Disclaimer: Aw yes, the last part of our wonderful little story... As usual, the regular disclaimers apply... These people own themselves, I am only using the names. (And no offense, but why would I *want* to own them?! I have enough trouble keeping track of *myself*!) So please, don't come after me with the... (deep breath?) revolver. (Aw, too easy!) ;)

Author's note: Thanks to everyone who wrote me! You guys are wonderful and I appreciate it so much, especially since this was my first slash fic... ever! When I started this story, I was actually going to have Lance die in the end. (Gasp!) Not because I want to kill Lance (he's so cute; those green eyes, baby!) but because the whole time Justin is constantly worried about Lance leaving him. Then I decided that I'm too much of a sappy romantic to dare risk killing off my favorite guy. (At least for this story.) But don't be surprised if I throw something your way sometime... ;) Thanks again, everyone!


        After the concert was over, all the guys except for Lance were exhausted. Lance was full of energy, practically bouncing around backstage as they made their way to their toyroom. Lance threw open the door, and stopped short, staring at the couch.
        "Lance!" Britney squealed happily, jumping to her feet and throwing herself into his arms. He picked her up and swung her around excitedly, and when she was deposited, Justin picked her up promptly and hugged her tightly. She gave him a quick kiss and then hugged the other guys all in turn.
        "What're you doing here?" Justin asked, grinning broadly at her. His joy was written all over his face, and Lance paused to study him in jealousy. Fine, Lance thought to himself. He would just find a girl of his own and show Justin what it felt like. Last time he'd seen Britney, he'd gotten along well with one of her dancers… Lauren or something. He'd just find her.
        "I wanted to say hi!" Britney giggled. "How are ya'll? The show was great! I had to dash out of the way a couple of times so you didn't see me, but I saw you!"
        "You should have said something!" JC admonished. "We would have given you front row tickets!"
        Britney laughed. "But I was at the side, watchin' ya'll. I had a great view!" Britney put her arms around Justin's waist while he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, still grinning at her. "Ya'll were so cute! I loved it!"
        Justin laughed at her. "Well good," he declared. "But you should have told us you were coming. We at least would have thrown a party."
        Britney's interest peaked. "A party?" she asked excitedly. "Let's throw one tonight, in my hotel room! I got this huge suite." She sighed and shook her head. "I told them that I was fine in a regular room, but they insisted." She giggled. "I suppose I shouldn't complain though. Free upgrade."
        "We didn't get that," Joey objected.
        Britney laughed. "Would you like to trade rooms?" she offered.
        "No," Justin interrupted Joey, giving him a pointed look. Britney giggled again and shrugged.
        "If you want it, it's yours," Britney promised Joey.
        Joey's eyes lit up. "I like you!" he declared happily, much to Britney's amusement. "You're my new best friend!"
        Britney giggled and grinned at them. "Well I'll let ya'll get changed. I know how uncomfortable it can be to stay in show clothes." She shuddered. "We won't mention the VMA's, okay?"
        "Aw, I thought it was cute," Justin teased, tickling her side.
        Britney sighed. "You and about 50 hundred other males," she informed him. "I, on the other hand, found it very distasteful."
        "So why'd you wear it?" Chris asked, confused.
        Britney smiled sadly. "Management," she answered, then brightened. "I'll be outside," she told them, and disappeared, pulling the door shut behind her.
        "She's so cute," JC laughed. "I still remember that little girl that I used to pick on!"
        "Pigtails!" Justin yelped happily, laughing along with JC.
        Lance very calmly changed into his street clothes and sat on the couch, waiting for the others to finish. He considered not going back to the hotel, but to a club, and then, the more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. Maybe he'd stop by the hotel, ask that girl… Uhh… whatever her name was, to go to a club with him.
        "How's your side?" Justin asked Lance, joining him.
        Lance shrugged. "It's fine. I don't feel it at all."
        Justin frowned slightly. "It's a bad injury—" he started.
        "I'm fine," Lance interrupted, then stood. "Everyone dressed?" he asked. They all were, so he opened the door for Britney, ignoring the confused looks Justin was giving him.
        They all piled into the limos and were carted back to the hotel, where they immediately went up to Britney's suite. Her dancers were all in there already, laughing and having fun, greeting her warmly when she arrived. Lance immediately spotted the girl he'd been thinking about, and joined her on the couch, much to her delight.
        "Lance," he reminded, grinning at her.
        "Lauren," she returned teasingly.
        Music was put on, and Lance leaned over to whisper in her ear. "I know," he assured her, and he felt her stiffen with delight. "I was actually looking for you. Do you want to go to a club with me? I asked around and found one not too far from here; about 20 minutes."
        "Sure," she agreed automatically, standing. "I'll just go get changed."
        Lance flashed a devilish grin at her and she left. Lance looked around the room, seeing Justin and Britney curled up together in front of one of the couches, talking and laughing quietly, in their own separate world. JC, Joey, and Chris were all talking with Britney's dancers.
        Lauren came back a few minutes later looking ready to mingle, and Lance grinned, stood, and led her to the door.
