Pursuit of a Santaroni (Chapter 12)
Title: Pursuit of a Santaroni 12/?
Author: kikiiovesmusic
Genre: Fluff, Romance, Humor, Crack, AU, Slight!Angst (for this chapter)
Rating: PG-15. (PG-13 for this Chapter)
Pairing(s): Haehyuk
Minor Pairing(s): Jongkey, Slight!kid!Kyumin, Slight!kid!Sibum (More later)
Characters: Eunhyuk, Kyuhyun, Henry, Kibum, Donghae, Yesung, Sungmin, Zhou Mi, Amber, Siwon, more to come...
Warning(s): Cursing.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but this fic/idea. I wish I owned more.
Summary: A love story, all about discovering new feelings, acceptance, coping, the frustrations of having children all on your own, the up and down struggles of divorce and being a single parent, and of course the humorous yet intimate way each person [not including jongkey] become healed again. And it's all thanks to a certain fluffy bunny~
A/N: Finally ninja'd my way into updating >:D
~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~***~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~
~*Embrace the Instinct*~xxxxk
-7:00 PM- FRIDAY
Sister N Park: Holding missing child hostage
Donghae sits on a small abandoned bench near where he found the child, cradling the small boy on his lap as they watch the sunset together.
The leaving lights leave a warm, lovely glow across the park; large trees flaunting their essence to the breeze as they blend their leaves of reds and yellows and highlight every single moment in celebrated silence. Birds chirp quietly amongst themselves as lazy clouds float across the blushing sky. Even the boy himself looked picturesque: pale white skin glowing in the warm sun, rosy-cheeks cheerfully stuffed with strawberry ice cream, the boy occasionally letting Bada have a few sweet licks as sticky pink cream dribbles down his chin, short fluffs of brown hair dancing sweetly in the chilly Autumn breeze… He was absolutely, completely, utterly adorable; with his small jeans and cute little teddy bear backpack, and hell, Donghae practically died from a fluffy heart attack since the boy had his jacket on, the large piece of clothing wrapped snuggly around him and successfully making him look even smaller, younger, and more huggable.
If Donghae wasn’t so panicked on what to do with the missing child, he’d most likely fangirl a bit to Bada about it.
But he was frustrated as fuck.
He wishes he never hung up on Yesung and just endured all the needless yelling, just so he can get some type of insight on what to do next, but his mind was in such a turmoil!
He can’t seem to think straight.
Which is oddly strange since his mind seems to turn to mush only when his Eunhyuk is involved.
But his Eunhyuk is nowhere NEAR the situation, so what is he to do now?
“Ajusshi?” the small boy pipes up thoughtfully, not looking up from his ice cream as he concentrates on devouring his frozen treat.
Donghae never pauses in his conflicting thoughts when he glances at the boy, leaving his mind to figure out what to do on it’s own when he sees the cream-smeared face.
He doesn’t think twice when he pulls a tissue from his back pocket to wipe the boys face, nor does he contemplate his actions when he cuddles the boy closer to protect him from the slightly-chillier air.
Natural fatherly instincts they may be, but he doesn’t realize it because he doesn’t think about it.
The oblivious caretaker hums in response and puts his full attention towards the child, smiling a little when the boy grins brightly at him.
“What’s your name ajusshi?” the boy asks innocently, head tilting to the side cutely before bouncing up and lifting his ice cream to Donghae’s mouth in silent offering.
Donghae chuckles and shifts the boy onto his other knee, readjusting him so they can look at each other and converse more comfortably.
He leans in and takes a small bite of the child’s ice cream despite how melt-y and disgustingly unappetizing that sugar infested ball of droop looked (for some reason the boy gave him a look that didn’t exactly give him a choice to do so otherwise) but gives what he thinks is a ‘Mmmmmm~ Yummy’ face till the look of satisfaction graces the almost-four-year-old’s face. Strawberry Ice Cream isn't his forte.
He clears his throat.
“Umm… Hi. My name is Lee Donghae… Uh.. You can call me Donghae hyung…. if you want to…
Umm…
….
….
….
… How about you, uh.. kid?” he replies awkwardly, obviously unused to being around a child for so long.
But hey, at least he tries.
The child doesn’t seem to register his complete awkward nature and in turn, just beams happily, the small face already messy with ice cream again before gathering all his strength to stand on Donghae’s knee, wrapping small arms around the elder’s neck tightly.
Donghae let’s out a manly squeak of surprise at the gesture, unsure on what to do with the random spurts of affection, but quickly steadies the child so he wouldn’t fall off his knee.
