A chipper and already awake Lance chuckled as Joey sat at the table across from him. "I told you Joey, you should've gotten a massage last night before we left."

"Fuck you," Joey muttered and worked his neck from side to side trying to stretch out the injured muscle.

"Fuck me, huh? Just remember this next time when you scoff at my advice," Lance said. He finished off his English Muffin and headed back towards the bathroom.

Joey rubbed at his eyes trying to remember just WHY he hadn't gotten a massage last night. When his hands fell from his face, the answer was sitting in front of him, hair messy, shirt inside out, with a grin on his face.

"Heya Joe," Justin said. He bit his lip, possibly trying to decipher Joey's mood.

"Hey," Joey said. "How'd you sleep?"

"Niiice," Justin said. "Best sleep I've had in months."

Joey grinned. "I imagine so. A night of hot, sweaty sex will do that to ya."

Justin had just come out of a selfish phase. It happened every time they had a tour. In the weeks spent preparing for the tour, Justin would start demanding things -- certain dance moves, certain clothes. Which was okay at first, because most of the things he wanted, the other guys wanted too.

But then he would get bossy, ordering the other guys around during dance rehearsals, like Wade did. Or he'd suddenly change his mind about wanting to wear leather pants for a certain song, after they all had already been fitted. Eventually, he would criticize everything that happened. Lance's cell phone rang too often. Chris wasn't losing enough weight. JC wasn't showing up to practice on time. Joey wasn't paying enough attention to him.

It was that last one that ended up annoying him the most.

When Joey wasn't practicing for the tour, he was spending time with Kelly and her baby. When Kelly got pregnant, everyone assumed that it was his, and though it wasn't, he and Kelly were close enough friends that he would help raise it, even if he wasn't around a lot of the time.

Justin would tag along sometimes, although he would get bored quickly, watching Joey feed the baby, burp the baby, change the baby, rock the baby to sleep. After changing a few diapers and having the kid spit up on him one too many times, he decided that he wasn't going to have kids. He also decided that he had better things to do, and hung out with JC for a while instead.

Hanging out with JC was what inevitably made him cranky. Because pre-tour JC was a wired, funky sort of guy, who spent his time making sure he was getting the dance moves right and spent his time fine-tuning the music arrangements with the band. Pre-tour JC didn't spend his free time listening to Justin Timberlake complain.

After listening to Justin constantly whine about Joey not being around or how Chris wouldn't play basketball with him because he was resting his muscles, JC snapped. He grabbed Justin by the collar and hauled him off the set, vowing that he'd kill Justin if he saw him anytime before dance rehearsals the next morning.

Which then left Lance. Lance who was in post-production with his movie. Lance who's office was so discombobulated, that Justin tripped over a stack of papers and took out a shelf full of files as he scrambled to keep his balance.

He was left with no choice but to hang out with Joey again, choosing Parenthood 101 over that nagging feeling he got when he was alone.

Eventually Justin liked hanging out with Joey and the baby, listening to Joey tell it stories, sitting out on the back porch drinking lemonade or beer when the baby was asleep. Justin was wooed out of his selfish phase by the sweet, loving eyes that Joey had turned to the baby, and then turned to Justin when the tour began.

But it was still only Joey who wasn't referring to Justin as "The SuperBitch" on the first night of the tour. It would take a while for the others to see that Justin, indeed, had become his normal self again.

Lance returned from the bathroom and found Justin in his seat. "Good morning Justin," he said.

"Morning Scoop!" Justin said and scooted over so Lance could sit next to him.

"Dude, you did not just call me that," Lance said as he sat down. He looked at Joey, "Joey, what did you with the real Justin?"

Joey was still rubbing his neck. "I don't know, but I like this one just fine."

"Nooooo," Justin said. He stood up and reached behind himself for a box of poptarts. "I'm still the same Justin. But maybe new and improved." He grinned.

"What, did you get laid last night?'' Lance said. Both Justin and Joey snickered. "Ohhh, so you did get laid. It's about fucking time." Lance pounded his fist on the table lightly and stood up to yell down to the bunks. "Hey JC! They finally slept together!"

Joey covered his face again, and didn't look up when a sleep-worn JC muttered, "It's about fucking time."

He thought about last night, the pain in his neck dulling. After the concert, they all went back to the hotel except JC, who insisted on going out clubbing despite the fact that their buses were leaving around 2 in the morning. Joey had finished tossing all of his stuff back into his bags and was about to doze off when someone knocked on his door.

"Wanna celebrate?" Justin said, standing in the door with two plastic champagne glasses and a bottle of vodka.

"Celebrate what?" Joey said, as he flopped back on the bed. "And why are you using champagne glasses for vodka?"

Justin jumped on the bed with him. "They were the only glasses in my hotel room."

"And the vodka?"

"I swiped it from Lance," Justin said. He poured a small amount into one of the glasses and handed it to Joey.

