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They'd never been good at the legal side of things. They'd never really been all that great at the business side of things at all, really. 'Show business. While you're performing the show, someone else is running off with your business.' Words to the wise and Kevin couldn't even remember now who had said them. Clive? Johnny? Max? It might even have been Lou, and wouldn't that have been funny and ironic. This time the business was running off with their brother. Maybe. It sounded better if it wasn't Kevin's fault anyway. It was like a comedy of errors, except that it wasn't funny. Kevin wasn't laughing. AJ had laughed a little when he read the press release, when he read the official statements, but it wasn't because it was funny. The papers should have reached Nick by now but Kevin hadn't heard anything yet. Howie hadn't either. In fact, Nick hadn't contacted any of them since Howie's last phone call. Kevin was keeping close tabs. He'd been waiting by the phone for a week or so, waiting for the angry phone call since the day he dropped the envelope in the mail. Brian called to update him on the baby. Brian liked to call and tell him every time Baylee blinked. And Brian was in such a good place, Brian was so happy and so in love with life, and it killed Kevin that there was another side of things. It killed him that Brian was in daddy mode, in love with the world and wanting more than ever to stay together, and on the other side Nick was dangling by a thread that was probably about to snap. Kevin sucked at analogies. "You can't just wait by the phone forever," Kristin said, carrying a load of laundry up from the basement. She dumped it on the couch beside Kevin and Kevin began folding it. "I don't really have anything else to do." Kevin tossed the underwear into piles. Only Howie folded underwear. "We're leaving in a few days for my parents'," she pointed out. "You need to pack." "I'll be ready." Kevin wasn't even going to think about packing until this whole thing was ironed out. Two days before they had to be on an airplane and Kristin pulled him away from the phone and shoved him up the stairs. "I'm not packing for you," she said. She looked pretty adamant. Kevin had no choice but to obey. He packed black sweaters and jeans, some t-shirts. It didn't matter. They weren't really going to leave the house. Family gatherings for a week straight, and luckily Kevin loved Kris' family. He'd love them more if he heard from Nick before they left. He was shoving socks into the zipper compartment of his suitcase when Kristin came in holding a page she'd printed off the internet. "What's this?" Kevin asked, taking it from her when she held it out. "Nick's doing a show while we're there," she said. "Carole sent it to me. Did you know?" "No," Kevin said. "I haven't talked to him. He didn't tell me." Kristin looked at Kevin's open bag, frowned, and starting taking items out, placing them back in with care. "You'd think that after years of living out of a bag you'd know how to pack one properly." Kevin shrugged, "Your parents have an iron." "I don't know how you've kept your fans convinced that you're Mr. Neat and Ordered all these years." "Well, most hotels have irons too," Kevin said, kissing Kristin's cheek. "Nick still hasn't called?" AJ asked the day before Kevin and Kristin had to be at the airport. "No," Kevin said. AJ had been coming over unannounced a lot in the last few days. Kevin thought that maybe he and Sarah were fighting. He didn't ask. "You could just call him," AJ suggested. "You could call him," Kevin snapped. AJ threw up his hands. "Sorry," Kevin mumbled. "It's just. Nine days." Kevin sat at the kitchen table and picked up the pad for the grocery list. The pen was resting on the table beside it and Kevin absently drew large swirling circles on the paper, outlining the shapes over and over until they were multiple lines of dark blue. "Nine days what?" AJ opened the refrigerator and started poking around. "Oh," Kevin said, switching to squares. "Howie's psychic of the month. It's stupid." "I'll bet," AJ said, shutting the fridge and opening the pantry instead. "You're not buying into that bull are you?" "Nah," Kevin shook his head. "She said we're breaking up in nine days." "Hm," AJ said. He pulled an unopened bag of chips from the pantry and sat beside Kevin at the table. "I'll mark my calendar." "It's nice to see you so certain in our future," Kevin said. AJ opened the bag of chips and popped a few in his mouth. "There was a bag already open in there." "Yeah. These are fresh," AJ said. "I'm over the whole apocalyptic falling out thing. It's not going to happen. We'll hold on for a few more months and then we'll come back together and rekindle the connection." "Rekindle the connection," Kevin repeated. "Sounds lovely. And too simple." "I was thinking overdose," AJ said, flicking a few crumbs from his shirt. Nick called two hours before they had to leave. Kevin should have known it would play out that way. Nick had a great sense of bad timing. "Nick," Kevin said as he picked up the phone. Nick hadn't said hello, but Kevin had caller ID. "It sounds like I'm suing myself," Nick said. He sounded angry, but not unreasonable. It