Chapter Text
Oikawa was walking around the shopping centre until he wasn’t.
“I hate this!” Tobio cried, his small body trying and failing to crumble to the floor.
People were beginning to look over, and Oikawa’s cheeks were burning with pure embarrassment of the situation that had manifested from simply walking past a sports store.
It wasn’t that Oikawa was stupid. He knew that the shopping mall was a sensory overload mainly for a 4-year-old, but he hadn’t had a choice. He had to bring his little one along with him, since Iwaizumi had an important meeting at home that couldn’t afford disruptions like last time.
“I want it!” Tobio sobbed, trying and yet again failing to fall to the ground since Oikawa was holding him up by an arm.
He did this since he knew that his child was about to relapse into his bad habits of crawling everywhere, but at this point Oikawa didn’t know what was better: having Tobio scream and cry the roof off the building or letting his son relapse and crawl himself around the floor sulking?
He couldn’t choose.
Oikawa had tried to drag Tobio into the privacy of the nursing rooms that the mall provided, but Tobio was glued to his spot - stubborn .
Tobio was just as stubborn as he, and how the fact made Oikawa’s blood boil. Could you blame him? Because if Tobio had any ounce of Iwaizumi’s personality, life would go by peacefully and without a fuss.
In fact, if Iwaizumi had been here, he would have treated Tobio in a similar manner to how he treated Oikawa but a lot nicer . Tobio would have been told to hush and without a fuss would have. Iwaizumi would have then taken Tobio to a more secluded corner and proceeded with a lecture on behaviour.
Iwaizumi, after all, favorited their son.
“The poor little thing just wanted to hold the volleyball,” an old lady murmured behind him to her friend, “He should have let him.”
Oikawa wanted to tell this Karen lady to shut up, but he wouldn’t be able to deal with a lady who thought she knew better and a baby who was obviously in hysterics and distress from the situation. Choosing the latter, he decided Tobio was more important than a dispute.
He knew that he could have just let Tobio touch the volleyball, but then Tobio would have gripped it tightly and would have refused to let go of it until it was 1. Purchased and 2. Back home with him.
So to avoid all of that, he refused to let Tobio get within a metre's distance. Iwaizumi and he had learnt the hard way, now having 11 volleyballs scattered around the living room.
Tobio wasn’t like other kids who wanted toy cars or toy figures. No, Tobio wanted balls, but not any ball. No, IT had to be a volleyball. How Tobio could tell the difference, Oikawa didn’t know.
Maybe it was to do with the fact That Oikawa had taken up volleyball again, and his son had become obsessed after seeing him practice.
“Tobio!” Oikawa hissed, bending down to Tobio’s ear. The boy now had snot running and a face full of tears, “stop this, or we aren’t coming back again!” Oikawa threatened.
Tobio didn’t bend.
“Volleyball!” he sobbed, reaching out with his other hand, “I want touches!”
“Stop!” Oikawa ordered, “Please” Oikawa begged a second later, noticing how many people had stopped and were observing the scene that so happened to be him and his son.
Heck he probably would have stopped to watch as well, but now that it was him in their shoes he wanted nothing of it.
“NOOOO!” Tobio screamed.
Oikawa had to take a deep breath.
Either Tobio was going to calm down to meet Oikawa’s brain patterns, or he was going to meet Tobio’s and lose control.
“I WANT PAPA!”
That was the last straw for Oikawa as he finally let go of Tobio’s arm, the little boy finally falling to the ground like he wanted, but now that Tobio was on the floor he fell silent.
Oikawa froze, ‘ Oh no,’ he thought.
Silent to many parents meant a good thing, but in Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s cases when dealing with their little one they knew that silence equalled a rupture of emotions and that rupture was about to occur any moment.
Oh, and occur it did.
It started off with a tremble in Tobio’s chin that spread up into his lips. His eyes squinted and wobbled in place. Tobio then pushed higher up onto his knees, his face tilting back until he was looking at the roof towering over their heads.
Oikawa had the decency to warn those closest to him to cover their ears, Oikawa following his own warning and covered his.
