Pursuit of A Santaroni (Chapter 2)
Title: Pursuit of a Santaroni
Author:kikiiovesmusic
Genre: Fluff, AU (for this chapter)
Rating: PG-15. May go up~ (PG for this Chapter)
Pairing(s): Eventual!Haehyuk, implied!Jongkey (More later)
Characters: Eunhyuk, Kyuhyun, Henry, Kibum, more to come...
Warnings: Child!Henry/Kyuhyun/Kibum. Though I wouldn't be alarmed by the youthful-ness.
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They reach the white western house just as his neighbor Kim Kibum, or Key, pulls out of the drive way to take Kyuhyun and Kibum, as well as his own adopted children, Amber and Zhou Mi, to Sapphire Academy.
Key stops the car right in front of Hyukjae.
“Hyukkie Hyung!” he happily calls, “Jonghyun is inside the house, okay! Just leave Henry there and I’ll be back before he goes to work.”
“Sounds good!” Hyukjae calls back. “Bye guys! Have a good day at school!”
Key smiles and waves goodbye before he drives off.
“Bye hyungs! Bye Uncle Key!” Henry happily shouts, hopping a couple feet after the fleeting car. Both Hyukjae and Henry blow air kisses goodbye to Kyuhyun and Kibum.
Hyukjae cheerfully chuckles, completely in a positive mood as he turns to a still smiling mochi waving his hyungs goodbye despite the fact that the car was out of sight.
He grins widely at the sight. “Ok, Henry- ah~ Appa has to go now. Be a good boy, ok?”
“Neh, appa,” Henry cutely beams. He runs back towards him to wrap his short, cute arms around his father's legs. "Aigooo~ So cute!" Hyukjae laughs and bends over quickly to hug the sweet boy back.
“You have to be a good boy ok? If you’re a good boy, appa will bring home something nice~”
The world suddenly slows still. Henry's jaw drops and he slowly gazes up into his appa’s face, hands tightly gripping the dark jean-clad leg and eyes growing wide with amazement. .
“Appa,” he breathes, his sudden awe controlling his voice. “You're gonna bring me home.. a puppy?”
The stars in his eyes instantly brighten, starstruck at even the possibility of his appa getting him a puppy.
The pedestal he mentally keeps his father on just got ten times more extravagant, picturing his father magically gaining a crown and long, beautiful, majestic robes draped over him, the word KING sparkling in bright lights behind him and a beautiful, fluffy white dog in his hands.
It’s not every day his father offers something like this. Hyukjae is usually cheap, only allowing things to be spent when needed and occasionally treating the kids to something special, depending on his mood that day. This must be one of those days.
Hyukjae mentally cringes as he straightens up from his hug.
Maybe he should have been more specific on what exactly ‘something nice’ meant?
“Umm.. Henry sweetie, I don’t think a puppy is a good idea..”
The lights flicker before the bright KING sign bursts and catches aflame. King Hyukjae instantly drops his crown and falls off the pedestal.
“Aww but, appa~” Henry whines and stomps his foot, upset things aren't going as planned. “Puppies are magical, appa!”
Hyukjae’s eyes widen. Did he just say... magical??? He presses his lips together to hold back his laugh.“Oh really~ Magical, huh. Now how are puppies magical, Henry-ah?” Hyukjae asked, trying but failing to hide his amusement.
Henry purses his lips into a concentrated pout.
Why would puppies be magical? Uhhh... The boy bites his lips and stares off into space. He didn’t know. They just are? Actually, now that he thinks about it, he didn't even realize he said it; he only wanted to stop his father from saying no. But since it's said and there's no going back, puppies now have to be magical. Are there even magical puppies in South Korea?? Hmm.. Now that he thinks about it, the only magical pets he can think of are mermaids, and he definitely can’t ask for one of those.
Way too expensive.
“Ummm….” Henry starts.
Hyukjae crosses his arms and looks at him curiously, waiting to see how his imaginative son is going to explain this one.
The three year old looks around for some type of answer, anything that could spark his thoughts and convince his father they need a puppy.
They NEED to get a puppy. It’s extremely important. Zhou Mi likes pets. End of story.
A slight blush creeps onto his cheeks, memories at how Zhou Mi had told him he would play with him more often if he had a pet, the determination slowly burning more feverishly in his heart.
Mimi hyung, you’re gonna never leave me again. You would love our puppy!
I WILL WIN APPA’S ‘YES’. JUST YOU WAIT!
