Disclaimer: I don't know them, this is fiction, Merry Christmas!

Dedicated: To my Angel, Amy!!!! Love you, girl! And to Bec, 'cause she gives me all the support and information I could ever need!


        "Morning!"
        Justin groaned and rolled away from the window as Lance flung open the curtains. He buried his head in the pillow and tried to go back to bed, doing his best to ignore the brightness.
        "Nuh uh, you gotta get up. You've got a date with Britney in two hours." Lance climbed onto the bed and gave Justin's shoulder a shake. "Get up, Justin!"
        Justin smacked away Lance's hand and moaned for Lance to leave him alone. "I don't need an hour an' a half to get ready," he mumbled. "Come back in an hour."
        Lance sighed an sat on his heels. "Any less of a friend and I would." He shook Justin again. "Justin, don't make me pull a Joey."
        Slowly one of Justin's eyelids pulled open in what looked like a major struggle, and a crystalline blue was revealed. "You wouldn't."
        Lance nodded matter-of-factly. "Would and will, so up now."
        Justin sighed drearily and rolled out of the bed, stretching as he padded towards the bathroom. He paused and lowered his arms, turning back to Lance. "You wouldn't really throw water on me, would you?"
        Lance shrugged innocently. "You're up, aren't you?"
        Justin flashed a grin. "Thanks."
        Lance nodded and stood as well. "I'm going back to my room. Have fun today." He turned and started to the door.
        "Thanks!" Justin called right before the door shut. He stared at the closed door for a minute, then retreated into the bathroom.

        "I'm hungry," Joey announced suddenly from where he was sitting on the couch with his hands folded in his lap. Lance looked back over his shoulder at him from where he was laying on his stomach on the ground, watching tv. Chris and JC had gone Christmas shopping, and they refused to let Joey and Lance come, so the two left behind decided to stay in and be boring.
        "You could make something," Lance suggested, nodding at the kitchen.
        "That requires effort," Joey reminded. His eyes lit and he sat up straight as he was 'blessed' with an idea, as Joey liked to say. "I was just blessed with an idea!" Lance snickered inwardly as he waited for Joey to go on. "Let's go out to eat! You an' me don't spend enough time together!"
        Lance paused to think about Joey's words, then shrugged. "Okay," he agreed, smiling. "Let's do it."
        Joey grinned. "Good. C'mon!" He jumped to his feet, turning off the tv in the process and then reaching under Lance's arms to pull him up. Lance laughed out loud as he was hauled up, then allowed Joey to take his hand as he was dragged out the door.
        "Security!" Joey called as they hurried to the elevators. Lance pulled his hand free and laughed as five heads poked out around the corner. "We're going out!" Joey declared. "And you can't stop us!"
        "Where are you going?" Cell, one of their body guards, wanted to know.
        "Ice cream!" Joey stated enthusiastically, giving a jab at the elevator's 'down' button. "Maybe shopping. Dunno for sure." He shot Cell and Ramond a sly grin. "You two wanna come?"
        Ramond eyed Joey derisively. "You didn't really think that I'd let you go alone...?"
        Joey shrugged. "I thought you'd want to crash our date. Apparently I was right."
        Lance just smiled and listened to Ramond and Joey banter back and forth. They were actually really good friends, but Joey could be really good friends with anyone. He was just talented that way.
        Lance's mind drifted to JC and Chris, shopping for Christmas presents for the other guys. He wondered what JC would get for him. He already knew what he would get JC--a personal shopper! No, he was only kidding. He would find something perfect for JC. Something would jump out at him and scream, "I am JC's Christmas present!" Or, at least, something like that.
        Chris was easy to shop for. He'd been complaining about his laptop being out of style, so Lance bought him a new one--even managed to get the version that hadn't been released yet.
        Joey wasn't quite as easy, but Lance had gotten him the Superman #1 signed comic. He had scoured the world for it--literally--and didn't even ask for the price as he handed over his credit card. That had taken an unusually large chunk out of his bank account, but he didn't care because he knew Joey would love it.
        Lance had yet to get Justin anything. He thought about all the Britney crap in Claire's or something, ten decided against it. Justin got the real thing, he didn't need some cheesy pictures. But if Justin wantd something he bought it--there were no questions asked. That made the boy extremely difficult to shop for.
        Lance was giving all the body guards plane tickets home. They had families they needed to see. It would be cruel to keep them away from Christmas, not just to them but to their families.
        He bought his mom a new China set, and his dad a new desktop computer. Lance had bought his sister Stacy and her husband a new car.
        Lance liked buying gifts.
        There was something about giving something to someone else that was just exciting. Lance liked to give more than receive.
        The elevator doors swung open, and Lance and Joey, along with Ramond and Cell, got on. Lance continued to ignore them as he thought about Justin and Britney. Justin was probably loving her for all he was worth right about then, and Britney, hell, Britney was probably screaming his name so loudly that the entire hotel got hot.
        Lance shuddered at the thought.
        His mind drifted back to JC, and Lance couldn't help but smile slightly. JC was so wonderful, his absolute best friend in the whole world, and JC was hopelessly devoted to Lance. Well, his friendship, anyway. JC was dating Bobbie, and everyone knew it. JC spent at least an hour every night talking to his girlfriend, and sometimes it drove Lance mad. Though, when it really came down to it, if JC had to choose between Lance and Bobbie, JC would without a second thought choose Lance and everyone knew it, so Lance couldn't be too bitter.
        The elevator dinged open, and they all stepped out to find a taxi. Joey instructed him to drive to the nearest ice cream parlor, to Lance's amusement. His laugh drew Joey's attention, and those brown eyes turned on him, sparkling happily.
        "You think I'm funny?" Joey mocked, sounding hurt as he placed a melodramtic hand to his heart. "I'm wounded, Lansten."
        Lance rolled his eyes. "I'm sure that you are," he snorted teasingly, giving Joey a little nudge with his shoulder. Joey was in the middle; on his other side was Ramond. Cell was upfront with the taxi driver, making him be cautious in his driving. He had to; it was his job to make sure that the guys were alright.
