Justin skidded to a stop on his stockinged feet in front of the front door, and threw it wide open with a characteristically huge grin. "Dude!" he beamed, smiling at Joey. "You came!"

"Yeah, I'm always up for a good Timberlake ass-kicking," he replied, leaning against the doorframe. "Oops, sorry, ma'am!" He gave a sheepish grin to Justin's mother, who just shook her head at him and went back into the kitchen, leaving the boys at the front door.

Justin just howled. "Right. Unless you stuffed Chris in your bag, there, I think you're gonna be waiting a while for that." He grinned again and started off down the hall. "C'mon, man. At least you can take Lance."

"Yeah, well who *can't*?" asked Joey, following him and slamming the door behind him, yelling out another "Sorry!" in the direction of the kitchen on his way by.

Leading the way out to the backyard where JC and Lance were already warming up, Justin smirked. "My point exactly," he called back over his shoulder before blocking one of Lance's shots and hitting an easy layup, showing off just a little.

"Who you trying to impress?" asked Joey, laughing a little. "Your mom?" He dropped his bag on the grass and stripped off his shirt under the warm, afternoon sun, dropping it on top. He knew Justin was going to kick his ass, but he also knew how much fun he'd have doing it.

"Get out here and make me look good, Joey," pleaded Lance, wincing as JC made another shot. "I'm getting humiliated."

Justin snickered as he snagged JC's ball, tossing it back to him and exchanging a quick glance. JC just lined up again, but Justin caught, and correctly interpreted, the warning look that said 'I saw you stumble when Joey took off his shirt."

"Okay, what're the teams?" JC sighed, even though they were always the same. JC and Joey, versus Justin and Lance.

"I think you just insulted me," said Joey to Lance, sauntering out to join them.

"You *think*?" teased Lance nervously, trying not to push it too far. "I'm with Justin. Right?"

"Hoo, boy," Justin called, tugging Lance's pants part of the way down his hips as he dashed by. "Must be your lucky day," he added, not able to keep from winking at Joey.

"God, is he as old as us, yet?" JC muttered to Joey, stripping off his own shirt, for shirts and skins. "He's been like this all day ... " *ever since he found out Joey was coming,* he adds to himself.

"Justin!" said Lance, blushing furiously as he tugged his pants back up.

Joey just laughed and went to join JC, rolling his eyes in understanding at JC's comment. But he did turn to Justin and wink back, in spite of that.

"Don't encourage him," JC groaned.

Justin only tripped again when he caught Joey's wink, and cursed his still-growing feet. Of course, they could explain the stumble, but not the twitching in his pants. "Uh ... " he stuttered. "Be right back. Lemme make sure mom brings us some more water."

Joey watched Justin go with some interest. "Is the poor kid having another growth spurt?" he asked JC, crossing his arms over his chest as he waited.

"Yeah, 'spurt' something," JC muttered, then shrugged under Joey's questioning look. "How should I know?"

"Well, you *live* with him," Joey pointed out. "Aren't you supposed to know these kinds of things?"

"He's *always* growing," said Lance with a sigh from nearby.

Justin raced back into the house and took several deep breaths. Even being back home, even not having to see Joey every day, the older man still had that effect on him. THAT effect. The one where he'd pop a boner if Joey, like, sneezed in his direction. Which was just stupid. Because he was too old for a crush, he told himself petulantly.

"I'm not his keeper," JC sighed, moving away from Joey and hitting another easy jump shot. *Obviously, since he NEVER listens to me.*

Joey just rolled his eyes at JC and turned to Lance, ruffling his hair. "You're still growing," he said, trying to reassure him. He always seemed to fall into the role of protecting Lance, but he didn't mind so much most of the time.

Lance *wasn't* still growing, not really, but he smiled at Joey anyway, in thanks.

Justin raced back onto the court after he did, actually, talk to his mom. And made sure everything was calm in his shorts, of course. "Alright!" he hooted, dragging Lance into position and crouching down in front of JC. "Bring it on, big boy."

JC rolled his eyes back at Joey, and passed him the ball, curious to see whether Justin would stick to guarding JC, or if he would inevitably try to move closer to Joey.

Lance looked about as lost as Joey did, but he knew enough to try and get the ball into his hands, and to dribble and to throw it at the basket and hope and pray that it at least got CLOSE, if not in. If Justin would even let him have the ball in the first place, which he usually didn't, and which was part of the reason he liked playing with him.

Joey sighed heavily at JC, cursed himself for getting talked into playing in the first place, and skirted the edge of the court, keeping his eyes more on Justin than on Lance. For obvious reasons; Lance looked kinda like he wished he would disappear.

They played for a while, where Justin actually tried his best to guard BOTH JC and Joey, and only brushed up against Joey's broad back accidentally-on-purpose a handful of times. He also took the game too seriously, as usual, and had to bite his tongue not to yell at Lance, as usual.

JC watched Justin too, smirking and taking advantage when the young man was distracted by Joey, then remembering that he didn't think ANY of that was a good idea. "What're we playing to?" he gasped out, dribbling down the court.

"Dammit," said Joey as Justin grabbed the ball and made another shot. "You guys should just be playing one-on-one. Come on, Lance, it's time for a break." He gestured at Lance, who looked profoundly grateful to him for getting him out of there. "We're playing to THAT," he called out to JC. "Whatever the damn score is right now."

Sweat was running down Joey's neck and back, and he picked up his discarded T-shirt to wiped some of it away.

Justin let the ball bounce at his feet as he watched Joey, completely unaware of how badly he was staring. He always thought Joey had a great body, and Justin could admit he was jealous of his chest and arms and bulk, but he also had to admit that he called these games together sometimes just to see him.

JC's glance shifted back and forth between Joey and Justin, before he stepped in between them. "You getting us that water, man?" he asked Justin pointedly.

Justin stuck out his tongue in response.

Joey dropped the T-shirt to the grass and turned back to Justin. "Yeah, waterboy, wanna get me a drink?" And he winked at him again and laughed because, despite the utter trouncing, he was enjoying himself.

"That goes for you, too," Justin laughed in return, broken out of his trance by Joey talking to him.

"Me too," added Lance quietly, sitting down on the grass and leaning back on his hands, his legs straight out in front of him.

Joey ruffled Lance's hair again, as though he was eight and not newly-eighteen, and sat down on the grass next to him, stretching a little bit before he relaxed. "Can someone explain to me why I keep abusing myself like this?" he asked jokingly. "Creamed by the kid again. I never learn."

"You just use me for my pool," Justin teased, dashing inside to get water for everyone since he was still in a stage of trying to make sure everyone liked him, and didn't treat him too much like a baby. He was growing up, and he'd seen and done a lot for sixteen, but in that respect he *was* still a kid.

JC just watched him go, then sat down on the ground next to Joey and Lance, looking at Joey critically. "That's not a bad question," he told him, but not nastily. "Why *did* you decide to come over today? I thought you had something to do with Kelly ... ?"

"Why does that matter?" said Joey, looking JC over right back. "You pissed because I let us lose again?" Then he laughed, his eyes twinkling like they always did when he was enjoying himself. "HOW long have you known me, C? You should be used to it by now." He grabbed his T-shirt from the ground next to him and mopped off the back of his neck again. "Kelly went *shopping*," he said after a moment. "I wasn't into that. You guys are more fun."

Lance stayed out of the discussion, like he always did when it sounded like maybe there was conflict, but he listened. And watched.

JC snorted. "And YOU should definitely know by now that I don't let anything *you* do reflect on me," he retorted, but he was smiling. "I'm not pissed, anyway. What makes you say that?" He jumped when a bottle of water landed in his lap abruptly.

"THAT is why you lost, C," Justin yelled to him from across the yard, jogging over and handing Lance his water, but keeping Joey's behind his back. "So, you stayin'?"

Joey reached his hand up for his water, giving Justin a crooked smile. "Depends what I'd be staying for," he said. "And smack C for me, while you're up, would you? He's giving me dirty looks." He shot JC a look then that said 'THAT'S why I thought you were pissed, doofus, the dirty looks', but the half-smile never left his face. Joey was way too easygoing to let something as minor as THAT get to him.

It was Justin's turn to shoot JC a dirty look of his own, one that was clearly meant to convey that he should just stay OUT of it. It wasn't the first time that he regretted that JC was too perceptive, and too *protective*, for him to be able to lust after Joey in peace. And it made him a little more brazen than he'd normally be. "Depends on what you *want*," he told Joey smoothly, waving the water just out of his reach.

JC groaned to himself, and got to his feet. "I'm getting some towels," he muttered, patting Lance on the shoulder as he passed by.

Lance shot a smile at JC, grateful for that bit of attention, but stayed where he was, still watching.

"What I WANT," laughed Joey, "is my goddamn water!" He reached out and snagged a finger in the waistband of Justin's shorts, tugging and making him stumble forward. "Give over, kiddo!" He ignored the fact that JC had abandoned them out there, sparing him only an idle thought to the effect of "What the hell crawled up *his* butt?", and grinned at Justin wickedly. "Don't MAKE me take you down."

Justin managed to catch his balance without losing grip on the water, but not before Joey's hand brushed a little too close to Justin's crotch for his comfort. "Hey!" he squeaked, his voice cracking a little and an embarrassed flush mixing with the pink already there from the exertion of the game. "Careful." He dashed back, still keeping the water away from Joey, knowing that if Joey caught him he'd definitely have to give it up, but banking on him not being *able* to catch him.

"Goddammit, Timberlake," grunted Joey, pushing himself to his feet quickly. "I'm DYING here." But Justin was darting back onto the court, a mischievous smile on his face, so Joey had no choice but to chase after him. He was both amused by Justin's antics, and frustrated that he couldn't just grow up for two seconds. But he was more amused then frustrated, as usual, and kept his smile on his face as he prepared to work up another sweat.

Lance chuckled a little and was thankful he wasn't the one being teased this time, even though it looked like they were having fun. He sipped his water and wondered when JC would come back and keep him company, wondered if maybe he should just wander back inside himself and leave the other two to fool around without him tagging along.

Justin whooped and gave Lance a big grin when he leapt over his legs on his way past, any residual animosity from the game gone, at least on his part. This was the life. No tour, playing basketball with his friends, having Joey's attention on *him* ... it all more than made up for JC's warning glares. "I think you're gonna have to ask me real nicely for this," he laughed at Joey, uncapping the bottle and threatening to dump it out on the grass by the pool.

"No," groaned Joey, slowing down. "Shit, Justin, just hand it over, would you?" He paused and grinned menacingly. "Or I swear, you're going ass first into the water." He reached out, but Justin teasingly held it just out of his reach again. "That's it!" He kicked off his shoes quickly and headed for Justin, grabbing him around the waist and launching BOTH of them into the pool. It was worth losing the bottle of water just for that look on Justin's face when he did it.

Justin surfaced quickly, surprising himself by wrenching out of Joey's grip when normally -- even in play -- he'd be ecstatic to be there. "Fuck, my SHOES," he moaned, wading over to the edge of the pool and pulling himself up. He tried not to look at Joey's glistening chest when he splashed water on him in the process of pulling his feet up to untie the soggy sneakers. "God, I was gonna give it to you," he pouted. "Jeez. JACE!" He yelled over his shoulder, then changed his mind. "Mo-om! Can we get some towels?"

Joey laughed as he swam to the edge of the pool and pulled himself out to sit on the edge, dangling his feet in the water. "You were just ASKING for that, and you know it," he said, then turned away and called out to Lance. "Come on over, the water's great."

Lance shook his head and pulled his knees up to his chest as he sat and watched, still sipping his water. He'd definitely wait for Justin to calm down before getting anywhere NEAR the pool.

"Mom!" Justin barked again, then shoved at Joey. "You're such a fucker. These are new shoes." He shook his head and looked at them morosely for a minute before tossing them over his shoulder and shoving him again. "At least I can go put on a bathing suit," he smirked. "You deserve having to sit around in soggy underwear all day." He ducked his head and stared at the water for a minute before taking a breath to yell at his mom again.

"Save it," JC muttered just as Justin opened his mouth, dropping a towel on his head. He held another out to Joey and gave him a questioning look.

"Who said I'm wearing underwear?" smirked Joey as he slipped back into the water and motioned for JC to leave his towel on the grass. "I'm gonna go for a swim, seeing how I didn't get any water to DRINK, thanks a bunch, Timberlake. You coming in, C?" He gave JC that questioning look right back and wondered just what he was supposed to have been answering. The scenario in front of him was pretty self-explanatory.

"That was *your* fault!" Justin sputtered , even as he blushed at the prospect of Joey *really* not wearing anything under his thin shorts. Even though he knew he was just teasing him -- no way he came over to play basketball without wearing *something* -- he let his mind drift for a moment about what possessed Joey to tease like THAT.

JC put Joey's towel down before pulling off his own shorts and dipping a foot in the pool. "Your mom said to tell you she's going to the store, Just," he told him. "She may not be back for a while, and she said -- and I quote -- 'even though it's just the guys, can you TRY to be a good host'?" JC smirked at him, and exchanged a more light-hearted look with Joey. Justin seemed annoyed, so any immediate danger was past. Not that he should've been blaming Joey for it anyway.

Joey chuckled. "Justin, a good host? That'll be the day." He pushed himself off the wall and swam lazily to the other side. Then he turned and winked at Justin again to show he was teasing. "Lance, get your pale butt IN here with the rest of us," he called out, this time keeping his eyes on Justin and JC rather than looking back at Lance when he talked to him. "Shoes survive the dunking?" he asked Justin, seriously, a moment later. "I forgot they were your new ones, Just."

Justin just shrugged and scrambled up to put them in a patch of sun. "Guess we'll see when they dry," he muttered, then turned his back to the pool. "I'm gonna go put on my suit."

JC watched him walk away, biting the inside of his cheek, before splashing water on Joey. "And here I assumed he had pulled YOU in. Which one of you is the adult, again?"

Joey flicked water back at him. "He wouldn't give me the fucking water. He deserved what he got. Besides ... I was hot." He looked back toward the house with a slightly more sober look on his face. "Hope I didn't wreck his shoes. He was really excited about getting those. But shit ... he knew I was thirsty, he should've known what he was getting into, teasing like that."

Lance sat down quietly on the edge of the pool, in his T-shirt and swim trunks, dangling his feet in the water. "It's cold," he said quietly, shivering, in that voice that was still unexpectedly deep, no matter how many times they heard it.

JC smiled affectionately at Lance before turning his attention back to Joey. "It's JUSTIN. You know he doesn't think, or anticipate, when he pulls that stuff." He sighed and squinted back at the house before diving under the water. It was obvious that Justin just wanted Joey's attention, and Joey ... as was typical ... was oblivious to the deeper meaning behind it. Although in JC's opinion that was probably a good thing. He loved Joey, maybe more than any of them, but he didn't trust him when it came to keeping it in his pants. And JC'd already had to deal with that, once before.

Meanwhile, Justin had gone upstairs and locked himself in his bathroom. This whole thing was getting a little out of hand, when he'd do just about anything to get Joey to notice him, but it never quite worked out the way he planned. And then he couldn't even stay *mad*, when he had every right to. He banged his head on the door. If only Joey wasn't so fucking *cool*.

"How is it that he can be so damn professional when we're working and so ... childish, when we're not?" asked Joey, floating lazily on the water and drifting in the direction of Lance. He did hope, though, that Justin wasn't too upset about what he'd done -- he was just fooling around, just like Justin was. And he WAS old enough to know better, really, though JC didn't HAVE to remind him of that all the time. He acted older than Chris, at least, most of the time, and Chris was supposed to be the REAL grown-up of the group. Had his own place now and everything.

Lance pushed Joey's side gently with his toes as he came close, intending to set him drifting in the other direction, but Joey giggled involuntarily as Lance's toes tickled him and ended up squirming and sinking back down into the water. "That's it," he said, turning his body toward Lance. "You're coming in, too."

JC watched the easy way that Joey and Lance touched each other, and was nevertheless a little relieved that Justin wasn't around to see it. Lance sure as hell didn't need Justin treating him like some sort of competition or threat. He reached up and hooked his hands on top of the diving board and did a couple impromptu pull-ups. "I guess it's the only time he can really cut loose," he thought aloud. "I'm not saying you should stop playing with him, just ... " he trailed off and couldn't keep a more serious tone from his voice. "Be careful. With him."

*So* fucking cool, Justin repeated to himself, blushing a little and groaning in exasperation when he realized he had basically thought himself into a hard-on. Better to take care of it now, he figured, reaching for the drawstrings on his shorts, then risk having it reappear the next time Joey's hands got a little too close.

Lance yelped as Joey pulled him into the water, and laughed as soon as Joey let go. It still felt good to be made a part of things. The guys never excluded him anymore, but the feeling of being an outsider still remained a lot of the time. Especially when he felt like he didn't have much in common with the rest of them. Joey would probably never know what a relief it was to Lance that he joined him in being the non-athletic type -- even though you certainly couldn't tell to look at Joey's body.

"Be careful?" repeated Joey, swimming backwards until he was near where JC was hanging. "He's a big boy, C. I'm not gonna hurt him just throwing him in the pool. It probably wouldn't hurt him to throw him to the CONCRETE ... not that I'm gonna try." He wrapped his arms around JC's waist and tried to tug him down into the water. "How long does it take him to change, anyway?"

"Arrgh, le' go," JC protested, twisting away from Joey's hands before letting go of the board and making them both fall back in the water. When they surfaced, JC was clinging to Joey's neck and winking at Lance. He wasn't going to worry about Justin anymore, he decided right then. Joey was right, he was a big boy, and he only hoped what happened before had taught him a lesson about messing around with the group. "I dunno WHAT he's doing," JC said off-handedly, using Joey's back as a springboard to launch himself at Lance, and basically forgetting about the whole thing.

Justin stumbled back against the sink, one hand stuffed down into his shorts already, the other trying to work the wet fabric over his hips. His fingers were cold as he gripped his cock a little roughly, which made it tough to fantasize that it was Joey jerking him off -- since Joey was always so damn warm -- but he managed anyway.

Joey surfaced, sputtering and throwing a couple of choice adjectives JC's way. "He's probably blow-drying his shoes," he said with a bit of a grin, squelching the guilt feelings. Then he lunged at the other two, trying to dunk them both at the same time and only managing to get himself pushed under the water again.

Lance squirmed out of JC's grasp as his attention focused back on Joey and swam back to the edge of the pool, catching his breath and spitting out a bit of water as he wiped his nose with the back of his hand. He watched as JC finally got the best of Joey then swam away quickly before Joey could retaliate.

"If you're so worried about him, Joe, just ... " JC stopped short in the water, thinking that maybe sending him into the house with Justin in an indeterminate mood wasn't such a swell plan on his part. He glanced up at the window to Justin's bedroom, and shook his head before grabbing one of the inflatable balls and pegging it at Joey's face.

As always, when he did this, Justin was close to coming before he even really got into it. And he did it a LOT. *He* couldn't help it if Joey looked so good with his shirt off that he had to come up here ... just like he couldn't help it when Joey would tackle him after losing at Gran Turismo and Justin would have to excuse himself to the bus bathroom ... and just like he couldn't help it when he'd lay in bed after accidently walking in on Joey and two of the fans he'd seen him with in the lobby of the hotel.

"Ow, shit!" yelped Joey in surprise before winging the ball back in JC's direction. "I'm NOT worried about him," he lied. "I told you, he's a big boy, JC. Just because you knew him when he was 13, doesn't mean he hasn't grown up. I knew YOU when YOU were 13, after all." He splashed water in JC's direction. "Oh, wait, you DIDN'T grow up. Nevermind." He flashed him a grin then swam over to Lance's side.

"You know he can say the same about you," Lance reminded him quietly, bracing himself against the edge of the pool and kicking his feet out idly into the water.

"Yeah, but I don't mind, when he does," said Joey, giving Lance that same, open grin. "Now JC, he gets all uptight about it ... "

JC just rolled his eyes, knowing that Joey thought he had grown up too MUCH, and so that dig was obviously a joke. "You're the one that was complaining about him being childish," JC reminded Joey, before heaving himself out of the pool. "And since you obviously have no skills at making the poor kid feel better about his shoes, ostracizing him in his own home, *I* will go check on him."

