Date: Thu, 11 May 2000 23:08:36 EDT From: KNB Subject: Lance and Justin's Love First I want to say that this is my first attempt at a story. So please bear with me. Second I want to thank Jason Randall, since he was the one that provided me with the inspiration for this story. If you haven't read his story (JC&JAS) then shame on you. It's a great story, and you should really read it. Third, Jason, if your reading this. EMAIL ME BACK DAMMIT, I MISS TALKING TO YOU! I would also like to thank Nicole, cause she has been a real big influence in my life this past year, and has helped me through more of my rougher times than I can count. I owe her more than I can say. You should be 18 or 21 depending on what country your in. And if you live in the United States, don't try and say that since your 18 you can read this. I know the law; you have to be 21. So ha! Also, as far as I know, James Lance Bass and Justin Randal Timberlake of the group N'Sync are not gay. Know any gay people, or even have a passing familiarity of what the word gay means. So don't sue me; not like I have anything worth taking anyway. Anyway, if you are a member of N'Sync please email me, I love your music, and I think that Lance is extremely good looking. And every one else is free to email me to. Any comments are welcome, or even if you just want my recipe for brownies, I don't care. Just email me at kevin_brozyna@hotmail.com Anyway, I should also mention that this story will only be one part long. That's why it is so damn long. I really hate waiting for the next installments of a great story. (Hint hint Jason). With out further adieu, the story. LANCE & JUSTIN'S LOVE Justin sat alone on the bed of his hotel room with the shades drawn, and no lights on. He had his face buried in his hands and tears were streaming down his face. He was sobbing so hard that his body was shaking with his knees drawn up to his chest. He started to rock back and forth saying the same phrase over and over again. "Why? Why do I have to be like this? Why can't I just be normal? Why do I have to like him of all people? He doesn't feel the same way......." After a few minutes of this Justin cried himself out and fell asleep with his face still stained with tears. A few hours later in Lance's room Lance was pacing back and forth in his room. He was extremely nervous, he was so nervous that he was beginning to hyperventilate. He walked up to the door and looked through the peephole for the tenth time in less that five minutes. "Where is he? I told him to come right over. This is hard enough as it is, now he's making it harder by making me wait." He continued to pace checking the door several more times until a soft knocking finally came at the door. Lance walked over to the door quickly and opened it. On the other side stood JC Chasez, with one arm leaning on the doorframe. "Hiya Scoop! What's up?" He smiled at Lance as he entered the room. Lance closed the door and followed JC into the room. He saw that JC was sitting on the edge of the bed. "So what did you want to talk about Lance?" Lance continued his pacing, while rubbing his hands together. He took several deep breaths to try to calm down. "Look Josh, this is really hard for me so please bare with me." "Josh?!? Uh-Oh this is serious. Is everything okay? Are you all right?" JC jumped up and was looking at Lance with worry in his eyes. Lance smiled at his reaction. "I'm not dying if that's what you're worried about. Its just something that I need to tell you. Something about me." Lance sat on the bed and looked at the ground. JC sat next to Lance and put his arm around his shoulder. "Look James, you can tell me anything. We're like brothers remember. So whatever you have to say, just say it. And we'll get through it together." In his mind JC was wondering if Lance was finally going to come out to him. He had been wondering about Lance for a long time now, but never mentioned it before to the others or to Lance. He was waiting for Lance to come to him. Personally he was worried about Lance, he never seemed to be happy anymore, and he just mopped around the hotel. Now that the guys had three weeks of vacation time in Toronto, he was hoping that Lance would find someone to make him happy. Even if that meant that that person was a guy. Lance was thinking something similar. He was shocked that JC used his first name, the guys only used it when they were really mad at him for scheduling difficulties, and then they only used it sometimes. That made Lance feel like JC actually cared about him, and was taking this seriously. His courage went up a little and he decided to go for it. "JC you know how I've seemed really upset lately?" He looked at JC who just nodded his head indicating that he had noticed it. "Well its because I have something to tell you and the guys that's been tearing me up inside... Something that I've kept from all of you for a really long time." He started to hyperventilate again, and tears started to form in the corners of his eyes. JC got up and grabbed some tissues; he sat back down next to Lance and gave them to him. "Take your time Lance, I'm not going anywhere." He smiled and got a nod from Lance who was wiping his eyes. "Well, have you ever noticed how I haven't dated much, and how when I dated Danielle I kinda avoided getting together with her?" He continued to look at the ground, and heard JC say that he had noticed. "Well its cause I'm... I'm G... Oh god this is to hard!" He started to cry again. JC just wrapped his arms around Lance and began to rock him, trying to calm him down. He was now convinced that Lance was gay, and was really glad that he was finally admitting it to him. He decided to finish Lance's sentence for him. "So you're gay. I don't have a problem with that at all." He carefully watched for Lance's reaction to what he just said, praying that he was correct in his assumptions. Lance's reaction was one of total and complete shock. It took him a few seconds to comprehend what JC had just said. "Wha?!? How'd... how did you know?" He asked with the same look of confusion on his face. "Like you said James, you never seemed to be all that interested in girls, so I just figured. I'm glad that you finally came out to me, I was wondering if you were just going to keep it to yourself forever." "You knew for that long? Why didn't you tell me you knew? "Cause I wasn't really sure, that and it really wasn't my place to say anything until you came to me first. I'm really proud of you Scoop." "So you're not pissed that I kept this from you? Or that I'm gay?" He looked slightly worried about the answer JC would give him, but he was fairly confident it would be what he wanted to hear. "Yeah don't worry about it, I'm fine with it. Just don't be looking at me in the showers after a show okay? I don't swing the same way my little Scoopy here does" While he was saying that he put Lance in a headlock and started to give him nuggies. "Alright! Alright, I give." JC let go of Lance and got up. "Where are ya going JC?" Lance asked a little worried. "Don't worry, I'm just going to the washroom." JC entered the washroom and a few minutes later emerged with a washcloth for Lance to clean himself up with. "So your gay, and I suppose you like someone. So who is it?" "I thought you said you didn't want to be involved in my love life?" Lance said as he wiped the tearstains off his face. "That's not what I said, I said I didn't want you looking at me in the shower. That doesn't mean we can't talk about who we like now does it. As far as I'm concerned nothing really important has changed, you're still the same guy I've always known, you just prefer to go to bed with the same sex is all. Am I right" He said smiling. "Yeah I guess so." "Well?" "Well what?" "Who do you like? Let's see if we can get you a man" He started to giggle as he said this. "Are you sure that you want to hear this, I don't know how you will take this?" "Look I'm fine with you being gay right? So lets hear it, whom do you like? Maybe I can fix you two up." Lance again looked at the floor and slowly began to speak... Meanwhile in Justin's room Justin sat up in bed, wondering for an instant why he fell asleep so early in the afternoon. When he finally did remember he started to cry again. He pulled himself up into a ball and wrapped himself in the blanket. "Why?" He continued to sob for a few minutes. Twenty minutes later when he finished, he grabbed some tissues and went to the washroom. Looking in the mirror he realized that he looked like shit, so he turned around and started the shower. He removed the boxers and tee shirt he had been wearing and got in. He let the water run all over his muscular body. "Why do I do this to myself? If only I was straight, things would be a lot easier. And I wouldn't have to hide this from my friends. God I can't handle this, I have to get out of here." He got out of the shower and dried himself off. He walked into his room naked, and went to his suitcase. He got out a pair of khakis and a baby blue silk shirt. After he dressed he packed up everything in the room that was his. When he was finished he put on his jacket, and the hat that was in the pocket. He then walked out of the room and headed towards the elevator. He wasn't going to tell the guys were he was going or even that he was leaving at all. He didn't want to have to deal with all of the questions that he was sure to get from Joey and Chris, and the hounding he would get from JC if he found out. He just pushed the button to the elevator and got in when the doors opened. On his way down he realized that he was leaving the man he loved behind with out even telling him how he felt or were he was going. A tear began to role down his cheek. As the elevator came to a halt in the lobby, Justin got out and headed towards the front desk. A young lady was working. Justin looked at her and handed her his room key. "I'm checking out" "Okay Mr. Timberlake, will you be returning, your group will still be here for another three weeks?" She looked up at him and noticed the tearstains on his cheeks, but wisely chose not to mention it. "I don't know if I'm going to return or not...." "Alright sir, since your party has the floor reserved, you will still have your room when and if you return." "Thank you." "Your welcome sir." Justin turned and walked out the door of the hotel and got into a cab. He told the driver to take him to the airport. He put his hand against the window and silently said to himself "Good bye my love..." Back in Lance's room "Well come on Lance, who do you like?" Looking at the floor again Lance began to speak. "You actually know him, we all do." He started to breathe faster again. "Are you going to make me guess? Come on Lance, tell me who it is? Is it one of the guys?" "Yeah, actually it is." He looked at the floor, ashamed about what he just said. He was about to admit that he had fallen in love with a guy that he had known for years. "It's not me is it Scoop? Cause I told you that I don't go that way." "No its not you Josh, you can relax." "So who is it, Joey? Chris? Justin?" He saw Lance stiffen when he mentioned Justin's name. "It's Justin isn't it? That's so cute!" He started to laugh. "What's so funny? Why are you laughing at me cause I love Justin?" "Whoa! You love Justin?!? How long have you felt this way about him?" "About two years now, ever since we spent that week in New York and we had to share that hotel room. We stayed up for hours just talking, it was so great!" As he was saying this, a huge smile spread