Disclaimer: I can't even try to claim these people, as they are real and *not* fictional, and c'mon, owning someone? That's *so* like, two centuries ago! Now-a-days we *borrow* someone's names and faces, but never them! So please don't come after me with an ax! I'd really appreciate it! :)
Lance woke up the next morning with Justin still in his arms. They had curled up even tighter in their sleep, and for a moment, Lance wanted to pretend that this wasn't wrong. It only lasted for a moment, though, and carefully he detached himself from his best friend.
"Where're you going?" Justin mumbled, trying to stop him with a frown.
"To make breakfast. You sleep."
"No. You stay." Justin reached for Lance again, and Lance allowed himself to be caught and dragged back under Justin, who clutched him tightly. "God, Lance, are you really that desperate to get away from me?"
Lance was starting to get a little worried about Justin. "Of course not," he soothed. "I just wanted to make you breakfast."
"We'll pick some up," Justin objected immediately. "Just stay with me. I missed having you by my side for a week and you're making up for it now."
Lance laughed slightly. "Like it's my fault, right?"
"I told you to come home with me."
Lance smiled and hugged Justin back, who responded by cuddling up further. "You're right, you did."
"Well now you have to hang out with me because you've got to make up for all the time we've been apart."
Lance grinned and leaned his head against Justin's. "You act like it's a punishment, Jus."
Justin smiled against Lance's shoulder and closed his eyes.
Lance sighed as he watched Wade moving back and forth across the dance floor. They were in the studio, watching themselves in the mirror dance as well as Wade as they learned the move dance moves. Lance was tired just watching Wade, and he couldn't get the damn moves down. He hated learning new dance moves. He had a hard enough time learning the ones he did know... Learning new ones was not his idea of fun.
Justin excelled at learning new dance moves, and he easily was able to pick up the dances, already personalizing them. Joey was almost as far back as Lance, and Chris was just playing around. Wade was still going at his normally fast pace, and Lance was completely exasperated as he watched all of them in the mirror. His eyes settled on JC, who knew the moves, but was doing them at a slow enough rate that Lance could follow. So, when they all started the dance again, Lance watched JC closely, imitating his movements.
Lance felt eyes on him, and somehow turned his eyes to the front, to where--to his astonishment--he found Justin's blue eyes burning into his through the mirror. That startled Lance so much that he missed a step, and Wade shouted in exasperation as Lance gave up and plopped down on the floor, sitting down cross legged and folding his arms over his chest.
"I think it's time for a break," Justin announced smoothly. He turned to Wade. "Why don't you go take a quick jog or something, and calm down." Then he turned to the other guys. "I'll work with Lance. You guys go grab something to drink. Get me a coke."
They all agreed easily, tired, and Justin followed them to the door, Lance watching him the whole time in confusion and tiredness. To his surprise, Justin locked the door behind them, and turned around on his heel to face Lance.
Lance suddenly realized it was just the two of them in the studio room.
"Come on," Justin ordered, slowly walking towards Lance and holding his hand out for his best friend to take.
"Jus, you don't have to do this. I'm just a clutz." Lance sighed and took the hand anyway, allowing Justin to pull him up.
"You're not a clutz. You'll get through this." Justin turned on the music and did the moves slowly so that Lance could follow, but Lance was so nervous and jumpy that he kept screwing up. In exasperation, Lance threw his hands up in the air and shook his head.
"It's hopeless," Lance announced. "I give up."
Justin laughed. "Never say die," he ordered gently, standing behind Lance and pressing their bodies together as though they were one. The music started again and Justin guided Lance through the movements, but Lance was literally shaking, his heart pounding so loudly in his ears that he couldn't even hear the music. One particular time, Justin was spinning them, and Lance was so flustered that he collappsed on the ground, taking Justin down as well, on top of him.
Lance and Justin lay there for a moment, Lance on his back sprawled out on the ground, Justin on top of Lance, stomach to stomach, both boys panting for air.
"Sorry," Lance gasped, embarassed. "I told you I was a clutz."
Justin merely laughed. "Don't be sorry," he told him. To Lance's astonishment, one of Justin's eyebrows hiked up. "I sort of like this arrangement." He looked down to where he was on top of Lance, and casually met Lance's wide green eyes. "I watched you watching JC," he told his friend softly, putting his hands on Lance's chest and leaning his chin on the back of his hands.
Lance's heart skipped. "Well, I was watching everyone. I had no idea what was going on, and I needed to find someone who was going at a slower pace. But it's not what you're thinking. In order for me to like JC, I'd have to be gay, and I'm not, so there is nothing between me and JC. I know JC isn't gay. It's not like that." Lance thought that Justin meant that he was going to make JC uncomfortable.
Justin shrugged slightly. "I didn't like seeing you watch someone else." His blue eyes burned into Lance's. "If you have a problem, watch me. I'll help you out." His face took on only a hint of a mischevious smile. "I'll help you with anything you need."
Lance paled considerably.
The door knob turned, or tried to anyway, and then there was pounding on the door. "Open up you two!" Chris ordered.
Justin met Lance's eyes once more before pressing his body against Lance's and hoisting himself, and his best friend, up off the ground. Lance stared at him in absolute bewildered shock as Justin calmly strode to the door and pulled it open.
They went over the dance again, this time, when Lance had a problem, his eyes remained trained on Justin.