        Joey continued to tease Lance, who merely took it all in stride. He did enjoy Joey's company. Joey was such a sweet guy, and so easy to get along with. He was definitely one to brighten anyone's day.
        The trip to the ice cream parlor was a breeze, and after paying the driver, they went inside. Cell and Ramond tagged along a few steps behind, but they were there nonetheless. Sometimes Lance really hated growing up being watched. Damn, people bitched about 'the government watching their every move'? They should try being famous and being followed day in and day out, every second of every minute of every hour for five years. And these people didn't even bother trying to disguise the fact that they were following them. They just did it. As much as Lance knew it was for his own safety--he'd been out without body guards when the girls got wild and almost didn't make it--he couldn't help but be slightly resentful of them.
        Lance ordered a banana split, Joey got a sundae, and Cell and Ramond didn't want anything, so after getting their orders Joey and Lance sat at one table while Cell and Ramond sat at another, despite Lance and Joey's attempts to get them to sit with them.
        "So how're things between you and you-know-who?" Lance asked, running his spoon along the side of the ice cream and then sticking the cold, sweet desert in his mouth. He couldn't help but smile at the taste. It seemed like so long since he had been to an ice cream shop.
        Joey flashed a grin. "We're fine," he assured Lance, taking a large bite of his ice cream.
        Lance grinned back. Joey and Julie had been together for about three weeks, and Joey was already out of that 'dazed' stage. Though, Lance reasoned, Joey was a seasoned pro at girlfriends, unlike his idiotic Mississippian friend. 4 girlfriends in his entire life, and he was 20 years old, Lance thought to himself. How pathetic could he get? Even Justin had had something like 8, and he was a year younger than Lance. Though Justin was also a bigger player than Lance. Oh god, he would not be comparing himself and Justin. That was just mean to himself.
        Joey's spoon came out and snatched some ice cream out of Lance's bowl before sticking the bite in his mouth. "Ooo, that's good," Joey sighed happily. "You always order good ice cream, Lansten."
        Lance laughed. "Thanks. I try not to order something that tastes awful."
        Joey started snickering. "You mean like Justin?"
        Lance shuddered at the memory. "Who mixes into a goo vanilla and bubble gum cranberry crunch with mint chocolate chip ice cream besides Justin?"
        Joey glanced up at Lance, his eyes lit as though amused. "You remember all that?"
        Lance paused in bringing the spoon to his mouth, looking back at Joey. "Of course," he answered, caught off guard at the question and the look in the other man's eyes, as if he was teasing or knew something. "I was pulling it out of my hair for a week."
        Joey laughed, and Lance relaxed, but only slightly as he took the ice cream off of the spoon. "I forgot about that. But I'll never forget the look on your face when he dumped it on your head after your little quarrel."
        Lance shrugged, grinning despite it all. "Yeah, that was amusing, wasn't it? Who knew that he was so testy about his relationship with Miss Spears?" He remembered teasing Justin about Britney a few months ago. Justin had gotten angry and started to snap some things about it being none of Lance's business back at him, and when Lance continued to chide at him, Justin turned the bowl over on Lance's head and stormed out of the hotel room, where they had brought the ice cream back to. Lance had been so shocked that he hadn't been able to respond. The other guys had exchanged wary looks, watching Lance closely, but Lance knew what to do. He stood calmly, his ice cream cone in hand, went straight to Justin's room, knocked on the door, and when Justin angrily opened it, shoved his ice cream in Justin's face. Justin had stared at him, and covered in ice cream, they both started laughing. Then they had gone back to their own rooms to take showers and reconveined in Joey's room and ordered room service ice cream, laughing the whole time. The other three guys had seemed relieved that nothing bad had happened, but Lance knew how to handle Justin.
        "I still can't believe how calm you were," Joey said, shaking his head. "I wouldn't have been so good about it. I would have attacked his sorry ass."
        Lance laughed and shrugged. "That's just Justin. You gotta put up with his mood swings, and Britney's a sensitive subject with him." He paused. "I wonder why, though. They've been together for what? Two years now?"
        "Off and on," Joey agreed, shrugging and taking another bite of Lance's ice cream. Lance ignored the thief. "I really couldn't tell you why he gets so upset about it. But it's a recent development, you know? Maybe over just the last six months or something."
        Lance nodded. "I wonder if things with her aren't going so great," he commented thoughtfully, allowing the ice cream to smooth out over his tongue before pulling his spoon out of his mouth and dragging it over the almost gone first scoop of ice cream.
        Joey shook his head. "I couldn't tell ya." He sat up. "I've just been blessed with an idea!"
        Lance did his best not to snicker, but he couldn't help the small smile that crossed his lips. "Tell me," he stated, holding his lips back from laughing.
        Joey leaned forward and dropped his voice conspiratorily. "Maybe Justin really likes you and he doesn't want you to hear about the gory details of his sex life with Britney."
        Lance arched an eyebrow. "I'm sure that's it, Joe," Lance drolled, rolling his eyes. "Justin's as straight as a door nail."
        Joey hiked up an eyebrow. "Which says nothing about you," he reminded, his brown eyes bright. "I won't tell anyone, Lance, you can trust me."
        Lance scowled at Joey. "I trust you with my life Joe, you know that. And if there was something else to tell you, I'd do it."
        Joey paused and licked his lips slowly. "Lance, I'm not going to pressure you into saying a word. But just so you know... If there was something you wanted me to know... I'd be cool with it."
        Lance frowned. "Thanks, Joe. If there's something I want you to know, I'll be sure to tell you."
        Joey grinned slightly and leaned back in his chair after snatching another bite from Lance's desert. "So what should we do after this?" Joey asked Lance.
        Lance paused as he savored the coolness in his mouth and thoughtfully reguarded Joey's question. "We could find an arcade," he suggested slowly. "Laser tag?"
        Joey brightened immediately. "Laser tag!" he exclaimed excitedly. "That would be so much fun, Lansten! You an' me against the world! What an idea you were blessed with, my man!"
        Lance laughed out loud and shook his head. "Alright. Well, we've got to find an arcade, first."