didn't sound like something Kevin couldn't handle. It didn't sound like something he needed Howie for. It did sound like something that would take more than the two hours that he had. "Misleading people to believe the band endorsed me?" "Nick" "I thought you said you supported everything I did. You love me." "I do," Kevin said, his head propped in his hand as he held the receiver to his ear. "We all do. Nick. This isn't -" "It looks like I'm saying my album sucks, man. I love my album." "Nicky, listen." "Why would you guys think I'd be okay with this? I understand. Jive sucks. I understand the money things and the producer things. And I wanted to do the solo album, man, but I understand that the way that it happened was pretty shitty. I know that, but man, I couldn't pass that up. You know that I couldn't. I needed it. But I understand that it was shitty and that it hurt you guys. I just don't understand why we have to make me look like a fifteen year old moron, Kev." It wasn't funny, not at all really, but Kevin laughed a little anyway. Nick definitely wasn't a moron, and thank God he was no longer fifteen. "Nick. We didn't have a case. Jive was sabotaging us, Nick. They were trying to rip us apart. And they were succeeding. And I didn't know, okay? We've never been good at this, none of us. We've never been good at reading the fine print, Nick." "Sabotage," Nick said, and Kevin almost thought he could hear a hint of a smile in the word. "Nick." "Stop saying my name," Nick said. Kristin was in the hallway with their bags. She looked at her watch and Kevin nodded. He didn't have enough time. "I have to catch a flight. We're going to Kris' parents. But I'll see you soon, Nick. I'll see you in Kansas City. We'll talk more then. Nick. Are you still there?" "Kansas. Sure, okay," Nick said in a tone that Kevin knew meant that Nick didn't believe him. Still, it was easier than Kevin had expected. Nick was pissed off but he didn't sound like he was planning anything drastic. Things didn't sound final. "Kansas City, Nick. It's in a little more than a week." Nick would forget, Kevin knew he would. Nick was horrible with dates and scheduling, and Kevin knew that Nick was in Los Angeles in a few days time, but Kevin would already be gone. "Kansas City. A week," Nick repeated after him. Nick did that, repeated the last words to make others believe that he was listening. Everyone knew that you didn't have to really listen to repeat the last words. Kristin coughed and raised her eyebrows, waving her hands toward the door. A car was honking its horn outside. The shuttle must have arrived. "I really have to get to the airport," Kevin said. "I love you. I'll see you in a week." Nick grunted and hung up the phone. "He looks good," Kristin said shortly after the set started. Everyone was watching the stage and Kevin and Kristin were able to move through the crowd mostly unnoticed. "And happy," Kevin noted. Happier than he'd seen Nick in a long time, which was surprising considering everything that had been happening in recent weeks. They stood toward the back, watched the entire set, and Kristin danced along with the crowd, bouncing around with the music. Kevin had to smile. It really was contagious. Nick was singing his heart out, jumping around on stage, kicking the microphone stand. Basically Nick was doing everything they always reminded him not to do during one of their shows. Kevin could definitely see why Nick had wanted to do this. The set was short, there were several other acts still to come, but they'd come to see Nick and the other acts weren't important. Kevin wasn't familiar with the set up of the building and they roamed for a few minutes, trying to find the best route to get backstage. He thought he's found a door, flanked by security, when Kristin pulled on his arm and pointed to an area away from the stage where a bunch of girls were flocking and screaming. "Kevin!" Nick shouted when Kevin came around the corner. "You're here!" He pulled Kevin into a hug right away, and it seemed that all the tension and questions were gone for the moment. "I told you I was coming," Kevin said against Nick's neck. The girls were screaming but Nick didn't let go. Kevin went back to the hotel with Nick. Kristin kissed him goodbye and they set a place to meet for lunch the next day. "I saw AJ," Nick said happily as he unlocked his hotel room and pulled Kevin in behind him. "In LA?" Kevin asked. Nick nodded and pulled Kevin onto the bed with him. "He came on the radio with me." "I'm jealous," Kevin said. "AJ got to you first." He wrapped Nick in a hug and leaned back against the pillows. Nick had always been a cuddler. "You were really good tonight. I was impressed." "Well, I love it," Nick said. "I love my album, ya know?" Kevin smiled. He knew it would come sooner or later. "I know," Kevin said. "We love it too. We love you." "I'm not over-reacting," Nick said. His arm was around Kevin's waist and his grip on Kevin's arm was tight. Nick was upset, but he wasn't going anywhere. They should have known better than to think that he would. They always underestimated Nick. Always. "No, you're not," Kevin sighed. "Believe me when I say that none of us agree with the tone of the lawsuit. The fact