across JC's face. Lance noticed this and asked, "What are you smiling at?" "I think that it's cute that you're in love. I haven't seen you this happy in weeks!" He got up and started to run around the room singing "LANCE-AND-JUSTIN-SITTING-IN-A-TREE. K-I-S-S- I-N-G!" Lance threw a pillow at him to shut him up. "Alright I'm finished." "So..." "So what?" "You're his best friend, you think that I might have a chance with him?" His voice was becoming very soft as he finished. "I don't know, we never really talked about it, I always just assumed that he was straight. I mean he did date Brittany and he was upset when they broke up. But who knows. I could ask him if you want me to Scoop." "No don't! I don't want him to feel weirded out or anything." "It's not like I'm going to go up to him and say 'J man, are you gay? Do you like Lance cause he really really likes you!" He started to giggle again. "Oh shut up!" "Seriously though, I have no idea about him. Sorry." "It's okay, I should just be thankful that you're still my friend after I told you that I was gay. I guess I was hoping for too much." JC walked over to where Lance was sitting and pulled him into a hug. "Its all good Lance, I'll be there with you if you need me to be." "Thank you Josh" Lance said as they pulled apart. "No problem. So are you going to tell the others? I mean about you being gay, not about the Justin thing." He smiled again and looked at Lance waiting for an answer. "Do you think they will take the news as well as you did?" "Of course! We are brothers after all. Family sticks together no matter what. And if they don't take it well, I'll kick their asses!" This was met by a smack from Lance. "Hey! What gives?" "Don't swear!" "Sorry. Well do you want to go and get it over with?" He said more seriously. "Umm, can you give me a half hour so I can shower and get cleaned up. Then have the guys meet here so I can tell them. Okay?" "Sure, I'll go round them up while you shower. You need it. You stink!" JC was running out the door as he said this so he missed the pillows that Lance threw at him. Lance got up and headed for the shower, after looking in the mirror and taking a deep breath to calm himself down some more, he realized that he looked horrible. He stripped naked and turned on the shower, as soon as it was to his liking he got in and started to clean himself up. Out in the hall JC was walking out of lance's room thinking about what had just happened. Lance had finally come out to someone and he looked like he was in a better mood. He just hoped that the guys would take the news as well as he had. He came up to Joey's door and knocked. He heard Joey shout from the inside telling him to hold on a second. The door opened and Joey poked his head out. "Hey JC what's up?" "Lance wants us to meet in half an hour in his room for a meeting." "Did he say what it was about?" "Just meet in his room in a half an hour, that's all I can say. Oh and can you tell Chris? I'm going to tell Justin right now?" Joey turned his head and yelled into his room "Hey Chris, we gotta meeting in Scoop's room in thirty minutes." He heard some thing that could be a response coming from inside the room. "Was that Chris? Is he okay?" JC asked with a little concern. "Yeah he's fine. I'm just killing him in video games and he has been trying for the last hour to kill me!" Joey said as he laughed at how pathetic Chris was when it came to video games. "We'll be there in a half hour JC" With that said he closed the door and proceeded to kill Chris another time. JC, meanwhile, smiled and headed to Justin's room. He reached the door and knocked. After a few minutes he knocked again. Finally he decided that Justin was just sleeping. And that Lance could tell him after he had told the others and when Justin had woken up. A half hour later The guys had all gathered in Lance's room except for Justin. Joey and Chris were horsing around on the couch; JC was sitting on the bed looking at lance who was standing near the door looking very nervous. "Guys, I think Lance wants to tell us something." With that the two stopped and looked at Lance waiting for him to say whatever he had to say so they could get back to wrestling. Lance walked around the room trying to find a way to say what he needed to say to them. Joey and Chris got a little worried, Lance never got this nervous when he needed to talk business to the guys. "Lance what's wrong? You're freaking me out here." Joey asked. "Yeah man, spill it. What's bothering you?" Lance took a deep breath and looked at the two of them. "Look guys, there is no easy way for me to say this so I'm just going to say it. I'm gay! There that's it." He closed his eyes getting ready for any yelling that might happen. The reaction that he got however, was the last thing he or JC were expecting. "You owe me ten bucks." Joey said to Chris. "Dammit! Why do I always loose these bets?" Chris asked getting really mad that he had to pay Joey again. JC was confused and asked the guys if they were fine with it, the reaction he got confused him even more. "Hold on JC. You loose these bets Chris cause your not as perceptive as I am. I notice everything about you guys and I know things about you guys that nobody else knows. So there!" He stuck out his tongue at Chris, who promptly grabbed it and threatened Joey. "You can have your tongue back if I don't have to pay." Joey started to tickle him and Chris let go. "HA! You can't even follow up on a threat." He then got up and turned to Lance. He stared at Lance for a few seconds then walked up to him and pulled him into a hug. "I'm fine with it Scoop. I've actually been expecting it for a little while. Just waiting for you to come out to us on your own time. I'm proud of ya." With that said he ruffled Lance's hair and sat down. Lance turned to Chris waiting for a reaction. "I hate you!" Chris said flatly. Everyone in the room was shocked at what Chris just said. "How could you? I thought we were brothers? How could you let Joey take me for more money?" He then fell over laughing at the sight of the other guy's faces. "What, you think I hated you cause you're gay? I got no problem with that, but if you cost me anymore money, I'll be forced to kill you, you understand that?" Lance smiled and nodded. "Thanks guys, this means allot to me. I don't know what I would have done if you guys had turned out to hate me." JC finally spoke up "Well you don't have to worry about that now. We all know and we've accepted you. You just have to work up the courage to tell Justin when he gets up." "Why would he need to work up more courage? He came out to us and we didn't freak, it should be the same with Justin." Chris asked. "Duh! Our boy Lance here has the hots for Curly." Joey said. "What no way, ten bucks says he doesn't" "You're on." With that said Chris turned to Lance and asked whether it was true or not. Lance just blushed as JC fell off the bed laughing uncontrollably. "I can't answer that Chris, I'm sorry." "Why can't you answer it?" "Cause you said you'd kill me if I cost you more money!" Lance said this quickly as he ran in to the bathroom and closed the door. "AHA! I won pay up. That's $20 bucks you owe me now Chris." Joey ran around the room cheering that he had won yet another bet. Meanwhile Chris was at the bathroom door demanding that Lance show himself and give him the money to pay off Joey. JC on the other hand, decided that it was time to go wake up Justin. He yelled in the direction of the bathroom were Lance kept the extra keys to the rooms. After finding them he headed over to Justin's. He again knocked just to make sure Justin wasn't already up. When he got no response, he used the key and opened the door. When he walked in the first thing that he noticed was that the place was to clean. Normally Justin had clothes all over the place. He called out just in case Justin was in the bathroom. "Curly you in here?" When he got no response, he walked over to the bathroom and opened it. There was nothing in it to indicate that Justin was even in this room anymore. "Where the hell is he?" He asked himself. He walked back over to Lance's room and entered. Joey was now on top of Chris demanding his money, while Lance was laughing uncontrollably on the bed. "Guys, does anyone know were Curly is? He's not in his room and neither is any of his stuff." This caused the guys to stop. Lance looked really worried. "He's gone? When did he leave? Do you know were he went? Did he leave a note or message?" Lance asked a little too fast. "Calm down Scoop, he's a grown boy now and he can take care of himself. I know you're worried but try not to be. He probably just moved hotel rooms and didn't tell us. He's done it before." "Still, I want to know were he is. I need to talk to him." Lance said softly. "Don't worry about it yet Lance, We'll talk to him when he shows up for breakfast tomorrow. It's like 10:50 now so I suggest that we all hit the hay, and try to get some sleep." JC said. This was met with agreement from everyone. And Just as Chris and JC walked out the door, Joey turned to Lance and said. "Don't worry about how Justin will react, I think it will be better than you think." And without explaining what he meant, Joey walked out leaving a bewildered Lance standing in the middle of his room. Lance looked at the door with a very confused look on his face, he was about to go and ask Joey what he had meant but he decided against it, Joey would explain in the morning. He stripped down to a tee shirt and his boxers and crawled into bed. He couldn't sleep though, he kept wondering were Justin was, and if he was all right. After what seemed like hours, he finally fell asleep. On a plane just leaving Toronto Justin sat down next to the window and waited for the plane to take off. He really was not a huge fan of flying, but it did get him away from his problems. And right now he needed to get away. He couldn't stand to look at any of his friends; he hated keeping secrets from them. But he knew that he needed to keep how he felt a secret or he risked every thing that he had. He loved his friends, his family, and his career, and he didn't want to lose any of them. He closed his eyes as he felt tears start to well up in his eyes again. He brought the back of his hand up to wipe his tears away, he opened his eyes and looked out the window. He saw nothing, as it was late at night and completely dark out. He turned back to look at the rest of the passengers, thankfully their weren't many other, so the possibility of him being identified and mobbed was very low. He sat back and tried to relax, he thought about were he was going. He had decided to go to New York because that was the place he felt mot comfortable besides his home in Orlando. He would have gone there but his mother would be there and he didn't want to have to deal with her asking him thousands of questions. So New York it was, he would check in to a hotel and just veg out until he could control his emotions. Even with the nap he had earlier, Justin still managed to fall asleep. He slept right through the trip and only awoke when a flight attendant shook him awake telling him they had arrived. He thanked her and quickly exited the plane. He found a cab and told him to take him to a hotel. The hotel seemed awfully familiar to Justin, but he just ignored it, thinking that he had probably stayed here during one of the tours they were on. Knowing that it was late, he hoped that there was still some rooms free, and as it turned out there was several. The man behind