Times for toys - Family!AU Drabble

“Joonmyeon appa!” Jongin screamed down the action figurine aisle in the toy store.

“Can you buy for me this pleaaase – everyone at school has one?”  Jongin pouted sitting down on the ground cross legged with his arms crossed; with one X-Men Wolverine figurine sat on his lap.

“Jongin, baby, we have to buy your friend Taemin a Christmas gift…I’m sure Appa Suho* will get you this…Wolf figurine” Joonmyeon tried to negotiate.

“It’s wolverine.” Jongin deadpanned.

“But Taemin gets loads of presents on Christmas anyway!!”

“Jongin, don’t be so rude – Appa Suho* might not buy you toys for Christmas if you continue to act like tha-” but Joonmyeon was cut off by the sound of toys falling down and breaking on the marble ground of the store.

“APPA!! CHANYEOL’S STUCK!” Baekhyun shrieked

“OMO! Channie, are you okay?!” Kyungsoo asked, concerned to see Chanyeol covered in a stack of princess dolls; glitter splitting itself all over his long auburn locks and onto the ground.

Joonmyeon ran over to where he heard the screaming – the princess section.

“Chanyeol!”

He ran over to his son and dusted the glitter off from his hair lightly, whilst managing to move away a few dolls from on top of Chanyeol and from out of his way. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo looked on, flabbergasted by how clumsy their big brother was. Especially, when their ‘big brother’ was (not so subtly) trying to pick a few different Disney dolls from the shelf, a little too eagerly, whilst mumbling along on the lines of ‘wow they’re so pretty’ and ‘why can’t I look like that.’ The second hand embarrassment was literally radiating off of him, and fading back into the atmosphere as many on-lookers walked by the sparkly mess, to continue their last-minute Christmas shopping.

“Chanyeol – can you hear me?” a little overly concerned Joonmyeon, spreading Chanyeol’s eyes open, to make sure he didn’t have some sort of concussion after his…accident. He then looked through Chanyeol’s hair, to make sure he wasn’t bleeding on the outside.

“What happened?” he then looked at Baekhyun and Kyungsoo suspiciously, his eyebrows were furrowed in confusion.

“W-ell…” Baekhyun started, looking at Kyungsoo and then back at their appa.

“Basically – Chanyeol wanted a few girly dolls, and he reached up to grab them…and then they fell on top of him.” Kyungsoo finished, looking rather pleased with ratting out his brother.

“They aren’t girly…” Chanyeol sulked from the side, a little glitter still stuck to his face as he tried to blow upward – only to receive his hair going into his eyes.

“Thank you, Kyunggie.” Joonmyeon smiled and nodded appreciatively at his son, before looking back to Chanyeol with concern in his eyes. But then he noticed something. No, it was someone. Someone was missing. Suddenly, Joonmyeon’s concern turned to sheer panic as he got up from his crouched position, and frantically ran out of the aisle section. Not before, turning back and telling Kyungsoo to look after Chanyeol, and Baekhyun to grab Jongin from the figurines stall.

Then he ran out of the aisle, towards other toy sections – getting disappointed looks by (seemingly) other parents with their children. 

“SEHUN!” Joonmyeon shouted, he ran through each different toy aisle to try and find his son.

He reached the toy car section. But Sehun wasn’t there.

“SEHUN! Where are you?!”

He was now in the cooking aisle of the toy store, but still no sign of Sehun.

“SEHUN!” Joonmyeon was practically sobbing, as his heart fluttered in a wave of terror.

The gaming aisle – it was bare.

“Sehun…Sehun…Sehun” he was now muttering, rather madly to himself as he continued to pace back and forth in different aisles, again ignoring the weird looks and remarks to why a grown man is crying and screaming in a kids toy store.

He had to be at least half-way into the store now. There’s no way he could have lost Sehun in such a short time - what if he got abducted? . If Joonmyeon thought he was afraid before, that was nothing compared fear he was feeling now. Now, it felt like a ton of bricks from the height of the Eiffel Tower hit him square in the heart. Yes. Bricks that then morphed to rather large scale pianos. He would have thought of a better metaphor – but really, he was in the middle of trying to find his son; in a toy store, during the manic that was last-minute Christmas shopping.

First he can’t find parking, and then this. There was no hope.

