"Can you play tea party with me?" Jongdae tugged on his father's shirt. 

"Of course, Chenchen, just let me clean up first. Why don't you go set up the cups?" The little boy nodded happily and ran back towards his room with shining eyes. The past few weeks he hadn't seen his other father as much. He was busy with work and usually too busy with his new brother and they didn't get too much time to play together. Now he was finally able to play! Jongdae hated to say it, but he kind of missed all the attention he got before his little brother arrived. 

He hummed as he skipped to his room. The table which also functioned as a desk in the corner was decorated with plastic teacups and plates, along with toy cutlery. He had taken a long time to sort them all out. He swung his legs as he plopped down on the chair, rearranging the Rilakkuma stuffie in the seat next to him to sit up straight. His drawing! 

Jongdae smiled as he rummaged through his backpack and placed the rumpled piece of paper on the only empty chair at the table. He had drawn it during art time at school, and he borrowed crayons from that mean kid that always pushed him away so he could get the spot at the front of the rug at storytime. But he had nice crayons at least. 

Jongdae smoothed out the artwork, smiling at it. He knew that his dad would like it. He hoped he would put it up on the fridge. It was a nice drawing of the four of them on a picnic. His dad, Tao, and his other father. Jongdae rested his head on his arms as he waited for the familiar voice to open the door and ask if this was the right tea party in a funny accent. 

For a five-year-old, a minute can feel like an hour. For an impatient five-year-old, a minute could feel like a day. For an impatient five-year-old who was waiting for someone (or someone), a minute could feel like a century. Especially when your only companion was the ticking of the clock and your stuffies. Thus, for Jongdae, an impatient five-year-old who was waiting for have fun with his dad who he hadn't seen in two weeks, it felt like a milennia before he realized no one was coming. 

He pushed his chair back, wood scraping against wood and creating a high-pitched squeaky sound, and peeked in the living room. Dad was cleaning up something on the floor, and his little brother was chewing on a toy as usual. He chuckled when he saw Jongdae and ran towards him. While Jongdae was older by two years, he was still only five and had a slight frame, and nearly fell over from the force of the hug. He pushed the toddler off of him, patting his head as he went to go look for his missing companion. 

He tugged on the now bunched-up shirt from cleaning the floor, looking at the owner with wide eyes. 

"Oh, your tea party," his dad remembered. "I'm sorry, Chenchen, I had to help Tao and clean up. But maybe next time?" 

Jongdae nodded, not that he had a choice, padding softly on the floor. The TV was still playing some kids show that Tao was watching, though he wasn't even in the living room anymore. He probably found some toy to play with in Jongdae's room. But that was not the case. 

"Tao!" Jongdae screeched. "That was my drawing!" 

The toddler looked up at him, not knowing what had happened. "Sorry?" he said, as he could sense the anger radiating from the little boy from his clenched fist and sharp glares. He was still learning the Korean language though, and could only look at him with curiosity. 

"Whatever," Jongdae muttered. "Just go!" he grabbed the ripped shreds of paper from his brother and put them on his desk, trying to see if they could be taped or fixed. When he realized the other still wasn't leaving his room, he turned around. "Just go!" 

The room was filled with the agonizing ticking of the clock and the wails of a child and of another child's broken heart. 

"Tao?" he heard his dad open the door, picking up the toddler. "Jongdae, what happened?" 

"He ruined it!" Jongdae answered angrily, tears prickling his eyes. 

"He doesn't know better," he sighed. "Just clean your room, It's time to sleep, okay?" He carried the still-crying toddler out of his room. 

Jongdae had had it. He was sick of his little brother getting all the attention, whether or not he was new to family, or whether or not he was younger than him. He had been all but forgotten in the last six months and he was tired of it. He looked down at the paper in his hands, some of sticky with saliva and most of ripped and even more crumpled than before. Jongdae shoved the drawing in the garbage in his room and grabbed his Rilakkuma doll, pulling the covers over himself and the rest of the dolls without changing into his pajamas. 

♣

"You love Tao more than you love me!" Jongdae sniffled with tears running down his face, and Luhan and Minseok looked at each other in horror.

Title: Family Drawbacks
Pairings: Xiumin/Luhan, other side pairings
Genre: Family, slight! drama, fluff
Author: silverclouds - mina
Posted: 13/11/2014