the desk handed him a key and told him his room was on the seventh floor. Justin walked into the elevator and proceeded to the seventh floor. He found his room at the end of the hall. He unlocked the door and walked in. His bags hit the floor and he stopped dead in his tracks. This was the room were he had fallen in love. Years ago he had spent a week here with the guy he loved, he knew that his feelings weren't returned so he kept it to himself. Instead, he had enjoyed spending hours talking to the guy long into the night. Justin sat down on one of the beds and looked around, nothing had changed. He wondered if the initials that they had carved in the closet were still there. He got up and went to look. Sure enough the words 'JRT, JLB were here!' were there. He smiled at the sight of this. He looked closer and noticed that there was a slight difference. Lightly, around their initial there was a heart and a plus sign between their initials, the rest had been scratched over lightly. So it now read 'JRT + JLB' with a heart around it. "I only wish." He said quietly to himself. He just thought that someone else had found it and decided to add to it. He couldn't tackle it any more. He came to New York to get away from his feelings and now he was in the very room where they had started. He had to tell him how he felt, yet indirectly, incase he didn't feel the same way. Justin went over to one of his bags and pulled out his laptop, he sat down and booted it up. He thought about what he was going to say. He got into his email and began to write... Back in Toronto, the next morning Lance woke up with the sun shinning in his eyes. He felt better than he had in months. He had told the guys that he was gay and they had fully accepted him. Later today he was going to tell Justin the same thing and depending on his reaction tell him how he felt. He then remembered that the guys were meeting for breakfast and would probably want to meet here again. He got up and headed in to the bathroom to shower and to shave. He always hated shaving, ever since he first started; he couldn't get used to the fact that it kept growing back no matter how much he shaved. He remembered when he just let it grow for a week just to see what he would look like. Ironically it was the week he and Justin shared a room together in New York. He thought back to the last day that they were there. New York (Two years in the past) "Common just shave it, you look dumb" Justin begged Lance to shave his beard off. It wasn't even a full beard; it was more like hairs sticking out and various places on Lances face. Justin actually thought that it made him look really cute, but he couldn't tell Lance that. In the last week, he had fallen for Lance, and it was going to kill him not to be able to express his true feelings for him. "You really think I should?" Lance said as he ran a hand over his chin and cheek. "Yes, cause if you don't I will, when your sleeping!" "You wouldn't?!?" "Try me" "Okay okay, I'll shave it off. There are you happy now? God you can really be convincing when you need to be. Too bad you can't use that technique on the girls." The last sentence hurt Lance to say, but he knew that Justin was straight and he could never have him the way he wanted to have him. 'If only you knew' Justin thought to himself. "You know Lance, I had a really great time this week." "I know what you mean Justin." With that said he went into the washroom to shave off what little facial hair he had. Meanwhile Justin decided he wanted to leave something for who ever had this suite after they did, who knew it might be a fan. He went over to the closet and opened the door. He took out his pocketknife and started to carve his initials, and then Lance's. He wanted to put a heart around it but he knew that he shouldn't in case Lance found it. Instead he simply added the words 'were here' to the end. When he finished he put down the knife and went to stand out on the balcony. After a few minutes Lance emerged from the washroom, and went to the closet to get the rest of his things to pack up. He saw the fresh cuts in the wood and just assumed that Justin had left yet another 'gift' for fans that might have this room later on. He looked closer and noticed that his initials were there too. He looked at the dresser next to him and saw that Justin had left his pocketknife there. He picked it up and quickly scratched out the 'were here' part of the carving. He looked up to see were Justin was, seeing that he was on the balcony with his back turned to the room, Lance proceeded. He scratched a small plus sign between their initial and added a heart around the outside. That done, he grabbed his stuff, and closed the door to the closet. He started to pack his stuff, thinking how weird it would be if any of the guys found what he had done. Out on the balcony, Justin turned around just in time to see Lance enter the closet. His heart jumped when he remembered what he had done in there. A lump was forming in his throat until it hit him; he didn't do anything that would let Lance on to how he felt. It was jus their initials saying that they were there. He turned around again and watched the sun begin to set. After a few minutes Lance joined Justin on the balcony and leaned up next to the younger boy on the railing. "Beautiful isn't it?" Each boy asked the other at the same time. 'Yeah you are' they each thought, while giggling. A tense silence fell between the two boys as they watched the sun set together. They didn't say another thing until it was time for them to leave. They were both content to be there in each other's company. Back in the present Lance finished shaving and waited for the others to show up for breakfast. While he was waiting, he ordered breakfast for the guys from room service. After about twenty minutes, Chris and Joey walked in still rubbing sleep out of their eyes, and pulling a cart of food. "Morning" they both said as they sat down on the couch. Lance got up and went over to the cart and grabbed some food. He sat down on the chair in the corner and ate his food quietly. Joey noticed this as he was waiting for Chris to finish getting his food. "Nervous Scoop?" He asked Lance looked up and nodded his head. He put his plate down in his lap and spoke up. "Yeah I am, what if Justin doesn't take it all that well? Then how am I supposed to be around him and still keep my feelings to myself?" "I told ya, he'll take it better than you think." Joey said in between bites. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Chris asked "You'll find out Chris, trust me." Chris, having known Joey for years knew that he wasn't going to get any more information out of him, so he just went back to eating. JC chose that moment to enter the room. "What took you so long JC?" Joey asked. "I slept in." JC said still half asleep. "DAMMIT!" Chris yelled as he pulled out his wallet and paid Joey off. "Guys, I think that its time that we discussed how much money we each get, I never seem to have enough money to pay HIM off" He said this while pointing at Joey, who in defense just shrugged his shoulders. "Well, tell you what Chris." Lance spoke up, barely able to keep a straight face. "Well cut your salary by half and give that to Joey in advance. He ends up with it anyway." Lance couldn't hold it any longer and burst out laughing which everyone soon joined but Chris. "That wasn't funny!" Chris said in his defense. "Like hell it wasn't!" JC said from the bed. "Yeah whatever. Hey where is Justin? Shouldn't he be here by now?" He looked at his watch and noticed that it was starting to get on into the afternoon. "Think we should call him?" "Yeah I think we should, you know, just to see if he is all right." Lance said. Everyone stopped and starred at Lance with smiles on their faces. "What? What is so amusing?" "THATS SOOO CUTE!" They all said at once. "Yeah yeah, whatever shut up." Lance had now turned every shade of red describable. "Okay, I'll go call him. Stay here, I'll be right back." JC got up to leave but was soon stopped by Lance. "Can you tell him that I really need to talk to him." "Sure thing Scoop." JC left the room and headed towards his own. He entered and headed to the phone. He picked it up and called the front desk. The young lady was still working and answered. "Hello" "Hi, This is JC Chasez staying on floor 10. Can you please connect me to Justin Timberlake? He should be in this hotel." "I'm sorry sir, but Mr. Timberlake checked out of the hotel late last night." "WHAT?!?" JC screamed into the phone. "Where did he go?" "I don't know sir, all I know is when I said he could return anytime within the next three weeks and still have his room, he said that he said that he didn't know if he would be returning or not. He had his luggage with him." "Was he alright?" "He seemed to have been crying sir. I decided not to ask about, he didn't look like he wanted to talk." "Did he leave a message for anyone?" "No sir, he just handed in his key, and left. He got into a cab outside and that was the last I saw him. I'm sorry that I can't be of anymore help." "It's alright, thanks anyway." JC hung up the phone. Justin was missing and he was getting worried. Could he have overheard what Lance was saying the previous night? Had that scared him away? JC pushed those thoughts out of his head; he needed to find out where Justin was first. He walked over to the dresser and picked up his cell phone, and after cycling through the pre-set numbers he was soon calling Justin's Cell. New York Justin was awoken by his cell phone ringing. He looked at the display and noticed that it was JC. For a few minute he debated answering it or not. He finally decided that he had to talk to JC regardless of how much JC was sure to yell at him. "Hello JC." "Justin? Where are you?" "I just had to get away. I needed time to be myself." "That's fine Justin, but where are you? And why didn't you tell us that you were leaving?" "I just couldn't face you guys last night, I was a wreck. I really just needed to get away." "Why? What happened?" JC asked with concern in his voice. "I can't tell you Josh. I just had to get away from you guys." Justin started to cry as he said this. He had to stifle his sobs so that JC wouldn't hear them. JC, however, had noticed Justin's sobs. He had also noticed Justin's use of his first name. "Justin, are you alright? Is there anything that I can do?" "I'm okay Josh, I just need some time alone." "Okay, we'll be sure to leave you alone until you're alright. But where are you, just incase there is an emergency and we need to reach you?" "I'm.... Umm...I'm kinda in...." "Justin spit it out!" "I'm in New York." "What!! Why are you in New York?" "I told you I just had to get away from you guys and this was the first place the airport had tickets to, so I took it." "Well I'm not happy about this, but you are nineteen and you can take care of yourself, so I can't really blame you. I guess I should go break this to the guys then. Call me if you need anything, or if you just need someone to talk to. Okay?" "Thanks Josh, I'll call if I need to talk. Bye" "Oh, Justin!" "Yeah?" "Lance told me to tell you, that he really needs to talk to you. He said it was very important. You might want to call him. See ya." "I will a little later, bye Josh." He hung up. Back in Toronto At hearing that Lance wanted to talk to him, Justin broke down and started to cry. Just as JC hit the 'end' button on his cell he could swear he heard Justin crying. He passed it off as his imagination. He now had