Justin managed to get his shorts and briefs down around his knees, and sighed in relief when he could wrap a whole fist around his erection. He tugged on it, wincing a little, not being very gentle ... because in all the times he'd thought about being with Joey, never once was he gentle. His knees buckled slightly, and he gripped the sink with his other hand before tripping over to the tub.

Lance nudged him in the side and Joey sighed a little, hopping up on the side of the pool and sitting there next to Lance. "C'mon, C, I was nice to him. You really thing he's that upset? You know how he gets ... he'll be back out here any second, cannonballing into the pool and having a blast with the rest of us. You know he will." Joey looked at his feet, then back up at JC. "Or worse yet, wanting to play another round of basketball. Right?"

Lance bit his lip and looked down, hoping Joey was right, but Justin seemed to get hurt by Joey sometimes when they fooled around. More than he did by anyone else. He just hoped that this wasn't gonna be one of those times, because they were all having such a good time so far and he didn't want anything to mess that up.

JC snagged another towel while he was up, but walked back to the edge of the pool instead of going into the house. "Here," he said softly to Lance, holding it over his shoulder. "You should take off your shirt. It's gonna be cold when you dry off." Then he fixed Joey with a measuring look, before stretching out on the ground, letting the sun warm his bare back. "He's fine," he mumbled into the grass. "I was just kidding. Although now I see through your ploy of trying to ruin his shoes."

Justin gasped when his orgasm hit, grunting "oh fuck oh fuck oh FUCK," and was inordinately glad that his mom was gone. The streams of cum decorated the bottom of the shower, and he leaned over to catch his breath, still holding himself, before turning on the water to wash away the evidence.

Lance shook his head, knowing how pale his body still was under the shirt, especially compared to the rest of them who spent a lot of time in the sun. He took the towel gratefully, though and started to dry himself off as he stood up at the edge of the pool. He knew he was being a bit silly, though. JC was obviously unselfconscious about the acne that still spotted his back in places, and he shouldn't be comparing himself to everyone anyway, as Joey was always telling him. But the shirt stayed on.

"Yes," said Joey. "You've uncovered my ploy. What will I ever do." He rolled his eyes but didn't get out of the pool with the other two, instead sliding back in and pushing himself out into the water. "You really think I should check on him, C? I dunno ... you know him better than I do ... "

"Forget it," JC yawned, flipping over and scratching his belly idly. "He'll be down in a minute, I'm sure, pouting because he'll think he's missed all the fun." Not that he didn't think Justin could get any or all of them to play in the pool some more, if he put his mind and his charm to it. "Hey," he said after another minute or two, sitting up. "I thought Chris was coming?"

Justin stood still to let the last tremors course through his body, then walked back into his bedroom naked to grab his suit, leaving his wet things on the floor of the bathroom. He was smiling, looking forward to maybe rough-housing with Joey some more, looking forward to maybe Joey noticing that he'd bulked up himself a little more even since they did the last video. He peeked out the window to see what he and JC and Lance were doing.

"Dunno," said Joey, swimming lazily from one end of the pool to the other, now. "All I know's Justin asked me to come and I said okay." He tilted his head back into the water, then slicked his hair off his face before starting another length of the pool, with a little more speed and determination this time.

Lance sat down on the grass close to JC, his knees pulled up to his chest again. "You think he's off sulking somewhere?" he asked quietly, wringing some of the water out of his T-shirt. "He could be a while, if he is." Lance was QUITE familiar with Justin's mood swings, as they all were, really.

JC shrugged, leaning back into the grass again, unconcerned at the moment. "If he is, he is," he smiled at Lance. "You're welcome to go check. I just ... maybe Chris's right. We all should be careful about giving in to him, when he's like that. He's already a handful NOW."

Justin smiled when he saw Lance plop down next to JC. The older man really took care of Lance, which made Justin happy, because he was definitely the guy he liked to be around the least. Although it made it kinda lonely at the house, when the two of them were off somewhere, and neither Joey or Chris would come by to keep him company. He smiled at Joey, too, swimming contendedly, and started planning his attack as he bounded down the stairs.

Lance frowned. "When did Chris say THAT?" he asked, figuring he'd just been left out of the loop again. As he usually was, when it came to Chris. "I just ... you know ... he's a pain when we let him be unhappy for a while and goes into his 'nobody cares about me' funk." JC didn't seem to be worried, though, so Lance didn't let himself worry about it any more either.

Joey flipped over onto his back and did another couple of lengths of the pool. This was definitely one of the best parts of visiting the other guys -- getting to use the pool. He was crap at team sports, but he ADORED swimming and biking and running. Which didn't really win him any points with the other guys, but he didn't care about that in the slightest. He was who he was and he was totally okay with that. And, by NOT caring, made everyone else okay with it, too, without any conscious effort on his part.

"I think," JC stretched, "that was Chris's point. But like I said, you can -" He stopped when he saw Justin skulking out onto the deck. "See?" he said softly, nudging Lance and then wrapping an elbow around his neck. "Looks good as new."

Justin held up a finger to his lips in an exaggerated expression for Lance and JC to stay quiet as he crept up to the edge of the pool. He swallowed as he watched the water sluice over Joey's chest and stomach, his arms and shoulders working as he backstroked, and was suddenly very glad he jerked off. He took at deep breath, gauged the distance, and cannonballed in just like Joey had predicted a few minutes earlier.

"Fuck!" sputtered Joey as the wall of water washed over him. He stood up where he was, thankful he was close enough to the the shallow end to do that, and coughed to get the water out of his lungs. Once he could breath again he gave Justin a dirty look, then a rueful grin. "To think I wasted time WORRYING about you," he said, splashing water half-heartedly in Justin's direction.

Lance grinned at them, then stretched out next to JC. His sopping shirt WAS starting to make him cold, and he shivered involuntarily as he lay down on the grass.

Justin grabbed Joey's wrist in a firm grip to keep him from splashing him any more. "Worried about me?" His face was an awkward combination of confusion and pleased surprise. "Why?" He tugged him a little closer, playfully, and his calf brushed up against Joey's thigh under the water.

JC was oblivious to their antics, already halfway dozing by that point. Lance wasn't blocking his sun, anymore, and Justin apparently had gotten over whatever it was, so all was well in his world.

"Gee, I wonder," said Joey, mussing up Justin's now-sopping hair. "Maybe because you took off for, like, twenty minutes? What were you DOING in there, anyway?" He tried to shove Justin away playfully, but his wrist was still firmly in his grasp, so he just shook his head wildly instead, spraying him with water.

"Nothing, why?" Justin replied quickly, shutting his eyes and letting the drops of water hit him in the face. "It's my HOUSE. Maybe I had something I needed to take care of." He twisted Joey's arm a little, testing his strength and wondering if he was strong enough to dunk him.

"None of that!" laughed Joey, twisting back. Or trying to; Justin was almost his equal in strength these days ... but not quite. With an abrupt lunge he managed to dunk Justin, but let him up quickly. "What did you have to take care of that takes twenty minutes when all you were supposed to do is change? Oh ... wait ... you're 16. Forget I asked." Joey gave him another wink and flicked water at him again.

"That is NOT what I did!" Justin sputtered, shaking water out of his own hair and splashing him back, face red. "Shut up, Joey." He was embarrassed beyond belief, mostly because he realized Joey was just teasing him, but he felt guilty and self-conscious enough about it that it probably was painfully obvious that WAS what he did.

Joey laughed. "Oh, please. I was your age once." He flicked water at him again, just barely spraying him. "I know ALL your secrets."

"He's STILL Justin's age," said Lance quietly, grinning even as he shivered again. "Acts it, anyway."

"Screw you," Justin frowned, letting go of him abruptly and pushing by him to get to the edge of the pool. If there was one thing he HATED, it was when they guys rubbed his age in his face.

JC snickered and opened an eye to grin at Lance, before flipping back on his belly to watch the guys in the pool. "God, this feels good," he stretched, scratching his own back a little.

"Suit yourself," said Joey, shrugging. THIS he was familiar with, these little mood swings of Justin's. Justin could dish it out, but he had a hard time taking it, sometimes. He rolled over onto his front and started swimming lengths of the pool again.

Lance shivered. "I'm a little cold," he confessed. "I should probably go get a dry shirt."

"Mmm," JC replied distractedly, frowning at Justin's body language as he tugged himself out of the pool. "What, Lance? Oh. Look, I told you to take off your shirt. The sun feels great. I got some sunscreen over in my chair, too, if you want."

Justin brushed all the excess water off of him and then threw himself into one of the deck chairs, trying valiantly to pretend he wasn't still watching Joey. He just didn't know how ELSE to make Joey notice him as a MAN, as cheesy as that was.

Joey finally got tired of swimming and hoisted himself up onto the diving board, stretching out along it and closing his eyes against the too-bright sun. In a few minutes he knew he would go over to Justin and try to make things right. In the meantime, though, he wanted to soak up some sun.

"I can't get it on my back," murmured Lance, sitting up to brush the grass off his legs. He still hated to ask any of them to do that for him,

"Okay ... ?" JC looked at him, smiling. "So bring it over here. I'm capable; I've had girlfriends."

Justin felt like Joey would goof off with him, whenever he felt like it, and then he'd just flip this switch and decide Justin was too immature. Or when Justin tried to be serious, Joey would just call him on it, like he wasn't ever *supposed* to act like that, even though he took care of a lot of things for the group. Regardless, Justin realized that it only bothered him because of how badly he wanted to be around him.

Lance finally gave in. "Fine," he said. "I'll take my shirt off for you." It WASN'T like they hadn't seen him shirtless many dozens of times before, but not when they were just hanging out, in the sun. He stripped off his shirt before he could change his mind and dropped it on the grass, then went and grabbed the sunscreen off the chair, bringing it back with him.

Joey sighed heavily, realizing he wasn't relaxing, and sat up on the diving board. "Justin," he called out. "C'mere, would you?"

Justin jumped, thinking he had been caught staring, then ran a shaky hand through his hair to try and camoflauge the motion. "What," he called back petulantly. "Bored and want to tease me some more? And I DIDN'T, for the record."

JC just laughed and shook his head at his shy friend, tugging on his suit to get him to sit down in front of him and perching himself on his elbow. "Damn, you ARE cold," he remarked as he started rubbing the lotion into Lance's back.

"Just c'mere," said Joey, sighing. "There's room up here for two."

Lance shivered, even though the lotion was warmer than his skin. "Yeah," he admitted. "You were right. About the shirt, I mean. I should have listened to you."

"You'll learn," JC mumbled idly, rubbing a little more vigorously than he would've otherwise, to try and warm him up. "Why were you being so stubborn, anyway?"

Justin looked skeptically at the diving board, wanting to ask: 'room enough for two' to do WHAT? But he stood up anyway, arching his back and causing his suit to fall so low on his hips that the sunlight caught the very top of the patch of hair at his crotch. "Fine," he exhaled, taking his time as he walked over to Joey.

"Doesn't matter," said Lance, covering his embarassment with indifference. "I just ... always swim like that is all." He rubs his arms briskly, and the sun overhead is warming him quickly now.

Joey sat crosslegged on the board, leaning back a little and holding onto the edges. "Did I piss you off?" he asked bluntly. That was often the only way to get anywhere with Justin when he was in a mood. "I'm sorry, if I did."

Justin frowned, grabbing hold of the side railing and hanging on it. "You didn't. It's just ... don't you know when to stop? I didn't want you to come over, I didn't CALL you, just for you to give me crap all day."

JC looked at Lance dubiously, then re-capped the sunscreen and tossed it back in the direction of the house. "S'nice not to have Hurricane Chris around sometimes, huh?"

"I didn't think teasing you was giving you crap," said Joey, seriously now. "You tease me just as much as I tease you, Justin. Just think about that, okay? And try to remember, before you throw one of these tantrums? I can head home, if that's what you want. Since you DID call me to play basketball, and we've already DONE that." Joey was bluffing, but hoped Justin didn't know that.

"Yeah," said Lance, more fervently than he meant to, as he lay back down next to JC and began to pray that he would just get some damn COLOR this time, and not just burn.

"Yeah," JC echoed again, watching with a frown as Justin made his way up next to Joey on the diving board, then shutting his eyes. He didn't need to BE like that, just because he knew Justin had a crush on Joey. They were friends, too. Friends first. For the time being.

"It wasn't a tantrum," Justin sulked, but he settled down next to Joey and sat still to try and appease him. "There's a lot of stuff I don't care about you making fun of me about, but my age ... I can't HELP that, Joey. I can't DO anything about it. So it sucks."

"Why?" asked Joey. "Why does it suck to be 16? Except for the fact that you're still growing, horny all the time and can't do a lot of fun stuff." He grins at him, and hopes THAT gentle teasing is at least acceptable. "I liked 16."

"You would," pouted Justin. "I don't hate BEING 16, I just ... don't like being reminded by y'all about it. DOn't like how you all think that everything I do, everything I'm going through, is something you already experienced."

"It's not, entirely," admitted Joey, still trying to placate him. "When I was 16, I sure as hell wasn't touring Europe. But yeah, there ARE some things we've all been through before, in some way. AND when we were 16 there were older brothers and friends and cousins who did the exact same thing to US as we do to you." He grinned at him and ruffled his hair. "You're normal, kiddo. Deal with it."

Justin felt most of his exasperation and hurt feelings fading with Joey's bright smile. "God, fine," he capitulated, trying not to read too much into Joey calling him 'normal.' He wanted to be special. But he'd settle for not being the baby. "But I'll have you know that I don't ever tease you about the stuff you're REALLY sensitive about. And that's the difference."

"Well, what AM I really sensitive about, really?" asked Joey. "I'm sorry if I hurt you, Justin. Seriously. I was just fooling around."

"Forget it," Justin told him, not wanting to get into the 'sensitive' stuff, mostly because it was sensitive. And then he'd come off as an asshole if he brought up the lead singing thing, which he figured was not the best way to try and seduce Joey. He started to crawl off the diving board, wanting to actually swim some himself.

"Justin," Joey said. "Just hang on, would you? I'm trying to have, like, a serious conversation with you. It'd not like I do this every DAY, you know. Or for just anyone."

"It's OKAY, Joey. You didn't hurt my feelings. It's cool. We're cool. JC and Lance? They're cool. I hope you enjoy the pool." He scrambled down, then, keeping his eyes downcast, and dove smoothly into the water.

"Shit," muttered Joey, then shook it off and tumbled into the water off the diving board. "Just when you thought it was safe to get into the water!" he called out to Justin, who was already on the other side of the pool. Then he grinned ferociously and started after him.

Justin rolled his eyes and giggled when he reached the edge, then turned around and waited for Joey to join him. He really couldn't stay mad at him long, and plus, he wanted to take advantage of the time they got to spend together. It wasn't as much since Joey decided to stay living at his parents. "Wanna play water polo, or something?" he asked, bouncing on his toes.

"What's wrong with what we're doing now?" asked Joey, snagging Justin around the waist and hauling him back to the other hand of the pool. "You tired of being manhandled, Timberlake? Can't take it?"

Justin gave some token squirming, enough that he suspected Joey thought he was actually trying to escape his grasp, but really just reveling in the feel of Joey's slick skin and strong arms around him. "I can take anything you can give me," Justin teased back, not brave enough to say it as seductively as he would have liked.

Joey laughed, loudly. "Don't ask for more than you can handle," he teased, dumping Justin in the deep water. He was relieved that things seemed okay now, and decided NOT to bring any of it back up again any time soon. "Jace! Lance! Get your butts back in here!"

Justin whipped his head around, prepared to give JC a 'don't you DARE' look, but the older man just waved Joey off anyway and he relaxed. "What makes you think I don't know EXACTLY the extent of what you can offer?" He arched an eyebrow but kept an innocent grin on his face.

"I'd say you were watching too much porn," smirked Joey, splashing him, then laughing. "Oh God, Justin, if you could just SEE the look on your face right now!"

Justin closed his mouth, at Joey's exclamation, after it had fallen open in surprise at his blunt comment. "Whatever," he blushed, darting around Joey to try and jump on his back, not wanting to wait and see if Joey could recognize the lust and *hopefulness* under that embarrassment.

"Ha, I knew it," said Joey triumphantly. "You WERE watching those naughty channels back in Europe after you mom went to bed!" He began swimming along the edge of the pool. "I'm gonna do some laps. You coming?"

Justin smirked, thinking of what he really HAD been doing back in Europe when his mom went to bed, and never wanted to prove Joey wrong more than he did right then. But he wasn't supposed to talk about it, and wasn't entirely sure THAT was a good way to go about seducing him either. He chased after Joey and was able to cling to him successfully that time. "Laps?" he said into his ear. "Don't be boring."

"I'm BORING?" said Joey, raising an eyebrow at him. "I dare you to tell that to ... well, nevermind that." He lugged Justin along for a couple minutes, then had to pause to rest. "When did you get so damn BIG?" he muttered.

Justin blushed and slid off his body, but Joey had him flush up against the wall, so his chest was pressed fairly tightly against Joey's back. "To who?" Justin pried, eager to turn the attention away from him, again.

"Never you mind," said Joey. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Justin he was too young, but he stopped himself in time. "It's no one that matters. All right. I'm rested. Ready for another ride?"

*GOD, just ONE would be HEAVEN,* Justin wanted to say, but instead felt like he was supposed to ignore the double entendre -- or, ignore it and volley one of his own. "What?" he asked innocently. "You don't want a turn on *my* back?"

"Since when are you able to take anyone on your back?" teased Joey, hoisting him up again. "This is probably really good exercise ... "

Justin lets go of Joey's neck and makes his body into dead weight, flopping backwards into the water when Joey has to let go of his thighs to keep his balance. "You don't believe I can do it, do you." It wasn't a question.

"I didn't say that," protested Joey, "exactly. You saying you want to try?" He was worried that Justin was biting off a little more than he could chew here, but it was difficult to SAY that, without just saying it. And saying it right then would probably be bad.

Justin turned his back to him, saying "give it a shot" over his shoulder. HE knew he could do this, and he was actually getting his hopes up that it might be impressive to Joey. "C'mon. You're not going to HURT me ... we're in a pool."

"If I break your back," said Joey, shrugging. "YOU get to explain this to Lou." He still didn't think this was a very good idea. If Justin COULDN"T do it ... big blow to the ego. A blow he clearly DIDN'T need right now. But did it anyway, clinging to Justin's body and yelling out "Mush!" then laughing in his ear.

Justin did stagger a bit under Joey's sudden weight, struggling a little to get his legs under him. Then he tripped again when he felt more than heard Joey's voice against his neck. He closed his eyes and recovered, though, wrapping his large palms under Joey's knees and hitching him up higher before taking off around the pool. He giggled a little at how utterly pointless this was -- challenging him to arm-wrestling would only have been slightly worse.

Joey kept laughing. Justin's slight clumsiness right now is cute to him, maybe because Justin has SUCH poise on stage. I reminds him that Justin IS just a kid, really. But he was stronger than Joey expected, carrying him pretty easily. Of course, they WERE in a pool.

"Do you know how dumb we must look?" Justin giggled again, glancing guiltily over at JC and Lance. He carried Joey over to the shallow end and kind of stood there; not tired, and not wanting to lose the heat of Joey's body -- Joey's groin -- against him, but giving Joey the choice.

Joey slid off Justin's body. "Since when have I cared about looking dumb?" he asked, shooting Justin a grin. "That ws fun. Am I still boring?"

"Yes," nodded Justin solemnly. "You're a tool." He skipped back from Joey's swipe at him, and put his hands on his waist to crack his back, standing almost all the way out of the water so that his suit clung to his hips and thighs.

Joey glanced up and down Justin's body quickly. "Who let you grow up?" he teased. A moment later, all it took was a slight push to send Justin tumbling back into the water.

Justin was strong enough to be able to yank Joey's ankle out from under him when he was underwater, causing him to fall down on top of him. He flipped them over quickly, and got his elbow around Joey's neck. "Who let you notice?" he teased back before he could lose his nerve or lose his grip.

Joey sputtered, then laughed. "I DIDN'T notice," he grins. "Isn't that the point?" He struggled to get out of Justin's grasp, but one again Justin's strength surprised him.

"Ahh," Justin thought about that, tried not to let it get to him too much, tried to focus on the fact that that was obviously changing somehow. "But now?" He yanked a little harder on Joey's neck, keeping him from getting his feet beneath him.

