle: camera pan/eddie lifting his gaze to buck. heed me

[letmegrabyourcuteass]

Do you think when Theo is having a meltdown cause he misses his parents, and in a flash, he spots Eddie and reaches out with his tiny hands to him, crying "Daddy," cause although they don't look similar, his grieving brain mistakes him for his dad. But right then and there, Eddie decides that Theo is his son just as much as Chris is Buck's. He sweeps Theo in a huge hug, one that makes Theo feel so safe and secure as Eddie lets him cry it all out.

Eddie can see Buck standing by his bedroom door, looking worried. He mouths that he's got this and watches Buck's shoulders droop down as he walks away. He then sees Christopher walk past his door towards Buck. Chris looks at Eddie and mouths back to him, "I got this," with a smile as he makes his way to Buck.

[bamfbuddie]

Buddie Headcanons (Theo Edition)

TikTok version here!

[angels-all-sin]

EVAN & THEO 4x05 “Buck Begins” 9x17 “I Got You Babe”

[emakataken]

The Man He Sees in Me - Part 1

Buck dropped to one knee on the sun-baked driveway, ignoring the way his back protested. Theo’s small fists beat against his chest. “Hey, buddy. Hey. I’m right here. I’m not leaving you.”

“I hate you!” Theo wailed, voice cracking. “You left me and... and he,” The finger stabbed toward Chimney. “He thinks I’m bad too! Everyone thinks I’m bad.” Chim shifted awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Kiddo, I was just trying to get you to eat the goldfish crackers instead of throwing them into the pond.”

“Not helping,” Buck muttered under his breath, too low for Theo to catch. “Theo, Chim likes you. He was helping. But it’s okay to feel mad. Moving day is hard. Daycare is hard. Everything’s new.”

Theo’s screams fractured into hiccupping sobs that shook his whole body. “No one likes me.”

Buck felt his throat tighten painfully. Six months of this, middle-of-the-night terrors where Theo woke screaming for parents who would never come back. Public meltdowns in grocery stores. The constant, gnawing fear that one bad report to social services could undo everything he had fought for. He had spent years, being the dependable one for others, helping Eddie with Chris, sitting with Maddie through panic attacks and postpartum fog, always the reliable babysitter, the guy who’d drop everything to help his people.

And now? Now he was the one drowning, and the help felt polite. Conditional. Wrapped in concern, but threaded with enough judgment to make him wonder if everyone was waiting for him to fail.

He scooped Theo up despite the thrashing limbs, pressing the boy’s sweaty, tear-streaked face to his shoulder. “I like you,” he said fiercely, the words steady even as his voice thickened. “I like you so much. I’m not leaving you. Ever. You’re stuck with me, okay? We’re going to our new house. The one we picked together, near your new school, right by Dr. Miles’ office. The park with the big rocket slide. We’re gonna set up your room exactly how you want it. We can eat dinner in the backyard if you want. We’re gonna make it ours.”

“I love you,” Buck sang softly, the words slipping out on instinct because he didn’t know what else to do. This song almost always worked to soothe Theo's spirals.

Theo sniffed, rubbing his face against Buck’s shoulder, and answered in a small wobbly voice, “You love me.”

Buck swallowed around the ache rising in his throat and kept going. “And we are learning how to be a family. And we’re gonna have uh-ohs and oh no’s and make many mistakes. But that’s okay because…”

Theo’s lips trembled, but he finished their little song. “Because I love you and you love me.”

Buck let out a shaky breath, pressing his cheek against Theo’s damp curls. “Yeah, buddy,” he whispered.

“Can we have dinosaur nuggets for dinner?”

Buck huffed a tired laugh that felt like the first real breath he’d taken all day. “Yeah, buddy. Dinosaur nuggets it is.” He pressed a kiss to Theo’s temple, tasting salt and sunscreen and the faint strawberry shampoo from last night’s bath.

He didn’t look back at Chimney or Maddie as he carried his son toward the truck. He couldn’t quite handle their concerned, slightly helpless expressions right now.

Maddie stepped forward anyway, brushing a hand down his arm. “Evan… you sure you don’t want us to bring some real food by later? Or keep him again tomorrow so you can finish unpacking?”

Buck offered her a tired smile. “We’ll be okay. Thanks though Maddie. I think I need my best lil crocodile to help me tomorrow.”

“Bye, Miss Maddie. Let’s go alligator,” Theo huffed from his car seat once Buck had him buckled in, voice thick with leftover tears. He kicked his little legs against the passenger seat, impatient.

“Call me if you need anything,” she added, voice warm with that older-sister worry that had once meant everything to him.

Buck didn’t miss the way Chimney’s face twisted, just for a second, at his wife’s words. A flicker between exhaustion and protectiveness, the silent conversation of two parents who already had their hands full.

Buck shook his head, offering the pair a tired smile. “We’ve got it from here. Thanks again for today.”

The words were genuine. But they also felt like the end of something.