Used (8)

by Chris J

"So what happens if I touch this?" asked Justin. AJ turned to see what the kid was poking at now and gave Justin's hand a swift smack. "Ow! What?"

"You'll burn yourself. Don't touch that. Haven't you ever seen under the hood of a -- " When he raised his eyes to Justin's face, though, he saw a faint smirk, even as Justin nursed his stinging hand. "Oh, fuck off," AJ muttered, tempted to smack him again.

"Hey, I thought you got off on knowing more than me," Justin teased mildly once it was clear he was busted, sucking at his knuckles. "I was doing you a favour."

"You can just keep your favours to yourself," AJ told him, unlatching the rod and reaching up to pull down the hood. "Watch your fingers, or they're gonna hurt a whole lot more in a second." Justin yanked his hands back like that warning was something he'd heard many times before.

AJ really didn't know how people always managed to show up right while he was up to his elbows in the engine of a car, but he supposed it beat having them show up while he was underneath one. He was was less vulnerable when more than his feet were showing.

"So," he asked a moment later when Justin stayed silent, watching. "Learn anything?"

"Just that you know what you're doing," he replied, for once not getting defensive when admitting someone else actually knew more than him about something. "I'm still not sure you should have pulled that rod-thingy out, though ... "

AJ snorted at him and pushed the hood the rest of the way closed. "Of course I know what I'm doing," he said. "Your car's still running, ain't it? No pieces falling off all over the road on you?"

"Oh, no, no," said Justin quite sincerely. "I love that little car." He laughed as though that still came as a surprise and shook his head in disbelief. "I drive it all the time, it's great. All my life I wanted big and flashy, and now that it comes down to it I'd rather drive down the highway in total anonymity. I even had that baby out at the coast yesterday."

"Whereabouts?" AJ asked curiously, turning around and resting against the front bumper of the car. "What the hell? Just out for a drive or something?"

"I had ... company, the other night," said Justin discreetly, making a vague gesture so that AJ knew *exactly* what he meant by that. "From out of town. I figured, what the hell, and gave him a ride home."

"You picked someone up and then decided to go for a day trip out of town to take him home? Are you nuts?"

"Which part are you surprised by?" said Justin, looking just amused again. Not upset or defensive or anything, just amused. "That I went to that trouble, or that I picked up a guy a couple of nights ago?"

AJ snapped his mouth shut and stared down at his feet. "None of my business what you do in bed," he said after a moment. "And it's your business how discreet you are, too. But that is going a little out of your way, taking someone home, after."

"Well, I figured what the hell," said Justin with a little shrug and a satisfied smile. "I was feeling good and it was a nice day and it was good to get out of here for a while, even if it wasn't far."

Well, AJ could understand that, at least, the need to get away from everyone and everything for a while. "He must've been some lay."

"He was," said Justin, definitely looking satisfied, and distant, for a moment. Then he shook his head to clear it and gave AJ a grin. "It's been a while. You wouldn't understand. So yeah, point being, the car's still my baby. Great choice."

"Well, I guess I know how to pick 'em as well as fix 'em," mused AJ, relaxing against the bumper again and crossing his arms over his chest. "And you know, it is possible that I do understand. Sometimes there are things in life that get so big that they cloud out some of your basic needs and wants, and they just need to be rediscovered." Justin snickered and AJ flinched. "What?"

"You wanna try that again without reading from the textbook?" Justin suggested. "I mean, sure, you're right, but ... "

"I wasn't," muttered AJ, shooting him a glare out of the corner of his eye. It wasn't his fault other people had already said it better than he could.

"No, no, I know, sorry," said Justin, not sounding sorry at all. "But still. Saying things from your own head means more, I think. Means you get it better. Processed it and integrated it, instead of just spouting it off like law."

"Yeah, and now who's reading from the textbook," said AJ, elbowing his side. "Seriously, though. Good for you. A guy needs to get laid, once in a while."

"I don't need to be congratulated for having sex, you know," said Justin. "Condescending fucker." But there was no malice behind it and, in fact, Justin still mostly just looked satisfied. "So you got plans for this weekend or are you still pretty much doing nothing?"

"I don't do nothing," argued AJ. "Though no, I don't happen to have plans yet. I might, though. Why? Are you just taunting me or did you have something in mind?"

"I have this friend, this singer," said Justin. "Performing in a club this weekend. Thought you might be interested, and he could use the audience. I mean ... if you still go to clubs. Do you still go to clubs?"

"I still go to clubs," said AJ blandly, "if I have good reason to. This guy any good?"

"He's good," said Justin with a nod, looking down for a moment and smiling to himself again. The guy clearly had pretty good memories from the other night he was still enjoying reliving. "Just not big. Yet. You should hear him."