"I notice, I notice!" yelped Joey. "Can I get up now?" Damn, Justin should NOT have been able to do this to him.

"I guess," Justin feigned a yawn, then hooked an arm around Joey's chest and lifted him a little, onto his feet. Now able to see his expression, he watched his face carefully and not a little nervously, knowing Joey's reaction would maybe be a determing factor of whether he pushed this or not.

Joey looked a bit embarassed, and squirmed. "You kick my ass at basketball, now YOU manhandle ME ... " He grinned. "Pretty soon I'm not going to have anything left. You'll be my master." He shoved at Justin's shoulder playfully.

Justin's eyes sparkled with pleasure. "I'm sure we can find *something* you do better than me," he said, comfortably magnanimous after Joey's admission, letting himself fall back into the water up to his chin.

Joey groaned. "I've created a monster," he said. "Okay, I'm getting out. You need me to grab you a towel?"

Justin shook his head, swimming over to the edge and resting his forearms along it, looking forward to watching Joey emerge from the water like fucking Venus, or something. "Do I get to start teasing you about being an old man now, then?"

"Just TRY," Joey taunted him. "THEN you'll see how old I am. Cocky little punk." He turned his head and threw Justin another grin over his shoulder before getting out.

Justin rolled his eyes. "Then I'll see how old you are? Is that supposed to be some snappy comeback or something, Joe, 'cause ... " He trailed off as expected, and bit the skin on his arm, when he watched Joey climb out of the pool. The sun glinted on his skin, browner than any of them, and water glistened on his arms and hair and back and shoulders and rippling muscles EVERYWHERE.

Joey grabbed his towel from where JC had left it and turned back around. "'Cause WHAT?" he asked, starting to dry himself off, giving Justin a challenging look.

Justin shook his head and cleared his throat. "'Cause I didn't get it," he finished lamely, stepping closer to the wall and pressing his brand-new erection against it, thinking to himself that THIS is why being 16 sucked.

Joey gave Justin a strange look, and shook his head at him. "Sure you don't want that towel?"

"Do you WANT to give me the towel?" Justin asked, still watching Joey drag the terrycloth roughly over his chest, reminding himself of what else he liked to think about Joey doing roughly. WHich didn't help his predicament.

Joey smirked, whipped out his wet towel and offered it to Justin. "Sure, why not?" he said, shrugging. "Getting out?"

"No," Justin leaned his chin on his arms again. "Not ... yet. You just seemed like you wanted me to have the towel. The special towel. The MAGIC towel?" He stared some more. "What's funny?"

Joey chuckled. "Nothing," he said, turning back around to grab the other towel and tossing it toward Justin so it would be nearby when he wanted it. Then he bent over to dry off his legs a little.

Justin groaned and shut his eyes when Joey bent over, waiting more than enough time for him to finish before opening them again. He had to even let one hand fall into the water to adjust himself, but pulled it back out quickly, not wating 'adjusting' to turn into 'fondling.' "SERIOUSLY," he whined. "What's so funny?'

Joey shrugged and grinned. "Nothing," he said. "Seriously. You know me ... always smiling ... "

Justin didn't believe him, and pouted, but couldn't move yet either. "Are you .. are you going home?" he asked softly.

"Huh?" said Joey. "No, man. I was kinda hoping your mom was gonna feed me dinner, actually. My parents are gone for the night ... I was gonna have to fend for myself."

"We can't have THAT," Justin muttered. "How come you got out, then?"

"I was getting cold," said Joey. "And tired." He collapsed to the ground near JC and Lance. "There's room for you here, whenever."

"Right," Justin said, feeling very brushed aside, however much progress he had made before. He pulled away and swam several laps vigorously, until he erection had subsided and he could exit the water too.

Joey heard the splash of Justin getting out of the water and raised his head. "Finally gonna come join us?" he asked with a smile. "Bout time. These two are boring."

"Am not," said Lance, but he's still half-asleep.

"Shut the fuck up, motherfucker," JC mumbled, his more colorful vocabulary presenting itself when his defenses were down.

Justin just shook his head and stretched back out on his lawnchair instead, trying to figure out how in the world he went from having Joey off-kilter to being back where he started.

"Well," huffed Joey. "I can see where I'M not wanted!" He nudged JC in the side with his toe as he got up, earning himself another burst of profanity. "Lance, you're burning," he noted idly as he brushed himself off, wandering over to where Justin was sitting and blocking his sun.

Justin shielded his eyes and looked over at Joey. "What?" he asked flatly. "Bored, already? Or did JC send you over here to babysit me?"

"I've been bored ever since I got out of the pool," he confessed, flopping down on the ground next to him. "They're SLEEPING."

"It's *JC*," Justin rationalized, leaning over the side to be able to make eye contact. "And it's Lance, which means he's doing whatever JC is doing." He lowered his eyelids. "Bored? Maybe shouldn'ta ditched me in the pool, then, huh?"

"Maybe YOU," said Joey, pressing the end of Justin's nose with his index finger, "shouldn't have ditched me on land. I was serious when I said I was getting cold in there."

"So?" Justin batted Joey's hand away. "You're a wuss; tell me something I don't know." He rolled back up onto the lawnchair. "What did you want for dinner? I can call mom's cell."

"Whatever you're having," said Joey dismissively. "Doesn't matter. I'll eat anything. You don't mind me hanging out here tonight?"

Justin wondered what Joey would say if he knew how much Justin didn't mind him staying -- in his bed, preferably, but ... a guy could dream. "I *guess* not," he teased instead. "You're a pretty okay guy to hang out with. Sometimes. For a big wuss, at least." He wondered what they could do tonight that Justin could impress Joey with -- somehow he doubted that kicking his ass at playstation was it.

Joey shoved Justin's arm. "Who're you calling a wuss?" he snorted. "I can still kick your ass and you know it." Not that he was about to go and prove that, not when he WASN'T entire sure it was true anymore. He still definitely had bulk on Justin, though -- at least he had that. If it came down to it, he could still take him down, but not without effort, not anymore, and he wondered when the hell THAT happened. "Or, you know, at least Lance's. And Chris' when he doesn't fight dirty."

Justin yawned at him. "Yeah, yeah. But Chris *always* fights dirty, so." He grinned and tucked his hands behind his neck. "And I'm *still* growing. Give me another year, and I'll be able to take you without breaking a sweat." His eyes widened when he realized how that could have been interpreted, and blushed and tried to look away.

"Yeah, we'll see," said Joey, grinning at him and wondering what that blush was all about. "We'll see about that. You just work on being able to take JC before you try to take ME on, all right? But not Chris. He bites." He winked at Justin and turned away to watch where JC and Lance were lying close to one another on the grass, still snoozing. "Dammit ... Lance really IS gonna burn," he muttered, wondering if he should do something about that.

Justin snorted at the idea of 'taking' tragically-straight JC the way he'd been thinking about with Joey, and then couldn't help but raise his eyebrows at Joey's knowing 'biting' comment. Maybe there was more of a precedent there than he had thought. He looked over at Lance when Joey expressed his concern, but didn't want to bother going over there, and didn't want *Joey* to, either. "LANCE!" he bellowed, snickering when JC's head shot up. "Turn over, dude."

"Huh?" Lance mumbled, startled but not really moving. "Whadyawant?" He pressed his face into the towel again and closed his eyes.

"Lance," Joey called out now that he was awake, shooting Justin a dirty look. "You're gonna burn, man. Jace, put some more sunscreen on the poor boy before he turns into a lobster." He sat back then, mission accomplished, and looked up at Justin. "So what are we doing tonight?"

Justin met Joey's dirty look challengingly, but that dissolved into a smile of his own when Joey started asking him about the evening's activities. "Clubbing?" he requested hopefully, thinking that if seeing Justin dancing with girls all sexy-like had one tenth of the effect on Joey that it did on Justin when he saw JOEY dancing with girls, then it might be just what he needed to get Joey to start thinking about him in *that* way.

Joey snickered almost involuntarily. "Remember LAST time we tried to get into one of the good clubs with you there? No way. Sorry. Not gonna happen." He sat up a little straighter, brushed off his hands. "Why do we have to go out anyway? With my luck I'd just run into Kelly, and ... well, nevermind that. We can get Chris to pick us up something to drink and just hang out here, maybe ... if you don't think your mom'll be in the way."

Lance rolled over onto his back, wincing as he realized he was already burnt. "I should never have taken the shirt off," he muttered and reached of the sunscreen. JC wasn't looking, so Lance felt safe shooting him a look.

Justin had to grin, even as he groaned to himself when he *did* recall the last time that Joey was referring to. He couldn't *wait* until they were big enough stars that he could get in *anywhere*. But in the meantime ... that was another cool thing about Joey, that he never made him feel like he shouldn't drink, like JC did. If he tried to get him to stick to beer, most of them time, well ... Justin could accept that. "Okay, yeah!" Justin jumped up. "I'll go call him. Does that mean you're sleeping over? You wanna call your parents too?" His cheeks were pink from the sun and excitement, and he grinned down at Joey.

Joey chuckled. "I don't need to call my parents if I want to stay out, Just. I just do it." He got up, too, and tried to brush the grass off his body but some of it stuck stubbornly to his legs. "Go ahead and give Chris a call. Tell him none of that weak crap he bought last time, and that I'll give him some cash when he gets here. I'm gonna get Jace and Lance inside before they melt or something." He started toward them, then paused and turned back to Justin. "And don't let your mom know, okay? I caught hell from her for letting you sip my drink that time."

Justin's smile froze on his face -- okay, so *usually* he didn't make him feel like he shouldn't drink -- and tried not to think about how different Joey still saw them if he worried about Justin getting in trouble with his mom for hanging out in the basement, when HE wouldn't even tell his parents where he'd be. "No weak crap, got it." He flashed another winning smile, and darted inside, definitely looking forward to a night of beer and goofing off with Joey and Chris.

"Thanks," said Joey as Justin left. "Your mama scares me, man." He walked over and nudged both JC and Lance with his feet. "Come on guys, time to head in." They both groaned a little and swatted at his legs, and Joey laughed as they struggled to their feet, still clearly drowsy. Until he caught a glimpse of Lance's body. "Shit, Lance, you're gonna need some lotion on both sides now. Remind me when we get inside." He grabbed the towels left behind on the grass and followed the other two into the house.

-----

"Give it!" Justin hollered, lunging at the bottle Chris was holding away from him. "I mean it. Give. It." This wasn't a great day for him; first Joey made fun of him again for masturbating, and then Chris had decided it would be a hoot to tease him about not being able to hold his liquor. Which Justin would have dealt with if he'd let him have more than *a* beer in the two or three hours they'd been down there.

"Don't do it, Chris," JC warned him, but instead of being bossy like normal, it came out in a giggle. He'd taken more than his share of Justin's share, and was trying very deliberately to deal the cards without knocking over his pile of poker chips.

Chris scrambled up over the back of the couch with the bottle, knocking over a plastic plant and slipping on a throw rug, slamming into the wall with his shoulder. "No way!" he laughed as Justin started after him. "Catch me!"

Joey might have even felt sorry for Justin, if this weren't SO much like the scenario this afternoon with Justin and the water bottle. Instead, he just grinned at Chris -- who was practically cackling as he darted behind Lance -- and called out, "Careful, Justin! Remember, he bites!"

"No, not the drink!" said Lance, protecting his glass with his body as Chris' socked foot almost tipped it. JC wasn't too thrilled with HIM drinking, either, but drinking was the only way Lance really felt like he loosened up enough for the guys to stop seeing him as a dork. And tonight JC wasn't really giving ANYone a hard time about drinking, thankfully.

Justin chased Chris half-heartedly for a moment, enough to share a wink with him when Joey brought up the biting again, then paused when he figured that looking that desperate for a drink was decidedly uncool. His eyes lit upon the cooler they had dragged in from the garage, only partly obscured by Joey's body, and smirked.

"Better watch that cooler," JC remarked with feigned disinterest, grinning and not noticing that he started handing out the cards face-up. "I think Baby's found the stash."

Joey grinned and opened the cooler and handed Justin a beer. "Be good," he said, giving him an encouraging smile, noticing how Justin was reacting to being called 'baby'. Then he turned back to JC and ignored the looks JC was now shooting him. They were hardly menacing when accompanied by JC's alcohol-flushed face and almost involuntary grin.

"You SUCK at poker," said Lance, scowling at the cards. "And you're a lousy drunk." He grabbed for the deck. "That's it. I'm dealer now."

"No, I'M dealer," said Chris, bouncing over to them. "I'm oldest." But he didn't even make a half-hearted attempt at grabbing the cards as he slid down to the floor and crossed his legs. He opened another beer for himself and drained half, then set it aside.

JC played tug-of-war with Lance for a minute before relenting. "Fine," he huffed. "YOU suck." He wasn't sure if he was directing that at Lance or at Joey or at both of them, but he didn't worry about it as he slid down under the table next to Chris, both of them watching Joey and Justin with some interest.

All the furrows in Justin's forehead disappeared when Joey handed him the beer. "Hey, thanks," he said gratefully, his eyes large, stepping a little closer to him. That was exactly why Justin was so sprung on Joey ... sure, he was hot as hell, but he also stuck up for him. "Don't worry, I've only had *one*. I won't do anything bad."

"Yeah, well, you've got four guys to stop you if you try," said Joey, then looked at JC's state. "Well, maybe 3." His gaze turned to Chris. "Two, he amended. Then Lance started trying to shuffle the cards, and he sighed. "Well, *I* wouldn't let you do anything stupid," he assured him. "Drink up."

Chris watched the expressions flit across Justin's face when he took the beer from Joey. "Wow, he's got it bad," he muttered where only JC could hear.

Lance frowned in concentration. "There's something wrong with these cards," he said, as half the deck slipped out of his hand and spilled across the floor. "JC, what'd you do to the CARDS?" He dropped the other half of the deck to the floor, losing interest, and picked up the remains of his drink, draining the glass.

"I *know*," JC sputtered, amusing himself by tying Lance's shoelaces together. "When the hell did *that* happen, is what I want to know." He sniffed and threw his arm up over his head to grope along the top of the table for his bottle. "As if YOU weren't bad enough."

Justin smiled at Joey a little uncertainly and then took a couple big gulps of his beer. Even though he HAD only had one, he could feel the flush of it in his face, and wondered how many more it would take to build up the courage to tell Joey *exactly* what it did to him to have Joey concentrate on him like that. He bit his lip. "If you're using the same definition for 'stupid' as you do when you're deciding the stuff you shouldn't let *yourself* do, I'm not sure that's much comfort," he teased.

"I don't know when it happened," said Chris, fidgeting as he watched them, having difficulty keeping still. "But it did. And there was NOTHING wrong with me and Justin, JC. Just ... get over it already, would you? We have." He reached for his beer and finished off the rest easily, not showing the effects nearly as much as the rest of them.

Lance tipped over and rested his head on JC's leg, which caused Chris to raise an eyebrow as well, but he didn't comment on this one. "The cards are broken," he announced. "We'll have to do something else now."

Joey smirked at Justin. "Yeah, you only WISH you did half the stuff that I do," he said, grabbing another drink for himself. There was still plenty; the youngn's were cheap drunks. "NOT that I would let you. I was a good boy when *I* was 16." His grin showed that statement for the lie that it was.

JC tugged on Lance's ear idly and shook his head at Chris, not wanting the younger man to hear them talking about the relationship that Chris and Justin used to have. "YOU get over it," he muttered, knowing that wasn't very fair, because Chris and Justin both had handled their break-up incredibly well. But that wasn't the problem now anyway. "And you're just now noticing?" he snorted instead, gesturing with his head at Justin and Joey, trying to be vague so Lance wouldn't catch on abou tthat, either.

"Ha!" Justin spit his mouthful of beer out as he laughed. JC, undeterred in his mission to get Justin to forget about Joey, hadn't been shy about sharing stories of what he had been like at 16, and even younger. "And whaddya mean, *let* me? I think we proved earlier today who the 'master' is." He grinned as he quoted Joey back to himself.

"Lance," said Chris, leaning down to ruffle Lance's hair. "Run upstairs and see if there's more little pizzas in the freezer, okay?" Lance nodded and struggled to get up, his hand grabbing JC in all sorts of places as he did. When Lance was safely out of earshot, Chris turned to JC again. "I knew he looked," he said quietly, still fidgety, "but he looks at a lot of people. I didn't know he was head over heels."

"Ew," said Joey grabbing some napkins. "Rule number one, Justin, NEVER waste beer." He tossed the wet napkins onto the table and sat back again. "I think we BOTH know who the REAL master is, Justin," he said with a somewhat superior grin, though it's clear he's just teasing. "Seriously, though, you don't need to be doing some of that shit. One of us making those mistakes is enough, don't you think?"

Justin shrugged and sat down tentatively next to Joey, resting his chin in his fist. "Like what?" he asked innocently, somewhat eager to hear exactly what stuff Joey thought Justin shouldn't do, and then figure out how much of it he'd already DONE.

"You think he is?" JC's eyes narrowed, then because they threatened to shut all the way if he did that, he opened them back up widely. "I guess you'd know, or whatever." He peeked around the table leg and stared for a minute before scooting closer to Chris conspiratorally. "It's *so* not a good idea."

"If Joey's not interested then yeah, it could be bad," agreed Chris. "But it's not like he's giving Justin any 'back off' signals, JC, so maybe you should just stay out of it. They could be good together." He watched them some more, watched the way Justin seemed to look up to Joey, the way he kept trying to touch him. And the way Joey let him.

"Like stuff I shouldn't be telling you about," said Joey, sipping his drink more slowly this time than the last. "I don't need to be getting any ideas in your head. Your mama thinks I'm a bad enough influence as it is." And he grinned again, knowing he WAS a bad influence sometimes, but in all the best ways.

Justin struggled to keep the innocent look on his face, and hit Joey's shoulder with his forehead playfully. "Tell. Me. My mama don't know everything I've done, and neither do you." He looked up eagerly again, teeth flashing. "C'mon. Tell me something, and I'll make you a deal that I won't try to do it until you think I'm old enough -- whenever THAT is. Okay? Okay, Joey?"

"Joey," JC slurred, "unlike the rest of you freaks, is straight. I have known him forEVER, and with as many people as he's fucked, I can swear to you ain't one of them was a guy." He closed one eye and peered into his empty bottle, frowning. "He won't realize it until it's too late, anyway. And why don't *you* stay out of it, mutherfucker?" He grinned and shoved Chris in the shoulder.

"I AM staying out of it," said Chris raising his hands, and frowing a bit at the 'freak' comment. "I'm just observing. Don't interfere, JC. If Joey's straight, he'll let Justin down gently. And if he's not ... Either way, US getting involved isn't gonna help ANYthing." When he really watched, though, Joey seemed COMPLETELY clueless that Justin was flirting with him. He was just treating him like he always did.

"Well, I lost my virginity WAY too young, for one thing," said Joey thoughtfully, ruffling Justin's blond curls as he spoke. "But I ain't telling you how or when to take care of THAT. I dunno, Justin. I stole stuff for kicks, and I don't want you EVER doing THAT." He sipped his beer again, wondered how much of this stuff he SHOULD be talking about with Justin. But when he thought of himself at sixteen ... well, looking back now he WAS one in a lot of ways -- was STILL one in a few of those -- but he never THOUGHT of himself as a kid.

Justin tried unsuccessfully to keep the smirk from his face, drinking the rest of his beer, but he couldn't hold his reaction in for very long. He tipped back in his chair precariously and grabbed Joey's thigh, laughing loudly. "Oh, god," he smiled, wiping his eyes when he could speak again, chuckling still at Joey's confused expression. "God, that's ... classic. When I should take care of losing my virginity. Hoo, boy."

"It might," JC protested. "I mean, what if it DOES take Joey forever to wise up, and by that time Justin already feels like he'd been rejected? Or that Joey's stringing him along? You can't really think that's better than stepping in. Especially since, despite Justin's puppy-like attempts at flirting, there's no way he'll TELL Joey before he's 100% sure of a positive reaction."