        "Hey!" Britney exclaimed, laughing over the music. Lance and Lauren turned back to see everyone looking at them. "Where are you taking my dancer and what time will she be home?"
        Lance flashed a teasing grin. "I think that Justin should stay here tonight," he returned instead, to everyone's 'ooo's'. The only person not laughing was Justin, who was staring at Lance. Lance purposefully met his eyes with a grin, and then, putting an arm around Lauren's back, led her out of the room.
        She was as nice as he had remembered, if not nicer, Lance discovered as they chatted easily the whole way to the club. When they got there, they immediately started dancing. Part of Lance remembered that he never danced, but he was feeling so good, and absolutely no pain, and those pesky inhibitions were gone, so Lance threw himself into the dancing. He liked the way Lauren moved with him: a bit seductively, but not slutty.
        They enjoyed each others company well into the night.

        Lance woke up the next morning tired, achy, and so sore that he could barely move. He and Lauren had finally come in around 3 in the morning, and he walked her to her door, collected a good night kiss on the cheek, and then went back down to his room, collappsing on the bed. Justin hadn't been there, and frankly, Lance didn't care where Justin was. All he cared about was getting rid of the pain.
        Lance painfully snatched up the phone, dialed a number, and waited.
        "What?" came a tired growl.
        "I'm hurt. Give me something."
        There was a shift, and the voice sounded more awake. "Lance?"
        "You pushin' to other people? Come give me something."
        Johnny spoke in a growl. "If you want it, come get it yourself."
        "Damn it, Johnny, I can't move, otherwise I would! Come help me out!"
        There was a hesitation, then, "Alright. Give me a minute."
        "Thank you." Lance hung up the phone and practically crawled to the door. He opened it the second Johnny started to knock, and expectantly held out his hand. Johnny stared at him, and took the pills back.
        "What the hell are you doing?" Lance demanded, glaring at him. "Give them here."
        "You look like hell," Johnny commented.
        "Yeah, and you'll look worse if you don't give me those." Lance held out his hand again, and the pills were desposited in his palm. Five pills. Lance threw one back and smiled pleasantly at Johnny. "Thank you." Then he let the door fall shut, crawled back into bed, and fell asleep again.

        "Good morning!" Lance greeted cheerfully as he breezed into Britney's room. He'd gone to Joey's, only to find a note saying to meet back at Britney's suite.
        "More like afternoon," JC teased. "Lauren said you two got in a bit late."
        Lance grinned at Lauren and joined her on the couch, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "Just a bit of fun," he assured them, and Lauren giggled.
        Justin, who was sitting on the couch with Britney in his arms, glared at Lance. Lance purposefully ignored him. Justin hadn't slept in his bed last night. He really had stayed with Britney. Fine, Lance didn't care.
        "What did you two do?" Chris exclaimed. "Lauren won't tell us and we've been after her for hours!"
        Lance flashed a grin at Lauren and shrugged innocently. "Stuff."
        "What kind of stuff?" Roy, one of Britney's dancers, teased.
        Lance's grin grew. "Fun stuff." Lance looked to Justin and Britney on the bed. "Did you two have fun?" he asked, grinning.
        Britney nodded enthusiastically. "We watched movies all night until we fell asleep." She giggled. "I suppose it seems pretty silly, but it was lots of fun."
        "What kind of movies?" Chris taunted.
        Britney giggled and tossed her pillow at Chris, who caught it and used it to curl up on. "Action for Justin, Romance for me, and then comedy for both of us."
        "One of the hottest girls in this room and that's all you did with her?" Joey shook his head at Justin. "I'm disappointed in you, Curly."
        "Guess I should take some lessons from Lance," Justin spoke dryly, pointedly.
        Lance returned the look innocently. "There are some things that can't be taught, my boy." He flashed a grin at Lauren. "Right?"
        Lauren giggled. "Right," she confirmed.
        Justin looked ready to boil over.
        "We already ate," Britney told Lance. "But if you want, I can call and have something brought up."
        "Nah thanks, darlin'," Lance denied. He turned to Lauren. "How about I go take you out for some ice cream, and I'll eat then?"
        Lauren grinned. "Sounds good."
        "Excellent!" Lance stood and helped her to her feet. "We'll be back," Lance sang as they walked out. He flashed a devilish grin. "Lata, that is." He shut the door behind him and wrapped an arm around Lauren's shoulders as he led her down the hallway to the elevator.

        An unexpected visitor was waiting for Lance when he finally stumbled back into his room. He and Lauren had stayed out all day, and it was someplace around 1 in the morning. They'd gone to eat, then shopping, then more eating, and then clubbing again. Lance was still wired, but Lauren was tired, so he politely brought her back and decided to think about getting some sleep.
        "Hey!" Lance greeted warmly, tossing his keycard onto the desk. "What're you doing here? And up at this hour?"
        "Waiting for you, to both questions," JC returned evenly. "What's wrong with you?"
        Lance froze and stared at him before scowling. "Why does everyone keep asking me that?" he demanded. "Nothing! I'm fine!"
