Archive of Our Own ^beta

“What do you mean, my fault?”

“It’s absolutely, totally your fault, hyung.”

“But how was I supposed to know?”

“Seriously? Come on, Johnny, I - woah!”

Ten finally gets his key in the lock and they tumble through the front door, tracking sleet in on the bottoms of their shoes. They laugh even as they trip over each other - at themselves, at the absurdity of their conversation, at the truly gross amount of slushy water dripping off their coats and boots.

Actually, they’re mid-argument. But when it comes to Johnny and Ten, arguing and laughing aren’t mutually exclusive.

“I can’t believe you,” Ten repeats, probably for the fourth time. He shakes his head in wry disbelief, stamping his feet to kick off the last of the gray, icy mush. They’d gone out for dinner and left the restaurant to find the weather caught between rain and proper snow; thankfully, it wasn’t a long walk back to the dorm. “After how much fun we had last year -”

“And I told you, dude,” Johnny says, rolling his eyes as he shucks his coat, “it was super last minute, just like the April JCC! I only had, like, one day to make a plan so the staff could get things together -”

“So you could film a Christmas episode without me?” Ten shoots Johnny a pout as he pulls his chunky scarf over his head. “That’s low, hyung.”

After years of being such good friends, Ten knows that Johnny is mostly immune to his theatrics - especially when said theatrics are for the sake of comedy. Not to mention, Ten imagines he must look like a cat caught in the rain, complete with pink nose and cheeks flushed from the cold. Not convincing or intimidating in the slightest.

Johnny just huffs a laugh at Ten’s expression. “Nuh-uh, no pulling the hyung card and no pouting. We’ve been over this, like, six times already -”

“More than that,” Ten mutters under his breath, trying to fight down his own grin.

“- And it really wasn’t a matter of choosing Mark over you. He’s just the one who responded to my text first - and we live in the same dorm!”

Ten sighs, toeing off his own boots and crossing his arms over his chest to warm up his hands. There’s gonna be puddles on the floor later - sorry, Kun-ge - but it’s not like they knew it was going to get so shitty outside. Besides, there are more important things to worry about.

Namely, bantering with Johnny about JCC.

With as much dramatic flair as he can muster in a pair of fuzzy socks, Ten turns away and starts marching towards his bedroom door. He sends Johnny a capital-L Look back over his shoulder.

“A likely story, Johnny Suh,” he grumbles, pivoting on one foot to walk away.

So maybe Ten likes to be a bit of a diva - sue him.

Johnny laughs. He jogs a few steps to catch up with Ten’s shorter strides, socked feet slipping on the polished hardwood floor. “C’mon, Ten. There will always be future episodes of Johnny’s Communication Center to film.”

“I sure hope so,” Ten snorts, leading the way into his bedroom.

With Johnny on his heels, he heads straight for his bed, flopping onto it and gathering a pillow close to his chest. Johnny shuts the bedroom door behind them with an amused huff, shaking his head in mock-exasperation.

Like this isn’t how they constantly banter and joke with each other whenever they’re together.

It’s just so fun to bicker back and forth with Johnny - they’ve been this comfortable around each other nearly from the start. Johnny isn’t afraid to call out Ten’s bullshit and tease him, to give as good as he gets. Ten knows what buttons to push and how to surprise Johnny into a full belly-laugh; Johnny knows what faces to make to reduce Ten to instant giggles. Banter is practically, like, a cornerstone of their friendship.

Of course, it doesn’t help that neither of them are inclined to give up when they each believe they’re right. It’s Johnny’s Aquarius stubborn streak meeting Ten’s overabundance of gay confidence, according to Xiaojun.

Secretly, Ten agrees. But that’s what makes it fun, right?

“Really, bro. The next JCC can be you and me,” Johnny smiles, patting Ten’s head and laughing when Ten bats his hand away. The mattress dips when he curls up cross-legged at the other end of Ten’s bed, just like he’s done a hundred times before.

Ten scoffs lightly. “You don’t even know when that’s gonna happen.”

“True,” Johnny sheepishly scratches at the corner of his jaw, shrugging one shoulder. “December is a super busy time of year.”

He’s not wrong, of course. Between the new NCT album coming out, live performances at various end-of-the-year awards shows, appearances and promotions and filmings… woof. Ten’s glad that it’s somebody else’s job to manage their schedules.

And that’s not even counting the fact that there’s less than a month until Christmas itself.

“Yeah, maybe cramming in another JCC wouldn’t be the best idea,” Ten agrees. “But in the meantime...”

Johnny’s eyebrows rise in anticipation as Ten trails off; admittedly, he does a shitty job of holding back his smirk. “In the meantime, I’m sure we can think of a way for you to make it up to me.”

It’s the punch line Johnny seems to have been waiting for. He laughs, eyes creased into crescents, crossing his arms over his chest. “Oh, here we go.”

The truth is, Ten isn’t bothered by the fact that Johnny filmed an episode of JCC without him. Well - not very bothered. Maybe he was a little bit stung at first, but he understands why it has to happen.

Johnny’s Communication Center has always had a rotating cast of NCT members. It depends on who has free time, or if someone has an interest or hobby that Johnny plans to highlight. It makes sense that he’d help Taeyong with his fish tank, or do nail art with Yuta or whatever. And it’s natural that JCC features members from Johnny’s own sub-unit, especially during periods of busy preparation.

Sometimes it isn’t complicated; it’s about what fits within their packed schedules as full-time idols. It’s logistics.

Ten knows this.

But the Christmas episode? After they had such a great time filming the cookie episode together last year, and Ten had explicitly said that he wanted to do more JCCs with Johnny? When Mark Lee has appeared in, like, four separate episodes now? And when Ten’s been maybe sort-of looking forward to a repeat performance the entire calendar year?

Okay. Maybe Ten is a little bit bothered by it, actually.

Jealousy isn’t quite the right word - but maybe it’s just hard to be jealous of Mark, who is genuinely a good dude with a big heart. Ten doesn’t blame him for saying yes when Johnny asked about squeezing in another JCC. But it means Mark got to goof off with Johnny doing god-knows-what festive Christmas activity, and Ten hasn’t seen Johnny in nearly a week and a half.

Hey, Ten can’t be blamed for wanting to spend more time with his best friend.

Ten props his chin up on the pillow’s edge, looking up through his eyelashes as he meets the challenge in Johnny’s gaze.

It just feels good to have Johnny at his side, catching up over dinner that spans hours and seems like minutes. It feels natural for Johnny to follow him home so their conversation doesn’t have to end, a given that they want to spend every second that they can spare together. It feels right to have Johnny here in his space, hanging out so late that they lose all sense of time in the deep winter night.

Just like they did back when they were rookies living in the same dorm.

Ten’s heart clenches a little at the thought. He really does miss the times when they saw each other every day - even when it was hours upon hours of dance practice and Korean lessons and scarfing down mediocre ramyeon in their cramped dorm kitchen. He’s pretty sure that’s not nostalgia talking.

Hell, Ten and Johnny saw each other more during the few months of NCT 2020 than they have this entire year - at least, so far. There’s still - what, about six weeks left in 2021 that they can work with?

Maybe Ten can do something to change that.

Ten smiles even wider. “That’s right. Since we didn’t get to do the Christmas JCC episode together, you can do something else to make it up to me. To pay back your friendship debt.”

“My friendship debt,” Johnny deadpans.

“Yup,” Ten pops the p, grinning unabashedly.

“Is that right,” Johnny says, not quite a question. He knows better than to give in too early - he has plenty of experience with their banter, after all. “And what do you want as your, uh - what’s the word? Reimbursement? Compensation? Restitution?”

Restitution.

“Hmm.” Ten tilts his head, feeling a little mischievous. He can’t help it - not when Johnny meets his gaze, eyebrow cocked. What does he want out of Johnny? “Something that I think is equal to JCC…”

The corners of Johnny’s mouth tip up into a smile as Ten taps a finger against his lower lip in an exaggerated expression of serious contemplation. He can’t hold it for very long, of course - it’s too easy to smile back at Johnny.

“Coffee for two months? From the good place?” Johnny offers, but Ten shakes his head.

“We’ll do that anyway,” Ten hums. Both of them are coffee addicts; stopping by a cafe is one of the most frequent things they do together, when they have the time.

Johnny’s lips twist to one side as he pretends to think, too. “A promise for an even cooler JCC episode to co-star?”

“That had better happen, hyung,” Ten huffs. “Don’t think I’m gonna forget.”

“Okay, okay,” Johnny chuckles. He combs his hair back from his face - it’s still damp from their snowy walk home. “That necklace you’ve been secretly lusting over since September?”

Now that’s actually a bid that Ten will consider. He knows exactly which necklace Johnny is talking about, even though he’s pretty sure he only ever mentioned it to Johnny once or twice. It’s by no means cheap - it’s Celine, after all, and those delicate pearls and gold chains add up.

But still: a one-time purchase to settle Johnny’s debt isn’t very satisfying.

What? It’s the principle of the thing. Especially if the whole point is to spend more time together.

“Tempting, but too easy,” Ten finally says with a dismissive wave. “I wanna see you work for it, John.”

There’s a flicker of something across Johnny’s face, but he’s quickly back to grinning. Johnny snorts, shaking his head. “You just want me at your beck and call, huh.”

“Maybe I do,” Ten sticks out his tongue. “You owe it to me, hyung. As the one who broke the sacred rules of friendship.”

“Uh-huh, sure,” Johnny’s eyes glimmer with amusement even as he sighs, as if put-upon. “The sacred rules of friendship.”

Ten hums thoughtfully. “What about…”

He takes his time considering - he needs to think of something good.. Something that will mean they need to see each other more often than they do right now, schedules permitting - something fun. Something that has to be just the two of them, that fits in with their weird shared sense of humor. Ten’s not quite sure what that might be, at first.

But then -

Ten has no idea what comes over him, because the words are out of his mouth before he can think them through:

"A kiss.”

Johnny blinks at him; Ten blinks back.

“You want… a kiss,” Johnny says, eyebrows rising.

Huh. Well, it’s not exactly what Ten had imagined he would say, but it’s not like he went into this conversation with an actual plan, anyway. And this wouldn’t be the weirdest thing they’ve done over the course of their friendship - not by a long shot. What’s one kiss between best friends?

May as well go all in.

“Uh-huh,” Ten hugs the pillow in his arms a little tighter and grins, narrowing his eyes in a dare. “A kiss.”

Johnny shifts forward, smirking right back at him. He leans in, over-dramatically fluttering his eyelashes at Ten to make him giggle. It works, of course. “You know, if you want to kiss me, baby, all you ever have to do is ask.”

Ten huffs, rolling his eyes at Johnny’s smile. “Cute, hyung. Right now I am asking. As payback.”

“Calling it payback makes it sound like it’s a revenge thing, or something,” Johnny muses, and Ten snorts, knocking their shoulders together. Johnny barely even sways from the impact.

“It’s not revenge, it’s restitution - as previously established,” he counters. This is classic Johnny-and-Ten bickering, light flirting and all. Ten kind of loves it, even if he won’t admit it to Johnny’s face right now. He fixes Johnny with a serious look. “And of course this isn’t, like, a gay chicken thing, either.”

“Of course - you can’t play gay chicken when you’re bisexual.” Johnny waggles his eyebrows, smiling so wide that his cheek dimples with it. For good measure, he throws in a wink. “You just win.”

Despite himself, a laugh bubbles out of Ten’s chest. “Okay, Johnny. So?”

“So.” Johnny uncrosses his arms to lean one elbow on his knee, cupping his chin in his hand. Ten knows that look in his eyes - it’s the reason he’s not shocked when Johnny says, “Just one kiss? One kiss to clear my friendship debt? That’s all the Christmas JCC is worth to you?”

Oh, if that’s where this is going, then Johnny is severely underestimating Ten’s stubborn determination. Johnny’s calling his bluff, challenging him to up the ante or back down.

Really. Johnny should know better.

“Fine. Not just one kiss,” Ten amends. He squares his shoulders, holding up a hand with his index finger pointed for emphasis. He pauses for a beat, letting the thread of anticipation stretch between them. “One thousand kisses.”

This time, Johnny’s eyes widen and stay that way.

“One thousand kisses?” Johnny repeats.

“Yes,” Ten nods decisively. “That’s what I said. One thousand kisses.”

Johnny crosses his arms over his chest as he hums a low, thoughtful noise in his throat. He frames his chin with one hand, stroking his chin pensively. “Hmm. One thousand. One hundred times ten. Ten times one-hundred.”

“That is how math works, John.”

“It’s...” Johnny trails off, glancing back down to meet Ten’s gaze. His eyebrows keep climbing higher and higher. “Yo, that’s a lot of kisses.”

Something about Johnny’s words makes Ten’s stomach swoop, but he ignores it. Sure, it’s a lot of kisses - but it’s not like they have zero skinship in their friendship. Ten’s pretty sure they’ve kissed platonically before, in their many years of knowing each other.

Maybe not on the mouth, though. Ten thinks he’d probably remember that.

Ten rolls his eyes before he can stop himself, reaching out a foot to kick gently at Johnny’s shin. “No shit, Sherlock. A thousand is a big number.”

“Hey!” Johnny jerks in feigned surprise, rubbing at his leg - mostly for dramatic effect. He’s grinning, too. “A thousand kisses, huh? And I suppose you think I should feel flattered, that filming a single episode of JCC is that valuable to you?”

“Of course, hyung,” Ten shoots Johnny a faux-innocent smile, “and it’s a price you wouldn’t have to pay if we’d done JCC together in the first place.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Johnny pretends to grumble, but he’s giving Ten that secret smile - the one Ten’s never seen him give anyone else. It makes his eyes crease pleasantly at the corners, just like it always has. “So how is this supposed to work, huh? How do you want your one thousand kisses?”

“How do I want them?” Ten raises an eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure there’s only one way to do it, Johnny. Kisses are given one at a time.”

Johnny scratches at the corner of his jaw in thought, eyes cutting away from Ten to glance around the room as he thinks. “Sure, but - well, I guess you’re right. A thousand is… how long d’you think it’s gonna take?”

“A while,” Ten laughs, nudging their bent knees together. “Should’ve thought of that before you invited Mark to the Christmas JCC.”

“Oh my god.” With a dramatic sigh, Johnny collapses back against the wall again. He makes a show of rolling his eyes towards the ceiling in something like exasperation. Ten can see through him, though, with the way Johnny’s lips tug up in amusement. “Even with a thousand kisses you aren’t gonna let me live this down, huh.”

“Nope,” Ten couldn't stop himself from grinning if he tried - and he doesn't particularly feel like trying. He reaches out to pat Johnny’s hair consolingly, combing the damp strands into place. “Good thing you like me, hyung. To get to a thousand, you’re gonna have to see me pretty often.”

Johnny leans into his touch, like a giant cat, eyes going warm and half-lidded. “Well that’s no problem. I like seeing you every chance I get.”

“Johnny.” Ten bites his lip to fight down his smile, tucking his face into the squashy top of his pillow. Curse Johnny and his uncanny ability to say just the right thing, to make Ten flustered.

They smile at each other for a moment in the comfortable silence - and just as Ten goes to pull his hand away, Johnny catches him by the wrist.

“So? How about it?”

“How about what?” Ten blinks in surprise.

Johnny’s grip is gentle, and he gives Ten a crooked grin as he squeezes his wrist. It’s reassuring - at least until the next words leave Johnny’s mouth. “How about the first kiss? I gotta start working off my debt, y’know.”

Oh.

“Oh.” Ten can feel the warmth of a blush starting to flood his face. Why is he blushing? This is exactly what they’ve been joking about. “Like, right now?”

“Why not?” Johnny shifts around on the mattress, scooting forward until both of his knees touch Ten’s, warm through the layers of their sweatpants and jeans. His eyes glitter with mirth. “No time like the present, right?”

For some reason, Ten’s breath catches in his throat. Why is he nervous? This is Johnny, his best friend of nearly a decade. There’s nothing to be nervous about.

“Right. Yeah. I mean - sure. If you’re so eager to get started,” Ten says haltingly, suddenly hyper-aware of their close proximity. But that’s not weird - they’ve been friends for so long that it would be weirder if they weren’t all over each other. It's just skinship. Right?

Then again, shoving cookies in one another’s mouths or fixing each other’s hair or linking arms as they walk home is different from - from -

From Johnny putting a steadying palm on Ten’s thigh as he sways closer, dropping Ten’s wrist to fit his other hand gently against Ten’s cheek. Ten’s heart skips a beat as Johnny slowly, carefully reels him in.

Johnny chuckles softly, dark eyelashes sweeping down as he - fuck, as he glances at Ten’s lips before meeting his eyes again, warmth and amusement overlaid with a single-minded determination that Ten’s oh-so-familiar with. “Eager is a word for it.”

Ten doesn’t get a chance to respond before Johnny’s leaning in, bringing their faces together in a honey-slow moment. He gives Ten plenty of time to pull away; Ten keeps his eyes open until he’s nearly cross-eyed, but then -

The first soft touch of Johnny’s lips against his makes his eyes flutter closed.

This is -

This is a kiss.

The press of Johnny’s mouth against his is surprisingly tender, a gentle meeting of skin on skin. His lips are a bit chapped from the winter weather, but Ten doesn’t mind. Johnny doesn’t push too far, press too hard; he seems content to just feel.

This is - it’s a nice kiss. Especially when Johnny tilts Ten’s face just so, bettering the angle in time with the gentle movement of his mouth.

Johnny’s lips are just as plush as they look - of course Ten has noticed Johnny’s lips, in a platonic admiration kind of way. Even in this close-mouthed kiss, Ten can tell that Johnny knows what he’s doing. Ten kisses back carefully, exploratory, as they feel each other out.

It should be weird that their height difference isn’t as stark when they’re both sitting down like this, but Ten doesn’t mind. He feels overly-aware of everywhere they’re touching: the softness of Johnny’s palm against his cheek, the warm hand on his thigh, where their knees brush from sitting so close.

Not to mention Johnny’s lips on his. Like Ten could forget about that for even a moment.

And just like that, it’s over.

Johnny pulls away so they can breathe, leaving his hand cupped on Ten’s jaw. He doesn’t go far, though - Ten can feel Johnny’s breath against his lips, the way his eyelashes graze Ten’s cheek as he leans back.

Ten blinks his eyes open to find that Johnny’s already looking at him.

Huh. Ten licks his lips. He’s not sure what he was expecting, exactly, but that was just… a kiss. A pretty normal kiss, all things considered. A normal kiss between friends.

Johnny smiles down at him, like they haven’t spent the last thirty seconds lip-locked. Like this is something they do all the time. “One.”

One. The first kiss.

Ten unclenches his fingers from Johnny’s hoodie, smoothing his palms across Johnny’s broad shoulders. He clears his throat, the corner of his mouth twitching up in a wry smile. “You know, you could have just done a kiss on the cheek or something, hyung.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Johnny’s eyes twinkle, but Ten doesn’t think he’s imagining the faint blush coloring the tips of Johnny’s ears. “Gotta start somewhere, Ten.”

Right. There’s going to be many, many more kisses from where that came from.

And honestly? Good. Kissing Johnny wasn’t nearly as weird as it maybe should have been, given that they’ve never done anything like this before. If the rest of their kisses are like this - easy, platonic, comfortable - this is going to be great. And it will certainly accomplish Ten’s goal of getting to see Johnny a lot more often, despite how busy they’re both going to be with album promotions and general Christmas fanfare.

It’s a win-win for Ten.

“Well,” Ten says, tipping his head to the side with a teasing smirk. “That’s one kiss, at least.”

“Still feeling good about your request?” Johnny waggles his eyebrows until Ten swats at him, grinning. “You don’t wanna swap for anything else?”

Ten huffs a laugh and lets himself collapse into Johnny’s shoulder, squirming until they’re pressed together, side-by-side. He smirks up at Johnny through his bangs, patting Johnny’s knee consolingly. “Don’t worry - I know that was just the first one. I’m sure you’ll improve with time.”

“Oh, don’t tempt me to show you what I got, Ten Lee,” Johnny knocks Ten’s shoulder with his own. “I have nine-hundred ninety-nine chances to prove myself.”

“That’s right,” Ten chuckles. “One down, nine-hundred ninety-nine to go.”

Nine-hundred ninety-nine to go. Nine-hundred ninety-nine kisses, from Johnny to Ten.

---

It’s the better part of a week before Johnny and Ten get the chance to see each other again - no surprise there, with their idol schedules ramping up ahead of the holidays. They still text any chance they get, at odd intervals between dance practice and photoshoots and strategic naps. It’s so normal that Ten almost forgets about the one thousand kisses business.

Well, he almost forgets about it - until he finally meets up with Johnny, at which point it’s brought to the forefront in a single, blinding flash of memory.

“Hey!” Ten calls, jogging over to where Johnny is leaning against a park bench, idly scrolling through his phone. Johnny is pretty well-disguised to be out in public, between the hat pulled over his dark hair and his face-mask, along with a scarf looped around his neck. Good thing Ten would recognize Johnny no matter what he’s wearing. “I hope I didn’t keep you long.”

Johnny’s eyes crease as he smiles under his mask. He tucks his phone away and stretches, adjusting his coat. “Nah - I walked over a few minutes ago. Ready to go explore?”

“Absolutely,” Ten says, rubbing his hands together to stave off the cold. “I can’t wait to see what’s here.”

It’s only early December, but Seoul’s nights are getting chilly. At least it’s dry tonight - Ten has no interest in repeating the sleet experience from last week, even if they’d been able to laugh it off. Walking around a Christmas night market in shitty weather isn’t fun or festive.

Ten hopes there’s hot chocolate. Mmm.

“I looked a little just getting here to meet you,” Johnny admits with a smile, shuffling his feet on the sidewalk. “Plenty to poke around and shop - and plenty to snack on, too.”

Street food snacks? Hell yes. Ten snags Johnny’s arm, tugging him in the direction of the brightly-colored stalls. “Why didn’t you say so? C’mon, hyung! I -”

“Hold on, hold on,” Johnny chuckles, though he goes easily when Ten pulls. They stumble and collide together as they walk, laughing, until Johnny twists his wrist and links their hands together properly. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Ten’s feet slow to a stop, and he turns towards Johnny, confused. He raises his eyebrows. Forgetting something? “Huh?”

Johnny tugs his own mask down, revealing the pink tip of his nose. His lips are pressed together in fond amusement. “Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten, Ten Lee.”

“Forgotten wh- ”

The words are partway out of Ten’s mouth when Johnny swoops down, the cool tip of his nose nudging Ten’s skin. He kisses Ten’s cheek, then moves to the other side of Ten’s face to press a kiss there, too.

He - oh. Yeah.

One thousand kisses. “Two and three,” Johnny beams down at him, tugging the fabric of his mask back up into place as Ten, uh. As Ten gapes a little at him. “Hey, I gotta make up for lost time - we haven’t met up all week!”

At least Ten’s surprised expression is a little bit hidden by his own scarf. As it is, he can feel his cheeks starting to heat. From surprise, of course. He doesn’t actually mind Johnny kissing him.

He asked for this, after all.

Ten manages to recover and rolls his eyes, tugging Johnny along again so they can walk side-by-side. “You sure texted enough to make up for it, Johnny.”

Johnny laughs, swinging their clasped hands between them a few times before letting go. “Not my fault I got used to spending so much time with you during the album stuff last year.”

“Mm, well - we’re here now!” Ten spreads his arms wide, gesturing to the market around them. It’s a beautiful sight; the shop stalls are lit in strands of glittering lights, with snowflakes and oversized ornaments hanging above, over the aisles. There are gleaming arrays of holiday gifts, something different at every shop - everything from hand-made jewelry and knitted crafts to candles and Christmas decor.

And, of course, more treats than anyone could eat on one trip to the Christmas market.

Smoke and steam waft into the air from the street vendors roasting chestnuts over glowing coals and brewing hot chocolate. The wintery chill of the air is spiced with the mouth-watering scents of cinnamon and ginger and grilled meat; freshly-fried donuts glisten under a blanket of icing, alongside cookies stamped in various festive shapes. Even if they spend the whole night eating their way through the market, there’s no way they can sample it all.

