Work Text:
Lucas toddled into the living room, his hand wrapped around his toy stuffed puppy.
“Dad!” He called and peeking around the corner before walking into the kitchen.
“Dad!” He called again, his hands clutching onto the puppy’s fur.
“What’s going on buddy?” His dad asked and he looked up.
“Dinner time?” Lucas asked and his dad shook his head.
“Not yet baby, why don't you head upstairs with daddy?” His dad asked and Lucas shook his head, stroking the head of his stuffed puppy.
“Daddy fell asleep with Marky,” Lucas informed his father and his dad shook his head, chuckling under his breath.
He didn't know why, but dad always smiled and laughed a lot at Daddy. His uncle Taeyong said it was because they were in love. Lucas thought that was weird because his friend Jungwoo always laughed and smiled and him and they weren't in love.
“Okay, well just sit tight. You can be my taste tester,” his dad said and Lucas saluted him.
His dad turned his back on Lucas, going back to whatever he was making. It smelled good whatever it was.
Lucas sat down at table, setting his puppy on the table. He scooted the puppy along the wooden table, scooting it around as he talked to him.
His puppy was an explorer, going on an adventure.
Of course he couldn’t go on an adventure close to the stove, because it was a no no. Daddy said that it was hot there, and that Lucas would get hurt if he went near it, so he stayed in the corner beside the refrigerator. Dad had said he could play there as long as he didn't open the door and use it to make him taller because then the food would fall out.
Lucas stopped in the corner when he saw something move.
He crouched down, following the creature.
It was busy, scurrying back and forth.
Lucas scurried after it, his little legs inching forward after it. He stopped, scooping the creature up from the ground
He giggled as its legs tickled his palm.
He liked this new friend.
He'd name him Mr. Tickles.
They could go on all the adventures together, finding buried treasure and sailing the seven seas.
“Lucas, come taste,” Dad called to the boy and he turned around, waddling carefully to the man. He had to be very careful, he didn’t want to drop his new friend.
“Dad, I made a friend,” lucas said and Dad hummed as he stirred the pot, collecting sauce in the spoon.
“I can't wait to meet this friend. Here, blow on this,” Dad said, turning to face the child as he held the spoon out.
“Dad, my friend, he tickles me,” Lucas said, shoving his cupped hands into his dad's face.
“What do you have there?” Ten asked and Lucas opened his hands to show the black spider that was crawling between his hands.
“No! No!” Ten yelled, slapping Lucas’s hands.
“J-johnny!” Ten screamed and Lucas covered his ears as his dad began to scream in earnest.
He could hear the thump as Johnny fell off the bed upstairs.
“What?” Johnny asked as he ran into the kitchen, holding Mark who had begun to cry.
“A spider kill it!” Ten yelled and Johnny stepped on the scurrying creature.
“Give me your hands, give me your hands, it didn’t bite you did it?” His Dad asked, turning his arms over back and forth and Lucas couldn’t take his eyes off of his new friend. It was curled up, smaller than it had been in his hand and misshapen.
His daddy made his friend go splat.
Lucas bit his bottom lip as it wiggled, letting his dad drag him to the kitchen sink, helping him to wash his hands off as he berated him for touching something so dirty.
“He wasn’t dirty, he was my friend,” Lucas said softly and his dad tsked, shooing Johnny off to get a broom to sweep up the bug.
“He wasn’t your friend, he was a bug that could have bit you and made you get sick, or go bye bye,” Ten explained.
“Babe, I’m not sure that that kind of spider could have killed him,” Johnny pointed out and Lucas looked at the water running over his hands.
“The point remains. Today he picks up a spider, tomorrow he plays with snakes. He needs to learn not to mess with animals,” Ten pointed out and Johnny sighed.
“You killed my friend,” Lucas finally got out, his body dropping from the emotion as he began to sob.
“He was Mr. Tickles and he was my friend and you made daddy make him go bye bye,” Lucas cried.
“Lucas honey, dad was only protecting you, you have to trust your dads,” His dad said and Lucas shook his head, curling up around his shrunken friend.
“No, you killed him,” Lucas cried back.
“No sir, you will not have a tantrum, it was dirty, just like that floor, get up, Johnny didn’t I tell you to get a broom and clean this up,” Dad yelled and Johnny handed the still crying Mark, who seemed to cry harder because Lucas was crying, to Ten before getting the broom. Johnny nudged Lucas away from the dead spider softly before sweeping it up and throwing it away.
Lucas got up, running upstairs and slamming his door as best he could.
“Your dad is going to kill me,” Daddy hissed as he opened the door in front of Lucas. Daddy was holding Lucas’s new friend, because he was afraid that Lucas would drop it. Daddy had taken him out for one of their big boy talks that led to them walking into the pet store. There were many animals, and daddy was talking about why some of the animals were okay to have in the house, and why others weren’t. Bugs and rats were icky because they could make him sick, but dogs and cats were okay as long as they had their shots and were trained.
Lucas had been amazed by all of the animals, like the little puppies that licked his face when he got close, and the lizard that could become invisible, daddy had called it a chameleon. Lucas didn’t think it looked anything like a camel, but he let it slide. Lucas had liked the fishies too, and the snakes that sunbathed under the lamps. His daddy said they couldn’t have a snake and Lucas nodded.
They were cool, but a little scary.
He’d seen his friend again. Only this friend was bigger and hairy like Daddy’s legs and Lucas begged and begged to get it because it was in a cage, so it was trained, and it was in the pet shop so that meant that it was a pet, and that it wasn’t an insect that creepy crawled it’s way into the house.
Daddy finally gave in and now he was the proud owner of Mr. Hairy Tickles.
“Are you back? How did it go?” Dad asked and Lucas bounded around the couch to face his dad.
“We got a friend today!” Lucas started and Ten sighed.
“It better not be bigger than a hamster, you know we can’t take care of animals,” Dad said and Lucas took the cage out of his daddy’s hand.
“Dad meet Mr. Hairy Tickles,” Lucas said and Dad curled up on the couch, tugging his knees to his chest.
“No, take it back, take it back right now. Johnny I can’t stand you!” Dad yelled and Lucas hugged the cage to his chest.
“He wouldn’t let me say no, and it was this or a snake,” Daddy explained and Dad pointed upstairs.
“Take it upstairs, just take it upstairs,” Dad said, his voice high pitched and Lucas headed towards the stairs.
“Remember bud, he can’t come out of his cage,” Daddy yelled after him and Lucas smiled as he put the cage on his bedside table.
He loved his new friend.