Justin stuck his hand out stopping the elevator door from closing when he heard someone yell, "Hold the elevator, please."

"Thanks, I'm so damn late already. I didn't wanna have wait for another elevator." The shaggy haired blond said not bothering to look up because he was buttoning his shirt.

Justin arched an eyebrow and snorted in derision. "Why am I not surprised that after five years you still can't get anywhere on time?"

Nick looked up frowning. "And why am I not surprised that after five years you still haven't learned that there are better things to do with that mouth than make stupid comments?"

"Fuck off, Carter." Justin growled, moving back to lean against the wall and crossing his arms over his chest in a defensive manner.

Nick chuckled, "Smooth comeback, Timberlake. Couldn't think of anything intelligent, eh?"

"At least I use my mouth for something other than eating." Justin sneered, running his eyes down Nick's body.

Nick scowled "Fucker" he mumbled and turned facing away from Justin.

Justin kept silent feeling slightly guilty knowing he'd hit on a touchy subject with Nick.

"Why is this damn thing going so slow?" Nick muttered, tapping his foot impatiently and looking at his watch.

"Probably because of... " Justin started only to be interrupted by Nick.

Nick turned and jabbed a finger into Justin's chest. "I swear to god if you finish that comment I'm gonna kick your fucking ass, Timberlake." He threatened, sure that Justin was going to make another reference to his weight.

Justin grabbed the finger poking his chest and held onto it moving his face closer to Nick's. "Don't fucking touch me. You freaked out about touching me five years ago and I don't want you touching me now." He said angrily shoving Nick's hand away and causing Nick to lose his balance falling into the elevators control panel.

"It's been five fucking years, Justin. Get over it." Nick ground out moving away from the panel.

Justin opened his mouth ready to retort when the elevator groaned and gave a lurch then stopped completely. Justin lost his balance and landed against Nick with a muffled oomph and his face pressed to Nick's shoulder.

"Shit" Justin groaned straightening up only to be thrown back into Nick when the elevator jerked again.

Nick's arms instinctively wrapped around Justin's waist pressing him closer. "Stand still for a minute." He ordered softly.

The two stood together in silence for what seemed like hours but in reality was only about ten minutes.

Nick's arms slowly loosened from around Justin and he stepped back. "Fuck" He said; looking up as the light flickered.

"Damn it, Carter. What the hell did you do to the panel?" Justin asked, roughly pushing Nick away from him.

Nick flicked Justin's forehead with his index finger. "Asshole, you pushed me."

Justin rubbed his head and glared at Nick. "I wouldn't push you if you'd learn to keep your hands to yourself."

"You didn't seem to have a problem five years ago with me touching you." Nick shot back, leaning against the wall and looking smugly at Justin.

Justin laughed dryly. "I was fifteen and horny as fuck. You kissed me and stuck your hand in my pants. Of course I'm not gonna have a problem with a hand other than my own on my dick for a change. Besides you're the one that started to freak out."

"I didn't freak out. You did." Nick said, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest.

Justin stood straight and moved over in front of Nick. "I did not freak out. You did when AJ walked in." he said, smiling sardonically at the memory. "Oh AJ, thank god you're here. He's all up on me and won't leave me alone." Justin mocked.

"I didn't say that." Nick said, scowling when Justin laughed.

Justin ran a hand through his curls and laughed snidely. "Maybe not word for word but close enough. The funniest thing about it was that AJ could see when he walked in that you're the one that had your hand in my pants not the other way around."

"Fuck off. At least I wasn't just trying to get off with you because JC wouldn't give me the time of day. And I bet he still doesn't, does he, Justin?" Nick said, wanting to hurt Justin as much as Justin had hurt him with his biting comments.

Justin moved back into the corner and eyed Nick scathingly. "Fuck you. You have no clue what you're talking about."

"Don't I? I know that you begged AJ not to tell JC. And that you were always following JC everywhere like a little lost puppy. I also know that you tried to kiss JC before that and he shot you down so fast your head spun. Now tell me that I don't know what I'm talking about and that you weren't using me as an easy way to get off because you couldn't get JC." Nick said, his eyes hard and challenging on Justin.