to go break the news to the guys. They were not going to be happy. Lance was going to be frustrated, he had finally worked up enough courage to admit his feeling about Justin, and now Justin wasn't around for Lance to tell him. "How am I going to tell Lance the news, he'll be crushed." JC said to himself as he left his room and went back to were the guys had had breakfast. Upon entering, Lance jumped up and almost yelled "Well where is he? Did you tell him that I need to talk to him?" "Whoa, calm down Lance. Yeah I told him that you needed to speak to him and that it was important." "Well where is he? I kinda want to get this over with, I've held it in for so long." "Your not going to like this, but Justin is in New York." JC braced himself for the barrage of questions he was about to get from the guys. "WHAT!!" They all yelled in unison. "Why the hell is he in New York?" Joey asked. "He said that he really needed to be alone. He just needed time away from us." Joey nodded his head in understanding as if he was expecting JC to say something like that. Lance sat down on the edge of the bed and started to cry softly. The others had yet to notice him as they were still talking. "When is he coming back?" Asked Chris. "I don't know. I told him to call if he needed anything, or just incase he needed someone to talk to." He looked over at Lance and noticed how down he looked. "I also told him to call you Lance. He said that he would a little later." He hoped that this would cheer Lance up slightly, but it seemed to have the reverse effect. Lance started to cry harder. "What's wrong Scoop?" "I can't tell him over the phone, I won't be able to actually see his reaction." "Oh, I hadn't thought of that. Sorry." "Its okay, I should b able to hold out a little while longer. I mean I waited two years, what's a few more weeks right?" Lance wiped the back of his hand across his eyes, and got up. "Don't worry I'll be fine. Hell maybe I'll go on a little vacation of my own. I could use some time to think about what to say to him." The others looked at each other with concern in their eyes, they knew that Lance was going to take this hard, but they had to help in any way they could. Chris spoke up first. "Okay Scoop, if you need to be alone, then we won't intrude...Any idea where you want to go?" All three were silently hoping that he would go anywhere but New York. Justin and Lance didn't need that type of pressure. "I was thinking about going to Montreal, I've only been once before but I didn't have the opportunity to actually get out and look around. At least then I have the chance to think." "Sounds cool Lance." Joey said. "Need any help packing?" Joey knew that Lance was headed for New York, but he kept his mouth shut. "No thanks, I think that I can manage." "Alright than Scoop, see ya when you get back." Joey said as he got up and gave Lance a hug. After he let Lance go, he got up and left the room. "Bye Lance!" Chris said quickly as he followed Joey out. Lance said good bye to each of them and turned to look at JC who was still standing there. JC crossed his arms against his chest and looked right into Lance's eyes. "Your going to New York, aren't you?" Lance looked at the floor, ashamed that his plans had been discovered. He sat down on the edge of the bed, and looked JC in the eyes. "I have to talk to him JC, I can't just tell him over the phone, and I can't wait any longer to tell him either. I need to see him. Do you understand what I'm saying?" JC sighed, and sat next to Lance. "Yeah, I guess I understand. If I were in love with someone for that long and finally decided to tell them, I'd hunt them down too. But I'm not so sure you going down there is such a good idea. I mean, Justin left because he needed time away from us. Don't you think that we should respect that?" "Yes we should, but this is important to me. I NEED to talk to him." "Alright. If it's that important to you, then go! Just promise you'll call me if you need anything." "I will, I promise." Lance gave JC a quick hug and then began to pack. 10 hours later Lance had arrived in New York and was now in a specific hotel. One that held fond memories for him. He had specifically asked the cab driver to take him here after leaving the airport. He walked up to the front desk and saw that a young lady was working. "Excuse me I was wondering if I could get a room." Lance said as he put his bag down. "Specifically room #205" Lance really wanted that room, it was the room that he and Justin had shared two years ago. He was going to drop his stuff off and begin to search the city for Justin. "I'm sorry sir but that room is booked." The girl said as she checked the computer. Lance's hopes fell. "Oh, do you know when the occupant will be leaving?" He asked, his hope rising a little. "Hold on a second sir, I'll check." She turned to the computer and entered some information. "I'm sorry sir but a Mr. Timberlake has that room booked for the next few weeks. Could I get you another room?" "Mr. Timberlake? Is that Justin Timberlake?" Lance was getting very excited about finding Justin so quickly. He had expected to be searching the city for days. "Um yes, the room is registered under a Justin Timberlake. Is there a problem sir?" "NO! No problem, I just won't be needing a room just yet. I'll go visit with him for a bit." "Alright sir, its the second set of elevators on your left, floor six." "Thank you" Lance said over his shoulder as he ran off towards the elevators, leaving a very confused young lady behind the front desk. Lance got into one of the open elevators and hit the button for floor six. The doors closed and it started going up. When it reached the floor, the doors opened and Lance walked out an up to the door with #205 on it. This was it; he was finally going to tell Justin that he was gay, and that he loved him. He raised his hand to knock... Meanwhile in Justin's room Justin was sitting on the balcony thinking of Lance and how much he wanted to be with him right now. It was still about an hour or so until the sun would start to set. He desperately wanted to watch it set with Lance in his arms. He had wanted to do that the last time they were here. He knew that it was impossible though, as Lance would never feel the same way. With that thought, the tears came back to his eyes. He had given up trying to stop them; they just had to flow. He needed to get over his feelings for Lance if he was going to work with him. He had sent Lance an anonymous email saying that he had loved him for a very long time and that he hoped they could get together. He had sent it to Lance's private email address, one that very few people knew about. He hadn't signed it cause he was too afraid that Lance would reject him, and Justin couldn't handle that. He sat there crying for a few minutes, wishing that Lance would come and comfort him. He knew that it was stupid for him to wish such a thing, but that was all he had left, wishes. A soft knocking at the door brought him back to reality. He got up and walked to the door expecting it to be the food he ordered earlier. When he opened the door he was shocked to see Lance standing there. He stood there with his mouth hanging open, trying to figure out if he was dreaming or not. Was his wish coming true? Lance looked at Justin and noticed that he had been crying his eyes were all red and puffy. He instantly forgot why he was there. The only thing on his mind was making Justin feel better. "Lance what are you doing here?" Justin asked in disbelief. Lance stood there for a second trying to remember why he was there. "I uh... I really needed to talk to you." Justin smiled and invited Lance inside. "I told Josh that I was going to call you. Didn't he tell you?" "Yeah he did, but what I have to say I needed to tell you in person." Lance looked at the floor. Justin sat on one of the beds and motioned Lance to sit next to him. Lance sat and looked at Justin's red eyes. "Are you alright Justin? You look like you've been crying." Lance asked with concern in his voice. "I'll be fine, I just needed time away, that's all." Justin lied to Lance. "Oh, well, I uh. Look I'm sorry for disturbing you. I'll just say what I came to say and leave you in peace." Lance started to get really nervous and began to breathe hard. Justin noticed that Lance was starting to tense up so he put his arm around the older boys shoulders and said "What ever it is Lance, I'll be here for you. We'll always be friends. So spit it out." It hurt Justin to say that they would be 'friends' but that was all he thought they would ever be. "Justin I don't know how to tell you this. I've got something really important to tell you, and I'm not sure your going to take this as well as the guys did." "You told the others, and they were fine with it. So why would I be the exception." "It's just, I realized something about myself a long time ago, in this very room ironically. And I just now had the courage to tell every one about it." He said this while looking around the room, everywhere but in Justin's eyes. He couldn't bear to look at him right now. He couldn't stand it if Justin rejected him. Justin on the other hand never took his red puffy eyes off of Lance. 'He couldn't be? Could he? Could he actually be gay? NO! There is no way in hell that he could be gay! I'm not that lucky! Still he did come all the way down here just to tell me this, and he is very worried about how I'll react.' "You can tell me anything Lance and I won't think any differently of you." It was the truth, whatever Lance was about to say, would not change how Justin felt about Lance. He loved Lance with all his heart and that would never change. "Okay, I'll just say it. I might as well get it over with. Then I can let you get back to whatever you were doing." "Go ahead." He saw Lance take a deep breath, let it go and then take another. "Justin I'm gay and I love you! I have since we spent that week here two years ago. I just finally admitted it to myself and to the others. I realize that you're straight and would never even consider being with me, so I promise you that I won't ever try anything on you. Hopefully you won't be mad at me and we can at least be friends. I'll leave you alone now." Lance got up and started to walk to the door. He didn't even look back at Justin. He couldn't. Tears were already forming in his eyes. Justin sat on the bed in total shock. 