*Two Years Later*

It had been so long since Ten was in Korea. As he stepped of the plane, he took in a breath of the air he had been once accustomed to. Ten had spent the past two years in the Thai military, having enlisted after his relationship came to a sharp end. Some may say he overacted, but Ten couldn’t stand to be in a room with the two without remembering what they had, and what they could have been. He had thought long and hard about his decision, and with the help of Johnny and Lucas, he finally built up the courage. Although he did not have to take part in the draft, Ten volunteered since it gave him the opportunity to be apart from his ex-lovers, dramatic he knows, but can’t bring himself to care.

After getting his luggage, he saw Johnny and Lucas waiting for him with their manager. He flashed them a bright smile, making his way over, where he was then surprisingly enveloped in a hug by manager hyung. Their manager would never admit aloud, but he had really missed the Thai male. Actions speak louder than words, and Ten was able to feel the emotion behind the embrace. Johnny and Lucas joined the hug with excited “welcome home” and “I missed you”. Both were devastated when Ten decided to leave, but they couldn’t watch his depression from afar whilst being helpless; that’s why they let him go with assurance that it was okay. Now he was back, they were determined to do a better job at protecting him.

On the way back to the dorm, the boys were filling Ten in on all that he had missed. So much, yet so little, had changed. Ten tried his best to take in all the information being thrown at him feeling overwhelmed, but he was content and happy to be back. With everything that was being said, he noticed that John and Lucas were tentatively avoiding the subject of Taeyong and Jaehyun. He waited for them to finish before he called them out, “So how’s Taeyong and Jaehyun?” Even the manager let out a quiet wince.

“They’re fine…” Lucas responded.

“Just fine?”

“Yeah. Why do you ask?” Johnny questioned.

“Well it seemed you had much to say about the other members, I just figured you would for them as well.”

Johnny flinched, “Well they’re fine. They just… miss you.”

“Miss me?” Ten’s brows frowned in confusion. He had left without as much as a goodbye, slipping his break up letters under the door of their bedrooms while they were out promoting ‘Touch’. Since then, he did his best to avoid them, only being in the same room when it was absolutely necessary, and even then he made sure to be on the opposite side of the room. The atmosphere had been so uncomfortable and awkward; Ten didn’t want to be in that kind of situation again. Hearing that they missed him, made him confused but also a little happy. He can’t say he didn’t miss them as well, in fact they were all he thought about in his years away, despite the purpose of him leaving being to forget him. Before either could respond, their manager had pulled up at the dorms. The dorm was dark when they opened they opened the door. As Ten stepped inside, the light suddenly switched on and the members jumped out screaming surprise. He was shocked to say the least, but a warm feeling filled his heart. Tears of joy welled up in his eyes as the members smothered him in hugs and heartfelt “‘welcome home”.

Two people watched silently from the corner, hesitant on whether they should approach Ten. For the moment Ten hadn’t noticed either, and they were slightly relieved. Jaehyun and Taeyong, though they stayed together, hadn’t felt whole ever since Ten had left. Both were distraught when they heard Ten had left for the military, only hearing when it was too late to stop him. After Ten broke up with them, they had spent the rest of promotions with painful smiles painted on their faces, having to pretend everything was okay. They wanted to be the ones to greet Ten at the airport when they found out of his arrival, especially Taeyong since he felt that it was primarily his fault Ten left, but Johnny warned that it might not be a good idea. Jae and Tae felt a pang of jealousy over John’s protectiveness, but they understand the situation. If it was the other way around, they would have kept Ten away from them too. Now that Ten was back, they were going do everything they could to woo him back. They just had to get him alone first.

When Jaehyun and Taeyong came out of their thoughts, they were met with the scene of Mark latching onto Ten. No one truly understood how much the younger missed his hyung, but they supposed that was a feeling reserved for Ten and Mark. While hugging Mark, Ten caught eyes with the two behind. There were many emotions swimming behind all three’s eyes and Ten was the first to break contact.

Clearing his throat, Taeyong welcomed him first, “Welcome home, it’s good to have you back.”

“Thanks, it’s great to be back,” Ten squeezed Mark as the boy clutched on tighter as if his hyung would disappear into thin air.

“We missed you… all of us,” Jaehyun added.

“I-I missed you guys too… all of you.” There was a hidden meaning behind their words that just couldn’t be ignored, no matter how much Ten tried to. Lucas’ voice interrupted Taeyong’s as he opened his mouth to speak, “Come on guys, let’s celebrate the star of the show before he gets too tired.” Everyone cheered in agreement, and just like that the intimate moment was broken.

The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and enjoying Ten’s presence. He shared stories about his time in the military, and they all told tales of events that happened during his time away. Taeyong and Jaehyun remained silent for the rest of the evening, only watching Ten’s expressions as he listened attentively to story. Their big family was complete and they would make sure nothing tore them apart again.