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1. Buying it "I'm buying a house in Mississippi," Lance bursts out one day. Justin just nods, says, "That's nice," and goes back to his movie. Joey smacks Lance on the back, tells him he'll have to invite them over once he's settled. Chris shakes his head, mumbles something about how you can take the boy out of Mississippi, but you can't take Mississippi out of the boy. Then he looks puzzled, says something about how that isn't really true, and trails off. JC just smiles, because it's Lance, and it's nice that he can afford a new house closer to his family. 2. Making plans Lance is really excited about his house. He's been talking about it for weeks, and the guys aren't quite as happy for him anymore. He keeps blathering on about every detail, asking opinions on paint colors, carpet samples, and lampshades, until Justin doesn't bother to look up from his movies, Joey just nods in agreement, and Chris rolls his eyes each time Lance starts a sentence with "What do you think about..." JC smiles, though, and listens to Lance. He gives his input whenever Lance asks, because Lance is his friend, and he deserves a new house, is justifiably happy. 3. Moving in "Couldn't you get movers for this?" Chris whines, glaring at Lance over his shoulder. "Watch out!" Justin yelps when Chris' end of the table slips. "I don't want a crushed foot because you're not paying attention." "I already had movers bring this stuff in," Lance explains, following with a chair. "I just decided I wanted to switch the furniture in these two rooms, and I didn't need them for it." "This isn't what I had in mind when I said you should invite us to see your house," Joey grumbles. JC follows with a lamp and laughs when Lance's smirks. 4. Interior design "Lance, you should fire your interior decorator." Lance glances up at Joey's statement, eyebrow raised at Mr. Fashionably Challenged himself. "Why?" Chris peeks around the corner of the doorway. "I hate to say it, but Joe's right. This room is fucking scary. I mean, Dr. Seuss? You're kidding, right?" JC bounds down the hall and looks in, Lance following closely behind. Justin's standing in the center of the room, eyes wide. "I don't even want to touch anything," he says. "Who says that's not the idea?" Lance asks. "I like it." Everyone turns to look at JC, who just grins. 5. Housewarming "Are you crazy? You can't give Lance a plant; it'll be dead within two weeks," Chris insists. JC shakes his head stubbornly. "No, I think he'll like it. And I have every confidence that he'll take care of it." Joey lays a soothing hand on JC's shoulder. "Of course he'll like it," he says, inwardly grimacing at the plant's slim chance of survival. JC's muscles ease and he cocks his head at Joey. "What'd you get him?" "A towel rack," Joey replies, deciding to buy a backup plant so that JC won't be upset at his housewarming gift's untimely demise. 6. Bright and warm and comfortable After Lance moves in and makes the house his own, JC adores it. Once, he spends the night in Lance's guest room, which is bright and warm and comfortable, and he never wants to go back home. When he shuffles downstairs in the morning, Lance is sitting at the kitchen table reading the paper. "I made waffles," Lance says distractedly. "They should still be warm." JC goes to the stovetop and sees a clean plate and fork sitting next to a pile of waffles, with syrup and butter readily available. How domestic, JC thinks, grin bright and warm and comfortable. 7. Occasion Lance's new house is a nice place for special occasions. Or, JC thinks it would be if only Lance would trust them enough to know they wouldn't make a mess of his precious home. Lance's eyes are wide and startled when he opens the door to shouts of "Surprise!" and people jumping out from behind his sofa. He seems suitably distracted by his gifts, but he starts to protest when someone spills champagne on his coffee table. But JC mops it up quickly with his napkin, tells Lance the party was his idea, and this time it's Lance who smiles. 8. Cleanup detail When almost everyone has gone home, JC makes the other guys stay to help him clean up. Lance is in about the only untouched room downstairs, the bathroom, talking to his sister on the phone. When he comes out half an hour later and sees Joey and Chris squabbling over who has to take out the trash, Justin sticking his head into the refrigerator to find something to eat, and JC running the vacuum cleaner, he laughs like it's the funniest thing he's ever seen. After Justin whines, "I'm hungry," like he wasn't munching down all night, JC laughs, too. 9. Sleepy JC decides to spend the night at Lance's, because he's sort of blurry around the edges, and he doesn't want to go to his house, cold and alone. He goes into Lance's room to ask for an extra towel, but he hears the shower running in the bathroom. So he sits down on Lance's bed to wait, running his fingertips over the smooth navy bedspread. The room's warm, and JC yawns tiredly. He curls up on his side, decides to rest his eyes for a minute, and ends up falling asleep before Lance leaves the bathroom, steam following him out. 10. Staying JC wakes abruptly when Lance sits down next to him on the bed. He sighs when Lance's fingers thread through his hair, snuggles deeper into bed. "Can I stay tonight?" he asks after a silent minute. "Sure," Lance says, nodding down at JC. "Which room do you want?" "This one," JC whispers. Lance chuckles. "My room? Well, what about me?" "You can stay, too," JC grins up at him playfully. Lance stares at him for a minute before smiling gently. "Okay," he agrees. When JC leans up to kiss Lance's smiling mouth, that feels bright and warm and comfortable, too. END
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