Justin stalked to the elevator control panel and started pushing buttons. "Fuck, when the hell are they gonna get us out of here?" He growled, ignoring Nick's comments about JC.

Nick sighed rubbing his face with both hands. "Try the phone and see if they can tell you how long we're going to be stuck in here." He suggested.

Justin shot Nick a dirty look over his shoulder and picked up the phone.

Nick closed his eyes and heaved a tired sigh. He'd been listening to Justin argue with whoever was on the phone for a good fifteen minutes and it was getting Justin nowhere and giving Nick one huge headache. Deciding that enough was enough he stepped closer and snatched the phone from Justin's hand.

"Hey." Justin got out before Nick placed a hand over his mouth and brought the phone to his ear with the other.

"We're waiting albeit impatiently we are waiting so would you please give me a rough idea of how long we're gonna be stuck in here." Nick said, leaning into Justin and pressing him back against the elevator wall.

Justin startled by Nick's sudden aggressiveness stood still staring at the shiny silver wall across from him.

"So you don't even have a repairman in the building?" Nick asked and frowned at whatever the person on the other end said. "Not even a maintenance man that knows how to fix these things?" He sighed and leaned forward over Justin's shoulder pressing his forehead to the cool metal of the wall.

Justin inhaled deeply breathing in the clean scent of Nick's body. His head screamed for him to push Nick away but his dick seemed to have other ideas. Justin brought his hand up and lightly touched the small of Nick's back. Nick pushed away from him and slammed the phone back on the hook.

"All the sweetness and light didn't get you any further than I got did it?" Justin smirked watching Nick pace the confines of the elevator.

Nick snorted and ran his hand through his shaggy mane. "I got her number. Did you?"

"The fuck. You aren't gonna call her. Are you?" Justin asked, eyes daring Nick to answer in the affirmative.

Nick shrugged nonchalantly and began inspecting his fingernails. "Maybe."

Justin snorted. "You aren't gonna call her."

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy, Justin?" Nick grinned, still looking at his hands as if Justin's answer weren't important.

"What's there to be jealous of? She's probably fat and ugly with the personality of a potato." Justin scoffed, glaring at Nick's bent head.

Nick stepped forward into Justin's personal space. "I was thinking more along lines that you were jealous because she might be getting something that you want." He said, breath fanning across Justin's lips.

"Not very fucking likely." Justin growled shoving Nick away just as the lights flickered and went out completely along with the vents that were keeping the air circulated.

Justin stood still attempting to adjust his eyes to the dark, as Nick mumbled something that sounded like fuck repeatedly.

"Where are you, Carter? I'm gonna try to get over to phone but I can't see where you are." Justin said, taking a hesitant step in the direction he thought the phone was in.

Nick slid to the floor pulling his knees to his chest as the darkness enveloped him. His eyes began to sting from being held open. He couldn't close them or he'd be completely lost to the dark. His breathing became more erratic and his heart started to pound so loudly it was all that he could hear. The darkness surrounded him and drowned out Justin's voice. He felt as if the breath were being squeezed out of him.

"Shit." Justin muttered sliding along the wall slowly feeling for the phone.

Justin stopped as a shrill tone rang through the dark elevator. "Answer your phone, Carter." He said, kicking lightly in the direction that the ringing seemed to be coming from.

Justin swore and then dropped to his knees moving toward the sound when it became obvious that Nick wasn't going to answer the phone. His hand bumped Nick's shoe and it trailed up his leg stopping at the belt where the phone was clipped.

"Answer your damn phone, Carter." Justin ordered, pressing the phone into Nick's hand.

Nick began to shiver and seemed to be almost gasping for breath. "Fuck. What the hell's wrong? Nick? Come on, Nick." Justin said, moving closer and resting the hand that wasn't holding the phone on Nick's knee.

"Shit this is so not good." Justin muttered to himself and turned the phone on. "Hello?" He said his voice shaky.

"Who's this?" The caller demanded his irritation obvious.

Justin sighed. He really hated it when people called a number and then asked whom they were talking to. "Justin. Who's this?"

"Justin? Justin who? The fuck is that you, Timberlake?" The caller asked menacingly and Justin recognized the voice.