'Did he just say that he was gay? And that he loved me? ME?!? Whoa, I have to be dreaming.' He noticed that Lance was getting up and leaving. He just walked to the door, opened it and started to walk out. Without thinking, Justin shot up and ran to the door. He grabbed Lance by the arm and turned him around. He saw that Lance was crying. His heart melted right there, it had to be true! Lance did love him! He pulled Lance into him and placed his lips on Lances. I was a simple kiss, but one filled with passion and lust that they had both wanted to express for the past two years. Justin dragged Lance back into the room and closed the door behind them. "Lance I think we need to talk." Back in Toronto JC sat at the bar in the hotel, he normally didn't drink but he really needed something to make him stop worrying. Lance was going down to see Justin and confess his love for him. JC didn't know how Justin would react to it. He was worried about Lance and how he might have to deal with being rejected. He was also worried about his best friend. Why had Justin left? Why hadn't he come to JC with his problem like he usually did? JC downed his drink and asked the bar tender for a beer. Chris walked in and noticed that JC was sitting at the bar. He went over to join him. "I see you had the same idea I did." Chris sat on the stool that was next to JC's. "Yeah, I'm just really worried about Lance and Justin." "I know, I tried to take a nap but I just kept tossing and turning. I don't know what we'll do if they don't work things out." The bartender came up and gave JC his beer, and after looking at Chris, went off to get him one as well. "I don't know if I can stand to see Scoop heart broken. Hell I can't even imagine how Justin is going to react to this." JC said as he took a sip of his drink. "I know. We're just going to have to stay neutral and help both of them in any way that we can." He picked up the drink that the bar tender had just placed in front of him. "Let's just hope for the best" "There you two are! I've been looking all around for you." JC and Chris turned to look at Joey, who was standing there with his arms folded across his chest and a frown on his face. "Why wasn't I invited to your little drinking thing?" "Actually Joey, we hadn't planned it. It just so happens that we both couldn't sleep, so we headed down here on our own. Why?" JC asked "I was just getting lonely that's all." Joey said like a three-year-old child. "So why are you two having problems sleeping?" Joey asked as he ordered a beer for himself. "Isn't it obvious? We're worried about Justin and Lance. What's Justin going to say to Lance when he shows up at Justin's door. How is he going to react to having his privacy invaded, and how is he going to react when he finds out that Lance is in love with him?" JC said while taking a long drag from his bottle. "Wait, Lance went to New York? I thought he went to Montreal?" Chris said, dumbfounded. "No, he needed to tell Justin, or it was going to kill him. He just told us he was going to Montreal." JC looked over at Joey, who had a huge smile on his face. "What are you smiling at Joey? Aren't you worried about our friends." "No I'm not." Joey said flatly. "Why not! What kind of friend are you?" JC ad Chris said in unison. "The kind that notices things. Justin won't blow up at Lance for being gay, or even having feeling for him. Justin isn't like that. If any thing, Justin will be grateful." "What the hell are you talking about Joey?" JC asked really confused. "Do I really need to spell this out for you guys?" "I think that you had better." "Okay think about it. Lance has been real depressed for the last little while, the cause: He's gay and in love with Justin. He finally worked up enough courage to tell us and Justin how he feels. Right?" The other two just nod their heads. "Now has anyone else noticed that Justin has seemed depressed lately, and that he took off cause he needed to be away from us. I mean does that sound like Justin to you? Doesn't he always come to one of us or to you JC when he has a problem? Now think about it. What if one of us was the problem, or that he thought was going to be a problem based on how he felt about them, he couldn't come to any of us cause he didn't know how any of us were going to react. Get it now" "Wait! You're saying that Justin is gay and has the hots for one of us?" Said Chris. "Not one of us, but Lance!" JC said "How do you know that?" Joey asked a little confused that he had missed something. "When I called Justin this morning. I told him just as we were hanging up that Lance really needed to talk to him. At the sound of Lance's name I swear I heard him start crying." "So your both saying that Justin is gay?" Chris looked at each of then trying to figure out what was going on. "Yes we're saying that Justin is gay. And that he has the hots for our boy Scoop." Joey said as he finished off his beer. He and JC got up to leave, but Chris soon stopped them. "WAIT! I gotta know something? Giving that I can't seem to figure anything out on my own anymore." "What do you want to know Chris?" Joey asked. "Is there anyone else in this group who is gay, BI, or whatever?" Chris said with a smile on his face. Joey and JC looked at each other, than at Chris, than back at each other. Turning his head so Chris couldn't see JC winked at Joey. Understanding what they were about to do to Chris, Joey simply nodded. "Well Chris, I'm glad you asked that" JC said trying desperately to keep a straight face. "Me and Joey here are both gay and have been together for a few months now." He grabbed Joey's hand and the two walked out holding each other's hand; they seemed to be to close to suggest that they were only friends. This point was emphasized when Joey pinched JC's butt. Chris just stood near the entrance to the bar looking as his two friends with total disbelief. Was he really that blind that he couldn't see that four of his friends were in love with each other? He just shook his head and went back to the bar were he ordered several shots of whiskey. Meanwhile out near the elevator, Joey and JC had finally cracked up and were laughing uncontrollably. "Did you see the look on his face when I told them we were together?" JC said while holding his stomach. Joey was leaning up against the wall laughing so hard that he was having trouble standing. "It was priceless, but the face he made when we grabbed hands was the best!" "OH, I got it! Give me your Superman shirt tonight and I'll show up to breakfast tomorrow wearing it like I spent the night in your room." "Oh that's evil! He will never forgive us for this you know that right?" "Yeah but who cares, its fun." Back in New York Lance was sitting on the couch and Justin was sitting in the chair across from him. Both had looks of shock on their faces. Neither really knew how to proceed. Justin was the first to break the silence. "So I guess I should start by telling you that I'm gay to." Lance's head shot up at hearing that. He still couldn't believe that the man he had loved and lusted after for two years now, had KISSED HIM! "Also I think that you should know that I love you too. Like you said, ironically it happened two years ago in this room." Justin looked at the floor. "I hope you're not mad at me?" "Wha? Why would I be mad at you? The guy of my dreams finally tells me he feels the same way about me that I do about him, and you think I would be mad at you? Why?" "I dunno, I guess for keeping it from you." "I'd have to be a pretty big hypocrite then, remember I didn't tell you either." Both boys smiled at this. "So you really told the guys? What did they say?" Justin was feeling a little awkward talking to Lance about this. He didn't even know what was happening. He was still trying to get over the fact that Lance was gay. Lance feeling pretty much the same as Justin answered. "JC and Joey were expecting it, but Chris was totally in the dark, as usual." "How much money did he lose to Joey?" Both boys started to giggle uncontrollably. "Twenty bucks between the two bets." "Two bets? What was the other one?" "Chris bet Joey that I didn't actually like you, that I liked someone else." Lance said laughing a little. "How long did Chris chase you around for when he found out." Now both boys were really laughing hard. They couldn't believe that all this was happening, and that Justin knew what happened so well, even though he wasn't there. After a while the laughter seemed to fade away. Their eyes met and all either saw was the love for the other. Lance got up and walked over to Justin. He got down in front of him and grabbed his hand. "I've been wanting to ask you this since the last day we spent here." Lance said. "Justin would you like to be my boy friend?" "I've been waiting to hear those words for two years! Hell yes I wanna be your boy friend!" They pulled each other into a tight hug and wouldn't let each other go. Finally after what seemed to be an eternity, Justin pulled apart from Lance. "Well I guess we don't have to fix that carving in the closet anymore." he giggled thinking that Lance didn't know what he was talking about. "You found that! Damn! I was hoping you wouldn't have seen that yet." Justin stopped giggling and looked at Lance. "You knew about the carving in the closet?' "Who do you think put the heart around our initials?" They started to laugh again as they held each other in their arms. Lance pulled Justin out of the chair and towards the couch, where he sat down, pulling his beloved with him. "I can't believe that this is happening." Lance said with slight disbelief. "I know what you mean. I can't believe that I finally have you." He leaned in and kissed Lance again. "And just to let you know, now that I have you, I aint letting you go!" "I wouldn't have it any other way." To prove it, Lance leaned in and placed another kiss on Justin's lips. Justin looked at his watch and let out a small yelp of joy. "Hurry up and come with me!" He said as he pulled Lance off the couch and towards the balcony. "I've wanted to do this since the last time we were here." He pulled Lance to him and wrapped his arms around him. He kissed the back of Lance's neck and whispered. "What I really wanted to say the last time we saw the sun set, was that you were beautiful, not the sun." Lance raises his arms and covered Justin's with them, "I wanted to say the same thing to you Justin." And the two stood there under the gentle glow of the setting sun. The golden light washed over the two young lovers, as they stood there in each other's embrace. When the sun had finally set, the two of them stood still, neither wanting to move. The rumbling of Lance's stomach only broke the silence. At hearing this, Justin let out a series of giggles. "What? I haven't eaten since this morning. I'm hungry." "How about we check out what room service brought me. I ordered some before you showed up." "Nah, I have a better idea. Seeing how you ordered it for just one person and that it is probably cold now, why don't we go out for dinner?" "The two of us. Like as in a date?" "No not like A date." Justin gave Lance a confused expression. "Like in OUR first date." Justin smiled and nodded in agreement. They went inside and changed in to better clothes, Lance changing in the washroom since he was a little shy. Despite the fact that he was now with the man he loved, he still wanted to wait a while before Justin saw him with nothing on. True, they had seen each other naked before, but that was only passing glances and very little time to fully appreciate what they saw. Lance emerged from the washroom to find Justin waiting for him. Apon seeing Lance, a huge smile spread across Justin's face. "Ready?" He asked. "Yup, shall we go Mr. Timberlake?" "My, aren't we being formal tonight Mr. Bass." "Well it is our first date, and I just wanted it to seem special." "It took both of us two years to finally get to this point, and you want it to be special?" Justin asked miraculously. "I think that its pretty damn special as it is, I mean I have the man of my dreams, I'm reasonably sure the guys are going to accept me now, I'm going to dinner with my boy-friend. What more can a guy ask for?" "No interruptions..." While saying this he took both his and Justin's cell phones and placed them on the bed. He then took his boyfriends hand and walked out of the room. Back in Toronto JC looked at the clock in his room. It read 10:27pm. He was starting to worry about Lance and Justin. He decided to call them and see if they were all right. He picked up his cell phone and dialed Lance's number. After letting it ring for a little while he decided to give up. "Must still be out looking for