Copyright April 2, 2002-July 7, 2003 by Matthew Haldeman-Time

Rating: NC-17 for graphic male-male sex

Pairings: Thus far we've had JC/Justin, Nick/Drew/Brian, Nick/Jeff, Nick/Drew/Brian/Nick/Jeff, AJ/Lance, AJ/Howie, AJ/Kevin, Chris/Howie, and partridge/pear tree.

Disclaimer: The young men who comprise the Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and 98 Degrees are their own people. The author has not met anyone here described, nor does the author mean to suggest that these people act this way in real life. This writing is a work of fiction. I make no money from this venture.

Dedication: This slashfic is for Ewan McGregor and the Savage Garden slashwriters.

Wherein Drew won't go behind Brian's back, AJ can screw anybody he wants, and could JC be mellowing?

Notice: First, read "I Need You Tonight," "Boy Lead the Way to Ecstasy," "Not Easy," "No One," "Rest in Peace," "Destiny," and "Together." I know it sounds like a lot, but it'll only take you an hour or two.

        He wanted to call Howie again, because he was very excited about going home to Howie and very nervous about seeing Howie again.  What if he got home and Howie looked at him and said, “Oh, right, that’s what you look like,” and got disappointed?

        Not that Chris wasn’t hot shit, or anything.  He was hot shit.  Totally hot shit.  So hot it was steaming.  But Howie was beautiful-perfect, and by all rights, Howie should be with someone else who was beautiful-perfect.

        Chris realized that he was dressed all wrong.  He was dressed like he was going to spend a night on the bus, or something.  He was going home to see Howie!  Howie!  God, he looked like he was about to scrub a toilet.  He had to change.  Chris turned to run back to his room and slammed into Joey.

        “Where the hell did you come from?” Chris asked, adjusting his hat.  Hat?!  Hat hair!  He was trying to entice Howie with hat hair?!  What had he been thinking?  Wait, Joey?  “How’s Lance?”

        Joey looked like shit.  Not hot shit, like Chris, just shit.  He rubbed his face and didn’t say anything.

        “What happened?” Chris asked.  “You don’t look so good.”

        “I think I have to throw up,” Joey said, and unlocked the door to his room.

        “Joey-”

        Joey’s door closed.

        “Joey!”  Chris frowned.  What the hell had Lance done now?  Joey looked awful.  Joey wasn’t talking.  Joey had to throw up.  Joey never had to throw up.  Not from nerves, not from drinking, not from being sick.  Joey could keep down anything.

        The plane.  Chris would figure it out on the plane.  He’d talk to Joey, he’d interrogate Lance, he’d work it out.  They were going home; this should be a happy time.  Joey should be happy, not ill.  Lance should be Lance, not Satan.

        JC!  Justin!  Thank god.  “Help!”

        “What?” Justin asked, hooking his arm through JC’s.

        “I need one of you to check on Joey and one of you to check on Lance and one of you to help me get dressed,” Chris said.

        “You are dressed,” JC said.

        “To scrub a toilet, not have my big reunion with Howie!” Chris said.

        “One of us to…”  Justin was counting on his fingers.  “There are only two of us, and that’s three things.”

        “Then one of you has to double up on something.  Hurry, time’s running out.”

        “I’ll help you get dressed,” Justin said.  “You don’t want to leave that to JC.”

        “I’ll talk to Joey,” JC said.

        “Who’s taking Lance?” Chris asked.

        JC and Justin looked at each other.  “We both will,” JC said.  “As soon as I’m done with Joey, I’ll talk to Lance, and you come talk to him when you're finished with Chris,” he said to Justin.

        “All right.”  Justin nodded.

        “I love you, baby,” JC said, and kissed him.

        “JC,” Justin said, and Chris watched Justin’s tongue go into JC’s mouth.

        “Justin,” JC murmured, his hand running down Justin’s back.

        “Oh, JC, oh, Justin, moan, pant, moan,” Chris said.  “Can we get to work here?”

        Justin smiled, drawing back.  “Okay, I’m good, let’s go get you looking good.”  He untangled his fingers from JC’s.  “I’ll see you later, baby.”

        “Yeah, later, baby,” Chris agreed, and pushed Justin along to his room.  “Get in here and make me look good.”

        “I don’t know what you’re worried about,” Justin said.  “Howie’s going to jump you no matter what you’re wearing.”

        “Howie’s not going to jump me,” Chris said.  “Howie’s never jumped me in his life.”

        “Is he meeting you at the airport?”

        “I don’t know.  I think so.  Maybe.  I’m trying not to count on it, in case he can’t make it.”

        “Ten bucks, you get yours somewhere between the plane and - - his place or your place?”

        “His place kind of is my place, so we’ll probably go there first.  My place is kind of a formality by now.  And a good storage area.”

        “Ten bucks, before you get to his place.”

        “You’re on.  Now make me look good.”

        Justin started rummaging through Chris’s stuff.

        Chris watched Justin rummage.  “I wish I had your body.”

        “I wish I had your voice.”

        “What?”

        “What?”

        “Nothing.”

        Justin shrugged and went back to rummaging.

        “What did you say?” Chris asked.

        “I wish I had your voice.  JC has the most amazing range ever, and a lot of power, and I wish I could sing like that, but belting is his thing.  Falsetto’s my thing.  I wish I could sing like you do.  I still start wavering and cracking when I get too high.”

        “This from the guy who used to say I sounded like a freak of nature.”

        “You do sound like a freak of nature.  You’re also one of the best things about *NSYNC.  You set us apart.”

        “By my keen fashion sense?”

        “By your voice, man, your voice.  Try these,” Justin said, handing him a pair of pants.

        “These are too tight.”

        “I know.  Put them on.  Where’s that shirt?”

        “Which shirt?”

        “The one with the - - hey, do you have any make-up?”

        “I’m not wearing make-up.”

        “Just a little around the eyes.  Mascara, maybe some eyeliner.  You should get Howie to wear eyeliner.”

        “What?”

        “Don’t tell Lance I said this, but Howie is…”

        “Beautiful?  Sexy?”

        “Gorgeous.  Howie’s gorgeous.  I don’t know how he does it, but the older he gets, the better he looks.”

        Chris knelt beside Justin and grasped his hand.  “I will love you forever.”

        Justin laughed.  “Thanks.  You, too.  Put on this shirt and let me see how it looks.  Where are your black boots?”

        Chris put on the shirt and looked at himself in the mirror.  “This is alarming.”

        “What’s alarming?”

        “I’m starting to look good.”

        “Let me fix your hair and you’re going to look so good, I’ll do you myself.  Boots!  Here, take these.  What’s wrong with Joey?”

        “I don’t know.  He came out of Lance’s room looking like shit.”

        “He was probably up all night trying to talk to Lance.  Where’s your gel?”

        Chris found it.  “We’re bad friends.”

        “Chris, Lance is a bad friend.  Let’s do this in the bathroom.  When he started to move in on JC, I didn’t know what to do.  I thought if I left it alone, he’d get over it on his own, and I wouldn’t have to confront him over it.  I didn’t want to - - god, Chris, it’s Lance.  I love Lance.”

        “Howie showed Lance no respect and slept with Lance’s lover behind Lance’s back, and here I am, acting like Howie’s…  But I love him.  I love Howie, and I couldn’t break up with him.  Not even for Lance.”

        “I know that,” Justin said.  “We understand, Chris.”

        “Lance doesn’t understand.  Why should he?  I had Howie on tour with us, right in his face.”

        “You hate AJ.  If Lance were with AJ, you’d still hate AJ, but if they had a good solid relationship, you’d deal with it.  You wouldn’t want Lance to dump AJ for you.”

        “No, I wouldn’t.  But I can’t blame Lance for feeling…betrayed.”  Chris twisted his fingers in the hem of his shirt.

        “Chris, that’s not - - that’s not even a fair assessment,” Justin said.  “What kind of choice did you have?  AJ betrayed Lance.  You were put in a shitty situation.  All you were trying to do was salvage what you and Howie had.  You had your own broken heart to deal with.  It was a shitty situation to be in and a shitty situation to make, but you weren’t thinking, ‘Howie or Lance, Howie or Lance, easy choice, I’ll pick Howie!’  You were thinking about how much Howie had hurt you and how much you loved him.  You and Lance were in the same situation, but you’re not the same people, and you had different outcomes.”

