Chris, Lance and Joey knocked on the door to their band mates's room for about two minutes before deciding to just go in. The "Aww"s escaped them almost simultaneously, and quietly, careful not to disturb the two sleeping figures, they entered the room and grouped around Justin's bed.

Chris was the first to speak. "Now, if that's not a Kodak moment..."

All of them took in the image. Justin was fast asleep on the bed, face turned to the ceiling and a no longer wet washcloth covering partly his forehead, partly his unruly curls. Left arm draped over his stomach, he was smiling at something only he could see. JC was half lying, half sitting next to him, to all appearances, he had fallen asleep while stroking Justin's curls, and although the position he was in didn't seem comfortable at all, he had a contented look on his face.

Even though Chris and Joey were smiling as well, Lance's smile was without any doubt the broadest. While the other two were only touched by the undeniably cute atmosphere that surrounded the whole scene, the Mississippian was the only one who knew the real reason for the expression of contentment on JC's face, and the knowledge that the position the dark-haired man was in at the moment probably was the one JC dreamed of just about every night, well, this knowledge was enough to cause Lance's face to lit up in delight. Now if only those two could stay like that forever... Well, maybe not forever, JC was guaranteed to have a sore neck when he woke up, but it was the whole feeling behind their positions that made them seem so perfect together, almost as if they belonged exactly to where they were at the moment.

Joey seemed to have similar thoughts, only that he didn't know about JC. "You know, they look as if they were meant to be together like that."

"Would it bother you?" Lance asked, voice gentle and eyes never leaving the two young men who were sleeping peacefully throughout the whole conversation.

The Italian took a quick look at them, then shook his head. "No, why should it? - Is there something you aren't telling us, Lance? You have that knowing smile on your face, you know, the one you always wear when one of us is confused about our daily schedule."

"I think it would be cute." Chris piped in. "I mean, just look at them, they sure are lucky to be in their current position - which is sleeping next to each other. And they already spend every waking moment together, so they would be absolutely perfect for each other." All of a sudden, Chris stopped, a look of confusion crossing his face. "Why are we talking about Curly and JC being a couple, anyway?"

Joey shrugged. "I don't know. Lance started it."

"Not true!" The blonde man protested immediately. "You were the one responsible for the topic, Joe. You said that they looked as if meant to be together."

"I did?"

"Yes, you did."

Another shrug, then Joey turned to set a bowl, some cereal, milk and a few different fruits on the table in the middle of the room. Glancing at the two sleeping men on the bed for one last time, the three awake members of 'N Sync left the room as quietly as they had entered it, with Chris closing the door softly behind him, silently debating whether he should come back to take a picture or not. After weighing the pros and cons, he made a short stop at his room to retrieve his camera, then returned and shoot three pictures out of different angles, a sly grin covering his face. Who knew? Maybe these snapshots would prove themselves to be useful later.

***

It was the pain in his neck along with a strange weight on his stomach that awoke JC. Hesitantly, he blinked and tried sitting up to relief some of the tension in his shoulder area - only to discover that he was trapped. Or rather: Pinned in place by Justin's arm which had somehow ended up curling around his stomach and was now holding him firmly in place. Not that JC wanted to move, now that he was fully aware of his position and how close to his dreams it was. Who cared about a sore neck? JC certainly didn't.

However, after half an hour of blissful dozing, occasionally interrupted by a glance at the young man whose chest he was currently using as a pillow, he was no longer able to ignore his growing need to make a stop at the bathroom, and so he carefully wriggled out of Justin's grasp, replacing his body with a huge pillow to calm down the curly-haired man who was protesting in his sleep because of losing the warm body next to him.

Returning from the bathroom, JC considered climbing back into bed with Justin, but as he didn't want to feel like taking advantage of the sleeping and most of all sick man, he decided against it. So, after placing a newly wet washcloth on his best friend's forehead, he walked over to the table to take a look at his breakfast, silently thanking his absent three band mates for not waking him up when they had dropped in earlier. He grabbed an apple, then took a look at his watch, discovering that Joey, Chris and Lance had to be in the middle of the live-interview by now. A glance in Justin's direction told him that the young man was still sleeping peacefully, cradling the pillow in his arms, and after a warm smile at the sight, JC turned around and switched on the TV, keeping the volume low in order not to disturb Justin's sleep.