What the hell?!
The boy excitedly squeals again, playing with his words in an extremely fast pace as he snuggles his face into Donghae’s neck. “Donghae hyung? IMMA CALL YOU HAE HYUNG CUZ’ I HAVE TWO HYUNGS HYUNG AND I LOVE YOU AND MY APPA and APPA WILL LOVE YOU TOO! Cuz! Cuz- And- And he’ll like you a whoooole bunch hyung! Yup! Cuz’ your funny and niiiiiiice~ hyung!
Hyunggie hyunggie hyunggie hyunggie hyunggie hyung hyung bloop! Bloop bloop! Haha Hyunggie I’m HENRY! YEEAAHHH! Cuz’ appa, my appa, he- he says it’s the English Henry cuz’- and- and umma likes English names and I like cows. Do you like cows hyung? COWS GO MOOOOOOO~ Monkey! Appa! Papa! Chonnie! Baloney! Sezzaloni! Macaroni! Baby Roni! BABY RONI! ” The small boy squeals happily and lets go to clap his hands enthusiastically, random spurts of English shocking Donghae silent again. The 26-year old nearly had a heart attack when, Henry?, almost falls off his knee. As soon as Donghae steadies him again, Henry pounces on him once more and stuffs his face into his neck, breathing deeply before dragging his face up and down in slow motion, nuzzling his whole sticky face back in forth like an affectionate cat.
“Hyunnnnnnngggggg~ You’re soo waaaarrrrmmmmmmm~” the child lovingly drawls, gripping Donghae’s shirt tighter as he tries to bury his face deeper into the skin.
Donghae feels himself fluster, the encrusted face of the toddler creating a gross feeling on his neck as he senses the ice cream that was still in the child’s hand drip into his shirt.
He quickly shoves away the kid at arms length and stares at him dumbly in astonishment, the child unable to keep still as he starts to giggle uncontrollably and bounce rapidly on his heels.
The fuck?
“HYUNG!” giggle giggle “HYUNG!” giggle giggle
“HYUNGHYUNGHYUNGHYUNGHYUNGHYUNGHYUNGHYUNGHYUNGHYUNGHYUNGHYUNGHYUNGHYUNGHYUNG
HYUNGHYUNGHHYUNGHUNGHYUNGHYUNGHYUNGHYUNGHYUN--“
“Whoa whoa whoa, kid, calm down-“
“-NGHYUNGHYUNGHYUNGHYUNGHYUNGHYUNGHYUNGHYUNGHYUNGHYUNG---”
Donghae frantically looks left and right, panicking as the boy’s body begins to convulse wildly, Henry’s small frame wracking with excitement as his small pupils dilate and increase in speed, his bouncing looking more like little spazz attacks. The whole scene makes him think of a cartoon who’s just eaten something extremely hot, their body turning red before the shaking like salt shakers and shooting up into the sky so they could burst into fireworks, except Henry is freaking four and looks like he just had crack.
“Yah Henry you gotta calm down or-“
“HYUNG!” Henry exclaims, arms going up to flail excitedly and successfully making Donghae drop him onto the floor. Donghae gapes wide, completely flabbergasted, when Henry jumps right back up and starts running around in circles, dropping his half-eaten ice cream onto the grass.
Bada catches on to the boy’s exhilaration and joins in the running, yapping excitedly as Henry giggles and starts singing and unknown tune.
“La la laaaaaaa~ Mommy Appaaaaa~ Haaaaaaaaaeeeeeeeee Hyungieeeee~ Kyuhyunnie bunny caaaaaakkkkeeesss~ Kibummie poco chocooooooo~ Choco Lalaaaaaaaaa~”
Donghae can’t seem to close his mouth as he stares incredulously at the boy that seems unaware of the world around him, his song not making any sense as he twirls happily in circles.
The brunette tries to figure out the sporadic behavior.
Crack?
The kid starts doing flips and kicking his legs in the air.
No this shit is harder than crack.
Henry pops right back up and begins to giggle and run in circles again.
DAMN! Holy crap, what the hell was in that ice crea- Ah.
Well damn. Ice cream.
Henry squeals loudly again and claps animatedly, the excited run mixing into a combination of twirling and hopping as he sings about a bunny and her pet uncle.
Well fuck me, the boy’s having a sugar rush…
He shakes his head at the hyperness, unable to process how ice cream can create such a small body become so… crazy.
“Damn,” he mutters under his breath, watching the boy begin to roll around in the grass with his dog, “I gotta find this boy’s mom..”