Justin warily eyed the dark clouds and sky outside. "It's going to storm," he commented matter-of-factly to Lance, who was calmly laying on his bed, reading a magazine.
Lance looked up and shrugged. "So?" he asked, barely glancing out the window. "I've got a great view. You'll see the lightening."
"That's what I'm worried about," Justin muttered, dropping down onto the window seat and gazing at the outside, touching the glass with his fingertips. He saw Lance's reflection in the glass looking at him, and he turned around quickly. "What?" he asked, his fingers remaining on the cool glass.
"You're afraid of lightening?" Lance asked, surprised.
Justin scowled unhappily. "If the next words out of your mouth are, 'You're such a baby' then you're getting gagged."
Lance's beautiful green eyes were wide. "I would never say that, Justin," he assured his best friend gently. "I'm just surprised, is all. I had no idea that you were scared of lightening."
Outside, thunder rolled, and Justin jumped, looking quickly out at the gray skies and sheepishly looking back to Lance, embarassed at his own actions.
Lance looked like he was contemplating something, and then slowly he stood and joined Justin at the window seat, standing in front of him. They looked at each other for a second before Justin sat forward a few inches, giving Lance room to slide in behind him. Lance did so, and Justin leaned back against Lance's chest, closing his eyes against the sensation of his best friends' arms wrapped around him. He had been so surprised at himself when he had been so forward with Lance earlier at the studio, but he was glad that he had, because Lance was starting to be a bit more forward as well. Instead of watching JC, he had done as Justin requested and watched his best friend, and Justin couldn't help but get shivers everytime he looked up and saw Lance watching him. And when they had taken a break, and Lance and Justin flopped down onto the couch, Lance had slipped an arm around Justin's shoulders and lightly ran his fingers through the hair at the base of Justin's neck, giving the curly headed blond permanent tingles. And now he was sitting behind Justin, with his arms folded over Justin, drawing him back against himself.
Justin wondered if this was what heaven felt like.
The thunder crashed again, and once more Justin jumped, nearly smacking Lance's chin with the top of his shoulder. Lance's arms tightened around him. "It's okay," Lance soothed Justin easily, lifting his legs so that they were up on either side of Justin, who had both his legs stretched out. Lance reached up with his hand and gently ran his fingers through Justin's curls, sending shivers down Justin's spine, and making him limp almost instantly. Justin closed his eyes and leaned against Lance's shoulder and chest, not caring if his best friend saw the contented look on his face.
"I'm a wimp, aren't I?" Justin sighed, opening his eyes and rolling his head to look out the window. "I just hate storms and lightening and thunder."
"That's because you haven't seen them with me, and I think they're absolutely beautiful," Lance countered. He paused. "We could go out there and hang out in the rain for a little while," he offered. "And that way you'll know there's nothing to be afraid of."
"No thanks," Justin muttered, drawing Lance's arms tighter around him. "I'm fine."
Lance laughed softly in his ear, and Justin thought his heart had permanently stopped. He closed his eyes and reveled in Lance's completely devoted attention.
"Be right back," Lance promised quietly in Justin's ear, and Justin's eyes flew open as Lance slid out from behind him. He immediately missed the warmth Lance provided, and watched his best friend as he disappeared from the room sadly.
The week apart had done wonders for Justin's mind. Every minute that he was away from Lance he craved him, and it was over that week long break that Justin realized he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Lance. Granted, he had never been attracted to guys before, but his heart loved Lance as more than just a friend, and he definitely found his best friend attractive. He was a little nervous when Lance walked off the plane, but upon sight of his best friend, all worries and fears had vanished. Justin would not be without Lance again. Ever. And he wouldn't stand by and let someone else take Lance away. Lance belonged to Justin. Justin would see to that. And from the way Lance was responding to Justin, Justin was starting to think that maybe his best friend felt their connection as deeply as Justin did. Though Lance was certainly more reserved, and Justin sometimes wondered how much of what he was doing was out of politeness to Justin's feelings. But he couldn't dwell on those thoughts for too long, because then it made him sad and second guess everything he did.
Lance reappeared a few minutes later with a stack of cd's and a blanket, which he tossed on the bed. As Justin watched, Lance put six cd's in the cd changer, pressed play, and Betoven's second came softly drifting out of the speakers, to Justin's surprise. Lance clicked off all the lights save a small desk lamp on the other side of the room which only lit that corner, and brought the blanket over to the window seat. Justin moved again so Lance had room behind him, and Lance easily draped the blanket over Justin before sliding in behind him again, both resuming their previous positions. To Justin's surprise, Lance opened the window a little bit, despite the howling wind and pouring rain, letting in a burst of fresh air.
"God," Justin couldn't help but breathe in delight. He couldn't have planned this better himself. Him and Lance curled up on a window seat together with beautifully fresh air, sweet music, and a sky dancing a laser show for only them.
"I told you it wasn't so bad," Lance chided gently. "Believe me now?"
"Oh yes," Justin sighed happily, watching as the lightening streaked across the sky. The next roll of thunder that came through didn't faze him at all, rather, he smiled slightly and leaned back further against Lance, who held him all that more tighter. "I like you to hold me," he whispered softly, suddenly worried at what Lance would say.
"I like to hold you," Lance returned, his voice lower than normal. Justin's smile widened and he wrapped his own arms tighter around Lance's.