Those around him weren’t so lucky, as they didn’t understand the gesture fast enough until they did . They flinched with the booming wail.
“WAAAH!”
Oikawa was stuck now.
He tried to pick Tobio up, but with the flailing of the child's arms, it was inevitable when Oikawa bent down and got sucker punched.
‘Shit that hurt!’ Oikawa cursed internally.
Tobio didn’t register what he had down, and probably wouldn’t until he was calmed. But, there was nothing else Oikawa could think of… ‘Wait there is!’
One moment the people were watching the child frail and cry, and the next they heard as one cry became two, watching as Oikawa threw himself onto the floor kicking and screaming alongside his son.
“WAAAH!” Tobio cried again.
“WAAAH!” Oikawa echoed Tobio’s. Kicking his feet and punching his fist against the floor under him.
“Waah-” Tobio tried again and Oikawa cut in, “Waah!”
Tobio was now looking at his father, “Waah?” he tried, but Oikawa just copied it again.
“Dada?” Tobio called.
“Waah!” Oikawa answered.
Tobio looked up and around them, noticing the wide eyes of those around, “D-dad?” Tobio said again, going as far as to shake his father, “Dada?”
Oikawa finally looks up, “Are you done?” Tobio’s chin begins wobbling again, “I guess not,” Oikawa sighed out before he threw his head back down and started kicking his legs along with a “Waah!”
“Dada?” Tobio called again.
When Oikawa looked back up, he found Tobio in front of him before, Tobio was placing a palm against his cheek.
“Dada, why are you crying?” Tobio asked, tears falling again, but now for a different reason.
Oikawa wanted to roll his eyes, but decided better and went along with it instead.
“Don’t cry Da, Tobio h-were for you!” the boy continued coming up and pulling Oikawa’s head into his lap.
This action made Oikawa want to cry real tears, but instead he raised up onto two feet, picked up Tobio and held him close. “It’s okay,” Okiawa started, “Dada’s okay now.”
Tobio whimpered and started patting Oikawa’s messed up hair down, “Tow-bio doesn’t kno-e what made you saddd~”
Oikawa wanted to squeal at his son's cuteness as well as laugh at how clueless he was, but he only held the boy close as he made his way out of the mall.
His plan didn’t work out the way he wanted it to. He wanted to embarrass Tobio to the point he wouldn’t do it again, but instead Tobio had just comforted his father instead.
Oikawa knew that Tobio would most likely do this again the next time him or Iwaizumi brought him to the mall, but oh well. He was too precious and Oikawa made promise right there and then, that he would allow Tobio to pick out whatever volleyball he wanted next time.
Like FATHER , like SON.
BONUS
By the time Oikawa got home, Tobio was fast aside in his babysat and didn’t even stir when he unbuckled him.
When he unlocked the door of their apartment, he found his husband resting against the doorway at the entrance, smirking.
Oikawa rolled his eyes before making his way towards Tobio’s room, where he placed him down and tucked him in. it was then that Tobio blicked awake.
“Shh baby,” Oikawa cooed, “You're home now.”
Tobio nozzle back down, mumbling, “wove you,” before he crashed back out
Smiling, Oikawa steeped out of his babies' room to find Iwaizumi still smirking.
“What-” Oikawa snapped instantly, not liking that smug look on the other’s face, “-do you want! You left me with your child, and it was a complete shit show,” Oikawa said as he crashed down onto the love seat.
Iwiazumi’s smirk did not drop, “Owe child,” he corrected.
“Yeah, yeah,” Oikawa waved him off, “whatever. You should have seen what happened-”
“Ohhh, I know,” Iwaizumi cut in, laughing.
Oikawa froze, his eyes slowly lifting to meet the brown’s of his significant other, “You know?”
Iwiazumi’s nodded before he took his phone out and flipped it around, “It’s everywhere.”
Oikawa gasped, snapping the phone out of Iwaizumi’s hands and gawking at the video that was playing on the phone.
Quickly, Oikawa looked at the person’s profile picture to see who had posted the video of him throwing a tantrum alongside Tobio, and instantly he recognised who.
“That damn Karen lady!” he screamed.