“Come on…Come on…” he muttered, “he has to be here!” he shouted, pulling out strands of his dark bloodshot hair in a rage of frustration.

Suddenly the sound of ‘Dancing robot wars’ – a sound too recognisable from the hours Sehun and Jongin would play that game up till midnight on their Nintendo Wii – came from the technology aisle. Please, let it be him. Please.

“Ye-th! I beat Jongin’s high-th-core! Wait till I tell him…”

“OH THANK GOD” Joonmyeon squealed as he picked Sehun up and squeezed him in a tight bear hug.

“Appa?”

“Don’t…ever…do…that…again” Joonmyeon breathed out, as he bent down to catch his breath.

All hell given to the passers-by.

Joonmyeon brushed Sehun’s fringe slightly and gave him a peck on his forehead.

“You really scared me Sehun-ah.”

“But-But Appa, I told you I was coming here…”

“I don’t care if you told me; I want you to stay by my side until I let you go myself.” Joonmyeon scolded, crouched down and looking at Sehun strictly.

Sehun looked down at his feet, as he side-eyed the dance machine.

“Understood?”

“Ye.”

“Good boy. Now come on, we have to catch up with the others…” Joonmyeon took hold of Sehun’s wrist tightly and dragged him out of the aisle hurriedly, hoping that the others weren’t causing too much trouble. Luckily he could rely on Kyungsoo to lessen the load of the wreaking havoc his children loved to play.

Whilst running past aisles and dodging shopping baskets and trollies, Joonmyeon asked Sehun what the latter will be asking Appa Suho for Christmas. If Joonmyeon wasn’t focused on getting back in one piece, he would have noticed the small smile emerging on Sehun’s lips. But the small smile soon turned into a quick frown.

“Appa Suho is getting me a present. If I tell you, it will ruin the surprise!”

Joonmyeon giggled (internally), and looked down at his son, a warm smile taking over his lips as he moved his hand from Sehun’s wrist to his palm; caressing it softly.

“Let’s keep it between us two.” Joonmyeon whispered, using his other hand’s index finger to cover his lips and touch the tip of his nose, whilst making an ‘sshh’ sound.

“Well…I was hoping Appa Suho could get me a new bicycle…sshh – it’s a secret, okay?” Sehun looked up to his father with glistening eyes that mirrored the word mischievous. He then looked ahead to where he was walking, and saw the forms of his brothers getting closer and closer.

Soon, he could make out Chanyeol’s (rather large) head poking from behind an aisle –glittering under the stores lights – and a rather annoyed looking Kyungsoo who was putting some fallen (Disney girl?) dolls back onto the shelf; whilst puffing out his cheeks. On the other aisle, close to the dolls, was Jongin. He was sitting down on the marble floor, as Baekhyun miserably attempted to push Jongin back up. As Joonmyeon pulled Sehun closer to the princess aisle, Sehun could make out Jongin shaking his head several times as his eyes were clasped shut and hands possessively holding a figurine box. He could also see an infuriated Baekhyun who looked like he was ready to smack the latter, a look of pure frustration in his eyes.

Sehun tried tugging at his appa’s jacket to warn his father about the two in the other aisle, but it seemed Joonmyeon was too busy scanning over Chanyeol’s body and giving Kyungsoo a light, lovingly pat on the head.

The sound of a slap resonated towards the princess aisle.

“OWCH! BAEKHYUNNIE THAT REALLY HURT!”

Joonmyeon turned to hear the sound of Jongin’s scream and ran towards him, but not before peeking back into the aisle and asking Kyungsoo to look after Sehun and Chanyeol. He then turned towards the commotion coming from the figurine aisle, but stopped – exhausted- and bent over to catch his breath. I need a break.

Joonmyeon then got back up from bending down, and ran over to where the sound of muffled scuffling and tearing cardboard and plastic. Not forgetting the disgruntled shouting echoing in the halls. He walked in the aisle only to see a pile of cardboard and what looked like a torn apart figurine.

“I’D LIKE TO SEE YOU PLAY WITH THAT WOLF FIGURINE NOW.”

“IT’S A WOLVERINE!”

“APPA!” both children cried at the same time.

Merry Christmas, all. Merry ing Christmas.

And so this is the story of how you should never bring your five children, to go last-minute Christmas Shopping with you.