Justin." He thought to himself out loud. He next tried to call Justin's cell phone but got a similar response. He hung up and started to pace the room. "Where are they? I hope they are all right. I'll never forgive myself if anything happens to either of them." he was vocalizing his concerns now, and Joey who had been passing the room overheard. "Is every thing okay, JC?" He asked as he poked his head in to his bandmates room. "I guess, I just can't seem to get a hold of Scoop or Curly." He sighed and sat down. "Kinda stupid, I know. But I'm still worried." Joey entered the room and sat next to JC. "Dude, it will be okay. Like I said, they are going to get together or at the very least become really good friends. You don't need to worry over them." He pulled JC into a loose brotherly hug just as Chris walked into the room. "Whoa! Sorry I didn't mean to interrupt anything!" He said in surprise as he quickly left the room. Both Joey and JC looked at each other and broke out laughing. New York Lance and Justin sat across from one another in a booth in the hotel's restaurant. Since they were in public they weren't holding hands. They were however rubbing their knees against the others, and looking deep into each other's eyes. This was not exactly all that convincing to those who were watching, but thankfully nobody recognized them. "So what do you want?" Lance asked innocently as he scanned the menu. "You." Justin replied not even looking at his menu. Lance's head shot up and he blushed. He started to stammer a little, not really knowing how to respond to what Justin had just said. Finally he decided to giggle a little and ask what Justin wanted to eat. From the menu. "I think I'll try the mixed seafood grill." Justin said never taking his eyes away from his love. Lance decided and gave his order to the waiter who just appeared to get what they asked for. "God you look so hot right now! I wish I could kiss you." Again Lance blushed, and Justin noticed it. "Why are you being so shy? We've waited two whole years to be together and now we are." "That's just it Just, I really don't know how to act around you. I spent the last two years trying to act straight around you, so you wouldn't get all wierded out if you found out how I truly feel for you. I guess it's just a habit that I'm going to have to break." He smiled a little as he said this. "That's kinda sweet Lansten, but you don't have to worry about offending me. Remember I feel the same way you do. I love you and I finally have the chance to show it to you." "Thank you Justin." "For what?" "For being you. For loving me. For letting me love you. And about a dozen other things that I haven't even thought about yet." "Well then, your welcome." The waiter chose that moment to bring the two their food. They sat quietly eating what they had ordered never looking away from the others eyes. When they had finished, and after several minutes of arguing over whom was going to pay the bill, the two lovers left the restaurant and headed back to the room. When the approached the door, both stopped and looked at each other. "Thank you Mr. Timberlake, I had a fantastic time with you tonight." Lance said giggling to himself as he said it. "I had a great time too Mr. Bass. Perhaps we can do this again sometime?" "I'd love to." He leaned in and placed a kiss on Justin's lips. Justin pulled Lance closer to him and continued the kiss. When neither pulled away, Lance wrapped his arms around his younger lover and leaned them both up against the door. Justin, having never been in a situation like this before pulled away. "Did I do something wrong?" "You didn't do anything wrong. I just wanted to get inside before we're spotted." He led Lance inside and pushed him onto the bed. "Um, Justin I think we should talk about this...." "Relax Lance, as much as I want to make love with you, I'm not ready for that yet. I just wanted to cuddle and fall asleep in each others arms." "Well, that I can handle. And thank you for understanding. Now get over here, I'm getting lonely" Saying this like he was a three year old. And so the two boys fell asleep cuddling and kissing. Neither one of them had tried anything sexual, nor neither wanted it yet. They were both content to spend the nighttime hours in each other's arms, feeling safe and secure. When morning hit, a cell phone ringing on the other bed awakened both boys. Toronto JC got up at around nine in the morning, and looking at the clock started to swear a little. He never got up this early on their days off unless the guys got together for breakfast. "Its a good thing Lance isn't here he'd kill me for swearing at a clock!" Thoughts of Lance caused JC to sit up in bed. Every thing that he had been worrying about the day before suddenly returned to him. He really wanted to talk to Lance and find out how every thing was going. He also wanted to talk to Justin for much the same reason. He got up and found his cell phone. He thought of calling Justin first, but then remembered that it was still early, and that Curly wouldn't be up for another couple of hours. He decided to call Lance since he was usually up early even during vacations. He dialed Lance's phone and hoped that Lance would pick up. New York Lance got up and lunged for the phone on the other bed. He just missed it and ended up on the floor. When he finally got to his phone the ringing had stopped. He checked the display and noticed that it was JC. He suddenly got a huge smile on his face. He wanted to call JC and tell him how everything had worked out. And how he was now with the man he loved and that man returned his feelings. Lance cycled through the speed dial until he got JC's number. He tried to call him, but only got a busy signal. After a few minutes an automated voice telling him to leave a message because the cellular customer was unavailable. "Oh well, I'll call him later." "Lance? Is that you? What are you doing?" "Don't worry about it babe. JC just called and I missed it. I'll call him later and see what he wanted. You want some company over there?" "Umm yeah...Could you go find that waiter we had yesterday. He was kinda cute." Lance threw a pillow right at Justin's head. "Okay okay I'm sorry. You're the only one that I want to be with." "Just remember that sweetie. Or you'll regret it." Lance said this as he curled up next to Justin and fell asleep. Toronto JC hung up after trying to call Justin. He only got a message saying that his phone was off. "Ah well, I guess I'll try them later. Hopefully Lance can find Justin. I really hope that those two will get together and be happy." He sighed and stood up. He walked over to the window and opened the shades, when the sun hit his eyes and body; JC stretched and decided to get in the shower. While in the shower, JC was wondering what he was going to do until Joey and Chris got out of bed. He was thinking about heading out and trying to find a bakery or something and get something for the rest of the guys. A few hours later in New York Justin rolled over and opened his eyes. He was looking right into a pair of the greenest eyes he had ever seen. They were both calm and tranquil, and Justin felt as if he could loose himself in them forever. "How long have you been awake?" "About twenty or so minutes. Why?" "Because I would feel kinda weird if you were spending hours just looking at me." He started to giggle slightly. "Oh well then, I'm sorry that I enjoy looking at my boy friend. I wouldn't dream of creeping him out." Lance said as he rolled his eyes and tried to be as sarcastic as possible. "It doesn't creep me out like you think. If you're up, than wake me up so we can spend more time together... That sounds corny I know, but it's the best way to say that I love you and I want to spend every waking moment with you." "Ah" Lance said as he blushed again. "That's uh very romantic." He was lost for words. How could anyone want him that way? He was completely speechless. "Lost for words Lansten." Justin just lay there on his side with his head propped up on his arm. "That's another thing that I love about you, you only say things that you mean, and when you don't mean something, you don't say it. Even if it does take you a while to say what you really want." "Um thanks I think...So should we get up now? I'm getting kinda hungry." "Yeah so am I. I think that I'll take a shower. Wanna join me." Justin said jokingly as he walked into the washroom. He looked back and saw the shocked look on Lance's face. "Don't worry Scoop I was only joking." He walked into the washroom and got into the shower when it was ready. He was in the shower with the water running over his head so he didn't hear Lance open the door and enter. Lance kept his movements quiet and quickly gathered all of Justin's clothes and every towel in the bathroom. When he was finished he left just as silently as he came in. When Justin finished his shower, he turned off the water and reached out for the towel that was hanging next to door when he entered. His hand met only cold air. He poked his head out of the shower and noticed that the towel was gone, and so were all of the other towels, as well as his clothes. "DAMNIT LANCE! Gimme back my clothes!" he was met by silence. Justin didn't know what to do. He stepped out of the shower and looked for something to cover himself. He found nothing. He called out again, hoping that Lance would respond and at least give him his boxers back. "Lance, common. Gimme back my clothes. What do you expect me to do? Walk around completely naked?" "YES!" "Very funny! Now give me something to wear." The door opened a crack and a pair of socks was thrown in. "Happy now?" "Oh yeah, this is much better. Now I can walk around in total comfort, knowing that I'm not giving my boyfriend any naughty ideas." He was giggling again as he put on the socks. "Oh, your no fun!" The door opened again and in came the rest of Justin's clothes. When Justin was finished dressing, he exited the washroom and saw that Lance was sitting on the edge of the other bed waiting for him. He looked on at Justin as if an angle had just appeared. "Lance honey snap out of it." "Huh? Oh. Sorry. Just lost in thought." Justin sat down on Lance's lap and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. "Oh anything interesting?" "Just you." "Oh and what were you thinking about me?" Justin asked innocently. "My my, don't we have an ego all of the sudden." "Only when my boyfriend is thinking of me... hehehehe" He started to laugh as Lance began to tickle him. "Alright alright." Lance let him up and Justin went to the closet and got out his bags. Before he closed the door he rubbed his hands over the carving that the two had made two years before they knew about how the other felt. He walked over to the bed and put his bag on it, he than proceeded to the dresser and started to take out all of his clothes. His actions were interrupted by a small cough made by his lover. "What are you doing?" "Packing why?" "I just thought that since we just got together, that we'd get to spend some alone time together. Why were do you want to go?" "I kinda wanted to go back to Toronto and see the guys. You know tell them that I'm gay, and introduce them to my new boyfriend. I think that Josh is really going to like him." "Here's hoping." "What's not to like? So are you going to pack or are you just going to sit there?" "I think that I'll just sit here and watch you." "You're not going to pack?" "Nope." "Why not?" "Maybe cause I never unpacked last night. Well except to get my