        "No problem." Joey stood and went to the counter. As Lance watched, Joey flashed that smile that most girls couldn't resist and engaged the two teenage girls behind the counter in a conversation. Lance watched in disbelief as they burst out laughing, giggling like little girls, and then told Joey what he wanted to know. He flashed them an appreciative grin, scrawled his name on a piece of paper, and then returned to Lance at the table. "Come on," Joey instructed quietly. "We've got to get out of here. Those two girls went to go call everyone they know."
        "Then why'd you talk to 'em?" Lance groaned, not wanting to give up the banana split.
        "Bring it," Joey suggested urgently, looking back at the girls, who were in fact on their cell phones talking in excited whispers. "Lance, come on."
        Lance gazed past Joey's shoulder, stood, and tossed the rest of the ice cream in the garbage even as he walked past it, looking sadly at it as they went back outside and Joey called for a taxi. One was there only minutes later, just as a large carful of girls showed up. Lance's eyes widened in surprise and he snuck a look back inside at the two girls at the counter, who were squealing and jumping up and done. Lance burst out laughing and ducked inside the taxi quickly, followed closely by Joey and then by the two body guards as they all crammed into the taxi together and the driver sped off.
        "That was just funny," Lance laughed, shaking his head. Joey shot a look at him.
        "The ice cream did strange things to your perceptions," Joey told him. "Are you going to be able to play laser tag?"
        Lance couldn't help but laugh again. "I think I'll manage," he assured Joey teasingly. Joey grinned an affectionately slung an arm around Lance's shoulders.
        Lance grinned up at Joey and settled back in the seat, smiling to himself as he leaned into Joey's embrace. Joey was sweet, and strong, and kind, and so absolutely wonderful. He was hard not to care about.
        Lance studied his reflection in the glass, then Joey's beside him, and then back to his own. Adam's apple too large. Dark circles under eyes too noticable. Hair too long and spiked all wrong. He made a face at his reflection and turned away from it, forcing himself not to concentrate on it. He hated mirrors. He hated looking at himself. It was almost painful. That was why he had to hire people to do his hair and make up, because he couldn't bare to look in the mirror for that long.
        Lance thought about JC and Chris, and wondered what they were doing.

        Lance and Joey came into the hotel room laughing. Lance used the key he had taken from JC earlier and slipped it back in his pocket as they joined the other three.
        "You're back!" Lance declared, his eyes settling on Justin. "Did ya have fun with Britney?" His eyes landed on JC and he felt his heart soar. "Did you get me good presents?"
        "Where have you two been?!" JC burst out, catching Lance completely off guard. From the sounds of it, JC had been holding that back for quite a while.
        "We went out," Lance stated weakly, leaning back against Joey, who was already slipping his arm around Lance's waist protectively. JC's outcry was completely out of character and surprising.
        "You couldn't have called?" JC snapped, standing and stalking forward to stare down Lance. "Do you know how worried we've been?! Why wasn't your cell on?"
        "I-I..." Lance started, leaning back further against Joey. He'd never seen JC so upset before, and with every step that Lance was taking back, his anger seemed to grow. "I mean, it was."
        "Oh? Then how come when we've spent the past hour and a half calling you, you didn't answer?" JC demanded darkly.
        Lance felt Joey's grip tighten on him. "Back off, JC," Joey ordered smoothly. "Lance and I just grabbed some food, went laser tagging, played at the arcade, got some dinner, and came back here. We had Ramond and Cell with us the whole time."
        JC's dark blue eyes didn't waver from Lance's. He looked so angry... Lance hadn't meant to scare him. He loved JC. JC was his best friend.
        "Sorry, Jace," Lance mumbled softly, dropping his eyes in shame.
        "Lance," JC whispered softly, and Lance looked up hopefully to see the angry look in JC's eyes shatter and the fear and relief shine through as JC reached out and hugged him tightly, Joey's arm slipping off in the process. "We were so worried when we couldn't get a hold of you."
        "Sorry," Lance offered quietly. "We didn't mean to scare you guys."
        "Shhh... I know. It's okay. I'm sorry I yelled at you." JC's voice was soothing and gentle, so much like the JC that Lance knew. He must have scared JC... JC was trembling. "We tried your cell, Joey's cell, the guard's cells... No one was picking up."
        "Sorry," Lance apologized again. He knew it was a lame word, because nothing could make up for the worry that he'd put JC through, but it was the best he could do.
        "Yes."
        Lance paused, confused at JC's word. "What?"
        JC pulled back and smiled slightly at him. "I said yes. I got you good presents."
        Lance's frown slowly shifted into a large grin, and then he laughed and hugged JC again, cuddling up to his best friend and leaning his head back against JC's chest happily as JC wrapped his arms around him. "You gonna tell me what?" Lance teased, relieved that JC wasn't mad anymore, and, guiltily, that he was back in JC's arms. He felt safe, protected, secure in JC's embrace.
        "Nope. You gotta wait til Christmas," JC told him, his mouth only centimeters from Lance's ear. Lance nearly shivered in delight.
        "But it's a whole week away," Lance whined unhappily, watching as Joey joined Chris on the sofa. Joey slung an arm around Chris' shoulders and the two of them engaged in a conversation while Justin laid on the bed and... watched Joey and Chris.
        "Not that long," JC objected, smiling. "Patience is a virtue, Lansten."
        "Not now it isn't," Lance declared sadly. "It keeps me away from my presents."
        JC laughed and hugged Lance tighter. Lance smiled happily and leaned back against him, looking at Justin on the bed. "So how did your date with Britney go?" Lance asked again.
        Justin's eyes slowly slid from Joey and Chris to Lance and JC, and Lance was startled to see the distrust and unhappiness in those eyes. "Fine," Justin stated flatly. "Thank you."
        Lance's eyes widened in surprise, and he frowned slightly at Justin. Obviously Justin didn't want to talk about it, but something had happened. "What's wrong?"
        "Nothing." The finality of the tone caught Lance completely off guard and his frown deepened.
        "Obviously something's--" Lance started.
