Chain || Mark Lee

Epilogue 1:All I Need

"Let's go, we'll go to the park then back!"

"You're lucky I like you."

"Please, you love me."

The two went on their morning jog. With Ten being a lot slower, Johnny kept at Ten's pace, wanting to make sure that he wasn't going to get on Ten's bad side; honestly, making him run was enough of a reason for Ten to get mad at him. When they got back home, Taeyong was awake and making breakfast.

"Good morning, Johnny." Taeyong said upon hearing the door open, knowing that it was him.

"Taeyong, he made me run."Ten instantly complained as he got in and kicked off his shoes.

"I'm sorry to hear that, but I made rolled eggs to eat."

"It wasn't that bad, Ten."

"But we were gone for hours!"

"We were gone for 30 minutes."

"While you two bicker, I have to go wake up Jeno. Apparently he wants to start doing his workouts in the morning."Taeyong mentioned before going upstairs.

Johnny led Ten over to the counter for the two of them to eat. Ten was still annoyed with him, but it lessened whenever Johnny smiled. It worked every time, since they had met, and Johnny knew how to use it to his advantage.

"I'm taking an extra shift at the hospital today, I'll be home around 11 at night."Johnny mentioned with a full mouth.

"What?"Ten exclaimed.

"What do you mean what?"

"Tell me you're joking."

"I'm not."

"But we were supposed to watch a movie together."

"And you were supposed to stop smoking."Johnny fired back.

"Johnny, be reasonable. We planned this weeks ago."

"You told me you stopped smoking years ago."

"I've already told you I'm sorry. What else do you want from me?"Ten had stopped eating and turned to look at Johnny.

"You lied to me about not smoking and you expect me to just forgive you that easily."Johnny's smile disappeared and his tone was more serious.

"I tried, Johnny, I did. I was clean for a year, but I just couldn't hold back. I wanted to tell you, but I didn't want you to be mad at me again."Ten explained, his voice filled with regret.

"Do you think I like being mad at you?"He asked as he turned to look at Ten, "If you had told me I wouldn't have been, but you made me find out on my own."

There was a silence between them. Ten dug his hand into his pocket and placed a small tin box onto the table. Johnny only looked at it questionably before opening it. Inside was a lighter and two cigarettes.

"You had them on you?"Johnny raised his voice, but not loud enough for people upstairs to hear.

"Please, don't shout at me."

"Sorry, but just please tell me next time this happens. I know you're easier on it now than before, but still tell me. Don't keep secrets from me."

"I won't, I promise."Ten leaned his head on Johnny's shoulder.

"I have to go shower and get ready for work, I'll be back down soon."Johnny said as he slowly lifted Ten's head off his shoulder.

He quickly hurried upstairs to go shower. He was still mad, but he always forgave easily. It was a trait that did good and bad in his life, but that didn't matter.

Ten sat there alone for a few minutes before Jeno came stumbling down the stairs. The boy was still rubbing his eyes as he walked into the kitchen. He only mumbled a "good morning" to Ten before grabbing a water bottle and heading downstairs to the underground hideout. Taeyong also came down, but this time fully dressed for the day.

"Taeyong, aren't you tired? You sleep late and wake up early everyday."Ten questioned.

"I've been trained to stay awake for 72 hours, I'm perfectly fine."

"That's fantasy integration, a normal day is different than that."

"I'm the leader, I need to take care of you all. That's enough to keep me going. Also, stop worrying about me. Worry about yourself, and your relationship with Johnny."Taeyong instructed as he went to the key rack, "I'm going out to buy stuff"

"And what store is open at this ungodly hour?"

"Seven Eleven."Taeyong answered before leaving the house.

Ten only sat there waiting for Johnny. Johnny had left the small tin can on the table. In a way it felt like it was a test. He left it there to see, if in the small moments he left, what Ten would do. It was just sitting there, staring right back at him. Ten reached for the tin ever so slightly, but footsteps snapped his hand right back to his side.

"I'm back."Johnny announced as he went down the stairs.

"Nice shower?"

"It felt nice. I'll be back home at 6."Johnny went straight to the key rack to find his car keys.

"I thought you said you were going to be home at 11."Ten looked at him questioningly.

Johnny only chuckled. He put his keys in his pocket and back over to Ten.

"Please, as if I'd actually take an extra shift when I could be home with you."Johnny kissed Ten's forehead before leaving, not giving Ten anytime to respond.

Ten sighed as he watched the Chicago-born man leave the house. The guilt and sadness inside of him had been replaced with a warm feeling of love. He looked over at the small tin box once more. He picked it up and walked over to the trash.

"Johnny's love is the only thing I need."Ten whispered under his breath as he threw the tin into the trash.

He went back to his room, eager to search for a movie.

||

Happy Thanksgiving guys, I'm thankful for all of you
-Celine❤️