        “If I’d been thinking more about Lance…”

        “If you’d been thinking more about Lance, you might have tried to break up with Howie permanently.  Even the best of friends wouldn’t demand that of you.  We all know how much you love Howie.  The effect he has on you is unreal.  You wouldn’t have wanted Lance to break up with AJ for you if he wasn’t going to do it for himself.  Let’s change your jewelry.”

        “The whole situation sucks.”

        “Earrings…necklace…bracelet.  Here.  No, no necklace, give it back.”

        “I like it,” Chris said.

        “I don’t want anything to come close to interfering with Howie’s access to your tattoo.”

        “Shit.  Shit.  Shit!  Holy motherflying balls of shit!”  Chris clamped his hand to the side of his neck.  “He’s going to see it!”

        “That’s the idea,” Justin said.

        “I can’t go home looking like this!  Quick, get me a knife, I have to gouge out a deep enough hole that it’ll go through all of the layers of ink and-”

        “You knew he was going to see it,” Justin said.

        “It’s too soon!  I’m not ready!  What if Brian told him?!  What if-”

        “Brian wouldn’t tell him,” Justin said.  “Chris, calm down.  Howie is in love with you.  He knows how you feel about him.  It can’t be a big surprise.  I’d be more worried about the media getting a good picture of it.”

        “I made sure they didn’t.  Once Howie sees it I don’t care, but I can’t let them break the news for me.”

        “He’s not going to freak out.”

        “He might.”

        “He’s not going to leave you.”

        “I’ll look pretty stupid if he does.”

        “You were confident in the tattoo when you got it.”

        “Yes.  Confident.”

        “Do you regret it?”

        “No.”

        Justin smiled.  “Then don’t worry about it.  Let Howie see it.  Let the world see it.”

        “This coming from the man who had JC sign his ass.”

        “You’re just jealous that I thought of it first.”

        That was true.  Chris took another look in the mirror.  “Hot damn!  I’m smokin’ hot!”

        “Smokin’,” Justin agreed.

        Chris checked out his own butt.  “I’d do me.”

        “I’d do you,” Justin agreed.  “Howie will do you, too.”

        “I look hot,” Chris said.  “Where are the photographers now?  Stupid paparazzi’s always around when I’m dressed to wash the car, not when I’m looking like the Playgirl centerfold.”

        “My work here is done,” Justin said.

        That was unlike Joey.  Completely unlike Joey.  Joey never ignored them, ever.  Joey was incapable of ignoring them.  Joey paid them so much attention, it was ridiculous.

        This wasn’t looking too good.

        JC knocked on Lance’s door.

        Lance’s door opened.  “JC.”

        JC hugged him.  “I’m sorry, man.”  He closed his eyes.  “I’m sorry.”

        Lance returned his embrace, then stepped back.  “For what?”

        “Man, everything,” JC said, running his hand through his hair.  “AJ, and everything there, with Howie and Kevin, and I know what AJ meant to you, we all saw it.  I haven’t been there for you, I haven’t been here for you, not at all, I suck as a friend.”

        “You’ve been…distracted,” Lance said.

        “No, Lance, that’s not even an excuse,” JC said.  “I love you, and loving Justin doesn’t mean I have no love for anybody else.  You and I have spent time together, some good time together, but we haven’t really connected.  You must feel like you’ve been talking to the side of my head while I’m paying attention to Justin instead of you, and I know I’ve been like that, even when he’s not in the room he’s the first thing on my mind.  I’ve been experiencing everything through this layer of white noise, it’s like a barrier, everybody and everything has to get my attention past Justin.”

        “It can be hard to get through to you.”

        “I’m sorry, man.  That’s not fair to you, you’re my best friend.  You’ve been going through a lot, serious stuff, and I’ve been nowhere.  I’m sorry, Lance.”

        Lance sighed.  “It’s okay.  You and Justin have been working stuff out.”

        “Do you want to talk about it?”

        “Talk about what?” Lance asked.  “I don’t even know what’s there to be talked about.  I had a lover, we broke up, I lost it.”

        “Do you want him back?”

        Lance let the question sit before giving it an honest answer.  “I don’t know.”  He sat on the sofa.

        JC sat beside him.  “Are you going to get to the point where you can forgive Chris?”

        “Forgive Chris for what?” Lance asked.

        “Staying with Howie.”

        “Oh, so you think there’s something wrong with him fawning all over the man who betrayed him and fucked my lover,” Lance said, calculated bitterness seeping through his words.  “That’s news.”

        “I’ve never approved of, or accepted, what Howie and AJ did,” JC said.  “I’m not asking you to forgive Howie.  I’m asking you to forgive Chris.”

        “Chris is Chris,” Lance said.  “I don’t like that he loves Howie, but I don’t have to like it.  What I have to do is accept it.  If Chris is happy, then that’s what matters.”

        “You’re still so angry,” JC said.  “At everyone, at yourself, at the world.”

        “It was senseless,” Lance said with sudden, bitter venom.  “It was so fucking senseless.  AJ fucked Howie for no reason, no fucking reason at all, just because he was there.  He has no excuse for it.  I can’t try to understand why he did it because there is no why.”

        “He was lonely,” JC said.  “He was missing you.”

        “I know what they did,” Lance said.  “I know exactly what they did, I made AJ tell me.”

        “Lance,” JC said, hurt for him.  “You don’t want to know that, you don’t want that in your head.”

        “He’s three people, at least three fucking different people.  He’s wild and rebellious and self-destructive, he’s thoughtful and intelligent and generous and deep, then he turns around and he’s immoral and careless and unrepentant.”

        “He is repentant,” JC said.  “He’s sorry for what he did.  He knows what he lost.”

        “I don’t know if I believe that,” Lance said.  “I don’t know what I believe.  Sometimes I think he’s a villain in my life, sometimes I think we both made mistakes, sometimes I want to track him down and kick his ass, sometimes I think if I just pick up the phone and call him everything will be okay and we’ll be together again.  I’ve tried, I’ve wanted to, I’ve picked up the phone to make that call.  But I don’t have the fucking number.  I don’t have the fucking number!”

        “You don’t have to have it all figured out,” JC said.  “You don’t have to have him all figured out.  When he comes back to work on the Fools, you can see how things go.  Maybe when you see him again, you’ll have a better idea of where you both stand.”

        “No one ever hurt me this badly before,” Lance said.

        “You never let anyone but us get that close before,” JC said.

        “I can’t believe I came out of the closet for this,” Lance said.  “I should have stayed in there.”

        “No, you shouldn’t have,” JC said.  “You found love, you explored who you are, you had a great relationship, and you’ve grown a lot.  You’re not the same person you were before you got together with AJ.”

        Lance couldn’t deny that.

        Brian had given up all control, letting Drew push and pull him.  One hand was behind his head, under the pillow, his other hand on Drew’s shoulder, fingers digging in.  He was breathing through his mouth, staring straight into Drew’s eyes.  After the last time Drew had turned him over, things had gotten too intense for vocalizations, and now he did nothing more than make a quiet “uh” of response on every bone-jarring thrust.

        Drew put his hand to Brian’s dick; he’d barely started jacking it before Brian was coming, groaning, yanking the pillow out from behind his head and hurling it across the room, crying out wordlessly in relief at the release.

        Drew’s hand went from Brian’s dick to his own, pulling it out, jacking it roughly, milking it dry over Brian’s body.  White streams of cum spurted up Brian’s chest.  He shuddered, and Drew growled, and Brian ran his hand up his own chest, spreading it, rubbing it up his neck to his mouth, licking his fingers, head back, eyes closing.

        Drew snarled and closed in on him, one arm wrapping around his waist to lift him to Drew’s chest, teeth on his earlobe.  “Mine.”

        Brian was panting, still shuddering, hands sliding up and down the sweat on Drew’s back.

        Another soft growl as Drew buried his face in Brian’s neck.

        Brian’s hands stilled.

        “Mine,” Drew whispered.

        “I want to see how Joey’s doing,” Justin said.

        “Okay.  I’ll just peek in on Lance myself, then,” Chris said.

        “Chris, it’s okay.  We can leave JC and Lance alone.”

        “What?  Of course we can.  Why wouldn’t we?  Absolutely.  You’re right.  I’ll just-”

        “Chris,” Justin said, “it’s okay.  Don’t worry about it.”

        “I’m not worried about a thing,” Chris said.  “Why would I be worried?  Do I seem worried to you?  I hope you don’t think I’m worried about - - I’ll just be in here.”  He ducked into Lance’s room.  “Hi.”

        Drew made a confused, irritated noise and rolled off of Brian, onto his back.