"Leave it. Alone," said Chris firmly. "How would YOU like it if one of them fucked around in YOUR love life?" And speaking of taking forever to wise up, he wondered if JC even NOTICED Lance's own puppy-dog attempts for his affection. "They'll figure it out, and we'll be here for them when they do. We clear?" He sipped his drink and waited for an affirmative reply from JC.

Joey grins back a little sheepishly. "Ah, already taken care of that, have you?" He sighs dramatically. "And no one thought to share that with me. Well, I guess I can skip THAT little talk, then." He paused. "When, anyway?"

"JC and Chris figured it out," Justin said, a little shyly, feeling bad for laughing when Joey was being really nice to him. "I guess I thought you had, too. Um. When?" He blushed at that. "What were your criteria for defining 'too young,' again?" He had been 14, the year after he left the show, and back at school where all the older girls treated him like a fucking movie star. And while he wasn't *ashamed* of that -- and even thought Joey might be impressed -- he didn't really want to talk about it if Joey thought it was too early, or something.

"Fine," JC growled, struggling to prop himself back up so he could crawl over and grab another beer. "That goes for you, too, though. And don't fucking *encourage* him, either. I know he still goes to you for that kind of stuff."

"If he asks me," says Chris, pulling off one sock so he can wiggle his toes. "I'll tell him what I think. And if he actually asks YOU then by all means, do the same. But don't poke your freakin' nose where it's not wanted, Chasez. And where the hell is Lance with my pizza anyway?"

"I guess I wasn't watching close enough," admitted Joey. "I never noticed that, you know, CHANGE in you. and I guess I thought maybe you would tell me, when you did, cuz we TALK about stuff like that sometimes." He played with the neck of his beer a little as he thought about it. "I was 14," he said finally. "Did I never tell you this? I was 14 and I wasn't ready. I just thought it would be really cool and fun and grown-up and never thought about what might HAPPEN, you know? A pregnancy scare when you're barely in high school is NOT fun." He wondered for a moment how the conversation had gotten so serious, but he didn't mind if it meant that JC wasn't glaring at him over who the hell knew what and Chris wasn't climbing his body like it was freaking Mount Everest or something and Lance wasn't wandering from person to person, looking for some scrap of attention.

"Oh," Justin said a little dumbly, now realizing that Joey wouldn't be *impressed*, but maybe it was something they could bond over. As long as he didn't think he was making it up. "I was 14, too," he admitted softly, "but it was fine. Good, even. You know? I guess I was lucky." He watched Joey closely, then finished his beer and glanced at the cooler. "I'm sorry I didn't say, but it was before I met back up with you, and when is it the right to say something like that out of the blue? And what *didn't* change about me between the last time you saw me on MMC and when we got together for this?" He smiled and leaned over Joey, intending to grab another drink. "I think we already decided your powers of observation are crap, anyway."

JC looked up at the ceiling, frowning. "He shouldn't be drinking, like this," he remembered, then promptly forgot again as opened his bottle. "Okay. I'll try to stay out of it." He turned around to watch them some more, and gritted his teeth when he saw Justin draping his body over Joey's. "But if Justin looks like he's getting in over his head, all bets are off."

"Justin knows what he's doing," said Chris confidently. "Maybe it's JOEY who'll be getting in over his head, hmm?" But he didn't want JC to dwell on THAT thought, either. "He's not a kid anymore, JC. He can make his own choices."

"And when did we decide THAT?" teased Joey. "I guess I just thought you would have spent that time after the show just being a KID, you know? I mean, I KNEW you grew up ... and up, and up ... but I didn't think ... Well, I guess you did," he said. "I'm glad it was good, for you. You think you were ready, when you did?" Suddenly, Joey was wondering how much he DID know about Justin, really. And how much he had just assumed. But Justin was acting like a human being right now and he was gonna take advantage of that. He chuckled as Justin reached for the cooler. "You trying to get another beer, or molest me, there?"

"Mmm, both?" Justin said, his voice deep, as he snagged a drink. But then he relaxed back in his chair and couldn't meet Joey's eyes, couldn't show he was serious, yet. "Um. Kidding. Yeah, it was fine. Got it out of my system, and all ... made everything that's happened since the group started a little easier to handle. Plus ... " he shrugged. "My life hasn't been too typical. I'd seen and done more by then than most people ever will, you know?" He ran his tongue over the lip of his bottle idly, remembering his first time, remembering OTHER first times.

"Yeah, his own BAD choices," JC frowned, even though he was embarrassed at Chris's implication that he was being too paternalistic. "I don't get why he wants Joey, anyway."

"Why NOT?" asked Chris, shrugging. "He's good looking, fun and he treats Justin well. What's so bad about THAT kind of choice?" He looked at JC seriously, clearly expecting an answer that would satisfy HIM, but not getting his hopes up that was was going to get one.

"You're a crap molester, then, Timberlake," joked Joey. "I get felt up better than that on my way to the dancefloor." He sipped his drink again, then set it down almost out of his reach to slow himself down. If Justin was going to be getting drunk -- and it looked like he was -- then SOMEone damn well needed to stay sober, and it didn't look to Joey like any of the other guys were. "I guess it was better that you knew her," he went on. "Losing your virginity to some random fan wouldn't really have been something to look back on fondly, huh. Though ... " He grunted a little. " ... I guess you might've done a few of those now, too ... "

"A few," echoed Justin softly, then shook his head. "I'm sorry," he mumbled then, looking up at Joey from under his eyelashes, sounding more like a child than he had all night. "You seem ... disappointed in me. Um. I've never stolen anything, though, so you don't have to worry about *that*, at least." He tried to smile teasingly, but it came out more pleadingly than anything.

"I guess," JC admitted, staring at Joey critically. "It's just ... man, ever since the two of you stopped ... whatever ... I figured we wouldn't have to worry about that shit fucking up the group. Not that it did, with you guys, 'cause *seriously* dude, you both were great about it. But this is like, a total unknown commodity, with these two. And just when stuff is really starting to happen for us." He sucked down more of his drink, thinking quickly about how to make it sound less like he was just worried about their careers. "Um, and plus. Joey is not ... y'know. The best person to try to *date*."

"Yeah, well, maybe he just hasn't found the right person yet," said Chris lamely, silently going over Joey's track record and reluctantly agreeing with him. "And our 'whatever' was called dating, JC. We were exclusive, while we were fooling around, in case you didn't know that." He looked at JC seriously again. "You can't not let them try, if they want this. You can't even let Justin not try, even if JOEY doesn't want this. If it's our CAREER you're worried about, you're gonna do more damage fucking with them, than not."

"Disappointed?" said Joey. "No, not at all .. just ... " He gestured vaguely from his face to Justin's body. "New eyes, you know? I didn't know that stuff. And you're just not used to Serious me, too, I guess." He grinned again, and suddenly looked like his usual self. "Good about the stealing thing, though. You start up that shit I'll kick your ass, kid."

Justin smiled a little sadly at the nickname. "Right," he murmured, and sucked the rest of his new beer down before putting it back on the table and trying desperately to cover up his tiny swoon. "So, Serious you, any more tales of juvenile delinquency to regale me with? Or have I put your biggest fear to rest? Or ... " he frowned, another thought occuring to him, "confirmed it, maybe?"

"I wouldn't *fuck* with them," JC frowned, shutting his eyes and rubbing his forehead. "And it's not all about our careers, either, but *someone* needs to worry about it. And *don't* bother trying to defend Joey to me -- I've known him longer and better than you, and you *know* I'm justified in looking out for Justin where he's concerned." He sighed and put a cautious hand on Chris's knee. "Look. I know you and Justin were dating. I *know* that. And don't think for one second that I don't ... appreciate what you were able to do for him. It was GOOD for him. I know THAT, too."

"It wasn't my biggest fear," said Joey easily. "My biggest fear about you is that some fuck will get you addicted to coke or heroin or some shit and you'll wind up dead in an alley before you hit 18." He paused, looked embarassed. "I have to assume SOMEone has given you a safe sex lecture at some point, so I'm not going to bother." He hoped Justin was grateful for that; Joey certainly wasn't one to talk when it came to safe sex, he had to admit. "And a little recreational shoplifting HARDLY makes me a deliquent."

Chris gave JC a dubious look. "You made me feel like a fucking pedophile when I was with him, Jace. It's great that you're cool with it now, and thank you, but you were wrong about me and Justin then, and you're probably wrong about Joey and Justin now. IF anything ever happens. Someone might get hurt, yeah, but that's life. Let THEM worry about it, why don't you?"

"Fine, I will," JC said, removing his hand, feeling like he probably deserved Chris's skepticism. "I'm sorry if I acted like I didn't approve, then," he tried one last time. "Maybe I didn't. But in retrospect? I'm just really glad it was you, that you could be there for him in that way. So thank YOU." He chugged a bit more of his beer, idly thinking he should stop at some point. "But this? Joey and Justin? It's different. It's not an *experiment,* really, and it wouldn't be 'mostly' a *learning* experience."

"OH," Justin breathed again, staring a little at Joey, surprised he'd apparently *thought* about that happening to Justin. "Gosh, thanks, Joey," he said, wanting to give him a hug but feeling way too awkward, and too liable to *really* cop a feel if he did. "And, yeah. I *live* with JC, man. You think I haven't heard more than I ever wanted to know about protection?" He smiled to himself, remembering that while JC *had* taught him about that stuff with girls, Chris had taken it to a higher level with respect to guys.

"Yeah, it's different," agreed Chris. "It would be completely different. But that's still their business. Justin clearly has a thing for him, JC, and you can't just tell him to STOP, or something like that. It doesn't work that way." Chris appreciated that JC had come to accept that he and Justin had been together -- at least on some level -- but there was still resentment inside him about the way they'd been treated by him.

"Right," said Joey with a rueful grin. "Even *I* got that fucking lecture from JC a few times. Deserved it, mind you. So hey, you're doing better than I did already, so don't fuck it up by falling into my apparently-deliquent ways." He gave Justin a bright, friendly smile and ruffled his hair again. He noted with a bit of alarm, though, just how much that made Justin sway.

JC sighed. "I GET that, Chris. I wouldn't tell him to stop, anyway, even if I was more against it than I am. I'd just ... try to get him to see the other side of things." He paused, but the beer made him finish. "Not that it works. It didn't, when he wanted to stay with you."

Justin closed his eyes when Joey touched him again. He didn't have gel in his hair, and he let himself think that the fairly innocent touch was more of a caress. "Okay," he moaned a little. "Got it. No fucking up. Can I have another beer?"

"He was right to want to stay with me," Chris reminded him, thinking that he was definitely going to need another drink. "What 'other side' are you hoping to get him to see? What is there about Joey that he doesn't already know, JC?"

"That's NOT what I said, exactly," laughed Joey. "And can you wait, just a few minutes, on the beer? That last one went down pretty fast ... "

"That's not ... " JC sighed. "Just another perspective on doing this stuff. YES, within the group. Why am I the only one who sees how dangerous that could be?" "Okay," Justin agreed easily, content at the moment to just SIT with Joey. He smiled broadly at him, and shifted his chair a little closer to reach out and touch Joey's superman necklace. "So what DID you mean, then?"

"It can be dangerous," admitted Chris. "Of COURSE it can. But no more that doing it outside the group. Especially when it comes to guys. And besides that," he added, poking JC's shoulder to make sure he had his attention, "the feelings are already happening. And it's THOSE you'd need to stop, to avoid that danger altogether."

"Well, EVERYbody fucks up," said Joey. 'I stuff fuck up all the time. I just meant ... don't fuck up like that. Because that could have led me to very, very bad things. And don't do drugs either. Except pot. Pot's okay. But not yet."

"I know," JC moaned, leaning his head gently on Chris's shoulder. "I know. Fuck. How did you DO it? How did you let yourself FEEL those things for him, when you probably shouldn't? If you ever felt like you shouldn't, I mean. I know it's hard to STOP, but what about never letting yourself START?"

Justin chuckled and let his knuckles linger against Joey's chest as he let go of the pendant. "You're just making this up as you go along, aren't you?" Justin didn't mind; Chris wouldn't let him do pot anyway, and he'd listen to Chris about stuff before JC or even Joey. "Like WHAT, exactly?" he asked, looking at Joey with big eyes. "You mean ... thinking you got your girlfriend pregnant?"

"You know damn well it doesn't work like that," said Chris, reaching for his drink. "They just START sometimes. Do you think I MEANT to fall for a 15-year-old? Seriously? But it happened ... and it was good, JC. Sometimes you just have to let things happen." Joey shook his head. "I meant the stealing, Justin. THAT could have led to other things ... bad things. I've had cousins get into that shit and it's just bad news Getting my girlfriend pregnant ... that would have led to a very GOOD thing at a very bad TIME. There's a difference." He WAS winging it as far as the 'rules' went, but what ELSE was he supposed to do?

"Yeah," JC muttered, not wanting their conversation to return to an age-old fight of theirs, but not sure how to prevent it. "Was it him? Justin? Was there just something about *him* that, like, induced you to break more laws than I can count?"

"No, I get it," Justin nodded, more solemnly than he felt. He grinned, then. "I don't really see myself *stealing* anything, Joey ... we're gonna be huge. People are gonna give us anything we WANT. And I'm sure you'll say it wasn't about that, that is was rebellion, but ... I don't have anything to rebel against. I pretty much do what I want, already. How many kids my age can say that?"

"Fuck," muttered Chris, downing the rest of the drink abruptly. "Not this shit. I did NOT coerce him in ANY way, JC, and you know that. It was Justin's idea ... right from the start. I mean, fuck, of COURSE it was just him. It don't go trolling high schools for kids to pick up. I fell for JUSTIN, okay, because we have, like, a MILLION things in common."

"I know, I know all that," JC said softly, trying to calm Chris down. "I DON'T think you forced anything on him, and as badly as I might have treated you, you KNOW I never accused you of that. I just ... I guess I'm trying to figure out how much I really have to worry about this thing with Joey. Cause ... I can't guage Justin's irresistability for shit."

"I didn't steal because I needed shit," said Joey. "I did it for kicks. It wasn't even rebellion. It was something to do. And I DON'T think you're going to or anything, but you DID ask what I did, didn't you?" Joey knew damn well Justin didn't do whatever he wanted, not with a mother like his, but he got away with a lot more than most, still.

"Yeah, well, you're STRAIGHT," Chris pointed out needlessly, groping for the vodka bottle. "I don't know how Joey's going to react. I'm not Joey. I'm Chris. Just because *I* fell for him doesn't mean he's irresistable or something. You know better than THAT, too."

"No," Justin grinned. "I asked what you think I shouldn't do, at my tender age. Why are you all defensive?" He leaned forward again, basically giving up on any real excuse for touching Joey, and tracing the pattern on his t-shirt with a shaky fingertip.

Joey looked down at Justin's wandering finger, then grinned. "You're drunk, aren't you?" he said. "No more beer for you, kiddo." He lifted Justin's chin, looked into his eyes for a moment, then nodded his head.

"That was my POINT," muttered JC. "So maybe I *don't* know better." He waited for Chris to take a swig of the vodka then held out his hand for the bottle. "So, but you said it was 'cause you had stuff in common ... and Joey and Justin aren't that similar, so maybe ...?"

"Could you maybe stop being so hopeful that they don't get together?" suggested Chris as he handed the bottle over. "What if they do? They're gonna need our support, JC. That INCLUDES yours. Justin went through hell when you didn't approve of him and me ... and I won't let you do that to him again."

Justin's eyes drifted shut when Joey's warm hand cupped his chin. "Mmmm," he mumbled, before opening his long lashes again slowly, grinning slowly, speaking slowly. "No, not drunk. Just ... satisfied. Kinda. Don't ruin it by trying to tell me what to do." He didn't move his hand, or stop smiling.

"Oh, you won't LET me?" JC scoffed, then bit his tongue and drank instead. "Okay. OKAY. I'll stay out of it, jeez. And I'll ... I won't sabotage anything. But, Chris, you can't ask me to think this is a good idea."

"So I shouldn't point out that you're caressing my chest, then?" said Joey, amused. "Okay. Can I just say that you're getting better at the fondling thing, though?" Justin was definitely beyond tipsy, at the very least, but Joey KNEW he would never admit it. He was stubborn that way.

"I'm not asking you to think it's a good idea," said Chris, taking the bottle back. "I'm asking you not to assume it's a BAD idea. Because you don't know. You don't. You can't. I don't care what you THINK you know, either."

"You can point it out," Justin murmured, watching his own hand like he had no idea where these guts came from, "as long as you don't tell me to stop." He looked up. "NOW can I have another beer?"

"OKAY," JC repeated exasperatedly. "Fine. Now how long are you going to hate me for THIS one?" JC really didn't know why he and Chris couldn't get along better. Especially when looking out for Justin was arguably a major priority for both of them.

Joey looked up helplessly at JC and Chris, then back down at Justin. "You are SO wasted," he said, then sighed. "Okay, one more. But that's it, okay?"

"You have no idea how DIRTY you made me feel, about Justin," said Chris bitterly. It didn't really answer the question, but it was enough. "You had no right to do that. And I sure as hell hope you know that now."

Justin shrugged and sat back in his chair, knowing he could have as many as he wanted if he made a big enough stink about it, but not wanting Joey to drag JC into it. "I'm not wasted," he said, enunciating carefully. "Did that make you uncomfortable, or something?"

Joey had to think about that. "Well, no," he said finally. "It just didn't seem like something you would normally do, if you weren't drinking. You might think you don't act any differently when you drink, but you do. Everyone does." Joey recognized the lecture for what it was about halfway through the sentence, but it was too late to stop himself at that point.

"Chris, I'm fucking SORRY, okay? I've apologized, like, a billion times. You were right, I was wrong. Seriously, how long are you gonna hold a grudge?" JC tried not to focus on the fact that JC was the only person Chris EVER stayed mad at.

"You still do it," said Chris, taking another gulp from the bottle. And another. "You still make me feel like it was wrong and bad. Just five minutes ago you pointed out how many LAWS it broke, JC. How do you THINK I'm gonna react to that?"

Justin shrugged again and leaned his chin on his fist, kicking Joey's leg idly. "You may be right," he admitted, knowing that he likely WOULDN'T have been doing that if he wasn't buzzing, but not for the reasons Joey thought. "You're not so bad, with the lectures," he smiled. "You sure you don't wanna give the birds and the bees a shot?"

"Just ignore me," JC waved broadly. "I'm toasted. I'm sorry." He couldn't help the sarcasm that dripped from his voice next, though, sorry or not. "I just *love* the fact that when Justin decided he wanted to know what it was like to get fucked, you were ready and willing."

Joey smirked. "Would you find it entertaining?" he asked, looking into Justin's still-wide eyes. "I can give it a shot. Let's see if I remember it." He cleared his throat dramatically. "When a boy meets a girl and they like each other very, very much ... " He started laughing. "I can't do this. I'm better at 'Use a condom. Thanks. Bye.'."

"Would you rather it was someone ELSE?" said Chris, putting the bottle down a little too hard. "Would you rather it was some STRANGER, JC? If Justin wanted to explore sex with guys, he was GONNA find a way. Can you HONESTLY think of a better way for it to have happened?"

Justin laughed, then hiccuped, then looked surprised at himself, then laughed again. "That's good. Very ... succinct. Thanks. I'll remember that." He kept laughing, and rested a hand on Joey's arm. "God, you're funny." Since he meant it, Justin decided not to consider that blatant flattery.

"I'm a lot funnier when my audience is drunk," admitted Joey conspiratorally. "Why do you think I go clubbing so much? It's a LOT easier to get laid when there's alcohol involved." He held a finger to his lips. "Shh, don't tell JC I told you that, okay? He'd kick my ass."

"No, and that's why I'm okay with it NOW," JC reminded him. "I'm sorry about that comment about breaking laws, I ... I know that's not what it was about. And I KNOW you weren't taking advantage of him. But it's hard to think of HIM being the aggressor, at all, so ..."

"Well, he was," said Chris. "I may have been looking, but HE was the one that approached ME. And I'm very glad he did, JC. I'll never regret it." He studied JC seriously. "You forget that he's not a little boy anymore. He's been sexually active for years now, and he knows what he wants. And right now ... what he wants is apparently Joey."

"JC knows all ABOUT the many varied uses of alcohol as a seduction tool, I think," Justin said in the same tone. "But I won't let on that you clued me in. Thanks for the tip. Provide lots of booze to the person you want to fuck." He looked at Joey pointedly, more brazenly than he meant to. "You gonna give me that beer?"