        JC stood. "You're not fine," he snapped. "You're hurting Justin purposefully, you're hurting yourself, and you're acting weird, Lance. Really, really weird."
        Lance rolled his eyes. "Enough that I should get a prize?" he asked, slipping out of his shoes and going to his suitcase to find something to wear. He settled on a dark gray tee shirt and black track pants, tossing them on the bed and stripping in front of JC without a second thought.
        "This isn't like you at all," JC snapped. "Why are you doing this?"
        "Doing what?" Lance demanded, exasperated. "Having fun? Taking a girl out on a date? In case you haven't heard, I'm straight, JC. I like girls! I like to have fun with girls. That includes taking them out."
        JC scowled at him. "You trying to run Justin into Britney's arms?" he hissed. "Because it's working!"
        "Good for them!" Lance shouted angrily. "I don't give a flying fuck, understand? Justin's my friend, nothing more. I'm sorry if I'm stepping on his poor little feelings by being interested in some chick, but there isn't some double standard here! He can't fall all over Britney and expect me to be cool with it, and yet when I do it, he freaks. I don't care enough to stop having fun. Now get the hell out of my room!"
        JC stared at Lance. "That's what I'm talking about," he told Lance quietly, his voice like steel. Then he turned and stalked out of the room, letting the door slam behind him.
        Lance glared at it for a minute, then angrily threw himself onto his bed, fighting the urge to get up and break something. It was literally a fight happening in his body. He wanted to go punch something. A window, a mirror, anything that would make a nice shattering crunch. He resisted the urge until he was almost consumed by it, trembling and clenching his fists at his side.
        Suddenly the thoughts that Lance had been desperate to get into focus were focusing all at once, and he was surrounded by thoughts, swarming him; screaming at him. "Stop," Lance pleaded, covering his ears with his hands as he heard his friends' voices all yelling at him, hearing his own thoughts announcing his true feelings for Justin. "Stop!" Lance shouted loudly, shaking violently. Nothing ceased the incessant voices, and Lance broke down into hysterical sobs, unable to make the voices go away.

Three days and 8 pills later:

        "Lance, wake up! You've got to get ready!"
        Lance slowly opened his eyes, grunting painfully as the sunlight invaded his eyesight and then as he tried to sit up, his stomach screaming at him. He'd gone out every day with Lauren, staying out well into the morning, and he was popping pills like crazy, and now he just wanted to sleep. As far as he knew, Justin was just staying in Britney's room, and when Lance allowed himself to think about it, he simply threw back another pill and felt instantly better. Then he went upstairs, collected Lauren, and they went out clubbing. Lance was feelin' no pain.
        "Go away, Chris," Lance muttered.
        "No!" Chris hopped up and down on the bed a few times. "You've slept the entire day away. Literally. It's 3:30. You've got to get a shower and get ready for the concert tonight."
        Lance was nausious. "Chris, go away," Lance warned, clamping a hand on Chris' knee. "And stop that!"
        Chris paused and studied Lance. "What's with you?" Chris asked worriedly. "It's not like you to sleep so long. Lauren said that you guys were out until 1 or so, but you still never wake up this late."
        "If I punched you, do you think anyone would care?" Lance asked coldly, glaring up at Chris.
        Chris' eyes widened in shock, surprise, and then horror. "Lance? Are you okay?" he asked, concerned. He brushed a hand over Lance's forehead. "You look awful."
        "Get out!" Lance screamed furiously, giving Chris a shove so hard that he actually fell to the ground. Lance's side screamed back at him, and Lance gasped, collappsing to the bed in a heap. He needed those drugs. That'd make the pain stop. But where had he put them?! Not on the bedside table, not in the drawer... Where?!
        Chris jumped up when he recovered from the stun, and stared at Lance. "You're sick," he told him matter-of-factly. "What's wrong with you?"
        Lance glared at him. "I'm tired of annoying pissants like you trying to tell me what to do or how to run my life. Okay? Now get the hell out before I throw this lamp at you." Lance touched the lamp, wrapping his hand around it's base.
        Chris stared at him blankly. "Jesus, Lance," Chris breathed. "What happened to you?"
        "Get the fuck out Christopher Kirpatrick!"
        Chris jumped onto Lance, wrestling him down on the bed and pinning both his arms and legs down. "What is wrong with you?" Chris screamed back at him. "I've never seen you act like this before!"
        Lance struggled hatefully against the restraint Chris made himself to be. "Let me go!" Lance shouted furiously.
        Chris just held firmer. "Lance, stop it!" he shouted back. "I'm not going to let you go until you stop fighting me!"
        "I'm not going to stop fighting you until you let me go!" Lance retorted, still fighting. His side was on fire, ripping in two, and Lance was in so much pain he was near tears.
        "JC!" Chris screamed. "Joey! Someone! Help me!"
        "Damn it, Chris!" Lance screamed back. A minute later the door burst open, and JC and Joey stood there, staring at the scene before them. "Don't just stand there!" Lance shouted. "Get him off of me!"