        “Good boy.”  Nick wiped up Drew, who shivered, then wiped up Brian, who barely wakened.  Nick tossed the washcloth over his shoulder and kissed Drew’s stomach.  “Good Drew.”  He reached over and ran his fingers through Brian’s hair.  “Frick, it’s time to get up.  Gotta get dressed.  Time to take a shower.”

        Brian opened his eyes, then groaned softly.

        Drew started to sit up.

        “Don’t start,” Nick said to Drew.  “Feeling pretty fucked?” he asked Brian.

        “Yes,” Brian said, sitting up gingerly.  “Wow.”  He stretched slightly to test his legs and back.  “That was a new experience.”

        “Regret it?”

        Brian laughed.  “Not on your life.”

        “See?” Nick asked Drew.  “Come on, everybody into the bathroom.  Time to get wet and soapy.”  He herded them off of the bed and into the bathroom.

        While Brian and Drew made out under the shower’s spray, Nick washed their hair.  He liked seeing them enjoy each other.  He wished he and Brian could take Drew home, or stay with Drew.  This not being together thing, being separated, sucked monster balls.  The three of them were supposed to be together all of the time.

        He had two fiances.  Two very sexy, very nice, very cute, hot as fuck fiances he loved.  Everyone should be so lucky.

        Nick finished washing hair, and Brian and Drew finished making out.  The three of them passed the soap around, moving in and out of the spray, pretending to wash each other, kissing, teasing, doing a lot more foreplay than actual washing.

        When they got out, Drew had to answer the phone and Brian had to make a call, and they all got dried and shaved and dressed and packed.  It was almost time to go, and this was going to be a very difficult good-bye.

        No answer.

        “Joey, it’s me,” Justin said, knocking again.  “Joey, I really want to talk to you.  Joey?  Joey!”

        No answer.

        Justin frowned.

        Nick grabbed Drew around the waist and sat him on the foot of the bed.

        Drew pinched him.

        Nick cupped Drew’s face in his hands and looked into Drew’s eyes.  He watched it happen, saw Drew’s focus narrow, saw himself become the world in Drew’s eyes.  A moment passed.  Nick kissed Drew’s mouth, pulled back, and waited.  Arousal and hunger built in Drew’s eyes.  Drew’s lips parted.  Drew started breathing funny.

        “I loved being here with you,” Nick said.  “It was like magic.”

        Drew kissed him.

        When Drew sank down to his back, Nick followed.  When Drew rocked up against Nick’s hard dick and moaned, Nick just kissed him harder.  His hands were restless over Nick’s body, trying to feel Nick through clothes.

        Nick had to go, but before he did, there was one thing he definitely had to do.  He could tell Drew was starting to want it, too.

        Drew started wrapping around him, rocking rhythmically against him.  Needy fuck-me sounds were coming up from Drew’s throat, and when he broke their kiss to suck on Drew’s neck, those sounds got louder.

        Nick raised his head.  “Drew.”  Drew looked up at him, breathing hard, wanting him, and he knew that he was all that existed in Drew’s world.  “What do you want?”  Just giving it wasn’t as fun as making Drew ask for it.  Besides, he wanted to show Brian.

        Drew inhaled quickly and kissed him, sucking on his tongue, then broke the kiss and panted at him.  “Give me, in me, put it, put it in me…”

        “Put it in you?” Nick asked.  “Put what in you?”

        Drew moaned softly, fisting his hands in the back of Nick’s shirt.

        “Say ‘dick,’” Nick said.

        “Dick,” Drew said.

        “Say ‘fuck me,’” Nick said.

        “Fuck me,” Drew said, his voice mostly breath, still rocking against Nick.  One hand released Nick’s shirt, and Drew started to reach down for Nick’s erection.

        Nick brushed Drew’s hand away and unzipped Drew’s pants, yanking them down with Drew’s underwear.  Drew kicked his feet free and raised his knees, begging with his eyes.

        Nick fished the lube out of his pocket, slicked up his fingers, and slid one finger just inside Drew, rubbing in and out gently, tender shallow fucking.

        “Oh, oh, oh…”  Drew fidgeted, liking it but wanting more, unsatisfied, pleasured but unhappy.  He started to move on Nick’s finger, trying to get more stimulation.  Nick rewarded him by going deeper, and Drew moaned, rocking his hips.

        “What do you want?” Nick asked him softly, fucking him with one finger.  Drew wanted it so badly the need was visible on his face, in his eyes, in the constant, unsatisfied movement of his body.  “You want this?”  Nick stroked Drew’s prostate.

        Drew moaned, feeling good against his will, frustrated by Nick’s teasing.  He raised his foot to Nick’s arm, pushing until Nick’s finger slid out, then reached for Nick’s fly.

        “I thought you liked it when I touched you there,” Nick said, pushing Drew’s hands aside, opening his jeans.  “I thought you liked having my fingers there.”  He pushed down his jeans and his underwear, stepping out of them, pulling Drew’s hips closer.  “You want something else, don’t you?  You want my dick.”

        Drew lay back, hooking his leg over Nick’s shoulder as Nick leaned in, panting, restlessly fisting the sheets beneath him.

        Nick lubed up his dick quickly, then pushed inside Drew.

        Drew groaned with primal satisfaction, then rocked his hips, wanting more.  Drew felt so tight and so fucking good that Nick thrust in deeper, all the way, then pulled back and went in again, loving the way it felt inside Drew, loving the way Drew shuddered and melted for him.

        After that it was mostly about satisfying Drew’s need, giving in to Drew’s greed, fucking Drew’s ass while Drew moaned softly and clutched at Nick’s body.  Not far into it, Drew’s quiet moans turned to “unh, unh, unh,” tension lined his face, and he held onto Nick a little too tightly.  He came, shuddered, and relaxed.

        Nick kept going, thrusting, fucking, giving Drew what Drew wanted.  It was getting really hard not to come, and on every thrust Nick’s body got geared up for the release of orgasm, but it wasn’t time.  Not yet.  This was still about giving to Drew.

        Drew started to move under Nick, meeting his thrusts, rocking against him.  Nick thrust a little harder, and Drew started to arch and shiver.  “Oh, oh, unh, unh…”  Drew stretched out, then reached for Nick, clung to him.

        Nick moved in closer, letting Drew cling, holding Drew in return, fucking him in a slow, steady rhythm.  Drew’s soft panting in his ear turned to frantic moaning seconds before Nick felt warm wetness spread onto his skin through his shirt.  He fucked a little longer, until Drew had relaxed, until Drew was no longer clinging but merely holding onto him, until Drew’s breathing evened into soft, easy, pleasured sounds.

        Nick came, finally, inside Drew, letting it go.  When he pulled his dick out, Drew made a disappointed sound and kissed him.

        Nick licked Drew’s tongue and untangled their bodies, straightening, pulling Drew to sit up on the bed.  “See what you’ve done?  Now I have to get dressed all over again.”

        “You started it,” Drew said.

        Nick pulled off his shirt, rubbed at his chest, and handed the shirt to Drew, more out of habit than anything else.  Drew smiled and wiped himself off, then tugged Nick in for a kiss.  “You’re too good to me.”

        “Good to you, I hope so,” Nick said, leaving wet, teasing kisses back towards Drew’s ear.  “Too good to you, never.  Not possible.  Oh, shit.”

        “What?” Drew asked, pulling back.

        “You came on my shirt, and my stuff is gone.”

        “Oh.”  Drew hesitated, then smiled.  “Sorry?”

        “Thanks for your help.  Give me something to wear.”

        “My clothes won’t fit you,” Drew said.

        “Brian?” Nick asked.

        “All I have is what I’m wearing,” Brian said.

        “You’re saying my choices are either go shirtless, or wear Drew’s cum for the world to see.”

        “Hold on,” Drew said, slipping off of the bed, pulling off his own shirt and finding his pants.  “I’ll go see what I can do.”

        The second Drew was gone, Nick grabbed Brian, pulling him close and licking his tonsils.  “Did you see that?”

        “God, Nick,” Brian said, surprised by the kiss, floored by what he’d seen, rock-hard and wanting Nick to do something about it.  He pulled Nick in for another kiss, rubbing his aching erection against Nick’s thigh, moaning when Nick’s hands cupped his ass.

        “I have so much to tell you, there’s so much you have to know,” Nick said.

        “He’s so different,” Brian said, breathing Nick’s air between kisses.  “You’re so different.”

        “You’re getting off on it,” Nick said, sucking Brian’s tongue.