        "Going back to my room," Justin announced, standing. "It was fun. Later." He brushed past JC and Lance without a second look. Lance looked up at JC over his shoulder, only to find JC's eyes on the now shut door. JC looked back down at Lance, and Lance sadly pulled away from JC.
        "I'll go check on him," Lance told them, sighing silently as he left the room. There he was, perfectly content to stay wrapped up in JC's arms for forever, and he had to leave because Justin was acting like a pain.
        Lance raised his fist to knock on the door when it was suddenly yanked open, and Justin stood there. They both stopped and reguarded each other evenly for a moment.
        "What're you doing here?" Justin finally demanded, scowling. "Shouldn't you be in JC's lap about now?"
        Lance frowned. "Look, Justin, whatever bad thing happened between you and Britney shouldn't be taken out on us. I'm sorry that you had such an obviously bad day, but that's no reason to take it out on me." He crossed his arms and studied Justin's scowl, his shielded blue eyes, and his slumped demeanor. "So what happened?"
        "It was really irresponsible of you and Joey not to have your cells on," Justin snapped instead, looking down at Lance angrily. "You have no idea how worried we were."
        Lance paused, startled. He had no idea where that was coming from. "I'm sorry," Lance apologized finally. "We didn't know--"
        "Well you should have," Justin interrupted, then pushed past Lance. "I'm going out."
        "Where?" Lance asked, bewildered. First Justin was playing a wounded soldier, and now he was the angry sullen child. Lance had no idea what to do with him.
        "Dinner."
        "You haven't eaten yet?" Lance reached out to stop him, but Justin was already turning back on Lance, his blue eyes snapping furiously.
        "No, I haven't eaten yet. We were trying to be nice and wait for you two to get your sorry asses back here, but you decided to go on out without us. Now I'm starved and I'm going to go eat something."
        Lance's jaw fell open. "What is the matter with you?" Lance demanded. "Okay, so we should have been a little more careful; told you guys where we were going. We didn't. Get over it!"
        Justin's eyes darkened and he leaned back a few inches. "You're the one keeping me here," he reminded coldly.
        Lance frowned. "I'm going to keep you here, too, until I figure out what's wrong with you. So why don't you just tell me. Did you and Britney break up?"
        "She adores the ground I walk on. What do you think?"
        Lance made a face. Conceited, much? "Fine," Lance stated, shaking his head in disgust. "Have a nice dinner. Hopefully when I see you tomorrow you'll be in a much better disposition." He turned on his heel and went back to JC's room. He was about to slide the keycard in the door when the key was suddenly snatched out of his hand, and Justin was standing there, leaning against the wall next to the door.
        "We didn't break up," Justin told him finally, his voice still slightly scratchy from the angry tone he'd been holding, but it was already smoothing out. "We had a great time. We went for breakfast, did a bit of shopping, went to the beach, had lunch, did more shopping, came back to the hotel."
        "So then what's wrong with you?" Lance asked softly, tucking his hands in his back pockets as he looked up at Justin. Sometimes he really hated being short.
        Justin let out a deep breath and slowly shook his head, leaning it back against the wall. "Nothing," he answered, his eyes over Lance's head. "We were just worried, and being worried does nasty things to my psychie."
        "So I see," Lance drolled. He sighed. "Wanna come back now?" He gestured to the door he stood in front of.
        Justin glanced at it and slowly shook his head. "Not really," he admitted. "I don't really feel like facing anyone right now."
        Lance nodded understandingly. "I'll go, if you're sure you're alright."
        "Actually," Justin began hesitantly, and Lance watched as Justin's eyes left his and studied the wall behind him. "You're not just anyone..."
        Lance couldn't help but be surprised. Justin wanted him to go with him? He was flattered. A bit sad, because now he couldn't go crawl back into JC's arms, but definitely flattered. "Where do you want to go?" Lance asked, in what he hoped was a casual way.
        Justin's eyes met his again. "Really? You wanna come?"
        Lance smiled slightly. "Yeah. Where are we going?" When Justin was like this, he was absolutely adorable.
        "How about someplace good?" Justin suggested, and Lance laughed.
        "I was thinking more along the lines of someplace bad," Lance objected teasingly, grinning. "Did you see anything at the mall?"
        Justin shrugged. "Wherever works for me."
        Lance paused to think about the resturaunts he had seen, then brightened. "The resturaunt downstairs looks nice," he suggested. "Joey and I were thinking about eating dinner there."
        "Then let's do that," Justin declared. Lance nodded and smiled at him before turning and together walking with Justin to the elevators.
        "Out again?" Ramond sighed drearily. "You will be the death of me," he told Lance, shaking his head.
        Lance flashed a grin. "I'm popular, what can I say?" he teased.
        "And where will we be going now, Mr. Popular?" Ramond drawled, grinning slightly.
        "Downstairs," Lance answered primly, then flashed a sly look at Justin, who was looking at Ramond. "You may want to bring a couple more friends, too, because I'm going out with Justin, and everyone knows how he's the front man and can't go anywhere without getting swarmed."
        Lance watched as Justin's eyes slid from the body guard to Lance. "Jealous?"
        "Nope. Thankful that it's you and not me."
        Justin paused and stared at him, looking almost exasperated. "Are you impressed with anything I do?" Justin demanded, answering Lance's unasked question. "I'm just wondering. Hell, for that matter, does anyone impress the unfazable Lance Bass?"
        Lance paused and stared at him. "You impress me," he objected slowly, utterly bewildered. "You impress me very much. I could never do what do you; what you did, and still stay half-way sane. Just 'cause I don't say it doesn't mean it's not there."
        Justin scowled and sighed, shaking his head. "Nevermind."
        Lance studied Justin closely. Finally he sighed himself and placed his hand on Justin's arm. To his surprise, Justin stiffened, but he didn't move other than that. The elevator doors swung open and they stepped on, joined by Ramond, Danny, Mike, and Kelso.
        "Nothing personal, but do there have to be so many of you?" Justin asked, holding open the 'open door' button on the elevator. Lance reguarded him with even more surprise, then nodded at Mike and Kelso.