But..
Henry hesitantly looks at his appa and bites his lower lip.
How can I get appa to even say yes???
He looks down and stares at his Power Ranger light up sneakers, trying his best to gather his thoughts.
He has to get a puppy. He just has to.
“Umm.. because puppies are..” Henry pauses, silently praying to the Lord of Puppies to give him an idea.
"Yeessss~ " Hyukjae stretches, motioning him to continue. Henry glances up and sheepishly smiled before looking elsewhere, embarrassment slightly making his face hot.
“Umm it's cuuuuzzz... cuz they cannn……. Cannnn~..”
Suddenly, Henry gets distracted by a box full of tools on the Kim’s driveway.
Key ajussi must have broke their house again..
Henry gasps at a sudden idea. Light bulb!
Broken! Tools! That's it!
“Puppies can fix people!” he exclaims excitedly, happy he found his reason.
Hyukjae looks at the boy dumbfounded.
“Yes! That's right appa!”
Henry beams brightly, flailing his arms up and down in the midst of his excitement. “Puppies are magical because they can always always fix people!”
“…”
Henry smiles grandly up at the speechless fool. This definitely is a good sign, right?
“Ummm.. Huh?”
“Appa~” Henry whines as if the answer was so obvious, “Their magic is sooooo big!”
Hyukjae continues to stare dumbly at his son.
What the fu-- ?
“And think of hyung!” Henry continues, completely ignoring the confused looks. “Since they are so nice, they would definitely want to fix hyung and make him better. We just HAVE to make him better appa!”
Hyukjae snaps out of his stupor. Kibum? Better? Fix? Huh? "Wait. What?”
Henry sighs dramatically and rubs small palms on his temples at his father’s stupidity, just like the way he sees his Uncle Key do it when Uncle Jonghyun hides the remote behind his back and says he doesn't know how the channel turned to a rated R really bad movie. [According to Jonghyun, it just happened.]
“Appa. *enter dramatic sigh* Did you forget appa? Hyung still has nightmares. I always wake up and hyung always cries appa,” the blunt boy points out, crossing his arms and looking at his father as if he was the one who neglects to see just how sad his son has been these past few years.
Hyukjae shifts his eyes off his son, suddenly uncomfortable.
He knows of his son’s nightmares. It pains him every time to wake up to hear the muffled sobs and sniffles. He feels helpless every time knowing Kibum would resent him even more if he even tried to comfort him. He usually has to keep the pent up concern inside until he finds himself breaking down in an empty classroom, but that's not the point. They’re talking about magical puppies right now. What does this have to do with Kibum?
Henry, oblivious to his father’s change in disposition, mentally cheers for his quick thinking. The Puppy Lord has definitely answered his prayers! It’s only obvious this could be the only reason why puppies could be magical and not be a mermaid.
Hyukjae crosses his arms and shifts his feet into a defensive stance, trying to rid the pang of guilt that swiftly gripped his heart.
He clears his throat for a second, making sure to rid any signs of being affected, and looks at the mochi who’s grinning and staring into space as if he’s mentally patting himself on the back.
“W- Why..” He clears his throat again. “So.. What makes you think that, Henry-ah?”
Henry looks at his father quickly, suddenly sensing the slightly gloomy aura of the other.
Did he just mess up?
“Umm.. It’s not like that appa. You see.. They can fix hyung because puppies are… umm..”
Another brilliant reason suddenly appeared in front of him. Soft! Puppies are definitely soft. He claps his hands, excitement rippling off of him in waves.
“Soft appa! Really soft! And when you’re sad, you can.. you can hug it! And.. And talk to it! And Kibum hyung can practice talking with a puppy. Yup," he states matter-of-factly, "he’d be able to talk to him all the time. Even after bed time appa. And then when he’s sad, the puppy can lick him. Then he’ll feel better! And he’d be fixed!”
Hyukjae looks at Henry with dumb face again, all signs of guilt fleeing while he furrows his brows trying to assimilate what his son is telling him.
Seriously? Is this kid serious?
He takes a quick once over at Henry’s face. Only pure truth and innocence radiated off him.
Nope, he’s definitely serious.
Oh my shisus! What the heck did this kid eat?!
Hyukjae purses his lips together, trying really hard to remember, then sighs loudly in defeat, facepalming himself when he realized it was he who fed the child Lucky Charms.
I should really stop buying marshmallow filled cereals..