As the bright flashes of light continued to streak across the sky, Justin reveled in the feel and devotion of his best friend. Justin nearly had a heart attack when he felt Lance's fingers lightly stroking his hair, and it took every ounce of his strength to resist the urge to kiss those fingers.
And that sealed it for Justin. He never wanted anyone else besides Lance.
Justin and Lance were sitting side by side on the couch together watching tv the next morning in their pj's when Justin's cell phone rang. Justin made a face at it, as his hand had been resting on Lance's thigh and his other was playing with the end of Lance's shirt, and he'd have to give up touching something to answer the phone. He lazily leaned forward, grabbed it, and asked, "Hullo?" He didn't really care who was on the other end. Lance was here and Lance was the only one that mattered, so whoever was on the phone didn't need his full attention. He removed his hands completely from Lance, just to see if the other boy would miss the touch, but Lance didn't flinch and Justin pouted slightly.
"Hey Justin!"
Justin's eyes widened slightly. "Hey Britney," he greeted. "What's up?"
"Well me, actually! I'm in Orlando, at the airport. I've got a layover for a couple of hours and I was wondering if you'd like to come have some lunch with me. I understand if you have plans, I just thought it might be kind of fun."
Justin hesitated. Of course he wanted to see Britney, but it was so tempting to stay here with Lance... Who was still watching the tv. Did him talking to Britney not phase Lance at all? In a burst of jealous anger, Justin made his decision. "Sounds great, Brit. I'll be there as soon as I can. What gate?"
"Umm..." Britney's voice died out as she checked. "A4."
"Okay. Airline?"
"American."
"I'll be right there."
"Oh, Justin?"
"Yeah?"
"If you want, you can bring Lance, too."
"Alright." Justin knew perfectly well that he would not bring Lance. He wanted to make his best friend jealous. "See ya soon!"
"Bye!"
Justin ended the phone call and looked at Lance, who was finally watching him.
"Wear the black shirt," Lance advised. "And the dark denim jeans."
Justin's jaw clenched. He really thought he and Lance had been making progress after last night, but Lance kept sending out these damn mixed signals, and it was driving Justin crazy!
"Don't you want to know where we're going? We could be going someplace fancy."
"Then you'll wear a suit." Lance shrugged and glanced at the tv before quickly looking back to Justin. "Did you need one?" he asked, concerned. "Because if so, there's a few in my closet. One of them is bound to fit you."
Justin had to grit his teeth to keep from yelping unhappily. "No, I don't need a suit. We're going cas."
"Then why would you say you're going someplace fancy?" Lance asked, eyeing him warily. "You're losin' it, Jus."
Justin gave an exasperated sigh, finally unable to keep it in, and stood. "I need a shower," he muttered, leaving Lance on the couch by himself.
All through out the shower, and as he was getting dressed--settling on what Lance suggested--he kept thinking about how annoyed he was that Lance wasn't returning the jealousy Justin felt when Lance went out with someone. Maybe Justin was reading too much into Lance's actions towards him. After all, it was Justin's hand that had been on Lance... Maybe Lance didn't want to be anything more than friends. Maybe he was just an idiot with a longing to be close to someone.
"You mad at me, Curly?"
Justin turned around quickly to see Lance standing almost nervously in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe on his shoulder, his hands hooked in his back pockets. Justin thought he looked incredibly adorable standing there, and forgot that Lance had even asked him a question until Lance cleared his throat, growing more and more ajatated.
"Of course not," Justin admonished immediately. "Why would you think that?"
Lance shrugged, still looking uncomfortable. "I dunno. Just a feeling, I suppose. When're you going to be back?"
Justin had to hide his smile. "I dunno," he answered casually. "A few hours is probably the most likely assumption. You gonna manage without me?"
"Yeah, actually. JC called while you were in the shower. We're going to go catch a movie with Joey and Chris."
Justin scowled. Lance was supposed to stay home and pine for Justin to return, not go out and have fun of his own. It just wasn't fair. Lance always screwed up his plans.
"When're you going to be back?" Justin countered then, still scowling.
"Dunno. Probably around 5."
"5?!" Justin yelped before he could stop himself. "It's only 10:00!"
Lance shrugged. "You can meet us later if you want," he offered immediately.
Justin was too busy grumbling inwardly to pay attention to Lance. How it was possible that Lance could make him jealous when that was exactly what Justin was trying to do was beyond poor Justin, but he was starting to grow more and more annoyed.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't," Lance advised before Justin started towards the door Lance was leaning in.
Justin paused and leaned against the opposite side of the doorframe, both now leaning on their backs, their legs interlaced but not touching. "What wouldn't you do?" Justin asked, cocking an eyebrow. Now he just wanted to make Lance uncomfortable. Get some sort of reaction out of him. Justin was feeling a little desperate, and definitely annoyed.
Lance shrugged. "With a good girl like Britney? I wouldn't do anything."
"How about with a not-so-good girl?" Justin countered, frowning.
Lance offered a slight smile. "Nothing. I'm a good boy."
Justin couldn't help but laugh slightly. "That's true," he agreed. "But I'm not as good as you."
Justin took great satisfaction in the fact that Lance paled a bit. "Then, uh, have fun," he stuttered, pushing off of the doorframe with his shoulders and stepping out of the doorway, going to the bathroom.