        "No," Mike relented, his eyes meeting Lance's. Danny was Justin's normal body guard, and Ramond was lately Lance's, though Kelso used to be. Mike turned to Kelso. "Let's go."
        Kelso frowned, but he slowly nodded and stepped off the elevator. "Back up's just an elevator ride away," Kelso told Ramond and Danny, who nodded.
        "Thank you," Justin sighed, releasing the button. He leaned back against the wall and didn't speak the whole ride down. Lance decided to respect his silence and stood there without speaking as well, feeling the ackward tension in the elevator and yet not knowing what to do about it. When the doors finally slid open, Justin breezed out of it, not even bothering to see if Lance was behind him. Lance practically had to jog to keep up.
        "Two," Justin stated to the matre'd.
        He took one look at them, sniffed, and picked up two menus. "Right this way, sir," he instructed, leading Justin and Lance through the sparsely populated dining room. They found a corner seat with just two chairs, and sat down. Ramond and Danny sat at a table a few yards away, within sight but not close enough to hear them if they spoke normally, yet if they shouted they'd be heard.
        "Anything look good?" Lance asked, watching as Justin scanned the menu.
        Justin's eyes lifted from the menu, but his head remained down as he looked at Lance through his eyelashes. "You haven't even looked," he pointed out instead. "Not hungry?"
        Lance picked his menu up, slightly flustered. "Hungry," he corrected. "Just curious as to what you were looking at."
        "The menu."
        Lance slowly looked up from the food list with an arched eyebrow. Justin's eyes were dancing. "Congratulations," Lance began brightly. "I think you're ready to graduate to the third grade!"
        Justin's lips spread into a smile, then a grin, and finally he laughed. "I'd like to thank my tutors and all the little people I had to step on to get here."
        Lance laughed as well, feeling relieved. Justin was better. He was joking, he was teasing, and if Lance could keep his moods from swinging so drastically, they would have a rather good night.
        "Something to drink?" the waiter asked, coming over and setting two glasses of water in front of them.
        "Margarita," Lance requested. "Virgin, lime."
        "Same," Justin added, then turned back to Lance. "No alcohol?"
        Lance frowned disapprovingly. "None."
        Justin laughed, and Lance couldn't help but grin back. "Okay."
        Lance laughed.

        "T minus 6 days til Christmas and counting," Justin declared happily. Lance glanced over at him and grinned as Justin looked up from his watch. Obviously the clock had just struck midnight.
        "Cold?" Lance asked, watching Justin shiver and rub his arms. They were outside the hotel sitting in front of the fountain, which was spewing out water in multi colors as the lights changed and shifted. They were in a little garden, hidden from the view of others, including their body guards, who were on the other side of the fountain and some bushes. This was the first bit of 'privacy' that either had had in quite some time, and they were enjoying it. After they had finished a fun dinner, they had come outside, and they'd been there for about a half an hour already.
        "A little," Justin admitted, slightly sheepish. "But no way am I risking going back inside and not getting to be able to come back out."
        Lance flashed a grin and scooted over on the bench so that he was resting against Justin, and wrapped his arms around his taller friend, arms and all. Justin grinned down at him and held Lance's arms there with his hands. "Can't say that I blame you," Lance agreed. "I'm not exactly ready to go in yet, either."
        Justin pulled one arm free and wrapped it around Lance, and Lance dropped his head to Justin's shoulder, closing his eyes as an immediate warmth spread across his body. "I'm sorry about how I acted earlier," Justin told him softly, sounding ashamed. His voice sounded soothing and soft in Lance's ear as Lance leaned against him. "I should not have yelled at you the way I did. It was completely irrational and uncalled for."
        Lance opened his eyes and looked up at Justin. "It's okay," he assured him. "I'm used to your PMS."
        Justin flashed a grin and pulled Lance closer. "And I appreciate it. No one else will put up with me except you."
        Lance laughed. "I think thousands of girls, if not millions, would be more than happy to put up with you."
        Justin rolled his eyes. "I think that those girls would like nothing more than to ravage my poor body." He sighed. "I couldn't handle all of them, ya know?"
        Lance nodded. "I know, Justin," he said softly, his voice sad for his friend. It wasn't fair that Justin had to go through all of that alone. "But, in five days time, you will be home for Christmas."
        Justin nodded. "I know." He sighed and laughed slightly. "I'm actually a little sad that I'm not going to be spending Christmas with you guys."
        Lance shrugged. "We're all looking forward to going home, Justin. You're going home on Christmas Eve, we're going home on Christmas."
        "I should be at that parade," Justin objected, and Lance knew instinctively that he was scowling. "How I got out of it I'll never know."
        "You're the popular one. If you miss an appearance, it's almost a good thing; keeps the crowd guessing."
        Justin pulled back to look at Lance. "Don't say that," he pleaded softly. "You guys are everything to me, and I think you're way more popular and worthy than I am."
        Lance's eyes widened in surprise. "Justin, don't be upset," he begged. "I didn't mean to upset you. I was just saying. Please don't be upset."
        Justin was still looking sad. "I haven't even figured out what to get you for Christmas," he sighed.
        "You don't have to--" Lance started, then stopped when he felt Justin's fingers over his lips.
        "Don't. Finish. That," Justin warned.
        Lance smiled even against Justin's fingers. "I'm simple to shop for," he objected, and Justin finally removed his fingers, wrapping both arms tightly around Lance as Lance leaned against him and hugged his waist. "Unlike you. You buy everything you want."
        "Not everything," Justin sighed somewhat wistfully.
        That was enough to perk Lance's interest. Something about Justin's tone made Lance extremely curious. "Like what?" Lance asked, intrigued.
        Justin hesitated. "Love," he finally answered.
        Lance's stomach plummeted to his knees and he froze. "But you have love," he finally objected. "Your family, Britney, millions of adoring fans, us guys--"
        "You know what I mean, Lance."
        Lance sighed. "Yeah," he agreed softly. "I do." He looked up at Justin from where he leaned against his chest. "It'll happen. Maybe with Britney."
        A faint smile touched Justin's lips. "Somehow I doubt it. After two years together and no real sparks, I don't think it'll happen."