Justin clenched the phone tightly. "Fuck you, AJ. I don't have time for your shit. We need to get the hell out of here. There's something wrong with Nick." He hissed, giving Nick's knee what he hoped was a comforting squeeze.

"Nick? What the hell's wrong with Nick? I swear to Christ if you've done something to him I'll kill you, Timberlake." AJ growled.

Justin leaned back against the wall and pressed his side along Nick's. "I didn't do anything. We're stuck in a goddamn elevator and the lights and fan have gone off. Nick's like fucking freaking on me. He's not breathing right and he won't talk and Jesus I'm fucking scared, AJ." Justin said, his voice raspy with fear. He really hated admitting his fear to AJ of all people but Nick was scaring the fuck out of him and he wanted help badly.

"Fuck." AJ swore and then Justin heard him groan when it sounded like he'd hit something.

"AJ you've gotta get us out of here. The front desk said it could be hours. Nick can't be in here that long." Justin pleaded, hoping that for once AJ would forget his animosity toward him and do whatever it took to help Nick.

AJ sighed loudly. "Nick's afraid of the dark... and I swear if you fucking laugh I'll kill you." he threatened.

"I wouldn't laugh at something like that. Just tell me what to do. How do I help him?" Justin asked, leaning sideways to rest his head against Nicks.

"I don't know. Usually I just turn on the lights but that obviously isn't going to work this time. Just talk to him. I'm going to the front desk to see if I can encourage them to move a little faster." AJ said, huffing as he ran from wherever he was.

Justin turned slightly facing Nick. "It's ok, Nick. You're not alone. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise. Come on talk to me, Nicky." He pleaded, reaching up to stroke Nick's hair lightly.

"Keep talking, Justin." AJ panted obviously still running.

Justin leaned in and kissed Nick's cheek softly. "Come on talk to me. You aren't alone in here. I'm here. Please talk to me, Baby." Justin cajoled, running his fingers gently over Nick's clenched hands.

"What the fuck is taking so long in getting those men out of the elevator?" AJ bellowed, obviously he'd reached the front desk.

"I'm sorry for everything I said earlier. I'll take out an ad in the biggest newspaper in the country and tell the world what an asshole I am. Just please talk to me. I need to hear you voice, Baby." Justin whispered, pressing as close to Nick as possible without actually sitting on him.

Nick fought the blackness. He struggled for his voice, the darkness had stolen it. Justin wanted him to talk. Justin wanted to hear his voice. Nick swam through the darkness toward the light. Justin. Justin was his light.

Nick took a shaky breath and opened his hands enough to wrap them around Justin's hand. "Justin." he whispered.

"Nick! It's ok, baby. Just talk to me. I promise everything's going to be ok. AJ's down there now trying to get them to hurry up and get us out." Justin said, tugging his hand out of Nick's and wrapping his arm around him pulling him close.

"Is Nick ok? Is he talking to you, Justin?" AJ yelled, glaring at the woman in front of him that didn't seem to be in too much of a hurry to get his band mate and Justin out of the elevator.

Justin kissed the top of Nick's head before answering AJ. "Yeah he's talking. He's fucking shaking, AJ. Tell them to hurry."


"Justin." Nick whispered, pushing his body even closer to Justin's.

"It's ok, Nick. I'm right here. AJ's gonna get us out of here." Justin said, attempting to sooth Nick with his soft voice and by holding him closely.

AJ growled into the phone. "Let me talk to Nick." He demanded.

"Hold on. I don't know if he'll be able to or not." Justin said and then turned his face toward Nick's. "AJ wants to talk to you." He said softly, pushing the phone toward Nick's ear.

Nick's eyes darted up to meet Justin's. He hesitantly brought his hand up covering Justin's and leaned his head into the phone.

"AJ?" Nick asked softly.

AJ sighed. "Just stay calm, Nick. They're gonna get you out of there. Just don't let Timberlake get to you and everything will be ok."

Nick's brow furrowed in confusion. "Get to me?" He asked quietly.

"Just don't fall for his shit again, Nicky. I've put too much time and work into this." AJ mumbled and then turned to yell for someone to fix the fucking elevator already.