        To Lance's absolute horror and anguish, Joey and JC helped hold him down.
        "Let go of me!" Lance howled, struggling against all of them. It was no use, though. In his almost broken state, and all of them being so much stronger than him, Lance was quickly overpowered, and he knew it.
        "What happened?" JC shouted at Chris.
        "I don't know! He's—"
        "On drugs." Joey had been shaking Lance's jean's pocket and found the pills, which he stooped down to pick up. Lance stopped struggling as soon as he saw the pills. Joey came over and held the pills out. "Let him up, guys," Joey ordered, his voice calm. JC and Chris exchanged nervous looks, but did as they were told. Lance lunged for Chris' throat as soon as he was up, but JC grabbed him and held him from the back, holding his arms down to his sides.
        "Here, Lance." Joey held out the pills. "I believe these are yours."
        Lance, now having the proper motivation, shoved JC off and reached for the pills, but at the last second, Joey closed his hand. Lance snarled at him.
        "But you choose, right now," Joey continued. "Us, or the drugs." Joey opened up his palm, and there lay the two pills, staring back at Lance.
        "What do you mean?" Lance asked warily.
        "I mean," Joey clarified. "That if you take these two pills out of my hand, I'm going to walk out of here and quit Nsync right now."
        "Me too," JC and Chris said in unison, and Lance looked at them warily.
        "You guys are full of shit," Lance muttered, reaching out for the pills. "You would never give this job up." He took the pills from Joey's hand, and Joey stared at him sadly before pulling out his cell phone and dialing a number.
        "Johnny?" Joey asked. He took a deep breath, tears coming to his eyes. "It's Joey. I quit." Lance stared at him. "I quit, I said. I quit the group, I quit the band, I quit Nsync. I want out."
        Lance snatched the phone away. "No he doesn't," he snapped, then ended the phone call. He glared up at Joey. "What the hell are you doing?" he hissed.
        "Exactly what I told you I was going to do. Did you think I was lying?"
        Lance's fist tightened around the pills. "But…" he began, trailing off weakly.
        "But what?" a new voice at the door snapped furiously. "You chose, didn't you? You called Joey on his threat, and it turns out it was a promise, not a bluff." Justin pulled out his cell phone. "It's not a bluff with me, either."
        "Stop!" Lance shouted, covering his ears. "God, stop. Stop, stop, stop. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He threw the pills onto the bed, where they landed next to JC, who picked them up. Lance was shaking, kneeling on the bed and dropping his head to the covers, covering his ears with his hands. "Please, please stop," he begged, crying. The voices were back, with a ruthless onslaught, now that he had given up the solitary source to make them stop. They were taunting him, attacking him, the thoughts he had desperately wanted to focus on now driving him mad in the opposite way: by letting him know what they were. "Please, god, please god, please god…" Lance sobbed. "Please, please, please, stop…"
        And somehow, through Lance's sobs, and the screaming voices, and Lance's shaking, Lance felt two strong arms circle around him and a calm, soothing voice say, "It's okay, baby. I won't let anything hurt you."
        Lance curled up against Justin, still sobbing and pleading the voices to stop screaming at him, while Justin gently rocked Lance.

        Nsync cancelled their special concert with Britney Spears. It had been scheduled to be her concert anyway, and so no one got in any trouble for the sudden development. Britney was disappointed, of course, but she didn't pester when they said that they just couldn't do it.
        Lance was still shaking horribly, but at least the voices—for the most part—had stopped. Justin was still cradeling him in his lap, as he'd been doing for the past three hours. Lance had a nasty headache, his thoughts were all foggy, and he couldn't stop shaking. Besides that, his side was screaming in anguish and pain, but he was better than he had been. Joey and Chris were sitting on the floor staring at their hands, and JC was sitting on the couch, gazing out the window. No one spoke. No one watched tv or listened to music. No one read or played card games. No one did anything except listen to the sound of Lance shivering uncontrollably. Occassionally, when Lance would start to cry out from the voices he was hearing, Justin's soft, soothing whispering in his ear could be heard, but never words, only the sound. If they could hear what Justin was saying, they would have heard Justin saying such things as, "It's okay, baby. I've got you. You're safe with me." Or, "Shhh… No one's here except you and me, sweetie. Just you and me, like we promised, remember?" Or, "Focus on just my voice, darling. Just my voice. No one else matters. It's just you and me." And then, once, when Lance started crying, "Shh… It's okay. I'm here. I'll protect you. I love you. Shhh…"
        It was around 8 when Lance's strained voice filled the room. "I am so hungry," he announced, sounding utterly defeated and exhausted. "Can we eat something?"
        "What would you like?" JC asked immediately, sitting up. Chris and Joey's interest was also peaked as they looked at him.
        Lance was vaguely aware that they were all staring at him, but he ignored that and instead focused on his growling stomach. "I don't know," he answered weakly. "Just something."
        "Cheeseburger?" JC asked, standing.
        "That's fine," Lance mumbled, and to everyone's astonishment reached out for his wallet. "I've got the money—"
        Justin held him firmly in his arms, refusing to let Lance move.