"Well, if I'm free," AJ said vaguely, running through all the things he could possibly be doing and coming up with pretty much nothing. And the club probably wouldn't be too bad; Justin would be there and he had okay taste in music, most of the time. And truth be told, he was getting pretty sick of doing nothing, even though Sarah thought it was really good, that he was taking some time to himself, away from the industry. Everyone seemed to think that, actually.

"Good, thanks," said Justin. "You won't regret it. And hey, you might even have fun. When's the last time you did *that*?"

Well, it was one thing for AJ to think that to himself. It was another entirely to have someone say it to him. "And how do you know that I don't?"

"You always seem to be free to get together with me whenever," Justin said with a shrug. "Everything we've done's been pretty much around my schedule. Figured you couldn't be doing much at all if you can get away with that, vacation or not."

"I don't just see you, you know."

"Sure, right, of course," said Justin. "Whenever I'm busy, you go find something else to do, I get it."

AJ was about read to snap when he saw that telltale smirk on Justin's face again, the one he couldn't quite hide even though he probably thought he was doing a good job. "Fucker," he muttered under his breath, but he couldn't keep an embryonic smile from appearing on his own face. "And they say I have an ego."

"Everyone has an ego," said Justin, finally snickering out loud. "You just gotta figure out what triggers bring it out. Some people, takes almost nothin', though."

"Yeah, and I think I've met most of them," muttered AJ. "But seriously, I actually do have something to do this afternoon. Just this meeting -- informal -- with the guys. Supposed to go pick up Howie in about half an hour or so, meet Kevin and Brian over there."

"Wow, you mean you do work?" joked Justin. "I was beginning to wonder if you were just gonna get Jerry to hire you on here full time or something."

"Let it alone," said AJ. He tried not to make it sound too serious, make it sound like he had some kind of emotional investment in Justin not joking around about that, but from the look on Justin's face he hadn't entirely succeeded. But at least Justin stopped. "Yes, I work. There is such a thing as taking a break, you know, even if you guys don't seem to know the meaning of the word."

"Soon," said Justin, giving AJ a look of exaggerated weariness. Which, really, might not have been so exaggerated. Nsync may not have been on tour just yet, but they were keeping busy, and AJ knew better than anyone what kind of stress Justin was under on top of that, too. "We're definitely taking a real break soon. This summer."

"Yeah, well, don't collapse before then or anything."

"Not my style," said Justin, the smile returning to his face again. "I was gonna meet with Mark -- that my friend, the singer -- today anyway. I have a couple producers I want to introduce him to, think they'd work well together. And I have an ear for that kind of thing."

That wasn't ego this time, AJ knew. That was pretty much just fact. "So this Mark guy ... just a friend? Or a friend?"

Justin stared at him, and right when AJ was about to just tell him to forget it, Justin laughed right in his face. "Oh man, are you serious?" he asked. "You think I'd be that obscure about it with you of all people? After telling you about fucking some guy a couple nights ago?"

"You don't have to be an ass about it. I was just asking."

"Well then no, I'm not sleeping with him, he's just a friend. Which is exactly what I told you he was."

"Oh, don't," said AJ impatiently, patting his pockets to find his smokes, only to remember he didn't have any on him. He ground his teeth to avoid pointing out that Justin had referred to his latest fuck as "company" not fifteen minutes ago. "You know why I'd ask. Most people use euphemisms like that to refer to thing they aren't comfortable talking about -- "

"Put. The textbook. Away," said Justin again, rolling his eyes again. Sometimes AJ really had to regret that Justin had somehow come to that level of comfort with him.

"Is it so fucking hard to believe that I'm just telling you what I think?"

"Maybe if you didn't use words like "euphemism", I might," said Justin. "Don't try to analyse me, AJ. I wasn't using any euphemisms. Mark's a friend. Just like you're a friend. Ain't nothing gonna happen there."

"Fine, fine, I get it," said AJ, raising his hands in surrender. "Forget I ever asked."

Justin was actually quiet for a moment, like that surrender was what he'd been waiting for. "Well, better you ask than assume, I guess," he said grudgingly. Finally. "So you need to get out of here, then?"

"Yeah," said AJ, glancing at his watch. "Howie'll panic if I'm late. I don't need a shower, do I? I don't think I have the time."

Justin actually leaned in and sniffed at his neck, then shrugged and shook his head. "Nah. You smell like ... man. Nothing funky. You're good."

"Man," repeated AJ, and snorted before pushing himself away from the car. "All right then. Call me about this weekend?"

Justin knew when it was time to leave, and pushed himself away, too, glancing at his own watch for just a second. "Yeah, I will," he said. "Or you could call me, when you know. With any luck I'll be in the studio with Mark tomorrow, but I'll have my cell phone."

"Never doubted it," said AJ, starting to strip off his coveralls. Justin patted his pocket, showing just where the cell phone was like AJ needed proof if its existence, then turn to go without making a production of it.

AJ kept watching him, though, as he rounded the building to where he'd parked his car. Watched him until he was out of sight.

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