Four

AN:

I am SO sorry for the wait but my schedule was so packed that I didn't have the time to write :(

Fun Fact: my grandma has a turkish van cat (Sicheng's breed) in Turkey and everytime I visit her, she bites me :((

***

***

“Thank you for coming. See you soon!” Johnny smiled and waved as he closed the door behind his guests. A deep sigh left his lips and a deep frown made its way on his face. Don’t get him wrong, Johnny was relieved that his friends liked – even loved – Ten but he couldn’t understand how and why the hybrid opened up to Taeyong so quickly. He still refused to look at Johnny but for some unknown reasons, he could cuddle with Taeyong.

“I’m hungry!” Johnny snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his son’s loud whine. A small smile crept on his face as he made his way into the living room. As soon as he entered the room, he knew that something was off. Mark pouted deeply and ran to his dad when he saw him.

“Up.” His chubby tummy came to sight when he lifted his arms and Johnny frowned as Mark buried his face in his neck. He patted the boy’s back and glanced at Ten but the hybrid seemed to be confused as well.

“Mark, what’s wrong?” The boy shrugged lightly and snuggled deeper into his father’s embrace. “You don’t wanna tell me?” Carefully, Johnny sat down and waited until his son’s hold loosened.

“Nana said that Ten hyung will live with them and not with us. He- he said that Ten hyung liked him and Jeno more and that he likes Taeyongie hyung and not you.” His big eyes filled themselves with tears which threatened to fall. Johnny hated to see his son sad, so, he opened his mouth to disagree but he closed it before a word was said. Jaemin was kind of right. Johnny didn’t know whether Ten liked the hybrids better but he was sure that the hybrid preferred his pink haired friend.

“I-I don’t like Jaemin and Jeno as much as I like you.” Ten’s quiet voice brought Johnny back to there and then. Surprised, he eyed the cat and noticed that his little hands shook a bit. Mark rubbed his eyes with his tiny fists and snuffled loudly.

“Really?” Ten nodded hurriedly and tried to smile as friendly as he could. Yes, Jeno and Jaemin were adorable and even Taeyong was very nice but Ten liked Mark more. He didn’t know why but seeing the little boy cry, broke his heart.

“You’ll live with us then?” Mark left his father’s lap and crawled into Ten’s. His big eyes were gleaming hopefully as he clutched the hybrid’s tail in his small hands. Ten hesitated, avoiding any eye contact since he knew that he would be a goner as soon as their eyes would meet. Little did he know that he would be delighted to stay with Mark but he still couldn’t trust humans. Johnny treated him really nicely but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t change in the future. His heart beat picked up as he frantically searched for an appropriate answer. He wanted to stay but he couldn’t.

“Hyung? You’ll stay, right?” Mark asked again, his head adorably tilted. Ten gathered his courage, took a big breath and looked at Johnny. It took him some seconds but he managed to look into his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that the father son pair had the same eyes. Johnny’s big eyes were dark brown, shone brightly and radiated warmth. The hybrid tried hard to not drown in them and concentrated on the look they sported. Hybrids were really good at reading body language and Ten usually could understand people without them talking. But Johnny wasn’t like the humans he knew. The hybrid couldn’t understand his actions since he acted differently from what he experienced. He tried really hard to read his face, to understand what the father wanted him to answer but he was left confused again. It seemed like Johnny wanted him to decide by himself…which was rather ridiculous. Having a free will? Hybrids could only dream of it.

Johnny was still shocked about the fact that Ten not only looked at his face but his eyes but he quickly overcame it and tried to look as sincere as he could. Even if he knew that Ten didn’t like him that much, he wanted the cat to stay. Not solely because of Mark…nobody deserved to live on the streets, especially somebody as nice as Ten. He wanted to tell him to stay but he knew that Ten would see it as a command and he really wanted the hybrid to do what he wanted. So, he just smiled genuinely and suppressed a coo when Ten scrunched his nose up.

The longer Johnny waited, the more Mark got impatient and Ten confused. The distressed look on the hybrids face was heart-melting and Johnny decided to help him.

“Ten, we would be very happy if you decide to stay here with us. You can stay but you also can go. Whatever you like.” Mark nodded so hard that his ears would be flapping if he would be a puppy hybrid.