"Why did Lance have vodka?" Joey said.

"Why are you asking so many questions?"

"Because I don't know what the hell we're celebrating, and I was about to take a nap," Joey said. He watched Justin fill the other glass.

"We don't need a reason to celebrate," Justin said and raised his glass. "How about we celebrate that it's Thursday?"

"Fine. To Thursday," Joey said, knocked glasses with Justin, then downed the vodka.

3/4ths through the bottle, Justin had a declaration to make.

"I's think I'm bipolar or sumthin," Justin said. He was hanging off the side of the bed, letting all the blood rush to his brain.

"Bi-what?" Joey said. He tried pulling Justin up, but he managed to get both of them on the floor instead.

"Bipolar," Justin said into the carpet. "You know, when you like both girls and boys."

"You're drunk," Joey said. "It's bi-sexual."

"Yeah, that too," Justin said.

"No more vodka for you," Joey said. He reached for the bottle, made sure it was capped tight, then rolled it along the floor away from them.

"Awwww, man! And it was just getting fun," Justin said. He gripped the side of the bed and pulled himself back up.

"Shit," Joey said, as he laid beside Justin. "Anymore, and they'd have to carry us out to the bus."

"Yeah," Justin said. He put his arm around Joey and the laid there for awhile, quietly trying to sober up some.

Joey was almost asleep again when Justin tapped him on the shoulder, "Have you ever wanted to sleep with me?" Short pause. "Because I'd want you to sleep with me."

"Really," Joey said. "You're still drunk off your ass, aren't you?"

"Not much," Justin said. To prove it, he got up and danced around the room. He ran into the table.

Joey laughed and sat up. "C'mere."

Justin jumped onto the bed, landing on top of Joey. Joey flipped him over and pinned his arms down. "You really want to do this?" Joey said. He leaned down so there noses were touching.

"Hell yes," Justin said and smiled widely. He wrapped his legs around Joey and squirmed to free his arms.

"Hold still," Joey said and bucked against him.

Justin gasped, which gave Joey perfect opportunity to kiss him, to slip his tongue in along Justin's teeth.

Soon Joey was pulling at Justin shirt, trying to pull it off while keeping contact with his mouth. He heard it rip, and Justin mumbled into his mouth about the shirt not being chic anyway, so would he please continue ripping it off him.

When their clothes were off, Joey fumbled around in the bag next to his bed. Somewhere at the bottom, under a pair of old socks, a pair of headphones, and the "the day the whole world went away" single he had picked up earlier that day, he found a tube of hand lotion.

"Justin," Joey said. Justin was laying back, his eyes closed, one hand rubbing up and down his stomach, the other grabbing hold of Joey's wrist.

"What?"

"Do you want to fuck me?" Joey said. He kissed over Justin's jaw, stopping to lick at the center just below his lips.

"You'll let me?" Justin said. His eyes were wide. "Have you done it before?"

"Yeah, to both questions," Joey said.

"Okay," Justin said and pushed Joey over. "You gotta help me though."

The decided it would be easiest if Joey laid on his back. Justin was careful when he slipped a finger or two inside him. He pushed upwards, like Joey had told him, and Joey moaned. "That's right. Right there."

Justin slowly pushed into him, and closed his eyes as Joey's nails dug into his hips. He wanted, needed to come right then. He squirmed a little, and the urge managed to pass.

"You can do it harder now," Joey said. "In fact, please do it harder."

"Okay," Justin said. His hand trembled a bit at the sides of Joey's torso.

Justin found a rhythm eventually, and breathed into Joey's mouth in short, wet pants. He barely heard the knock at the door, and Lance's voice on the other side.

"Five more minutes!" Joey yelled. He couldn't let Justin stop. Not now.

Justin's breathing was nearing hyperventilation, and Joey reached down to stroke himself when he felt Justin shudder. Joey pushed him back a bit, and he slid out.

"Wait, wait," Justin said.

"Can't," Joey said, his hand still pulling up along his cock.

"Let me--" Justin leaned down in time to catch the first spurt of cum on his lips.

"Hey, spaceboy," JC said, waving his hand in front of Joey.

"What," Joey said and blinked, the image of his cum glistening on Justin's tongue still flashing in his head.

"You must've had a good time last night," JC said.

"He did," Justin said.

"My neck still hurts though," Joey said. He rubbed at it again, hoping that it would distract from the redness appearing on his face.

"Here," Justin said. "Let me do that." He stood up and shoved past Lance, placing a warm hand on the back of Joey's neck.

Joey relaxed under Justin's hot, electric touch, and proclaimed that it was going to be a wonderful day.

End.

Originally written as an *Mprov on 3/28/01 with the words selfish phase, chic, fuck me, I's think I'm bipolar or sumthin', discombobulated, SuperBitch, the day the whole world went away.