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"Good boy," Johnny said in his deep voice, stroking his hair, and it was just a joke but oh god, Ten couldn't look him in the face. "Good boy."
Ten was used to quelling the beating of his heart around Johnny after so many years. It was easy enough by now to just let it out as a giddy grin, turning a little bit pink. Johnny stopped, and stood up, reading his reaction, more obvious than it’d usually be in front of the cameras.
"Ten? You OK?"
"Yes, hyung!" he assured him hurriedly. "C'mon, let's get to the park."
It wasn't the real park of course, it was a green screen, and they weren't really alone either - staff were right there with them, one WayV manager and one NCT manager, carrying a camera each, capturing every moment. But Johnny was there, putting on that cute voice, flashing his biceps, falsely accusing Ten of cheating and making him laugh - this job wasn't easy by any stretch of the imagination, but at times like this Ten just marvelled that he was getting paid to do this.
After they finished, having flopped down on the bed of the Airbnb they'd used as the setting for this April Fools prank, the cameras finally turned off and neither of them wanted to get up. They'd both been having late nights lately preparing hard for comebacks. Johnny looked at Ten, and then looked over Ten at their staff with their extra cameras.
"How much longer have we got here?" he asked.
The WayV manager looked at his watch. "Two and a half hours. You need sleep, huh?"
"Is that OK? I can help you pack the equipment up first…"
"No," the NCT 127 manager assured. "It'll only take the two of us half an hour at most, and then we'll go out and get some food we can bring back here. You can sleep for… an hour and a half?"
"Oh my god, really?" Ten asked them, rolling over to look at them, the stretch pulling his t-shirt so it was almost coming untucked from his waistband. "That would be amazing, hyung."
"Yeah, no worries," came the reply, and they were left to it, bedroom door closing behind them. The sound of chatter and the faint clatter of frames and tripods being collapsed drifted in, muffled by the doorway.
"C'mon Ten, time to get under the duvet," Johnny prompted in that soft encouraging voice he reserved just for him, nudging him. "Get up."
Ten obliged, and Johnny pulled back the covers and slipped into the bed, holding the duvet up and waiting for Ten to join him. When he did, Johnny tucked the covers around his back, arranging it so he was as cosy as he could be.
"This one's kinda scratchy, hyung," Ten commented.
Johnny wrinkled his nose in agreement.
"Yeah… they need to use more fabric softener. Wait, you need to use more fabric softener," he corrected himself, carrying on the joke that this was really Ten's room, keeping his voice quiet.
Ten let his mouth fall open, pretending to be offended.
"But like, I would never decorate my room this way. It feels too empty." Not enough cat toys by a long way, he didn't say, but the way Johnny fondly grinned back at him told him he'd picked that up anyway.
"Yeah, I can't imagine you picking these colour sheets either," Johnny said instead, rubbing the pink duvet cover fabric between his thumb and forefinger. "Hendery maybe, but not you."
"Nah, I can't imagine him going with a plain colour, more, like, patterns. He likes patterns," Ten replied, and Johnny huffed a laugh, leaning in and kissing him quickly to distract him.
"Oh my god, how have you dragged me into a debate about interior design again? I'm way too sleepy for this," Johnny teased.
"Hyung, that barely was! Hey, anyway, didn't you start it?"
"Did I? I can't remember…"
"Hyung, you did!" Ten protested.
"OK OK, maybe I did then. Man, I'm tired," he complained.
"What time were you up until?"
"Later than you," Johnny teased, in his Ten voice.
"You went to sleep at 10am?"
"You were up until 9am!?" Johnny said, shocked, voice still hushed. "Ten, you-"
They both stopped talking as they heard footsteps coming, and by unspoken spontaneous agreement both pretended they were fast asleep as the door was pushed open.
"Shh," came the NCT 127 manager's voice, in a whisper.
"Aww, look at that," the WayV manager cooed in his soft Chinese-accented Korean, and then there was quiet for a few seconds. "Hey, do you… do you think they're…"
"Would it matter if they were?" challenged the NCT 127 manager. "They've never caused any trouble. Let them be."
"You don't mind about that kind of thing?"
"No. I'd, um…" he trailed off.
There was a loaded silence between them. Ten tried to keep his eyes closed, and concentrate on pretending to be asleep. However much he wanted to turn around and look at what was happening.
"You'd what?" the WayV manager prompted, voice a little thin and nervous.
"If I minded that… I'd be a hypocrite."
Another few tense beats passed.
"Hey," the WayV manager said next. "If they're going to be asleep for another nearly two hours… do you want to leave them and… get some food together?"
Johnny's grip on Ten tightened excitedly, under the covers. Ten privately agreed. The NCT 127 manager gulped and spoke next.
"Does that mean-"
"It means whatever you want it to mean. And if you don't want to… that's fine too."
There were another few beats of silence.
"Well… they can phone us if they need us. There's that second pair of spare keys on the side, they know that. We can leave the stuff here too." They heard a sigh from the NCT 127 manager. "Yeah, why not. Do you like sushi?"
And they closed the door behind them, and Johnny let out a quiet squee of happiness as they heard their managers' shy chatter while putting their shoes on and leaving through the front door of the apartment, locking it behind them.
Finally, miraculously, they were alone.
"Oh my god, yes ," Johnny said out loud at last.
"Oh my god, I know right?" Ten grinned.
"They have been dancing around each other forever ."
"It's good if they wanna end up spending more time together. It might mean that we can, too. Today was so great, hyung."