        Lance shrugged. "You never know. It could happen with someone you never even thought of that way. It could be anybody." He thought to himself and JC, and wondered if he loved JC. "One day you could wake up and you could see this person and discover that you care about them in a way you didn't know existed."
        "Were the feelings there the whole time?" Justin asked softly. "Or did they just appear?"
        Lance shook his head slowly. "I don't really know, to be honest. My best guess is that they were there the whole time, but you didn't know they were there."
        "And that's love?"
        Lance laughed slightly. "I'm only a year older than you, Justin. I don't know what love is any more than you do."
        "So you've never been in love?"
        Lance shook his head, looking up at the stars. "Not in the way that I think it should be," he answered wistfully.
        "How do you think it should be? What do you think love is?" Justin whispered, and Lance nearly shivered at the hot breath on his ear and snuggled further into Justin, contemplating his answer slowly and carefully before finally speaking.
        "Love is where you can't wait to see them again. Where you can go to a movie and actually watch the movie. Where you can be at the same party in completely different rooms and know that it's okay for you two to be apart for hours and hours and hours, maybe even weeks, and yet you don't love them any less and you don't have this desperate urge to be with them at all times. A want, yes. A longing, yes. A desperate desire? No. Where they'll wake you up in the middle of the night just because they want to hear you speak. Where you can feel their eyes on you even when you can't see them; you can feel them before you see them. When you're in a crowded room and you almost instinctively know where they are. Where the silences are half of the relationship. Where you can read their mind and know their thoughts and finish their sentences. Where even though you're not connected by blood, you're family. Where you want them to know everything about you, the good and the bad, because you want them to share in yourself. Where you want to be with them at all times and yet you can still function without them during your day. Where they're weak, you're strong, and you're strong, they're weak. Where they complete you even though you complete yourself. Where you're completely comfortable with them, but you still get shivers down your spine when you see them, or your heart skips a beat. Where every moment is new and wonderful because you love them and they love you. Where they are your angel on earth."
        Justin swallowed roughly. "That sounds beautiful," he said softly. "I hope you find all that and more. You deserve it."
        Lance smiled slightly, a bit embarassed at how he had gone on. "You do too, Justin. It'll happen. And your money and your fame and your good looks won't matter. You'll hear it in your heart." He couldn't resist placing his fingers over the beating in Justin's chest. "And you'll just know. All it takes is a split second when you realize that this is love."
        "You believe that?" Justin asked quietly.
        Lance nodded. "I do."
        "Then I do too," Justin agreed softly, hugging Lance tightly. "I've never known you to be wrong before."
        Lance laughed. "I am all the time."
        "No," Justin disagreed quietly. "You're not."
        Lance smiled slightly, then rubbed Justin's arms. "You still cold?"
        "No. You?"
        "Not really." Lance snuggled in deeper to Justin contentedly. JC made him feel safe and warm, but Lance was realizing that Justin was bringing out those same feelings. And that was kind of scary.
        "It's me," Justin teased. "I'm so hot I make everyone around me blush."
        Lance looked up at him, smiling. "Oh? Then how come you were cold a few minutes ago?"
        "Shh."
        Lance laughed and hugged Justin's firm body. "Yes sir."
        They lapsed into a comfortable silence, and Lance felt himself starting to fall asleep. Warm, content, and comfortable all added up to a sleepy Lance.
        "You asleep?" Justin mumbled tiredly, sounding nearly asleep himself.
        "Not yet. You?"
        "Almost." Justin yawned, turning his face away from Lance to do so, and then standing slowly, bringing Lance up with him. "C'mon. We better get upstairs."
        "Let's have Danny and Ramond carry us," Lance suggested teasingly, his eyes lidded heavily as he leaned against Justin, placing most of his weight on him.
        "I've got you," Justin assured him tiredly. "You can lean on me."
        "I am," Lance mumbled, keeping his eyes closed as Justin directed them through the garden and into the back way of the hotel. He could vaguely sense Danny and Ramond behind them, but he was too tired to pay attention to them. He could barely even feel his body in his exhaustion, and all he wanted was to curl up on the ground and sleep.
        Somehow Justin managed to lead them to the elevator, and the next thing Lance knew, they were on their floor and Justin was practically carrying him to his room. Lance numbly reached in his pocket for his key, inserted it into the door, and leaned against it to keep it open, his grip on Justin and Justin's on him gone.
        "Wanna crash?" Lance offered, yawning.
        Justin stretched widely. "No thanks. I'm going to go crawl into my own bed and sleep."
        "You sure?" Lance asked, his eyes lidded with exhaustion.
        "Yeah," Justin agreed. Lance tiredly watched as Justin crossed to the other side of the hallway, opened his own room door, and waved at Lance before going inside and allowing the door to close behind him. Lance stared at the closed door, and then turned and went into his own room, letting the door shut softly behind him.

        When Justin strolled into Joey's room the next morning at 11, his jaw nearly fell as he caught sight of Lance and JC. Lance was practically in JC's lap and had a hand on JC's leg, while JC had his arm wrapped possessively around Lance's shoulders. There was no way that those two weren't gay, and there was no way that they weren't gay together.
        For some reason, Justin's happy morning was suddenly turning very, very dark. He could feel the bad mood coming in like storm clouds over a bright, sunny day.
        "Morning!" JC carolled at Justin. "Sleep well?"
        "Magically," Justin agreed dryly. "You?"
        "Well," JC returned politely, grinning. "Joey's still primping and Chris went to go get a lighter so that he could set things on fire in the sink."
        "How like him," Justin drawled, dropping down into the arm chair by himself. It almost didn't seem possible that this Lance that was at this very moment cuddled up to JC had practically invited Justin to stay the night with him. Then again, it would have been completely innocent, but still, there was a principle involved. What it was, Justin didn't know, but he knew it was there.
        "Tired?" Lance asked, leaning past JC to look at Justin. Justin scowled at him.
        "No. Fine," Justin corrected, watching the surprise and confusion cover Lance's features. He knew he shouldn't be so mean to Lance, but sometimes he just got this bad attitude and it ruined his day.