        “God, yes,” Brian moaned.  “Nick-”

        “Let me-”

        “No, not here, there’s no time,” Brian said.

        “I’ll be quick,” Nick promised.  “I can’t wait, you can’t wait.”

        “I can wait,” Brian lied.

        “If you were Drew you’d be straddling my leg and humping my thigh right now,” Nick said.  “You can’t wait.”

        “I think I walked in at the wrong moment,” Drew said.  “So this is how you talk about me when I’m not in the room?”

        “It’s true and you know it,” Nick said.  He squeezed Brian’s ass.  “Airplane.”

        “We aren’t having sex on an airplane,” Brian said.  “There are going to be other people on it.”

        “Shit,” Nick said.  “Airport?”

        “There’s no time,” Brian said.  He moved out of Nick’s embrace, since Nick’s nearness wasn’t exactly helping the situation.  “We can wait.”

        “Wait,” Nick said.  “Right.  We can wait.”

        “Your patience is well-known,” Drew told Nick, and handed him a shirt.  “We have about one minute to get you down to the limo.”

        “Shit,” Nick said.  He pulled on the shirt without asking where Drew had found it.  He knew it was Nick’s, but Brian didn’t have to know.  “Walk us downstairs.”

        “Of course,” Drew said.  “Can we say good-bye up here, and not in public?”

        “I don’t want to say good-bye,” Nick said.  “Good-bye sucks, and leaving sucks.”  He tugged Drew into his embrace and kissed Drew’s mouth.  Drew yielded to his kiss, slowly drawing on his tongue, running slow fingers through his hair.

        When Nick let go, Drew said, “I love you.”

        Nick looked into Drew’s eyes and felt things start to melt inside.  “I love you,” he said, and kissed Drew again.

        “They’re in the hallway,” Drew whispered.  “Say good-bye the way you want to, no matter what anybody thinks.”

        Nick kissed him again and released him, pushing him towards Brian.

        Drew kissed Brian slowly, giving Brian his tongue, resting his hands on Brian’s hips.  “I love you,” Drew whispered, and claimed Brian’s mouth again.

        “I love you,” Brian said.

        “Thank you for coming.”

        Brian held Drew close for another kiss.  “I had to come.”

        Lance ignored Chris and looked into JC’s eyes when he talked.  JC had amazing eyes.  Chris, Joey, AJ, Howie, they all had brown eyes.  Brown was the color of shit.  AJ was worth shit.  Howie was worth shit.  Chris was worth shit.  Joey…

        Lance smiled to himself.  If he’d known it would be that good, he would’ve seduced Joey a long time ago.

        That was 98 Nick’s cue to make a smart comment, but his eyes flickered ever-so-briefly past Nick to Brian, and he didn’t say anything.

        “It will be a lot less interesting around here without you,” Justin said.  He smiled.  “A lot less fun.”

        Nick slung his arm around Justin’s shoulders.  “Justin J., any time you want to hang out, you give me a call.  And any time you want to put your heterosexuality to the test, you let me know.”

        “I appreciate the offer,” Justin said.

        “You are my favorite person on this whole tour, you know that.”

        “I suspected,” Justin said.  “You’ve been mine, too.”

        Nick gave his cheek a quick kiss.  “Look after these three idiots for me.”

        “Hey,” Drew said.

        “Hey what?” Nick asked, and let Justin go with a hug.  “Oh, god, it’s you again,” he said to 98 Nick.

        “Carter,” Nick said.  His eyes did that flicker thing again, over Nick’s shoulder to Brian.

        Nick put his fingers under Nick’s chin.  “Would you look at me?  I’m trying to talk to you.”  He let his thumb slide out along Nick’s jaw and back again; suddenly he had all of Nick’s blushing attention.  That was better.  “Thank you for inviting me.  I’ve had a good time.  Make sure Drew doesn’t get weird after I go.”

        “Weird?” Drew asked.

        “If you ever want some tips on how to improve your live show, just-”

        “Carter,” Nick said.

        Nick grinned.  “Stay Nick.”

        Nick smiled.  “Stay Nick.”  There was affection in his eyes, love in his eyes, and Nick gave him a tight hug for it.

        Two down, one to go.  “I’m engaged,” he said to Jeff.  “To Brian and to Drew.”

        “Congratulations,” Jeff said, proud of him.  “You did it.”

        “We’re going to get married.  It’s probably going to be one of those small private ceremonies, but you have to come.”

        “I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Jeff said.  “I’m happy for you.”

        “Take care of yourself while I’m gone.”

        “You take care of yourself,” Jeff said.

        “I have been,” Nick said.

        “You’ve been doing a great job,” Jeff agreed.

        Nick hugged Jeff, hooking his chin over Jeff’s shoulder, whispering into Jeff’s neck, “I love you.”

        “I love you, too, Nick,” Jeff said gently, returning his embrace.  “I’m going to miss you.”

        “I can stay,” Nick said.

        “JC and Justin need you,” Jeff said.  “We’d be selfish to keep you all to ourselves.”

        Nick pulled back, leaving a small kiss on Jeff’s neck as he did.  “Guess I’ll see you when your tour’s over.”

        “Guess so,” Jeff agreed, leaning his shoulders back against the wall.

        “Okay.  I’m supposed to go now.  If Drew doesn’t come back from walking me to the limo, it’s because I’ve kidnapped him.”

        “We’ll do all right without him,” Jeff said.  “Go ahead.”

        “Okay.  Give Nick a hard time for me.”

        “I’d be happy to,” Jeff said.

        “Oh, what the hell,” Nick said, and leaned past Jeff, kissing Nick’s cheek.  “Bye!”  He hurried to the elevators without looking back.  When the elevator came, he got on, meeting Drew’s eyes.  “How did he look?”

        “Shocked stupid,” Drew said.  “Bright red.”

        “Not mad?”

        “Of course not,” Drew said.

        Nick glanced at Brian, who was staring fixedly at the elevator doors, jaw clenched tight.

        “You were fine,” Drew said to Nick softly, drawing his attention back, away from Brian.  “You did a good job.  You were honest.  That’s what we all needed to see.”

        “I couldn’t walk out without…  Without giving Justin J. his props and making Nick say ‘Carter’ one more time and telling Jeff I love him.  I want him to know he’s still…”  Nick looked at Brian again.

        Drew took Nick’s hand.  “You let everyone know how you feel.  That’s good, Nick.  You’ve always been honest.”

        “Too honest,” Nick said.

        “No,” Drew said.

        The elevator doors opened; the three of them walked to the doors leading outside.

        “I’m going to miss you,” Drew said.  “Both of you.  Now that you’re both here, now that we’ve been together, it’s going to be even harder to do this without you.”

        “I’m going to call you,” Brian said to Drew.  “Every day.  If I’m going to help JC, I’m going to need to draw on what we have, for strength and inspiration.”

        “I’m going to call you, too,” Nick said.  “You can tell me how much you miss me and how annoying Nick is, and I can tell you how much I miss you and how fucked up Justin is, and we can masturbate together over Brian.”

        Drew smiled.  “Sounds like fun.”

        “Be good,” Nick said.

        “Be safe,” Brian said.

        “You be strong,” Drew said to Nick.  “And you…”  His fingers skimmed tenderly over the fading bruises on Brian’s face.  “I love you.”

        Nick coughed.

        “Oh, I love you, too,” Drew said.  “Now go.”

        Nick kissed Drew’s cheek, took Brian’s hand, and pulled Brian outside to the limo.

        Drew watched the limo door close.  He watched the car drive away.  He walked back to the elevator, alone.

        Brian smiled at him.  “Hi.”

        Nick’s mouth worked.  “Hi.”  Wow.  Brian.  Here.  With him.  Beside him.

        Brian kissed him, open-mouthed and experienced.

        Rock-hard in one second or less.  “Brian.”

        Brian breathed against his mouth.  “Nick.”

        He knew that voice.  Nick opened his eyes.  He knew that expression.  “Now?”

        Brian’s breathing was a little more ragged, a little less even.  “Right now.”

        Oh freaking god, yes.  Brian wanted him, and Brian was going to take him, and they were in the back of a freaking limo but who gave a flying fuck, because Brian wanted him.

        Since Brian was busy yanking Nick’s pants down, Nick worked on Brian’s.  He was kissing Brian too fast and too wet and far too needy, but Brian was kissing him back too pushy and too greedy, so that was okay.  Brian had never jumped him in front of a random limo driver, but they’d never been separated for weeks like this, either.