Ten’s certainly up for trying, though.

“What do you want to eat first?” Johnny asks, standing by Ten’s shoulder as he drools over a spread of fluffy, golden pastries. “Or do you want to get some shopping done before we snack?”

Good question. “Let’s do a loop to see what there is, and then come back for something to eat?”

Johnny links their arms together, eyes creased with a smile. “I like the way you think.”

The Christmas market is busy, but not so packed that it’s hard to stroll through the aisles and browse. They make a circuit of the stalls, catching up on the various activities of the week and telling stories that didn’t make it into their texts; Yangyang’s attempt to dress the cats in holiday costumes, Yuta and Taeyong’s over-enthusiastic Christmas decorating, the mistletoe that has mysteriously appeared in the 127 dorms.

“Come on, surely you have a suspect in mind,” Ten grins, leaning in to peer at a velvet tray of delicate necklaces. He still needs to buy a gift for his sister - though at least he has some more concrete ideas for his members. Whoever said that boys are hard to shop for has never met WayV.

“If you do, I’m all ears,” Johnny huffs. “I live with eight other people, and as far as I’m concerned, there are eight possible suspects.”

Ten laughs. “And here I thought WayV was chaotic. You don’t think it was Haechan? With his kiss cam shenanigans?”

“Maybe,” Johnny shrugs, following Ten as he wanders to the next booth to look at scarves. Thank god he’s patient, and likes shopping just as much as Ten. It means they can linger and chat for as long as it takes to make their way through the market - and it looks like it might take a while. “You never know, with Haechan. Or whatever it is he and Mark have going on at any given moment.”

Ah. Well that answers Ten’s next question.

He looks over his shoulder at Johnny, sighing a long puff of air that’s visible in the cold night air. “I miss being up to date on all the gossip between groups. Last year was busy, but it was so fun.”

“I know,” Johnny muses, fitting a gentle hand at the small of Ten’s back as they move on to another row of shop stalls. Their gait is slow and winding - they’re not in a rush, enjoying the chance to spend time in each other’s company.

And, admittedly, gossiping like grandmothers at a card game.

“Oh! You’re going to the tree decorating we’re filming next week, right?” Johnny asks, visibly brightening at the prospect.

“I go where the manager-hyungs tell me to go,” Ten rolls his eyes, nudging Johnny’s shoulder with his own. “But yeah, I’ll be there. Should be all twenty-whatever of us, right?”

Johnny hums the affirmative, gently tugging Ten closer as they side-step a puddle. The motion leaves his arm wrapped around Ten’s waist, and as they keep strolling, neither of them pull away.

It’s nice - Johnny is warm, radiating heat like a furnace underneath his classy peacoat. He probably doesn’t even need the scarf and beanie, whereas Ten could use all the help he can get in the warmth department. Hashtag short people problems, or whatever.

It’s probably time for hot chocolate, if his body’s instinct is to lean more fully into this contact with Johnny. Not that Johnny minds - just the opposite, if the hand at Ten’s waist is anything to go by.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to save you a seat next to me,” Johnny grins, giving Ten’s side a squeeze. “Then we can gossip together all we want while the young’uns get sugar high and work on the tree.”

Ten snorts. “You make it seem like we’re their parents,” he whines.

But honestly? That sounds pretty perfect. There’s no one else Ten would rather hang out with, anyway, on or off camera. And a big group recording will be fun, especially because they didn’t film anything for Halloween this fall.

“Ah, well,” Johnny’s eyes glitter with amusement, reflecting the warm twinkle of the lights strung above them. “It can certainly feel like it, with some of those 2000-liners. But speaking of sugar - you ready for a snack?”

Ten grins. “Like you even have to ask, Johnny.”

They end up doing another full lap of the market, partly to figure out what they want to eat and then a second time with their treats, walking and chewing as they go. They argue about what the ideal Christmas cookie is - not that either of them have a leg to stand on, in the baking department - and brainstorm holiday plans with what their packed schedules will allow.

Ten’s hopeful, though. No matter how busy it gets, the two of them always seem to make it work.

Ten buys a few things for his WayV boys - both Christmas gifts, which will be safely tucked away, as well as some snacks to bring home. He and Johnny eat their roasted chestnuts and hotteok while they’re hot, watching the steam rise into the air. Johnny laughs when Ten eats too quickly and complains about burning his tongue. And they do finally get hot chocolate to warm up their hands - though they’re huddled so close together that Ten can still leech off Johnny’s radiant body heat.

It’s the best night Ten’s had in a while.

The Christmas market has started to close up by the time they wander home, Seoul’s streets cold and quiet so late into the evening. Ten snuggles into his scarf, enjoying the texture of the knit against his face; he catches Johnny grinning at him and can’t help but smile back.

They’re mid-conversation when they come around the corner towards WayV’s dorm, and they linger out front under a shallow pool of street light. Ten loves and hates this part of his nights with Johnny. He loves how easy it is to keep talking and talking until the wee hours of the night - but it makes parting ways that much more difficult, when he could literally stand outside his building and talk to Johnny until sunrise.

He doesn’t want to say goodbye to Johnny, after all. Even if it’s just for now.

“Well, unfortunately, I better make my way back to my own dorm,” Johnny chuckles, scratching at the back of his head and adjusting his beanie. “We have an early start tomorrow that I better not sleep through.”

“Should I apologize for keeping you up so late, hyung?” Ten teases, batting his eyelashes just to make Johnny laugh.

“You’re not that much younger than me,” Johnny huffs, eyes creased with a smile. “At least we’ll see each other in a couple days, yeah?”

And with that - well.

Ten doesn’t even get a warning this time.

Johnny shuffles a half-step closer, into Ten’s orbit, his exhale visible as a mist in the air between them. His mask comes down, hooked underneath his chin in one easy motion that reveals his soft smile and softer lips.

A big hand alights on Ten’s shoulder and Johnny leans in, repeating his motion from earlier - but this time, he kisses just to the side of Ten’s mouth rather than at the apple of his cheek.

Ten’s right - Johnny runs warm. His lips feel almost hot against Ten’s skin compared to the December air. And like this, with the brush of Johnny’s mouth against his cheek, Ten gets a gentle scrape of Johnny’s barely-there late-night stubble.

Somehow, that makes it more real. That it’s not just anybody giving him a kiss - it’s Johnny.

Johnny, who smells like the cinnamon cookies and coffee he had earlier, breathing the same air as Ten. Whose palm squeezes Ten’s shoulder as if to keep him steady - as if to keep him on the ground instead of floating away. Whose lips quirk into a smile that Ten can feel against his skin when Johnny presses a second kiss to his other cheek.

Ten is helpless to the way his face flushes in response - though maybe it’s dark enough that Johnny can’t tell. Johnny’s still grinning when he pulls away with that familiar glimmer in his eyes, amused but fond. He probably likes catching Ten by surprise and rendering him speechless.

And so far, it has worked. Damnit.

Well, blushing is one way to keep warm in winter.

“Thanks,” Ten sniffs in the cold, resisting the urge to fidget under Johnny’s gaze. He’s not nervous, exactly. This still just feels… new. “I had a lot of fun tonight, hyung. Thanks for taking me.”

“Anytime,” Johnny murmurs, and finally pulls away, taking his warmth with him. He tugs his mask back up over his grin. “It feels kind of European, doesn’t it?”

Ten raises an eyebrow. “What, the Christmas market? Of course it feels European, it’s -”

Johnny interrupts him with a chuckle. “No, no - the kissing. Kisses on the cheek as a greeting, and when we say goodbye. That’s a European thing, isn’t it?”

Oh. Ten laughs, ignoring the way his blush spreads. “Maybe just French? I’ll have to ask Yangyang.”

“You do that.” Even with only half of his face visible, Ten can tell when Johnny’s smile shifts into a smirk. “Ask him how many boys he’s kissed.”

Ten rolls his eyes, but he’s grinning all the same. “Goodnight, Johnny.”

Johnny takes a few slow steps backwards, putting inch after inch between them. He sticks his hands in his peacoat pockets, smiling back at where Ten stands in the threshold of the door. “Goodnight, Ten. And don’t forget - that was number four and five!”

Four and five.

Ten finally gives in to the urge and touches his fingertips to his cheek when Johnny turns with a final wave, disappearing around the far corner of the building as he walks towards his own dorm. It’s still just his cheek - warm, unmarked by anything but the memory of Johnny’s lips against his skin.

He has a feeling there’s going to be a lot of memorable kisses as they make their way to one thousand.

---

Wednesday arrives with the typical bustle of idol activity.

Ten yawns his way through an early-morning shower, half-listening to Kun hammering on Yangyang’s door to make sure their maknae is awake. It isn’t long before they’re meeting up with Winwin and Hendery and Xiaojun and piling into a van to drive over to SM. The chill is strong in the air this morning, though at least the sun is over the horizon.

They’ll be inside all day, thankfully. And despite his sleepiness, Ten is excited for the day ahead:

NCT is filming their holiday tree decorating party. All of NCT. All twenty-whatever of them.

It’s going to be absolute chaos, and Ten totally can’t wait.

But first: coffee. Actually, coffee as they’re bundled off to dressing rooms and makeup chairs to prepare for filming. Ten warms his hands with his cup of - well, Johnny maybe wouldn’t call it coffee with how much milk Ten likes to add to it, but that’s beside the point. It’s sweet and comforting against his tongue, and by the time he’s done with makeup, Ten feels more like an actual human.

Just in time to face the wall of noise that is all of NCT in the same room.

Ten steps into the studio to find his members clustered around the decorated set - a wide arc of squishy chairs and pastel couches framing a three-meter Christmas tree. It’s a fake tree, Ten’s pretty sure, but wow - there aren’t even lights on it yet.

Someone is maybe overestimating their collective ability to actually decorate this thing.

The Dreamies have mostly taken over one of the couches, with Jeno and Jaemin practically in each other’s laps - no surprise there - and Chenle and Jisung bickering as they pick through the boxes of lights and ornaments on the coffee table. Shotaro and Sungchan are with them, and the rest of 127 are milling about, wandering in from their own makeup sessions.

Ten bites his lip as he grins to himself, watching as Winwin immediately gravitates in the direction of Jaehyun and Yuta; Yangyang’s making a beeline for Renjun, too. Not that Ten has any room to laugh at either of them, really. He’s already done a scan of the room, looking for a tall figure with a mop of dark hair.

“There you are.”

And speak of the devil.

Ten smiles at Johnny as he steps closer from behind, draping a long arm around Ten’s shoulders as he does. He isn’t surprised at the presence of an iced coffee in Johnny’s other hand - Americans, honestly - and he snorts as Johnny takes a sip, nonplussed.

“Here I am,” Ten replies, and glances back at the room before them. “Here we all are. I still can’t believe how many of us there are. It’s easy to forget until we’re all in one place.”

Johnny nods. “One big family full of boys.”

Ten chuckles. It does feel like a family - maybe a rowdy family, but a family all the same. “It’ll be a miracle if somebody doesn’t knock that tree over by the time we wrap filming.”

“We’ll just have to do our best to keep the chaos to a minimum,” Johnny’s eyes twinkle in amusement. “But before we get started with that…”

Ten raises his eyebrows as Johnny gently steers him away from the set with the tree and couches. They duck around a corner, into an empty staging room full of racks of clothes and empty equipment boxes, deserted now that everything is set up.

Ten turns to Johnny as the arm around his shoulders slips away. “What did you -”

Johnny’s got that smile on his face again, the one that’s sly and amused but a little bit fond, too. He sways closer, so tall that Ten has to tip his head to look up and meet Johnny’s eyes - and those are enough clues that Ten snaps to attention.

He realizes what Johnny’s going to do a mere second before he does it.

Johnny darts in and kisses him, presses their lips together in a brief, warm kiss. Another greeting kiss - a hello, good morning kiss. Familiar and easy and not too surprising. Maybe because Ten knew to expect it, this time, even with only a moment to spare.

Something in Ten’s stomach still twists and tugs, but he’s too distracted by Johnny’s mouth to put much thought to it. It’s fine; this is a normal kiss.

Ten blinks his eyes open when Johnny pulls back - when had he closed his eyes in the first place? - and he can’t stop the small noise in his throat when Johnny lingers, only inches away, before deciding to go in for a second kiss.

Or… a seventh kiss? Ten can’t quite remember the count as he breathes in the scent of Johnny’s body wash, musky and spiced.

Johnny’s grinning again when they finally part. He’s clearly pretty proud of himself. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Ten huffs, carefully wiping the corner of his mouth. The makeup noonas had given him some kind of tinted lip balm; hopefully Johnny didn’t just kiss it all off. “How many was that?”

“Six and seven.” Johnny sips noisily at his coffee, smiling around his straw. Ten shakes himself before he can stare too long at Johnny’s lips wrapped around it. “Don’t tell me you’re losing track and we aren’t even at ten kisses yet.”

Ten snorts. Ten kisses. Cute.

He crosses his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow in challenge. “And whose fault is that, hm?”

Johnny opens his mouth to reply, but he’s beaten to the punch when Hendery appears from around the open door, lighting up when he spots them. “There you are, Ten-hyung, Johnny-hyung! We’re getting started in a minute.”

Ten and Johnny exchange glances as Hendery ducks out of sight, no doubt to round up any other stragglers. Right - they’re here to film something with all of their members. Anyone could have walked into this spare equipment room at any moment and seen…

And seen Johnny kiss him.

Ten swallows. It shouldn’t matter, because it’s not like it’s real - it’s just about Johnny repaying his JCC-related friendship debt. But it certainly would have looked real to anyone else, and not in the Haechan’s Kiss Cam kind of way.

It’s a good thing Johnny thought to head somewhere quiet to get in his daily dose of kisses, rather than laying them on Ten in the middle of everyone and everything.

“We better get going,” Johnny says, shaking the last of the ice in his cup as he heads for the door. He glances back at Ten, eyebrows raised. “You’re coming, right?”

Ten shoves down the strange feeling in his chest and fixes a smile on his face - not hard, when he’s in Johnny’s presence. Even if being with Johnny might be what’s causing the feeling in the first place. “Of course - let’s go decorate that Christmas tree.”

Johnny grins and sketches a half-bow, letting Ten pass him and exit first. Ten startles when Johnny’s hand comes down to give him a pat on the ass, and he rolls his eyes even though Johnny can’t see it.

Honestly - you can take the boy out of America, but you can’t take America out of the boy. Or something like that.

They arrive back on set side by side, and no one gives the two of them a second glance. Of course they’re attached at the hip whenever there’s a joint filming; they’re best friends. Everyone knows it.

Best friends. Ten tries to remind himself of that, but the sensation of Johnny’s mouth against his own doesn’t fade.

Good thing the tree decorating turns out to be a thoroughly entertaining distraction, even with Johnny at his side the entire time.

---

“You know, I did the math the other day.”

Ten looks up from inspecting the cookie recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag, quirking an eyebrow in Johnny’s direction. This is not what he was expecting to hear. “What math? Since when do you do math, hyung?”

“Very funny,” Johnny grins. He sticks his tongue out of the side of his mouth as he carefully - oh so carefully - measures out how much brown sugar they need. Ten didn’t even know there were more than one kind of sugar, let alone light brown versus dark brown.

They’re holed up in the kitchen at the 127 dorms - partly because Kun flat-out refused Ten’s request to host them over at WayV - for an afternoon of hanging out and baking. It’s not an activity Ten would have chosen out of the blue, but Johnny had suggested it, since it’s too cold for any outside winter activities on their day off. Thankfully, most of the other members have their own plans - or have retreated to their own rooms to leave Ten and Johnny to their own devices.

And Ten would be lying if he said he wasn’t excited to spend some time just the two of them.

Ten doesn’t think they need supervision, per se, but he vividly remembers how their first and last attempt at baking went. It was captured in full-color video and is up on youtube, after all. This is a second try at cookies, after what could arguably be called the fiasco of last year’s Christmas JCC. A chance to redeem themselves.

Which is to say, they’re following a goddamn recipe this time. Also - it’s chocolate chip cookies. No frosting or decorating necessary. How hard can it be?

“Cookie math?” Ten prompts, when Johnny doesn’t respond right away.

Johnny rolls his eyes, dumping the sugar into his bowl and wiping his hands on his apron. It’s bright red, which is festive for the holiday - but it has the NCT Dream Hot Sauce logo embroidered on the front.

Close enough, Ten supposes.

“No, not cookie math,” Johnny grins, wielding a tiny measuring spoon that he uses to point at Ten. “Kiss math.”

“Ahhh,” Ten says, setting down the bag of chocolate chips and leaning his hip against the counter. He smirks, unable to help himself. “Figuring out your debt, I assume.”

“Something like that,” Johnny says wryly, shooting Ten a smile before turning back to his ingredients. “At the rate we’re going, it’s gonna take years to get to a full thousand.”

Huh. Well.

Ten gives in to his urge to hop up on the edge of the counter, knocking the heels of his socked feet against the drawers below. Gently, of course. He’s not a heathen. “Years, huh.”

“Mmhmm,” Johnny hums. He pushes up his sleeves to his elbows again; Ten lets himself admire Johnny’s forearms, as a treat. Johnny can be the one to beat the sugar and butter together, as far as Ten’s concerned. “Two or three a day - or every time we see each other - isn’t gonna cut it if I want to settle my debt before, like, 2025 or something.”

Ten giggles, wrinkling his nose. “Well, we’re gonna be friends forever anyway.”

Johnny glances up from what he’s doing - and for a moment, Ten’s belly seizes with sudden nerves. Was that - was that the wrong thing to say? They’ve been friends for years, and Ten can’t see anything changing that. But maybe saying it is too -

“Yeah.” A wide smile takes over Johnny’s face and he beams at Ten, eyes bright and creased at the corner in that cute way that Ten loves. “Of course we are.”

Ten exhales through his nose, grinning back as the tension unwinds from his shoulders. Good. That’s - good. He wants to be friends with Johnny for years to come.

“But we could also increase the pace,” Johnny says, eyebrows raised in Ten’s direction. “If you’re up for it.”

There’s the beginnings of a smirk tugging at the corner of Johnny’s mouth now. Ten can’t quite tell if he’s genuinely asking or teasing, but either way -

“Why not?” Ten shrugs one shoulder. There’s that flutter again, the one that has taken up residence in his stomach whenever he thinks about Johnny kissing him. Which is happening more and more lately, given that - well, given that Johnny is kissing him more and more lately.

He’d gotten kisses eight and nine when he arrived at the 127 dorm today; Ten had barely gotten his shoes off when Johnny wrapped him in a warm bear hug and pressed a quick sequence of kisses into his hair. It was nice - just as nice as the other kisses he’s been getting when they see each other. And Ten’s never gonna say no to a Johnny hug.

“Yeah?” Johnny sets down the egg he was about to crack, eyebrows disappearing into his dark hair. “You want another kiss? Right now?”

Ten aggressively stamps down the flip-flop in his belly, smirking back at Johnny. He gestures to his own face with one hand, fluttering his eyelashes. “Whenever you’re ready, baby - it’s your debt to make up, after all.”

Somehow, he’s not expecting it when Johnny steps into his space, into the vee made by Ten’s knees where he’s perched on the counter. Johnny smiles at him - and it’s still a bit weird, isn’t it, for their faces to be at the same height - and places a big hand on Ten’s leg. It’s warm through the fabric of Ten’s pants, spanning almost the entire width of Ten’s dance-muscled thigh. It reminds him of their first kiss.

Ten shivers at the touch.

“Okay,” Johnny murmurs, still smiling softly as he leans in. His gaze dips to Ten’s mouth and the hand on Ten’s thigh squeezes, gently, just before their lips meet. Ten’s breath hitches.

It’s -

Is it Ten, or does this kiss feel a little different?

Maybe it’s just that they’ve been doing this enough that Ten has learned how Johnny kisses - or, at least, how Johnny kisses him. There’s a difference between a hello, good morning peck on the cheek and a fond kiss left on his temple when Ten does something particularly cute. And not just because the kisses aren’t always on the lips, too - so far, Johnny’s been a fairly equal-opportunity kisser, when it comes to where.

This kiss isn’t like those others, though.

Johnny’s mouth is soft and coaxing, drawing Ten in with the gentle movement of their lips together. On instinct, his hands come up to frame Johnny’s face, thumbs exploring the arch of Johnny’s cheekbones before sinking into his short, dark hair. Ten’s heart trips in his chest when Johnny makes a soft sound at his touch, the noise muffled against Ten’s lips.

When they break for air, Ten exhales a sigh, feeling the warmth of a flush paint across his cheeks. But not in a bad way, exactly. It’s just been a while since he’s been kissed like this, like -

He can’t quite find the word for it.

“Ten,” Johnny says softly, and Ten blinks, shaking himself out of his thoughts. His fingers are still threaded into the hair at Johnny’s nape, keeping him in a loose embrace. Oh. Uh.

Oops.

“Sorry, sorry,” Ten says, pulling his hands away with a chuckle. “I didn’t mean to, um -”

“You’re fine,” Johnny grins easily, unbothered - though there’s a hint of a blush on his cheeks, too. “I just meant - ten. That was the tenth kiss.”

“Oh.” Ten’s smile broadens, and he giggles again. Johnny steps back, returning to his spread of ingredients. “Wow, just ten? You’ve gotta set better goals for yourself, hyung. See how many we can end the night with.”

“You want another ten? Coming right up,” Johnny says, waggling his eyebrows.

Ten’s smirking, too. “Don’t threaten me with a good time.”

Johnny laughs, shaking his head slowly - probably in disbelief at their ridiculous banter. “If this is an attempt to distract me from making cookies, it’s not gonna work. Let’s get these babies in the oven so we’re not here all night.”

“Sure, sure,” Ten agrees - though hanging out with Johnny in the kitchen all night sounds like a pretty good time to him. Especially if they open a bottle of red.

In the end, their cookies turn out just fine - though they’re a little lumpy, and the last batch comes out a darker brown than the rest. They’re certainly better than the cookies they made on JCC last year, which Johnny and Ten happily remind each other of as they eat, like, four cookies fresh out of the oven.

It also doesn’t hurt that at any odd moment, whenever he gets the inclination, Johnny leans over and pecks a kiss on Ten’s cheek - when putting used spoons in the sink or slapping flour handprints on Ten’s dark shirt. Or trying to, at least, as Ten semi-successfully squirms away, laughing.

Ten takes half the cookies home to WayV - partly to prove to Kun they didn’t burn down the dorm kitchen and made something edible - and Johnny gives him kiss number twenty at the door.

A nice way to end a night together, in Ten’s book. Turns out kissing your best friend is actually pretty… fun.

---

By some miracle of mother nature, Seoul’s first real snow of the winter season comes on a Saturday. On a blessed day off, when they can actually enjoy it.

Ten wakes up mid-morning to a flurry - the literal flurry of flakes outside his window as well as a flurry of texts, his phone buzzing its way across his bedside table. There’s at least a dozen notifications already, from the sound of it. Ten slaps a hand around the table before finding his phone, and he mutters an apology as Leon makes a grumpy mew, displeased at Ten moving around underneath him.

It turns out almost all of NCT is eager and willing to get outside in the snow while it’s fresh. Ten squints at the pinging of various group chats - Yangyang and Hendery bickering back and forth in the WayV chat with one floor separating them, Jeno and Haechan trying to coordinate between 127 and Dream.

It’s really the perfect opportunity: no schedules that will keep them inside, a full day ahead where they can enjoy the snow and then warm up without having to worry about practice or early-morning rehearsals.

Ten nudges aside his curtain and squints at the sudden brightness - the flat, gray sky and the steady fall of snowflakes coming from above, blanketing the world in a soft layer of white. It’s still early enough that there aren’t too many footprints marring the snow’s surface, and even from inside, Ten can tell that the world is hushed in that perfect, quite way that snow brings.

He can’t help it; his heart warms at the sight. Ten will always be a summer-sun sandy-beach person first, winter person second - but that doesn’t mean that snow isn’t beautiful in its own right.