Joey snickered. "Don't get any ideas," he said and handed him the beer. "I'm not your type." He continued to watch Justin with some amusement. The poor guy was a ball of hormones right now; he couldn't even turn it off. Maybe they SHOULD have gone to a club -- or tried to -- and put those smoldering eyes to good use for him.

"I know," JC sighed, picking up the bottle where Chris left it. "And THAT's hard to think about, too -- that he's experienced enough to have the slightest CLUE about what he wants." He looked at Chris curiously. "How do you still have this, like, healthy outlook about the whole thing? Even though you broke up?"

Justin opened his mouth to tell Joey just HOW wrong he was, until he remembered that the older man -- even though he was still sitting there, talking to Justin -- hadn't been flirting back. And so maybe the problem was more that JUSTIN wasn't *his* type. He hid his pout behind the bottle of beer, and scooted his chair away again.

"People get over breakups, JC," he said, frowning at him for not just understanding that. "And we're still friends. Why's it so damn HARD for you to just let him live his own life? I know damn well YOU were having sex when you were his age." He raises an eyebrow, daring JC to contradict that.

JC snickered. "Yeah. I was. And I repeat ... it's hard to think he has any clue what he wants, at his age. Look ... I can't help being protective of him. You are too, and don't deny it."

"Oh, don't be that way," said Joey, smiling and sighing at the same time. "I was just teasing you, Justin. Go ahead and have your fun ... I'm not stopping you." It wasn't really as much fun for HIM, either, he realized, when Justin pulled away like that.

"Yeah, I am," said Chris, nodding his head. "And I made some bad choices when I was 16 ... but I made some good ones, too. And I DID know what I wanted. And even if he DOESN'T, we still have to let him make his own mistakes."

"Not much point," Justin told him, sighing, starting to kick his leg again and not moving any closer. "Okay. NOW I'm bored."

"Okay," JC capitulated, in the interest of peace, and also because it seemed like they'd never agree on what it *meant* to be protective of Justin Timberlake. "So. Truce? I need you to tell me the warning signs, and I don't want you growling at me when you do it."

"Justin," said Joey, sighing. "Don't do this again. Look, what do you want to do?" This is exactly what happened last time Justin had gotten drunk, too. He'd let a little thing get to him and blown it ALL out of proportion.

"Warning signs for what, exactly?" asked Chris warily.

"I don't know," Justin shrugged; then, because he finished his beer and was still feeling a little aggressive, despite the pseudo-brush-off, he leaned in to Joey again. "I'm not pouting, or anything, don't worry. Wanna go swimming?"

JC tried to put a innocent look on his face. "Just ... like, what it means when Justin does such-and-such to Joey. Or when Joey responds by doing something else. I told you I *promise* I won't butt in, but I kinda need to know what's going on."

"Oh, no no no," said Joey quickly. "No swimming while drunk. I learned that one young. We could go outside though ... ?" He hoped Justin would take him up on that offer and not push the swimming thing, because he really wouldn't let him. Under any circumstances.

Chris sighed. "I'm probably not going to be any better at noticing than you are," he said after a moment. "But okay. I'll talk to you about it."

"Okay," Justin leapt up quickly and bounded over to the stairs. Joey wanted to be *alone* with him. Or at least wasn't resisting. This was all VERY good. "Let me go get my sweatshirt."

Joey chuckled again and was very glad he'd stopped drinking. "Guys," he called out to JC and Chris. "We're going outside. Justin needs some fresh air."

"Okay," said Chris, then looked at JC.

"Like ... " he watched Justin run over to the stairs in confusion. "What THAT means. Or ... Would it be easier just to tell me how he did it, with you?"

Joey gave them both a wave and headed up the stairs.

Justin stuck out his tongue at Joey after exchanging a wink with Chris, and tagged along behind him. "You need to borrow a sweatshirt, too, Joey? Cause I can get it for you, no problem."

Chris shrugged. "My best guess? Joey let Justin have too much to drink. Again." He tapped his fingers against the floor nervously. "How much do you REALLY want to know about me and Justin, JC? I mean, seriously?"

"I'm fine," said Joey. "I bet it's still warm out." He looked out the glass doors into the backyard, well lit by the deck lights. "What do you want to do outside?"

"Swimming," Justin laughed, and then grabbed Joey's hand easily and tugged him behind him out onto the deck. "No, I don't know. You can try to corrupt me some more?" He smiled and flopped down onto one of the deck chairs.

"Apparently you got plenty corrupt withOUT my help," muttered Joey, sitting down next to him. "If you really want to get corrupt you should go to Chris, though. I bet he's forgotten more dirty tricks than I'll EVER know."

JC thought about that, and tried not to be distracted by evil thoughts toward Joey for getting Justin drunk. "Mmm? I'm being serious. Tell me how it happened. I want to know what I'm LOOKING at."

Justin started choking, and couldn't stop until Joey pounded on his back a few times. "Um," he coughed, his face red. "Yeah. What ... makes you say that?"

"He's OLD," laughed Joey. "Older than me, anyway. He's had more time to cultivate his bad habits. Refine them. I'm sure he's the MASTER of corruption, when it comes to us. I mean ... WHO bought us the liquor, anyway?" He grinned at Justin, completely neglecting to mention that he had been the one to SUGGEST that Chris bring something to drink over. But knowing Justin, he'd remember, despite the amount of it that he'd consumed.

"Yeah, because it wasn't *your* idea, or anything," Justin coughed again. If Joey only *knew* what Chris had done to 'corrupt' him. But ... he and Chris had agreed that anything that happened between them would be shared with the rest of the group on a strictly need-to-know basis, for which minor and good-natured digs by Joey likely didn't qualify. "Anyway. I'm not *corrupt*. Why do you say that?" He smiled and snuggled up into his sweatshirt more.

"Well, I can hardly argue that you're the sweet and innocent one anymore. Guess that job falls to Lance, now." He had to snicker as he said that, though, remembering how they'd had to step over Lance's sleeping body as they passed through the kitchen on their way outside. He felt momentarily guilty, thinking that they should have put him to bed or something, but it soon passed. "I guess ... you're not quite the kid I thought you were, is all." Joey looked up and down Justin's body, remembered how it had looked when they were swimming, and gave himself a mental smack for not realizing that Justin would already have been up to something with girls.

"I'm still the sweet one," Justin protested, flipping over onto his stomach and gazing at Joey. If he had known that simply telling Joey he wasn't a virgin anymore would have had *this* kind of impact on him treating Justin like an adult, Justin would've done it the second he realized he wanted him. "But I haven't been a kid for a while. Does this mean you're gonna treat me different, now?" He couldn't decide if that was going to be a good thing or not.

Joey shrugged, then grinned. "I might not be so worried about telling you what I got up to the night before," he admitted. "That's about it." He WAS a bit disappointed that Justin hadn't just told him, and wondered why that was, but it wasn't enough to bring his good mood down. Very little was. "My main delinquent acts as a 16-year-old were sex and drinking, so I guess I can stop worrying that you're GOING to do that. And smoking." He shook his finger at Justin. "Don't smoke."

"But YOU do," Justin complained, balking even though he didn't like cigarettes anyway. "And Chris does." He let a hand reach across the gap between their chairs and started tugging on the hem of Joey's shorts. "Okay, I changed my mind. I'm not so sure I like you telling me what to do. Let's just get in some trouble together." He grinned impishly. "Then you won't have to TELL me about what you were up to the night before, 'cause I'll have seen it myself."

"Hoo boy, no, you're NOT seeing what I do at night," laughed Joey. "Apparently you don't need that kind of education anymore, anyway." He stretched out in the chair. "And I don't smoke anymore. I quit. Again. For real this time." He reached out and ruffled Justin's curls again. "Just because I do something, doesn't make it a good idea. I'm not trying to tell you what to do, just ... you know, make it so you don't have to go through the same shit I did." He snickered. "Oh god, I sound like my father. You can ignore me now."

"No," Justin said softly, seriously, but still smiling. After today, it was going to be even *harder* to ignore Joey than it had been before. "And ... I don't think you meant to, but you *do* realize that you just implied that I don't have anything to *learn* from you, with respect to those nocturnal activities?" He let the very tip of his fingers slide against Joey's leg, under that hem. "THAT can't be right."

"Now, now," said Joey. "I didn't say THAT. Just that you've, you know, obviously got the basics down." He wondered if Justin even KNEW that he was touching Joey a little bit intimately. Which wasn't anything NEW really, for them, but given the nature of the conversation he suspected that Justin was unconsciously acting out what he'd like to be doing with someone. Lucky girl, too -- Justin's hands were strong but his touch was gentle and almost soothing. "I've still got a few years of experience on you, Timberlake."

"Yeah?" Justin grinned, his fingers drifting around to the back of Joey's knee. "So what've you got against sharing a little of the knowledge gained *from* that experience?" Either way Joey might choose to do that would be fine with Justin, 'cause both would mean them interacting under a more intimate and sexual environment than they had. If he just told him stories, it would give Justin a chance to listen carefully and see what was seductive to Joey. And if he let him tag along the next time he was out picking up girls ... even better, 'cause Joey would get to see just how WELL Justin had the 'basics' down.

"Are you asking me to corrupt you?" asked Joey with a smirk. "Or are you just a closet voyeur?" He paused for a moment and studied Justin again. "Or are you just asking me to tell you my most intimate sexual secrets? Because what if I tell you, and you start using them, and I never get a date again, huh? You think I wanna risk that?" He grinned at Justin. "Seriously, man, is there something that you're trying to ask me, here? Like, in particular?"

Justin blushed at being called a voyeur, especially since he HAD jerked off after watching Joey --accidentally! -- with those two chicks, but he didn't remove his hand. Instead, he looked down to watch it drift lower to Joey's calf. "I'm flattered that you think that I'll be that irresistable, but somehow I doubt you'll ever have a problem getting dates. Even with me around." He licked his lips. "I didn't have anything in mind, it's just ... you talk to Chris about that kind of stuff, you know? Guy talk? How hot the chick you banged last night was? That's all."

"Guy talk," repeated Joey, sounding as though he was mulling it over. "I didn't bang any chicks last night, actually. Kelly was over and we didn't do much of anything. Fell asleep in front of the TV after she went home. The biggest excitement of my night was jerking off in the bathroom." He snorted almost derisively at himself. The night BEFORE that had been a different story entirely. "You? Bang any hot chicks last night?"

"No!" Justin said quickly, laughing nervously -- he hadn't expected the conversation to turn to him. "No. I can't really ... do that so much, um, when we're not on tour. Mom kinda ruins the vibe, you know? Not to *mention* JC, like, grilling anyone I bring over, and Lance trying to get whoever it is to stay downstairs and talk to *him* and, like, eat ice cream." He sighed. "Someday, though. And anyway ... Kelly's ... hot?" Justin said awkwardly, not quite sure how to be complimentary of his competition. "Why didn't you guys ... ?"

Joey sighed. "We're off-again, apparently," he said, shrugging, his smile faltering. "Not sure how long it's gonna last this time before we realize we miss each other like crazy and start screwing around again. She already had a date lined up for this afternoon, though, so ... " He shrugged again and wished he'd brought a drink with him outside. "It's not like we've ever been exclusive or anything, but I didn't feel like going out and picking someone up is all. So ... I'm guessing your mama doesn't know you're anything but an angel, huh?"

"Wha-at?" Justin whined innocently, but grinned devilishly. "I *am* an angel. At least ... they all tell me so, after." That was actually a little hard to say ... 'angel' had been one of the nicknames Chris used for him that Justin loved most. But Justin did NOT like seeing the smile fade from Joey's face, and if he could bring it back by being amusingly conceited and letting Joey change the subject, he would. Fucking *Kelly*.

"ALL?" laughed Joey. "Just how many of them have there BEEN, anyway? You've been a busy boy." He raised an eyebrow expectantly -- not nearly as good at it as Chris was -- and waiting to glean a bit more information about Justin's up-till-now-secret life. He couldn't imagine it had been many, not with his mom on the tour. But then, Justin was different when they were working, and had been ever since they'd met. So maybe Joey was underestimating just how far Justin had gone.

"Instances, or people?" Justin replied without thinking, then wanted to smack himself, because that did *nothing* if it didn't give away the fact that there was a relationship or two thrown in there. Not to *mention* the fact that he used a gender-neutral term, too. "Um. Isn't that a little ... personal?" He leaned his cheek back down on the deck chair, and looked out over the pool.

"Oh," said Joey, surprised a little by that response. 'And your questions WEREN'T?' he almost wanted to say, but didn't. Justin was still feeling the beer he'd drunk, and it wasn't a good time to set him off like that. His moods swings were something that Joey was still getting used to. "Sorry. We can stop talking about it now. But ... well, I just wanted to add that I'm glad it wasn't all one-night-stands, Justin."

"Me too," Justin said softly, and withdrew his hand, having to force himself not to get a little melancholy over Chris. After a few minutes of reflection, he perked up again. "We don't have to stop talking about it, really. More than Lance," he smirked, "and less than JC. Enough. Did you really *want* a number?" He rolled over on his back again and let his head hang off the edge of the chair so he could still smile at Joey, if upside-down. "That's just a different kind of subject. I want to hear gory *details*."

"Well, I wasn't asking for a NUMBER," said Joey, grinning again now. "Just a rough estimate. More than Lance doesn't tell me ANYthing. But less than JC does ... that means less than me, at least." He reached down and played with the hem of his own shorts, now that Justin wasn't. "Gory details. Huh. Well .. okay ... the last night before we flew home I was with this chick -- oh my god was she TALL -- and she gave the best head I ever had in my whole LIFE. Bar none. I felt like I shoulda been paying her or something. No way could I do something like that BACK." He paused. "That the kind of gory detail you're looking for?"

Justin flipped back over onto his belly quickly. "Uh-huh." His eyes were wide, and he forced his hips not to thrust down against the chair. "So ... you just let her? You didn't even *try* to do anything for her?" Mentally, he filed away the fact that Joey had liked being with someone tall -- that boded well, since Justin really *was* still growing. And then he grinned, knowing that the poor girl would lose that superlative by the time Joey let Justin suck him. 'Cause Justin had never had a girl give head half as well as a guy, and Justin knew he was better than most guys.

"Well yeah, of course I TRIED," said Joey. "I'm not an ass, Justin. I treat a girl good. I went down on her for, like, an hour and she came a couple times, but still ... there's just no way it could have measured up. And that's no reflection on MY ability," he added quickly. "She was just that damn good." He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, smiling a little at the memory, then opened them again and turned back toward Justin. "I feel weird, saying this stuff to you when in my head you're still ... you know. Innocent."

Justin's eyes opened even wider -- an hour? a *couple* times?? god, what he wouldn't do for Joey to have his face in Justin's crotch for that long -- and he started squirming in the chair very, very subtly. "Yeah. They teach 'em good over there, huh?" he said, a little cockily since he was unsettled at getting turned on by the conversation. Even though it was what he wanted. He had just hoped it would work the other way around. "And I'm *not* innocent. Maybe *you* need to see what *I* do at night."

"If what you do at night involves your hand and a bottle of lotion then, no, I don't need to see it. I know PLENTY about that," teased Joey. "But yeah. European girls. Hmm, I'm guessing you know something about that, then?" he said with a smirk. "I'd ask you to tell ME a few stories, but I'm not sure my poor heart could take it."

Justin giggled. "I thought we already established THAT activity isn't limited to nighttime, didn't we?" It felt okay to poke fun at himself about it, since Joey had admitted that even HE had done it last night. "And I wasn't planning on *telling* you anything, anyway. That's something ... well. You just need to be there, in person." Justin expected Joey would interpret that how he sort of meant it -- meaning, he'd have to see it to get the full effect -- but there was also a part of him (the horny part) that wanted Joey to at least register that as a proposition.

Joey just stared at him and blinked a couple times. "WOW, you must be drunk," he said finally. "I doubt your date would be very impressed if you brought a friend in to watch." He snickered at the mental image that called up, though. And got the tiniest bit turned on. "So ... what you're telling me is that you expect ME to share details about my sex life, but you don't have to? That's not how guy talk WORKS, Justin."

"Hey, I didn't say I wouldn't talk," Justin said casually, stretching and then using it as a pretense to touch Joey's leg again, completely unconcerned about the cliched obviousness of the action. "*You're* the one that said you didn't think you could handle it." He let his thumb slide up and down over the bone in Joey's shin. "I'll tell you anything about the girls I've slept with that you want to hear." There, he figured. That's safe.

Joey wondered if he should say something, then decided it would be better to embarass him now -- when he might forget -- than let him do anything he might regret in the morning. "Justin," he said quietly. "You're caressing my leg, man. Maybe it's time to take you to bed."

Justin snickered when he realized that, yes, that WAS what it meant. Just not in the way Joey thought. GOD, he just wanted to have the balls to do something about it, to actually hit on Joey as blatantly as he wanted to, but he wasn't that drunk. He *was* drunk enough, however, not to get *too* ashamed at being called on it, and took his time pulling his hand back. "Mmm, sorry," he murmured, not sounding it at all, and smiled. "I'm cool. *You* tired, old man?"

"Tired?" Joey snickered. "Hardly. It's still EARLY." He looked up at the sky, then over at Justin. "You guys are all such damn lightweights. Me and Chris need to go out together some time and really get wasted."

"Let's do it, then," Justin said shortly, sitting up on his chair, trying not to be offended and not succeeding very well. "C'mon. Let's go out. Leave JC and Lance, and go. You can drive there, and I'll be sober enough by then to drive home. Or we can take a cab, whatever. I can just sit there and watch, and see how real men, I guess, do it." His cheeks were pink, again, and his chest was heaving slightly with his heavy breathing.

"Justin," said Joey with a heavy sigh, "we're not going anywhere tonight, except maybe back downstairs to get some more to drink. If you promise to stay sober you can feed me and Chris drinks and see who's on their ass first." He grinned at Justin. "And I think we both know who would win THAT little competition."

"Fine, if that's what you want to do," Justin pouted . Not only was he not going to get to go out after all, but Joey apparently had reached his limit of having a conversation with him and would rather be with Chris. *Justin* would almost rather be with Chris, right then, too ... he was feeling like he had a better chance of getting Chris to forget about their 'arrangement' for the evening and let himself be pulled upstairs to Justin's room, than getting anything out of Joey, anyway. "I think you're gonna have to catch up with him, though. He broke out the vodka." Which was, now that Justin thought about it, cause for some concern.

"Well, what do YOU want to do?" asked Joey, rolling his eyes a little. "Seriously, Justin. Other than go out ... I'm not even gonna TRY and take you clubbing tonight, all right?" Or anywhere else, for that matter, but he didn't think Justin was going to try and suggest anything away from home again. "Look ... I won't say anything if you want to keep drinking ... as long as we stay here."

Justin mumbled something under his breath, and then glared at Joey. "I can keep drinking if I want to, whether you say anything or not. I was just trying to *talk* to you. Look ... you want me to go back down and get us some more beers? See maybe if Chris wants to come up?" He started kicking his chair petulantly.

"Fine. Drink as much as you want. And you know what? Next time you start puking after getting drunk, how about I just leave you there for your mama to take care of?" Joey sighed and rolled his eyes, his patience getting stretched. "Stop being such a kid, Justin. I just asked you what you wanted to do." He reached over and touched Justin's curls, but didn't ruffle them like usual. "And I thought we *were* talking."

Justin cursed himself for being so fucking weak and *susceptible* to that sort of casual affection, but he couldn't stay angry, *even* with Joey making fun of his age again. "We were," he sniffed, sticking his hands in his pockets. "So should I? Go get you another beer? I really ... I don't want any more tonight." He looked up from under Joey's hand, eyes big and bright.

Joey sat back and smiled. "Nah," he said. "We'll do it again some other night. I'm pretty comfortable right where I am right now." And he was. The night was warm and quiet and Justin was being a human being, which was kinda nice. "Justin ... I kinda DO want to hear about what you've done," he confessed after a moment. "I feel like I missed out on this big milestone in your growing up, not knowing."