Justin wanted to leave Lance with something to think about. It would make him so happy to leave Lance jealous, but he knew that was just cruel. And Justin Timberlake was not cruel. Especially not to Lance.
"Got some protection I could borrow?" Justin asked, carefully watching Lance as he clumsily picked up different things in the bathroom. Justin chose the wrong moment to ask though, because Lance had just picked up his bottle of cologne, and the question caught him so off guard that Lance actually dropped the bottle onto the ground, where it shattered.
"No!" Lance exclaimed, sounding horrified. He looked down, incredibly flustered, and shakily began picking up the pieces.
"Lance, don't do that," Justin ordered immediately, feeling incredibly awful for the joke he had played on his best friend. He squatted down next to Lance and took his best friends' hands over his own, carefully turning them upside down and forcing him to let go of the glass. "I'm sorry," he apologized, bringing Lance to his feet and hugging him gently. "I was only kidding. You know how I feel about that."
"It just caught me off guard," Lance objected, trying to pull away. "But I have to clean this up, and now the bathroom smells awful."
"Lance," Justin said softly, refusing to let him go and forcing Lance's head onto his shoulder. "Really. I was only kidding. And I don't think it smells awful at all. I think it smells wonderful, just like you. A little strong, but definitely wonderful."
Lance completely ignored Justin's compliments and literally pushed his best friend away, breaking the hug. "I'm fine," he insisted. "And whether you were kidding or not, what you do is your own business. Like I said, it just startled me. It was stupid."
Justin knew he had screwed up big time. "Lance--" he tried again, once more reaching for him.
"Don't," Lance snapped, his hands shooting out and smacking Justin's away from him. "You're going to be late. You should go."
Justin frowned. He certainly didn't want to leave Lance like this. "I'm not going to go while you still think I'm going to sleep with Britney."
"I've thought you were sleeping with Britney for a couple of years," Lance returned, meeting Justin's eyes for one of the first times since the conversation had started. Justin was startled at the depths of emotions concealed in those deep green eyes.
Justin frowned again. "Lance, I'm still a virgin."
"You told me." Lance was kneeling down again, picking up the larger shards of glass and tossing them carefully into the trash. "You don't need to do it again."
Justin had pissed Lance off.
"Lance--" Justin started.
"Justin, go," Lance ordered, sounding exasperated as he pointed to the doorway. "You're going to be late. Strike that, you are late. Now get out of here already. I'll clean this up and be on my way myself. I'll see you later this evening."
Justin still didn't want to leave Lance that way, but Lance wasn't going to listen to anything he had to say, and with a resolute sigh and guilty conscious, he left his best friend.
Lance did his best to pay attention to the conversation the other three guys were having, but his heart just wasn't in it. He kept thinking about his conversation with Justin that morning, angry at himself for letting Justin's comment catch him so off guard. Justin was a normal, hormonal teenage boy. And he'd been joking, Lance reminded himself. Even if it was a cruel joke. After last night, Lance thought that Justin really might care about him as more than just a friend, but he was obviously wrong, because Justin had jumped at the first chance to go "hang out" with Britney, which almost always entitled kissing and hugging and holding. Not that Lance was jealous. He had practically thrown Justin out the door himself, something else Lance felt guilty for. Lance hated feeling guilty.
"What's wrong?" JC finally asked, and Lance looked up quickly to see all three guys staring at him.
"I'm sorry, what?" Lance asked sheepishly. "I wasn't paying attention."
"So we noticed," Chris commented dryly. "I don't suppose this has anything to do with why Justin isn't here with us?"
Lance turned defensive. "What's that supposed to mean? I do do things without Justin, you know. I happen to be my own person."
"No," Joey objected thoughtfully, but very seriously. "You and Justin are the same person. You've each given in to each other so much so that the line blurs between you and him anymore."
Lance stared at Joey in disbelief. Joey was never serious, and when he was, everyone listened. And right now, Joey was telling Lance that he lacked his own self anymore, and that upset Lance to degrees he didn't know existed. He didn't want to be thought of as part of someone else. He was him. He had his own thoughts, he made up his own mind. He was his own person!
Wasn't he?
"It's not 'Lance and Justin'," Chris continued. "It's Lance-and-Justin. One word. No separation whatsoever. Especially in the past couple of months. I mean, god, Lance, he flew over state lines to nurse you back to health. You two couldn't be apart for a week!"
Lance scowled. "Is there a point?" he snapped, completely uncharacteristically.
JC eyed him sadly. "Just that," he answered softly.
Lance sighed, the fire gone immediately. "I'm sorry, you guys," he apologized. "I shouldn't snap at you. It's really not called for. Justin and I had a fight this morning, or I think it was a fight. I'm not sure what it was. Anyway, it upset me, as you can see."
"He's probably as upset, if not more, than you are," Chris assured him, patting his hand. "Don't worry. You two can't be apart."
Lance scowled again. "Yes we can," he objected. "We don't need each other to function, you know."
The other three just arched their eyebrows at him, and he sighed. "We don't," he insisted, though his resolve was weakening. He had no idea his friends thought him so dependent on Justin, and he didn't like that. He liked to be dependent on no one except himself.
JC put a hand on Lance's shoulder. "Why don't you go home?" he suggested. "We've been out all day, and you're not going to feel better until you and Justin have worked this out."