        Nick was about to leak precum on his shirt, so he pulled it up.  Brian broke from his mouth to kiss his chest and lick the head of his dick, then pushed his knees up.  Nick yanked his jeans down off over his sneakers, losing a shoe in the process, and made room for Brian.  Brian was kissing him again, tugging him into position, stretching and slicking him with quick fingers.

        They were fucking nuts to try to do this face-to-face.  Nick pushed Brian back and turned over, one knee on the seat, one knee on the floor, hands seeking balance on the seat and the doorhandle.  He’d barely gotten into position before Brian moved in on him, hands stroking down his body, cock rubbing against his ass.  He pushed his hips back; Brian licked his shoulder and thrust in.

        They were cramped and crowded, sweating, wearing half of their clothes.  Brian was thrusting in short, fast strokes, muttering half-coherent love into the back of Nick’s neck.  His hands were rubbing up and down Nick’s thighs, over Nick’s hips, like he’d missed having Nick under his hands.  “Never leave you…never leave you…never leave you…”  He fucked a little harder, and Nick’s right hand gripped the doorhandle more tightly for support.

        Sweat was trickling down the sides of Nick’s face; his dick was begging to be touched; his lower lip hurt from where he was biting down on it; there was pleasure snapping and rippling up his spine from Brian’s even thrusts; he was rocking back into Brian with no patience whatsoever.  Brian’s dick was in him again, and he was going to get the most out of it that he could.

        Brian’s hand was sliding across his stomach.  When Brian found his erection, Nick groaned and jacked his hips forward, fucking Brian’s hand.  Brian gave him a familiar squeeze, and started an experienced rubbing-pulling motion with a professional wrist-flick that Nick only wished he could do.  God, it felt so good, so good to be in Brian’s hand again, so good to know Brian’s touch, so good to oh god, oh god, oh god - - Nick came, crying out, slamming his hips back, spilling over Brian’s hand onto the seat.  He was still seeing stars when he heard Brian call his name, coming inside him.

        Nick couldn’t keep his balance anymore; it was too overwhelming, too draining, and he slipped, falling back onto Brian.  He was still shaking when he felt a kiss on his shoulder, felt Brian run a loving hand over his skin.  “Nick.”

        Nick licked his lips.  “Yeah?”

        “I think we should get dressed.”

        Shit.  Nick climbed off of Brian, snatching up his jeans, taking off his other sneaker so he could get his jeans on again, pulling his shirt down, running his hands through his hair.  “Shit!”

        “What?” Brian asked, also trying to get dressed in the confines of the back seat.

        “I came on the seat.  What am I supposed to wipe it up with?”

        “Here.”  Brian handed him a sock.

        Nick looked at Brian.

        “You had something else in mind?” Brian asked.

        “This is your sock.”

        “Yes,” Brian said, zipping up.

        “Are you going to put it back on?”

        “Probably.”

        Nick kissed him.

        Brian kissed Nick back, laughed, and reached past him to wipe up his cum.  Then Brian sat back and put the sock back on, reaching for a shoe.  “Are you ready?”

        “We’re crazy,” Nick said.

        “It didn’t work, either,” Brian said.

        “What didn’t?” Nick asked.

        “Now I want you even more.”

        “Airplane bathroom?” Nick suggested.

        “No, but it’s a nice thought,” Brian said, fixing Nick’s hair.  “We have until tomorrow afternoon, right?”

        “Right,” Nick said.

        “You can spend all of that time in bed, can’t you?”

        Nick grinned.  “With you?  Count on it.”

        The limo rolled to a stop.

        Brian kissed Nick.  “I love you.”

        “God, I missed you,” Nick said, taking another kiss.

        “You know what I wish?” Brian asked, kissing him again.

        “What?”

        “I wish you hadn’t mentioned the airplane bathroom, because I’m so fucking tempted…”

        It was lucky for Brian that the limo door opened just then, because otherwise Nick would have grabbed him for some extremely lewd activities.

        “Later,” Lance said.

        “Today,” Chris said.

        “What are you fussing about?” Justin asked Chris.  “This is Go Home to Howie Day.  This is Shag Like a Monkey Day.  You should be worried about losing that bet.”

        “Bet?” JC asked.  “What are you betting on now?”

        “I have ten bucks saying that Chris gets his between the plane and Howie’s place,” Justin said.

        “Gets his?” Lance asked.  “What’s that, exactly?  You need to define the terms so he won’t wriggle out on a technicality.”

        “Aha, true,” Justin said.  “I say, orgasm.”

        “I come when Howie says my name,” Chris said.  “That’s not fair.”

        “Orgasm counts,” Justin said.  “You get off before you reach his house, I win.”

        “Fine,” Chris said.  “We’re not having sex in the airport, so that’s fine.  He’s probably driving over, which means he’s driving back, and we’re not going to have sex while he’s operating a motor vehicle.”

        “It’s Howie, king of romantic gesture,” Justin said.  “He’ll probably come to get you in a stretch limo.”

        “I’m not getting laid in the back of a limousine,” Chris said.

        “Why not?” Justin asked.

        “I’m not that athletic.”

        A door opened; Joey joined them.  “Hey,” JC said, warm and concerned.  “Where’ve you been?”

        “Sleeping,” Joey said.  “Getting started on our vacation early.”  He avoided eye contact.  “Are we going?”

        “Yeah,” Justin said.  “Are you okay?”

        “Fine,” Joey said.  “Let’s go.”

        Chris, JC, and Justin exchanged worried looks.

        Lance didn’t seem to notice.

        “Howie, Howie, Howie.”

        Howie smiled.  “AJ.  How are you doing?”

        “I am fine, thank you for asking.  Today’s Chris’s homecoming, is it not?”

        “Yes, it is.”

        “You must be happy about that.”

        “I’m very happy.  I can’t wait to pick him up at the airport.  I can’t wait to bring him home.”

        “He’s lucky to have you.”

        “I’m lucky to have him.”

        “I love you. D.  He makes you happy, and that’s good to see.”

        “I love you, too, AJ.  I want to see you happy, too.”

        “I wouldn’t mind seeing that, myself.  You be good to short and sweet, now.  You know he wants you.  Don’t make him beg for it.”

        “I don’t make Chris beg,” Howie said.  He smiled.  “At least, not every time.”

        “We get to go home, to our own beds, where we can sleep in,” JC said.

        “It’s going to be beautiful,” Chris agreed.

        “Oh, Christopher,” Justin said in a syrupy voice.  “There’s a present for you.”

        “What?” Chris asked.

        Justin put a gift box into Chris’s arms, then peeled back the tissue paper to reveal a dozen red roses in full bloom.  “Guess who it’s from?”

        “Howie!” Chris said, hugging the box to his chest, sniffing the flowers.

        “Dear Chris,” Justin said.  “My little sugar drop, my little apple dumpling, my little candy bear, my little candied yam.”

        Chris reached for the small white card in Justin’s hand.  “Give me that!”

        Justin danced backwards.  “I miss you so much, my little snuggly-wuggly, it makes me ache inside.”

        “That’s mine!” Chris shouted.

        Justin ducked behind JC.  “Oh, schmoogly bear, please come home to your daddy bear.”

        “You - - give me that, you sick little-”

        Justin climbed over the seats.  “Come and get it, schmoogly bear.”

        “You’re the one who’s going to get it, pervert bear.”  Chris handed the box to JC, who could be trusted, and chased after Justin, who yelped and dodged.

        “Kids,” Lance said, standing beside JC, running his fingers over the petals.

        “Oh, schmootzie poo,” Justin called.

        “Thank you for this,” Brian said.

        “For what?” Nick asked.

        “For coming to help.  They really need you.”

        No names; right.  No need to spread personal business all over first class.  “Leaving sucked, but my friends are important to me.  He’ll be okay.”

        “He’ll be okay,” Brian agreed, reassuring him.

        Drew had pretty, pretty eyes, but Nick had missed looking into Brian’s eyes.  “I love to look at you.”

        “I love to look at you, too,” Brian said.

        “He stares at me,” Nick said.  “I’ll be doing whatever, and I’ll look up, and he’s just staring.”

        Brian smiled.  “You’re fascinating.”

        “You don’t stare at me like that.”

        “I’ve had all of these years to get used to you.  He’ll stop staring in another twenty years or so.”

        “Oh.  Okay.  Hey, when we get home, I want to see the fellas before I run off.”

        “I thought you were going to be bed-ridden for the next twenty-four hours.”

        Nick grinned, pleased.  “You’re serious about that, aren’t you?”

        “Yes,” Brian said.  “Very.”