"You never told *me*," Justin pointed out, but he knew what Joey was getting at. He sat back down a little gingerly, leaning back on his hands. "But I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Really. It would've been ... nice. Helpful. To maybe talk to you about this kind of stuff." Justin didn't need *advice,* he was sure, but it wouldn't hurt to stroke Joey's ego a little. He grinned a little. "I've done some stuff," he said teasingly, then. "You'd be amazed at what some girls'll do when they figure they're showing you the ropes." Joey grinned, at that. "Don't grow up TOO fast, Justin," he said. "Don't forget you still have time." He couldn't help wondering, though, just what Justin HAD done, and how often, and how it compared to HIM. "And hey, we're talking now at least. Right?"

Justin started swinging his legs. "Yup," he grinned. "Seriously, you can ask me whatever you want. I'm not shy. I *also* don't think that anything I've done qualifies as growing up too fast. What's that supposed to *mean*, anyway? I've already *had* to grow up too much, kinda."

"That's my point," said Joey, looking at him seriously. "There's a lot of stuff you've HAD to grow up about, so the stuff that you DON'T have to do ... you might wanna save. You know?" Once again he wished he had a drink in his hand, but it wasn't worth risking ending this conversation early in order to get one. "So ... guy talk me here, Justin. What have you done, anyway?"

"Save it?" Justin looked at him in confusion. "What for? Sex, that's the *good* part about growing up. Balances out the other shit I *had* to grow up about. Don't you get that?" He shook his head, then smiled and hugged himself happily. Joey wanted to guy talk with *him*. "Am I supposed to, like, give you some kind of checklist?" he teased. "Gone down on someone? Check. Gotten a blowjob? Check. Fucked somebody? Check. Done it in a club, in a pool, in the bed next to Lance? Check, check, check." He grinned. "Or did you mean, like, positions and stuff?"

"In the bed next to LANCE? You are SO shitting me, Justin. You didn't!" Joey looked at him incredulously, but somewhat impressed at the same time. "Okay, so what's your favorite stuff to do, then? Do you like going down on chicks? Or do you like letting them do stuff to you? Or ... whatever else?" He grins. "I'm curious now. Chris never tells me SHIT about his sex life ... and JC, I just don't WANNA know. most of the time."

"I *did*!" Justin laughed. "I totally did. Not IN the bed with him, but the bed NEXT to him. He was passed out. I think." He laughed again, feeling giddy and important. "Let's see ... favorite stuff ... um." He *so* wanted to be honest with Joey, and just *say* 'sucking cock,' and see how he reacted, but ... he just couldn't. "I totally get off on giving head," he said. There. Safe, neutral, honest. "Like, even more than being sucked off, sometimes ... especially since most girls just *don't* know what they're doing." He sighed, remembering Chris, and shifted in his seat. "What about you?"

"You'd better HOPE he was passed out," laughed Joey, "or the poor boy's been scarred for life. I'm sure that at least LANCE must be ... well, I won't even say. I've been wrong before." He studied Justin again, still wearing a grin. "If you get off on giving head then the girls must LOVE you. You ARE gonna steal all my action. Dammit."

"The girls, yeah," Justin kept the grin on his face, even though he didn't quite feel as happy as he did, and even felt a little bad about being evasive. Not *dishonest*, 'cause going down on girls was cool, too, but ... "But I ain't *never* kept my tongue in some girl's ... you know ... for an *hour*, man. That's ALL you." He yawned and rotated his neck a little. "So c'mon. Fess up. What have *you* done?"

"Yeah, well, she was special," admitted Joey with a bit of a smile. "Damn my jaw was sore after that, though. But anyway ... what have *I* done? Shit, Justin, what HAVEN'T I done. It's ... not much of a secret I've been around the block a few times. I guess I've done all the usual stuff. A bit of, you know, tying up and stuff. And then there's the times I've been with 2 people ... those were, um, enlightening. To say the least. God ... I don't even know where to START." Part of him wanted to tell Justin all these things, another part was still yelling at him that Justin was too young to be having this conversation with, and he should stick to the innocent stuff, at least.

"I *know*," Justin agreed. "It's like ... we should've been doing this all along, 'cause now it just feels weird to have to remember everything." He rolled over onto his hip a little, resting his head in his hand, and starting picking at the plastic on the chair. He was trying hard to look unaffected by Joey's admissions -- the tying up thing was no big deal, but *two people*? -- and he didn't really know how to interpret the 'special' comment about The Girl Who Gave Great Head. But his curiosity got the best of him anyway. "Um. Two people. Two chicks, like, at once? How did you manage *that*?"

"Yeah, something like that," said Joey, looking away for a moment then looking back at Justin as he spoke. "You just gotta .. remember to pay attention to everyone involved is all. It's not as hard as it sounds. It's fun. NOT that I want you running out and trying it right away or anything. You gotta be careful and stuff, and make sure you really WANT it because if there's someone there that's not into it, I bet it would really suck." He started chewing on a nail a little, wanting SOMEthing to do with his hands. "Whatever you do, just make sure it's safe and fun, I guess."

Justin smiled broadly, again, at the way Joey was treating him as he talked about this stuff. Like he actually expected Justin to be doing it, now, and was giving *real* advice. And there was no *way* Justin was going to let him off THAT easy, when he was able to tell Justin about something that the younger man *hadn't* done. "Come ON," he said, doing a good job of keeping the wheedling tone out of his voice. "TELL me about it. It sounds fun. Was it your idea? Did they know each other? Was it all just, like, fooling around, or did you fuck both of them?"

"Well, there wasn't JUST one time," said Joey awkwardly. "But the one I was talking about ... it was their idea. They were already together, kinda ... and there was fucking involved, yeah, but a lot more sucking and touching and stuff." He slowly grinned again as he talked about it. "And it was a lot of fun. A LOT of fun. And, um, very very different from what I was used to, I guess you could say." Joey hoped he'd answered Justin's questions without having to get into the awkward specifics of that event.

"Dude," Justin said, grinning and tugging up his shirt a little to scratch at his stomach. "That's so *cool*. They were together, the chicks? Meaning, like, they were bi, and not just both trying to get with you?" Justin took a second to process that, and then visualize it, a little, again. When he had walked in on them -- IF it was the same time Joey was talking about -- both of the girls had seemed way more interested in him than each other, and he wondered what he'd missed. "Cool," he repeated distractedly. "I guess *that's* what made it different, huh? Them, like, doing each other in front of you? Cause otherwise, y'know, it doesn't seem THAT different from what you usually do. Or what I've seen you do *dancing*, for pete's sake."

"That's one of the things, yeah," evaded Joey, wondering why he'd started talking about this in the first place. With JUSTIN of all people. He hadn't even told Chris. He bit his nail a little shorter and wondered how he was going to handle this. "I guess it IS a lot like dancing ... all those bodies pressed up against you and moving and you don't even really CARE who they are because it feels good, you know? Yeah. And, um, yeah ... they were bi," he added, which was the truth.

"Cool," Justin repeated, a little relieved that Joey had obviously enjoyed being with bisexual girls, at least. He apparently wasn't *averse* to the concept. Which was good, because even though Justin had approached Chris because he was curious, he had *stayed* with Chris because he was just as attracted to him as any girl. And he had been attracted to other guys since ... no SEX sex, since, but ... he would definitely consider himself bisexual, with no intention of turning back. Or repressing it. "What were the other things?" he asked, almost as an afterthought.

"The other things?" said Joey, stalling. "Um ... maybe I shouldn't be talking about this stuff just right now." He knew Justin wouldn't like that, but it beat telling the poor kid that he'd been with a guy and a girl that time, not just two bisexual girls. He'd probably already traumatized him enough, with the stuff he HAD said. Though ... no matter what he told him, Justin just seemed eager for more. "Maybe it would be better discussed when we're both sober," he added.

Justin's smile faltered a little, and he pulled back some -- causing his shirt to ride up even more. "Oh, come on, Joey. I'm not *that* drunk, and you know it. Why are you all nervous about telling me, all of a sudden? Have I freaked out about *anything*, yet?" He gave him his best grin, then. "Look ... I've obviously done more than you thought I had, more than I've even *told* you. I just want to ... I dunno. *Bond* with you about it. But if you go back to treating me like some naive kid ... "

Joey's eyes flicked down Justin's body, then away. "I think," he said after a moment, "there are a few things we might NOT be able to bond over. I'm not thinking you're a naive kid or anything -- not NOW -- but ... look, why don't I tell you about this time I took these two fans up to my room, instead. They were, like, cousins or something ... " He looked at Justin hopefully.

Justin looked up at him, having missed Joey's quick once-over, his face a perfectly confused expression. "Okay ... ?" he said slowly, wondering which time he had walked in on after all, and how *many* of these experiences Joey had had. But most of all... "Tell me whatever you want. I just ... why? I mean, what's so different about that time, with those girls, than the *other* time, with *those* girls? Girls are girls, man."

"Because one of them wasn't a girl, okay?" said Joey quietly, looking at his hands, finally just SAYING it. "Jeez, I TOLD you we should talk about this sober. The time I was talking about one of them was a girl and one of them ... wasn't. And I think that's just stuff you're NOT ready to hear yet. Or maybe I'm not ready to tell. One of the two. So ... those cousins ... man, were they HOT ... " He turned his head, then, as his voice trailed off, to catch Justin's expression.

Justin's mouth was open, his eyes wide. As soon as Joey stopped talking, though, his gape turned into a huge grin. "Oh, my god," he said softly, leaning forward. He had *no* idea, it hadn't even *occured* to him, that Joey had actually been with a guy before. This was great! Half the battle, and all that ... now Justin just had to get Joey to go for *him*. Which he was sure he could do, if he put his mind to it. It worked on Chris, who was a *lot* pickier. "Oh, my god. You fucked a guy? And you *liked* it?" The assumption he made there didn't register to Justin, nor the way he sounded more incredulous than excited.

Joey's face started to turn red, but thankfully they were outside in the night, and he'd had at least enough to drink to explain THAT away, if Justin noticed. "I didn't FUCK him, Justin. Shit ... I never should have said anything. NOW you're freaking out, huh?" He crossed his arms over his chest defensively. It's not as if he PLANNED to make out with a guy ... it had just happened. And there had been a girl there, too, so that made it okay, right? "It just kinda happened," he said aloud after a moment.

"Oh," Justin said, his face falling a little, suddenly uncomfortable with how uncomfortable JOEY was with the whole thing, and hoping it was just because he wasn't sure how Justin would react. "I'm not freaking out," he said softly, sneaking a hand toward Joey but not touching him, not knowing if it was welcome. "Really. I'm just ... surprised. I didn't know. But ... " he bit his lip, "you liked it, right? You said you did."

Joey smiled a little bit, remembering. "Yeah," he admitted. "I liked it. It was good. It's not something I go out of my way to LOOK for, or anything, but ... yeah. No regrets. DIFFERENT, though. Way, way different than making out with chicks. Everything's in the wrong place and bits are missing and there are bits THERE that you's never quite ready for." He looked at Justin solemnly. "You aren't gonna tell anyone, right?"

Justin shook his head and pulled his hand back slowly. That was *not* the most reassuring admission. "I won't tell. But ... it's not something to be *ashamed* of, Joe. And ... " he swallowed. "It doesn't have to mean anything. And ... if you've ever been with *just* a guy? That ... doesn't have to mean anything either. If you don't want it to." God, that hurt to say ... he *wanted* it to mean more than, obviously, it did. "What was it like? What did you do to him ... or, uh, let him do to you?"

"I'm not ASHAMED of it, Justin," said Joey, even though maybe he was, a little bit. "It's just, you know, not something I do all the time. I don't want anybody tacking labels on me or something, just because I made it with a guy and had a really great time." He wasn't exactly SMILING, when he looked at Justin, but he wasn't exactly not, either. The corners of his lips looked like they were turned upward, just a fraction, and his eyes twinkled. "Are you sure you want to hear this stuff? I'm pretty sure it wasn't what you were expecting, when you asked me about my experience. And it can hardly be USEFUL information or anything."

"I wasn't expecting it," Justin agreed, purposefully avoiding the second comment. It probably *wouldn't* be useful ... but again, not for the reasons Joey thought. It was just obviously going to be something he'd done plenty of times himself. He was also a little mollified that 'fun' had turned into 'a really great time.' He just didn't know how to make Joey understand *how* okay he was with him being honest ... he toyed briefly with sitting on the ground and resting his head on Joey's knee, but given the nature of the topic ... that might make him more uncomfortable. "I'd really ... like to hear about it."

"Oh Jeez," said Joey, grinning a bit now and pulling his knees up, staring at them. "I didn't think THAT was coming. Okay ... okay ... but bear with me here because I haven't TOLD anybody about this stuff before. Didn't think any of you guys would want to hear it ... except maybe Lance, and Lance isn't READY to hear it, I don't think." He chewed on his nail again before starting. "So at first it was all about the chick, you know? We were both doing shit to her, like he was going down on her and I was sucking on her tits, and then she had to get up and go to the bathroom. And then ... he was touching ME, you know? And we were all kinda buzzed and all into it and REALLY turned on and I THOUGHT I would stop him ... but I didn't. So he kept touching me and stroking my back and my ass and my leg and stuff ... "

"And stuff?" Justin choked out, nervous, and getting turned on, and getting *jealous*, and wanting to hear every little thing that happened but not wanting to *know*. "Why *didn't* you stop him? Did you ... do anything back? Were you, I don't know ... like, did you maybe get more turned on when the girl left, or ... was it just *still* being turned on, you know?" He blushed and covered his face with his hands. "I'm sorry I ask so many dumb questions ... "

"They aren't dumb," Joey assured him. "They just ... I told you I never talked about this before, and honestly I didn't think the first time would be with YOU, but ... you're being really good about it. Thanks, Just." He actually looked up at him again, then, and smiled. "Okay, so ... " As soon as he started talking about it again, though, he had to look back down at his knees. "At first, it was just because I was turned on by her and I wanted to keep some kind of contact with my body when she left ... but then I realized it was okay that HIS hands were kinda turning me on, too. The way they touched me. WHERE they touched me. Places that she just wouldn't think of, you know? Because of her being a woman and all. So ... yeah ... I started touching back."

"Yeah, I know," Justin mumbled under his breath, watching Joey struggle through the story, but still flushed with pleasure that Joey had appreciated the way Justin was reacting to hearing about it. And still incredibly jealous of this guy, this random *guy*, that got to touch Joey in all the places he wanted to, and didn't know how good he had it. And *god*, he just wanted to touch Joey. Somewhere. "And did you like *that*? Touching him? Was he ... good-looking?"

"Oh, yeah. YEAH," breathed Joey. "He was really hot, Justin." Suddenly he realized what he'd said and bit his lip before he started to sound like he was totally into guys or something. But dammit, he HAD been really hot. "Touching him ... that was when I ran into all those bits that aren't THERE, when you feel up a girl. Which was ... weird ... but okay. Because I guess he was really turned on by ME and that was really cool ... and new ... having this, like, EVIDENCE, that someone likes you that way. And not having to wonder if they were faking all those things."

"Yeah, I know," Justin breathed again, and then looked up sharply to see if Joey had caught that slip. It didn't look as though he had, so he relaxed again. "Hot?" he said louder, then. "Like ... better looking than JC?" JC would always be that sort of benchmark for Justin. He loved Chris, and Joey turned him on something fierce, but JC was beautiful, to him. "Was he, um ... endowed? I guess you *saw* him, too ... ?"

"He wasn't as skinny as JC," said Joey thoughtfully. "He was a lot more muscular and ... bulkier. With this thick, reddish ... what's the color? Auburn? ... auburn hair. Thick enough to grab. And, uh, yeah ... " He coughed politely. " ... he was hung. Bout the same as me, I guess. I don't have a WHOLE lot to compare it to. He FELT big ... in my hand ... though." He wondered, briefly, why Justin wasn't interested in what the girl looked like ... but figured it was just because this guy stuff was all new and different and he KNEW what girls looked like.

"Ah, you jerked him off?" Justin nodded, then swallowed, letting himself fantasize for a second about Joey grabbing *his* hair. "And, for shit's sake, Joey, you have the four of *us* to compare it to. And Steve, I'd guess, and ... well. Okay. You don't have to talk about that." Justin decided he really didn't want to know. "You *did* say there was fucking, though ... and if you didn't fuck *him*, then ... ?" Justin was almost certain that Joey didn't let that guy's dick anywhere near his ass, and figured the fucking had to do with the girl, but he kinda wanted to see what Joey'd say.

"I've never seen you guys hard," said Joey bluntly. "Except JC, that time, but I don't like to think about that. So ... that makes it ... different. That I saw him hard. Touched him hard. Ta--" Joey cut himself off and thought about his next words a little more carefully. "We both fucked her," he said after a moment. "I mean ... not at the same time ... but eventually. Among other things. I ... um ... stayed the night."

"Wow," Justin breathed, a little more surprised at that than anything else Joey had told him. Joey didn't *do* that. "Wow. You *must* have liked it. So that was it, then? You just ... felt him up, and then he did the same to you, and it was all just ... foreplay? And when the chick came back, you both focused on her again?" He was torturing himself with these details, but he needed to *know* what Joey had been willing to do.

"No, um ... " Joey got uncomfortable again, but not enough to stop talking now, not when Justin was just asking questions and not leering or acting like a horndog or a dork or ANYthing. "She didn't come back for, like, a while. I think she wanted us to ... you know ... get it on, or something. So stuff happened, I guess. More than foreplay anyway. And when she did come back -- " This was a part Joey had trouble admitting. " -- we were still kinda into each other more than her. Shit ... you're really NOT gonna tell anyone, right?"

Justin paused. He wouldn't tell anyone in the sense of, like, spreading gossip, but he knew -- he *knew* -- he needed to talk to Chris about this. Especially since Joey was actually admitting how *much* he had gotten into it ... Justin would need advice on how to proceed. "Joe?" he asked instead, softly. "I wouldn't make fun of you for it. I'm just ... really honored you're telling me." He smiled, and figured that was innocuous enough to be able to touch Joey's knee, briefly. His eyes drifted close at the warmth of Joey's skin, however fleeting. "What falls into the category of more than foreplay, but less than fucking? Did you ... " -- he swallowed again -- "put your mouth on it? On him?"

"Um, yeah," said Joey, then chuckled nervously. "Trust me, I TOTALLY respect any girl that does that now. It's kinda fun, but HARD. Just, like, getting my mouth around it, and then having to DO something, you know? It was totally obvious it was my first time, but he didn't laugh at me or anything, which was cool. But I didn't do that for a while ... it was too, you know, DIFFERENT, for my brain, at first."

"Yeah?" Justin said awkwardly. He remembered *that* feeling ... not the reluctance, or the hesitation, but the feelings of insecurity and just *clumsiness*. "Well, yeah. You know what they say. No such thing as a bad blowjob." He looked mortified for a second. "Uh ... not that I'm sure you weren't great!"

Joey laughed then, for a moment feeling like everything was the way it was supposed to be. "I wasn't," he said. "Oh wow, was I not great. But I'd like to think that I was adequate. HE was pretty good though ... " He broke off again, wondering if that's too much information. Wondering WHEN Justin is going to freak, and when he's going to ask the questions that Joey had been EXPECTING, about straight sex.

"Yeah?" Justin asked again, feeling like he kept saying the same things over and over and *wishing* he could contribute more to the conversation. "But not better than The Chick Who Gave Great Head?" He fidgeted in his chair. "Didja swallow?" There. THAT seemed like a question he'd be asking, if he didn't know any better.

Joey coughed again; he hadn't been expecting that question. "Um ... I didn't finish him," he confessed. "And he didn't finish me ... or it would've given her a run for her money, that's for sure."

"Oh," Justin nodded sagely. "So...was that it? The extent of the other stuff? Why ... why'd you STAY, anyway? You gonna see him ... uh, them ... again?"

"What? No ... no ... this is a WHILE ago. And ... what do you mean, why did I stay? Why wouldn't I? Do you think I should have left?" Joey wondered just what Justin was thinking now, whether this was the start of the freak-out or not, or whether he had some kind of lecture coming.

"Oh," said Justin softly. A while ago ... he really *couldn't* have enjoyed it as much as Justin would've liked, if he hadn't tried it again since. "No, I just ... you usually don't." His brow furrowed as he tried to understand. "I wasn't sure what was so special about him."