They suddenly looked at one another, sizing up what the other was going to do with the sudden unexpected alone time.
"I'm too tired for sex today," Ten clarified. Johnny breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good, me too," he confirmed. "I'm beat. Also, I don't want to stress about the cleanup before they come back. And, like, I don't need sex to spend a little quality time with you, just us, right?"
Ten couldn't help the fond smile that spread across his face at the sweet, soppy words.
"Right," he said.
And they leant in and kissed, just a lazy glide of lips for a few seconds, Ten's hand sliding to the dip in Johnny's waist. Johnny pulled away first and pillowed his head on his arm, looking at Ten curiously.
"What?" asked Ten.
"Uh… if you wanna just sleep, I can ask this another time, but… you had a bit of a… reaction when I called you a 'good boy', didn't you?"
Ten immediately flushed, embarrassed.
"I mean, like… yeah," he said.
"What was that about?"
"I just… I think it's…" Ten started struggling to articulate himself, not really sure how to explain it himself. "I just… you know how I get when you give me compliments? Uh, it's that."
Johnny looked at him for a few seconds, thinking.
"I'm sorry, I always thought you were kinda making a joke about getting flustered about that."
"I kind of was and I kind of wasn't. I don't know why."
"Did you like it?"
"Yeah, I mean…" Ten didn't really know where he wanted to go with that sentence. "Yeah. I did."
Johnny scanned his features, hesitating a little before continuing.
"If I said it again now, would that be OK with you?"
Immediately all of Ten's heartstrings jumped, wanting that so, so much. His grip tightened where it was fisted in Johnny's t-shirt.
"Mm, yes? But, like… can you be gentle, hyung?"
"Of course, Ten. Of course."
Johnny reached out, and gently pulled Ten on top of him, so that Ten was cradled against the taller man, enveloped in his arms. Johnny pressed a kiss to the top of his head, and then started petting his hair. Ten started to breathe a little faster, loving the way it made him feel.
"That's right. You're such a good boy ," Johnny said, drawing out those last two words, and Ten felt the complicated journey his own face made as his brain short-circuited along with a pleased physical squirm throughout his whole body, with them in private and Johnny saying that to him. Johnny shushed him and caught his cheek, and turned his face up towards him so he could see it. He smiled, reassuringly, before letting his hand trace through Ten's hair, not breaking eye contact. "You know you are, huh? You're doing so well, with everything. You're my good boy."
And although objectively Ten knew this was ridiculous, that Johnny was speaking these nonsense words to him not entirely understanding how much it meant to Ten, he was so unexpectedly pleased and touched by his boyfriend's care and attention that tears started in the corners of his eyes. Johnny was amazing. Ten felt so lucky to have him.
"You're so cute," Johnny continued, using his thumb to wipe at Ten's eyes, keeping him from his instinctive impulse to hide his face. He pulled a jokingly grimacing face instead, needing an outlet. Johnny just watched him, with a soft expression. "Look at you, what is this? You're beautiful, and so, so fascinating. I'm so grateful for you, Ten."
"Hyung," Ten responded, still squirming a little at the words.
"You know," Johnny said, "if I knew you liked it this much, I'd have given you compliments more."
"You do give me compliments," Ten said truthfully. "Lots of them."
"Yeah, but I mean, like… serious ones, like this."
Ten, despite himself, quirked a smile.
"Hyung! Does that mean all those other times you were not serious?"
Johnny just scrunched his eyes into a smile at that, ruffling his hair affectionately.
"You're such a dumbass, Ten. I like that so much about you," he said. "You know I meant giving you compliments at a time where you don't feel like you have to deflect them. Where you can blush, and squirm, and look so cute like this, but you've just gotta man up and accept it. What a good, good boy you are."
And, at that, Ten buried his face into the front of Johnny's t-shirt, finding the compliments hard to take.
"Are you comfiest that way, or can you look at me?" Johnny asked, softly.
"I don't know," Ten admitted, muffled against his chest.
"Then can you try and look at me?"
It took a few seconds, but slowly, haltingly, Ten tilted his face up so that Johnny could look at him again. He braced himself for another onslaught, but it didn't come right away. Johnny traced his cheekbones, then his nose, then around his eyes with one finger, relaxing him, watching him with his pretty brown eyes, soft hair fanning against the pillow. It worked, a little. Ten felt some of the weird tension leaving his body.
"I could look at you forever," Johnny said, softly. "I want to know everything about you."
Ten's heart beat faster. His mouth fell open, just trying to concentrate on the feeling of Johnny, there, of his fingers on his face.
"You too, hyung," Ten said in reply.
"Aww, thank you. That's right, just relax." His hand drifted up Ten's face, and up into his hair again. "It's OK. You're a good boy, aren't you?"
Ten’s reaction was a little easier to manage this time.
"Again," Ten requested. "Can you do more?"
"Anything for you, Ten-Ten," Johnny cooed. "After all, it's because of what a good boy you are." He continued to stroke Ten's hair, nails lightly scratching his scalp as he went. Ten melted into his chest, humming with contentment. "Yeah. That's right. That's good. Just relax. You're my good boy."
Ten's heart was full, so full. He felt safe, and loved, and protected. His eyes drifted closed, and he just focused on the words, and the touches, getting more nonsensical and groggy as Johnny started to follow him into sleep.
"Good boy," he murmured as his hand stilled in Ten's hair and just rested there, a sleep-weight on Ten's head. "Mm, good boy."
And Ten and Johnny finally drifted off to sleep.