The loud rumble of a motor interrupt his thoughts, and he realizes two guys on a motorcycle are heading his way.
He squints his eyes, his vision a bit unclear since Eunhyuk broke his glasses again, but can somewhat make out a large figure in the driving position and a slim figure with blonde hair latching tightly against the former’s back.
The motorcycle comes closer, and he begins to slowly recognize the slim one on the back.
That lean body frame, those lips, that wavy blonde hair..
Eunhyuk…
It was Eunhyuk! It had to be!
He stands up and opens his mouth to call out to the male when he feels a small hand pull at his pant leg.
“Hae hyung!” the boy beams, the motorcycle now only a several yards away.
“Hmm? Yeah, what’s up?” he asks distractedly, standing on his tippy toes to see if his crush is really the one so nearby with another man.
Is that one of his ‘men’?
“Hyung, that’s my appa!” the toddler pipes up, pointing towards the two figures now entering the woods now about 5 or so yards away.
“What?!” he screeches, looking down at the young child jumping up and down excitedly.
“Yup! That’s my appa! Let’s go get him!” and the kid takes off, running towards the woods where the motorcycle entered.
Alarm bells ring inside his head, making him panic as he picks up Bada and rushes after the toddler without a single thought, not even considering as to which figure Henry was calling appa. The only thing on his mind right now was getting Henry and giving him back to his parent before Eunhyuk gets too far away with another man.
He quickly catches up to the boy and picks him up, swiftly entering the woods to trail after the low rumblings of the motorcycle getting further in the distance.
~*~*~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~*~~*~*~~*~~*~*~*~
-7:35 PM-
“Where the hell are we?” Donghae speaks out in the darkness, his voice softly echoing off the walls of a cave. He clutches the boy in his arms tighter, trying to feel his way around in the pitch blackness.
Following the sound of the motorcycle had somehow lead them to a cave, Henry telling him his appa will be in there since his appa would take him to the park exiting this direction. He didn’t understand why this adorable child would live in a cave, but who is he to judge? This boy’s appa was with his Eunhyukkie.
Why the hell would Eunhyuk date a man that lives in a cave anyway? He pouts.
He’s too damn nice for his own good… why do I always go for the nice ones???
“Hae hyung?” A small, unsure voice calls out, quivering small hands gripping themselves closer to his neck as he feels a warm face go back into his neck. “There’s no ghosts, right?”
He frowns, hearing the scared tone in the child’s voice.
“No, there are no ghosts. I promise,” he reassures gently, adjusting Henry’s weight into his right arm as he feels the caves cold, damp walls with the other.
“But really, are we going in the right direction kid?” he asks tactlessly, feeling the weight begin to tire his arm. “I don’t see your appa anywhere.”
He tilt’s his head questioningly when he feels something warm and wet on his neck.
Did the kid fucking lick me??!
“I don’t know…” he hears him reply, the boy’s voice sounding sad and scared. He suddenly hears a hiccup and a sniffle, before the small frame in his arms begin to suddenly shake with quiet cries.
The warms wet feeling on his neck become more conspicuous and it finally strikes him that the toddler is crying.
“Y-YAH!” he exclaims, the shouting making the boy tremble more and sob harder.
“Hey hey hey, why are you crying??” he asks in alarm, bouncing the boy up and down as he quickens his steps and turns left.
“I- I- I want my appaaaaa” he cries, sobs becoming more loud and frantic.
Donghae quickly turns left again in attempt to head back, walking straight into something cool, metallic, and hard. He feels around, cursing at the fact it’s so dark inside the cave. His hands land on something dusty, not gritty or damp like the cave walls he was used to feeling but cold, smooth to the touch with an occasional feel of something peeling.
What is this?
“APPAAAAAAAAA” the boy wails, Henry now starting to struggle in his arms.
Donghae holds tighter on the moving body, trying to still the thrashing as he feels more of the metal in front of him.
“Iron?” he questions out loud, knocking a bit to hear the reverberations shake within the object. Never has he thanked the amount of experiments he’s conducted, giving him the skill to recognize that this was indeed iron and is more tall than it is wide, thick in depth. He can’t seem to think of any other reason of why a block of metal like this would be needed unless it was a door, but why would a door be in a middle of a cave? Is this Henry’s house?
“APPPAAAAAAAA!!!!!” the boy screamed in his ear, almost successfully falling out of Donghae arms.
It scared the shit out of Donghae and he harshly shook the boy, the jerking making Henry abruptly stop crying in fear.