Yeah. It’ll be a perfect day to get outside and enjoy it. May as well take advantage of the opportunity before the holidays and their album schedules keep them busy and trapped indoors.

He’s just getting out of bed and pulling on a pair of thick socks when there’s a gentle knock on his door, and Kun pokes his head inside. He smiles when he sees that Ten’s already awake, nudging the door open completely and leaning against the jamb.

“I’m assuming you saw the group chats,” Kun grins, tucking his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie. “The boys will be down in half an hour to walk over to where we’re meeting everyone else.”

“Who is everyone else?” Ten muffles a yawn with his hand. He’d read some of the group chat messages, up until most of what was being sent back and forth were just Frozen memes.

Kun counts off on his fingers. “Jeno’s rounding up Dream, so Renjun and Jisung and Jaemin - though I wouldn’t be surprised if Chenle beats them there. And all of 127 will be there, except Doyoung and Taeyong, maybe? It was kind of hard to tell from the texts. Oh, and all of us, of course.”

“Of course,” Ten huffs. He pulls on his other sock and grins when Louis meanders into the room, twining through Kun’s legs before jumping up onto Ten’s bed. He curls into the warm spot Ten just vacated. “WayV never misses a chance to fool around in the snow.”

“Emphasis on the fool,” Kun laughs. He pushes off the doorframe, wandering back out into the hall. Ten hears him knocking on Yangyang’s door next - a good deal more aggressive. “C’mon, Yangyang! We don’t want to be late!”

There’s a muffled complaint in Mandarin from beyond Yangyang’s door, and Ten snorts. If experience is anything to go by, there’s going to be plenty of fooling around in the snow - from his own members more than anyone else.

It takes the expected half hour to cobble together a warm outfit and down a quick cup of hot tea - and when Hendery and Xiaojun and Winwin appear outside their door, Kun herds them all out into the hallway and towards the elevator.

“We’re not going far - only to the park a couple blocks away,” he explains, pulling off a mitten to check his phone. “You know, the one with the big, open field?”

Yangyang doesn’t even look up from whoever he’s texting - Ten surreptitiously leans over to peek at the screen. Ah. Huang Baobei, of course. “You all better be ready to bring your A game.”

“For what?” Ten raises an eyebrow.

Hendery scoffs. “For the snowball fight, Ten-ge! What better way to play in the first snow of the season?”

“You had plenty of the fun rolling around in it last year,” Winwin points out, and it’s true - there had been quite a few videos of them all frolicking and making snow angels last December.

“Hey, I’m open to whatever,” Hendery shrugs, following as the elevator opens and Kun leads the way - a parent leading ducklings. “Except losing. WayV isn't allowed to lose the snowball fight.”

“So competitive,” Ten teases, reaching out to ruffle Hendery’s hair.

From Ten’s other side, Yangyang snorts. “Yo, speak for yourself, bro. You’re definitely the most competitive of all of us. And you’re not going to trick me again, after what you pulled when we were filming Dream Plan.”

Ten bats his eyelashes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“No gaslighting, Ten,” Kun chides - but it’s more or less too late. Years too late, probably. WayV just has too much fun teasing each other, no matter the situation.

All six of them bicker the whole walk to the park, trusting Kun to steer them true. Xiaojun and Hendery and Yangyang don’t let up, pretending to trip one another on the snowy sidewalks; Winwin pipes up with his dry sense of humor here and there, mostly content to try and catch snowflakes on his tongue. Cute.

And Ten? Ten snuggles his nose into his scarf and enjoys the snowy scenery, happy to poke fun at whoever is the current subject of their good-natured ribbing.

Most of NCT has already gathered in the park when they arrive, though everyone has formed little clusters that break and reconnect as more of them join. Ten doesn’t even bother counting heads - he’ll leave that to the mother hens like Kun - and instead makes a beeline for where he’s already spotted the tall-but-slouching figure of one Johnny Suh.

So he’s a little predictable. Ten’s fine with that, when it comes to Johnny.

Johnny’s chatting with Jaehyun and Donghyuck; the latter smiles and waves as Ten stomps his way over through the ankle-deep snowdrifts. “Good morning, hyung! There you are! Johnny-hyung was just saying -”

“ - I wasn’t sure you’d be coming,” Johnny turns and grins at Ten over the upturned collar of his jacket. “You didn’t answer my texts.”

Ten laughs at Johnny’s exaggerated pout, moving closer to -

Oh. He and Johnny can’t do their usual greeting kiss in front of an audience like this; the boys would definitely get the wrong idea. Besides, it’s just a thing for him and Johnny.

Ten’s stomach twists with disappointment. And then he nearly stumbles at the thought, because - huh. He’s disappointed.

Ten hadn’t realized Johnny greeting him with a kiss was a thing he had started to look forward to. They’ve only been doing this since the start of December, after all.

So instead of approaching Johnny, Ten opens his arms for Donghyuck, who dives in for a hug as soon as he is within range. With a grin, Ten wiggles his glove-clad fingers in Johnny’s direction. “Can’t text with gloves on, hyung.”

“Pretty sure they make gloves just for texting,” Jaehyun says, rubbing his own hands together to keep warm in the chill. He shoots Ten a knowing smile. “Then you’d never have to miss a text from Johnny-hyung.”

Johnny rolls his eyes. “I can’t tell if you’re making fun of me or Ten.”

“Why not both?” Donghyuck pipes up. His eyes narrow as a smirk uncurls on his face. “After all, hyung, you -”

“Hey!” Mark jogs over at the perfect moment, interrupting whatever was about to come out of Donghyuck’s mouth. Ten’s not sure he wants to know what it was, honestly. Donghyuck rivals Yangyang as an agent of chaos.

“Hey Mark,” Ten smiles - and then laughs when Mark latches onto Donghyuck’s other side, sandwiching their maknae for a moment before tugging him away.

“C’mon, no fraternizing with the enemy,” Mark says, wrinkling his nose in Ten’s direction.

Ten huffs. “Enemy? After all those memories we made together in SuperM?”

“Oh, please,” Donghyuck scoffs, though he goes easily when Mark keeps tugging on his arm. “Like Ten-hyung and Johnny-hyung aren’t going to form an alliance and stay with each other the whole time.”

Ten and Johnny exchange glances, unable to help grinning at each other. Well, yeah. That had been exactly Ten’s plan, and Johnny doesn’t look at all surprised at the prospect.

Since where are there hard-and-fast teams for snowball fights, anyway?

Johnny shrugs, turning back to Donghyuck and Mark. “What can I say? Our heights even out. It’s a competitive advantage.”

Jaehyun coughs, though it sounds like he mutters codependent under his breath, which makes Johnny stick out his tongue in response. But before their conversation devolves into full-on bickering, a high-pitched whistle gets everyone’s attention.

Right. It’s time for a snowball fight.

All of NCT - the guys that wanted to play in the snow, at least - gather at the center of the field, laughing and chatting and knocking elbows as they huddle up. Yuta stands at the center, hands on his hips, waiting for everyone to settle down to hear the rules. It’s like the field day last year all over again, if the ripple of excitement going through the group is anything to go by.

Maybe even better, because there are no cameras.

Ten sidles closer to Johnny, twining their arms together and sticking his hand in Johnny’s pocket to borrow his warmth. “Hey.”

“Hi,” Johnny whispers back, tilting his head to lean it against the side of Ten’s - stealing a subtle kiss, maybe? What number is that? Ten can’t quite feel it through his knit hat.

“You know, we don’t have to stick together,” Ten murmurs, leaning closer. The corner of his mouth twitches into a wry smile. “Especially if you’ll be branded as a traitor to 127.”

Of course he wants to spend his Saturday off with Johnny, but he’ll live if their members care that much about the rules. With twenty-whatever of them, it’s pretty easy to get outvoted. Or ganged up on.

Or both.

And if Ten remembers anything from last year, NCT group activities are pretty no-holds-barred - at least when it comes to things that are moderately athletic.

“Nah,” Johnny mumbles, snuffling into Ten’s hat one more time before pulling away to smile down at him. “There isn’t anyone else I’d rather have at my side, so don’t worry - I’ll protect you.”

“Awww.” Ten tips his head to the side, smirking up at Johnny. “Be honest - you just don’t want to go up against me.”

Johnny laughs, bright and loud, ignoring the way it makes their friends turn to look their way. “For your size, you do have a high amount of ruthlessness.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Ten winks, and Johnny doesn’t deny it.

There are only a few rules for the snowball fight, according to the self-appointed referees-slash-coaches Yuta and Jeno, who have established some boundaries. Mostly for their own safety, which is pretty smart, actually: no ice, if you can help it, and no close-quarters snowballs to the face.

They don’t mention anything about teams, though as soon as the huddle breaks, various groups break off at a full sprint. Ten laughs brightly, his breath coming out in a puff of shivery air. He may not have grown up in a wintery climate, but he’s pretty sure snowball fights are supposed to be a free-for-all. So much for Hendery’s idea of WayV sticking together.

Doesn’t mean he’s going to give up on his plan with Johnny, though.

“Let’s go!” Ten dashes off towards a short copse of bushes, slipping a bit in the fresh powder. He can hear Johnny whoops behind him and the sound of crunching footsteps as he follows, quickly catching up to Ten’s stride.

“Could’ve warned me you had an idea,” he exhales as they duck behind the shrubs, immediately bending to scrape some fresh snow together into snowballs.

Ten just shoots him a smirk, teeth bared - despite the cold, he can feel his competitive streak flaring to life inside him. “Where’s the fun in that, hyung? C’mon, I’ll make snowballs and you throw ‘em.”

“Ruthless,” Johnny chuckles, but he takes the first few snowballs Ten passes him, hastily packed into rough spheres. “Y’know, I -”

Johnny cuts off as a snowball flies through the air and smacks him on the shoulder, exploding in a burst of cold powder that leaves him blinking, shocked. It’s followed by a distinctive cackle - not subtle, Donghyuck - and Johnny whips around, looking for its source.

Ten giggles at Johnny’s sudden intense focus, and places another snowball in his left hand - Johnny’s already reeled his arm back to throw the first in the direction of a tree several yards away that seems to be muttering and laughing to itself.

It helps that Donghyuck’s vivid blue jacket is visible from around the side, of course.

Johnny bites his lower lip in concentration as he shoots up from their hiding spot, his arm snapping forward as he lets the snowball fly. Ten’s gotta hand it to him - Johnny’s aim is true. The snowball whirls through the air and collides with Donghyuck’s coat in a shatter of snow, and a surprised shriek echoes through the park. “Fuck!”

It’s more or less chaos after that.

Donghyuck must be huddled up with several others, because Ten doesn’t get the chance to hand Johnny another snowball before three more launch towards them. There’s vague yelling from the cluster of trees, another flash of a bright jacket against the snow and pale bark.

Johnny ducks down again, grinning at Ten. “You sure you don’t wanna throw? Hyuck is loud, he’s an easy target.”

“I’ll wait until they’re closer and take them by surprise,” Ten laughs, piling snowballs into Johnny’s hands. “Bet we can take Mark down, too.”

“So competitive,” Johnny whistles - like he isn’t the one throwing snowball after snowball at their members. Like he doesn’t know this about Ten already. “You read my mind.”

Ten loses time as the snowball fight wears on, their friends moving to and fro across the park to ambush each other and find fresh snow. Donghyuck and Mark make a strategic retreat into denser tree cover, so Ten and Johnny leave them be; from the sounds of it, Hendery and Xiaojun are somewhere nearby, too.

It’s gone on long enough that Ten’s gloves are soaked through, but he doesn’t care. Not when they’re having so much fun, breathless from shouting and giggling in the cold, sharp air. Even Yangyang successfully running up and shoveling snow down the back of Ten’s jacket isn’t enough to dampen his mood.

Little brothers, honestly.

Eventually, of course, he and Johnny start to tire. How is it possible the younger members still have this much energy? Well, they can go run around and pummel each other with snow. Ten’s more than ready for a break.

After throwing his last half-dozen snowballs, of course.

Another volley of snow sails overhead and Ten collapses, laughing, into Johnny’s side. Johnny shakes with the force of his own giggles, tugging off a glove to oh-so-carefully comb the bits of melting snow and clumpy bits of ice out of Ten’s hair. Yangyang really got him good - he’s going to be insufferable about his victory, later.

The ringing shouts and shrieks of the snowball fight fade as the action moves further away from them, into the corridor of evergreen trees where Ten’s pretty sure Jeno and Jaemin have been ganging up on unsuspecting passers-by. The slap of feet on snow and energetic hollering has been fairly consistent this whole time - guess they really did need a day in the snow to work off some pent-up energy.

For the moment, though, Ten’s glad for a breather.

“I’m afraid that’s the best I can do.” Johnny ruffles Ten’s hair one more time and bites his lip to rein in his smile. Ten follows the motion with his eyes - Johnny’s lips look a little chapped from the cold, flushed pink along with his nose from the weather.

Ten chuckles. “That’s okay, hyung. I’m just glad they’ve moved on to new victims for now.”

Johnny chuckles in agreement and flops backwards, spreading out on the blanket of snow - heedless of the lumpy remains of snowballs underneath him. He flails a little - or maybe attempts to make a snow angel, despite Ten mostly being in the way at his side - and then collapses back, squinting up at the cloudy sky.

“This is nice, though,” he says, glancing over to Ten. His shoulder is by Ten’s hip and he reaches out, paws at Ten’s hand with his own until Ten rolls his eyes and lets him take it.

Ten’s about to reply when Johnny lifts his hand to his mouth, pressing a kiss to the back of Ten’s glove-clad hand.

Oh.

Johnny’s eyes are bright and playful as he meets Ten’s gaze, lips still pressed to Ten’s glove. He leaves it there for a long moment before pulling away, but he doesn’t release Ten’s hand. Even through the layer of damp fabric, Ten can feel the heat from their contact.

Ten’s heart kicks into high gear, his pulse throbbing with a sudden want. It rocks through him, knocking him adrift - the realization that he doesn’t just want Johnny to kiss him for whatever number kiss is next.

He wants to kiss Johnny.

They pant into the chilly air, into the scant space between them. The snow is still falling softly, catching in Johnny’s dark hair, on his eyelashes. Ten’s close enough to nearly count each flake.

The urge to kiss Johnny is so strong it surprises Ten. He can’t look away, drawn in toward Johnny like a moth toward flame.

The snowfall has quieted the world, blanketed them in a comfortable silence - like it’s just the two of them in this hidden corner of winter. Johnny’s eyes are dark and his lips are softly parted as he breathes, exhaling warmth that Ten can feel, they’re so close. The chill of the snow underneath him doesn’t even register, with every nerve in his body suddenly attuned to Johnny.

They never established rules for this. Does Johnny have to be the one to initiate a kiss for it to count? He’s been the one to kiss Ten so far, not the other way around - at least, it’s clearer who’s initiating when it’s a kiss pressed to Ten’s cheek or forehead or hand.

Does it matter, when the desire to fit their mouths together is an ache inside of him?

It would be so easy to lean down and kiss the faint taste of snow from Johnny’s plush lips. Heat trickles down Ten’s spine at the thought, pooling deep in his gut, and he exhales a shuddery breath. The force of his want nearly knocks the air from his lungs.

The moment stretches and snaps.

Ten doesn’t have to decide, because Johnny reaches up and twines his fingers in the trailing ends of Ten’s scarf. Johnny guides him down, reeling him in - and meeting no resistance.

Something sparks in Ten’s chest when their lips meet, searing and bright from the inside out. He sighs into the kiss, closing his eyes and wiggling closer; he lets his weight collapse onto Johnny’s chest as he leans over him and they kiss, and kiss, and kiss.

Johnny’s other hand slips up Ten’s jacket and anchors on his bare hip, exposed to the cold. The contrast makes Ten’s breath hitch - the cool tips of Johnny’s fingers warming immediately against him, the heat of Johnny’s broad palm. It feels so good - how does a simple kiss in the snow feel so good?

It’s exactly what Ten wants - languid and warm and fun, as Johnny teases him with a gentle nip at his lower lip. Ten smiles into the kiss, tilting his head to the side to better the angle.

If Johnny wants to tease, Ten can give as good as he gets.

So Ten opens his mouth, flicks his tongue along the seam of Johnny's lips. He can feel the rumble in Johnny’s chest underneath him when Johnny groans softly, the fingers on Ten’s hip flexing in response, as if to keep him close. Johnny’s lips part and the soft, wet sounds of their kisses grow louder as Ten lets Johnny lick inside.

The first touch of Johnny’s tongue to his own makes Ten gasp - and then, over the roar of his pulse in his ears, he hears the undeniable crunch of footsteps on snow from somewhere close.

Ten and Johnny spring apart, breathing hard - Johnny sitting up fast enough to dislodge Ten, who tumbles to the side. They stare at each other, panting heavily into the winter air, cheeks stained pink. Ten can still feel every single place where they had been pressed together, the heat lingering on his skin like a burn. A good burn.

He swallows, pulse hammering. He’s certain that he heard someone, but all he can do is watch Johnny, their gazes locked.

Johnny looks - Johnny looks so good like this, just-been-kissed, in a way that Ten didn’t know he wanted to see. His face is flushed prettily, mouth kiss-swollen, shining damply from - fuck, from Ten’s own mouth. Johnny licks his lips and Ten can’t even pretend that he doesn’t watch.

What - what was that? It feels like the earth has moved underneath Ten, shifting his perspective, leaving him grasping and unmoored.

But then the sound of footsteps picks up again, and they both snap to attention as Renjun and Yangyang come around the side of their bushes into view.

It’s Renjun who notices them first. “Oh - uh. Don’t shoot?” He holds up his hands in surrender with a wry smile - heh, yeah, that probably didn’t work on the rest of Dream. But neither Ten nor Johnny think to reach for a fresh snowball. “Taeyong-hyung and Doyoung-hyung are here with hot chocolate, so we’re calling a truce to take a snack break.”

“Sounds good to me,” Johnny says, grunting as he heaves himself to his feet. He reaches out and offers a hand to Ten with a small smile, but something about his expression is hard to read. “We were getting pretty cold.”

“That’s what you get for sitting on the ground,” Yangyang snorts, crossing his arms. And then his eyebrows furrow. “What were you doing on the ground, anyway?”

“Competitive advantage,” Ten quips, taking Johnny’s hand and letting himself be pulled to standing. He staggers a step, a little dizzy - from the cold, or kneeling on the ground for so long, or from the aftershocks of the kiss? Johnny catches his shoulder to steady him, giving Ten a brief smile before letting go and stepping away.

It shouldn’t feel as cold as it does, as soon as Johnny leaves his orbit. But it does.

Ten ruminates on it the rest of the afternoon, feelings muddled and shaken loose - and no amount of Taeyong’s hot chocolate seems to warm him through.

---

They don’t talk about it.

They don’t talk about the kiss in the snow, but it circles Ten’s mind in the days that follow. He can’t help it - not when it’s so easy to remember the feeling of Johnny’s lips against his, the heat of his mouth, the curl of his hand on Ten’s bare skin. And that’s not to mention the brief moment where Johnny’s tongue -

No. Ten stamps out the memory as quickly as it comes.

It had been a fun moment in the snow, when something between them had surged to the surface and taken over. But that’s all it was - a single moment. One that won’t be repeated, because Ten and Johnny don’t like each other like that, and the kisses exchanged between the two of them are just that: an exchange. For Johnny to make up his debt.

Right. Exactly.

Ten holds himself firm to that line of reasoning and ignores the swoop of his belly and the trip of his heart when he thinks about Johnny. After what happened, it’s normal to be a little nervous.

But it was a one-off. Things between them will be normal, if Ten has anything to say about it.

And, strangely enough, it is normal.

The next time they meet, Johnny grins at him the same as always - and smacks a loud kiss on Ten’s cheek, because it’s just the two of them in the empty hall outside the recording booth. Ten’s laughter echoes down the corridor as he wrinkles his nose and wipes his cheek in jest, Johnny beaming all the while. It’s a mundane, everyday kiss for a mundane, everyday meeting of friends.

But Ten can’t complain - he asked for this, after all. This, and nine hundred more just like it.

Ten gets the same treatment when Johnny takes his leave so Ten can record, bussing both of Ten’s cheeks before slipping his mask back over his mouth and leaving with a jaunty wave. Smiling wryly, Ten turns his focus to his actual work, secretly relieved that seeing Johnny - and getting his dose of kisses - had felt so… normal.

Twenty-four. Twenty-five. Twenty-six.

It’s much the same when Ten comes over to the 127 dorm for a movie night with Johnny - apparently they have a lot of Christmas classics to work through this December, not to mention the latest holiday rom-coms. Various members wander in and out of the kitchen as they gather their drinks and microwave popcorn, unphased by Ten’s presence. They don’t even seem to notice the fact that nearly every time Johnny passes Ten, he drops a kiss on whatever part of Ten is within reach.

Mostly that’s Ten’s head, because Johnny likes to make height jokes when they’re to his advantage, but Ten can’t complain. It fills him with a strange kind of warmth, that this has become normal - just another thing that they do. Their own Ten-and-Johnny brand of skinship.

It’s like when they made cookies together - but more familiar, more routine.

So what if they’d never done this until a few weeks ago? It’s a thing they do now, and it’s pretty nice. Ten’s always liked physical touch and being affectionate with his friends - it’s just not a thing he and Johnny did together.

And now it is. Simple as that.

Johnny and Ten usually cuddle during movie nights, anyway, and tonight is no exception. Ten throws his legs over Johnny’s lap as soon as he sits down, sitting close enough that they can pass the popcorn bowl back and forth. Johnny’s hand curls over the arch of Ten’s socked foot, warm and just… there.

When it turns out they’re watching not just a holiday rom-com but a musical holiday rom-com, Ten collapses into Johnny with a groan that turns into a laugh. He keeps his face pressed to Johnny’s biceps long enough that Johnny adjusts underneath him, rearranging so he can curl his arm around Ten’s shoulders to keep him snuggled close. It comes with a brief kiss to the crown of Ten’s head, because - well, why not?

Ten leans into it, and doesn’t let himself overthink.

Fifty-two, fifty-three, fifty-four, fifty-five.

They’re busy enough these days that more often than not, their schedules at SM only overlap enough for a quick hello. A hello that comes with a kiss, or two, or three - or however many they can get away with in stolen moments.

Because despite not setting any rules, per se, they both seem to be in unspoken agreement about keeping this on the down-low, fully aware of what it might look like to their members.

Thankfully, nobody looks too closely when they’re off to the side, just the two of them - or when they linger in a doorway a few seconds longer than they would have before. Johnny kisses Ten’s knuckles when he stops by 127’s dance practice to say hi; Ten gets a kiss as well as hot coffee when Johnny drops off snacks before WayV’s next vlog filming.

Yeah. Normal, but not bad at all. Ten will take it - especially if it means having an excuse to see Johnny more often than he would otherwise.

That was the whole point of asking for a thousand kisses, right?

Right.

Ninety-nine. One hundred. One hundred and one.

But try as he might, Ten can’t stop the slow burn of something in his chest. It blazes to life every time he sees Johnny, stoked by every smile, every exchanged kiss. It sparks on his skin when they touch. A radiant warmth settles in his belly whenever they’re together, and it lingers for days, rekindled whenever Ten thinks about Johnny.

He doesn’t want to put a word to it. It’s too dangerous to name, this bright fire that flares stronger and stronger by the day.

Ten can’t deny that it’s there, though. And as the weather gets colder, it’s only growing more obvious, whenever he’s in Johnny’s presence.

---

As the holidays get nearer, Johnny and Ten still find ways to spend time together, just the two of them.

It’s even easier now that Ten has his own room - it means he doesn’t feel bad about having Johnny over at all hours, whenever it works best for their overlaps in free time. He can always close his door if they get too loud bickering and laughing, though the walls in the new dorm are already worlds better than the previous one.

Really, the only ones he has to worry about annoying are Louis and Leon - and his sons both love Johnny, as they should, so there’s no problem there. Aside from the cat hair.

