chin up, princess 》johnten

nothing, kitten

One week after Ten’s engagement found Johnny laying in his bed, waiting for his boyfriend to come down and cuddle. The couple fell into a routine quickly. Every night after Doyoung fell asleep, Ten would sneak from his fiance’s side to the basement to spend the night with Johnny. Their only rule was that they weren’t allowed to fall asleep. Falling asleep meant time slipping, eyes opening, and Ten being discovered. 

But who could blame Johnny, who spent all day guarding his eccentric prince, for shutting his eyes to the sound of Ten’s voice and the weight of his hand along his torso. 

Unsurprisingly, Johnny woke up before Ten, shocked to find the Prince still curled under his arm like a clingy kitten. His panic didn’t set in for a few minutes, too entranced by his boyfriend’s sleepy pout and ruffled hair. 

“Shit, Ten, wake up,” he prodded the man when he noticed the light seeping through his curtains. Ten groaned but didn't leave the comfort of Johnny's blanket. It wasn't until he heard his father's gruff calls of his name that he shot up, meeting Johnny's panicked eyes with his own terror. 

"Ten, I know you're down here. If you come now, I will not make a fuss about your whereabouts to Doyoung." 

Ten's panic morphed to disbelief, then irritation. He shoved Johnny out of his way and stormed to where his father was perched idly against the kitchen countertops; a predator awaiting its prey. 

"And why the fuck should I care what Doyoung thinks about where I am?" He hissed. The King's glare trailed down his body, stopping momentarily at the hickeys spotting his neck, and ending at the Stitch slippers on his feet. 

"You are cheating on your fiance, are you not?" 

"He is nothing to me, and will always be nothing to me." 

The King dismissed his son's complaints with a wave of his ring clad hand. The bravery of his usually cowardice father startled Ten. 

"I wish to speak with your guard alone. You are free to leave," the King bade him exit condescendingly. Ten glanced between the door to the kitchen and his determined father skeptically. Leaving Johnny after hearing what his father knew about the two made his heart curl. Regardless of hesitancy, he exited the kitchen, hoping Johnny could escape the King’s wrath as easily.

Lo and behold, he did not.

“You’re being switched. And if you argue with me about this you will not be switched, you will be killed, no matter who your mother is,” the King told him. Johnny heard stories growing up of his mother’s friendship with the King and wondered briefly what she would think if she saw the disaster unfolding. 

Johnny nodded reluctantly, and the King left to wait in the hall. Johnny quickly slipped his armor on before rejoining the fidgety king. Whatever confidence he previously possessed was oozing from his pores faster than he could guide Johnny to Kun’s room. He had been here before during orientation, but once he was chosen for Ten, he rarely saw the other Prince. 

Jaehyun was standing tense by the door when they approached. He gently tapped Johnny as if to ask what was happening but the King answered his question. 

“Jaehyun, you are officially being moved to Prince Ten’s room, this action is to proceed immediately and without arguments.” 

Jaehyun knew his place, so he nodded curtly to the King, smile weakly at his best friend, and departed. When Jaehyun disappeared down the long corridor, the King knocked softly on Kun’s door. Johnny could have toppled over at the friendliness in which the King treated his son’s door, even more so how he spoke.

“Kun? Are you in here?” The King called out patiently. 

The door opened and Kun peeked into the hallway, crown perched on his head like a regal bird. “I am, dad. What’s up?” The King smiled and gestured for Prince Kun to come out, presumably to see Johnny fully. He did so with practiced grace, eyeing the guard with disinterest.

“This is your new guard. His name is Johnny and you are to discipline him accordingly should he lash out.” The King glared pointedly at Johnny during his last statement. 

“Gotcha.” And just like that, Kun’s attention diverted, showing the disconnect between him and Jaehyun. Johnny figured he might argue, maybe ask for his flamboyant best friend back. He did neither. The King turned to leave, but Kun grabbed his robe to regain his focus.

“Hey, do you know when Mom is coming back from the city? I asked her to get me some new books.” He asked casually, eyes wide with curiosity. He was cute, Johnny silently observed, but Ten was definitely more outgoing.

The King shrugged. “Should be soon, but I’ll let you know when she does.” 

“Thanks, dad.”

“No problem.” The King pointed to him and Johnny stood from his slouched position against the wall. “Behave, Johnny.” 

“Yes, sir,” he mumbled dejectedly in return. 

Prince Kun looked him over once more before mumbling something under his breath.

“Hello, I am Kun, as you know. I assume you are not as lenient as Jaehyun, so I'm going to inform you now, I will leave as often as I want, and if you try to stop me, I will hurt you. Other than that, I won’t talk to you, and you won’t bother me. Is that clear?” Kun leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, foot tapping impatiently as he waited for Johnny’s confirmation. 

Johnny recoiled from the Prince's 360 moods, but answered back: “Very clear, Prince Kun.” And then the Prince was gone. 
 

____________

“Jaehyun, I fucking hate it,” Johnny groaned the moment he stepped into their shared room. Jaehyun laughed softly, knowing the vast contrast in the Prince's personalities.

“Don't worry, dude. Your little prince almost bit my head off when he heard me talk. I don't think we’ll become friends anytime soon.”

The fond smile that crawled across Johnny’s lips when he thought of his fiesty Ten made Jaehyun gag. But he was promptly shut up with a pillow to the face. 

“It was a horrible idea for the King to put you as Kun’s guard though,” Jaehyun commented absent-mindedly as he pulled a shirt over his head. 

“Why? Besides my obvious hatred for his snobby bullshit.” 

Jaehyun sighed, glancing warily around as if someone would jump him for the words in his head. “Prince Kun is not who he pretends to be.”

Jaehyun was not one to diss the royal family, so his blatant disrespect caught Johnny’s wandering attention. He sat up to stare at his best friend with eager eyes. 

“How so?”

“If you tell Prince Ten what I’m about to tell you, I will skin you alive.” Jaehyun threatened him, pointing his deodorant at Johnny’s chest. Johnny slapped his hand away with a grimace.

“Yeah okay. I highly doubt I’ll be seeing him much, if Doyoung and the King have a say in it.”

“They have a huge say in it.”

“Thanks, I hadn’t realized,” Johnny spat back sarcastically. “Now tell me, pretty please?” he batted his eyelashes at Jaehyun, who instantly covered his face with another annoying gag.

“Kun hates Ten. Like, absolutely despises him. He has this wack theory that if the people see him being all friendly with Ten that they’ll like him too because Ten is… you know how he is.”

Johnny stared dumbly at his friend until his brain processed the information. “I hate royals.”

Jaehyun huffed and flicked off the light. “Me too, bro, me too.”

[ to be continued... ]