        “Greedy pixie.”

        Brian looked into his eyes.

        Nick shivered.  That whole bathroom idea was sounding better and better.

        Chris was sitting on him.

        To Chris, who has all of my love, from Howie.

        “All of his love,” Chris said.  “All of it.”

        “Great.  Can I get up?” Justin asked.

        Nick wasn’t going to be there.  Not to buss his cheek, not to whisper things in his ear.  Not to coax him with a look, not to tease him with a smile.

        He wasn’t going to make love to Nick, or wake up with Nick, or have private talks wrapped up in Nick’s embrace.

        “You okay?” Jeff asked.

        “Yeah,” Drew said.  Nick wasn’t there to ask him if he was okay.  He wasn’t there to make sure Nick was okay.  He wanted to hear Nick’s snickers, see Nick’s smirk, feel his heart beat faster when Nick did something unexpected and dirty.

        And Brian.  Brian had been there for hours, only hours, but those hours…  Heaven, Brian was heaven.  Nick, who was prone to saying ridiculous things, had said that Brian smelled like heaven and blue eyes.  Drew still didn’t know about that, but he knew that Brian felt like heaven, tasted like heaven, and when Drew had made love to him in the bathtub…

        “He’s spaced out,” Nick said.

        “He’s daydreaming,” Jeff corrected.

        “No, I’m here,” Drew said.  He wanted to remember that moment later, when he was alone and had time to savor it, not when he was in the make-up chair.

        “Hey,” Nick said.  “What…”

        “What happened to Brian’s face?” Jeff asked.

        “I don’t know,” Drew said.  “He said that Lance hit him.”

        “Lance?” Nick repeated.

        “Lance?” Jeff asked.  “Why Lance?  Why Brian?”

        “I don’t know,” Drew said.  “He told Nick to let it go.”

        “Nick’s not going to let that go,” Nick said.

        “Brian told him not to retaliate, and he won’t,” Drew said.

        “Brian hit Lance back, didn’t he?” Nick asked.

        “No,” Drew said.  “Brian doesn’t hit back.”

        “He’s too much of a gentleman,” Nick said.  “If anybody took a swing at me, I’d hit him back.”

        “Brian holds himself to high standards,” Jeff said.

        “What are you going to do?” Nick asked Drew.

        “Do?  He’s not going to do anything,” Jeff said.  “Brian asked Nick not to do anything, and you know he meant that for Drew, too.”

        “If anyone hit you, I’d take him out,” Nick said to Jeff.

        “Don’t live by his example,” Jeff said to Drew.  “He follows his passion.  You have more common sense.  Don’t listen to him.  Brian’s trusting you.”

        “Brian told Nick not to do anything, not Drew.  Right?” Nick asked.

        “Because Brian knows Drew’s smarter than that,” Jeff said.  “He knows Drew doesn’t need to be told, because Drew knows better.”

        “You can take Lance,” Nick told Drew.

        “Lance is our friend!  What are you talking about?” Jeff asked.

        “He hit Brian,” Nick said.  “More than once, from the look of it.”

        “There are two sides to this story,” Jeff said.  “We don’t even know why he did it.”

        “Give me one good reason you can think of for hitting Brian,” Nick said.

        Jeff thought about it, and come up with nothing.

        “Justin told us Joey said Lance is a time bomb,” Nick said.  “I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s lashing out at people.  But Brian?  When would Brian ever deserve to be hit?  That’s what bothers me.”

        “That doesn’t mean that hitting Lance back is the right response,” Jeff said.

        “All I’m going to do is call Lance,” Drew said.  “I’m going to call him.  Okay?  I want to talk to him, man to man, not fly out there and pummel him.”

        “All right,” Jeff said.  “That’s well within your rights.  I just don’t want you running after Lance and getting in trouble.  If you hit Lance, and Joey or AJ jumps in to defend Lance, then someone from the Nick Lachey Society is going to jump in to defend you, and it’ll turn into a mess from there.  I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

        “I’ll be fine,” Drew said, stepping down from the make-up chair.  “It isn’t often that I get to take care of Brian, and it’s important to me to do it right, now that I have the chance.”

        “I can understand that,” Jeff said.

        “You’re stronger than I am,” Nick said.  “I’d be on the next plane out, because friend or no friend, nobody touches my husband.”

        “He has to respect Brian’s wishes,” Jeff said.

        “Brian has to respect his need to defend him,” Nick said.

        “If anyone ever tries to take me on, I don’t want you to hear about it and hunt the person down,” Jeff said.

        “Who’s going to be stupid enough to take you on?” Nick asked.  “Besides AJ.”

        “Great example.  Remember how that went?  If you’d let him hit me, it would have been over.  You stepped in to defend me from him, Kevin stepped in to defend him from you, it escalated from there.  We all ended up brawling like a bunch of idiots.”

        “I’m not letting anyone touch you.”

        “I can defend myself,” Jeff said to Nick.

        “You shouldn’t have to,” Nick said.

        “I’m not getting through, am I?” Jeff asked.

        “You’re going to have to give up,” Drew told Jeff.  “Getting through his thick head, that’ll take work.”

        Nick smacked Drew.

        Drew smacked Nick back.

        “You’ll hit me but not Lance?  What’s that about?” Nick asked.

        Drew did it again.  “You don’t count.  I don’t have to treat you with any kind of respect.”

        “I’m your brother!”

        “That’s my point.”

        “I want to talk to you, too,” Lance said.  He leaned closer, his voice soft.  “I want you to get me AJ’s number.”

        “What?” Chris asked.

        “Howie has it.  Get it for me.”

        “He’s not going to give me AJ’s number.  I don’t want AJ’s number.  If you’re not supposed to have it-”

        “I don’t give a fuck what I’m supposed to have,” Lance said, his eyes fierce.  “Get it for me.”

        “Or what?” Chris asked, faking bravado.

        “Or else,” Lance hissed.  “You do what I want.”

        “Back, Satan,” Chris warned.  “You’re not the boss of me.”

        Lance slowly drew a rose from the box in Chris’s arms.  “You love Howie, don’t you?”

        “Hell yes,” Chris said.

        “Maybe you don’t think I can take JC from Justin, but how much trouble do you think I’d have taking Howie from you?”

        Shock, anger.  That evil freak!  “You wouldn’t-”

        Lance snapped the flower from its stem.

        Chris stared.  Anger was overcome by fear.

        “Get me AJ’s number.”

        Nick gave Howie a squeeze, kissing his cheek.  “Are you really here to see us?”

        “Kevin is,” Howie said.  “I’m here to pick up Chris, but I thought I’d drop by early to welcome you home.”

        “You should be here only for us, but since it’s you, and you’re here for Chris, I’ll let it slide,” Nick said.  “The two of you are sticky sweet.”

        “Thanks,” Howie said.  “I think.”

        “I think I hurt something,” Kevin said, rubbing his lower back.

        “Geezer,” Nick said.  “Are you taking us home?”

        “I can,” Kevin said.  “How’s Drew?”

        “Good,” Nick said.  “Happy.  Completely sappy in love with Brian.  I missed you guys.”

        “I can tell,” Kevin said.  “We missed you, too.”

        “You know you love me,” Nick said, grinning.

        “I do,” Howie said.  “Most days.”

        “Yeah, I love you, too,” Kevin said, wrapping his arm around Nick’s shoulders, walking him to the door.  “Have you been taking care of yourself?  You look like you lost weight.”

        “It’s muscle!  Here, feel my arm, I’m practically as ripped as you are these days.”

        Brian watched them with a smile.

        “Any problems with the in-laws?” Howie asked.

        “No,” Brian said.  “Nick’s trying to be happy, and I don’t want to ruin that.  We’ll deal with it later.”  He smiled at Howie.  “Excited about Chris?”

        “I woke up grinning like a fool,” Howie said.  “I want to ask you for a favor.  It’s nothing serious.  You remember how I kissed Kevin, to get AJ’s attention.”

        “Yes,” Brian said.

        “That wasn’t about me, and it wasn’t about Chris.  It was a mistake, and nothing like it is going to happen again.  If Chris finds out, it’ll do more harm than good.”

        “It would make him worry about things he doesn’t need to worry about,” Brian said, agreeing.  “He’s starting to trust you, and if he hears about old indiscretions, that trust will be gone.”

        “I know you won’t tell him, but Nick lets things slip at odd times.”

        Brian nodded, picking up on where Howie was going.  “I’ll tell him.  He won’t say anything.”