"Oh, um, well ... the two of them just kinda kept me busy all night, is all," said Joey, frowning a little as Justin's tone changed. "Is it time to stop, Justin? Is this ... weirding you out?" He started biting his nails again as he waited. It had felt kinda good, to talk about it, but he was starting to regret even bringing it up.

"No, I'm fine," Justin said, his voice almost a whisper at that point. "Why do you keep asking me that? It's not weird. But maybe ... I'm kinda tired. And I don't feel great." Those were both true. And on top of that, he felt a little heartbroken and didn't even know why.

"Oh," said Joey, sounding concerned, then. "You want me to take you up to bed, Justin? I don't mind." And Joey had to wonder just where everything suddenly went wrong.

"Would you?" Justin held his arms up plaintively, his lower lip pouting slightly, looking much younger than his years. He knew he did, and didn't care. Because even if he had gotten Joey to see him as more of an equal ... he was almost less sure he'd be able to do anything about it now.

Joey laughed. "You want me to carry you, kiddo?" It was kinda good to see Justin as a kid again; it had been unsettling, to say the least, to learn as much about him as he had, tonight.

Justin nodded, still pouting. "Can you take me to my room?" He just wanted to fall asleep, or pass out, and then talk to Chris about it at some point and have him make him feel better. And then try to get over this crush.

"Well, since I'm not carrying you across the threshold or anything, we better do it this way." He kneels down in front of Justin. "Hop on, Justy. I'll get you to bed. Just promise not to throw up on my head."

"Don't call me that," Justin mumbled, scooting over and wrapping his arms around Joey's broad shoulders. "And I'm not drunk. It's not that kind of sick."

Joey hoisted him up. "Then what kind of sick are you?" he asked. "Is everything okay? What's wrong?" He almost didn't want to hear the answer to that, but he had to ask. "I ... did something to make you sick?" he asked tentatively. "Said something? Fuck ... I'm sorry ... I didn't know."

"It's not sick at ALL, really," Justin clarified, gripping Joey's waist with his legs and trying not to moan when his groin pressed against the small of his back. "And even if it was, you didn't say anything wrong. It's just ... I'm just tired. The sun, or something."

"It's okay," said Joey, carrying him into the house and down the hall. "It's been a long day. And you're still growing, you need your sleep."

"Please don't talk to me like that," Justin said softly, calmly, his mouth pressed against the back of Joey's neck, but his lips dry. "I haven't forgotten you're older than me."

"It's nothing BAD," protested Joey, surprised. "I'm just saying. It's like ... biological. It has nothing to do with how old you feel or act, you know." He kicked open the door to Justin's room. "Flip on the light, would you?"

Justin shook his head and grunted disagreeably. "You know where the bed is. Just dump me on it. I'm not gonna change or anything." He sighed heavily, and hoped Joey would just listen to him.

Joey sighed and took Justin over to the bed, letting him climb off. "Are we still okay?" he asked before leaving the room. "I mean ... now that you know all that stuff?"

Justin burrowed under the covers, tugging the blanket over his head. "Yup," he said, his voice muffled and a little choked. "I promise. Can we do it again, maybe? Guy talk, I mean?"

Joey grinned at him, suddenly overwhelmingly relieved. "Any time," he said. "Night, Justin."

"Night," Justin called, and told himself he wouldn't cry.

---

"What happened between me and Justin isn't going to be able to tell you anything about THIS," argued Chris impatiently. "I'll TELL you -- I don't have anything to hide -- but I hope you don't expect to learn anything from it."

"We'll see," JC said softly, just wanting Chris to calm DOWN and not sure how to make him do it. "Just ... start with the nice stuff. Tell me how you knew he was interested."

"You really want to know, huh," muttered Chris, shaking his head a little in disbelief. "JC, I DIDN'T know at first. He's Justin ... and I didn't think he was interested in guys anyway, so I wasn't looking for it. I thought he was just being ... friendly. And curious."

"What did he do? And would you have KNOWN what to look for, anyway?" What JC was trying to get at, without having to ask, was whether Chris had been with men before. He was fairly certain he knew the answer, but ... "And what does 'he's Justin' mean?"

"In another guy -- who wasn't one of you four -- yeah, sure, I would've known what I was looking at. The signs were there. But ... he's Justin means he's JUSTIN. And ... maybe I looked, but I never would have thought about touching if he hadn't made the first move."

"Which WAS ... ?" JC prompted. He had to admit to himself that he never bothered to learn any of this...when it happened, how it happened, who said what ... he just reacted to it when he DID know.

Chris actually chuckled a little. "Though, looking back, it was probably his third or fourth or tenth move. He must have been getting SO frustrated." Then he looked back at JC again, his expression returning to serious. "He told me that he knew I'd been with guys ... and that he wanted that to. Just right-out said. While he was resting his hand on my chest. I ... finally got the hint."

JC flushed and looked down. "Yeah. I bet that would do it. Did he give you the pout, or something?" JC was still missing how things had gone from Justin being curious, to the two of them dating for months.

Chris nodded. "Among other things. JC ... he was SO good-looking and sweet and I knew I had a bit of a thing for him ... when he asked if he could try things with me, how was I supposed to say NO to that? I'm not that strong."

JC sighed and took another long drink of the vodka. "I don't want you to apologize for it. Just TELL me. I know he's attractive. But, like ... how was he sweet? Is that gonna work on Joey?"

"If Joey's straight, it's not gonna work. If Joey doesn't think he's attractive, it's not gonna work. Justin isn't gonna, like, turn him gay or something, if THAT'S what you're worried about." He held himself back from saying anything nasty. "He was sweet because he's Justin, and he likes to do nice things for the people he likes, and he's so enthusiastic about new things."

"I'm not worried about JOEY," JC emphasized. "I love that boy, and I know he can take care of himself. Always." He frowned and handed the bottle back to Chris. "You think I have a problem with the two of you being bi? Is THAT what this is about?"

"Honestly?" said Chris, taking the bottle back gratefully. "I don't know WHAT it's about. I don't know what your problem is with Justin liking someone." He took a large swig of the vodka and coughed a bit as he brought it back down. "Maybe YOU should be explaining that to ME."

"I already did," JC pursed his lips, and exhaled. "I told you. I'm worried about him wanting something I don't think he can have, and if he DOES get it, that it'll break him when it ends. I'm worried about the group." He frowned, and leaned back against the table leg. "I'm not hiding this. I want him to be happy. I just don't see how that can happen."

"Why are you worried about JOEY, then, instead of some random guy or girl who could fuck him over?" asked Chris, keeping the vodka and taking another swig. "No matter what happens, Joey'll be gentle with him. And that's a really shitty attitude, to assume if something DID happen, that it would end."

"Yeah, well," JC said bitterly, almost fed up with trying to be accomodating with Chris. "I'm a really shitty guy, sometimes. And you know why I'm worried about it. He'll never care about some random girl or guy the way he cares about us. You know that."

"And if you're right about that," said Chris, catching his eye, "then you'll understand why maybe Justin is falling for someone in the group. And why that person might fall back."

JC grimaced, knowing Chris was right. "Just keep talking," he said sullenly. "Tell me all about the candy and flowers."

"Tell my why you want to know," said Chris. "Seriously, JC. Is this all about what might happen with Joey? Or is it about what DID happen with me?"

"Both," JC admitted. "Really. I want to know, because I NEED to have just some ... context, for what's going on right now. But ... god, I just want to understand *you*, too, you know? To help me not have SUCH a ... not positive perception of it. I'm sorry I didn't ask earlier."

"It should have been the first thing you asked," said Chris softly, but he doesn't want to pick a fight. "It's hard not to fall for him," he went on. "The first time we made love ... the day after ... he made me this dinner. I mean, he went all out ... candles, china, the works. Just to tell me how much it meant to him. THAT'S the stuff, JC. That's what made it a relationship."

"Oh, wow," JC breathed after a moment. "Wow. I didn't ... I had no idea." He was *amazed*, actually ... at FIFTEEN, Justin did this? "God, he IS great," he muttered to himself.

Chris smiled. "The chicken was burnt and the lettuce was limp," he said, "and it was hard to feel REALLY romantic in his mother's house, even when she WAS away for the weekend ... but it was wonderful. It's a great memory. And how could you have any idea, when you assumed .... what you assumed?"

JC took another drink, and coughed a bit, then look at Chris with watery eyes. "I'm sorry for any and all times I made you feel like I thought it was just about sex. Okay? I'm SORRY. Can you just ... fuck, just be BIG about it, and TELL me what was good? Just accept that I know I was wrong? Christ, Chris."

"You HURT me," said Chris, staring at him. "Like, a LOT. And I've forviven that, but I can't just FORGET it. Especially if I think you still don't get that there was nothing wrong with what happened between Justin and me. Just like there would be nothing wrong if something happened between Joey and Justin." He sighed and shook his head. "I'm trying to tell you NOW, JC ... "

"Then stop with the fucking digs," JC replied, resting the bottle on his knee. "Okay? Just ... get on with it. We can debate whether you believe me about not feeling like there was anything wrong with what you did later." He intentionally avoided saying anything about Joey and Justin ... he wasn't convinced of that, yet."

"Get ON with it?" said Chris. "Justin was one of the best relationships I've had, really. It's not something to 'get on with', okay? Look ... what am I supposed to be telling you?"

"Nothin'." JC frowned. "Look, I don't fucking know. What made you decide to go for it, besides him being cute and sweet. What made you decide to sleep with him. What made you break UP with him. Whatever's *important*."

"We didn't sleep together right away," said Chris, closing his eyes as he thought back. "For a long time it was just kissing and touching and exploring. I may have done stuff before, but he hadn't. Hell, for a long time we didn't even get NAKED together. I didn't just suddenly decide to sleep with him ... it just kinda came naturally, somewhere along the way."

"Was he shy?" JC found THAT, at least, hard to believe ... if Justin was as eager for it as he seemed to have been, and considering he'd already been with several girls by that point ... "In bed, with you? And wasn't that *frustrating*, at all?"

"No, no, not SHY," said Chris. "Whoa boy, not shy. He asked me questions using words I didn't even know his mom let him SAY, let alone do. And ... it was a little frustrating taking thigns slow like that, but it was really, really good, too. And by the time we DID do it, he was ready. He wasn't scared, and he KNEW what was gonna happen."

JC chuckled, and shook his head. "That boy ... " he trailed off, and grabbed Chris's wrist gently. "I AM glad it was you, Chris. SO glad. You're an incredible friend."

"Seriously?" said Chris, needing to hear the answer to make things right. Or as right as they COULD be, between them.

JC bit his lip, then pulled him into a tentative hug. "Seriously. And that's not the vodka, either, although it's making it a little less painful to say!" He pressed a gentle kiss to Chris's cheek and let go. "He still loves you, and he goes to you, more than me. I'm so PROUD of both of you, for that."

Chris smiled a little sadly, remembering how it ended. "Justin will always be special to me," he said. "It didn't matter how old he was or how old I was ... we were equals in that relationship. But it wasn't meant to be forever, not the way it was."

"Tell me about that." JC took a deep breath, hoping like hell that he didn't have anything to do with it. "I already said I can barely understand why you almost seem closer now that you've stopped ... being together."

"Neither of us was really do settle down for good, is all," said Chris, sipping the vodka slower now. "And we both knew it. And we talked about it. And we decided to become friends before one of us ended up fucking up and cheating on the other and really messing up a great friendship. And so ... that was it. Nothing dramatic."

"Any slips?" JC arched an eyebrow. "You can't tell me that was easy. Especially ... well. He's still growing up."

"He looked," admitted Chris. "And I looked. But no ... that didn't happen." He smiled a little, again. "Didn't take him long afterward to hook up, though. That was hard, but not AS hard as it could have been, because I was the one he told about her."

JC looked at Chris carefully. "That's not what I meant. I was asking ... any slips between YOU two. SINCE then. I know Justin would have never cheated on you. That's not ... he wouldn't."

Chris paused. "It's been ... close," he admitted. "It would be really easy to, you know. He's still my Justin."

JC closed his eyes. "SO how are YOU taking this Joey thing so calmly? Or ... are you not gonna believe it until he tells you?"

Chris sighed. "I knew you were gonna ask that," he said. "I guess ... what I want most of all is for Justin to be happy. So ... if this thing with Joey happens, that's cool with me. I've been hearing about all of Justin's crushes and sexual exploits for a long time, Jace. I'm used to it."

"You're not, either," JC said carefully, watching the pain in Chris's face. "You may accept it, and you may know it's the best thing, but ... I don't think you're *used* to it. You haven't been able to desensitize yourself to it. I don't blame you, but ... you don't have to hide it. From me OR him, I don't think."

"He was mine, once," said Chris softly. "And I DO know we made the right decision. The only decision we could." He stopped, took a swig of the vodka. "And here I am spilling my guts to you. The LAST place I expected to be."

"I'm not THAT bad," JC joked, wrapping an arm around Chris's shoulder, trying to bring back that impish smile. "You've been strong, and good, for both of you. I'm ... glad you told me. I, like, RESPECT you now. You know how hard that is?" He grinned.

"Oh God," said Chris, but he's grinning a little bit, mostly to himself. "Does that mean I have to respect you, too, now?"

"GOD, no," JC barked out a laugh. "I'm a self-righteous whore, could there BE a worse combination?"

Chris breathed a sigh of relief. "Good," he said. "I loved him, in a way, JC. And it just really fucked me up that you made me feel dirty about that. So ... I'm glad you're not doing that anymore."

"Me too," JC admitted, and pulled Chris down further into a headlock. "But I can still kick your ass."

"Yeah, dream ON," said Chris, shoving back at him, knowing JC was far more drunk than he was.

JC arched an eyebrow. "You just play dirty," he reminded him, and then braced himself against the table to try and wrestle Chris to the floor.

"It's the only way to win," grinned Chris, rolling them out from under the table and onto the abandoned card game.

"You're a little bitch!" JC crowed happily, jabbing his bony elbows into Chris's gut and trying to avoid the vodka bottle. "Stoppit."

"What the fuck?" said Joey, stopping halfway down the stairs. "Are you guys FIGHTING? Shit ... you're both cut off ... " He jogged down the rest of the stairs and went to separate them.

"Bitch!" JC repeated, kicking out at Joey when he tried to get between them. Then he collapsed in a pile of giggles.

Chris collapsed halfway on top of him, laughing himself. "We're cool, Joey," he managed to say, though, before Joey started manhandling either one of them. "It's all good."

"Well, shit," said Joey, backing off. "I thought you guys were ready to KILL each other or something."

JC snorted and wrapped an arm around Chris's leg. "Where's Just?"

"I took him to bed," said Joey casually. "He was tired and he said he wasn't feeling too good, either. Or something."

JC sat up at that. "What? How much beer did you GIVE him?"

"Hey, he didn't have any more after we left this room, swear to God," said Joey, raising his hands. "But speaking of overdoing it, someone might want to do something about Lance. He's passed out on the kitchen floor again."

JC groaned, then looked down at Chris. "It's your turn."

Chris held himself back from pointing out that the REASON Lance was drunk was because of JC. "Okay," he said. "But only because I want to go check on Justin. Make sure he's sleeping okay. Did he say what he was sick with, Joey?"

Joey shook his head. "I'm not even sure he was sick. I'm not sure WHAT he was, actually."

JC frowned, and looked down at Chris furtively. He definitely wanted to hear more about what had happened, but he couldn't be typically nosy with Chris in his lap. "Dude," he said, shaking his leg. "C'mon. Lance."

Chris got up. "Okay, now I'm worried," he said. "I'll be back in a bit, okay guys?" He sighed dramatically. "And YES, I will deal with Lance."

JC's eyes followed him up the stairs, and he turned to Joey with a frown. "Me, too. What's THAT about?"

"What's what about?" asked Joey, sitting down on the couch and reaching for a bag of chips.

JC slapped at his hand. "JUSTIN, you doofus," he said. "What did you DO to him?"

***

Chris flicked off Lance' light and shut the door, already hearing the snores that told him that Lance was unconscious again. He crept down the hall and opened Justin's door, peering inside cautiously.

"Go 'way," Justin muttered, eyes wide open and watching the stream of light from the door move across the wall. He was sure it was his mom, or maybe JC, and he just wanted to be able to NOT be able to sleep in peace.

"It's me, Justin," said Chris softly. "I didn't know you were still awake. Can I come in?"

Only Justin's curls were visible from underneath the covers. He bit his lip and tried to snuggle deeper into them, not really wanting to see Chris right then either, not wanting him to see Justin upset. And he *was* upset: his pillow was damp with tears, and his stomach kept clenching. He would talk to him about it sometime, but right now, it felt almost too fresh. "What do you want?" he sighed, trying to make his voice sound braver than he felt.

"Joey said you weren't feeling good, and I wanted to make sure you were okay," said Chris, entering the room and closing the door behind him. "What's up, angel? What's going on?" He sat down on the edge of the bed and brushed a hand over Justin's curls. "You wanna talk about it?"

"Oh," Justin breathed, his eyes tearing up again under Chris's gentle touch -- Chris, who was never, ever gentle with *anyone* except him. He sighed and nuzzled against his hand. At least Joey had cared enough about him to tell Chris that he was sick, even if it *was* just so he wouldn't have to deal with it. "Chris," he sniffed. "Don't play dumb with me, please. I can't ... do any more games tonight. You know what's going on."

"Yeah, I know," admitted Chris, still stroking his hair. "But you looked like you were having fun with him earlier ... what happened?" He felt an irrational flash of anger at Joey for making Justin miserable -- which he obviously was -- but he knew that it probably wasn't Joey's fault. And that he might have done something without even knowing it. "And when did you start having feelings for Joey, anyway?"

"We *were* having fun," Justin cried softly. "Just ... all this *stuff* came out. Did you know he had no idea I wasn't a virgin? I don't even mean sleeping with guys -- he *still* doesn't know that -- but just girls? It hadn't even *occured* to him. How'm I supposed to get him to notice me, in *that* way, if he doesn't even think I'm capable of banging some chick?" He choked back a sob. "I don't *know* when it started, but I just want it to stop."

"Shhh, shhh, angel," said Chris softly, soothingly, rubbing Justin's back with his palm. "Why don't you just tell me what happened, okay? And remember ... I love the guy to pieces, but Joey doesn't always pick up on things like I do. If you didn't tell him things, how was he supposed to know, Justin?" He kept rubbing his back, cringing at the audible sobs and feeling another flash of anger at Joey for NOT seeing what was right in front of his face.

Justin just cried for a few more moments, knowing Chris would let him, and wouldn't mind, and would understand. Then he rubbed shaky fists at his eyes. "I'm not a KID," he protested, then chuckled wryly at the fact that his cheeks were soaked with tears as he said it. "I'm not a kid, so why *wouldn't* he think I'd had sex? Do I just look too dumb, or awkward, or something? Is that it?" He moved closer to Chris's body. "And so he was all shocked, kinda, and *said* he had to start looking at me different, now, but he *didn't*. He *isn't*. God, I suck."

"Because you're sixteen, and a lot of people HAVEN'T had sex at sixteen, and maybe he thought because you never said you had, you were probably one of them," suggested Chris, his voice still calm and soothing. "You definitely DON'T look too dumb or awkward or something ... but then I'm a little biased," he added with a grin just for Justin. "So just tell me what actually happened, instead of what you think it meant. Okay, Justin? You know I'll listen."

Justin shuddered and tried to relax, reminding himself that no matter what, Chris loved him, and wouldn't tease him. "Okay," he started softly. "So, when he got me that beer? I'm not even sure how it started, but we kind of got off onto this discussion about all the things he did when he was my age, and what I should and shouldn't do. And, so, of *course* sex came up. And like I said, he was surprised, and then gave me some shit about not rushing things, or something, which I just ignored. So *then* I think he was a little curious, and kinda asked me what I had done. And since I was trying to get him to talk to me about sex *anyway*, so I could kinda get an idea of what he liked? you know, to, like, file away for future reference? But then he wouldn't stop talking about The Chick Who Gave Great Head." He sniffed again, amazed at how painful it was to remember how *jealous* he felt.