Ten averted his glance and looked at the little boy in his lap. Could he bear not seeing his face ever again? It was scary how quickly he got attached but he couldn’t deny the affection he felt for the boy. He closed his eyes and counted to ten – a method he learned to reduce stress – before he took the boy’s hands.

“I- I…o-okay. If I’m allowed…then I’ll stay.” Ten winced when the boy screeched loudly and gave him the biggest hug he ever got. When he looked up, he saw Johnny’s big, boyish smile. For the first time since he entered the home, he could tell what the father felt. Pure happiness with a pinch of relief.

***

“We have to buy you a bed! Do you also want a racing car bed? You can sleep in my room! Oh, oh, oh! You don’t even need a bed; you can sleep in my bed. And when you –“

“Mark, breath.” Johnny giggled at his hyper son and shook his head affectionally. Mark made sure to ask Ten at least forty times whether he meant what he said and after his assuring, he made his father call Taeyong to let Jaemin and Jeno know about the new addition of their family.

“Uhm…Ten…” Johnny scratched his neck rather uneasily and tried to get rid of his anxiety. “Taeyong made an appointment for us tomorrow. Do you remember him talking about his friend Dr. Moon?” Johnny felt a pang in his heart when he saw the betrayed look in Ten’s eyes. “Well…we need to make sure that you didn’t catch any disease out there…uhm…for the sake of Mark. He’s a child and some diseases could be fatal for him.” At the mention of his son, the hybrid’s eyes softened and he reluctantly nodded.

“Taeil hyung is really cool! And Sicheng hyung is also a cat! Dad, we’re going together, right?” Johnny quickly nodded and smiled proudly at his son. He always knew what to say to calm people down despite his young age.

“And when we’re done, we can go shopping for new clothes.” The father meant to hype his son and Ten up but to be honest, he also looked forward to their shopping spree since he really enjoyed spending money for clothes.

“Yay! And can we also go to Kun hyungs café?”

Ten blocked the family’s conversation out and gnawed at his bottom lip. It hurt more than it would hurt as a human because his teeth were sharper than humans. It wasn’t the first time for him to visit a doctor but he never liked them. They were always too rough and didn’t understand how sensitive his hybrid features were! Well, he didn’t want to start with shots. Why did they hurt so much when they were good for you? Ten shivered at the past memories and tried to ease his anxiety. Taeyong was rather nice, right? He wouldn’t send Ten to a bad doctor, would he? Maybe he would…Ten didn’t know him at all, how could he be sure of it?

“Hey, hyung!” Mark shook the hybrid’s arm, who snapped out of his thoughts. “Dad told us to play while he cooks for dinner.” Nodding, he took the boy’s outstretched hand and followed him to his room.

***

It was late at night when Ten had time to overthink his situation. He was laying next to Mark, his hand tangled in the boy’s hair strands, observing the shining stars which decorated the boy’s ceiling and spent some light. Within two days his life changed completely…for the best it seemed but Ten couldn’t trust it. Would Johnny really drive him to the doctor tomorrow? Or did he only pretended and was going to sell him off?

Only, when Mark whined softly Ten realized that his hand had stopped its actions. With a small smile on his mouth, he continued his petting and couldn’t stop the warm feeling from spreading when Mark snuggled deeper into his embrace.

Ten knew that he should sleep but his thoughts were too loud and distracting. He was tired but his mind was racing and kept him from any rest. Disgruntled, he tried to follow Mark’s breathing. He closed his eyes and mimicked the boy’s actions. The longer he focused on the boy, the more his body relaxed and he fell asleep.

***

“Please fasten your seatbelts and enjoy your ride.” Johnny joked to ease the atmosphere. Mark was sitting in his children’s seat, swinging his legs excitedly while Ten sat huddled on the passenger’s seat. The hybrid was gnawing his nails and tried to follow the story Mark was telling him. Johnny searched for an appropriate radio station and started to hum quietly when he recognized the song.

“Mark, are you happy to see Donghyuk?” Johnny tried to distract Mark since he could feel that Ten needed some time for himself.

“NO!” The boy pouted deeply and crossed his arms. “He always wants to kiss and hug me! He is so annoying.” Johnny tried to suppress a laugh and nodded understandingly. He knew that Mark liked the puppy deep inside no matter how much he annoyed him.