        “Thank you.  I’ve already hurt Chris so much, I can’t do it again.”

        “Brian, you coming?” Nick called.

        “Wait,” Howie said.  “I…  Do you have personal provisions with you?”

        “Personal what?  Oh!” Brian said.  “Do, are you…”

        “If you don’t mind.”

        “No, no.”  Brian glanced around.  “Here.”  He slipped Howie lube from his pocket.  “Have fun with Chris.”  He smiled, then hurried after Nick and Kevin.

        “Hmm,” JC said, rubbing Justin’s nipple through his shirt.

        Justin shivered, adjusting himself in his pants.  “Let’s make love soon.”

        “When?” JC asked, sucking on Justin’s earlobe.

        “Maybe next week,” Justin said.

        “I want you to start masturbating, while we wait,” JC said.  “Your body needs the release, baby.”

        “Okay,” Justin said, his hand behind JC’s knee pulling JC closer.  “Whatever you want, baby.”

        JC licked at Justin’s lips.  “You taste so good, Justin.”

        “Mmm…  JC…”  Justin moaned into JC’s kiss.

        “Scarf!  Scarf!” Chris shouted.  “I need a scarf!”

        “Oh, baby,” JC sighed, licking the roof of Justin’s mouth.

        “Turtleneck!  I will pay five hundred dollars to anyone who gives me a turtleneck!”

        “Oh, JC…”

        “Kevin, this is Drew.”

        “Hey.  I just drove Brian and Nick home from the airport, safe and sound.”

        “I need…  I need your help with something.”

        “Shoot,” Kevin said, getting out of the car, walking to the door.

        “I saw the bruises on Brian’s face.”

        Kevin’s inner war began.

        “He told me that Lance hit him, but he didn’t say why.  I need to know why.  Before I talk to Lance.”

        Kevin hesitated.

        “Brian won’t tell me.  Anyone I ask from *NSYNC will work to protect Lance.  I don’t want to test AJ or Howie’s loyalties.  You’re the only one I can ask, who I think might have answers.  Did Brian tell you what happened?”

        “He told me,” Kevin said.  “But I wasn’t there, so I didn’t see or hear anything firsthand.”

        “I want to know what happened.  I’m going to talk to Lance, and I want all of the information before I do it.  Brian is my husband.  I don’t want to be too hard on Lance if it’s not warranted, but I also don’t want to let it go if…  I can’t think of any reason for Lance to go after Brian, and I need to understand what happened.”

        “Brian doesn’t want this to escalate.”

        “If it had been you or Howie or AJ who’d done it, I’d respect Brian’s wishes and let it go.  I’m willing to let this go, I’ll be happy to walk away, but I want to make that decision on my own, with all of the information.”

        “He didn’t tell you what happened for a reason.”

        “For what reason?”

        Kevin, in his house now, sat on the sofa.  “If I tell you what happened, and you go after Lance, and it comes back that I’m the one who told you, it’s going to look like I’m deliberately creating more trouble for Lance.”

        “And if I let Lance get away with disrespecting Brian, I’m going to look like a fool,” Drew said.  “Brian’s going to look like a fool.  I have nothing but respect for Brian’s views, and I’m more than proud of him for walking away from it without retaliating, but I’ll admit that he’s a better person than I am.  I want Lance to face consequences for his actions.”

        “I shouldn’t be telling you this.”

        “I have too much common sense to fly off the handle.  If it were a simple situation, I’d tell Lance what I think of him and let it go.  But you’re right; Brian didn’t tell us what happened for a reason.  That lets me know how serious it was.  I’m not letting Lance get away with it.  He’s my friend, but I’m not so close to him I’ll look the other way while he’s showing complete disrespect for Brian.”

        “All I can tell you is what Brian told me.”

        “That’s all I’m asking for.”

        “It’s going to be a while before you even see Lance again.  This isn’t worth drawing it out that long.”

        “Maybe not.”

        Kevin prided himself on doing the right thing.  He had a very strong religious background, and had been steeped to the eyeballs in moral righteousness.  It was very seldom that Kevin did something he knew he should not be doing, but on occasion, it happened.  One of those times was when he’d taken AJ to bed.  One of those times was when he’d kissed Howie.  And one of those times was when he sat on his sofa and told Drew what had happened in that hallway between Lance and Brian.

        There was a long period of silence from Drew’s end.

        Kevin waited.

        “Thank you,” Drew said.

        “I’m sorry,” Kevin said.  “I didn’t want…”  He stopped himself.  He knew one of the reasons Brian hadn’t wanted to tell Drew.  Either Lance knew about Drew’s very private sex life, or Lance suspected, but either way, it wasn’t good.  If Lance knew, then Lance had gotten the information somewhere; and if Lance knew, then who else knew?

        More silence.  Then, “When did Brian tell you?”

        “Right after it happened.  He called me first, and I called Howie, and the three of us had a conference call.”

        “What did he say?”

        “He wanted us to talk him down.  He was furious.  He wanted to send Lance to hell.  He wanted us to calm him down so he could regain control of himself.  Brian’s righteous anger is…impressive.”

        “He’s stronger than I am,” Drew said.  “I wouldn’t have been able to take it.  I would hit back.  Strike back.  Yell back.”

        “Anyone would have,” Kevin said.  “I don’t know how he stopped himself.  I think…  I think he didn’t want to dignify anything Lance had said with a response.  What Lance said didn’t deserve any kind of acknowledgement or validation.  And if Brian had started to say anything, he would have ended up skinning Lance alive with his words, and he didn’t want to do that to someone AJ loves.”

        “I have to go,” Drew said.  “Thank you for talking to me.”

        “Thank you for protecting Brian.”

        JC unbuckled his seatbelt, rising, pulling Justin to stand, kissing Justin’s cheek.

        Justin turned his head and kissed JC’s mouth.

        Lance watched JC and Justin without expression.

        Joey avoided looking at anyone.

        Chris patted the bandage he’d slapped on his neck.  First aid kits came in handy.

        JC and Justin led the way off of the plane.

        Chris followed, feeling so nervous he wanted to throw up.

        Lance started after Chris, but was stopped by a hand on his arm.  He turned, and was pulled against Joey’s chest.

        “Lance-”

        “Good-bye, Joey.”  Lance turned and walked away.

        “No, Lance-”

        Lance kept walking, leaving Joey behind.  Now was not the time.  He had other priorities right now.  Priorities like AJ.  And JC.  And getting what he deserved.

        “What’s with the grin?” Justin asked.

        Lance carefully replaced the malicious smirk on his face with a more natural smile.  “It’s good to be home.”

        “There’s a limo waiting for me and JC,” Justin said.  “You want to ride with us?  We can drop you off at your place.”

        “I wouldn’t want to intrude on your alone time,” Lance said.

        “Don’t worry about it,” Justin said.  “Come with us.  We can keep our hands off each other for a few minutes.”

        “If you’re sure,” Lance said.

        “Totally sure,” Justin said.  “You want to - - where’s Joey?  We can take him, too.”

        “He has a ride,” Lance said.  “One of his girlfriends.  Rachelle or Rochelle or someone.”

        “Oh,” Justin said.  “Okay.”  Lance smiled; it was easy to lie to Justin.  “Hey, Chris,” Justin said.  “You let me know when you’re ready to hand over that ten bucks.”

        “I’m winning the bet,” Chris said.

        “Have a good time,” JC said.  “Say hi to Howie for us.”

        “Yeah, say hi to Howie for us,” Lance said, smiling for JC and Justin’s benefit.  Chris crushed his box of flowers to his chest, so Lance knew he’d gotten the message.  Good.  Lance left him there and followed JC and Justin.

        Chris hugged his roses.  Lance was evil.  Roses were good.  Lance was evil.  JC and Justin had to be saved.  Lance was - - oh.  Dear.  Sweet.  Jesus.  “Howie.”

        Howie kissed him, soft and sweet, slipping a new flower in with the others.  Patented wink.  “Welcome home.”

        “Oh, god, I love you,” Chris said.  Howie’s smile, those liquid brown eyes, were making Chris’s dick hard.  His heart was going a mile a minute.  His knees were definitely a lot weaker than they’d been a second ago.

        Howie kissed him again, gently.  No tongue in public.  “They’re taking the stuff to the car.  What happened to your neck?”

        “The car?” Chris asked.  “You drove, didn’t you?”

        “I rented a limo,” Howie said.

        Of course he had.  It was Howie.  Ten bucks said it was a stretch limo.  “I don’t suppose you’re driving?”