        "We ordered you french toast," Lance continued, and Justin had to give him credit. He kept trying. "Hope that's alright."
        "Fine," Justin sighed, then stood. "Call me when it comes, would you? I'm going to go crash in Joey's bed." He left the room without a backwards glance, feeling Lance's eyes on him.
        Joey's bed was large and soft and smelled exactly like his cologne, a scent which Joey took great pride in. Justin wasn't surprised, Chris had picked it out for him, and everyone knew that Joey was in love with Chris. Everyone also knew that Chris was in love with Joey.
        Everyone except for the two of them, that is, Justin corrected sadly. One of these days... Those two were going to get locked in a closet together or something, and they were going to end up playing 'A few hours in heaven' instead of seven minutes. And that damn girlfriend of Joey's. But she wouldn't last; they never did. Joey constantly went through girls. Justin's guess was to get his mind off of Chris. A lot of people dated other people when they really loved someone else.
        Justin felt him before he saw him, the hairs on his arms raising slowly. He didn't open his eyes, and the other didn't move or enter the room further. He had entered silently, and now he simply stood there, staring at Justin. Justin could feel those penetrating eyes studying every inch on his body, and he felt a flush forming on his cheeks, but he forced himself to remain calm. He would make himself known when he wanted.
        "You okay?" Lance's soft southern voice crept into Justin's mind and invaded his every sense as Lance sank down onto the bed beside him.
        "Fine," Justin answered off handedly, glad that Lance had finally decided to speak. "Why?"
        Lance hesitated, and slowly Justin opened his eyes to see Lance looking almost nervous. "I dunno," Lance answered, shrugging. "You just seem upset, I suppose."
        Justin nearly tapped his nose, then decided that wouldn't be appropriate. "I'm just kinda tired still, I guess. We were out pretty late and up pretty early."
        Lance shrugged and nodded, finally meeting Justin's eyes. "If you're alright, then I guess I'll go." He stood and then paused, as though he was thinking about saying something, but then it was gone and so was Lance.
        Justin couldn't help but be very curious as to what Lance had wanted to say.
        About ten minutes later, JC entered and told Justin that their breakfast had arrived. Justin rolled out of Joey's bed and followed JC into the living room, plopping down onto the ground beside the suddenly reappeared Chris.
        "How's it goin', Curls?" Chris asked, snatching the bacon off of Justin's plate before Justin could stop him.
        "Back off," Justin ordered, taking it out of Chris' hand and going to shove it in his mouth.
        "Hey! I stole that fair and square!" Chris exclaimed, taking it back.
        Justin scowled playfully at him. "Mine!" he declared, reaching for it. Chris stuffed it into his mouth and munched on it happily while Justin stared mournfully at Chris' mouth. He pouted into his food, and then stuck out his lower lip as he looked pitifully at the other guys.
        "Here," Lance offered, holding out three strips of bacon. "I don't like bacon. I figured you'd want it in addition to yours, but since Chris helped himself to yours, you don't get it as extras, just as normal."
        Aw, Lance had ordered him bacon! How sweet. Justin nearly laughed out loud to himself and took the offered strips. "Thank you," he said politely, then glared at Chris and turned his back to the older man to avoid Chris getting a hold of his food. Chris' evil grin was enough for Justin to know to stay on his guard.
        Sure enough, as Justin reached out for his orange juice and was taking a long drink, Chris' hand snuck out and snatched off two of the three pieces of bacon. Justin howled loudly and quickly set the drink down even as Chris stuffed the additonal two pieces of bacon in his mouth. Justin growled loudly and set down his plate, throwing himself at Chris and mockingly wrapping his hands around Chris' throat.
        "Chris, leave Justin's food alone," Lance sighed. "Justin, let go of Chris before you kill him."
        "That's the object!" Justin cried, even as Chris rolled on top of him and started to 'choke' Justin. Justin made a face at him and then threw his body upwards, against Chris', flipping them over yet again and going for Chris' throat once more.
        "Well don't break anything," Lance ordered, and Justin glanced up at him with a grin, just in time to see JC and Lance exchange small, shy grins at each other. Justin frowned, and caught off guard, Chris threw up himself against Justin and Justin went toppling to the side, landing flatly on his back while Chris climbed up on top of him.
        "The victor!" Chris declared happily, his arms up in the air.
        "Cocky s.o.b," Justin growled, reaching for Chris again. But Chris had been able to capitalize on Justin's moment of weakness and Justin knew he had lost. Finally Chris let him go and they lay side by side on the ground, both panting for air.
        "I really wanted that bacon," Justin finally sighed, giving Chris a smack to his stomach before dropping his hand to the ground again.
        "And I really wanted to go out without finger marks around my throat," Chris returned evenly, panting as well. "What's your problem?"
        Justin made a face at the ceiling. "Shut up, Chris."
        "You're the one who started talking," Chris pointed out.
        Justin was going to pummel Chris, and he started to get to his feet to do so.
        "Down," came an authorative voice. Justin looked up and saw Lance shaking his head. "We'll buy you more bacon later. Right now, just eat your french toast so you have something in your stomach when we go to the photo shoot."
        "Photo shoot?" Chris and Justin groaned together. Justin didn't remember any notice of a photo shoot, then vaguely he recalled Lance mentioning it a few weeks back and maybe once the other day.
        Lance sighed. "For the big Christmas extravaganza," he reminded. "Please, guys, suck it up and smile. Christmas is a great time of year."
        "Yeah, if you're a reindeer," Chris muttered, and Justin laughed out loud before glancing up at Lance. Lance was giving Chris a rather disapproving look, unhappy with his friends' lack of enthusiasm, but JC was putting a hand on Lance's leg, and Lance looked surprised before he looked back up at JC. Lance grinned at JC, who grinned back at him, and Justin looked at Joey, who was busy checking out Chris. Justin nearly laughed again and sat up, reaching for his food.
        "You have to go sit at the table," Justin told Chris, pointing at the kitchen table. "You can't play well with me."
        Chris snorted derisively. "Like that's going to work, young'un."
        "It better, old man," Justin warned, waving his fork threateningly at Chris.