        "It's on me," JC assured him quickly. "You just rest." He hesitated for a second, then turned to Joey and Chris. "Why don't you two join me?" he suggested. "I think that Justin's got everything under control here."
        Joey and Chris stood and followed JC to the door.
        "Chris?" Lance called, his throat sore and his voice hoarse.
        Chris turned around and waited. "Yes?" he asked, his tone gentle.
        "I-I'm sorry about…" Lance's face screwed as he tried to remember what he had done. He knew it had been bad, and he knew he was sorry for it, but he couldn't remember. "I… I don't remember what I'm sorry for, but I know it was bad, and I'm sorry."
        Chris broke away from the group at the door and hugged Lance tightly, even while he rested in Justin's arms. "Don't even think about it," Chris breathed, and to Lance's horror found the older man trying not to cry. "You just rest here." He swallowed hard, and Lance could see the tears in Chris' eyes. "Justin'll take really good care of you, and we'll be right back."
        Lance nodded, watching as Chris continued to stare at him for a second longer, relief and thankfulness all over his face, and then Chris was suddenly rushing out of the room, JC and Joey not far behind.
        The door clicked shut and Justin immediately hugged Lance tightly, carefully avoiding his sore side. Justin rested his head on top of Lance's, where it rested on Justin's shoulder. "How do you feel?" Justin asked softly, his voice also thick with withheld tears.
        "Sore. My side hurts. And contrite, though I don't remember why."
        Justin laughed slightly. "Trust you to use big words when you're detoxing." He snuggled up closer to Lance. "Why're you sorry, sweetie?"
        Lance paused, trying to focus on his thoughts, but they were spinning again. That was slightly comforting, he found. Not concentrating on any of his thoughts. It was familiar, and they weren't all jumping out at him at once. Once inside the recesses of his mind, Lance wasn't sure he ever wanted to go there again.
        "Because of Lauren," Lance said, confused by the words. Justin stiffened, and Lance had a bad feeling about it. That was when snippets of Lance asking Lauren out, hanging out with her, and Justin's angry face filled his mind. "I didn't… I mean, I never…" Lance sighed and slumped against Justin. "I may have been drugged up but I still had some common sense," Lance explained. "I didn't sleep with her. She's a nice girl, but really, I just wanted to make you jealous." As soon as the admission was out of his mouth, Lance clamped a hand over his mouth in horror.
        Instead of stiffening or growling, Justin actually relaxed, hugging Lance closer. "It worked," he sighed drearily, nuzzling Lance's neck. Lance could feel Justin's hot breath on his neck, and he nearly sighed out loud, loving the way Justin felt. God he had missed Justin. Justin's lips brushed over the back of Lance's hand, and Lance's heart skipped a beat. Justin's lips were soft and gentle. Slowly Lance removed his hand, and Justin spoke with his mouth only centimeters from Lance's. "You may have tried to kiss me while you were doped up," Justin whispered, meeting Lance's eyes. "But I wasn't, and I was going to let you."
        "I would have done it sober if I wasn't chicken," Lance whispered back.
        Justin smiled slightly. "But I like you just the way you are," he told Lance. His smile died away, and he spoke seriously, albeit softly. "These past few days… The bus, and then when we got here… It's been hell on me, Lance. I haven't been sleeping well at all, and I'm utterly miserable without you. I-I was hoping that Britney would take my mind off of you… I didn't want to think about you like that anymore, but it didn't work. It just made me sadder, and then to see you with Lauren…" Justin shuddered, and his blue eyes gazed up at Lance. "It broke my heart," he admitted finally, whispering. "I don't want anyone but me to have you."
        Lance kissed him.
        Justin responded immediately, and Lance felt his heart sink into his stomach, his knees weak, so he was glad they were sitting. He could feel the shivers going down his spine and spreading out across his body, and he wrapped his arms around Justin's neck while Justin strengthened his hold on Lance's waist, deepening the kiss. A bright, warm haze filled the room, and for the first time without drugs, one thought cleared in Lance's mind: This is so right.
        They poured years of waiting into that kiss, and without knowing how it happened, they were stretched out on the bed, and Justin was covering Lance, the two getting as close as possible with clothing on. Justin's hands were igniting fires inside of Lance, and he felt more alive than he could ever remember feeling in his entire life. Justin's hands ran up along Lance's chest, and out across his arms, joining their hands and interlocking their fingers before moving them above their heads. Their legs were interlaced, and as Lance slipped his tongue into Justin's mouth, he was very satsified to hear a low moan escape from the base of Justin's throat.
        Lance didn't know how long they spent making out, but they both nearly jumped out of their skin when they heard knocking on the door. They exchanged a look and started laughing, Justin reluctantly sliding off of Lance as they sat up, straightening each other out. Justin's hair was completely messed up from where Lance had been running his fingers through it, and his shirt was scewered and rumpled. His lips were also swollen, but Lance supposed he looked just as bad, if not worse.