"No," Lance refused stubbornly. "I'm fine." He attacked his desert with a new vengence, shoveling it into his mouth until he thought he was going to throw up and then sighing, pulling a few bills out of his wallet. "Okay, I'm going."
His friends grinned at him supportively, and JC slid out of the bench so Lance could get out. "Take care, Lansten," JC told him. "Call us later."
"I will," Lance sighed, kicking himself the whole time. He felt like such a wuss, but they were right. He wouldn't enjoy himself until he knew that he and Justin were squared away.
The drive back to Lance's house was about a half an hour away, and Lance took the time to listen to music, let the wind completely mess up his hair, and just think about Justin, who was occupying most of Lance's thoughts lately anyway. Last night while they sat curled up together in the window seat was one of the happiest moment's of Lance's life, and it was a memory that Lance would not soon be forgetting, if ever. He had watched plenty of storms from that very spot, with that very music, and with that very window open, but it had never been as magical as it had been last night, and Lance knew it was because he had been with Justin. Eventually they had fallen asleep together, only to wake a few hours later, flop into Lance's bed a few feet away, and promptly fall asleep again.
Justin's earlier comment inquiring about Lance having any protection hurt, though, as irrational as it was. He knew Justin had only been kidding, but it had somehow managed to hurt his feelings, though he couldn't express in words why. He had been surprised to hear Justin say Britney's name, but he decided to play the supportive friend. And for some reason Justin had gotten mad at him, though Lance was completely lost as to why, and Lance had gone to apologize and Justin simply caught him off guard. Then he got jealous when Lance wanted to go out with the guys... No... That hadn't been jealousy, had it? Maybe not, but what else was it, then?
Lance did know one thing, though, and that was that he didn't want to discuss his relationship with Justin with Justin... Or with anyone else. Not until he had it figured out in his own mind. And the minute Justin suggested that they needed to discuss where they were headed with their relationship, if he ever did, Lance was going to have to bail and crash at JC's. He wasn't ready to discuss it yet.
Justin's car was parked in the driveway when Lance pulled in, and Lance glanced at the clock. It was only 7:43, but it was dark outside, the night lit only by the lamps in people's houses, and the front porch light that Justin had left on for him. Lance smiled slightly at his consideration, unlocking the door and going inside, promptly turning the light off as he put his keys on the table, slipped out of his shoes and jacket, and began looking for Justin.
"Justin?" Lance called. No answer. "Jus?" All the lights in the place were off, but he vaguely saw a light in the living room, so he followed that. "Justin? You are here, aren't you?" There was still no answer, but Lance could now hear a vague hint of classical music playing, and he followed that, and the light which was getting brighter as he made his way to the living room. He hesitated, his heart catching in his throat, before finally stepping into the living room.
Justin was curled up in the arm chair by himself, a blanket covering his legs as he read a rather large hard cover book. There was a fire roaring in the fireplace, and Lance saw the sterio on, which would explain the music. Besides that, there were no other lights on in the house, and no other sound. Justin had yet to see Lance yet, and Lance had to smile at the image Justin made, the table beside him holding a glass of water and a cup of hot tea, as well as a bowl of chips, which Justin wasn't even touching. Lance admired his best friend for a minute, taking in the curly hair, peaceful demeanor, and glowing complexion of him. He forgot about thinking, worrying, or panicking just at the sight of Justin. He forgot almost everything, except how beautiful his curly headed friend was.
Justin looked up suddenly, though Lance had made no sound, and his solomn face broke into a large, relieved smile. "There you are!" he declared happily. "Did you have fun?"
Lance nodded, unable to speak for fear that his voice would crack and then he'd blurt out something he couldn't take back. He didn't even move from the entrance of the living room, not wanting to disturb the peacefulness of the room.
Justin misinterpreted Lance's silence, his face becoming sad and guilty. "Lance, I'm sorry about earlier. I know what I said was completely uncalled for, and it was just a mean joke that I somehow thought would be funny for the three seconds it took me to say it. I don't know why I acted the way I did this morning, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it all day." He sheepishly met Lance's eyes. "Forgive me?"
Lance couldn't help the, "Oh Justin," that slipped past his lips in a breath. He was beside his best friend in an instant, perching on the arm of the chair and hugging him so tightly he briefly wondered if he was crushing the curly headed blond. "Don't be sorry," Lance whispered, running his fingers through the soft curls as Justin buried his face in Lance's chest. "There's nothing to be sorry about. I told you earlier, I simply overreacted. And to be honest, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it either. The guys actually sent me home and told me that I wasn't allowed to come out and play until we worked things out."
That got a small laugh from Justin. "Funny, that's what Britney said to me, too." He slid over and pulled Lance down into the chair with him before throwing the blanket over both of them and curling up to Lance yet again, the book discarded on the table.
"What've you been reading?" Lance asked, looking at where Justin had marked his spot with a piece of paper. From the looks of it, Justin had been there for quite some time.
"I found it on your bookshelf. Hope you don't mind."
"Not at all. What is it?"
"For the love of life."
Lance couldn't help but grin. "What do you think so far?"
"Honestly?"
"Yes, of course." Lance was surprised by the question, his fingers in Justin's hair stilling for a moment.