Of course, no matter how much Ten and Johnny see each other, it’s still hard to part ways. Maybe it’s selfish, but Ten wants to have Johnny all to himself as long as their schedules allow. Johnny seems to feel the same, lingering and prolonging their goodbyes whenever it’s time for him to head home.

Not that Ten can blame him for wanting to stay, when Seoul’s weather has been getting so bitterly cold. But he’ll flatter himself that Johnny wants to stay for the company, not just the central heating.

It’s one of those kinds of evenings tonight, not too long after they hit the one-hundred-kiss milestone. Johnny can’t seem to force himself to leave - or force himself to his feet, from the looks of it.

“You can stay the night,” Ten chuckles, offering for - what, the fourth time? - even though the prospect makes his belly twist into pleasant knots. He and Johnny have shared beds before, sure - but not recently.

Not since they began this whole one thousand kisses business. Not since that little flame of… something sparked in Ten’s chest.

Johnny lets out a long sigh, stretching where he’s starfished across the entirety of Ten’s bed. He’s barely tall enough to fit - and as Johnny arches his back, the hem of his tee rides up just enough to reveal a strip of bare skin.

It’s not a thing that should be sexual by itself, but all the pieces put together - Johnny’s mussed bed-head, the noise that comes from deep in his chest as he stretches, the peek at warm, soft skin with a dusting of hair -

Yeah. Yeah.

Ten snaps his gaze to Johnny’s face as his cheeks start to heat. It doesn’t help that this blushing and getting flustered has been happening more and more lately, whether it’s triggered by the slow build of this thing inside him or just - Johnny.

Maybe it’s just having Johnny here, so comfortable in Ten’s room, in Ten’s bed. He’s bare-faced and unstyled and relaxed, unconcerned with his rumpled hair or wrinkled sweatshirt - a version of Johnny that only Ten gets to see. Ten has always known that Johnny is attractive, but seeing him like this is something else.

He looks so at home here. He looks like he belongs.

And apparently, there’s a deep-seated instinct inside Ten that wants to be wrapped in Johnny’s arms, when he’s wearing a giant hoodie in Ten’s bed. He looks perfect for cuddling, even if just the idea makes Ten’s belly swoop. Ten knows that Johnny would let him, would welcome him with a kiss - or two, or three - and isn’t that thought dangerous.

It’s getting harder and harder to fight the urge, late into these winter nights.

“I really should get going,” Johnny yawns, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. “I’m surprised you haven’t kicked me out yet so you can get cozy in bed.”

I don’t have to kick you out to get cozy in bed, Ten’s traitorous brain responds. In fact, I’d prefer it if you stayed.

From his perch cross-legged in his desk chair, Ten cracks a grin. “Just admit that I have a better mattress already.”

Johnny huffs a laugh, but manages to push himself up on his elbows, smiling up at Ten. “If I did that, then you’d never be able to get rid of me.”

Ten swallows the impulse to say Good. I want you here forever. “Don’t you have to film something tomorrow?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Johnny groans and runs a hair through his hair, though it remains delightfully messy. It’s cute. In the hot sort of way. Johnny makes it work. “Watch me. Here I go. I’m going.”

“I’m watching,” Ten hums, smirking as Johnny ever-so-slowly heaves himself to his feet with another groan. With a sigh Ten stands too, wincing at the cold of the floor on his bare feet - but of course he’s gonna walk Johnny to the front door. “You’re sure you’re good to sleepwalk back to your own dorm?”

Johnny nods, but he’s muffling another yawn already. “Yeah, yeah - I’m good. Just drowsy from being so warm and cozy, and all that.”

They shuffle out of Ten’s room as quietly as possible. There’s still ambient purple-pink light coming from underneath Yangyang’s door, but the apartment is silent as Johnny takes his coat off the hook and shrugs it on, shoving his feet into his ridiculous fuzzy-lined clog things. Ten doesn’t care how comfortable they are - the only reason he allows them on their mat is because they’re Johnny’s.

“Will I see you tomorrow at the office?” Johnny jokes, tugging up his zipper.

Ten snorts, but nods. “Hopefully - I think we’re slated to be at SM most of the day, though I’m not sure when we’ll see each other.”

“I’ll do my best to come find you,” Johnny winks, and Ten resolutely ignores the flood of warmth to his face. He’s not sure if it’s the promise or the wink - or a combination of both.

Probably both. Ten’s stupidly charmed all the same.

“Well, text me when you get back to your room safe,” Ten says, picking at a fraying thread on the hem of his sweatshirt for something to do with his hands.

Johnny smiles down at him, eyes bright even in the half-light. “I will. Just one more thing, before I go.”

Ten blinks up at Johnny’s soft smile, sleepy enough that he’s slow to register the broad palm coming up to cradle his chin. Johnny bends closer in time with the way he gently tilts Ten’s face up for their lips to meet, sweet and familiar.

Familiar, but more.

Johnny’s lips are always so warm it never fails to surprise Ten, no matter how many times they do this. Ten’s eyes slip closed and he savors the sensations, every feeling coursing through him as their lips brush together. He’s learned to follow Johnny’s lead, to match whatever kind of kiss Johnny wants to give him - whether it’s pouting like a haughty prince when Johnny bends at the waist to kiss him on the back of the hand, or laughing at a series of pecks Johnny scatters on his cheeks.

Or this: the languid slide of their mouths together, soft and fuzzy around the edges like a dream. Time blurs and Ten tangles his fingers in Johnny’s jacket, smoothing up and down Johnny’s chest in time with the rhythm of their lips. He can feel Johnny’s eyelashes brush his cheek, the drag of Johnny’s nose when he presses closer. Like they can get any closer than this, tangled hands and tangled mouths, drinking each other in like they’re parched.

Is it just one kiss, when you spend long, timeless moments wrapped up in each other? When does one kiss bleed into the next?

Ten’s heart drums on the inside of his ribs when they finally part for air, pounding hard enough that Ten is sure Johnny must be able to feel it. He eases his eyes open, but he can’t bring himself to let go of Johnny’s coat or move away, not yet.

Wow.

He just - he needs a second, here. It feels too easy to float away on such a perfect goodnight kiss, slow and searching and thorough. A true goodnight kiss, one that feels like a promise for more.

It’s romance, Ten thinks faintly. That was a kiss with romance.

A kiss like that makes it easy to imagine what it would be like if this was real, what it would be like if Johnny kissed him and meant it.

The thought makes Ten’s heart throb even harder.

“There,” Johnny murmurs - is Ten imagining that his voice sounds a little hoarse from - fuck, from the kiss? “Now we can say goodnight.”

Ten swallows, throat tight. Johnny’s eyes are half-lidded and warm, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He runs a thumb along the cut of Ten’s jaw - he hasn’t pulled away, either.

It takes effort to unclench his fingers from Johnny’s jacket, and Ten lets himself pat down the fabric, smoothing the creases his grip left. He clears his throat, cracking a smile. “Yeah? That was some goodnight kiss.”

God. Even to his own ears, he sounds breathless.

“I aim to please,” Johnny’s grin widens - and then he waggles his eyebrows, nodding in the direction of the ceiling. “And, well - gotta take advantage of the Christmas spirit.”

Ten looks up, and oh - pinned right to the ceiling of their entryway is a sprig of mistletoe, petite green leaves and snow-white berries, hung with a silky red bow.

Huh. He’s pretty sure that wasn’t there when Johnny got here a few hours ago.

“That’s gotta be Yangyang,” Ten says with an exasperated sigh, and Johnny chuckles softly.

“Well, don’t apologize for it,” Johnny grins. He still hasn’t moved away, out of their shared orbit - and Ten lets himself linger in Johnny’s ambient warmth. “I should kiss you every chance that I get.”

Ugh. There’s no way Johnny has any idea what his words do to him. Ten knows it’s about counting up kisses - or maybe Ten’s head knows that. Telling that to his heart is another matter.

Or his stomach, as it were. It feels like something in his belly is practicing gymnastics, with how much it twists pleasantly in Johnny’s presence.

Hopefully it just doesn’t show on his face.

“How many was that?” Ten asks, tucking a stray lock of hair behind his ear. Anything to distract from the thump of his heart, pounding out its rhythm as Johnny stands so close.

“One hundred twenty si- ” Johnny cuts himself off, stares down at Ten for a beat, and then leans down to press a quick kiss to Ten’s mouth, heedless of his surprise. What does it say about Ten, that his body’s only reaction is to flush with heat? That around Johnny, he doesn’t even think to flinch away?

“One-two-seven,” Johnny says as he straightens, looking awfully proud of himself.

Ten rolls his eyes, though he can’t keep the smile off his face with Johnny beaming down at him, like a puppy waiting for a reward. It really ruins Johnny’s image as a cat person, honestly. “You always think you’re funny, hyung.”

“I know I am,” Johnny grins, and finally steps away as he puts on his beanie and makes his way towards the apartment door. Ten stays rooted to the spot, watching as Johnny zips the last few inches of his jacket and puts his hand on the doorknob. “So - I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” Ten nods, shoving his hands in his hoodie pocket - for fear that if he leaves them at his sides, he’ll reach for Johnny again. And then they’d never say goodbye - although, would that really be such a bad thing?

Better not risk it. Not when Ten himself isn’t quite sure what he might do next, if Johnny kisses him like that again. “Cool,” Johnny carefully opens the door, trying to make as little noise as possible. For a brief moment he’s backlit, haloed and golden, by the light from the hall. “Goodnight, Ten.”

“Goodnight, Johnny,” Ten murmurs, and smiles back at Johnny until the door shuts behind him.

Ten sighs, shoulders slumping as the tension leaches out of his body. He leans back against the wall and looks up at the mistletoe - pretty and innocent enough by itself, hanging from its loop of ribbon. The sight of it doesn’t do anything to calm the storm in his mind.

Just when Ten thinks he has a handle on this casual intimacy, Johnny kisses him in a way that he didn’t expect. And as much as Ten has been cataloging his own reactions to Johnny’s kisses, that was… something else. Something so strong that Ten’s still caught in the sway of it. He pulls a hand out of his pocket so that he can delicately touch the pads of his fingers to his tingling lips.

Familiar hello kisses and loud, joking kisses from Johnny are one thing.

Romantic goodnight kisses are another thing entirely.

Because remembering that moment, remembering the feel of Johnny's lips against his own, Ten realizes - he doesn’t want this to stop. He doesn’t want Johnny to stop. He wants Johnny to keep kissing him every time they see each other, for any reason and no reason at all: hello and goodbye and I missed you and just because and I like you so much -

Ten does like Johnny so much. Johnny has always been his favorite person, from almost the moment they met as rookies. But adding kisses to their friendship has undeniably kindled something inside Ten, igniting his feelings into something…

Something that might begin with an L.

God. Ten shakes his head, as if he can clear the whirl of thoughts in his brain. His heart thuds in his chest, a thunderous beat that echoes in his ears; does his heart even realize the trouble it’s putting him through? A tenth of the way to one thousand kisses is some time to realize he has non-platonic feelings for his best friend.

But that’s right - they’re only a hundred kisses in. One hundred twenty-seven, to be precise. And as Johnny himself said at the beginning of all of this - a thousand is a big number.

Maybe Ten has time to figure this out. To figure out what he wants - and what he wants to do about all this. Besides kissing Johnny back, of course.

Good thing they’ve still got a ways to go.

---

Johnny does find Ten the next day, for a short break from WayV’s dance practice that includes two refilled bottles of water, four chocolate pepero from the box hidden in Johnny’s jacket pocket, and seven (7!!!) whole kisses. It’s the only time they see each other all day, a whirlwind twelve minutes where Ten can’t stop smiling.

Ten would be lying if he said his breathlessness is only from how quickly it happens.

They part with a final kiss and Johnny breezes his way back to where 127 are doing… whatever they’re here to do at SM today. Oops. Ten swears he pays attention to what Johnny tells him, just… not immediately after they kiss, sometimes.

So Johnny’s a good kisser. Ten has known this for a while.

Doesn’t make it any easier to return to practice like nothing happened, when Ten’s lips still buzz with the phantom sensation of Johnny’s mouth pressed against his.

Yangyang smirks at Ten with an all-too-knowing gleam in his eyes. “Was that Johnny-hyung just now?”

“Uh-huh,” Ten nods, taking another pull from his water bottle. Hopefully any blush on his face can be attributed to how hard they’re dancing. “127 is here today - for Earthquake stuff, maybe.”

“Oh yeah?” Hendery perks up at the sound of Johnny’s name, turning to Ten with a smile. “Tell him to come in next time to say hi! It’s been a while since we’ve seen him.”

“It’s been a while since some of us have seen him,” Kun grins, wandering over to throw an arm around Hendery’s shoulders companionably. Ten knows that smile - after living with Yangyang, Kun’s become adept at his own brand of teasing.

Hendery’s eyebrows rise, and he glances between Kun and Yangyang and Ten. “Oh? What have I been missing, living upstairs?”

“Nothing,” Ten’s quick to reply, resisting the urge to glare at Yangyang, whose mouth is already open to say god knows what. “You haven’t missed anything.”

It’s a lie, and they all know it - but the choreographer calls for them to gather again before anyone can call Ten out on it.

Later, Ten and Johnny text when they can, since they don’t see each other the rest of the day - or the day after, when their schedules are flip-flopped. Instead, Johnny makes sly comments about catching up through text, saying things like do you think we’ll have time for a quickie between filming tomorrow? complete with winky-face emojis.

It makes Ten’s face heat every time.

He knows that Johnny is teasing, that he’s only talking about kissing. Maybe it would be funnier if Ten’s imagination wasn’t already running away with ideas about what their kissing could turn into. Because ever since Johnny gave him a goodnight kiss under the mistletoe, ever since Ten realized his emotions have gotten tangled into this - well.

He kisses Johnny almost every day. Of course he’s thought about more.

But he also can’t help but wonder - because Johnny is the one to bring it up, asking when he and Ten will see each other again:

Does that mean Johnny looks forward to to kissing Ten again, too?

---

Johnny and Ten have been stagnant at 138 kisses for a few days when they finally meet up again - and not for just a few stolen moments between schedules, but for something fun. They’re going out with a group of members, but that’s all right. Ten’s willing to compromise if it means seeing Johnny at all.

Well, that’s not entirely true. He’ll compromise, but Ten wants it to be just the two of them, even if spending time in Johnny’s presence still knots up his insides in a way that’s… not entirely unpleasant.

It would help if Ten could figure out what he wants to do about his feelings for Johnny, now that he can put a name to them. For now, Ten doesn't examine his feelings too closely and resolves to just enjoy the season, enjoy the newfound intimacy between him and Johnny.

Famous last words, probably, for Ten’s poor heart.

Anyway - it’s Sunday evening when Ten and Winwin bundle up to go out in the cold, walking to meet a few of the other hyung line members for a trip to a Christmas light display. The chill is sharp against their faces, and they squint and whine when the outside air hits their skin - but at least it’s a dry cold rather than slushy and wet.

“Besides,” Winwin dimples a grin at Ten, visible even with his face tucked into an oversized scarf, “we’ll stay warm as we walk around, and I’m sure you’ll be fine with Johnny-hyung keeping you cozy.”

Ten feels himself flush, but he shoots Winwin a smile. Deflect, deflect, deflect. “Best friends don’t let best friends freeze during Seoul winters, Winwin. And isn’t that what you’ll do with Jaehyun the whole time, too? Hang off him and steal his warmth?”

Winwin gives a high, nervous giggle, and Ten smirks to himself. Got it in one. “Very funny, Ten-hyung! I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Heh. Classic Dong Sicheng.

“Sure, baby,” Ten winks. He skips a step closer to Winwin, falling into stride and linking their arms together. Winwin tolerates it, at least for the brief walk over to the park entrance where they’re meeting everyone else.

It isn’t long before they round the corner and find themselves standing before the broad, brightly-lit archway that marks the beginning of the light festival. Thousands of little bulbs illuminate the words Happy Holidays against a background of twinkling white and blue snowflakes high above. Pine trees flank either side of the arch, draped with strands of white-gold Christmas lights and red ornaments the size of pomegranates.

It’s gorgeous, and it’s only the beginning. Over the heads of the gathered crowd, Ten can see a vast array of colors and shapes as the display meanders through the park, too far for the eye to see.

“Wow,” Ten breathes, his grip going slack on Winwin’s forearm. And wow is right - Ten hadn’t looked up any images before agreeing to go, and he’s glad he didn’t. No photograph could possibly measure up to seeing this in person.

At the sound of his voice, a tall figure in a dark jacket ahead of them turns - and from across the courtyard, Ten and Johnny’s eyes meet.

Ten watches a smile of recognition bloom on Johnny’s face as if in slow motion, his eyes creasing at the corners and cheeks dimpling in a way that’s somehow goofy and gorgeous and Johnny. His hands are shoved deep in his jacket pockets, and his half-turn towards Ten’s voice becomes a full turn as his attention shifts to Ten, and Ten alone.

The world narrows to the two of them; Ten doesn’t even feel himself letting go of Winwin’s arm, barely hears the huff of laughter behind him as he starts to move.

It’s like gravity, how he’s drawn towards Johnny. And the thing is - it’s not an unfamiliar feeling, even if the recent shift in their dynamic has cast it in a new light.

God, it’s like something out of a romantic comedy, one of those cute repetitive Hallmark Christmas specials that he and Johnny have been binging for the last few weeks. At least, that’s what Johnny looks like - the male lead beaming at the sight of his love interest through a crowd, perfectly positioned under the twinkling, romantic decorations.

“Hey, Ten,” Johnny says, grinning at him like - like Ten’s the only thing that Johnny sees, amidst all these beautiful lights. “Hey, Winwin - staying warm?”

Warmer now that I’m with you, Ten thinks - but at least any blush on his cheeks can be attributed to the cold, tonight. He smiles as he comes to a stop before Johnny, resisting the urge to sway closer. “Trying to keep warm, at least. Have you guys been waiting long?”

Johnny shakes his head - and Ten watches, curious, as his hands come out of his pockets. He makes an aborted move, starting to reach out before seeming to catch himself; instead, Johnny rubs his hands together, as if to warm them up.

It’s almost as if - as if he had wanted to reach for Ten, to reel him in for a kiss, before remembering where they are, who they’re with. It makes Ten’s heart trip in his chest, despite the fact they didn’t kiss.

“No, not too long,” Johnny smiles back, “but I think now everyone is here, right? So we can start walking?”

“I think so,” Doyoung says, from over Johnny’s shoulder. Ten muffles his grin into his scarf at the look on Doyoung’s face - he’s undoubtedly in parent mode as he takes stock, counts how many of them there are. “Yes - everyone’s here, so let’s go!”

Johnny and Ten exchange glances as Doyoung pushes through to the front of their group and leads the way - striking up a conversation with Taeyong that becomes bickering within moments. Winwin has already drifted off to Jaehyun and Mark and Yuta, leaving Ten and Johnny to bring up the rear.

“Boy, am I glad that’s not me,” Ten snorts a short laugh, nodding in the direction of Doyoung and Taeyong.

“I thought you enjoyed bantering,” Johnny chuckles and offers Ten his arm, eyebrows raised imploringly. It’s gentlemanly and a little joking at the same time - and a completely Johnny thing to do.

Down, boy, Ten still has to tell his overeager heart. He’s achingly aware of the fact that Johnny hasn’t kissed him yet tonight, but they are out sightseeing with their friends - with no convenient corners to duck around or hide behind. And they’ve been so careful so far to keep this just between the two of them.

So Ten rolls his eyes, latching onto Johnny’s proffered arm with his hand ticked into the curve of Johnny’s elbow. “Only with you, hyung.”

Johnny laughs; it sends a soft puff of mist into the chilly air. “I’m not sure that’s true, but I’ll take it. Glad that I’m special.”

“You’re something, all right,” Ten pretends to grumble good-naturedly - and before he can add anything else to that sentiment, Johnny leans close and leaves a brief, warm kiss on the arch of his cheek. Ten’s breath hitches in his chest; for the space of a moment, Johnny’s lips connect with his chilly skin in a searing touch. He’s close enough that Ten can smell his aftershave, feel the wispy drag of Johnny’s bangs against his forehead.

And then Ten nearly trips over his own feet. Or he would have, if Johnny wasn’t right there, ready to help steady him. Wow. A kiss on the cheek shouldn’t leave him so suddenly dizzy with affection.

But it does, because it’s Johnny.

“Wow,” Johnny grins, his smile so wide that his eyes become cute crescents. “Really surprised you with that one, huh?”

That’s putting it lightly. Ten glances to their group of friends ahead of them - already drawn in and distracted by the beautiful light displays, not paying an ounce of attention to him and Johnny. They didn’t see the kiss - they didn’t notice at all.

Ten shoots a glare up at Johnny, though he can’t maintain it for more than a second. “I’m gonna get you back for that later, you know.”

Johnny chuckles, patting Ten’s hand where it’s still draped over his forearm. “You can try, baby. I’m just trying to make up my kiss debt!”

Baby. The word echoes in Ten’s ears, and he resolutely ignores the tug of his heartstrings at the pet name. He’s called Johnny baby plenty of times. Ten calls everybody baby. Hearing it back at him shouldn’t be another arrow in Johnny’s quiver.

Not that Johnny has any idea what he’s doing to Ten, of course. And Ten doesn’t want Johnny to know - not until he figures out exactly what he wants to do about the growing feelings inside of him.

“If you say so,” Ten replies, squeezing Johnny’s arm just once before jerking his head in the direction of the rest of their boys. They’ve already fallen behind - though it’s not like they wouldn’t be monopolizing each other’s attention, anyway. “C’mon, let’s at least pretend we’re trying to keep up.”

“Okay, okay,” Johnny grins, following when Ten steers them forward, under the archway and towards the colorful displays winding through the park.

It’s truly beautiful - not just in the decorations and designs all lit up, but the sheer scale of it. They meander through fields carpeted with nets of lights, studded with two-meter sculptures made to look as if they are carved out of ice. Animated strands mimic dripping icicles strung above them, casting bright halos of light onto the spectators below. There are red-and-white candy canes lamp posts and gingerbread silhouettes taller than Johnny, snowmen and gift boxes with giant bows.

And they do catch up with the group, joking and laughing as they poke fun at each other - for Taeyong’s delighted gasp at the animated light sculpture of a puppy, at Doyoung’s expense when they spot the silhouette of an elf that’s a close mimic of his signature model pose. Ten nudges Johnny in the side so they can share a conspiratory exchange of glances whenever Winwin gets pulled between Jaehyun and Yuta, their own little mellow drama playing out.

Not that Ten can really judge, as much as he enjoys sharing these secret looks with Johnny. He and Johnny stay side-by-side the entire evening. Ten’s hand stays perfectly warm where it’s tucked into the crook of Johnny’s elbow.

Ten doesn’t have to imagine Johnny’s warmth through the layers of jacket and glove. He can feel it.

But somehow, it still doesn’t hit Ten until they’ve almost reached the end of the display: for a holiday outing together, this is pretty romantic. Even though they’re in a group, Ten and Johnny have been acting like a couple the entire time.

And no one has said a word about it.

The thing is - Ten’s been turning it over in his mind, ‘round and ‘round, trying to figure out what he wants from all angles. Of course he likes Johnny as a friend - as a best friend, as someone he wants to know and be close with for the rest of his life. He can’t imagine a time when he wouldn’t want to text Johnny first thing in the morning or go for coffee together at all hours of the day, no matter how much the caffeine might fuck up his sleep schedule.

It’s always been the two of them, since the very beginning. Ten and Johnny.

But it’s another thing to admit to himself that what he feels for his best friend might be something… more. That he wants more, with Johnny.

It’s lowkey terrifying, in Ten’s not-so-expert opinion. There’s so much to risk, so much to lose - but under the soft glow of several million LEDs, it’s hard to deny it:

Ten is falling in love with Johnny.

Ten doesn’t just want to text Johnny first thing. He can’t stop imagining falling asleep and then waking up together, having Johnny stay the night and say good morning with a kiss in bed. Ten wants to walk side by side and hold Johnny’s hand and kiss him in public, not just in the hidden, liminal spaces where no one will see.