        Justin went to get the door, but Lance held onto his wrist, searching Justin's eyes. Justin smiled warmly and delivered a long kiss to Lance's lips, reassuring him into a smile of his own. Justin went to go open the door, but he paused and looked back at Lance, as though trying to memorize him. He grinned brightly and then disappeared, pulling the door open.
        "We brought McDonald's," JC told Justin softly. "Is that okay?"
        "Yeah," Justin assured him, his voice just as soft. "Come on in."
        "How is he?"
        "Better," Lance answered, his voice still slightly hoarse, but his eyes were clearer. He sat up on the bed on his knees and held his arms out for his three food-baring friends to enter. They did, hugging Lance tightly, but not too tightly. "I love you guys," he told them seriously, closing his eyes. "I am so sorry about all of this." Lance pulled away and looked at Joey. "Thank you."
        Joey shrugged innocently, but Lance could see the tears in his eyes. "You did it, Lance. You were the one who made the choice."
        Lance hugged him as tightly as he could, which was unfortunately weakly, and then hugged Chris. "I'm so sorry Chris," Lance apologized, dropping his chin to Chris' shoulder. "I'm so sorry."
        "It's okay," Chris whispered, his voice sounding strained. "I love you, Lance."
        "I love you too," Lance returned, squeezing as tightly as he could before turning and hugging JC. "I'm sorry, JC. And thank you."
        JC laughed slightly, and he made no motion to hide his tears. "You didn't do anything to me, Lansten." His smile died and was replaced with a miserable expression as he pulled away. "We're the ones who should be apologizing to you."
        Lance was so startled he dropped down and sat on his heels. "Why on earth would you guys need to apologize to me?" Lance gasped. Justin climbed onto the bed beside him, and to Lance's surprise, Justin was wearing the same expression the other three were.
        JC smiled weakly. "You talked a bit while you were more out of it, and we managed to piece the story of why you took the drugs in the first place together."
        Lance stiffened. "I hurt," he stated formally.
        Joey looked back at him miserably. "And you wanted to do the show because Johnny said that he'd fine us all for not doing it," Joey continued. "We're so sorry, Lance."
        Lance scowled unhappily. "You guys, it was my choice to take the drug, and—"
        "We already fired him," Chris broke in. "Johnny's gone. We called Janet almost right after we heard, and she fired him."
        Lance frowned. "He was a good manager. He just wanted the show to go on, and—"
        "Don't defend him," Justin ordered, sidling up to Lance and slipping an arm around his shoulders, avoiding Lance's side. "Look at what he did to you."
        Lance knew the others were looking at them knowingly, smiling at each other, but Lance didn't care. "It wasn't all bad," Lance pointed out.
        Justin eyed him warily. "The minute you start justifying taking drugs—"
        "I'm not," Lance assured him quickly. "I'm just saying that Johnny was a good manager, and while it was one of the dumber things I've done, he did good things for us and he'll be difficult to replace."
        The guys grinned and nudged each other. "Not so difficult," JC began hesitantly. "You see, Lance Bass, we heard about your company, Free Lance Enterprises, and we heard that there's an awesome manager that we trust with our lives running it, and—"
        "Oh no!" Lance exclaimed, staring at them. "I am not managing our group! If something goes wrong, I'll immediately be blamed, and our friendships will be ruined for forever! I am not risking that!" He paused and lowered his voice. "You guys mean too much to me."
        "But we wouldn't blame you!" Joey objected. "We'd all be in it together. We'll manage ourselves, just you'll be our spokesperson."
        "You can do it," Justin said softly, smiling encouragingly. "We trust you."
        Lance looked at the other three, who all nodded emphatically. "And we'll all be in it together?" he clarified.
        "Definitely," they agreed.
        Lance grinned. "Well how could I say no?" he asked, and they all shouted happily and got together for a large group hug.

        "She was my jealousy bait, too," Justin said out of nowhere.
        Lance looked up from where he was laying on Justin's shoulder, curled up in Lance's bed together later that night. "What're you talking about?" Lance asked, confused.
        Justin sounded ashamed. "Britney," he admitted softly. "I mean, I care about Britney of course… We've been friends for a really long time, and she's really important to me, but ahhh… I'm not interested in Britney the way we've portrayed. Britney… She's interested in Lauren. I was her excuse to make Lauren jealous… And she was mine to make you jealous. She's known how I felt about you from the first time I mentioned you to her." Justin smiled sheepishly. "I still remember what she said to me, too. I was just casually mentioning that we hired you, and she goes, 'Justin Randall Timberlake, you're in love!' I remember flushing bright red and laughing this really fake laugh and hoping she didn't notice, but she's never let it go. She's remembered the whole time, and when we go out all the times… It's because well, a, we're friends and we like to hang out, b, we wanted to make you guys jealous, and c, we were a good excuse for each other." Justin sighed. "But you never reacted. You just told me to be careful, what to wear…" he trailed off and shook his head. "So I was convinced you didn't feel anything towards me extending past friendship."
        Lance interlaced his fingers with Justin's, and Justin snuggled up against him tightly. "JC told me," Lance began softly. "About what you went through to get me in the group. He told me that he knew from the moment I walked into the room that you and I were soulmates."