good clothes, but I packed my other stuff away as soon I as I took it off. So all I have is what's hanging up on the hook over there." He pointed to the hook on the one side of the closet door. Justin looked over and saw a set of clothes hanging there. He felt a little stupid for asking now as he had passed right by them as he went to get his bags. "Tell you what though, I'll call the air line and reserve us tickets on one condition." "And that would be?" "I get a kiss from the best looking guy in N'Sync." Lance said matter-of-factly. "The mirror is over there." At saying this Lance turned several shades of red. "I meant you silly." "Oh well then." He closed the distance between Lance and himself and kissed him sweetly on the lips. Lance grabbed Justin by the waist and pulled him down onto the bed. He started to kiss Justin on the cheek and moved on to his ear lobe. Justin was as close to heaven as he had ever been as his boyfriend caused such great amounts of pleasure to wash through his body. Lance then moved down and started to suck gently on Justin's lower neck, he caressed the skin with his lips, while placing a hand on his lover's heart. He could feel Justin's heart speed up as he continued to kiss Justin's neck. Justin rolled over and straddled Lance. He grabbed both of his hands in his own and pinned them above the older boy's head. He leaned in and kissed Lance on the lips. Lance opened his mouth slightly and was welcomed with the tip of Justin's tongue. The two played tongues never going any deeper than the opening of the others mouth. It wasn't heavy; instead it was mere passion and love that was being expressed through the physical act of kissing. Shifting so that only one of his hands was holding Lance's, Justin lowered his now free hand to Lance's chest. He started to caress Lance's well-defined pecks. The thought of having his love running his hands all over his body really turned Lance on. And that frightened him. He pulled away from Justin and let out a small sigh. "Babe, I think we should stop before we get a little carried away." Justin just pouted and reluctantly released Lance's hands. "Don't get me wrong Just, I really want to continue, but we should get ready." "I know, I just couldn't help myself." "Its okay, I could barely contain myself as it was. Its just that when we do make love. I want it to be very special. Know what I mean?" Justin smiled and stroked the side of Lance's face with his hand. "Of course, I want the same thing. But you'd be the person I'd be with, so I can't see how it could get anymore special." "I feel the same way you do...Now get off me and get packing. I'm going to call the airline and then maybe leave a message or something for the guys, ya know, telling them that we're coming home." "Dat's coo." Justin said reverting to eubonics. Something he hadn't done for a little over a year now. Lance chose not to point it out and went to reserve their tickets. When he had finished reserving his and Justin's plane tickets, he dialed up JC. He didn't get an answer so he left a message and hung up. They still had a few hours to kill before they had to be at the airport, and Lance could think of nothing he would rather do than curl up with his lover and just watch the world go by. He grabbed Justin when he was finished packing and pulled him out to the balcony. Lance sat down in one of the large lounge chairs and motioned for Justin to sit in between his legs. When Justin sat down, Lance wrapped his arms around Justin and the two just sat there enjoying the feeling of the other. Toronto JC was just getting into the shower, so he didn't hear his phone ring. He had spent the morning in search of a place that he could get something other than room service for breakfast. After an hour of walking around he found a small bakery and bought six cinnamon rolls. He loved them, and he was sure the guys would appreciate something different. What he was not expecting however was Chris and Joey betting on the outcome of a basketball game the night before. They were watching the news and Chris bet Joey that the Lakers would beat the Raptors. Joey, knowing all about the Raptors winning streak and Vince Carter, took on the bet. When the score was displayed showing that the Raptors had won, Chris swore and threw his cinnamon roll right at Joey. Joey ducted and the roll went flying threw the air until it hit an unsuspecting JC right in the face. That was why he was now in the shower. He was trying to get the sticky stuff off of his face before he went back in there with those two. A couple of hours later in New York Lance and Justin sat alone in the VIP lounge in the airport awaiting their flight. They wanted to hold each other's hand, but with the threat of someone walking in at any time, they chose against it. Earlier, Lance had left a message with JC saying that he was coming home. After much prodding from Justin, he left out any details about Justin. The message just said that Lance was coming back to Toronto and that was it. Both boys had agreed that they were going to attempt to surprise the others. They boarded the plane a few minutes later and were soon air born. Both slept soundly through the flight, clutching each other's hand under Lance's jacket, which they had 'conveniently" left between them. When the flight attendant passed by, all she saw were two young men asleep next to each other, and decided not to wake them up until they had landed in Toronto. When they finally awoke, it was to the captain's voice saying that they would be landing very shortly, and that all overhead compartments be secured and seats returned to their upright position. The seat belt light went on and Lance and Justin fastened their seatbelts. Since Justin hated to fly he grabbed Lance's hand and squeezed until their where safely on the ground. While the plane was taxiing towards the terminal, Lance excused himself to the washroom. He sighed in relief as he emptied himself into the stainless steel bowl. He flushed, zipped up and washed his hands before returning to his love up front. When he made his way back up he noticed that several of the passengers had already disembarked leaving only a handful and Justin. Justin was sitting there staring out the window waiting for Lance. He barely noticed when Lance sat down next to him and placed his hand on Justin's. "What's the matter Justin?" "I guess I'm just kinda worried about telling the others. I know it's stupid, I mean they accepted you, why wouldn't they accept me? I just don't know how they are going to take it." "Don't worry about it honey, if they get out of line, JC promised to kick some ass. And you know that if JC gets out of line, I'll kick his scrawny butt back to Orlando." Lance said in a whisper so that the few passing passengers wouldn't over hear. "Thanks, I guess I just needed to be reassured. Telling the guys is still gonna be much easier than breaking t his to our folks." Lance sat back in his chair. He hadn't thought about that. He was so concerned with his friends not rejecting him and finding out if Justin shared his feelings that he completely forgot to consider telling his parents. He knew that it was going to be hell telling them, as they were extremely religious and viewed homosexuality as a cardinal sin. Justin noticed that Lance was deep in thought, he was probably thinking about telling his mom and dad, judging by the look on his face. "Promise me something Lance." Lance broke out of his trance and looked at Justin's sweet young face. "Anything, just name it." "When we do tell our parents, let's be there to support the other." "Of course, I wouldn't leave you alone to go through something like that!" "I wouldn't either." The two got up and exited the plane occasionally brushing their hands together. When they got in to the terminal, they headed for baggage claim and got their bags. On the way out Justin hit a wet patch on the floor and lost his footing and fell to the ground. He would have hit his head if Lance hadn't caught him on the way down. Lance began to laugh at the absurdity of it all. "What are you laughing at? I could have been hurt." "Think about It." lance whispered. "We're in the middle of a crowded terminal, and you're in my arms. Something that we couldn't have done in the first place." Justin started to laugh at the situation. He got up and regained his footing before anyone started to get suspicious. "Well what makes you think I didn't slip on purpose?" "You didn't?" "How else was I supposed to end up in your arms?" "Damn! You're pure evil! I would have never thought of that." "Guess I'm the brains in this relationship eh?" Lance looked at Justin and gave him a weird look before Justin bolted for the door. Lance ran after him as fast as he could but he couldn't catch up with him, he had too much of a head start. When he finally got outside, he saw Justin standing in the door of a cab, he had already placed his bag in the trunk and was now waiting for Lance to do the same. He did, and was soon sitting next to his love in the backseat. They gave directions to the driver and sat back and quietly waited for the cab to arrive. When the cab pulled up, Lance paid the fair and they both retrieved their bags. They entered the hotel and Justin walked up to the front desk, the same lady who was working two nights before was working now. "Ah Mr. Timberlake, you've returned. Would you like your old room?" "Yes please." "Alright give me a minute to find your key... Here it is. Have a pleasant stay." She handed the key to Justin and returned to what she was doing before. Lance walked up and directed him to the elevator. They got in and Justin lunged for the button for the their floor. Lance just giggled at how cute Justin was being. The ride up was spent with the two stealing small kisses and holding hands. When the doors to the elevator opened, the two separated and moved to opposite sides of the elevator. When they saw that no one was there they exited and headed for JC's room. Justin stopped just as Lance was about to knock. "Um, Lance. Check the time. It's kinda late and you know how Josh likes to sleep. Why don't we just wait for the morning." Lance looked down at his watch and noticed that it was indeed late. He wondered where that time had gone. Then he remembered what had been occupying his mind that day. He was with his boyfriend and that made time fly by. "Your right. Lets go get some sleep and we'll surprise the guys at breakfast." "Kay, uh, who's room you wanna sleep in." Justin asked innocently. "Any room that has you in it. Cutie." "Well in that case, yours." "Why mine?" "Just because it's yours, that and my room doesn't have that lived in feel anymore. I take it they cleaned it after I left." "My room it is then." He grabbed Justin's hand and picked up his bag. Justin did the same and followed Lance to his room. They were too tired from the long day and the trip they took, even though they slept for the entire plane trip, it was a restless sleep. They removed their clothes, save for their boxers and slipped into bed. For the second time in as many days, they fell asleep in each other's arms. Neither wanted to take it any further than they already had, they were waiting for the time to be right and for it to be special. The next morning Justin woke up and sat straight up in bet. He really needed to go to the bathroom. He got up and walked into the washroom, closing the door behind him. He heard Lance grumbling, and told Lance he would be out in a few minutes. Meanwhile Lance was just