Ten wants to go on romantic walks to look at Christmas lights and tease Johnny for choosing a date that’s right out of a Hallmark movie, and laugh together at the fact that they’re both so into it. That they’re both so stupidly romantic for each other.

But that means figuring out what to say, riding on the hope that Johnny might love him back.

That seems like a lot to ask of the universe, when Ten knows he’s so lucky to be where he is right now - arm-in-arm with his best friend, with the coolest job in the world, heart hammering out a frantic rhythm as he thinks about what he really wants.

Maybe it’s not the worst thing that Johnny hasn’t been able to kiss him - really kiss him - tonight. With his feelings swirling so close to the surface, Ten’s not sure what he would do.

Ten chews on his lower lip as they enter the final showpiece of the light display: a long arched tunnel of lights, softly changing through a rainbow of colors as they stroll. Their group spreads out and they break off into twos and threes, lingering to take in the sight or snap photos together.

“Hey,” Johnny says softly, shaking Ten from his thoughts.

Ten looks up to find Johnny smiling down at him, his eyes reflecting the sparkle of the lights around them. Teal, then blue, then purple-pink, caught in Johnny’s eyes and painting across his hair and skin. He looks amazing in every color. “I had a lot of fun tonight.”

Ten returns his easy smile. “Me too,” he says, fingers flexing in the fabric of Johnny’s coat.

“But?” Johnny quirks an eyebrow - as if sensing that Ten has left something unsaid.

Damn. Is he really that transparent? Or can Johnny just read him that well?

And what should he say? This was fun, but I did really want you to kiss me again tonight? I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with you? No, no - that’s not how this works. Even if that is the truth.

“Well…” Ten trails off, biting his lower lip to stifle a smile when Johnny tugs him to a stop and turns to face him, both eyebrows inching up his forehead.

“You can’t not say it, now,” Johnny says, fixing Ten with a wry grin. “Don’t make me try to guess.”

That, at least, makes Ten laugh, and he waves a hand to dismiss the thought. “No, no - hyung, it’s not that serious -”

“Then you can just tell me,” Johnny chuckles, and - ugh. Ten kind of walked into that one.

This was so romantic, but I want it to be real. Real romance between us, real kisses. Not just kisses for counting.

Ten looks up at Johnny - at his open, amused expression, twinkling eyes, lips pulled into a soft smile. This is Johnny - his best friend. Maybe he can ask. Ten already set things in motion between them - even if he hadn’t realized it at the time - by asking for one thousand kisses in the first place.

Maybe it won’t be a big deal to ask for just one. Maybe it can be a start.

So Ten tilts his head, a little coy, pressing his lips together to contain a smirk. He doesn’t let go of Johnny, but with his free hand Ten taps a finger to his cheek, expectantly. “It’s just been a while, don’t you think?”

Johnny laughs, his smile widening. “That’s all? Well, I’m sure I have one kiss to spare.”

“Just one?” Ten teases - a callback to the conversation that started all of this - and he gasps when Johnny unexpectedly pulls him into his arms.

Of course Johnny looks very pleased with himself at Ten’s reaction.

“Don’t worry,” he murmurs, gaze flicking down to Ten’s mouth. “I’ll make it a good one.”

And, well - Ten can’t help himself, no matter how eager it makes him look. He goes up on his toes as Johnny starts to bend down, meeting him halfway.

Like with so many things, they’re on the same page here, too: Johnny doesn’t take Ten’s original offer of his cheek, and their mouths meet perfectly. They’re getting good at this, Ten thinks faintly - with the few brain cells he has that aren’t dedicated to memorizing how Johnny’s lips feel against his own.

Johnny tastes like lip balm and coffee, and Ten hums into the kiss when Johnny nips playfully at his lower lip. He smiles as Johnny gentles the mild sting with his tongue and presses closer - not that they can get much closer, like this.

It’s so easy to get lost in. The outside world melts away, Ten’s focus narrowed to the shape of Johnny’s shoulders under his fingers and Johnny’s eyelashes brushing his cheek. He’s vaguely aware of the colorful canopy of lights around them changing, even with his eyes closed - but this is perfect.

He can’t feel the cold at all, like this, wrapped in Johnny’s embrace.

They part with a soft sound, and Johnny presses their foreheads together for a beat, exhaling gently in the space between them. When they finally break apart and look at each other, they don’t go far.

Is it just the lights overhead, or is Johnny flushed a little, too?

Ten smiles, rocking back on his heels. “You gonna tell me a number, Suh?”

“Nah,” Johnny shakes his head, releasing his grip on Ten’s waist so they can start strolling forward again. Ten can’t even remember the moment Johnny fit his broad palm against his lower back, but he can feel the loss now, the return of cool air where Johnny’s touch had been.

And then Johnny winks, because he’s a goddamn menace. “You can have that one for free.”

God. It’s a small miracle that Ten doesn’t trip again at Johnny’s words, with how suddenly his stomach flip-flops, a surge of affection in his veins.

He’s almost dizzy with it as Johnny leads them forward, heading towards their group. Ten barely pays attention to the chatter as Doyoung tries to corral all of them to take a group photo while the display of lights is at its greenest.

Ten can’t quite tell if the kisses are a joke anymore. They’ve sparked something in him, that much is true - stoked whatever latent desire for Johnny that had been brewing in Ten for god knows how long. Ten had assumed that for Johnny, this was still sort of a game between friends, working off his so-called debt.

But has it changed for Johnny, too?

Ten can’t be sure - they’re still keeping count, after all. Even if Johnny had just kissed him for - kissed him just because. That doesn’t sound particularly platonic in Ten’s book, but then again, he’s the one that started all this.

One thing is for certain: whether or not Johnny feels the same, Ten has hundreds more kisses to find out.

---

Johnny has just stepped out to go on a snack run when there’s a gentle knock on the bedroom door.

Ten looks up from browsing through Netflix for something seasonal that they haven’t already watched yet - and smiles when he spots Mark’s face peeking around the half-closed door.

“Mark!” Ten waves him in with a smile. “Sorry - if you’re looking for Johnny he just went to the convenience store on the corner, but I’m sure he’ll be back in a few -”

“Actually, uh,” Mark clears his throat, glancing around Johnny’s room with unreadable eyes. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you, Ten-hyung.”

Ten blinks. That’s really not what he was expecting to hear.

“Okay,” Ten says slowly, trying not to look as surprised as he feels. He carefully closes the lid of Johnny’s laptop and shifts it to the side, patting the empty spot on the bed next to him. Mark deserves his full attention for… whatever this is. “Well, c’mere, baby. What’s up? What did you want to talk about?”

“I don’t want to make a big deal out of it,” Mark says, perching on the edge of the bed next to Ten’s feet. His eyes meet Ten’s for a moment before darting away, his cheeks heating. “I just - uh. I just thought you would’ve said something by now, so. Sorry if this is really awkward.”

Ten reaches out and puts a hand on Mark’s shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. “You know there’s no such thing as awkward between us, bro. Seriously - what’s up?”

For some reason, Mark flush an even deeper pink. He keeps fiddling with the strings on his hoodie for something to do with his hands - something Ten recognizes as a very nervous Mark move. But what does Mark have to be nervous about? He and Ten are good friends - and there’s never been drama between the two of them.

To say that Ten’s curiosity gnaws at him would be an understatement.

Mark inhales slowly, as if steadying himself, before he finds Ten’s gaze again. “I… I wish you had just told me that you and Johnny are finally dating, hyung.”

Every thought in Ten’s brain comes to a screeching halt.

“I understand why you haven’t, um, made an announcement to all of us yet,” Mark continues, scratching a hand through the short hair at the back of his neck, which - what? “It’s uh, definitely a big deal to figure things out between you guys, let alone managing all the other stuff involved with two members dating. I get it, but I thought I was close enough with you and Johnny-hyung that, uh...”

Ten covers his face with both hands, feeling himself turn red. Mark trails off, maybe because he’s finally looked up and noticed Ten’s reaction.

Oh my god. Mark thinks that Ten and Johnny are dating.

Mark thinks that Ten and Johnny are finally dating.

“Ten?” Mark peers closer at him, eyebrows rising. He looks so innocently confused, from the outside of this situation, but Ten can’t bring himself to reassure Mark. Not in the way Mark is expecting, at least.

Because Ten is still grappling with the presence of the word finally, that Mark has apparently - oh, god. Mark has not only seen something new between Ten and Johnny recently; he’s maybe always sensed something between them, and that’s -

That’s enough to make Ten’s brain literally overheat with the implications. Fuck.

Ten can only giggle, high and breathless, carefully bringing his hands down away from his eyes. Even to his own ears, his voice comes out a little strangled when he says, “Oh, Mark.”

Mark’s brow furrows. “Are you - are you okay, dude? Like I said, sorry if this is, uh, overstepping, but -”

“We’re not together,” Ten blurts. Mark’s eyes go round and wide behind his glasses.

“Like… wait, really?” Mark’s eyebrows are seriously getting a workout tonight. “You and Johnny aren’t dating?”

Ten shakes his head, both hands still pressed to his mouth. He’s not sure what kind of noise he might make if he tried to say more.

Mark sits back and blinks, looking more perplexed by the second. “But I swear I saw you two kissing, like, more than once - not that I meant to spy, or anything! You just weren’t really subtle the other night at the Christmas lights display, and I was pretty sure I saw you sneak off together after practice last week.”

Well, shit.

They weren’t being particularly subtle, not in the slightest. Ten knows he and Johnny aren’t hiding a fully-fledged, capital-R Relationship from the rest of their members - but of course that’s what it would look like from the outside. A secret relationship, complete with stolen kisses and banter that sounds like medium- to high-key flirting. Because that’s what Ten and Johnny’s banter always sounds like. Now they also just kiss about it.

And that’s not even including the fact that Ten wants it to be real - that from his side, the love and affection is genuine.

He meets Mark’s gaze again, his face so, so warm with the heat of his blush. With all of that, Ten’s not sure he can even try to explain what’s actually happening to Mark.

What comes out is: “Yeah. Um.”

“And Donghyuck said he caught you guys making out during the snowball fight,” Mark adds, spilled out like he can’t hold it in any longer. He winces a little, giving Ten a crooked smile. “Sorry, hyung.”

“It’s -” Ten takes a deep breath, trying to calm the riot of thoughts in his head. His heart’s still frantically pouding at the shock of hearing… well. That. “It’s okay, Mark. You don’t have anything to apologize for.”

Mark’s smile softens, and he rubs the back of his head, abashed. “I still feel like it’s probably none of my business, though.”

“I mean, yeah,” Ten gives Mark a rueful grin, “but I don’t blame you for, uh, coming to that conclusion, given what you saw.”

And what Donghyuck saw. God, it’s amazing that all of NCT hasn’t found out by now - Ten’s certain he has Mark to thank for that. Donghyuck has no restraint when it comes to his friends’ drama.

Not that the rest of them are any better, really. News travels fast in NCT. Ten’s in enough group chats to see evidence of that every goddamn day.

“Okay, but about that,” Mark says, leaning in toward Ten again, conspiratory. He doesn’t have to whisper - it’s just the two of them alone in Johnny’s bedroom - but it’s kind of cute that he does. “If you’re not dating, then… bro, what’s going on?”

Ten huffs a laugh before he can stop himself. “I’m not sure you would believe me even if I tried to explain, Mark Lee.”

“You can try, though,” Mark twists the aglets at the end of his hoodie strings back and forth. He has that open, eager expression on his face - the I’m here for you warmth that comes so easily to Mark. “If you want to, that is.”

Ten takes in Mark’s… Mark-ness, the you-can-confide-in-me vibe he’s so clearly trying to project. It’s not that Ten doesn’t trust Mark - hard-working, honest, loyal to a fault Mark. He just doesn’t know where to start.

How does he explain the half-joking debt Johnny owes him for - fuck, right, for filming a JCC with Mark himself instead of Ten? And then, how Ten’s traitorous mouth said one thousand kisses?

Because that sounds totally platonic, Ten thinks to himself sarcastically. Super platonic. Just bros being bros exchanging hundreds of kisses.

And they have exchanged hundreds of kisses. Literally.

But at the same time, it would feel really good to finally tell someone else about what’s going on. Ten could get a gut check from Mark, see if maybe… maybe he does have a chance with Johnny. Mark has sensed something between them, after all.

Because Ten definitely feels something more than just friendship with Johnny. He didn’t at the start of all this, but when Ten looks at himself in the mirror now, he can see it. He’s falling in love with Johnny - or maybe he’s been a little bit in love with Johnny for a while.

Either way, there’s no denying it now. Ten has all the symptoms: butterflies in his stomach, flushing cheeks, a heart that can’t stop drumming out a song in his chest whenever he and Johnny are together.

Ten just… doesn’t want to ruin things. And that means going along with their one thousand kisses as long as it takes for him to figure this out.

Mark’s still waiting, eyes bright and expectant, and Ten can’t help it. He breaks the tension by reaching over and ruffling Mark’s hair, laughing at his surprised squawk of indignation and the whine of hyung, dude, please! that follows.

“Johnny and I… we’re not together,” Ten repeats, this time calmer, less frantic. “But… there’s something there. I’m working on it.”

“Yeah?” Mark’s eyebrows rise in time with his slow-blooming smile. “You think so? I’m happy for you, bro.”

It’s a very Mark thing to say, but Ten appreciates the sentiment. When Mark offers his fist to bump a moment later, Ten indulges him.

“I hope so,” Ten huffs, unable to keep a grin off his face, too. Even admitting this much to Mark has hope kindling in his chest like fire freshly fed. “Though you and Donghyuck better stay the fuck out of it.”

“Stay out of what?”

Mark and Ten look up as Johnny strides into the room, gently hip-checking the door to open it since both of his hands are full. Shit - Johnny didn’t hear anything, did he? “You crashing our movie night, Mark Lee?”

Mark pushes to his feet, shaking his head - and shooting a knowing grin in Ten’s direction. “Nah, I don’t wanna be in the way. Good talk, Ten-hyung. I’ll catch you later?”

“Later, Mark,” Ten calls as Mark slips out of the room. He sends Ten one more broad smile and two big thumbs-up as he goes. Mark’s practically whistling - Ten wishes he himself were that optimistic about this whole situation between him and Johnny.

What can he say? Ten and Mark are the same kind of romantic, at the end of the day. It means a lot to have at least one friend in his corner, cheering him on.

“What did Mark want?” Johnny asks, glancing at Ten from unpacking the contents of his snack run - truly an unholy number of bags of chips and one-cup ramyeon packets. It still doesn’t rival Kun’s stash of sweets, though. “It would’ve been fine if he wanted to hang.”

He didn’t want to third wheel, Ten doesn’t say, smiling privately to himself as he fishes Johnny’s laptop out from the covers.

“Just saying hi. Even with all these group practices, I don’t see him as often as I see you,” Ten muses - and it’s not a lie, exactly, but it’s certainly better than admitting Mark believed that Ten and Johnny were a couple for most of the past week.

“We’re both to blame there,” Johnny replies, tossing a few snacks into Ten’s lap and then climbing onto the bed next to him. “Besides - maybe I like having you all to myself.”

Ten rolls his eyes to hide the fact that those words - paired with Johnny’s bright smile - have his heart doing somersaults. Why did he have to go and fall in love with someone so cheesy, huh? “I’m sure you say that to all the cute boys.”

“Just this one.” Johnny presses a quick kiss to Ten’s temple, grinning all the while; it’s the easiest part of Ten within reach. Ten snorts, hoping that the blush spreading across his cheeks isn’t too obvious.

Johnny doesn’t comment on it. Their thighs press together hip to knee as they get comfortable on Johnny’s narrow bed, arranging themselves in their usual movie-watching positions. It may make Ten’s stomach swoop, but he does love this - the way they fit together, the easy, casual way they touch. Their skinship has only increased this winter, even outside of the kisses Johnny’s been doling out.

Ten likes it far more than he thought he would - far more than he should, maybe. He’s always enjoyed skinship with his friends; that’s not a surprise. But skinship with Yangyang or Jaemin or anyone else doesn’t trigger this response in him. Only Johnny.

Really, it should have been his first clue. That, or the fact that some deep, hidden part of Ten’s subconscious had put the words one thousand kisses in his mouth in the first place.

Ten can’t quite regret it, of course. Not when it has sparked a change in him, between the both of them.

“Was that 150?” Johnny asks, brow wrinkling as he tries to remember.

“I dunno,” Ten answers honestly, shrugging one shoulder. “Aren’t you the one keeping track?”

Johnny chuckles. “Aren’t you the one receiving these kisses?”

Uh, yeah. Which is why Ten hasn’t been able to keep track - who has time for numbers? All he can think about is how Johnny’s lips feel against him, more often than not.

“Call it 150 for now,” Ten huffs, wiggling to get more comfortable - and nudging his cold feet underneath Johnny’s calf. Johnny lets him, of course, though not without a playful nudge. “If you remember the right number you can tell me after the movie. I’m not going anywhere.”

Johnny’s smile softens, and he doesn’t argue. There’s something warm in his dark eyes, and Ten has to look away before he flushes completely pink. “150, then.”

Ten’s heart squeezes in his chest.

They’re getting there, huh. Slowly but surely.

---

Kisses 151 through 170 come in the days that follow - when they end up sharing a van ride back from group practice late into the night, a murmur in the dark; when Ten complains about his wrist being sore from so much texting - stop laughing and making jerk-off motions, Johnny - and Johnny offers to kiss it better, which he does; when they get caught under Yangyang’s mischievous mistletoe not once, but four separate times in the span of a week.

Ten’s pretty sure Yangyang actually catches them kissing the last time, from the sly smirks he keeps getting the next morning.

Whatever. It’s not like Ten is lacking for blackmail material in return, if Yangyang tries to make a thing of it. Ten’s pretty used to getting teased by the rest of WayV about Johnny, anyway. It’s another thing that had started long before this kissing business, actually.

That’s maybe something Ten needs to do a little more thinking about - that, and Mark’s finally dating comment. So far, he’s mostly shoved that revelation to the furthest recesses of his mind.

He’s busy, okay? Dance comes first, then sorting out his feelings about tall, handsome boys.

Anyway - Ten and Johnny have gotten up to 177 kisses by the time they catch a late dinner together halfway through the week, on a Thursday when they wrap their schedules early. It’s a minor miracle - one that Ten is happy to accept, even if early still means so late in the day that the sun has already set.

The darkness doesn’t bother him when Johnny’s at his side, though. Winter will never be Ten’s favorite season, but the cold days and bleak weather aren’t so bad when it’s the two of them, making each other laugh.

This, though - this kind of sucks.

“More rain?” Ten whines, peering out the hazy restaurant door to the streets beyond. “Shouldn’t it be snowing, since it’s December? This is gross.”

“I’d certainly take snow over this,” Johnny hums, leaning over Ten’s head to wipe away the condensation on the window. Not that it helps much; it’s practically raining sideways, in thick sheets that catch in the light from the street lamps and passing cars. Johnny purses his lips, glancing down at his phone again. “Unfortunately the rain has made traffic shitty, too. It’ll take a while for a car to get here, and then even longer to get back.”

Ugh. Ten wants to be home already, wrapped up in a fleece blanket with a mug of hot chocolate. Preferably with a cat in his bed. Or two cats. Or Johnny.

Scratch that last part. Better not to think about it with Johnny literally right here, at his side.

Ten exhales a sigh that fogs up the glass again, idly drawing a wobbly smiley face with the tip of his finger. “How far away from the dorms are we, again?”

Johnny looks up, eyebrows rising up under his beanie. “You seriously wanna walk home in this?”

“I don’t want to, hyung,” Ten rolls his eyes, tapping the side of Johnny’s sneakers with the toe of his own. Gently, of course. “But I also don’t wanna be waiting in this restaurant all night. I just wish we were home already.”

Oops. He hadn’t really meant for the we to slip in there. It’s been all too easy lately for Ten to think of the two of them as an us. Ten and Johnny. A fixed pair; a matched set.

Even more of a matched set than they were a month ago.

Johnny’s lips twitch into a smile. “Me too. Let’s wait a few more minutes, okay? Right now we’d get soaked within seconds.”

Ten wrinkles his nose. Yeah, snow is much better than this utter downpour. “That’s as good a plan as anything, I guess.”

They wait, like Johnny suggested, lingering in the restaurant’s entryway. The tinkle of cutlery and the faint strains of Christmas music wrap around them, layered over the warm scents of clove and cinnamon. It’s nice and toasty right here, with Johnny at his side - both of them leaning into each other as they squint through the fogged-up glass.

Not for the first time, Ten can’t help but think that this feels a lot like a dinner dinner. The kind of romantic dinner that ends with a -

“Oh - look,” Johnny nudges Ten’s shoulder with his own. “I think the rain’s starting to let up a little.”

“Let’s go,” Ten decides, glancing up at Johnny - if he stays one more minute in this dreamy, liminal space, he’s gonna do something he regrets. Like kiss Johnny because he wants to. He sets his mouth in a determined line - which only makes Johnny huff in amusement. “C’mon, hyung! Now’s our chance!”

Johnny grins at his eagerness, grabbing the door handle and clasping Ten’s hand with the other. “Ready?”

It’s just a bit of rain, but with Johnny’s hand in his, Ten feels like he could do anything. Ten nods, tugging the hood of his sweatshirt up over his head for good measure. “Ready.”

Johnny pulls the door open, and they dash out into the rain.

It’s like stepping into a wall of water. Ten blinks rain out of his eyes, laughing despite how miserable it is - because what else can they do but laugh, in a situation like this? It’s only by virtue of his fingers staying tangled with Johnny’s that he can even tell what direction they’re heading.

They jog along the puddle-strewn sidewalk, breathless, feet kicking up huge splashes of water that have their shoes sopping wet in no time. There’s a sort of timelessness to the rain, when all Ten can concentrate on is putting one foot in front of the other. He isn’t sure how far they’ve gone, or how far they have yet to go - but if his shitty sense of direction is right, they should be more than halfway home.

Johnny looks back at Ten, squinting in the half-light from street lamps, and leads him another block before they find an awning to duck under for shelter. They’re both nearly soaked to the bone, panting and wiping the rain from their faces.

“You good to keep going?” Johnny asks; his bangs cling to his forehead, but he’s grinning, too. He squeezes Ten’s hand, warm despite the shivery wind whipping rain in every direction.

Ten shakes water from his jacket - or tries to. It’s fully soaked through, almost to the skin. “Yeah - we’re almost there, right?”

“Not much farther, I think,” Johnny says. He combs his wet hair away from his face - it flops right back over his forehead, so it doesn’t really help, but it does look sexy. Of course Johnny’s still gorgeous, windswept and caught in the rain.

“Good,” Ten sniffs, wiping his nose and mouth with his waterlogged sleeve. Ew. “Yeah, let’s go.”

The dorm really isn’t very far, but it certainly feels like it when it’s hard to see more than six meters in front of them. Ten’s hood keeps flapping back with the force of the wind; he can feel chill rain drip down the back of his neck.

And that’s not to mention the horrible squish of his waterlogged sneakers every time he takes a step.

Thankfully it isn’t much longer before the apartment building comes into view, the soft glow of the lights in the lobby cutting through the rain. Ten smiles, though maybe it’s more of a grimace, clenching Johnny’s hand in his as they slow to a stop underneath the building’s dripping overhang.

Johnny releases Ten’s hand to wipe at his face again, chuckling wryly. It doesn’t do much - when he meets Ten’s gaze, he still looks more or less soaked. “You okay?”

“Uh-huh,” Ten mumbles, clenching and unclenching his hands in hopes of warming up his freezing fingers. Every movement sends out a spray of droplets - from his jacket, from his hair. He’s soaked through, the navy blue of his hoodie appearing black in the dim light. “I regret everything.”

Johnny laughs, still panting from their jog. He shuffles a step closer, carefully pushing Ten’s dripping hair out of his eyes. “Surely not everything.”

Ten meets Johnny’s gaze and licks his lips. Johnny’s cheeks and nose are flushed from the cold; this close, Ten can see Johnny’s eyelashes clumped with the rain, how droplets of water track down Johnny’s face, down under the collar of his jacket.