“LOOK,” He yelled, angrily gripping the boy tightly in his arms as he held him at arm’s length, the ringing in his ear still painfully throbbing, “I’M TRYING TO HELP YOU HERE SO IF YOU WOULD STOP FUCKING SCREAMING THEN I WOULD BE ABLE TO--“
A flood of light flood his senses and he drops the boy, a loud roar of something heavy moving echoing around the cave and making the ground shake. He quickly looks towards the light and sees a car quickly heading their direction, adrenaline heightening his reflexes as he realizes Henry’s was in the car’s way.
“Oh shit!” he yells, not having time to think as he instinctively acts. The brunette blindly picks up the boy and jumps towards the direction of the nearest wall, flipping himself around so he could land on his back in order to protect Henry as the car screeches to a stop, the two barely avoiding getting hit.
He quickly sits up and pulls Henry up to stand in front of him, not noticing the driver getting out of the car as he checks for any injuries on the kid.
“Henry-ah, are you okay?” he asks worriedly, the boy still sniffling occasionally and wiping his tears. He sighs in relief when Henry nods he’s okay, Donghae pulling the boy close and whispering many apologies.
“I’m so sorry Henry-ah. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I didn’t mean to drop you. I didn’t mean to scare you… Hyung was just so scared,” he chokes on his breath, recalling the feeling of Henry almost being crushed by the incoming car. Just the thought of young Henry becoming so bloodied, lifeless, and mangled and it all being his fault made his blood run cold, life seeming pointless if he were to be at fault for the death of this sweet, kind boy. “Just so so very scared…”
“Oh my God, are you guys alright??” A worried voice sounds behind him.
Donghae turns around and unconsciously shields the boy, standing up hastily to get a good view of who almost hit them.
A young man stared worriedly at him, his short, yet muscular frame anxiously twisting a ring on his left hand. Short brown hair slightly covered his eyes, the strong jaw line tense with worry.
“Yeah, we’re okay-“
“Hyung,” he hears Henry sob behind him, Donghae quickly turning around to comfort the boy.
“Yes? What’s wron-“
“HYUNG,” he wails, interrupting Donghae’s act of concern as he runs past him, in the direction towards the man who almost crushed them with his car.
“Henry, no! Where are you goi-“
“HENRY!” the almost murderer calls, running up to the small boy and laughing when Henry jumps into his arms, the boy crying harder as he twirls him around.
Donghae can’t help but feel rejected, feeling a familiar swirl of jealously as he watches the lost child HE found go into the arms of another stranger.
HE was the stranger that saved him, so why is this other stranger, who, mind you, almost hit the kid WITH HIS CAR, being the one that’s comforting and cuddling the crying toddler???
“Holy fuck, Henry, do you know how long we’ve been looking for you? Key has been crying non-stop and your appa has been throwing a fit, threatening to call South Korea’s FBI, America’s FBI, China.. “
Henry sniffles twice before giggling, wiping his eyes cutely before hugging the stranger tighter.
Donghae can feel himself seething.
“Hyung I want appa,” the boy indirectly demanded, resting his head tiredly on the almost murderer/stranger/toddler-hogger’s shoulder.
That’s it. He thought when the stranger turns around, about to walk away with HIS lost child.
“Um excuse me sir,” he says loudly, using all that he can to not come off rude.
The stranger stops and turns around, looking at him questioningly before narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
“Who are you?” the guy asks, and Donghae wants to laugh at the irony, as if he’s the one that’s not about to walk out with his un-found toddler.
“I could as you the same question,” he snaps, crossing his arms as the two men engage in a stare down.
“Hyung,” a young voice pipes up cheerfully, pointing at Donghae, “That’s Hae hyung. He took care of me and helped me go find appa.” He looks at Donghae happily. “I love him hyung. He’s the bestest.”
Donghae feels himself smile warmly at those words, pride over-bearing him as he strides over to the almost murderer/kidnapper-of-lost-children-found guy with a small smirk.
“Lee Donghae,” he introduced smugly, bowing slightly before opening his arms and mentally dancing at the fact Henry squirmed out of the lame-oh guy’s arms to jump over to him, catching Henry with a small spin.
The boy snuggled his face into what must be his favorite spot, his neck, and smiled nicely at the man before him, hoping the man won’t think he’s the kidnapper.
The short guy looked him up and down and asked, hesitantly at first, “You found him? Saved him??”
Donghae nodded, moving Henry around so he fit more comfortably in his arms before getting smacked on the back by the short guy in front of him, coughing loudly by the force of it.
Who would have thought someone so short could be so strong?