getting out of bed and was heading to the door for the complimentary morning paper that the hotel provided. He opened the door in nothing but his shorts and bent over to pick it up. As he was doing this, the door across from his opened and a sleepy JC was bending over to pick up his paper. He noticed Lance and said good morning. He picked up his paper and closed the door. Lance stood there for a few minutes, knowing it was going to take a little while for the his presence to register in JC's brain. He got to the count of twenty when JC's door flew open. JC stood there with his mouth open in complete shock. "Lance!" He finally said. "Morning Josh!" Lance said happily. "Wha. What are you doing back here?" Lance gestured for JC to follow him into his room. JC followed still in his shorts. Lance sat down on the bed and crossed his legs. JC just stood near the door staring wide eyed at Lance. "Did you find Justin?" He asked after a few seconds. Lance just nodded his head and smiled. "Well? What happened?" JC was getting slightly annoyed that he had to pry information out of Lance. He was about to say something about it, when the washroom door opened and out walked Justin still in his shorts. "Let's just say that Joey was right!" Lance said again as he looked at JC and Justin. Justin noticed that JC was standing there in his shorts and couldn't resist commenting about it. "What's this Lance? I leave for a few minutes and you replace me with him?" Justin cracked as he tried to keep a straight face. "Other than the fact that he looks alright just wearing boxers, he's not my type. You are!" Lance smiled. Justin grinned and jumped onto the bed, and into Lances waiting arms. He placed a kiss on his lover's cheek. When he was finished, both boys looked at a very confused JC. "Can someone please tell me what's going on?" He pleaded with his two friends. Lance looked at Justin, knowing that Justin had to say this himself. "Isn't it obvious Josh? I'm gay and I love Lance." Justin said as a huge smile spread across his face. "So you two are together then?" "Yep!" Both answered at once. And then both broke out into giggles. "Yes Josh we are together. Finally! We've both felt for each other for two years, but we were both too scared about being rejected, so we kept our feelings to ourselves." Lance said as he wrapped his arms around his lover. "THAT'S GREAT! Damn I can't believe that Joey was right again." JC said as a smile beamed on his face. "What do you mean Joey was right again?" Justin asked a little afraid. "Joey figured out that you were gay, just like he figured that Lance was gay. He also said that you two would get together. Shit, Chris is going to lose more money." JC started to giggle at this. It quickly became contagious as the other two started to laugh as well. After a few minutes they calmed down and Lance asked. "What are we doing for breakfast?" "Breakfast is in my room this morning. Are you two going to make an appearance?" "Of course, but I got an idea. Wanna make Chris happy?" Justin said with a mischievous grin on his face. "What do you have in mind Justin?" Lance asked. Justin spent the next few minutes laying out the plan. JC and Lance thought it was a good idea and agreed to help. After they were finished JC got up and excused himself. "I have to wake up Joey before Chris gets up." He said as he left the room. Both Lance and Justin were confused but decided to ignore it. They got up and started to get ready for the day. Lance headed to the washroom while Justin got dressed. When Lance emerged from the bathroom he found a fully clothed Justin sitting cross-legged on the bed. "Awe! You put on clothes." Lance pouted. "Yeah I did, and so should you. Unless of course you're planing on going to breakfast in your undies." Justin said with a smirk. "Hmm, that's sounds like a good idea!" Lance said with a smirk. "Very funny, now get dressed!" Justin said as he threw a pillow at Lances head. "I appear to be in an abusive relationship." Lance said as he got dressed. In JC's room ten minutes later Lance walked into JC's room and noticed that both Joey and Chris stopped eating, dropped their plates and ran over to where he was standing. Both of them grabbed Lance and pulled him into a hug. JC, who was wearing one of Joey's superman sweatshirts, sat on the bed watching his friends. Joey let go of Lance and asked. "When did you get back?" "Late last night. I didn't want to wake any of you up, so I decided to wait until the morning." "Did you find what you were looking for?" Joey said with a smirk on his face. Lance looked at the ground and frowned. "No, no I didn't." Both he and JC were desperately trying to keep straight faces during this. "WHAT!" Joey asked in shock. "I didn't find what I went looking for. Why did you bet Chris that I would?" Chris spoke up for the first time since Lance showed up. "Actually yeah he did. He bet $100 said you would find what you were looking for." Chris, who had realized what was happening, had a huge smile across his face. "Does that mean that I finally won a bet with Joey?" Lance looked at Chris and nodded "Um yeah I guess it does." Chris' jaw dropped and he started to run around the room cheering. "I WON I WON I WON I WON!" He landed in front of Joey and pointed a finger at him. He started to laugh like crazy while rubbing it in. Joey turned red and turned to Lance. "So if you didn't find exactly what you were looking for, why do you look so damn happy?" He asked with anger, as he realized he finally lost a bet with Chris. "I look happy because I found me someone that I really like." He watched as both Joey and Chris' jaws hit the floor. Chris looked at Joey and yelled, "OUR BOY LANCE HAS A BOY- FRIEND!" As Joey pulled out his wallet and paid off Chris he asked "So who is it? Did you bring him here with you? Do we get to meet him?" Lance moved over to the door and said. "Actually Joey I did bring him back with me. And he is waiting to see you guys too." He smiled and reached for the door. "I hope we like him, It'd be a real shame if he turned out to be a jerk and we had to respect him cause of Lance." Joey said lowly, hoping the guy on the other side of the door wouldn't here him. "I heard that! Jackass!" Joey's jaw dropped as Justin entered. Joey was speech less; he couldn't understand why Justin was standing there and not Lance's new beau. "Justin! What are you doing here and what did you do with Lance's. Uh ... Friend." Joey tried to cover up the fact that Lance was gay, he was worried that Lance hadn't had the chance to tell him yet. "I got rid of him, I found someone much better for Lance here." Justin said with a grin. "Uh, who?" Joey said with even more confusion. Did he know? How could he of found out? And who had he found to replace Lance's boy friend. "ME!" Justin said as he placed a small kiss on Lance's lips. Lance wrapped his arms around Justin and pulled him tighter against him. He opened his mouth and accepted Justin's tongue. Both Joey and Chris' jaw dropped and it took several minutes before they regained their composure. Lance and Justin were still kissing passionately as they two continued to stare. They only stopped when they heard JC clear his throat. "Some of us would like an appetite left for breakfast." He said as he started to giggle. Justin and Lance pulled apart for a split second and said, "Shut up!" Chris started to swear as he dug into his wallet to pay Joey his money back and to pay him the money that he owed. He was stopped when both Lance and Justin noticed this and told him to keep it. "UH UH!" Joey said, "You got Justin, so I won the bet." "No you didn't" Justin said. "What do you mean I didn't win. You two are together aren't you?" "Yes, but the bet was that I would find what I was looking for. When I left, I was looking for Justin's acceptance of me being gay. Us being together had nothing to do with it." Lance said with a smirk. Joey's jaw hit the floor when he realized that he had finally lost a bet to Chris. When Chris realized this he began to jump around hollering out that he finally won a bet with Joey. He landed next to Lance and Justin who were still in each other's arms, and pulled the two of them into a hug. "Looks like I don't have to kill ya Scoop!" Said Chris as he released the two lovers. "I'm grateful." Said Justin. Who had been filled in earlier about Chris' threat to his boy friend. Chris suddenly got a depressed look on his face, which was quickly noticed by Lance. "What's wrong Chris?" "I'm the only single one left. I mean you two have each other, and Joey and JC are together. I guess on the bright side, I get all the female groupies!" He walked away and got his breakfast leaving two very confused boys staring at him. JC and Joey started laughing really hard. Joey lost his balance and fell to the floor soon followed by JC himself. "What's so funny?" The other three asked in unison. "I thought you said you didn't swing that way Josh?" Lance said getting a little angry with his friend for lying to him. When JC finally regained his composure he sat up and looked at Lance. "I don't swing that way. Joey and I are NOT together. We were just playing a joke on Chris." As he said this he pulled off the shirt that he had borrowed from Joey and tossed it to him. He looked around and saw three really confused faces. He looked at Joey who was just now calming down. "Chris asked if any other member was gay or BI, and being the gullible person he is, we decided to play a little trick on him." He explained trying to make his friends understand. Joey sat up and wiped the tears from his eyes and then looked at Chris. "Oh was it ever so perfect! It makes up for loosing to you! You should see the look on your face right now!" In response Chris got up and jumped on top of Joey and began wresting with him. Joey finally ended up pinning Chris and laughed in his face. As the two were fighting, Lance and Justin sat down next to the now bare chested JC. JC sat there crossed legged and eating some fruit off of his plate when he turned to the two lovers and asked. "Now what?" Lance looked first at JC than at Justin then back at JC. "What do you mean?" "I mean, do we get to save money, by only getting four rooms now?" JC said with a laugh. "Very funny!" Both Lance and Justin said at once. Later that night Justin sat alone on the bed of his hotel room with the shades drawn, and no lights on. He had his face buried in his hands and tears were streaming down his face. Only this time it was tears of happiness. He and Lance were together and the guys didn't reject them. They were happy for them both. The bathroom door opened and out walked Lance. Justin smiled he saw that Lance had been crying to. He got up and pulled Lance into a hug and kissed him passionately on the lips. "I love you James." Justin said as he held his boyfriend close. "I love you to Justin." Lance said as he wrapped his arms around his lover. Both boys stayed like that for a while, feeling happy and safe in each other's arms. They had spent two years wanting to be together, and now they finally were. They started to cry again, letting the tears mix together as they kissed. THE END Well that's it. Thank you for reading my story, I hope that you enjoyed it. I realize that the ending was a little short, but I had no idea what to do with it. It took me several days just to come up with that! Anyway, please send your comments to kevin_brozyna@hotmail.com I would appreciate it. I might write another story if I get a good response. Again, Thank you for reading my story.