Despite everything - the weight of his soaked clothes, the chill of the winter wind and rain - heat stirs in Ten’s belly. And from the way Johnny’s pupils have gone dark and blown-wide, it looks like he feels it, too. It’s a sudden spark of tension, one that winds tighter when Johnny’s gentle fingers cup Ten’s cheek, thumb running over Ten’s lower lip. Ten sways forward, tangles his fingers in the wet fabric of Johnny’s coat, right over his heart.

“Not everything,” Ten murmurs with a small, breathless smile. He’s already leaning in, eyes fluttering shut. Leaping with both feet.

Johnny catches him.

Their mouths crash together with an urgency that steals the breath from Ten’s lungs. From the start their lips open for each other, tongues meeting in a slide only made wetter by the rain. Johnny licks into Ten’s mouth, thorough and deep and hot, so hot he can’t feel the cold. A shudder runs down Ten’s spine at the heat of it, at the fervent motion of their lips. It makes Ten’s toes curl in his soaked shoes.

Oh.

It’s never been like this before. This isn’t just a kiss, not even just a kiss with tongue. This is two people colliding, like the fusion of two stars merging into one.

Ten’s dizzy with it, with how Johnny’s hand frames his face and guides them together, a perfect fit. He gasps into the kiss when Johnny sucks on his tongue, another cool hand pressed to the arch of Ten’s lower back to keep them connected. Not that Ten wants to move away - he couldn’t if he tried, with how this kiss makes his knees weak. He doesn’t want to have to break apart for even a moment, not even to breathe.

Kissing Johnny is better than breathing.

So he kisses Johnny back with equal passion, pouring all of his longing and desire into the kiss. He threads a hand between the layers of Johnny’s jacket to press against the warm, flushed skin of Johnny’s neck, fingertips curling at Johnny’s nape. It burns so sweet everywhere they touch, blood-hot. Ten feels addicted to it, to the sensation of Johnny’s body against his own.

Their soaked layers warm with their combined body heat, like a second skin - and it’s good, but not close enough. Johnny moans when Ten flicks his tongue past his teeth, maps every part of Johnny that he can reach. He still tastes like their dessert - cinnamon and chocolate, because Ten couldn’t resist, and Johnny couldn’t say no.

This is better than dessert, too. This is better than any of the kisses that have come before - a raw connection that Ten drinks in every time their lips meet. It’s just the two of them. Ten and Johnny.

They wind around each other, heedless of the weather, of anything outside the bubble they’ve created. Ten wants to drown in it.

But they do have to breathe eventually, and they part with twin gasps - panting damply, open-mouthed. Neither of them move to pull apart. Neither of them says anything.

Johnny presses his lips to Ten’s temple and leaves them there for a long moment.

Something rises in Ten’s chest, alongside the flicker of hope he’s been nurturing for the past few weeks. It sticks in his throat; it’s hard to breathe around the sudden force of it. His heart pounds from running through the rain and kissing Johnny like - like -

Like this is real, not some nebulous, undefined thing they haven’t given name to. They still haven’t talked about it, even though these moments feel so inevitable and right. It chokes at Ten from the inside out, a vice grip that threatens to crush.

He takes an unsteady breath in and pulls away to meet Johnny’s gaze.

Johnny’s looking down at him with something like wonder in his eyes, pupils still big and dark. His lips are puffy and kiss-pink, slick from the rain and Ten’s mouth. He’s so beautiful it makes Ten’s heart clench all over again.

He likes Johnny so much, but Ten’s not sure how much longer he can keep doing this without knowing how Johnny feels, too. Because these kisses - kisses like this - they mean something to Ten. They all mean something to Ten, whether Johnny gives him a wet smack on the cheek just to see him smile or they make out in the rain like lovers who can’t wait until they get home.

Ten opens his mouth to say something, anything - when a sudden pinching tension in his nose has him turning to the side, out of Johnny’s gentle grip, and abruptly sneezing so hard he sees stars.

Fuck. Well. There’s a reason people don’t go running out in the rain, huh.

“Ugh,” Ten winces, wiping his nose with his sleeve. He’s pretty sure he wrecked the moment - and any momentum he had for a confession in the wake of their kiss. “Sorry. That was gross.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Johnny’s eyes are warm, if a little concerned, when Ten looks back up at him through his lashes. His grip shifts to Ten’s shoulders and he rubs up and down in comfort. “Hurry up and get inside, okay? I don’t want you catching a cold.”

Ten sniffs, a little embarrassed. God. He’d been so close to finally saying something, too. “I’ll be okay, hyung.”

“Get dry and make some tea,” Johnny advises. He hesitates for a moment, then loops Ten in, pulling him into his chest and tucking Ten’s face into his neck. Ten takes a deep breath of Johnny’s scent - vanilla, cardamom, something musky, and the fresh scent of winter rain - before they part.

For some reason, Johnny’s face is even pinker than it was when they stopped kissing.

“You too,” Ten says. His tongue feels thick and slow in his mouth; he’s still reeling from their kiss. Kisses. “Get home safe, hyung.”

“I will,” Johnny smiles, one cheek dimpling. When he steps away, he takes his warmth with him - though just the sight of him still fills Ten with heat. It’s not quite the same. “Goodnight, Ten.”

“Goodnight, Johnny,” Ten replies softly, and drinks in one last look at Johnny’s silhouette before he heads inside. Within moments, he starts to shiver.

He can’t tell if that was the best thing they’ve ever done, or the stupidest.

Ten’s shaking when he exits the elevator on his floor, hands wrapped around his own chest, like it’ll keep everything he’s feeling from bursting out like a dam flooded. His heart batters inside the cage of his ribs, aching like a bruise. It feels like if Ten thinks about this too hard, he’ll come apart at the seams.

But how can he not think about the moment that Johnny -

No. Hold it together - at least a little longer.

Now that he’s inside and out of the weather, it’s not quite so bad - at least physically. Every piece of clothing Ten’s wearing sticks like a second skin, but his discomfort is pushed to the back of his mind. Tremors run through Ten’s muscles - at the lingering cold and the aftershocks of what just happened.

He made out with Johnny.

There’s no excusing it as a simple kiss between friends. He knows what Johnny tastes like, how easily his lips part to let Ten inside, the way Johnny’s breath hitches deep in his chest when Ten sucks on his lower lip. He knows, now. And Ten can’t un-know it.

He doesn’t want to un-know it. But knowing what it’s like to make out with Johnny Suh is the best and worst thing to happen to Ten in twenty-five years on this earth.

And yeah - it’s probably not very smart of Ten to let it get this far, to let the tension break in such an explosive way that neither of them can take back. But he was helpless in the heat of it, swept up in the blazing feelings in his chest and the high of spending all evening together, basking in Johnny’s presence.

Ten snorts to himself. Most people would be elated at their first time making out with the person they have feelings for. Ten wishes he could be elated.

If only it was that simple.

Shit. It would be easier if his heart hadn’t gotten tangled up in all this. Maybe then they’d be able to laugh it off - ha ha, remember that one time we made out in the rain, soaked through to our socks? My shoes squeaked with every step, and you still tasted like the espresso we shared with dessert.

Ten unlocks the apartment door with unsteady hands, wiping at his dripping nose. When he bends to untie his shoes, his fingers are clumsy with the cold.

He doesn’t want to laugh this off - doesn’t want to forget those perfect, honey-slow moments where the connection between them was hot and wet and perfect and real.

Ten just wants it to be something real to Johnny, too.

The apartment is quiet - Kun and Yangyang must be upstairs - but that’s for the best. Ten isn’t in the mood to talk, doesn’t have the capacity to explain his wet clothes and swollen lips right now. He just wants to curl up and get warm, nurse his heart back to a place where it thinks it isn’t breaking.

As tired as he is of being soaked, Ten heads straight for the shower. He leaves his sodden, cold clothes in a pile on the bathroom floor and turns the spray as hot as it will go.

It would be even stupider to catch a cold on top of romantic feelings. And Johnny wouldn’t forgive himself if Ten got sick.

The hot water won’t scald away the sensation of Johnny’s lips, Johnny’s touch, Johnny Johnny Johnny - but maybe it will help Ten think. At the least, it’ll warm him up and bring the feeling back into Ten’s feet and fingertips.

That’s a start. Ten’s heart is another matter entirely.

---

For all that Ten is caught in the murky swirl of his own emotions, he sleeps like the dead that night. Maybe it’s his body’s way of telling him that his brain needs to take a break.

Maybe it’s the fact that running through a winter rainstorm is actually kind of a shitty idea.

He wakes up to the pale rays of the morning sun, the sky muted and cloudy. Louis is curled up at the small of his back and Leon lies across his feet, the three of them cocooned in sleepy warmth. It’s the perfect way to wake up on a day he can actually sleep in, and Ten nuzzles into his pillow, content to drift in and out of sleep a little bit longer. Just a few minutes.

Ten doesn’t want to get out of bed. He feels groggy and wrung out from last night - and not even in the fun way. No, he’s nursing the bone-deep exhaustion of an emotional hangover, which just happens to feel like getting run over by a bus. Not that Ten knows what getting hit by a bus feels like.

Heartache - now that he’s much more familiar with.

He finally manages to drag himself out of bed when the cats hear movement in the kitchen and abandon him for the prospect of treats - Yangyang has totally spoiled them. Ten shoves his feet into a pair of worn house slippers and drowns himself in a too-large hoodie, shuffling his way down the hall with bleary eyes.

Kun looks up when Ten shuffles into the kitchen, his mouth set in a thin-lipped smile. He’s pushing eggs around in a pan with expert precision, ingredients for an omelet lined neatly up on the countertop beside him. The gentle strains of lo-fi play through Kun’s phone with a faint strum of guitar and the jingle of bells: Christmas music. Of course. Everyone else in the world is probably feeling pretty festive right about now.

Ten blinks sleepily at Kun. How do morning people do it?

“Good morning, Ten,” Kun says pointedly as Ten remains silent, bypassing the stove to slump into a chair at their kitchen table. He can feel Kun’s eyes on him, quietly assessing. “The kettle’s on, so there will be tea in a minute.”

“Thanks,” Ten yawns into his sweater-paw hand, resisting the urge to pillow his head on his arms and nap at the table. Tea sounds great - and hopefully a boost of caffeine will help him stay awake the rest of the day.

Who knew being in unrequited love with his best friend would be so tiring?

Kun raises an eyebrow. “Let me put it another way. I’m going to make tea, and then you’re going to eat breakfast and tell me what’s going on between you and Johnny.”

That snaps Ten out of his thoughts.

He meets Kun’s firm gaze from across the kitchen: it’s a no-nonsense expression Ten recognizes well. Kun has always had a particular look when he puts on the leader mantle, when he thinks his members need advice. Ten doesn’t find it intimidating, exactly; he knows how to push Kun’s buttons too well for that.

But it does mean that Ten has a feeling about what’s coming. And he knows Kun isn’t going to fold until he’s heard the whole story.

Damnit. For an only child, Kun has really good emotional intuition.

“Okay,” Ten rolls his eyes - hey, he can at least pretend he’s bothered, but really he’s sort of relieved. And a little touched, to know that Kun cares enough and pays enough attention to what’s going on in Ten’s life that he wants to help.

Even if Kun’s version of helping is mother-henning anyone he feels even an ounce of filial responsibility for. Really, tea and eggs?

A comfortable silence settles over them as Kun finishes cooking and Ten stews in his thoughts, drawing lazy, invisible shapes on the table with his pinky. The kettle clicks and Kun fishes mugs out of the cabinet; he arranges their tea just so, remembering exactly how Ten likes it. Almost despite himself, Ten feels hunger stirring his stomach as the rich scent of breakfast fills the air.

He probably should eat something - isn’t that what you’re supposed to do before making emotional decisions?

Kun offers Ten a smile when he sets down the plate of eggs between them with two pairs of chopsticks, the mugs of tea following only a moment later. “Yangyang’s over at the Dream dorm, so it’s just the two of us.”

“Is he now,” Ten says, dragging one of the mugs closer. He wraps his fingers around its sides and leans his face into the steam, basking in the radiant warmth. Chamomile, from the calming smell. Kun’s so fucking good at this. “Did our didi spend the night, or did he get up early just to head over there? I’m not sure which is more unbelievable.”

“What, that Yangyang is capable of getting up early?” Kun grins.

Ten shrugs one shoulder. “Or that Renjun would let him stay. Because Yangyang is a brat - you give him an inch and he’ll take a mile."

"Yangyang is a brat," Kun agrees, taking the seat across from Ten, "and we all like him, anyway - or at least Renjun does. I’ve seen people do stranger things for love."

Kun takes a sip from his own mug in the silence that follows, watching Ten over the rim with pointed focus.

Ten narrows his eyes. "We aren’t talking about Renjun and Yangyang, are we.”

“No,” Kun’s mug clicks as he sets it down. His mouth twists into a wry smile and he tilts his head, considering. “But I want to hear about it from you.”

Why, so you can hear all about how I’ve messed up my best friendship firsthand?

Ten stamps down the thought; his friendship with Johnny isn’t ruined. Not yet, at least - even if Ten feels like his control is slipping through his fingers. And he knows Kun isn’t here, making him tea and eggs, out of malice. No; he’s just concerned, and trying to be a good friend.

And as much as Ten hates to admit it, there are some things that Kun is right about. The value of talking about feelings is one of them.

So Ten takes a deep, steadying breath, counting the seconds before he exhales to calm his nerves. His stomach is twisting and he hasn’t even said much of anything yet. The fact that Kun knows something is up speaks volumes, though. Especially since Ten has been trying to keep this so close to his chest.

“You want to hear about it,” Ten finally says, breaking Kun’s gaze to look down at his tea. “It being what’s going on with me and Johnny.”

“If there’s something that’s bothering you, yes,” Kun answers, fingers idly tracing the shape of his mug. His gaze is steady and knowing; like this, there’s no lying to Kun. “If everything’s fine or you don’t want to tell me, that’s your business. I just thought…”

Kun trails off, and despite himself, Ten is curious. Is there a change in Ten that Kun has seen in the past few weeks? Or has Kun caught them kissing somewhere, like Mark and Donghyuck had?

“I just thought you might want to talk about it,” Kun continues, shooting Ten a small smile. “You and Johnny have always been close, but I get the vibe that something’s changing. Something that’s stressing you out.”

Stress sure is a word for it.

“Am I that obvious?” Ten snorts, taking a swig of his tea. It’s perfectly made, with just the right amount of honey.

Kun cups his cheek with one hand, his grin growing. “You do tend to wear your heart on your sleeve, Ten. But it was pretty clear when Johnny kissed you when he said hi at practice on Tuesday. Last I checked, Korean skinship doesn’t go that far.”

Ten flushes. Fuck. Well, that would do it. “If you’re worried if we were caught anywhere else -”

“No, no - it’s not that at all,” Kun dismisses his concern with a wave. “I trust you to be careful. I just want to make sure you’re okay, Ten. After he left, you didn’t look like someone who was excited to be stealing kisses with their… the person they love.”

Love. The word pierces right through Ten’s ribs and he winces, disarmed. “What did I look like, then?”

Kun reaches across the table and folds his hand over Ten’s, where Ten’s grip has gone white-knuckled over his mug. “Why don’t you start at the beginning?”

The beginning. Ten meets Kun’s kind eyes - Kun’s too nice for his own good - and bites his lower lip. “It’s going to sound stupid.”

“I live with Liu Yangyang and voluntarily spend time with Zhong Chenle,” Kun huffs, taking his hand back. “Try me.”

Well, when Kun puts it like that…

Ten turns, looking out the window as he gathers his thoughts. The sky over Seoul is hazy gray with a layer of clouds, bright despite the looming threat of snow. From here, they can see some of the other nearby apartments and balconies strung with Christmas lights, decorated trees twinkling away in windows. The sight doesn’t fill Ten with the usual joy that it would during this time of year - not with so much weighing on his heart.

“It was supposed to be kind of a joke,” Ten murmurs. “Johnny and I were arguing about - something dumb. I told him he had to make it up to me, and he let me name the price.”

“Sounds like you,” Kun’s tone is fond, if rueful. He lifts his mug to his mouth again. “Sounds like him, too, if I’m being honest.”

Ten smiles wryly. “Yeah, tell me about it. It would’ve been another dumb story of our friendship if I hadn’t asked for - well.”

There’s no way around saying it, but the words get stuck in Ten’s mouth. It sounds ridiculous, when he puts it all in a line like this. Who asks their best friend for a kiss?

Who ups the ante to a thousand?

“Asked for what?” Kun prompts, when Ten trails off and remains quiet for too long. His eyebrows have risen up under his bangs as he watches Ten - watches Ten blush, probably. Ten can feel the heat in his cheeks as he faces down the prospect of telling Kun. “Ten?”

God, he’d gotten away without telling Mark this little detail. He’s too deep to avoid sharing the full truth of it, though.

Ten resist the urge to bury his flaming face in his hands. “I asked for a kiss.”

Kun stares at him. His eyebrows can’t get any higher. “A kiss.”

“I know,” Ten groans, throwing his hands into the air in exasperation, “and then we did that thing we always do, which is egg each other on, and Johnny said just one kiss? So I said no, not just one, I want -”

The words catch in his throat, but Kun waits him out.

“I want one thousand kisses,” Ten says softly, shoulders slumping with defeat. “And maybe it sounds stupid to say now, but I really didn’t know what I was asking for.”

Kun blinks at Ten a moment longer, his cup halfway to his lips. But then he shakes his head, a small smile on his lips as he finishes his tea. “You did always know how to get yourself in trouble.”

“Hey,” Ten complains.

It’s absolutely true, of course. Not that Ten needs to admit it - Kun’s been there to witness plenty of the trouble Ten’s managed to find for himself. Usually Ten’s type of trouble is making dirty jokes that are just subtle enough to make it into their youtube content, or browsing through the depths of stan twitter to traumatize his bandmates.

Well, there was the thing with Taeyong. But that was years ago now, and they work together fine.

Ten’s never done something so stupid - or dangerous - as fall in love with his best friend. Until now, of course. Until one thousand kisses from Johnny.

God, Ten’s so gone for him.

“So then what?” Kun asks, rousing Ten from his spiraling thoughts. “That’s the reason we’ve caught you two kissing, I assume. Working your way towards a thousand.”

“Yeah,” Ten sighs, propping up his chin on one hand, the other still curled possessively around his mug. “It was fine, at first. It was fun - making an excuse to see Johnny as often as possible to squeeze in a kiss or two every day. It meant we actually got to see each other, you know? Even though we’re so busy with all of the album stuff.”

Kun nods. “Makes sense, I think. So what changed?”

What changed? Isn’t that the million dollar question.

Which kiss was the first kiss that felt different? Was it the moment in the snow, at the tail end of the snowball fight? The moment Ten realized that he wanted to kiss Johnny, not just the other way around? Or was it kissing Johnny under the mistletoe here in the dorm - or kissing under the canopy of Christmas lights, where romance bloomed in Ten’s heart because these are things that couples do?

Or was it the hundreds of kisses sprinkled in between?

“I…” Ten trails off, uncertain. In the end, does it matter which kiss changed it all? Falling in love with Johnny hadn’t been like a switch flipped in Ten’s heart; it was an accumulation of tiny moments, like snowflakes. It built slowly over the bedrock of their friendship, kiss layered over kiss, until Ten looked up and found himself heart-deep in snow.

“I don’t know,” Ten finally says, open and honest. How do you pick out one kiss from a blizzard of them? “But over the last few weeks, I… I realized that I didn’t just want to kiss Johnny because of some game we made up. I want it to mean something to him because…”

Because it means something to me. Because I like him too much for this to be just a game.

Because I want to stop counting kisses and kiss whenever we want.

Kun’s eyes are warm when Ten meets them. “I think I get it. You didn’t really expect this to happen, huh?”

Ten feels himself flush again. “Of course not, Kun-ge. I wouldn’t have suggested a thousand kisses if I did.”

“Is being in love with Johnny really so bad?” Kun muses, head tilted in curiosity. “He’s your best friend for a reason.”

Is it? Is being in love with his best friend really that bad? Johnny is easy to fall in love with. Johnny is easy to love. Everyone - even their fans - can sense that. It’s just who Johnny is.

Johnny, who always greets Ten with a smile and knows what to say to pick up his mood. Johnny, who never tires of Ten’s jokes, who just laughs when Ten spills their snacks in bed and texts Ten the weird memes only the two of them get.

Johnny, who kisses him so soft and sweet that it feeds the tender fire of hope in Ten’s chest.

Kun chuckles, but not unkindly; he must be able to see the answer on Ten’s face. “That’s kind of what I thought.”

“It isn’t that simple,” Ten groans, giving in and rubbing the heels of his hands against his eyes. His face feels hot against his fingertips, thoroughly flushed from his thoughts of Johnny, Johnny, Johnny. “The fact that he’s my best friend is the problem. I don’t want to mess things up by - by having feelings he can’t return.”

Across from him, Kun makes a noise that sounds like a snort. Ten looks up, blinking in surprise. “What?”

Kun leans back in his chair, regarding Ten with a lopsided smile. He folds his arms over his chest. “I don’t think there’s any way you could mess up with Johnny. It’s always been the two of you, hasn’t it?”

Ten opens his mouth to rebut Kun’s words - there is absolutely still the possibility that he could mess up his friendship with Johnny - but then he pauses, considering.

Mark said finally together. Kun says it’s always been the two of you.

Johnny said maybe I like having you all to myself.

“You think I have a chance,” Ten says slowly, looking up to meet Kun’s eyes again. That little flicker of hope is flaring to life in his chest again, right alongside his heart. This time, Ten doesn’t let himself blow it out.

“I think you should tell Johnny how you feel,” Kun advises, fixing Ten with the no-nonsense, raised-eyebrow Look he gets when he tries to be older-brotherly. “It isn’t doing anybody good to keep it all bottled up - especially if you haven’t stopped kissing each other.”

As if Ten wasn’t already beet red from this conversation, hearing Kun talk about kissing sure does it.

“And, for what it’s worth,” Kun says, standing and giving Ten a warm smile, “I think telling him is gonna go better than you think.”

Kun reaches out and squeezes Ten’s shoulder as he passes - and weirdly, Ten does feel a little bit better. The oppressive weight of his heart has lightened as he lets himself consider the possibility that… that his feelings might not wreck everything. Even if Johnny doesn’t like him in the same way, they won’t let it stop them from being friends.

Ten said we’re gonna be friends forever, anyway, and Johnny said yes. Whether or not Johnny loves him back, Ten has to trust that it’s true.

Yeah. Yeah - and he’ll work up the courage to say something. Kun’s right; stifling his feelings hurts, and Johnny wouldn’t want him to hide the truth, anyway.

Not that Ten can admit to Kun that he’s right, of course. That’s not the WayV way.

“You’re just an old romantic,” Ten says instead, grinning when Kun glances over his shoulder at him and rolls his eyes. “Emphasis on the old.”

Kun laughs. “Yeah, okay. Keep telling yourself that, Mr. Born 50 Days After Me.”

“57 days, baby. Do the math,” Ten quips, and takes a long, long slurp of his tea.

And this finally feels like familiar ground; being able to joke makes Ten feel more like himself. He smirks behind his mug as Kun sighs, long-suffering, and returns to the stove.

Of course, that’s when the lock on the front door makes a thunk-click, and the door opens in a riot of conversation and noise.

“Perfect timing,” Ten snorts - he can already tell that it’s Hendery and Xiaojun. And Bella, judging from the skittering of claws on hardwood. “They missed my entire tale of dramatic romance.”

“Count yourself lucky,” Kun chuckles dryly, “though that is Johnny’s hoodie you’re wearing, you know.”

Ten looks down at the gray hoodie pooling over his frame. Fuck. No wonder it’s so cozy-baggy and smells so good. Oops. “Don’t say anything to the boys.”

“You can buy my silence by not making any age jokes,” Kun grins. “Also, eat your goddamn eggs.”

Well, Ten doesn’t need to be told twice.