Nick turned to look at Justin for a second and then looked back at the opposite wall. "Too much time and work into what?" Nick asked uncertainly, not quite sure he really wanted to know the answer.

"Nothing, it's nothing to worry about, Nick. Just be careful and don't let him sweet-talk you." AJ advised and then Nick heard the front desk lady start sniffling as AJ began yelling at her once again.

Nick sighed softly. "I know you, AJ. You're up to something or you've already done something. You might as well tell me now so I can get over being pissed at you while I'm locked up and can't get my hands on you." He said, leaning his head back against the wall.

Justin started to move back some thinking that Nick wasn't so afraid anymore. Nick grasped Justin's hand tightly to keep him from moving. Justin looked up at Nick questioningly.

"We can fight all you want once we're out of here but for right now please don't leave me alone over here." Nick pleaded, hating his own weakness and hoping that Justin wouldn't play on it.

Justin searched Nick's eyes before accepting that Nick really did need him. He moved back to his position pressed against Nick and leaned his head over onto Nick's shoulder.

"Damnit, don't let him do this, Nick. You don't need him. You've gone five years without him to hold your hand in the dark and you don't fucking need it now." AJ growled and then swore in pain as his fist connected with a wall.

Nick ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. "I'm not fucking sixteen years old anymore, AJ. I stopped listening to you a quite while ago so you can stop with giving me fucking orders. If you can't tell me what you're talking about then there's nothing else for us to discuss." He said pulling the phone away from his ear and hitting the end button.

Justin chuckled and pulled back enough to see Nick's face. "You just hung up on AJ. He's gonna be so pissed, dude." He laughed.

"He needs to quit being such an asshole then." Nick said and shrugged nonchalantly.

Justin scooted closer to Nick and buried his face into his neck. "So if you only talk to AJ when he isn't being an asshole, how do you two ever have a conversation?" He asked, grinning as Nick's chest began to shake with unsuppressed laughter.

Nick laughed for a minute and then suddenly sobered. "You know up until five years ago AJ was my best friend. We talked about everything and never had serious arguments. And then he walked in on us and everything changed."

Justin pressed a kiss to Nick's neck and whispered, "I'm sorry, Nicky. I wish AJ wouldn't have walked in. Things might've turned out so differently."

"Yeah maybe, who knows. I doubt it though." Nick said, tracing the raised veins on the back of Justin's hand with a finger.

Justin brought his free hand over to lightly run up and down Nick's forearm to his hand. "You doubt it? Why?" He asked a slight pout evident in his tone.

"Because JC was in between us back then and he always will be. I would've gotten tired of being a substitute for JC and you would've gotten tired of pretending that I was as good as JC. It just never would've worked." Nick said sadly.

"I" Justin began and was cut off by Nick's ringing phone.

Nick squeezed Justin's hand and ignored the phone. "You what?" He asked.

"I just... you wouldn't..." He stuttered only to be interrupted by the phone again. "Oh for god's sake answer the damn phone, Carter." He said in frustration.

Justin felt Nick shake his head no.

"It's just AJ again and I don't feel like listening to anymore of his shit. Now tell me what you started to." Nick said, leaning sideways and bumping Justin.

Justin growled and fumbled for the phone. "I can't think let alone talk with this damn thing going non-stop. If you won't answer it I will." He said and pressed the send button.

"You better not fucking hang up on me again you shit." AJ growled expecting Nick to be on the other end.

Justin grinned and silently vowed to piss AJ off more often. "I didn't hang up on you before but I will if you want me to." He laughed.

"Give the fucking phone to Nick, Timberlake." AJ ordered pacing back and forth over the same six feet of beige carpet in front of an elevator door on the first floor.

Justin grinned as he told AJ, "Nick doesn't wanna talk to you."

"I'm warning you don't try anything with him. It wouldn't mean anything to Nick even if he did fuck you. It would just be a comforting presence in the dark. Nick hates the dark and he'll do anything to not be alone in it. Just like Nick hates boredom and will do anything to alleviate it. Remember that's what brought on your little tryst five years ago. He wanted nothing to do with you after that and he'll want nothing to do with you once he's out of the elevator. Don't forget that." AJ warned and stopped his pacing long enough to pound on one of the buttons beside the elevator door.

