Unexpected love

Ten really had no idea where he was going to go when he left his father's house. There were any number of people that he -knew-, but none that he considered friends. In the end, it was the luck of a detour that led him to the street that Johnny lived on. He slowed his car, and glanced at the buildings till he saw the one he remembered, and then he circled the block for a parking spot.

He pulled next to the curb half a block around the corner from Johnny's, got out, locked the door, and shut it, and then he made his way slowly around to the front of the apartment building.

His car keys, and the two that Johnny had given him that morning, weighed heavily in his hand as he debated silently outside the entrance door. He hadn't really considered returning, ever, and now that he was there, he didn't know if he should accept the offer that had been so graciously given to him.

At about that time, he remembered that he was wearing Johnny's coat, and that he had to return the items he'd borrowed, if nothing else. He could always return the keys at the same time, he told himself. Somehow, he knew that he wouldn't do that, though. It just felt so very nice to have them in his possession.

As he'd been told, the bronze key went to the street-entrance door, letting him into the warm lobby. A security guard gave him a look from the front desk, but didn't stop him as he made his way to the elevator. He pressed the button for the fourteenth floor and then watched as the door enclosed him into the small space.

The silent ride up had him fidgeting, and he almost pushed the floor for the lobby when he arrived. He steeled himself and stepped into the hallway, sorting through the keys until he found the correct silver one.

He remembered it as the fourth door on the right from the elevator, and he went to that one. The key worked, and he pushed open the door. The apartment was shadowed; the curtains were drawn and there were no lights on, giving it a gloomy appearance.

He closed the door behind him, silently cursing himself for an idiot as he locked the second bolt. A deep breath and several moments later, he had put his bag beside the door, kicked off his shoes, and hung Johnny's coat by the door. In stockinged feet, he slowly walked through the apartment, stopping in surprise when he entered the main bedroom and saw Johnny sleeping on the bed.

It was admittedly unexpected. Of course, given that it was a Sunday, it probably would have been more surprising if Johnny hadn't been in the apartment somewhere. Outside of social functions like the ones his father held or attended, Ten could not imagine having a reason to leave during the middle of the afternoon if a person didn't have to work.

The other man was sprawled haphazardly, bare legs sticking out from beneath tangled sheets, one arm hanging off the bed in Ten's direction. It was the most gorgeously tempting sight he'd ever come across, and he smiled.

With more daring that he'd ever given himself credit for, he started walking forwards, undoing the buttons on his shirt. He was stripped to his pants by the time he reached the bed, and it was only a quick matter of shucking out of them and peeling his socks off. In his underwear, he slowly knelt on the foot of the bed, and then crawled up slowly until he was laying just to the side of the middle, on the opposite side from Johnny.

He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply and trying to still his rapidly beating heart. He was just cursing himself for being a fool when strong arms suddenly curled around him and he found himself pressed against Johnny's hard body.

"Hello, again" Johnny's voice rumbled, a burr of sleep making it seem deeper, huskier, and far more sensual. He rubbed his head against the top of Ten's head. "Missed you" he murmured.

Ten laughed softly, returning the embrace and burrowing against Johnny's chest. "Hi" he whispered happily.

"Hello yourself, precious."

"You left the other bolt unlocked" Ten noted. "Did you know I was coming back?"

"That, and it's still daylight" Johnny said teasingly. His toes, when he stretched his leg, just tickled Ten's ankle, attesting to their no similarities in height and the uneven way they were laying together.

"Smart man" Ten replied, pressing a light kiss against Johnny's chest.

Johnny froze, pleasantly surprised by the amorous move. He grinned in the dark, but had a feeling that making a fuss out of it, or drawing attention to it in any way, would probably mean a quick withdrawal. "Night, Ten."

"Night, Mary-Ellen."

There was a shocked pause, and then Johnny's chest rumbled with laughter. "Night, Jim-Bob."

"Night Elizabeth," Ten returned quickly, laughing.

"I give. I can't remember anyone else," Johnny admitted, laughing out loud.

"Good, I can't either," Ten confessed in return, snuggling closer. "G'night, Johnny."

^*^*^*^*^

Johnny hummed softly as he scrambled eggs in a pan over the stove. Someone had told him once that cooking with a fork or metal spoon would scratch his pans, but he hadn't listened at the time, and he'd never learned from having to scrap food out of pans that had once been non-stick.

Once the eggs were no longer runny, but not yet browned, he scooped them onto a plate. Sausage from a second pan followed, a little over done, if nearly black could be called 'nearly' anything but charred. He set the plate of food on a tray, and then pulled a glass from the cupboard. He filled it with milk, and then realized that he didn't know if Ten drank milk. The same thing went for the orange juice and the grape juice he had bought that morning after Ten had left.

To compromise, because he didn't want to wake Ten up just to ask his preferences, he poured a glass of each juice, one of milk, and one of water, and set them all on his tray. A small vase with a rose followed, and then he was lifting the whole thing up and sweeping off to the bedroom.

The tray fit awkwardly on the nightstand, after he pushed the clock all the way back, and then he turned to the task of waking Ten up. It promised to be a very pleasant experience, and he grinned as he leaned over the bed. There were so many choices, so many different ways to approach waking up a sleeping lover, and Johnny took only a moment to decide his tactic.

He started with a light kiss to a bared shoulder, just a gentle brushing of lips against skin. Another one followed, this one higher up, closer to Ten's neck and with a little more pressure. The third was a full kiss, pressed against the sleeping man's jaw. The fourth kiss landed squarely on sleep-parted lips and lasted several seconds while Johnny relished taste and touch, and a slow returning of his ministrations. When he pulled away, Ten's eyes were slit open and watching him.

"Morning, love. Breakfast is ready" he said warmly, smiling. Ten's eyes drifted close, and a small smile curved his lips as he stretched. Johnny happily sat back and watched the movement, enjoying the show very much. "If you can sit up, I'll lift the tray over your lap."

Ten offered him a sleepy grin and moved to sit back against the pillow he had been sleeping on moments before. As promised, the tray was positioned over his legs and set up on the short metal legs that kept it from being balanced on his legs. "Thank you, Johnny" he whispered, noting the flower and mini vase in one corner, and the burnt sausage in the center.

As far as he was concerned, it was perfect.

Notes