        "Okay, no outside tools to aid in the disfiguration of your faces," JC stuck in. "Justin, you'll probably gut Chris with that thing. Chris, don't you dare even think about dumping that syrup on Justin's head or I'll personally see that every article of clothing you own is dumped in purple paint."
        Chris arched an eyebrow but slowly set down the cup he was holding while Justin looked over at him. Justin had been completely clueless as to what Chris had been about to do, but now that he knew, he was going to hurt Chris. Badly.
        Justin threw himself at Chris again, tickling him viciously. "You're dead, old man!" Justin warned, tickling Chris' sides. Chris couldn't help but laugh and curl up into a little ball, as he always did. Vaguely he heard Lance sigh and then laugh, but he ignored Lance.
        Finally, Justin and Chris calmed down and ate in peace. Then they had gotten fixed up after their fighting, gone out to the limo, and drove to the building where the shoot would be. They would be wearing green and red and gold and silver, and Justin's lip curled at the sight of his outfit.
        "Uh, excuse me?" Lance stopped one of the wardrobests, and Justin looked over at him, a bit surprised. Lance normally just did exactly as he was told. "He can't wear that." Justin's eyes widened in even more surprise as Lance pointed to the outfit chosen for Justin. "That red and that gold don't go together at all with those green pants."
        The woman frowned at Lance. "I appreciate your input, Mr. Bass, but I'm fairly certain that I have a good grasp on what colors go together."
        Lance smiled patiently. "I'm sure that you do, ma'am, and with no disrespect intended, Justin is not wearing that."
        Justin arched an eyebrow and looked around to see if JC was there for Lance to be showing off for, but it was just the two of them and the woman.
        The woman scowled at Lance and turned to Justin. "Do you have a problem with the outfit?"
        Justin nodded emphatically. "It clashes," he stated.
        "Yes, it does," Lance agreed, turning to the woman again. "The sweater's fine. It's the belt and pants. The belt's for a girl and the pants remind me of split pea soup. That's not Christmas-y."
        The woman glared at Lance and yanked them off the hanger. "Fine," she snapped, disappearing. Lance stared after her and Justin stared at him.
        "What's that all about?" Justin asked slowly. "I appreciate the fact that you don't want to be seen with me when I look like I didn't have a light on when I got dressed, but I've never seen you be so direct before."
        Lance glanced up at him. "I could care less what you wear," he told Justin, shrugging. "I just feel bad for you having to be seen in that. That was just cruel."
        Justin shrugged. "I don't care what I wear," he returned coldly. Lance didn't care? Fine. Neither did he.
        Lance's eyebrow raised. "Since when?" he challenged dryly.
        Justin scowled darkly. "Since now. Good enough?"
        Lance tugged down the sleeves of his green and silver sweater and straightened out his khaki's. "Enough."
        Justin paused, studying Lance. The sweater fit him perfectly, and with the khaki's and his hair done just right... He did look like he was going to a Christmas party, which was what they were going for. Not too done up, but not too casual either. He looked... perfect.
        "You look nice," Justin said, before he could stop himself. Lance stopped mid tug on his sweater, and slowly looked up at Justin, who suddenly felt very embarassed.
        "Thank you," Lance said slowly, almost warily but definitely pleased. Justin felt relieved. "You will too, as soon as she finds you pants that don't look like cat throw up."
        Justin made a face. "Thanks for the visual."
        Lance laughed, and Justin couldn't help but grin at the sight or sound. "You're welcome."
        The woman reappeared with a pair of khaki's. "Your pants will match," she warned Justin, nodding at him and Lance.
        "I think we'll manage," Lance assured her. "Thank you."
        She scowled at him and disappeared.
        Lance smiled supportively at Justin. "I'll see ya out there," he told Justin, and then he was gone like a window getting shut on a burst of fresh air.
        Justin stared after him and then slowly reached for the pants. He changed relatively quickly, then made his way out to the studio, where he could hear Lance's laughter and JC's cries. He stuck his head into the studio to see what was going on but remaining hidden, only to see Lance running around with what looked like JC's Santa hat. JC was chasing after him, and the photographer was snapping away excitedly while Joey and Chris sat on the couch in the middle, laughing at their friends and joking around with each other.
        "Where's Justin?" the photographer demanded.
        "He got lost," Lance threw back flippantly, darting behind the couch to hide from JC, and then turning the other way. JC kept reaching for him, and Lance kept getting out of his way. "He wanted me to tell you that he doesn't plan on getting unlost until our three hour shoot is up."
        Justin smiled slightly. Lance was so sarcastic sometimes, but adorable nonetheless. Justin slowly stepped into the studio.
        "Well why don't you go see if you can find him?" the photographer suggested at him darkly. "And that way I can take the group pictures."
        Lance darted away from JC. "Me?" he asked innocently. "But why me?"
        "Because you're the one causing problems with him with my staff," the photographer told him angrily.
        Lance paused in running, causing JC to slam into his back, and they both went staggering and tumbling to the ground. Lance burst out laughing, joined a second later by JC, and when Chris and Joey saw that they were alright, they started laughing as well. The photographer's face softened and she started snapping pictures as they laid there, then tried to get up, and then stood.
        "I wasn't causing problems," Lance objected, crossing his arms. JC placed a hand on Lance's shoulder supportively. "I was simply stating a fact. Those pants that were laid out for Justin to wear were just cruel."
        "It's our job to worry about his pants, not yours," the photographer told him.
        Lance arched an eyebrow. "I wouldn't be too sure about that," he warned, as though amused. "I worry about his pants quite a bit."
        The studio fell into a shocked silence.
        Lance looked around at all of them, and Justin watched as Lance's eyes breezed over Justin, winked at him, and then continued his scan as though he hadn't seen Justin at all. But... But that meant that Lance had known he was there the whole time. The whole time?! He wasn't caught off guard in the slightest.
        "Do these meet your approval?" Justin asked, watching as collectively they all looked at him.
        Lance smiled slightly. "Yeah. They work."
        Justin strode calmly into the picture and struck a pose. "Vogue."


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