There’s a clatter of discarded shoes and an unclipped leash, followed by a series of shouts and a wet noise that makes Ten roll his eyes. Honestly. There are some things he misses about being Hendery’s roommate, but the bickering between Hendery and Xiaojun isn’t one of them.

Then again, it is free entertainment - entertainment that walks right into their kitchen, Xiaojun pouting and rubbing at his damp cheek and Hendery with a wide, proud grin. Bella follows at their heels, immediately coming over to sniff Ten’s fingers when he reaches down for her.

“Sorry we’re late,” Xiaojun says, pulling out a chair at the table next to Ten. “We took Bella on a quick walk around the neighborhood.”

“It hasn’t started to snow yet, at least,” Hendery adds. Predictably, he’s made a beeline for the stove - and when he sees that Kun hasn’t finished cooking, he turns towards their refrigerator. Ten rolls his eyes. “Though it did take Bella a while to decide where she wanted to pee.”

“Thanks for bringing her over,” Ten says, scratching over her soft ears. She blinks up at him, sitting prettily and wagging her tail against his leg with a comforting thump-thump-thump. “Is it supposed to snow today?”

“Only flurries, I think,” Kun says, turning a burner back on. The igniter clicks until the flame catches, and he shoos Hendery away from the fridge. “Come on, no snacking - you’re here for family breakfast!”

Hendery just laughs, dancing away from the reach of Kun’s brandished spatula. It’s so much like the old times in their cramped, seven-person apartment that Ten can’t help but smile. It’s not all of them together, but it’s good. He didn’t know how much he missed this, with them split between two floors now.

Ten lavishes Bella with attention until she gets bored and wanders over to Kun, nudging at his knee with her cold nose. Xiaojun and Hendery keep up their bickering - as Ten suspected, it had been a mistletoe kiss that caused the commotion in the entryway. Hendery’s never one to shy away from traditions, especially if it means he gets to tease Xiaojun.

There’s definitely something going on there. Kun catches his eye and gives him a secret smile as Xiaojun flusters under Hendery’s attention.

Ah, young love.

It’s kind of cute to watch them banter, actually. And it does remind Ten an awful lot of him and Johnny - thought Johnny indulges Ten as much as he teases him, these days.

Ten lets himself think about it as he watches the drama around him unfolding: Xiaojun weathering Hendery’s teasing with the long-suffering complaints of a middle child, Kun interrupting their argument to put more food on the table, Hendery eating most of the eggs that had originally been for Ten before trying to steal off Xiaojun’s plate, too. The kitchen only gets louder when Winwin wanders downstairs, yawning, wondering where everyone went - and then Yangyang comes home, and it’s pure chaos from there.

It does him good to spend some time surrounded by his friends. Ten can feel the tension seeping out of his shoulders the longer he laughs, kicking Hendery under the table and cuddling up to ever-aloof Winwin to see if he can make him giggle. Whether or not things work out with Johnny, he has people in his life who care about him and want to see him happy.

Ten thinks he’d be happiest with Johnny, but Kun is right. If surviving the chaotic life of an idol in the k-pop business hasn’t broken their friendship, nothing will.

Ten has to believe that’s true.

---

Ten’s conversation with Kun is still on his mind when Johnny comes over to help him decorate for the holiday. With only a few days until Christmas Eve, it’s time to get serious about holiday cheer.

There are already some decorations up in WayV’s downstairs dorm - Yangyang’s mistletoe, notably, and wreaths on each of their bedroom doors, adorned with tiny ornaments and velvet bows. They still haven’t put up their tree yet, though; Kun and Yangyang and Ten got their fill of that when they filmed the tree decorating with the rest of NCT.

Johnny clicks his tongue at the state of their decorations, like hasn’t seen them every time he’s been to WayV’s dorm in the last few weeks. Which is a lot, actually, with how often he and Ten have been spending time together. Johnny shouldn’t be so surprised.

“I can’t believe it’s the week of Christmas and you have so few decorations up yet,” he says, carefully depositing the stuffed plastic bags he’s carrying on the floor to shuck his shoes. The bags jingle faintly, to Ten’s unending amusement.

“Hey, not all of us live with Mark and Taeyong,” Ten rolls his eyes. “Not that we don’t like Christmas - we’ve just been too busy to put stuff up.”

“I hope you’re not underestimating my abilities to decorate, as a lover of Christmas,” Johnny grins, eyebrows raised.

“Of course not,” Ten scoffs, smiling. “That’s why you’re here to help, right?”

“Right,” Johnny laughs, looking up at Ten as he lines up his Birkenstocks on the mat. Kun would swoon, if he saw such polite behavior. Ten swoons a little bit, because despite the fact he’s expecting it, his knees weaken dangerously when Johnny leans up and gives him a hello kiss right on the lips.

Damn. Ten’s never going to get enough of Johnny’s kisses. Not even if - or when - they get to a thousand.

It probably shows on his face, from the way Johnny’s grinning when he pulls away. His cheeks are flushed from the cold outside, and he looks pleased at himself for catching Ten by surprise. Ten can’t stay annoyed, not with such a cute expression on Johnny’s face. In fact - he kind of likes getting caught by surprise.

It helps that Johnny tastes a little bit like winter, too.

Ten licks his lips, unable to stop himself - and heat flares in his belly when Johnny’s eyes immediately flick down to his mouth. “Is it snowing yet?”

“Yeah - it started as I was walking over,” Johnny says, picking up his bags again. The corners of his eyes crease as he smiles. “Good thing we’re staying in tonight and having fun here, huh?”

“I dunno,” Ten shrugs, gesturing for Johnny to follow him down the hall. “I had a lot of fun in the snow with you the day of the snowball fight.”

Johnny hums in agreement from behind him - and when Ten glances back at him, he looks… more flushed, maybe. Warmth floods down Ten’s spine at the sight of the pink across Johnny’s cheeks. “Uh. Me too.”

Right. They’ve never really talked about that kiss - or the one the night in the park, under a thousand lights, or the makeout session where they were soaked through with winter rain. They just… keep kissing.

Ten doesn’t know if it’s a good sign or a bad sign, that Johnny blushes like this - is he thinking what Ten’s thinking? Remembering what it was like, lying together in the snow? Also - their chemistry is undeniable, but that doesn’t mean Johnny feels it as romance. Is it just sexual attraction igniting between them?

Even as an expert in Johnnyisms, Ten doesn’t feel like he can tell for sure. He doesn’t want to read more into it just because he wants Johnny to feel the same.

Anyway, Johnny's here to have a fun night decking WayV’s halls, and that’s exactly what they’re going to do.

“So,” Ten leads them into the living room and spreads his arms wide, glancing around the space. “I thought we could get started in here? I have some lights and stuff for my room, too, depending on how far we get.”

“Sure,” Johnny nods, depositing the supplies on the couch - and as he does, his eyes snag on the tiny, two-foot Christmas tree on their kitchen island. “But please tell me you have a tree besides that one to put up, though. Like, an actual full-sized Christmas tree.”

Ten bites his lower lip to contain his smile. Of course Johnny would notice. “Well, yeah - but it’s stuffed in the back of the closet, and -”

“Then we’re starting there,” Johnny says, putting his hands on his hips. When Ten opens his mouth to argue, Johnny points a finger and gives Ten a gentle poke in the center of his chest, grinning. “No buts, Ten Lee. We’re doing Christmas right around here.”

“Okay, okay,” Ten laughs, swatting at Johnny’s hand without malice. “You can be the one to carry it, then.”

Johnny snags Ten’s flailing arm by the wrist and tugs him close - only to press a kiss to the back of Ten’s hand, followed by another to Ten’s cheek. “Deal.”

It’s loud, and a little wet - but it’s still the soft press of Johnny’s lips against his skin that Ten has come to love. Ten’s sure that Johnny’s trying to make him blush and giggle.

Which he does, because he’s so gone for Johnny it’s embarrassing. Or, at least - Ten would be embarrassed if there was anyone else in the room. With just the two of them, he can roll his eyes at Johnny like he isn’t totally charmed.

Which he is. Ten has no illusions about that.

So they start with the tree, digging through the detritus in the back closet to unearth it and then googling instructions on how to set it up, since apparently someone misplaced the directions after last year. It’s dinnertime by the time they have it upright and assembled, Johnny working on grooming the fake branches and fronds into place - it’s an important job, okay? - while Ten takes the lead on untangling the knotted strands of Christmas lights from another box.

“How do they get so tangled just sitting in storage for eleven months?” Ten mutters to himself, brows furrowed in concentration as he works at the snarled cables. He’s cross-legged on the floor, the veritable Gordian knot of lights in his lap.

“It’s a mystery we’ll never have the answer to,” Johnny says sagely, shooting him a grin. Ten snorts; Johnny could at least help him sometime soon. “Oh, damn.”

Eyebrows raised, Ten looks up from his work. Johnny moves to the window, tugging aside the gauzy curtains to look at the Seoul skyline beyond. “What is it?”

Johnny whistles, low and impressed. “The snow’s, like, really coming down now. The streets and sidewalks are totally covered.”

“Really?” The tangled lights are abandoned on the floor as Ten jumps up, socks skidding on the hardwood as he comes to Johnny’s side. He squints out the window, wiping away the mist when his warm breath fogs the glass.

It is coming down, big flakes that form a curtain of hazy light over the city. The sun has long set, cloaking Seoul in grays and oranges as the falling snow catches the light from street lamps and neon signs. Several stories below, the street is blanketed in white, no footprints or tire-marks marring the pristine surface.

It’s beautiful. Even with the faint strains of the holiday playlist Johnny put on - a must-have for Christmas decorating, naturally - Ten can tell that the world outside has gone muted with the snow. There’s something so special about it, the alien beauty of the world transformed by a layer of soft white.

As chilly and gross as it might be later, Ten loves it like this. Bad weather makes it feel all the more cozy inside, by contrast. Especially in such good company. Maybe they picked a perfect day to do their Christmas decorating after all.

And Ten will take any excuse he can to bundle up in his fuzziest socks and softest sweatshirt. Or make hot chocolate - with Johnny here, that’s practically a given for later in the evening.

“I love how Seoul looks when it snows,” Ten murmurs, unable to look away. Johnny shifts beside him; Ten’s heart thuds in chest when Johnny anchors one hand on his hip, leaning down to hook his chin over Ten’s shoulder as they take in the city below.

“Mmm,” Johnny sighs happily; his breath flutters over the bare skin of Ten’s neck. Ten tries not to shiver. “Even though it’s so cold? I thought you were a summer boy.”

Ten smiles, glad that Johnny can’t see his expression in the window’s reflection. God knows what his face is doing - and hopefully Johnny can’t feel Ten’s hammering pulse. It takes effort not to let himself lean back into Johnny’s chest, as much as Ten wants to. It’s not even quite a hug, and this causal closeness is going to be the death of him.

If the kissing doesn’t kill Ten first, that is.

“It’s beautiful when you can stay inside,” Ten amends; to his own ears, his chuckle sounds a little bit breathless. “With good company, of course.”

Johnny gives his hip one final squeeze and then steps away, taking his warmth with him. He gives Ten a soft smile as he shuffles back to the tree. “Well, I’ll never say no to spending time with you.”

Like Ten’s stomach wasn’t already doing acrobatics.

“Let’s get the tree lit before dinner, at least,” Ten says, moving back to the pile of lights. Hopefully keeping busy will distract him from the fluttering in his belly at Johnny’s every smile. “Then we’ll have earned a break.”

Johnny laughs. “I see how it is. I’m only here for the labor, huh?”

“And because you’re nice and tall, hyung,” Ten grins, settling in with the lights over his lap again. “I’m too short to put up a Christmas tree and all these lights by myself.”

“Ah, but I like you at that height.” Johnny squats to dig through the box of decorations, making a noise of victory when he locates the star for the top of the tree. “Perfect for -“

The sound of a clearing throat interrupts Johnny’s words.

Ten looks up, feeling himself flush at the sight of Yangyang and Kun in the doorway, both of them grinning. They still have their jackets on, flecks of snow melting on their shoulders and in their hair, evidence of the weather outside.

Ten hadn’t even heard them come home, wrapped up as he was in his conversation with Johnny - with all of his attention on Johnny.

Not that that’s unusual, really.

“We brought food,” Kun says, holding up the take-out bags in his hands. He glances between Ten and Johnny - Ten’s rising blush and Johnny’s proximity, only a few feet between them. “I see you’ve made some progress on… decorating.”

“Bet Johnny did most of the work, though,” Yangyang says, flashing a shark-like grin at Ten.

Ten sticks out his tongue. “Rude, baby Yangyang.”

“Ten’s been helping,” Johnny smiles at Ten beatifically, shrugging one shoulder. Behind his back, Yangyang waggles his eyebrows in Ten’s direction suggestively. He’s such a menace. “Though I think we are ready for a break.”

“Perfect,” Kun jerks his head in the direction of the kitchen, heading that way with the food in his arms. “Let’s eat while it’s hot.”

Ten and Johnny abandon their decorating for dinner - containers of noodles and soup, greens dressed in sauce and fresh chicken, hot and crisp. Ten’s stomach growls as the aroma of spice and meat fills the air; he worked up a hunger, apparently. Johnny sits next to him, his thigh pressed in a long, warm line along Ten’s under the table.

Good thing Kun and Yangyang can’t see it - though they both keep glancing Ten’s way, making faces in his direction. Even if it’s supposed to be encouraging, it makes Ten’s cheeks heat almost as much as Johnny’s presence next to him.

Almost, but it’s no contest. Especially when Johnny sneaks a kiss to the top of Ten’s head as he helps Kun clear the table. Yangyang totally catches it, judging from his smug expression.

But Yangyang and Kun retreat to the apartment upstairs after they finish eating, going to hang out with Winwin and Xiaojun and Hendery. It leaves Ten and Johnny to finish decorating just the two of them, which suits Ten just fine. He does have to turn away to hide his grin when he spots Kun steer Yangyang down the hall, flashing Ten one parting smile and a very unsubtle thumbs-up. Romantics, the lot of them.

Ten doesn’t need an audience to know that he acts a little ridiculous around Johnny - and he definitely doesn’t need his members observing their every interaction.

“Lights next?” Johnny asks, slinging an arm around Ten’s shoulders. “I think the tree is ready for it.”

“You sure you don’t need to get home yet?” Ten raises an eyebrow; they’ve been hanging out for hours now.

Johnny shakes his head. “Nah, I’ll wait until the snow lightens up. Besides - we gotta get the tree finished!”

For a fake tree, it does look pretty good - thanks to Johnny’s expert frond-fluffing. Ten can’t wait to see what it looks like fully decorated, with lights and ornaments and all.

They untangle the ball of lights together, fingers brushing as they tug the braided strands. Johnny chatters through it all, telling Ten stories of Christmases in Chicago; they recount what they’ve bought for each of their friends so far on their holiday shopping quests.

With a full belly and warm socks and Johnny at his side, Ten can’t think of a better way to spend a winter evening.

Every once in a while Johnny looks up at him - as they finish unwinding the lights and stretch the length of them across the room and down the hall, as he slowly feeds Ten the long strands to wrap around the tree - and Ten feels heat creep up his neck.

He doesn’t know what Johnny sees, but having his attention sure does fan the flames of hope in Ten’s chest.

“Here,” Johnny finally says, brandishing the plug end of the lights in one hand, eyebrows raised. “Let’s see how they look, shall we?”

“Sure, hyung,” Ten murmurs, half-distracted by the loops of lights in his arms. They’ve only finished lighting half the tree - the bottom half, because Johnny put Ten in charge of this part before he takes over for the higher branches.

But then Johnny wiggles the plug into the nearest outlet, and the strands spark to life. Pinpricks of white light glisten in the tree’s lower branches, twinkling against the lush green.

“Wow,” Johnny says, giving voice to Ten’s thoughts. He stands slowly from his spot on the floor, eyes bright. The coils of lights around their feet are glowing now, too; it’s like being surrounded by a thousand stars.

When Johnny turns towards Ten, those sparkling lights are caught in his dark eyes. Ten couldn’t look away from Johnny if he tried.

Ten doesn’t even want to try.

“It’s beautiful,” Johnny says, eyes locked on Ten’s. Warmth courses through Ten’s veins, aided by the loyal drumbeat of his heart. Thump-thump-thump, a rhythm he’s come to associate with Johnny.

“We’re not even done, yet,” Ten huffs a quiet laugh, tilting his head to the side. He’s not imagining the look in Johnny’s eyes, is he? It’s something tender and dark, an expression Ten has only seen a couple times before.

Johnny sways towards him, one step after another - careful of the tiny glass bulbs underfoot. “Still pretty, though. Reminds me of that tunnel of lights.”

“In the park?” Ten turns towards Johnny, his heart kicking up its tempo; Johnny has come close enough that Ten has to look up to keep eye contact with him. The reflection of the Christmas lights create a galaxy in Johnny’s eyes; is that what he looks like to Johnny, too?

Ten can’t help but notice when Johnny’s throat bobs as he swallows.

“Yeah,” Johnny replies, reaching up to pet Ten’s bangs away from his face, tucking a stray lock of dark hair behind Ten’s ear. “Doesn’t it remind you of that, too?”

It’s like the pull of gravity, to lift his chin and press into Johnny’s touch. Ten licks his lips, fingers flexing on the strands of light when Johnny’s eyes go half-lidded.

“Yes,” Ten breathes - though he really means yes, please. Please kiss me.

Ten knows he shouldn’t want to kiss Johnny - not when they still need to talk about this, not when he doesn’t know how Johnny feels. But the tension between them sparks bright, the air sucked out of the room as they shift towards each other, always in alignment. Johnny mirrors Ten perfectly, like he’s drawn in by the same force. Like he’s drawn in by Ten.

Hope is a roar of fire under Ten’s ribs.

Johnny ducks down just as Ten leans up, and they meet halfway.

Oh, and it’s just as sweet and perfect as it has felt for weeks. Maybe it’s always felt this right to kiss Johnny, and Ten has only come to his senses the more and more they kissed.

Johnny kisses him tenderly, a soft press of plush lips that makes Ten melt. He could go boneless from this; it’s hard enough to remember not to drop the strings of lights in his hands, as focused as he is on the feel of Johnny’s lips against his own.

It’s brief, but dizzying; warmth spreads through Ten’s body all the way to his toes, settling like a hot weight in his gut, and he sighs into the kiss. Johnny hums, as if in reply, and when they part, there’s already a smile on his lips.

His gaze is dark, when Ten’s eyes open again. Dark and - and hot.

“Let’s get this tree finished,” Johnny murmurs, the corner of his mouth tipped up in something like a smirk. It sounds like a promise.

It’s a miracle Ten doesn’t burst into flame on the spot.

Ten blinks back to himself as Johnny takes the strands of light from his jelly-like grip, so that he can finish the top half of the Christmas tree. Every time Ten thinks he might know what’s happening between them, every time he thinks he knows what to expect from Johnny’s kiss, the world tilts on its axis again.

Johnny tilts his world on its axis.

Fuck, but Johnny can kiss. Ten tries to wipe at his lips surreptitiously when Johnny turns towards the tree, whistling along to the soft Christmas music as he becomes absorbed in his task. It feels like Ten’s whole face is tingling, from his lips to the shell of his ear, where Johnny had tucked back his hair.

Ten’s going to be thinking about this - and waiting for whatever might come next - with bated breath for the rest of the night.

He tries to focus on the actual decorating, though, and it mostly works. Together, Ten and Johnny loop the twinkling strands around the top of the tree, nestling the lights into each branch in a lazy upward spiral. Johnny grins down at Ten when he affixes the star to the top and plugs it in, sparkles cast on his face like the flecks from a disco ball.

“Is it straight?” Johnny asks, wiggling the base of the star.

Ten laughs. “Since when does it matter if anything’s straight?”

“You don’t want our tree to be perfect?” Johnny implores, eyebrows rising with the question.

Ten shrugs, like his ears aren’t echoing with the words our tree. Emphasis on the our. “The imperfections add character, Johnny.”

Johnny smiles, a flash of dimple as he turns to the tree again, making one final adjustment before he steps off the kitchen chair they’d dragged over. “Can’t argue with that. Ready for ornaments?”

Oh, yeah - there’s still plenty more to do. Ten glances to the window, to the muted darkness of Seoul beyond. Even with the curtains closed, he can see the vague shapes of snowflakes outside their window, the hazy white of snow collecting on streets and rooftops.

“We could pick it up again another day,” Ten offers, padding over to the window. “You’ll want to get home eventually, hy- oh, shit.”

Johnny’s eyes snap to Ten’s. “Oh shit, what?”

Ten chuckles dryly, turning back to the sight of the city spread out below. “Did you have any schedules tomorrow at SM?”

“Probably, yeah,” Johnny leans over Ten’s shoulder. Ten can’t help but grin at the moment Johnny realizes, when his eyes go big and wide. “Fuck - oh shit is right.”

The streets below aren’t just blanketed in snow; they are covered in it - deep enough that the softened, lumpy shape of cars are indecipherable from the other vague shapes carpeted in white. There aren’t many tracks through the snow - and the few footprints they can see look deep. Like, over a foot deep.

“Yeah, I don’t think stuff tomorrow is gonna happen,” Ten chuckles. He looks over his shoulder at Johnny to find him close - nearly cheek-to-cheek with Ten. “Did you know there was going to be, like, an entire blizzard tonight?”

“Nope,” Johnny pops the p and raises his eyebrows at Ten, grinning. “I’ll take a surprise day off, though. And no schedules means I don’t have to worry about getting home early tonight! We can stay up as late as we want.”

Ten’s stomach flip-flops, and he looks out over the hazy skyline again. Snow is coming down thick, heavy flakes falling from the marbled gray clouds. It isn’t the fine-powdered snow they’ve seen so far this year - it’s real snow.

“I’m not sure you should be trying to go anywhere tonight, Johnny,” Ten murmurs, gesturing outside.

Johnny makes an ambivalent noise in his throat. “My dorm isn’t that far.”

“You want to trudge through two feet of snow at midnight?” Ten snorts.

“Okay, point taken,” Johnny huffs. Finally - it feels like finally - he touches Ten, wrapping an arm around Ten’s shoulders. Ten goes easily when Johnny tucks him against his broad chest, inhaling the scent of Johnny’s detergent and the lingering spice from dinner. He’s so warm, so tactile - and Ten revels in it, keeping his nose tucked next to Johnny’s collarbone longer than he should.

“Just stay the night,” Ten mumbles, eyes-half lidded as he breathes Johnny in. He can feel Johnny’s heartbeat where they’re pressed together, Ten’s chest into Johnny’s side; it drums reliably alongside his own.

“Yeah?” Johnny looks down at him, beaming. “You wouldn’t mind?”

I mind you leaving much more than I mind you staying. Ten can’t say it out loud, but the thought rings through his mind like a bell. Stay forever, regardless of the weather.

“Of course I don’t mind,” he says instead, feeling starry-eyed as he blinks up at Johnny’s wide smile.

What else could he possibly say? Especially after that moment earlier - when Johnny had pressed that kiss to Ten’s mouth with the lingering promise of later.

It’s been a while since Ten and Johnny have spent a night together - a few months, at least. Long gone are the rookie days where they could have sleepovers all the time, by virtue of falling asleep in each other’s beds. It was easier back when they lived together at the rookie dorms, and their managers could round them up in the morning regardless of where they fell asleep. Now, with 127 and WayV split between different apartments and on different schedules, it isn’t the same.

And realistically, they can’t stay up all night like they used to. They aren’t nineteen and twenty, fresh and green and full of energy.

It makes the opportunity of being snowed in together all the more precious.

Maybe Johnny can sense where Ten’s mind has gone because he squeezes Ten a little bit tighter in their half-hug. “Sweet. It’ll be fun - I can’t remember the last time we had such a big blizzard in Seoul that we were snowed in.”

Ten hums, eyes shifting to the snow coming down outside their window. He bites his lip, smiling. “We could still go out in it eventually - just for fun.”

“Oooor,” Johnny drags out the sound, until Ten giggles and nudges him in the ribs with one elbow, “or we could stay in and make hot chocolate and cuddle.”