“We’re here.“ Johnny declared and got off his seat to help Mark out of his. The boy took his father’s hand in his right one and Ten’s in his left. Happily, he swung his arms and whined when Ten didn’t walk fast enough.

The hybrid was sure that he would have bolted away if Mark hadn’t held his hand. The nearer they got to the entrance, the more his flight instinct increased. The door which was separating him from the torture opened automatically and the scent of disinfection spray filled Ten’s nose. He whined lowly until he smelled all kind of hybrids. His cat instincts took over and his ears started to move to the direction of the noise. Curiously, he glanced around and didn’t notice that he was being watched until he heard a low chuckle.

“Hello Johnny hyung, hi Mark.” Ten snapped his head to the direction and came face to face with a cat hybrid. The hybrid was taller than him – to be honest, nearly everybody was – and had a very handsome face. His white hair was shining brightly and two ears were sticking out of his mop.

“Hello Sichengie hyung!” Mark said happily and was looking around for a certain dog hybrid.

“Hello, I’m Sicheng. What’s your name?” The hybrid looked directly in his eyes and a gasp left Ten’s mouth when he noticed the different eye colors. A blue and a green eye were starring at him and Ten felt bad for starring but he couldn’t look away. Sicheng looked so ethereal, so…so beautiful that Ten felt conscious about his looks.

“I-I’m Ten.” Sicheng nodded happily and handed Johnny some papers.
“Please take a seat and fill the form. I’ll call you up.” The father nodded and ushered his son to the waiting room.

“Dad, I want to play with the kids!” Mark whined and tried to escape of his father’s hold. The doctor’s office had a shelter at the back for stray hybrids whom the doctor found on the streets and Mark sometimes came around to play with them.

“Do you really want to leave Ten alone and play with the kids?” Mark’s shoulders slumped quickly and he shook his head. “We can visit them after Ten’s examination.” the father added smiling.

Ten eyed the hybrids and their owner, sliding closer to Johnny’s side when a tall, build man entered the room with a cat hybrid. He still was afraid of Johnny but he was better than some strangers who could easily harm him. The father looked a bit surprised but luckily, he didn’t try to touch Ten.

A dog hybrid was constantly blowing his nose, another coughed loudly and looked very miserable. If Ten didn’t have any disease before coming here, he now surely had some.

“Park Seojun and Hyun please follow me.” Ten glanced at Sicheng and wasn’t even surprised when he noticed how elegantly the hybrid was moving. He was so awestruck that he didn’t notice the most outstanding aspect…Sicheng was a hybrid…and he was working…and he was telling humans what they had to do… Ten felt stupid for overseeing such a big detail.

“J-Johnny…is Sicheng working here?”

“Yes. He works here since…three years now?” Ten nodded dumbly and stopped himself from asking too much. He wanted to know where Sicheng’s owner was and why he allowed him to work but he kept shut. As an obedient hybrid you mustn’t talk much.

“Are you surprised that he’s working?” Caught, Ten nodded and tried to cover his curiosity up. “I know many hybrids who work.” Wait, this wasn’t an exception?

Before he could assimilate the new information, Sicheng appeared again and caught Ten’s attention.

“Seo Youngho and Ten, please follow me.”

“Who?” The whole day was plainly confusing for the hybrid.

“That’s my dad’s name!” Mark grabbed Ten’s hand and pulled him out of the room. The hybrid followed them with shaking steps and tried to distract himself by looking around but not even the colorful paintings could divert his thoughts.

“Taeil hyung will be here soon.”

“Thank you.”

Johnny noticed how much Ten was shaking so, he lightly pushed Mark to his side. The boy showed Ten the equipment and explained for what it was needed.

“Sorry for the wait! Hello Johnny, hello cutie!” Ten watched how the man hugged the pair and smiled brightly.

“To be honest, I was really surprised when Taeyong called and made an appointment for you. But I’m happy that you decided to adopt him. You’re Ten, right?” At the mention of his name the hybrid froze and looked away.

“I’m sorry, how impolite of me! I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Moon Taeil a doctor for hybrids. Taeyong told me a bit about you but I would want to hear it from you. Can you tell me something about you?” Ten gulped and took Mark’s hand before answering.

“Uhm…I’m Ten but my real name is Chittaphon Leechaiakul and…and I’m from Thailand.” he glanced at Johnny and continued when the latter smiled assuring. “I’m 22 years old…uhm and…yeah.” He could feel how his cheeks were reddening.