is, we didn't know. I didn't know. They told me we had no case without it. Or not a strong one. We're a trademarked name, you know, and it wasn't you. It wasn't you that was the problem, it was that Jive didn't give a damn. Zomba didn't give a damn about us one way or the other, and somehow you ended up mixed up in the center of it." Nick sniffed against Kevin's chest and nodded. It wasn't a tear filled sniff. It was more like Nick was taking Kevin in, breathing him in. Kevin smiled. "We've been so worried for months, Nick. And not just about the stupid lawsuit. That was my fault, I know, and I take full responsibility. But we were worried about the album too. Not because we didn't want you to do it. But you know, we didn't break on the best circumstances and there you are all over the place and happier than we've seen you in years. Other people might think that members of this group are replaceable, but we know better. We can't lose you." Kevin pried Nick's arm from around his waist and Nick rolled so that he could look at Kevin. "I wasn't going to leave," Nick said, squinting as though he was trying to understand why they would even think that. "We're a team, man. I wasn't going to leave." "I know," Kevin said. "I was sort of thinking about leaving, a little," Nick admitted, completely contradicting everything he'd just said moments early. "Wait, what?" Nick kissed Kevin, and it was familiar, the warmth, the taste, and Kevin was almost willing to let the statement go, to pull Nick closer and love him like he'd wanted to do for months. It had been way too long. Nick pulled away and Kevin grunted in disappointment. "I thought you guys were pushing or something, you know?" Nick said. "I bought into it all too. The lawsuit thing was sort of the end of the line, man. I thought it was over." Kevin shook his head. "We would never do that to you. Not intentionally." "But it looked like you had," Nick pointed out. "And it's not like I could really know. It's not like I'd really heard from you guys at all except for like a phone call sometimes, you know?" Nick began pushing Kevin's shirt up and over his head. Kevin let him, but he wasn't going to let it go. He wasn't going to be distracted. "It's not like I could touch you, look at you and know what was going on." "There wasn't a connection," Kevin said. "Yeah. Glitches in radar. I get that now." "I've been thinking about it," Kevin said, letting Nick undo his pants and managing to appear at ease, not at all filled with anticipation and want. Nick was smiling at him. Kevin wasn't fooling Nick at all. "I was thinking, and AJ's been dropping hints. What do you think about the five of us. Together? We've never done it before, and it seems like the next step." Nick smiled and then suppressed the grin and shrugged before pulling off his own shirt. "I dunno. That's cool. But you know, Brian, and Howie. I don't think -" He cut off as Kevin ran a hand over his new tattoo. It was large, completely surrounding two of the older tattoos. Kevin made fun of Nick's tattoos. He made fun of AJ's tattoos, but he understood it. He understood what drew them to the ink. He wished they wouldn't do it. He wished they wouldn't hide behind them, that they didn't need them, but he'd stopped trying to convince them to stop. And though he usually disagreed with their artistic choices, there was something about this newest one that Kevin actually liked. Nick watched Kevin's hand run over his skin. "I think they'll be easier to convince than you'd guess," Kevin said. "Why are we calling Howie?" Nick asked in the morning when Kevin picked up the phone and began dialing. Nick kissed a spot low on Kevin's back and then sat up behind Kevin. His fingers ran over Kevin's skin and Kevin leaned into the familiar touch, welcomed it. "We just are. I just need you to tell him something for me," Kevin said, smiling. Nick had to leave before noon, and Howie was on a cruise somewhere, probably wasn't even awake yet, but this needed to be said. "What am I going to say?" Nick bit Kevin's shoulder a little after the question. Kevin shrugged him off. It could wait until after the phone call. "I'll tell you," Kevin assured Nick. "Hello?" Howie asked, picking up after the fourth ring. He had definitely been asleep. Kevin handed the phone to Nick. Nick opened his mouth and then looked at Kevin and waited for his cue. "Tell Polly to start planning her wedding," Kevin whispered. "What?" Nick asked, and Kevin poked him. He should have known that Nick wouldn't get it right. "Polly's getting married? When?" Kevin could faintly hear Howie's tinny voice ask "Nick?" on the other end of the line. Kevin sighed and stood to open the heavy drapes covering the windows, letting the morning sunlight stream into the room. "Does that mean she can stop visiting those psychics?" Nick asked, holding the phone to his ear but asking Kevin. "Just say it," Kevin hissed. "Geez, Okay," Nick said, rolling his eyes. Nick's hair was sticking out in all directions. Kevin guessed that his wasn't much better. He flattened it down a little and then climbed back into the bed. "Howie? Hey. Kevin says to tell you to tell Pollyanna to start planning her wedding. How come you didn't tell me Polly's getting married?" |