𝐑𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 | Johnten

XXVI

【𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟔】

Morning came and Ten continues to sleep despite the ray of sunlight almost burning off his face. He could have woken up right now just because of how strong the light is, though Ten only decided to stay as he felt a warm feeling around him.

He wasn't sure what it is, where the warm feeling came from. Ten's eyes felt heavy as well, so he didn't feel like opening them. Later with his curiosity burning up, Ten now wants to open one of his eyes.

Ten brings his hand up and rubs off the dirt in his eyes. Feeling like opening one eye now, Ten opens his eye. He almost gasps in surprise when he saw what was in front of him.

Johnny's arm was wrapped around Ten, and his face was also close. With how close his face is to Ten, Ten thought about holding in his own breath, but all he could think right now is admire Johnny's face. This was also the first time he looked at Johnny this way.

Ah, I remember calling him emo. Ten thought as he gently brushes Johnny's hair, since they were covering his face. He almost chuckles at how peaceful Johnny looks.

Ten stays like this, watching how peaceful Johnny seems. He smiles seeing Johnny like this, and he wonders if this was the first time he has ever looked at someone like this. Maybe Taeyong, but this time it felt different.

Ten doesn't realize how long he was staring until Johnny opened his eyes and and brought his hand to flicked Ten's forehead. Ten whines from the pain and Johnny laughs at how Ten reacted.

"Good morning to you too," Johnny said, smirking at Ten.

"Was that really necessary?" Ten replied, massaging his forehead.

"I can't help it if you're looking at me like that. Like yeah, I know I'm hot. But I have to." Johnny wiggled his eyebrows, in which Ten rolled his eyes at him.

"You're insufferable."

"You love me."

"Maybe." Ten then proceeded to pinch Johnny's nose, the latter now whining from the pain.

"Hey!"

"What? It makes it fair between us." Ten smiled cheekily at Johnny.

Johnny laughs and sits up from his bed. "Alright, now get up you midget."

Ten groans from the nickname as he also sits up from the bed. "You're still calling me that?"

"Of course," Johnny grinned at Ten. Ten laughs and gets himself out of bed, following Johnny outside the bedroom. Somehow, Ten felt nostalgic when Johnny smiled at him like that after calling him a midget. Some things don't change, huh?

The two head to the kitchen, preparing for breakfast. Technically, Johnny did all of the work since Ten almost messed up the eggs. Ten thinks he tried his best anyway.

Later on, the two have breakfast in the living room, watching whatever channel is displayed on the TV. With the mood they have now, Ten wonders what was the mess all about last night. To think they would go like that to this, Ten is amused.

Speaking of last night, Ten remembers trying to tell Johnny something. Thinking back on it, Ten isn't sure of his feelings. To him, it's possible that he might like Johnny more than a friend, but with the way things are, Ten doesn't want to focus on these things.

While it'd be nice to have a proper boyfriend, Ten would rather finish school first before doing anything like that. Ten knows he'd have to continue school. He's in his third year and he's about to graduate soon, just like Johnny.

When Ten steals a glance at Johnny, his heart feels warm just like this morning. But at the same time, there's guilt inside of him, thinking he doesn't deserve this. With the way Johnny treats him and deals with him, Ten almost feels bad for Johnny, though most of all, he's glad to have him.

"Ten," Johnny spoke up after emptying his plate. "There's something I want to talk about."

Ten gulped as the atmosphere suddenly changed. "Yeah?"

"Where do I start off..." Johnny cleared his throat, taking his time. "I've been wanting to bring this up, but now that we're here, are we going to finally break off our rebound relationship?"

Ten stared into Johnny's eyes, an unreadable expression displayed on his face. He doesn't feel sad, he doesn't feel anger, and he doesn't feel happy either. When those words came out of Johnny's mouth, Ten started to think.

"...I think it's best if we do." Ten replied, fumbling with his fingers. "You're already over your ex, right? And I'm already over Taeyong."

"Right," Johnny nodded. "But there's also something I want."

"What is it?"

"I want us to start over," Johnny said. "Not as lovers, but as friends."

Ten looked at Johnny, surprised. He wasn't expecting that, but his features softened when he heard it. Hearing Johnny say that he still wanted to be friends, Ten tried his best to contain his smile.

"Listen, our history was pretty... Weird. We had a misunderstanding, got into a rebound relationship, made out despite us not having feelings with each other, and right now..." Johnny nervously scratches his head, realizing the things he said out loud sounded odd. Then again, their history was odd.

"I get it," Ten responded. "I'd want that too. To start over I mean." This time, Ten's nervous.

"I'll still fight them for you though," Johnny said. Ten was confused for a moment, until he remembers that they still have school.

"Oh god," Ten groaned, not wanting to go back to school, especially with the mistreatment towards the two of them.

"We still have a few more months to go," Johnny placed his hand on Ten's, reassuring the latter. His smile is sweet, and Ten feels relaxed around him.

Ten raises his fingers a bit, wanting to intertwine his fingers with Johnny. Johnny notices this and just like what Ten wanted, he intertwines his fingers with Ten's. Even though they wanted to start over as friends, they didn't want to get rid of these peaceful feelings inside them.

"Ten," Johnny looks up at Ten. His bangs are almost covering his face, yet Ten could see the kind look on Johnny's face.

"We'll get through this together, okay?" Johnny squeezes Ten's hand. "We'll show them not to mess with us."

"Yeah," Ten chuckled. "We will."

Ten will miss Johnny's kisses, touches, and everything. He'll miss everything about their relationship, even though it was a rebound from the start. He'll miss the hugs that made his heart at peace, and he'll miss being near him. Knowing how Ten has to keep his distance away from Johnny hurts him inside.

But Ten thinks it's worth waiting for Johnny. It's worth waiting for what lies ahead in the future for them, and even Johnny knows that.

The two will wait for each other.

【𝟗ᄅ ɹǝʇ𝐝ɐɥƆ】