“You just want to make use of my comfy mattress,” Ten rolls his eyes, though he can feel his face flushing again. Cuddle. Snow is the perfect weather for cuddling.

Johnny laughs, leaning his cheek on the top of Ten’s head. “Hey - there’s a whole song about staying in and being warm by the fire instead of going out in the snowy weather!”

It’s also about lovers who get married by a snowman, if Ten remembers correctly. But he’s not going to nitpick - not when the blizzard is keeping Johnny here with him.

“Tree first,” Ten decides, pulling away from Johnny with no small amount of reluctance. He covers it by making finger-guns in Johnny’s direction. “Then hot chocolate, and then we’ll negotiate cuddling.”

“Let’s do it,” Johnny winks, returning to the wayward boxes of ornaments. With how much they’ve done already, this shouldn’t take long. If it weren’t for the mess they’ve already made, Ten would say screw it and just herd Johnny into his bed.

In the end, it doesn’t take long at all.

For the most part, they’re efficient in their decorating. Ten can’t blame himself for getting distracted when Johnny’s hoodie rides up, which is every time he reaches to put an ornament high on the tree. It’s hard to pull his eyes away from the sight of Johnny’s bare skin and lean muscle, but he does his best.

Ten isn’t expecting to catch Johnny watching him just as often.

More than once, his mouth goes dry at the look in Johnny’s eyes. It makes Ten’s blood heat, a warm weight settling in his gut.

When Ten hangs the last ornament, they step back to take it all in. Johnny fits a large hand on Ten’s lower back as they admire the finished tree. “It looks perfect - we make a good team.”

“Yeah,” Ten sighs, satisfied. He smiles up at Johnny, stomach swooping. “We do.”

That’s when Johnny leans down and murmurs, “I’m good with skipping the hot chocolate if you are.”

Ten swallows, his heart jumping up into his throat. It’s anticipation and nerves and - something he can’t quite put his finger on. “Yeah, I’m - I’m good.”

“Good,” Johnny hums, his palm wide and warm against the small of Ten’s back. He can feel Johnny’s body heat even where they aren’t pressed together, all along his back.

“Good,” Ten echoes, and throws a faint smirk over his shoulder as he steps forward, leading the way to his bedroom.

Ten makes a beeline for his bed, with its pile of fluffy pillows and fuzzy blankets. He is a little worn from how busy they’ve been - but he’s mostly preoccupied by the fizzling heat in his belly, the hammer of his heart in his chest.

The feeling only gets stronger when Johnny sits next to him, touching knee to shoulder in a solid line of warmth.

Johnny smiles at him, eyes glittering and bright even in the low light of Ten’s bedroom. He’s so - beautiful, so beautiful and fun and sweet, and Ten can’t really imagine being here, being anywhere with someone else. Johnny is the only person Tent wants at his side. It’s been a dream come true to spend so much time together this December.

Maybe that makes Ten greedy, but he wants all of Johnny. All of Johnny that he’s allowed to have.

And even if it’s taking a risk, Ten has to ask for more. His heart won’t let him live this through until he knows.

When Johnny tugs, Ten follows. They collapse back onto the mattress next to each other, half-tangled already. Ten giggles when Johnny writhes, uncoordinated, to turn and face Ten; they smile at each other in the comfortable silence, neither of them willing to break it quite yet. The whole apartment is quiet, the soft strains of Christmas carols still playing on the speakers in the living room.

“Hi,” Ten whispers, unable to stop from smiling.

“Hi,” Johnny murmurs back. “Fancy seeing you here.”

Ten chuckles, propping his chin up on one hand, elbow digging into the bed. He lets his eyes go half-lidded as he gazes at Johnny splayed next to him. “Welcome to bed, the best place in the house.”

Johnny grins back. “Oh yeah?”

“I mean, I think so,” Ten says, wiggling to get even more comfortable. They’re laying lengthwise in bed - their heads up against the wall, rather than on Ten’s pillows. He doesn’t have a ton of room, but Ten still tucks his feet up; Johnny’s tall enough that his knees are at the edge of the bed, feet dangling off the end of the mattress.

“I think so, too,” Johnny says sagely - but his expression breaks, because he can’t hold in his smile. “I mean, anywhere where you are is the best, to me.”

Ten makes a soft noise in his throat. “Johnny.”

“Ten.”

Johnny’s hair is mussed from his attempts to get cozy and Ten reaches across the narrow space between them, combs Johnny’s dark bangs away from his face. There’s something in Johnny’s eyes, something Ten can only call fond.

Is it just friendship-affection, or affection-affection?

It feels dangerous to let himself hope, even with Johnny’s eyes locked onto Ten’s like this. Even when Johnny nudges his face into Ten’s hand, leaning into the contact of Ten’s palm on his cheek.

Johnny reaches up to thread his fingers into the short hair at Ten’s nape, cupping his hand around the back of Ten’s neck. He’s so warm everywhere they touch, and here is no different; it makes Ten’s belly go tight with want.

Oh, how he wants.

He’s not sure if it’s the gentle weight of Johnny’s hand or the magnetic tension between them, but before Ten realizes what he’s doing, he’s leaning in. He watches Johnny until he can’t keep his eyes open any longer, until the dark brown of Johnny’s eyes blurs and their noses brush.

It’s like coming home, when Johnny’s lips touch his. Ever since they started kissing, there’s nothing that feels more right than this.

The feeling unspools as Johnny makes a soft noise in the back of his throat, humming into the kiss. Johnny’s other hand splays on the arch of Ten’s hip, hot like a brand. Johnny doesn’t pull - he just keeps Ten fitted close. As if there’s anywhere else Ten wants to be.

Johnny’s lips are plush against Ten’s own; his kisses are gentle but insistent, like he can’t get enough. Ten can’t get enough, reveling in how Johnny matches him perfectly when Ten presses closer, when he tilts his head just so, when he opens his mouth and Johnny does the same within moments. They’ve learned each other, like this - Johnny knows exactly how to get Ten’s blood pumping, how to slot their lips together to make him groan.

And that’s to say nothing of the way Ten gasps into the kiss when Johnny licks into his mouth.

Somehow, there’s still room to get closer; Ten worms forward, until he’s laying on Johnny’s chest. He can feel the rapid thump of Johnny’s heart, beating in time with his own. Johnny’s fingers skim up underneath Ten’s hoodie, dancing along his bare skin and flirting with the waistband of Ten’s sweatpants.

Fuck, it’s so hot.

This is quickly going the same way that the kiss in the rain did - a growing urgency and spiraling tension that has nowhere to go but up. They’re already in bed, for god’s sake, and there’s no bad weather to reduce the heat between them. It’s almost perfect, except -

Except his poor heart seizes, frantic.

It’s exactly what Ten wants, but not - not if Johnny doesn’t feel the same way, if he thinks this is still just part of a game to count kisses and reach a tally. Because it’s so much more than that for Ten, and it has been for so long, and he’s kept this flame in his chest a secret for so many days and so many kisses that it’s going to burn him if he doesn’t -

“Stop,” Ten chokes out against Johnny’s lips, pawing at Johnny’s shoulders to push himself upright and away. “Johnny, I - hold on, I’m -”

Johnny blinks up at him, chest heaving; concern furrows his brow, though his eyes are still blown wide and dark from their kissing. “Ten? What’s - are you okay?”

God, Ten makes Johnny look like this - rumpled and on the way to debauched and turned on, and Johnny is still willing to stop at the drop of a hat.

“I’m…” Ten pants, clumsily getting his knees underneath him so that he can sit up. He covers his face with his hands, feeling the burn of a blush on his skin. The heat is nothing to the tightness in his throat, a sudden lump that he has to force the words around. “I - I can’t do this anymore, Johnny.”

The bed shifts as Johnny leans up on his elbows, his hand falling from Ten’s back - as if he’s uncertain, not sure what he should do, if he can touch.

Ten lets his hands drop into his lap and glances at Johnny through his bangs; Johnny blinks back at him, pink-faced and kiss-mussed and beautiful and sad. His throat works as he swallows. “Can’t - can’t do what?”

“I can’t keep kissing you,” Ten exhales in one breath; he can already feel the hot pinch of pressure between his eyes, the tell-tale lead-up to tears. Fuck, he - fuck. There’s no way this is going to be easy. “I just - I can’t.”

Ten glances away, unable to look Johnny in the eye to gauge his reaction. He watches out of the corner of his eye as Johnny pushes himself the rest of the way up to sitting, leaning back against Ten’s bedroom wall. His shoulders are rounded inward as he hunches into himself.

“Okay,” Johnny says softly, voice hoarse. He turns away from Ten, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I’m sorry if - uh, if I ever made you uncomfortable, or -”

A brief laugh bursts out of Ten’s mouth; it sounds pained, even to his own ears. “No, Johnny, that’s not it. You’re - you’ve been…”

Johnny turns back to him, eyes wide as he waits. He looks nearly as upset as Ten feels, mouth pressed in a thin, unhappy line.

“Perfect,” Ten sighs, looking down to his hands in his lap. He can feel the weight of Johnny’s gaze on him, and it only makes the pressure in his chest tighten. “You’ve been perfect, Johnny.”

There’s a tense beat of silence between them, and then a soft rustle as one big hand comes into Ten’s view. Johnny lays his palm across Ten’s hands, stilling the anxious movements of his fingers and squeezing - carefully, gently, a comfort.

Ten turns his hands and clutches at Johnny like a lifeline. It feels like he’s holding on to any small piece of Johnny that he can, in case - in case this really does break their friendship. Ten squeezes Johnny’s hand like it will strengthen the connection between them, regardless of what’s to come.

Johnny squeezes back.

“I don’t understand,” Johnny murmurs, and then clears his throat. “Ten, I -”

“I fell in love with you,” Ten whispers. He loosens his grip, letting their entwined hands go slack. That tension is gathering in his sinuses again, and he chokes it back as best he can. “I don’t - I don’t know if I’ve always been in love with you, or if kissing you and doing things together that felt romantic have just - just made me start to feel something more.”

Ten can’t help it; he looks up at Johnny, then, as he feels his heart cracking with the admission. Johnny’s mouth parts softly, his eyes wide with surprise, and Ten can’t stop himself. He has to get it all out while he can, before his heart cleaves fully in two.

So he barrels onward, past the tightness in his throat, regardless of how his voice has gone wobbly. “But we can’t keep kissing when it doesn’t mean the same to you, if it’s just for counting to one thousand. I know it was my idea, but -”

“Ten,” Johnny interrupts gently, “Ten, hey, it’s okay.”

Ten doesn’t even realize he’s started crying until Johnny thumbs a hot tear off his cheek, and then he crumples, eyes squeezed shut, into Johnny’s waiting arms.

In some ways, Johnny’s tenderness is worse than an outright rejection. But this is still Ten’s best friend, his big frame surrounding Ten and sheltering him from the world. He’s here, here for Ten even when the pain is coming from Ten’s heart rather than something Johnny can protect him from.

That’s a pretty piece of irony.

Johnny’s murmuring, warm and sweet into Ten’s hair as Ten tries to breathe, trembling as his tears leak onto Johnny’s sweatshirt. He can feel Johnny’s heartbeat under his cheek, reliable and strong; when he speaks, Ten can feel Johnny’s voice rumbling under his skin. “It’s all right, Ten - I promise. It’s okay.”

Ten hiccups a half-sob, half-laugh. “Johnny, please. How is it okay?”

Johnny’s arms squeeze around him, once, before he unwinds them - just enough for them to look at each other. Well, it would be, if Ten could meet Johnny’s gaze. He keeps his head ducked, nose pressed into the collar of Johnny’s hoodie, where it smells the most like him.

Ugh. Ten’s probably getting it covered in snot as well as tears.

“Ten - please look at me,” Johnny whispers, and Ten finally lifts his head when Johnny gently cups his chin. He doesn’t know what Johnny sees, but it can’t be pretty - Ten knows his eyes must be red-rimmed and puffy, the damp tracks of tears smudged on his cheeks, hair disheveled from being buried in Johnny’s arms.

And Johnny is - there’s a soft pain in his brown eyes, brow knitted as he wipes Ten’s cheek again with his thumb. “You really think we could kiss like that and I wouldn’t fall in love with you, too?”

Ten’s breath catches in his chest.

He blinks at Johnny once, twice, but no more tears threaten to fall. Ten’s ears are ringing. “You - what?”

A small smile works its way onto Johnny’s face, his cheek dimpling with it in the way that Ten loves. “Ten Lee, you are the most kissable person I have ever met - but I wouldn’t kiss you if I didn’t want to.”

Ten stares. His tongue feels thick and clumsy in his mouth. “Even - even from the start?”

“Well, at the start it was just kissing my best friend,” Johnny shrugs, still smiling, “and why wouldn’t I want to shower my best friend with affection? He deserves it.”

Ten flushes, relaxing his grip on the front of Johnny’s hoodie. The embers in his chest had guttered through his confession, but they blaze to life again at Johnny’s words, at the earnest light in Johnny’s eyes. “And then you fell in love with me, too?”

“Of course I did,” Johnny murmurs, petting damp strands of hair away from Ten’s face. His smile has gone undeniably fond. “I couldn’t not fall in love with you, Ten.”

Ten sniffles, wiping inelegantly at his dripping nose. Johnny loves him? How did Ten not - but -

“But when?” he blurts.

“Oh, I mean…” Johnny wrinkles his nose, glancing up like he’s trying to remember - but Ten can see through his joking act. “I dunno, somewhere around kiss number ninety? But it probably started way earlier than that. I just like kissing you, y’know?”

Ten does know. Because he just likes kissing Johnny, too.

“Call it at kiss ninety-nine,” Johnny decides, and before he even thinks about it, Ten’s swatting at Johnny’s shoulder, giggling as Johnny laughs at his own joke.

“Kiss ninety-nine,” Ten repeats, rolling his eyes. “That was - I don’t even remember when that was. It was probably one of your silly good morning kisses at dance practice or something.”

“Exactly.” Johnny’s eyes sparkle with mirth - though it makes Ten’s stomach trip over itself to see Johnny’s cheeks warming with a blush, too. “Don’t get me wrong - some of those kisses were downright romantic, dude. But falling in love is…”

Johnny trails off as his fingers trace Ten’s cheek, delicate and reverent.

He beams at Ten, eyes creased. “Falling in love is in the little everyday kisses as much as the big ones.”

Fuck - and that’s exactly it, isn’t it. That’s exactly how Ten fell for Johnny, too.

They really are a match made for each other.

“I can’t believe you,” Ten sniffs, dabbing at his face with the cuff of his sweatshirt. He can feel the tears receding - the ache in his chest is quickly filling with something warm and buoyant and bright. It helps that Johnny keeps looking at him with so much love - like Ten’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen, precious and worth protecting.

Johnny raises his eyebrows. “Me? What about me?’

“Us,” Ten amends, just as Johnny catches his hand and knits their fingers together. Ten sways toward Johnny - like he’s always been moving toward Johnny, lately. “Falling in love by kissing so much, and then not saying anything.”

Johnny makes a thoughtful noise in the back of his throat, head tipped to the side. It makes his bangs flop into his face, which Ten doesn’t hesitate to brush aside. And Johnny doesn’t stop him - he leans into the touch, just like before.

Huh. Maybe there were some pieces of the puzzle that Ten didn’t pick up on.

Then again, his friendship with Johnny has always been special. How was he supposed to know the line between friendship and love was blurring between them from both directions?

“Well…” Johnny starts, tipping his cheek to nuzzle into Ten’s palm, “It wasn’t supposed to be about feelings. Kissing you feels… not just good, but perfect. But I didn’t know if it was still just a game to you - to count up the kisses - or if you were feeling it, too.”

“I feel it,” Ten whispers. God - after all this time, after all these kisses, his face still heats when Johnny presses his lips to the center of Ten’s hand. Neither of them look away as Johnny gives Ten kiss after kiss, right there in his open palm. “I’ve felt it for a while.”

“Good,” Johnny smiles at him, and Ten’s stomach twists pleasantly when Johnny puts that smile to Ten’s skin.

Ten has a feeling that Johnny’s never going to get tired of making him blush with his kisses. For his part, Ten doesn’t think he’ll ever get tired of Johnny kissing him, either.

Heat trickles down Ten’s spin as Johnny circles his big fingers around Ten’s wrist. He reels Ten closer with a soft tug - and starts kissing a line down Ten’s pulse-point, down his forearm to the pointed edges of Ten’s tattoo.

Oh, this is - Ten hadn’t even thought about this.

“I wasn’t lying when I said you’re the most kissable person in the world,” Johnny murmurs into Ten’s skin. When he glances up at Ten again, his eyes have that tell-tale glimmer - the mischievous glint Ten recognizes from years of knowing Johnny. It’s taken on a new meaning, lately.

“Speak for yourself,” Ten chuckles, a little thready and high; he can’t stop the soft whine he makes when Johnny kisses, open-mouthed, at the center of his tattoo. “I feel like I’m addicted to your lips.”

“Yeah?” Johnny grins, releasing his grip on Ten’s wrist so he can loops his arms around Ten again, pulling them back together, chest to chest. “You know, you don’t have to ask.”

Ten tips his chin up to meet Johnny’s eyes. “Oh really?”

“Mmhmm,” Johnny hums - and when Ten winds his arms around Johnny’s neck, he feels as well as hears the hitch in Johnny’s breath. “As it happens, I’ve got a lot of kisses to spare.”

And this, after everything, is sweetly familiar: closing the gap between them, leaning in towards each other until there’s no room to do anything but breathe, their lips brushing with every spoken word.

Ten licks his lips, one corner of his mouth quirked in a smile. “For me?”

Johnny’s eyes go half-lidded and he smiles, sounding fond and in love when he says, “Only ever for you, Ten.”

Ten knows he’s smiling back when Johnny fits their lips together.

It’s more than perfect.

They kiss sweet and slow - something gentle and languid, like they’re exploring each other for the first time. Ten knows that isn’t true - he’s extremely familiar with Johnny’s mouth in ways that make his skin tingle at the thought - but the knowledge of their shared feelings makes it feel new.

New, or just more - more sensual, more thorough, more real.

There’s a shared intimacy that was missing before - or if not missing, undefined. Now, with their feelings out in the open, Ten doesn’t mind sighing into the kiss, relaxing into the circle of Johnny’s arms and unabashedly trying to squirm as close as he can get.

It still doesn’t feel like he can get close enough, but maybe that’s just part of what being in love is.

Ten licks into Johnny’s mouth and swallows the soft noise he makes, relishing every brush of their noses together and the rasp of Johnny’s faint stubble against his chin. The clutch of broad hands around his waist, the tickle of dark hair against his cheek - it reminds Ten who he’s kissing.

And he never wants to kiss anyone else.

They have to part for air eventually, and the wet noise of their lips makes a hot weight settle in Ten’s gut. But this is a good one - desire flaring to life inside of him, alongside the bonfire of his heart.

Johnny presses their foreheads together, much like he did on that one night not long ago. From so close, his grin is mostly a blur. “Go on a date with me.”

“Just a date?” Ten grins.

“A hundred dates,” Johnny says, eyes widening. “A thousand dates.”

Ten flushes happily under the attention. “Johnny, oh my god. You know that would be even harder than a thousand kisses.”

“Be my boyfriend, then,” Johnny amends with a smile. “That’s my counter-offer.”

Ten laughs, giving Johnny’s nape a gentle squeeze. “We really did things backwards, didn’t we?”

“Is that a yes?” Johnny waggles his eyebrows, his lower lip caught between his teeth, and Ten can only giggle again.

“Of course it’s a yes,” he says, interrupting himself only to sniffle again. Ten’s cheeks are dry but tacky with tears; his eyelashes still feel damp. “Ugh, sorry for - this. I’m sure it really killed the mood.”

Johnny shakes his head, kissing Ten’s cheeks, peppering him with kisses. “You didn’t kill the mood, baby. I just wish I had said something sooner.”

“We’re both guilty of that,” Ten huffs, shifting his weight so he’s more fully sitting in Johnny’s lap. The distance between them means they can grin at each other again - Ten doubts he’ll be doing anything but smiling all night, all week, all month. He’ll be smiling into the next calendar year because Johnny loves him back, and that’s worth grinning like a fool.

Ten plays with the hair at Johnny’s nape, tilting his head to the side as an idea forms in his head. “But if you want to make it up to me…”

“Nuh-uh,” Johnny laughs, a sound Ten can feel where they’re pressed together. “No way. I already fell in love with you once. What more do you want from me?”

“Well…” Ten hums. There has been something he’s thought about, since they’ve been doing so many romantic things this December, anyway. Even if it wasn’t intentional at the time, Ten’s Christmassy feelings have gotten tangled with his romantic feelings.

And now that he and Johnny are here, wrapped around each other, maybe his wish can actually come true.

Ten licks his lips. “How about...we spend Christmas together?”

Johnny’s smile is incandescent, creasing the corners of his eyes. “Done. I was going to ask you the same thing.”

“Really?” Ten grins, trying not to get distracted by Johnny’s hands gently petting up and down his sides. “It feels like kind of a big deal - to spend Christmas together as a couple. It’s only a few days away, and we’ve only just, um. Figured ourselves out. Is that weird?”

“Not when it’s us.” Johnny counters, and oh. When he puts it like that, Ten’s heart trips over itself in an attempt to burst out of his chest, too full of love. “But as for tonight…”

Ten raises his eyebrows, taking in Johnny’s pink cheeks and mischievous expression. “What about tonight?”

Johnny shrugs, playing coy. “Well, we are snowed in together. And since we’ve no place to go...”

If Ten remembers correctly, not all of those lyrics have to do with kissing. But he’s not gonna correct Johnny when it’s true: they’re snowed in together. And they’ve already agreed that Johnny is going to spend the night. Here, in Ten’s bed.

Mmm. That does sound pretty perfect.

So Ten smiles, drapes more of his weight against Johnny’s chest as he flutters his eyelashes. “Oh, I see. You’ve got ideas, Mr. Suh.”

“What can I say?” Johnny cracks a grin. “I’ve got all these kisses stored up, you see. May as well use ‘em - and I do wanna cover you with kisses.”

“Yeah?” Ten says - but before he can get any further, Johnny shifts underneath him and flips their positions. Ten grunts softly when his back hits the mattress, but only from surprise; Johnny’s arms cradle the back of his head, keeping him from landing too hard.

Oh, yes. This view of Johnny is even better, with Johnny’s warm weight settled between Ten’s thighs. Maybe he should have expected that he’d like this: looking up at Johnny’s smiling face, Johnny’s arms caging him in, keeping him safe. They’re slotted together, like puzzle pieces.

Ten’s hoodie has ridden up, revealing the bare skin of his belly to the cold, but he can barely feel it with the heat singing through his veins. Because Johnny’s beaming down at him with that glimmer in his eye, so much love and happiness that it’s effortless to smile back.

That’s how it’s always been with the two of them. Ten’s glad that won’t change, now that their friendship has transformed into romance.

“How far do you think we actually got?” Ten asks, reaching up to cup Johnny’s cheek. He traces Johnny’s full lower lip with his thumb, breath catching when Johnny presses a kiss to the pad of his finger. “With the kisses - two hundred? Less?”

“I dunno,” Johnny replies, grinning against Ten’s thumb. “I kinda stopped counting after a while.”

“We could start over at one again,” Ten offers, trying - and failing - to rein in a smile. “Have a new first kiss.”

Johnny’s already leaning in, hands planted on either side of Ten’s shoulders as he dips lower, closer - closer still. His breath fans over Ten’s face, his body settling on top of Ten’s with delicious heat.

Yeah. Ten could get used to more of this.

“I think if either of us can count as we kiss, we’re doing it wrong,” Johnny murmurs, eyes going half-lidded and warm and dark. Ten’s stomach swoops and he pulls Johnny closer - because he can. Because this is his.

Ten smiles against the plush curves of Johnny’s lips as they lean in, meeting Johnny halfway. “So show me what you got, John.”

“Gladly,” Johnny whispers, and Ten closes his eyes as Johnny kisses him, and kisses him, and kisses him.

And Johnny’s right - even if Ten had been trying, he would’ve quickly lost count.