“Great! Thank you. I’ll start with some checkups, such as your height and your weight. Is that ok with you?” Ten’s eyes widened in reaction to the doctor’s nice behavior. Why was he so friendly to him and why did he ask for his permission? He nodded never the less and wished the examination to be over as quickly as it could be.

“Done! You were so brave, I’m proud of you.” Taeil said when he took the needle out of Ten’s arm. “I’ll check the blood samples and call you tomorrow, ok?”

“Thank you hyung.” Johnny smiled brightly and cooed internally when Mark pecked Ten’s arm.

“Now you good, hyung. Dad’s kisses always make my ouchies better.” Ten petted Mark’s hair and continued to press the cotton wool onto his prick.

“Oh, Johnny I would like to talk to you really quickly. Mark, do you want to show Ten the shelter? I’m sure that Doyoung and Donghyuk would like to see you.”

“YES!” Mark sprung up and bolted out of the room, only to ran back, grab Ten’s hand and bolt away again. Ten would like to know what Taeil had to tell Johnny but he knew that he wasn’t allowed to know. He was relieved that the doctor was much nicer than he expected, the rest wasn’t as important to him.

***

“Doyoungie hyung!” Mark screamed when a young, black haired male came into their view.

“Oh, Mark what a surprise to see you here.” Ten eyed the man carefully and searched for hybrid features since he resembled a bunny. But even after a double check Ten had to embrace the fact that he was a human.

“That’s Ten hyung! He lives with us.” The cat hybrid blushed when he realized that he hadn’t answered Doyoung, since he was too occupied with his search to even register that he talked to him.

“That’s great! Do you want to come in? Donghyuk would love to see you. Oh, and I found an abandoned kitty yesterday. His name is Jisung and he’s just 2 years old. Do you want to meet him?”

“MARK HYUUUUUUUUNG.” Ten flinched extremely when a puppy dashed out of nowhere and tackled Mark in a hug. He was smaller than the boy, Ten guessed that he was 3. His light brown hair was flapping around as he jumped excitedly and two fluffy ears completed his overly adorable look. His tail was wagging so much that it hit everything in range. Ten felt the urge to squish the hybrid’s cheeks and pet his fluffy hair but he stopped himself from it.

“Woah, you have pretty eyes. Are you Mark hyungs friend?” Ten found himself smiling at the pure compliment and nodded.

“Donghyuk do you want to help me feeding Jisung?”

“Yes! Mark hyung you have to see him. He is sooooo tiny and his eyes are so small, he’s the fluffiest kitten I ever saw.” Ten had to fasten his steps to not fall behind.

“Don’t be too loud, you’ll frighten him, ok?” Ten took Mark’s hand and told him to be careful.

“Doyoung hyung?” Ten cooed loudly when he saw the kitten. Luckily Donghyuk and Mark were louder than him, so his outburst was unnoticed. Jisung was so tiny that Ten’s natural instincts acted up. He wanted to put the kitten in his pocket and save him from any harm.

“Did we wake you up, baby?” Doyoung asked and pulled the kitten on his lap. His white hair was sticking in every direction and his fluffy grey ears were twitching cutely. He hid himself between his hyungs arms and eyed Mark and Ten cautiously.

“You are so cute!” Mark said giggling and hold his hand out. Slowly, Jisung came out of Doyoung’s embrace and poked the boy’s hand.

Smiling to himself, Ten watched the boys and flinched when he heard Johnny’s steps.

“Hello Doyoung, hello Donghyuk! Oh, what a cutie you are! What’s your name?”

“Dad that’s Jisung. He’s a baby!” Jisung whined loudly what caused everybody to laugh. Johnny talked to Doyoung a bit while Ten answered the hyper puppy’s question.

“Ok, we have to go now. But we’ll be back. Donghyuk don’t give me the puppy eyes! We have to go.” Johnny laughed and hugged the puppy.

“Ten hyung will you also visit us?” Ten nodded quickly and glanced at the hybrids for a las time before taking Mark’s hand.

“I will.” He said and waved at the boys before leaving.

AN: I really wanna know something:
Who's your favorite NCT member? :D
Mine is Ten but to be honest...it's really difficult since I love every single member ;-;