Just as he had expected, he had missed half of the interview, but maybe that wasn't such a bad thing: If he was lucky, then the whole girlfriend-crap had already been taken care of. At the moment, they were talking about the single that was scheduled to come out in a few days, and while Lance did his best to explain the meaning of it and why they had experimented with a partly new style, Joey and Chris were paying absolutely no attention. At least not until the blonde man blindly reached behind him and smacked the one who happened to be in the right place at the right time. Which, in this case, was Chris. Glaring mockingly at his band mate, the oldest group member sat up straight and did the best impression of seriousness and interest he was able to fake.

The next question was enough to jerk even Joey out of his half-asleep state. The interviewer fished for another one of the faxes the viewers had sent in and read it out aloud. "Okay, guys, here's the last question before we show Janet Jackson's All For You: 'Hey Lance, Chris and Joey! There are a lot of rumors about one or more of you being gay. Do these rumors bother you?'"

Unbeknownst to JC, the smirks that covered the faces of his three band mates now were due to the fact that they each remembered the conversation they had had about three hours ago, in the very same room JC sat in at the moment. Lance, being the only one who knew anything for sure, kept silent, and it was Chris who delivered the answer.

"Nope, it doesn't bother us, why should it? I don't think any of us are gay, but it's not as if we talk about it. 'Good riff - are you gay?' If any of the others are, then that's their own personal thing. I don't care either way." Proving that this trace of seriousness was only a passing thing, Chris leaned around Lance, nudging Joey who had gone back to his peaceful slumber. "Hey, Joe? Are ya gay?"

"What?" Startled at the rude wake-up, Joey sat up and looked around, confusion evident in his eyes. "What did you ask?"

Chris grinned broadly. "Never mind."

Narrowing his eyes suspiciously, Joey shoot the older man a glare, then turned to Lance, voice changing into a whine. "Lancey-Poo, Chris is making fun of me while I'm asleep! That's not fair, make him stop!"

Sighing, the Mississippian leaned back, rolling his eyes. Addressing the laughing interviewer, he complained: "See? And I have to put up with these idiots every day! Now, don't I get any sympathy?"

"Sorry, but right now, we have to show the Janet Jackson video, therefore: No time for sympathy..."

As soon as the video started, JC tuned out the sound of the TV and let himself fall against the headrest of the couch. Suddenly, Lance's advice to tell Chris seemed like an excellent idea.

***

Josh?"

In a matter of seconds, JC had switched off the TV and was at his friend's bedside, looking down at Justin with concern in his eyes. "How are you feeling, Curly?"

Justin hid a yawn behind his hand. "Better. Still extremely tired, though. Do we have any decent food in here?"

Shaking his head, JC already reached for the phone. "Not in here, but I can call room service. What do you want?"

"I'm not sure... A soup, maybe."

JC nodded, then dialed and placed his order before coming to sit down on the floor next to Justin's bed. "They said it would be here in about fifteen minutes."

"Thanks." Not wanting to see the worry on his friend's face, knowing that he was the one responsible for it, Justin closed his eyes, not really sleepy, but feeling slightly guilty for worrying Josh.

"Hey, Just?"

"Hmm?"

"I... I know that you don't want to talk to me about whatever is bothering you, and maybe it's right and you have to go through this on your own, but please, can you at least tell me how I can help? What I can do to make it all better for you?"

At the pleading tone, Justin turned on his side so that he was directly staring into JC eyes. Only in the back of his mind, he was amazed by the fact that even when it was upside down, JC's face still looked absolutely perfect. But he quickly dismissed the thought, concentrating on the task at hand. Which was: To make the sad and worried expression in JC's eyes disappear.

"Josh, you are already helping me. Just by being there, you're helping me more than anyone else would be able to."

"But it's not enough to make you fall asleep."

"Yes, it is. Remember yesterday? I tried to fall asleep for about two hours, and as soon as you were there, it only took me a few minutes to get to sleep."

"Maybe I should sing you to sleep every night." JC said, only half-joking.

A grin spread over Justin's face. "You know, I'd like that. It's calming, somehow. As long as you sing me to sleep, I know that you'll be there."

"Of course I am there for you, Justin. You know that."

If you knew the truth about my feelings for you? Yeah, maybe you would. But maybe you wouldn't. JC missed the frown that covered Justin's face for an instant, but was gone just as quickly as it had been coming, only to be replaced by a smile. "I know, Josh. But I still like to hear you sing."

"Well, if that's all you need to get a good night of sleep, then I guess we could arrange that."

"Seriously?"

"Sure."

************