"Oh, don't stop," Justin pleaded, hugging Lance even tighter. Chills went down Lance's spine, and he resumed his hair petting, which he enjoyed almost as much as Justin seemed to. "I love it," he confessed.
"Are we talking about the book or me playing with your hair?" Lance teased.
"Both," Justin laughed. "But I was talking about the book. You came in just as they were making up from their rather large fight. And while you never come in at a bad time, you sure chose a rather unopportune one."
Lance laughed and settled his cheek against Justin's curls. "You can read it," he offered. "Even better if you read it outloud and I get to listen to your voice." He shocked himself with the admission, not believing the words had even slipped out of his mouth, and it scared him that he had lost his self control so much.
On the other hand, Justin didn't seem to mind. Rather, he smiled brightly and snatched up the book, still curled up with Lance as he opened up his spot and began reading. Lance closed his eyes and settled back, letting Justin's soothing, soft southern accent wash over him while Lance continued to play with Justin's curls.
When Justin got tired of reading, about twenty pages later, he handed the book to Lance, who immediately started to protest.
"You got to listen to me," Justin argued, taking a long drink of the tea to coat his voice. "Now it's my turn to listen to you. You're not the only one who likes the other's voice around here."
Well with an compliment like that, how could Lance refuse? Lance picked up from where Justin left off, keeping his arm around Justin as he held the book open, reading until he was desperate for water. He opted for Justin's tea even as Justin handed it to him and took off from where Lance left off.
And together, they spent the rest of the night just like that.
Lance slowly opened his eyes and then, as he focused as to where he was, they widened in shock. He and Justin were in his bed, and Justin was laying on his stomach, his body spread out a little bit, the arm closest to Lance against his body so Lance could rest on his own stomach half-on half-off the poor boy. Lance had his left arm thrown across Justin's back, and Justin's left hand claimed Lance's tightly. Lance had slipped his left leg over Justin's right one, and his face rested right over Justin's right shoulder, so close to Justin's own face that he could feel Justin's breath on his face. How they had gotten into this position was beyond Lance, but he was determined to get out of it. There were just some ways Lance didn't want to wake up with Justin, and this happened to be one of them. It was too personal; too close. Though after last night...
The memory brought a smile to Lance's face. They had stayed up until 1 reading to each other and finishing the book, and then, when it was over, they laid together in that chair. They had switched positions while they read, and now it was Lance who curled up to Justin, something completely different than how they normally operated. But Lance found it wasn't just Justin who liked to be held. Justin was solid, and warm, and as Lance leaned against his chest, holding an arm on Justin's stomach/chest, he found that Justin slowly stroking his fingers up and down Lance's back was one of the sweetest sensations he had ever felt in his entire life. And then when it was Lance's turn to read, Justin invested all of his attention on Lance, cuddling him, stroking his hair, and even occassionally placing gentle kisses on the top of Lance's head. They had sent shivers radiating down Lance's spine, and he had clung to Justin all that much more tighter, but never pulled away. And then, when Justin had pulled Lance practically on top of him, so that Lance was on his stomach and half on Justin, half off of him on his side and their legs intertwined, Lance was sure he wouldn't be able to finish the chapter. All he could concentrate on was the gentle way in which Justin was dancing his fingers up and down Lance's spinal column.
Eventually, they'd finished the book, and at first decided to sleep exactly where they were, but they woke up around 5, shifted and grumbled for a few minutes, and then Lance finally stood, yanked Justin up with him, and when he started to release Justin's hand, Justin held all that much more tighter, and Lance had to turn away to keep the smile down as he led Justin to his bedroom, still half asleep, and they collappsed together on the bed. Though, what Lance remembered was that they had fallen asleep beside each other, not on top of each other.
To Lance's horror, Justin's eyes fluttered open, revealing the deepest, brightest shade of blue Lance had ever seen. Lance's jaw opened and worked quickly for an explaination of their position, but Justin merely smiled and held Lance's hand tighter in his own.
"Morning," Justin greeted, his voice still scratchy from having not used it for a few hours, and having used it so much the night before. Any normal people would have lost their voice completely, but they were used to talking a lot.
"Good morning," Lance returned. "Sleep well?"
Justin flashed a grin and stretched in place. "Beautifully. You?"
"Not too bad." Lance wanted to pull away, but Justin had his grip firmly secured on Lance's hand, and that was going to present a problem.
"Breakfast?" Justin asked, his blue eyes such a cerulean color that Lance forgot about wanting to leave. He never wanted to leave Justin's side again.
"Make or go?" Lance asked back. He loved that he and Justin could talk in such short jargon and understand each other completely.
Justin paused. "Your choice?"
Lance considered carefully. "Go."
"Me too."
"Plans today?" Lance's mind raced to remember how much time they had.
For some reason, a small smile crawled over Justin's face. "Studio at 1."
Lance nodded, then turned to look over his shoulder at the clock. Actually, he tried to roll over and look at his clock. Justin not only wouldn't let him go, but his free arm snaked out around Lance's waist and held him tightly. Lance's wide green eyes met Justin's smoldering blue ones. "Just checkin' the time, Jus," Lance explained softly, his voice hoarse as he and Justin stared at each other.
Justin's eyes flicked over Lance's shoulder. "9:43."
Lance settled back against the pillow, which caused Justin to relax. "Alright. So we've got plenty of time to shower, dress, and then grab something to eat before we have to hit the studio."