‘Well that’s great! Thank you man!” the young man beamed, bowing politely. “I’m Kim Jonghyun. My wife and I take care of little Henry when his father goes to work. Actually, Hyukjae’s worried sick right now, and I’m sure he’d love to meet the guy that found and took care of his kid. Hell he’s about ready to sell himself to the devil, so you might get a pretty damn good award.” He winked, turning around and getting into his car. “Here, get in the car and we can head over there, yeah?”
Donghae tilts his head at the idea of getting into this Jonghyun’s car, but complies anyway, feeling Henry must be tired emotionally and physically from all the excitement. He himself was tired and couldn’t wait to o home, but a small flashback reminded him he would never get to see his Eunhyuk.
Unless the man is still with Henry’s appa…
He stares wide when the car backs up, realizing the car was entering where the iron must have been before taking in his surroundings, going into what seems like a small city. Little houses decorated everywhere, street lights tip up and perched sweetly along the side of the road, people curiously looking in as they drove past by.
What is this place?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*
Red, puffy eyes stared lifelessly out the window, unseeing to the people around him as SM Heights Police and Special Forces crowd Key’s living room. Hyukjae can’t bare to be in his own house because it just seems so empty without Henry’s crazy antics, Kyuhyun and Kibum also worried sick, having cried themselves to sleep with their heads resting on his lap.
He looks up when Key walks in with tea, similar puffy eyes and a bruise blotching his pretty face as he sits quietly next to him, handing Hyukjae a cup of tea before sipping his own.
Hyukjae sighs, looking into his tea and feeling the need to cry again.
He knows it’s not Key’s fault, Henry having walked off on his own despite Key’s skill or being very keen with children, but he was upset and scared. He didn’t mean the horrible things he yelled at his friend, his friend being just as upset as he, but took the bashing and let him do what he wanted. He didn’t want to hurt his best friend, didn’t mean to lay a hand on him, and didn’t mean to call him those things. Key was his best friend, his only best friend, and he may have fucked it up.
He looked at his best friend, the darkening bruise that painted Key’s left cheek.
No, he didn’t mean to do any of it.
“Key… Key I’m so sorr-“
“Don’t even fucking say it or I swear I’ll kick you in the face,” the brunette warned, staring indifferently at the people looking for clues around the house. “You were upset, I get it.”
Key takes a long sip of his tea, sighing deeply as the Chamomile leaves begin to do their magic and calm his nerves. He looks over at the blonde, the sad father looking even more like a kicked puppy as worry made him look older.
“Look Hyuk,” he says calmly, attempting to put on a smile. “Hun, I would have done the same thing. Don’t even worry about it okay? I know you love me. Though you should probably say it more often…”
Grateful tears flow down Hyukjae’s porcelain face, the blonde able to smile back a little despite how upset he really felt.
“Key…. I… I love you…” he shakily says, his heart breaking as the worry for his youngest and love for his best friend make him an emotional mess.
Key smiles sadly, understanding the fear Hyukjae felt for his child. If Zhou Mi or Amber were missing, he would most likely be in the same state Hyukjae was.
“I know Hyuk… I love you too.”
He reaches over and grabs the pale blonde’s hand, giving a light squeeze for support.
I forgive you.
Hyukjae lightly smiles, sniffling before looking over and giving a light squeeze back, both men waiting anxiously for Jonghyun to come back with good news.
I forgive you too.
A large crash startles them both, Eunhyuk jumping out of his seat high enough to wake Kyuhyun and Kibum from their sleep.
A large, burly man stumbles into the living room in a rush, gasping for air as he looks at Hyukjae with hope in his face.
“Kangin-hyung,” Hyukjae asks questioningly, standing up to attention, “What’s wrong? Did we find him?”
Kangin nods his head yes, frantic as he smiles wide at the males before him.
“We found him.”
~*~*~*~*~~**~*~*~*~**~*~*~**~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~***~*~*~*
A/N: UNEDITTED. But I wanted to post something before you guys form a posse and kill me in my sleep with pitch forks and itchy towels O.o
lol Kidding.
But This is kind of my rough draft.
Can't edit anymore than this because the Library is trying to kick me out OTL Again.
Like really, the whole timed computer usage is just so short! >o<
Damn bishes.
Anyway, can't spot til I go back to the library later :] <33
IT WILL HAPPEN. EVEN IF YOU SPOT YOURSELF. *get's spots prepared*
Anyway. Here you go! Will edit more tomorrow, Maybe.
And replies will come on once my virus-filled laptop comes back from surgery :D
Hugs and kisses anyone? <3