Justin swallowed the knot in his throat and felt it settle heavily in his stomach. "You don't have to fucking remind me, AJ. It's not something I'll ever forget." He said quieter than he intended and drawing Nick's attention to him.

"What's wrong, Just? Fucking hang up on him if he's upsetting you." Nick said, reaching for the phone that was still held tightly to Justin's ear.

Justin thrust the phone at Nick. "He's just reminding me about something that I'd momentarily forgot. He wants to talk to you." He said.

"I don't wanna talk to him." Nick said, pushing the phone away from his face.

Justin pushed the phone back toward Nick's head. "Just talk to him. I need to think about some things. You won't be bothering me if you're pissing him off."

Nick sighed in exasperation but gave in bringing the phone to his ear. "What did you say to him, AJ?" He questioned immediately noticing the sadness that seemed to envelope Justin.

"I didn't say anything that he didn't already know and that he shouldn't forget." AJ said, keeping a steady stride across the same six foot of carpet.

Nick clenched the phone in his hand tightly. "The fuck, AJ. Why can't you just mind your own business for once?"


"Because you're a part of the group and the group is my business. If he's trying to fuck you around again that's my business. And I don't want you falling for his line of shit again." AJ said, running his hand over his thinning hair.

Nick pulled the phone away from his ear when he thought he heard a quiet sniffling. "You ok?" He asked, reaching out and gently touching the soft curls on the top of Justin's head.

"I'm fine. Reality checks just really suck. It's a lot nicer living in your own little fantasy world." Justin said softly, rubbing at his damp eyes with the heel of his hands.

Nick stroked the top of Justin's head. "What the hell did he say to you, Just?" He questioned softly.

Justin shrugged and shook his head slightly. "Nothing that I didn't already know. He just reminded me that not a lot changes even after five years."

"Fuck, why does that always have to be brought up whenever we're around each other? And fucking AJ seems to like bringing it up." Nick said, stopping the stroking to tug at a curl lightly and release it to spring back.

Justin sniffled pulling his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. "Maybe it's a good thing that AJ does keep bringing it up. It keeps me from forgetting and making an ass of myself all over again." He said.

"Making an ass of yourself how? I think I was the one made an ass of." Nick grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

Justin snorted. "No I think basically throwing yourself at someone who obviously doesn't want you and can't even take the time or have the decency to tell you they just aren't interested in you is making an ass of yourself."

"Are we fucking back to JC again? Every goddamn thing with you leads back to JC." Nick said, banging his head back against the wall.


Justin turned toward Nick even if he couldn't see him in the dark. "JC? Why the hell do you assume everything is about JC?" He asked in exasperation.

"You're telling me you weren't referring to JC?" Nick queried skeptically.

Justin groaned in frustration. "No I wasn't talking about JC at all. Why would I talk about JC to you?"

"You're still as fucked up as you were five years ago. Getting a straight answer out of you is like trying to get Britney to stop lip-syncing. I might as well beat my damn head against the wall for all the good it does me." Nick said and then banged his head harder into the wall as if to prove his point.

Justin put his hand out to stop Nick's head from hitting the wall again. "What are you talking about? I did answer you. I said I wasn't referring to JC. Which means JC isn't the one I was making an ass of myself over."

"Justin I know and so does everybody else how you feel about JC. If I hadn't been made a fool of because of JC I'd probably find him hot too. But I can't help hating JC and nothing you say is going to change that." Nick said, reaching up to brush Justin's hand away from the back of his head.

Justin opened and closed his mouth several times speechless at what Nick had just divulged. "I... you..." Nick stuttered before finally finding his voice. "Why do you hate JC? What did he do to you? I mean it's JC. How anybody could hate JC is beyond me." He said and shook his head completely baffled by Nick's hatred.

"I tend to hate people that have what I want but don't appreciate it. JC doesn't want you now anymore than he did then but he still seems to feign enough interest to keep you hanging on. And that is why I hate JC." Nick said, tipping his head back and closing his eyes.

They sat in silent for a few minutes. Nick waiting for Justin to blow up at him and Justin letting what Nick had just disclosed sink in.