"Plenty. But you forgot something."
"Your primp time?" Lance teased. "Nah, I took that into consideration, too."
Justin made a face at him. "No, not 'my primp time'."
"Then what?"
"Sleep in time." Justin closed his eyes and pulled Lance closer.
Lance laughed slightly, loving the way Justin's breath felt on his neck, but pulling back slightly all the same to look at him again. "We can't," he told him gently. "Otherwise we'll never have enough time."
Justin pouted. "But I don't wanna get up yet," he complained.
"Well we have to." Lance tried to detangle himself from Justin, but they were in a quite an interlocking position, and they both had to pull apart to get away from each other, and Justin wasn't doing his share of pulling. "Jus, help me out here."
"No," Justin grumbled. "I can't believe you'd rather get up and move around when you could just lay here with me for a while."
"Jus, there is little more I'd rather do than lay here all day, but we have to get up, otherwise we'll never get ready in time." Lance blushed with the admission, but when he said things like that Justin sure seemed to brighten, just like he was doing now.
"Well in that case," Justin sighed, his bright blue eyes as he pulled back, and finally he and Lance were free of each other. He rolled out of the bed. "I shower first!" he claimed, dashing out of the room before Lance could protest.
Lance laughed slightly and flopped onto his back, sprawling out across the bed as he stared at the ceiling, trying to come to terms with what exactly he and Justin were saying to each other, without ever uttering a word. It didn't seem possible that Lance was misreading Justin anymore, but there was always that doubt... He never had a lot of friends before the guys, so he didn't really know how they acted together. Was this something friends did together? He had never done it with any of the other guys, and he'd never seen any of them do this sort of stuff together. But none of them were as close as Lance and Justin were.
Lance was so confused.
Eventually, Lance dragged himself out of bed, and began rummaging around his drawers for something to wear. He decided on his favorite pair of baggy khaki's, knowing he'd be jumping around later, and an orange shirt. Justin claimed that he was the only person he knew who could pull off orange and do it well, so Lance often found himself wearing the color.
"Good choice," Justin said as he breezed into the room, wearing only a towel slung around his waist. Lance forced himself not to stare at his dripping wet best friend, then decided Justin was just mean sometimes.
"Thanks," Lance muttered, unable to keep looking at Justin without flat out staring.
Justin, however, had other ideas. "Do you think I'm gaining weight?" Justin asked, staring at himself in the mirror. "I was looking at my stomach in the bathroom, and I think I'm losing muscle definition and just getting flabby."
Lance gaped at Justin. "Are you losing your mind?" he demanded, joining Justin at the mirror and poking Justin in the stomach. "Look at you! Hard as a rock. You work out more than all of us combined. You are not gaining weight, and you are not getting flabby. Don't be dumb."
Justin flashed a grin at Lance. "Thanks. I think."
Lance just sighed and shook his head. "I'm taking a shower," he announced, walking past Justin and out the door. He honestly didn't understand his best friend sometimes. Justin was just too self conscious.
The shower was invigorating, and completely woke Lance up. He wrapped the towel around his own waist, and went back into the bedroom to change his clothes.
Justin was laying on the bed, still in his towel, with his hands behind his bed as he stared at the ceiling.
Lance worked for something to say, but nothing came out for a moment. If Justin noticed him, he said nothing, and finally Lance managed to squeak, "What're you doing?"
Justin glanced at him and smiled. "Hey there. I was just thinking." He held out a free hand. "Come lay with me."
Lance's jaw fell. "You're kidding, right? You're practically naked."
"No I'm not. Come lay with me."
Something that wasn't Lance's brain directed him to the bed, where he took Justin's hand and, making sure to hold the towel tightly against his body, sank down next to Justin and rested his head on the crook of Justin's elbow. Their chests and legs were bare as they rubbed up against each other, and Lance almost moaned at the close contact.
"Thinking about anything important?" Lance asked weakly, when Justin continued to be silent and Lance needed to fill the sound of his pounding heart with something.
"You, actually."
Lance paled, his heart skipping. He wasn't ready for this. He really, really wasn't ready for this. "Oh?"
"Yeah." Justin turned so he looked at Lance, his face less than an inch from Lance's own. "I was thinking of how good your room smells. Just like you."
Lance laughed slightly, utterly embarassed. "Well it's my room. I hope it smells like me. And you helped me pick out the cologne. You'd better like it!"
Justin smiled back slightly, obviously wanting to be serious. "Lance..." He trailed off, and Lance waited nervously for Justin to go on. "I want to say thank you."
Okay, Lance hadn't been expecting that. "For what?" he asked, confused.
"For being everything to me. My best friend, my confidant, my pal, my roommate," he and Lance both laughed a little. "And the one person I turn to for absolutely anything."
Lance smiled warmly at him. "You're welcome. And thank you to you, as well, for all of the aforementioned and more."
Justin smiled back, and allowed Lance to get up off the bed before saying, "I'll go change in the bathroom. Can I bum some clothes?"
"Sure." Lance gestured to the dresser and the closet. "Wear what you want."
"Oh, you find me something. I'm being lazy."
Lance laughed and rummaged through his clothes. He loved Justin in black. Justin always looked hot in black. So, Lance found one of his favorite black tee shirts, his black sweater, and a pair of khaki pants, all of which he tossed on the bed next to his best friend. "You're on your own for boxers," Lance warned.