        "We are," Justin whispered. "You are the other half of me."
        "You are the other half of me," Lance whispered back, looking up at Justin.
        Justin smiled down at him, a bit embarassed. "I keep forgetting that I'm allowed to kiss you," he admitted softly. "I dreamt of it so often that I'm not sure what's a dream and what's reality anymore."
        "If I am asleep, may I never awake," Lance sighed, and then Justin's lips touched his.

        Lance moaned as he woke up the next morning. His side ached so badly, his head was incredibly fuzzy, he had an awful headache, and he felt like throwing up.
        "What's wrong?" Justin's soft voice whispered in Lance's ear, and Lance forgot about being in pain. He turned around in Justin's arms and firmly pressed his mouth against Justin's. He was met with a bit of surprise, but definitely pleasure as Justin returned the kiss with equal force. After a few minutes, Justin pulled away, panting for air. "Good morning to you too," he laughed happily, and Lance blushed and smiled back.
        "How long have you been up?" Lance asked.
        "Long enough to watch you wake up oh so painfully. What's wrong?"
        "Honestly?"
        Justin looked surprised. "Yes, of course."
        "My side hurts, my head hurts, I can't concentrate on anything, and I think I'm going to throw up."
        Justin's eyebrows raised. "That sounds like a problem," he agreed. "Anything I can do?"
        "Help me to the bathroom?"
        Justin immediately lifted Lance up—easily, to the year older man's shock—and carried him to the bathroom. Lance pointed to the countertop, and Justin set him down carefully. Lance immediately began rummaging through his bag, pulled out a bottle of Advil, and popped three. Justin started to protest, but shrugged and handed Lance a glass of water.
        "I would have gotten it for you," Justin chided gently.
        Lance shrugged and waved him away. "I need a shower too, so get out."
        Justin's eyes took on a mischevious look. "I need a shower, too," he reminded devilishly. "Do you need some help with yours? 'cause if so, then I'm sure I could manage to fit some time into my busy schedule to aid you in your hour of need…"
        Lance rolled his eyes. "You're a horny little teenager, aren't you?"
        Justin grinned. "From anyone else, I'd take offense to that," he teased, sliding his hands up to Lance's upper legs.
        "Yeah, and if anyone else said that to you I'd pop 'em," Lance returned easily.
        Justin's grin grew wider. "Gettin' jealous! I like this!"
        "You would!" Lance snorted derisively. "I'm the older one here, you know."
        Justin shrugged innocently. "Barely," he reminded, sliding his hands up over Lance's hips to his waist, and tugging on the end of the shirt slightly. "Just by a year…" He leaned forward and as he lifted the shirt, placed his lips on Lance's stomach, placing soft, gentle kisses along his stomach until he reached his bruised side, and then, to Lance's absolute, 110% shock, Justin's tounge lightly caressed the large, painful bruise as he continued with his slow, gentle kisses.
        Lance gasped at the sensation, and he could feel Justin's grin against his skin. Justin continued with his own special form of treatment until Lance's fingers—which were tangled in Justin's hair—pulled backwards, forcing Justin's mouth away from his side. Justin pouted unhappily and looked up at Lance.
        "Stop," Lance panted.
        Justin gave him his best puppy dog eyes. "Come back to bed with me," he pleaded, already pulling Lance off the counter top. "Come on…"
        "No," Lance stated firmly, amazed he could still put a coherent thought together. "I'm going to shower. You, out."
        Justin pouted again. "But—"
        Lance lightly placed a kiss on his lips. "Now out," he repeated, pointing at the door.
        Justin flashed a grin at Lance and shut the door behind him. Lance stared after him for a long time, then looked at his reflection in the mirror.
        Bright, happy green eyes looked back at him.

        Justin waited impatiently for Lance to get out of the shower. He'd been in there for twenty minutes already, and Justin was tempted to go in there and ask him if he was okay. Not that twenty minutes was long for either one of them, but Justin was nervous and ajatated, and he wanted Lance with him at all times. Okay, he always wanted Lance with him at all times, reguardless of either one of their health, but especially more now that Lance was hurt. Finally, finally, finally the pipes went off, and he could hear the shower curtain moving as Lance stepped out of the shower and one step closer to Justin…
        Justin was already planning of all the wonderful things he could do for and with Lance. Now that they were together, they could do all those things that they couldn't before. Like… Uhh… Well… Justin and Lance actually did most everything together. But now they could kiss, Justin reasoned. Wait a second… Now that they were together… Were they together? Justin just kind of assumed that they were, but what if they weren't? Justin would have to ask Lance as soon as he got out.
        Ask him what? Justin sneered at himself. Hey, Lance, are we together? Yeah, that was going to sound really good. Maybe he should make a big production out of it. Take Lance to dinner, maybe a movie, fly him to the Caribbean… Justin smiled just thinking about him and Lance in the Caribbean, laying together in the warm sand where the tide was coming in, and letting the water wash over them. How perfect, Justin thought happily. The other guys would be bummed that they couldn't come, but they'd live. Wait… Were he and Lance going to tell the other guys they were together? The other guys kind of knew already, didn't they? Yes, but they weren't sure, Justin reasoned. He and Lance were going to have to have a talk. Justin was dreading it, though. He just wanted to enjoy having Lance to himself.
