take me home ; nct johnten

14

Ten leaned down shyly and tried to pull the boy up, but he stayed in his place at Ten's feet.

"Johnny, come on...get up," he mumbled at him.

He eventually got a firm enough grip on Johnny's arm to pull him up the slightest bit and see his face. His eyes widened seeing how horrible Johnny looked. He had bags under his wet, bloodshot eyes.

Ten told him to follow him to the break room. Johnny obeyed, keeping his head low. They sat across from each other at the table, Johnny refusing to look Ten in the eye.

"How much do you need?" Ten spoke up.

"26,000 won." He needed 5,000 more since he figured he'd put in an overtime hour.

Ten stood up and pulled his small wallet out of his back pocket, flipping through a few bills and sliding them out. No, Ten didn't have a lot of money himself, but he was far better off than Johnny.

Johnny slowly took them from his hand and began walking out, but Ten's tiny hand on his shoulder made him stop.

"What's it for?" Ten asked quietly.

Johnny went to turn around but had to sneeze into his elbow first.

"Oh gosh, are you sick? Why did you come into work?"

Johnny was honored that Ten cared so much for him. He had a special feeling that he couldn't exactly describe whenever Ten acted like this. It was confusing, but he liked it a lot.

"Jaeho's in the car..."

The response didn't tell Ten anything he needed to know. It was so aggravating, but he was shy and couldn't really do anything to force it out of Johnny.

He sighed, "Walk with me?"

Johnny nodded and they both walked out of the real room, pushing past the same crowd to get outside. Ten poked his head in by the back window of Johnny's car and, indeed, found Jaeho asleep there. Johnny, on the other hand, leaned against his car and pulled out another cigarette. He went to light it, but Ten walked over and pulled it out of his mouth, throwing it on the ground.

"How many have you smoked?" Ten asked.

"Too many." Johnny put the lighter back in his pocket, accepting the defeat.

Ten couldn't help but soften seeing the tears continuing to pour out of Johnny's eyes. "You don't have to explain right now. I'll talk to you later tonight. Should I put in a word with the boss?"

Johnny nodded slightly, letting Ten know he could go back inside.

Now alone in the parking lot, he got in his car quietly as to not wake Jaeho and drove off, following the route to the babysitter that his phone showed him.

————

About ten minutes later, Johnny returned to the club. He had dried his tears but still felt horrible; not only was he sick, but he also borrowed a good bit of money and was fifty minutes late for work.

The first person he saw on his shift was Ten, who was actually standing by the front door, waiting for him. Johnny knew what this meant and followed him back to the break room again silently.

It pained him to retell the story, especially since he hadn't even processed it all himself. He broke down crying again as he spoke, but Ten pouted and cupped his face, wiping away his tears and offering him an extra tissue.

Johnny's heart fluttered in a way it shouldn't have. He suddenly had the urge to hug him or kiss him—he wasn't exactly sure which, though.

Ten eventually brought his hands away from his face and held onto his forearm tightly. Johnny figured that this was his way of supporting people.

"Meet me outside after our shift," Johnny said quietly, standing up to go change into his work attire.

Ten sat there at the table alone, a little disappointed at the loss of contact with Johnny. He kind of liked holding onto Johnny's muscly arm. It was almost relaxing. After some time, he decided it would be best for him to return to his work as well. Besides, they worked fairly close to each other, so maybe Ten would have another chance.

For the rest of the night, Ten tried to find any opportunity to touch Johnny again. It was really comforting. Of course he knew it probably wasn't the best idea to do it at work, but there was some odd urge inside him that made him want to do it anyways.

The three of them, Yuta, Johnny, and Ten all happened to walk into the locker room at the same time after their shifts. It was especially awkward even though they were all men. Yuta changed without much of a problem, seeing as a majority of the tension in the room was between Tem and Johnny. Eventually, Johnny turned away and stripped himself of his shirt. Ten couldn't help but keep his eyes fixated on the back of his bare torso. Johnny looked so pretty. He couldn't deny the fact that he really wanted to see the front too—

He averted his gaze quickly when he noticed Johnny turning to face him. He, too, stripped himself of his shirt and vest and speedily threw on his old t-shirt before Johnny could see anything. The most embarrassing part of changing together was taking off his pants, in which case Ten was very sure not to turn around. He wasn't very confident in his body, and especially not in the front.

He slipped off his slacks and pulled on his jeans, trying to make sure nothing was visible. Once he succeeded, he turned back around and saw Johnny fully dressed and waiting for him. They walked out to Johnny's car together which probably looked a bit odd to their coworkers, but they didn't pay much attention to it.

Ten still had no idea what Johnny's intentions were, at least, not until he was told to get in the car.

"But what will I do about my car?" Ten asked.

Johnny looked down at him from the opposite side of the car, "I'll take you to work again."

As Johnny drove Ten around, he took a moment to collect his thoughts in the silence. Ten made him feel things that he has never felt before. He was hesitate to say it previously, but maybe he could try to accept it now.

Did he actually love Ten?

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mmmmm

Here's your tHiRd chapter of the day😤

I've been in such a Johnten mood lately haha

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Have a nice day/night!💕❤️💓