Justin laughed loudly. "I think I can manage." He gathered up the clothes and got up, a move Lance guiltily paid plenty of attention to. "I'll be back," he announced, then closed Lance's bedroom door behind him.
Lance dressed quickly, then opened his door to his room before going out into the hallway and down to the living room, where he flopped down on the couch, closing his eyes. He opened them a couple of minutes later when he felt something... Something that felt like eyes on him. Justin suddenly appeared, hopping over the back of the couch and landing flush up on Lance, stomach to stomach.
"Ready?" Justin asked, seemingly full of energy.
Lance considered saying that he felt like not letting Justin move, but he decided against it. "Yeah, I'm ready. You?"
"Absolutely!" Justin hopped up off of the couch, bringing Lance with him by the collar. "Let's grab some breakfast!"
Lance was growing more and more annoyed. Wade kept pestering him, Justin was going too fast to follow, and when Lance tried to watch JC, Justin cleared his throat rather loudly. Lance had no idea what to do or who to follow, and he was about ready to just sit down on his bum and tell them that he wasn't doing this anymore until they all shut up and left him alone.
"Lance, pick up your feet!" Wade snapped. "Look at the other guys! They all have it down. Even Joey has it down!"
"Hey!" Joey protested.
"That's enough," Justin interrupted coldly, glaring at Wade. "Chill, man."
Wade glared back at Justin. "This isn't about you, Justin, back off." He moved past the curly headed blond and crossed the few feet to Lance. "Do you need some extra help?"
"No, I'm just screwing up because I enjoy being yelled at," Lance snapped sarcastically. "What the hell do you think? I don't dance! I sing!"
Wade's brown eyes met Lance's green ones, and now that Lance had calmed down, he felt very guilty about his outburst and opened his mouth to apologize, but Wade was speaking. "Everyone out," he ordered. "Everyone except Lance."
"Hell no!" Justin snapped, taking only two strides to join Lance's side and place a hand on his best friends' shoulder. "Give us one good reason to leave you alone with him."
"Because I'm going to teach him the dance, Timberlake!" Wade shouted back. "Now get out!"
Justin started towards Wade, probably to deck him, but Lance simply pushed him back and shrugged. "Out," he repeated, glancing at the other guys. "You too. Everyone out."
Justin looked ready to protest, and Lance turned to him. "Go," he restated firmly. Justin's shoulders slumped, and with one last glare at Wade, which almost looked like a warning, Justin was gone with the other guys, and the only two people in the room were Wade and Lance.
"Well?" Lance prompted, when Wade only looked at him. "I know I suck, but trying to transfer your amazing dancing capabilities to me through a mind telepathic link should be our last resort, don't you agree?"
To Lance's relief, Wade laughed. "Okay, Bass," he began, standing behind him. "Let's get you dancing."
Lance sighed and allowed Wade to direct his arm movements, and then his legs. He was standing almost as close as Justin had been the previous day, which made Lance a little nervous, but he said nothing and forced himself to concentrate on the movements Wade was making. Eventually, after about ten minutes, he had it down enough that he could do it slowly. Ten minutes later, and he had it slightly faster, and Wade was relaxing, doing the dance beside him, and they were even laughing together, joking about odds and ends. By the time a half hour was up, Lance had the dance down pat, and even did it with his eyes closed. Wade hugged him happily, which Lance found a little odd, but he hugged the other man back, albeit slightly weaker.
"I'm very proud of you, Lance," Wade told him seriously, his face inches from Lance's own. Now Lance was utterly nervous.
"Thanks," Lance replied weakly, pulling away and gesturing to the door. "I think we can let the other guys in," he told Wade. "I've got it now."
Wade nodded and with relief Lance opened the door to see the other guys lounging in the hallway. Joey and Chris were sitting on the ground next to each other playing 'rock paper scissors', JC was sitting next to Chris with his head on Chris' shoulder and his eyes closed, and Justin was standing, pacing the hallway.
As soon as the door opened, however, they all ceased movement and looked up at Lance, except for Justin, who looked down at him. Lance met all of their eyes with an arched eyebrow.
"Did you guys think he was going to maim me or something?" Lance asked, when no one said anything. "I'm still in one piece. And I know the dance."
"What took so long?" Joey complained. "My butt is numb."
Lance sighed. "I suck, okay? It takes me three times as long as the rest of you." He glanced at Justin, a bit disconcerted to find his best friends' blue eyes burning into his own, as though trying to see into him. He broke his gaze away from Justin's, a bit confused, and turned to the others. "Anyway, ya'll can come back in now."
Justin kicked back in the hallway, still around the corner from Lance next to the doorway, and once the other three were grumbling and back inside, Lance looked up at Justin.
"He try anything?" Justin asked, his voice dark.
Lance's eyes widened in surprise. "Again, Justin, in order for a guy to try something on another guy, they have to be gay. Because neither Wade nor I am, he did not try anything."
"Faulty logic," Justin growled from someplace in the base of his throat, his face only inches from Lance's. Lance's wide, scared green eyes came up and met Justin's again, but Justin was pulling away and brushing past him, once more going into the studio room. Lance stood there for a second, trying to figure out what exactly Justin was calling faulty, and then slowly closed the door and rejoined his friends.
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