Nick jumped startled when he felt a hand flit gently over his jaw and come to rest on his cheek.

"You want me? " Justin asked quietly and Nick nodded his head. "But why now? You didn't five years ago." He said, cupping Nick's cheek and rubbing his thumb softly over full moist lips.

Nick's tongue darted out and licked the pad of Justin's thumb before he pulled the hand away from his face. "I don't know what you're talking about and where you're getting these ideas because you know they're so freaking far from the truth it isn't even funny." He told Justin holding onto his hand as he moved to pull it away.

"What happened after that day five years ago is too important to pretend like it never happened, Nick. I'm not even mad about it anymore. That doesn't mean that it doesn't still hurt though." Justin said, wrapping his fingers around the hand holding his and then placing his other hand on top.

Nick pulled his hand out from between Justin's and turned his whole body toward him. "Pretend like it never happened? I'd say you did a pretty damn good job of that." He sneered.

"What? You're the one that wouldn't fucking talk to me every goddamn time I called and then finally had AJ tell me to just leave you alone. Do you know how much that fucking hurt, Nick?" Justin asked, voice dripping with anger.

"The fuck? You never called me, Justin. I never would've ignored your calls. Just admit what an ass you were and maybe we can move on." Nick said, annoyed that Justin was trying to make himself out to be the innocent one.

"I fucking called you, Nick. I think I should know whether I called somebody or not. And it's kind of hard to forget AJ's laughter as he was telling me that you didn't want anything to do with me and to quit calling." Justin said, closing his eyes and leaning back as the painful memory washed over him.

Nick shook his head in disbelief. "What are you talking about, Justin? I never had AJ tell you that. Besides every time I asked if you'd called he always said no. Why would he lie to me about something like that?" He asked, wanting to believe that Justin was telling the truth but finding it hard to accept that his best friend would do something that manipulative.

"Because he's a lying bastard who only cares about the image of the group and doesn't care if his friend is happy." Justin said reaching out to touch Nick's arm. He slid his hand down to Nick's once he saw that he wouldn't be rejected. "I swear to you that I called, Nick. I called every damn day for a month. I figured that AJ was telling the truth since he was answering your cell phone." He said linking his fingers with Nick's.

Nick dropped his head back against the wall and winced when it hit harder than he expected. "That bastard. That goddamn lying mother fucking bastard. My phone got stolen that same night. AJ stole my fucking phone." Nick growled, slamming his open hand down on the floor.

"Why didn't you call me, Nick?" Justin asked hesitantly.

Nick squeezed Justin's hand and pulled him closer. "When you left I gave you my number and the name I use at hotels. I assumed that if you wanted to pursue anything that you'd call. I didn't wanna look like an ass by calling you when it was obvious you didn't want anything to do with me." He said leaning in to rest his forehead against Justin's.

"I fucking did call. Every time I called AJ said you were out. He must've gotten tired of playing with me because eventually he just said that you told him to tell me that you didn't want anything to do with me and to stop calling. Even now if we're in the same town doing a show or something AJ finds some way to rub in my face that you never wanted me." Justin said softly remembering the hurt AJ's words inflicted every time he saw him.

Nick sighed softly. "What about JC, Justin? Where does he fit in?" He asked uncertainly.

"There's nothing between JC and I. Nothing but friendship that is. JC is my best friend. I did at one time have a huge crush or whatever you wanna call it on him. But it all ended the first time I met you. After that night JC held me so many times when I was crying over you. I finally told him everything that had happened and he held me and tried to help me get over you. He kissed me one night hoping that I could maybe move on from you. I couldn't kiss him back though. I kept seeing you every time I closed my eyes. It's always been you, Nick." Justin said his tone pleading for Nick to believe him.

"God Justin." Nick said and pulled Justin into his arms.

Justin gasped and wrapped his arms around Nick's neck as their lips met. Nick took advantage of Justin's shocked gasp and his tongue darted sensuously into the dark recesses of Justin's mouth. Justin moaned as Nick's tongue flicked over the roof of his mouth. Neither noticed when the lights came on and the elevator gave a jerk and began it's descent. They jerked apart as they were met with a string of obscenities when the door opened and AJ stood glaring at them.

THE END