Henry mistakes the sigh as an attempt to rejection him and hastily adds, “And it doesn’t have to be a puppy! It could be a pet! Any pet! Like a kitty. Or a horsie. Or.. umm.. a hamster. Or.. or a bunny..”
Henry suddenly gasps at the brilliance of it all.
A bunny is a great idea!
“APPA! IT COULD BE A BUNNY!"
He flails his arms, his little body bouncing up in down in glee as his excitement jump-starts his explanation.
"Bunnies have biiiig ears, appa! It could listen to Kibum hyung when he’s sad! And hyung can pet it and feel better again!"
He stills himself, his mouth forming a giant 'O' as another thought comes to mind. "Appa! Bunnies are soft! VERY soft. Bunnies are magical too! The bunny can fix Kibummie hyung, appa!”
Henry openly grins widely, his arms lifting in triumph, absolutely positive he’s right.
“Bunnies can fix EVERRYYTHHIINNGGGG~!”
...
Hyukjae really couldn’t hold back his giggles as he sees the look of satisfaction on his baby’s face. It's contagious. The beautiful way innocence and magical thinking come blend together is completely delightful and he can’t help but love this cute piece of mochi even more.
Maybe he should buy him a bunny, just because his innocence is too cute to deny.
Henry watches his father’s hands go up to his face to try to contain the giggles that kept flowing out. It's just like music.
He brightly beams, happy for being able to make his daddy act this way.
He knew he was right about the bunny.
How can you stay upset when there’s a bunny in your arms?
It’s common sense.
Magic. Bunnies. Candy. Fixing. Better.
The magical Bugs Bunny always fixes stuff. He knows that because Daffy Duck is the one to always break it.
And hello to all hellos, the Easter Bunny in America knows Santa Claus [Key himself told him so], so presents wouldn’t ever be an issue.
Where can one possibly go wrong?
“Hmm…” Hyukjae hums out loud, finally able to control himself regardless of the large, beautiful close-lipped smile on his face.
He mentally calculates how much it would cost to keep a bunny.
It can’t be that much trouble, right?
It should be less maintenance than keeping a puppy.
Maybe a furry pet really can get his oldest to speak more.
People talk to their pets all of the time..
Hyukjae snorts and shakes his head.
I can’t believe I’m actually considering this non-sense.
He looks down at his son, nothing but hopeful eyes and a bottom lip bitten in anticipation. Hyukjae bites his own lip trying to hold back a squeal.
He’s just sooo cute, though! Aishh I guess it shouldn’t be that much of a problem.
Alright!
It’s final.
I’ll buy them a freakin' rabbit. And then BAM. Best dad ever. I’ll just get it afterschool~ I think there’s a pet shop around the corner..
Hyukjae glances at his watch.
7:59 AM.
He really needs to get going or he’ll be late for his English 201 Honors class.
He takes one more glance at the cute child, who had begun lightly bouncing on his toes from all the suspense.
I’ll leave it as a surprise~
Hyukjae smiles slyly at his youngest, somewhat anticipating how Henry will react to his surprise.
“I’ll think about it, Henry-ah~ Depends if you can be a good boy or not. And ONLY if you're a good boy. If Uncle Key calls and says you’ve been nothing but a helpful angel then mayb-”
Henry’s delighted squeals interrupt his sentence.
Hyukjae laughs as he feels Henry crash himself onto his legs.
So much for a surprise..
Henry gives him a huge hug, looking up and bouncing with happiness. “Okay! I’ll be good appa. And be an angel. The best angel! I promise appa~”
Hyukjae smiles and looks down to lovingly pat the soft, dark brown hair on his baby’s head.
“Alright, then~ No more pet talk! I have to go. Goodbye now~ Go on into the house.”
Henry nods and gives a quick kiss to his appa’s knee before running as good as an almost four year old can up the walkway to Key and Jonghyun's house, a giant teddy bear backpack full of books and crayons bouncing against his back with every step.
He can't wait to play and wake up Uncle Jonghyun anyways.
“Bye appa!” He waves before he slams and locks the door.
Hyukjae chuckles once more, his beautiful gummy smile peeking on the outskirts of his lips and starts walking to the bus stop to head to his first class.
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Finally! Second chapter is up :D Who knew people would actually like this story O.O You guys are crazy, but I love you for it. Thank you <3
And is there anybody else who kind of wants to kidnap kid!Henry? Cause I kind of do and he's my character O.o Does this usually happen to authors??
Another penny for your thoughts?