         “No, I’m not,” Howie said.  “Why?”

        “No reason.”  Okay, but it was Howie, and Howie wouldn’t jump him in the back of a limo; Howie had too much style for that.

        “What happened to your neck?  Are you all right?”

        “Oh, fine, fine, I’m fine, it’s fine, how’s the weather?  Not too hot?  It was nice in,” oh god, where the hell had he just come from?  “I got the flowers.”

        “I hope you liked them,” Howie said.

        “Yes, yes, liking, yes.  The note was…nice.  Nice touch.  Nice note.  Nice.”  Chris shivered just a little when Howie’s arm came around his waist.  “Nice,” he repeated.

        “Thank you,” Howie said.

        Chris concentrated his attention on the back of the security guard walking in front of them.  “So we’re going to your place?”

        “Yes,” Howie said.  “Would you rather go somewhere else?”

        “No, no, that’s fine, that’s fine.”

        “I can be flexible.”

        Chris’s vision swam.  “Getting dizzy,” he warned.

        Howie laughed.

        Chris’s dick jumped.

        The limo was nice.  Chris was getting very attached to his box of flowers; it made a great barrier between himself and Howie.  Also, it was a gift from Howie, and therefore it was Very Very Important.  When Howie pried the box from his clutches, he missed it very much; but then Howie slid closer on the seat, one arm around his shoulders, a hand on his chest unbuttoning his half-buttoned shirt, seductive gaze making it suddenly quite warm in the back of the limo.

        “Can I…help you with something?” Chris asked.

        Howie rubbed Chris’s chest through his T-shirt.  “Is your neck all right?”

        “What?  Oh, this old thing?” Chris asked, feeling the bandage.  “It’s nothing.  There was a needle sort of thing, it jabbed the side of my neck repeatedly, and it must have had some sort of ink in it, because it left a bizarre mark in a completely random pattern.”

        “May I see it?” Howie asked.

        “Maybe later,” Chris said.  “Later’s good for me.”

        “I’ve missed you,” Howie said, tugging Chris’s shirt free from his waistband.

        “Are you seducing me?” Chris asked.

        “Yes,” Howie said, fingers creeping under Chris’s shirt, warm against his skin.

        “Here?”

        “Yes,” Howie said, sliding impossibly closer.

        “Aren’t you too suave for this?”

        “I brought champagne, but I’d rather taste you.”  Howie kissed him, tongue slicking into his mouth.  Howie’s kiss was devastatingly graceful, and tended to leave Chris feeling like their mouths had just had sex.  There had been a few very special, memorable, rare occasions, all when Howie had been close to orgasm, that he’d kissed dirty and raunchy.  The idea that Howie was capable of that blew Chris away every time he thought of it.  Chris had never been kissed that obscenely in his life.

        Chris’s dick was very hard, and very happy to be this close to Howie again, and very pleased about all of this kissing.  It was also very pleased about Howie’s hand stroking Chris’s chest.  That felt very good and happy-making.  But Chris’s brain was still tripping and misfiring over the whole “Howie?  Here?” concept.

        Then Howie’s fingers skated over Chris’s fly, quickly skimming down over private things before working open Chris’s pants.

        Chris stopped kissing Howie and looked down.

        Howie’s hand was opening Chris’s pants.

        Howie’s hand had opened Chris’s pants.

        Howie’s hand was slipping inside Chris’s pants, inside Chris’s underwear, finding Chris’s dick, and pulling it out.

        “I’m going to come,” Chris said to himself, still staring at what was definitely his dick in what looked like Howie’s hand.

        A tongue in his ear.  Chris hadn’t liked that, before, but he loved it when Howie did it.  “Do you want a blowjob?” Howie asked, slipping his hand back inside Chris’s drawers to roll Chris’s balls in his palm.

        “No, no,” Chris said.  “I can’t let you do that.  I wouldn’t respect myself in the morning.”

        “I want to,” Howie whispered, stroking Chris’s erection.  He had one knee up, his leg over Chris’s leg, casual and familiar.  “I want to take you in my mouth while we’re here.”

        “We can’t have all our fun now,” Chris said.  “What’s going to be left when we get back to your place?”

        “When we get home,” Howie said, “I want you to make love to me.”

        Chris bit the base of his thumb, hard, to keep from coming.  It almost didn’t work.

        “Do you want to?” Howie whispered in his ear.

        “Make love to you?” Chris asked, politely taking Howie’s hand in his to keep Howie off his dick so he wouldn’t come like an amateur.  “Oh, what the hell, let’s just do it now.”

        Seductive chuckle in his ear, just like when they were on the phone, except they weren’t on the phone.  Howie was here, and this was real, and Chris’s blood was hot.  “All right,” Howie said, and licked his neck.  “Let’s do it here.”

        Almighty holy-  “What?” Chris asked, dizzy, fuzzy with shock.

        Howie slid away from him, and in a moment Howie’s shirt was on the ground and Howie was wearing a black tank T-shirt.  Then Howie started unbuttoning and unzipping, and Chris had to stare.  Howie reached over and tugged Chris’s pants down to his ankles, then knelt astride him on the seat, pants in the same location, putting something in Chris’s hand.

        Chris stared at it.  Lube.  JC always had lube, probably stashed some in every pocket, but Chris didn’t, Howie didn’t, because they had sex at normal times in normal places.  They didn’t need to carry it with them.  But Howie had some.  Howie had been prepared for any contingency.  “You…”

        “I don’t want to wait,” Howie said.  “I debated pulling you into the airport bathroom.”

        “We’re almost home,” Chris said.

        “Then you’d better hurry,” Howie said, and kissed him.

        Hell.  Chris went for it.  He had kiss sex with Howie’s mouth while he let his fingers do the walking.  Good freaking god, Howie’s ass felt good.  That quick rush of laughter into their kiss felt good, too.  God, he’d missed that.

        He slid forward a little, pulling Howie’s hips up and in.  Howie stopped kissing him, and he made himself release Howie’s mouth.  He held Howie’s hips, and Howie held the base of his cock, and together they fitted their bodies to each other.

        Chris felt a Justin-esque scream of pleasure welling up inside him at the tight-tight heat closing over his dick, but that was cut off by a shocked gasp as erotic ecstasy bitch-slapped him when Howie sank all the way down.  He struggled to breathe, and struggled not to come, while Howie did a slow arch, settling in, breathing deeply.

        A frown passed over Howie’s face; he rocked his hips forward, then back, adjusting.

        Chris dug his fingers into Howie’s hips too hard, having to grab onto something.  If Howie didn’t start doing something, Chris was going to be forced to take over.  Or to come like an overwhelmed virgin.

        Howie moved, beginning an up-and-down rocking motion, rolling his hips, freaking Chris in a tight rhythm.  Chris’s hands relaxed, not wanting to control or limit Howie’s movements.  Howie took Chris’s hand and put it on his erection.

        Howie’s cock was the most beautiful thing ever, besides Howie himself.  Chris was never going to take his hand off of it.  He stroked it a little too fast, excited by its throbbing heat.

        Howie groaned, riding Chris’s dick at a faster pace, one hand back on Chris’s knee for balance, his other hand reaching up, palm flat on the ceiling.  His skin was flushed, his back arched slightly, his muscles flexing as he rocked and rode.

        Chris jacked Howie’s cock, wanting Howie to come so he could come, wanting Howie to come so he could watch, wanting Howie to come because Howie was so good to him, Howie deserved it.  He watched Howie’s head go back, watched Howie’s muscles start to tense, felt Howie’s grip on his knee tighten.  Howie fucked down onto him a little harder, let out an X-rated moan, smacked the roof, and came.

        Just like that, crash fizz zoom, Chris was coming, too, hearing himself groaning like he’d been holding it in for hours, which it felt like he had.  God, that felt good.  He should’ve remembered that having sex with Howie was no simple feat.  It tended to test Chris’s stamina, for one thing.

        A flick of Howie’s tongue licked sweat from Chris’s temple.  Chris shivered.  “Thank you,” Howie whispered, kissing his chin next.  “I needed that.”

        “No problem,” Chris said, putting his hand on Howie’s back, feeling how warm Howie was through the T-shirt, which was damp with sweat and clinging to Howie’s muscular body.  Damned lucky T-shirt.  “Glad to be of service.”  Oh, oops.  “Shouldn’t we be getting dressed?”

        “Not until you agree to do something for me when we get home.”

        “Would it be unseemly to promise yes, anything you want, no matter what it is?”

        Howie laughed.

        Chris was in love.