        "What're you thinking about?" Lance's low voice and soft accent invaded Justin's thoughts, and for a moment Justin was paralyzed, staring at the bright green eyes looking back at him innocently.
        "You," Justin answered honestly, finally finding his voice. Sometimes he couldn't believe he was able to talk around Lance.
        "Really?" Lance asked, laughing slightly as he lowered himself half on the bed, half on Justin. "What about me?"
        Justin wrapped his arms around Lance, wanting to envelope him. "You know we have to talk, don't you?"
        Lance nodded seriously. "I've been thinking the same thing myself."
        Justin sighed. "I really don't want to," he admitted. "I'm kind of enjoying this small little world we have going on."
        "I know," Lance agreed sadly. "Me too. But we do need to talk. Stuff like this doesn't come without its reprocussions."
        Justin sighed again. "Should we sit up for this?"
        Lance answered by sitting up, and Justin repressed another sigh, wanting nothing more than to pull Lance into his arms. Lance did calmly take Justin's hands in his own, but it wasn't enough. Not right now.
        "I'll start," Justin offered, and Lance grinned faintly, nodding. "Are we going to tell the guys?"
        Lance hesitated. "I think they know," he stated carefully. "After what happened yesterday, and after everything that JC has told me? I think they know."
        Justin nodded.
        "Families?" Lance asked.
        Justin laughed slightly. "I think my mom knows," he told Lance sheepishly.
        "I think mine does too," Lance agreed.
        Justin carefully thought about his next question before finally just blurting, "Lance, are you gay?"
        Lance sighed. "I knew that was coming," he admitted. "To be honest, I never thought I was gay. I-I mean, I've never been attracted to guys before I met you, and even after you, I've always been attracted to girls, when I was attracted to them." He paused. "That's one of the strange things. Ever since I met you, I never was really interested in people as a significant other. I really just sort of lost interest. But I am very attracted to you. So I don't know what to tell you. I'd say I'm straight, but you sort of disprove that theory. I'd say I'm bi, but I'm not really interested in all that many girls, and you're the only guy I've ever found attractive, or even thought of in a way other than friendship, and I'd say gay but I like girls."
        Justin stared at him in disbelief. "You just summarized my exact feelings on the subject. Down to the very last letter! After I met you, I was never really interested in relationships. I just knew that guys my age were supposed to be obsessed with chicks, and 'cause I didn't want anyone to wonder, I said my lines as prompted. But honestly, I haven't really been interested in anyone since I met you except you."
        Lance laughed slightly. "What are we?" he finally asked, hardly meeting Justin's eyes. "I-I mean, are we best friends that occassionally kiss? Are we experimenting partners? Are we casually dating? Are we 'together'?"
        "I don't know," Justin breathed. "But I was going to ask that too, so I'm glad that you did it first." They met eyes, and both started laughing. "I'll tell you one thing though," Justin began as soon as they quieted down. "You are not my experimenting partner."
        Lance grinned and then laughed again. "Well good," he declared. "I'd hate to think you were just using me!"
        Justin laughed back, and then took a deep breath. Time for truth, Justin told himself. Get it all out there. "I want you to be mine," he said finally. "I don't want to worry about anyone else coming after you. Even if our relationship is a secret, I want to know that you're not going to accept a date with someone else, or make one, for that matter. I want…" he trailed off, and forced himself to meet Lance's beautiful green eyes. He forgot what he had been about to say, but luckily for him, what he had been about to say was the same thing he was thinking. "I want you," he breathed, captivated by Lance's eyes.
        Lance smiled. "I really wanted you to say that," he admitted softly. "I don't think I could have handled it if you said 'best friends that kiss occassionally'. And even if you had said casually dating, I wouldn't have looked at anyone else, anyway."
        Justin smiled broadly at him. "Mine?" he asked hopefully. When Lance nodded, Justin reached out and dragged Lance into his arms, carefully avoiding Lance's side, and kissed him passionately. Lance laughed out loud happily and threw his arms around Justin's neck.
        "Finally!" came a yelp from the doorway. Justin and Lance quickly looked to the doorway to see JC, Chris, and Joey standing there, grinning at them. "You two took long enough," JC sighed teasingly.
        "I knew within the first five minutes of seeing them together," Joey bragged.
        "I knew when Lance walked into the studio and Justin practically attacked him!" Chris shot back.
        "I knew from the second they saw each other, so you two shut up," JC ordered. The three grinned at the two on the bed. "Congratulations, you two."
        Lance and Justin exchanged a look, laughed, and then held their arms out for the other three. In the middle of the bed, they all had a large group hug. And then, when they all pulled apart, Justin and Lance exchanged a long kiss, the years of waiting finally over.

~~~~End~~~~

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