Chris chuckled softly. "If there's one thing I know about Joey's sex life," he said, "it's that he LOVES blowjobs. Loves 'em. So I wouldn't worry too much about him bringing something like THAT up ... and isn't that what you WANTED to hear?" He began rubbing Justin's shoulders, more of a real massage now to try and work some of the tension out. "Okay," he added a few moments later, mulling over Justin's responses in his head. "I'm only saying this because I KNOW you and I care about you, Justin, so think about this for real ... did he really go on and on about this chick, or did it just kinda stick in your head, once he said it? Because it WASN'T what you wanted to hear?"

"Maybe something in between," Justin admitted, remembering that *he* actually might have brought her up, a time or two. "I don't know. But that wasn't even the *worst* part." He took a breath and hugged himself a little, wondering how awful it would be to betray Joey's confidence. "I was... kinda, you know, trying to flirt with him. A little. Just, like, touching him a little, playing with his necklace ... I even kinda hinted at something ... then I was touching his leg? when we were outside? And he like ..." he swallowed. "He totally called me on it. Like, didn't make fun of me, but thought I was doing it 'cause I was drunk. Which I was NOT."

"Here, lean up against me," said Chris, getting Justin up into a sitting position, Justin's back up against his chest, and continued to massage his shoulders and neck. "Well, that WOULD have been the most logical thing for him to think, at the time," said Chris softly. Gently. "Why would he think you were REALLY flirting with him, after all? If he didn't even know you liked guys, much less HIM." Chris tried to get Justin to look at what REALLY happened, instead of what he thought had happened, filtered through his 16-year-old eyes. He himself didn't know what exactly had occurred, but he was starting to get a pretty good idea of at least part of it.

"YOU did," Justin said bitterly. "No, I know. He told me that he wasn't my type. Which could not be farther from the truth, but I couldn't just *tell* him that, without knowing how he'd take it." He quieted for a moment, mustering up the courage the tell Chris the *big* stuff while he melted underneath Chris's small hands. "I figured he just hadn't ever let himself think about guys that way, but *boy* did he blow that theory out of the water." He started sniffing again. "He's been with a guy, Chris. He *has*. AND he said he was hot. So ... it's not being with *guys* ... it's just ME."

"Whoa, whoa, hold on," said Chris, his hands stilling for a moment. "He TOLD you that? Seriously?" He grinned suddenly and kissed the back of Justin's head before resuming the massage. "Justin, that's GREAT news, for you." It hadn't even really OCCURRED to Chris that Joey might have ever been with a guy before, but that little fact might certainly make a lot of things easier, for Justin. "I think you're forgetting one thing, though, in all this ... Joey's a nice guy, Justin. If he thought you were a little drunk and didn't know what you were doing, he would NEVER take advantage of that, even if he WAS interested in you. And if you think about it, you'll know that. So cheer up, angel."

Justin sighed morosely, placated as he was from Chris's kiss, and from him calling him 'angel' again. "He knew I wasn't *that* drunk. That really wasn't it. He was so ... so *nervous* about the whole thing. Like, he was scared to be telling me, and he expected me to freak out and stuff. And I guess it never occured to him *why* I *wasn't* freaking out. He just doesn't *think* of me like that, Chris, and I don't how to make him see me." The tears pooled up in his eyes again. "Why doesn't he *like* me?"

Chris sighed softly. "Oh, Justin," he said, and just wrapped his arms around him to give him a hug. "*I* didn't even know you were interested in him until today, so I think it's gonna take Joey a little longer. And ... I know YOU jumped in with both feet, but some people it takes a little longer to deal with the fact that they like being with guys. I bet Joey was a lot more focused on how HE was feeling about it than how YOU were reacting to it. So, don't give up, okay?" He stroked Justin's hair again, feeling the soft, short curls. "If this is something you REALLY want to try for, Justin ... you might have to be a little more upfront about it. After Joey told you he'd been with guys ... why didn't you just tell him that you had, too? Get it out in the open so he could maybe START seeing you like that?"

"I don't know," Justin admitted, wrapping his arms over top of Chris's and holding them close to his body. "I was sitting there, listening to him describe it, and, like, *torturing* myself by asking these questions, and I just ... couldn't. I didn't want him to think I was making it up, and I didn't want him to get nervous about talking to *me*, and ... I just don't know!" Justin realized he'd have to be a little more honest than that. "Chris ... it's just, we agreed that we wouldn't really tell people about us, and if I told him I'd slept with guys, he'd want to hear about it. And ... on top of that ... I'm *not* sure it's something he wants to do again. I mean, he said he enjoyed it, but ... it was a long time ago, he said. And so I guess it couldn't have been so great, if he didn't try it AGAIN."

"Maybe he just wasn't ready," said Chris softly, stroking Justin's stomach tenderly. "Like I said, Justin, not everyone jumps right in like you did. I was a lot more like Joey than you, really." He sighed and thought about it, thought about what the best thing for Justin to do might be, thought about what the best thing for JOEY might be. "We both knew we weren't going to be able to keep it our secret forever," he said finally. "You can tell him. About us. I'LL tell him, if you want me to, if that would make it easier. And Justin ... angel ... even if nothing does happen, I bet he would really appreciate someone to talk to about it." He kissed Justin's head again. "But hell, how could he resist you? Lord knows *I* wouldn't be able to."

Justin smiled weakly, and watched Chris's hand on his skin before taking a deep breath. Joey obviously HAD been able to. Justin was well-versed in seeing when and how he affected people, and the whole evening Joey had maintained his distance. And what he was about to do was a bad idea, he told himself ... but he *knew* Chris, and Chris knew *him*, and he knew it would be easy and good to fall back into him. He gagged the part of his psyche that complained he was just doing it because he felt rejected by Joey. "Really?" he said then, twisting a little in Chris's embrace, looking up at him from under his eyelashes and parting his lips slightly. "You wouldn't be able to?"

"No," said Chris softly. "I really wouldn't be able to, Justin. So please don't ask." He squeezed him gently and pleaded with his eyes for Justin not to mess up this great relationship that they had, just because he was lonely. Because Chris was weak and wouldn't stop him.

"Okay," Justin tried to smile bravely, shifting in between Chris's legs and resting his hands on either side of his body. "I won't ask you to resist me." He knew that wasn't what Chris meant, and he saw in the older man's huge brown eyes that he was right in the first place -- this was a bad idea -- but right then? he couldn't help it. Sixteen, with his self-image shot to hell. He brought his face close to Chris's, nuzzled his nose, and moved forward the last inch to press their lips together.

Chris couldn't help but kiss him back, but when the kiss ended he gently pushed him away. "Justin ... you don't want this. You know that. You want Joey, now." His heart clenched when he said that, but they both knew he was right. "Look ... I'm not going anywhere. I'll hold you as long as you need me to, okay?" If Justin kissed him again -- especially like THAT, those special Justin kisses -- he wouldn't be able to make even the token gesture he was now. And that would really fuck things up.

Justin's eyes filled with tears again, but he nodded and ducked his head. "Can you ... stay? And just ... tell me, again, that maybe I can have something with him? That maybe he'll be attracted to me, like, ever?" He kissed Chris again, but it was more a brush of their lips, nothing that was an effort to *lead* to anything. "I feel like ass, Chris. Just ... total ass. Totally worthless, and hopeless, and just ... gah!"

Chris chuckled, but gently and tenderly. "You're so impatient, Justin. These things don't happen right away ... give it some time. Keep flirting. Maybe be honest about what you've done in the past, so he KNOWS what the score is. After what he trusted you with ... I really don't think it can hurt, right?" He pulled them down so they were laying down on the bed and pulled the blankets back up. "You're not worthless or hopeless or any of those things, not at all, okay?"

"Really?" Justin asked meekly. "Would you even tell me if I was?" He sighed, and tried to wrap his long limbs around Chris. "Sometimes I just want *you* back." He meant that -- he *loved* being with Chris, loved how it filled a void for him that sometimes being with girls didn't. It was what he wanted with Joey, but wasn't so sure he'd ever *get*. "And I don't *want* to tell him about us," he whispered. "Maybe I'll say I've been with guys -- *maybe* -- but you and me ... I don't want to *use* that as a way to get close to him."

"You don't have to tell him," said Chris carefully. "I just want you to know that you CAN, with Joey. And he did tell you, Justin. And ... it sounds to me like it wasn't an easy thing for him to say. So give it a chance, okay?" It felt good, being curled up with Justin like this again, to feel Justin's warm breath on his neck and Justin's now-larger body wrapped around his. He wriggled in his sleep, most of the time, but Justin kept him still. "Sometimes I want you back, too," he confessed. "But then I remember that you're my best friend and things are really great the way they are."

"Thank you for listening," Justin whispered softly, part of him wishing that it could still be Chris wrapped around *him*, and wondering if that was part of what he saw in Joey. "I love you, Chris, and I always will, and ... I appreciate you saying I can tell Joey. But I can't. I won't, not about us." He sighed again, and wondered why he felt so much better already, even though he wasn't any more optimistic. "So that's your advice? Flirt, and tell him I've screwed guys, and hope to hell he doesn't run away?"

"Well, not in those WORDS, exactly," said Chris with a grin. "But yeah. Be honest with him. Hey ... it worked with ME, right?" On some level he was really hoping that Joey would go for it, not only to make Justin happy, but to prove JC wrong about the whole deal. Which wasn't exactly the best reason but ... there it was. "I still love you, too, angel. You getting sleepy now?"

"That was different," Justin breathed, snuggling against Chris's neck. "I had an excuse, with you. That *won't* work with Joey. I have to come up with something else." *What*, he had no idea. He sighed, and realized as he closed his eyes that he *was* still sleepy, and that as long as Chris there, he might get some rest. "You're staying, right? You'll sleep with me?"

"Yeah, course I'm staying," said Chris, snuggling in. "I'm not gonna go home like THIS, that's for damn sure." He kissed Justin's forehead and paused. "It was an excuse?" he asked, curiously.

Justin smiled. "Telling you I was curious about being with guys, yeah, kinda. I mean ... that way, it wouldn't have hurt so bad, if you turned me down ... and you wouldn't necessarily know how much I wanted *you*. But with Joey ... it *won't* just be experimenting, and he'll *know* that. I don't have the excuse to fall back on." He yawned. "Even if it wasn't an excuse to *do* it. Get it?"

Chris smiled. "I wouldn't have. Turned you down, I mean. Just so you know." His arms slipped underneath Justin's and around his back and settled in there. "Night, angel. Don't worry, it'll all work out, somehow."

"Thanks, Chris," Justin murmured, drifting off to sleep. He hoped he was right.

***

"We just talked," said Joey. "Seriously. We were just talking outside, by the pool, and then he got tired and said he wasn't feeling great. Said too much sun, or something. I think he was just overtired, Jace. He needs to get more sleep than he has been." He could hear Chris upstairs, lugging Lance to his bedroom, and grimaced a bit.

JC rolled his eyes when Lance's voice carried down the stairs, calling Chris many varied and colorful names, and hoped to hell that Mrs. Harless wouldn't wake up. Then he frowned at Joey. "Did you SAY something to him? Dude, you KNOW Justin ... he normally can't stand to be the first to bed."

"I dunno what I said," confessed Joey. Not that he would tell JC, anyway, about what he'd told Justin. "We were just talking about ... relationships, and stuff."

JC paled a bit and grabbed for the vodka. "Um. Yours, or ... his?" He had no idea what Justin had told him, what Justin was GOING to tell him, or what Justin wouldn't tell him in a million years. But he was real damn curious.

"Mine, mostly," said Joey. "Or ... pretty much entirely, now that I think about it. I guess maybe he didn't want to hear it, but he SAID he did, you know? Like ... he was really interested in me and my life."

Of *course* he was, JC thought to himself. "I'm sure he wanted to hear it, Joey," he sighed resignedly. "Justin does what Justin wants, and I guess tonight he wanted to talk to you about that stuff. Have you ever discussed it with him before?" JC could see though what Justin was doing, and it made him grin a little.

"Hell no," said Joey with a self-conscious chuckle. "I'm the moron who thought Justin was a VIRGIN, after all. So once I found out that he WASN'T and he hadn't been in, like, a long time, he started asking me questions and I ... answered. Has he been in, like, a lot of relationships? Do you know?" He cocked his head to the side and looked at JC curiously. "I mean ... it seems weird that I wouldn't have met anyone he was going with, you know?"

JC smirked when Joey had to admit he hadn't known that about Justin. "Uh, yeah ... he SO hasn't been a virgin for a while. But ... " he got distinctly more uncomfortable with Joey's question, since it wasn't his business -- not that THAT usually stopped him -- and Justin had obviously not volunteered that information for a reason. "Well, there was Brit. Obviously. And ... one or two more. Didn't you ask *him* that?" Joey was *way* too calm for Justin to have confessed the Chris thing. Or even the guy thing, for that matter.

"Yeah, sure I asked him," said Joey, reaching into the cooler for another beer. "But he's a slippery bugger and evaded the question, okay? He didn't seem to want to talk about it much. Mostly just, you know, had questions about what I've done and with who and stuff. I'm thinking maybe he hasn't done MUCH, you know, but he wants to." Joey shrugged. "How come he told you, and not me, anyway?"

JC snorted, at almost all of that, which was all either ... wrong, or just typically Joey-clueless. "Well ... he isn't with anyone right now, so maybe he just was a little embarassed about that. But," -- he took another swig of vodka, coughed, and waved at Joey to hand him a beer too -- "I think you'd be surprised at what Justin's done. *I'm* surprised at what he's done. And ... he didn't *tell* me. I just knew. I saw it coming, at the end of the show, and ... I just knew. And he told me when I asked. Which *you* could've easily done, instead of making dumbass assumptions."

"You don't need to be calling me a dumbass," said Joey, pulling a beer out for JC and frowning at him a little as he passed it over. "I feel stupid enough about it as it is. I just didn't have a REASON to think he was out there having sex all over the place. He's JUSTIN. He's the baby." Joey sighed and shook his head. "Or he was, anyway. I guess I've learned a lot about him, tonight."

"YOU were," JC reminded him. "And you didn't have it offered to you right and left at that age. And you didn't live with four other guys, doing it, at that age. AND ... you sure as fuck didn't look like THAT at that age, either, man. So you're right to feel stupid." JC uncapped his beer and watched Joey closely over the rim. "Why're you so fucking ... morose about it, dude?"

"I"m NOT," protested Joey. "I just fucking hate being the last to KNOW everything. I mean, any second now I'm expecting you to tell me that Lance fucked the captain of the football team and moonlights as a drag queen named Glinda Glitter or something!" He took a long drink of his beer where he tried to figure out what he was saying. "With his mom hovering over him all the time like that, I just figured ... " He shrugged. "I don't know what I figured. I'm a moron and let's leave it at that, then."

"Fine," JC shrugged. He *did* think Joey was oblivious, not to consider that Justin would have had sex. "That still doesn't explain why you never asked him. But ANYWAY. What kind of stuff DID he tell you?"

"It didn't OCCUR to me to ask him," sighed Joey. "You KNOW me, C." He shook his head, drained some more of his beer. "He just told me that he HAD. Like, a couple of years ago. And that he has since, more than once. Nothing you don't know, I'm SURE."

"No, it's nothing new to me," JC agreed. He bit his lip and watched his friend, wondering if he had *any* clue what Justin was going through. "So ... what do you think you did to upset him?"

Joey shook his head. "I don't know," he lied, not ready to get into it with JC. "I was just telling him about stuff I've done is all."

"That's enough to make ANYone sick," JC joked, leaning into Joey's body. "Seriously. He just ... up and asked you to take him to bed?"

"Kinda ... yeah," evaded Joey, drinking a little more. "He was tired. Long day. You know how it is."

"Okay, WHAT," JC bit out, getting frustrated. "What the fuck HAPPENED, with you two. You know if you TELL me, I might be able to clear it all up for you...?"

"I think maybe I just told him some things he didn't want to hear, is all," muttered Joey. "What does it MATTER, C? What are you guys being so weird about? He drank a little too much and got tired ... what's the big thing?"

JC laughed hollowly. "Tell me," he said seriously, wondering just what *things* he could have said to put Justin in such a mood. He knew it wasn't being *tired*. "Tell me what you told him."

"None of your business," mumbled Joey, finishing the beer and reaching for another almost immediately after.

"Well, fuck you!" JC laughed again. "God, I'm just trying to explain this to you, you fucking doofus. What's up your ass?"

"Nothing!" said Joey. "Why do I feel like there's some sort of CONSPIRACY going on around me here? No one's ever interrogated me about my conversations before." He sighed again, then grinned at JC and tried to PRETEND he was feeling like himself. "You're not trying to explain ANYthing yet, but I'd appreciate it if you would."

"You haven't, like, sent Justin to bed early before, either," JC mumbled, leaning back. He had no idea what Joey told him, but he could guess it had to do with other people Joey had been with. Which Justin wasn't going to take well. "Can you think of ANY reason he'd be upset about what you were telling him?"

"Yeah, I can," said Joey, nodding his head. "But it doesn't take much to upset Justin sometimes. Maybe I just got better head than he did, or something. I don't KNOW."

JC laughed again, and couldn't stop for quite a while that time. "Oh. Oh, god." He was drunk, and getting drunker, and if he wasn't careful, he was going to say something he shouldn't. "No, I think ... I think J's gotten good blowjobs, before. I doubt that's it."

Joey raised an eyebrow. "And you know this ... how?" he asked, then shook his head again. "Never mind. Just one more thing Joey didn't pick up on, I guess." He looked at his beer, smiled at it, drank half and finally started to feel it.

"One of many," JC muttered. He watched Joey drain most of his beer, and did the same. "Let's just say that I'm pretty certain Justin is more of an expert on blowjobs than either of us."

"What's THAT supposed to mean?" asked Joey, rolling his eyes. "For fuck's sake, why doesn't anyone just say what they MEAN around here?"

"What do you THINK it means, genius?" JC scoffed. He wasn't sure WHY he was telling Joey this, unless it was maybe to make him feel bad for being such a moron about Justin. He was *sure* it wasn't because he wanted to help them along. Not at all. "I mean, think. For two seconds."

"What? Are you telling me that Justin is a little boyslut or something? WHAT? Christ." Joey drained the beer and dropped the bottle on the floor. "Nobody tells me fucking ANYthing."

"You don't fucking WATCH," JC rebuked him. "Or listen. Try it; you won't have to ask. NO, he's not a slut ... he's an expert because he's perfected his OWN technique." JC looked at Joey pointedly, not sure how much more plainly he could say it.

"Whoa," said Joey, almost dropping his third beer since going back into the basement. "Back up. WHAT?"

JC wanted to smack him. "Justin. Is an expert. At blowjobs. Because he's GIVEN them. OKAY?" He shook his head, and hoped this wouldn't come back to bite them both on the ass. "I wouldn't be surprised if he's given more head than you've ever gotten. So I highly doubt he was impressed by your stories about THAT."

"No," said Joey, shaking his head. "That's IMPOSSIBLE. When he started getting all weird was when I told him I'D ... well, never mind. Fuck." All Joey wanted right then was more beer to make this whole night go away. This was just what he needed, to know that Justin -- the KID, no matter what he'd done -- had probably been LAUGHING at him when he'd told him one of his biggest secrets. Because it was nothing, to him.

JC narrowed his eyes. "When you told him you'd ... what? What did you SAY to him? 'Cause I promise you, it's the truth, and if you did something to make him *uncomfortable* about it ..."

Joey bit the inside of his cheek and paused. "I was telling him how I'd been with a guy," he said finally, "and he was asking TONS of questions. I thought he was just all curious about it. But then ... he started getting all quiet. Like he was tired. I didn't get what was going on, C. I STILL don't. I figured I was saying stuff that made him uncomfortable ... "

JC dropped his beer, and then picked it up quickly. "Shit," he muttered, wiping at the puddle with his sleeve. "SHIT!" he said then, louder. "How you'd WHAT? God, and YOU complain about nobody telling YOU anything ...!"

Joey rolled his eyes. "It was just the once. Threesome, with a chick. And I hadn't been PLANNING to talk about it. Like ... ever. But Justin wanted to KNOW, you know? And he gets that look on his face and you're willing to do just about anything for him ... "

JC stared at him. "I know that look," he admitted, "but I've always been able to say no. What the FUCK, Joey. Why didn't you stop, if you saw what it was doing to him? Don't you GET what it was doing to him?"

"I DID stop! Geez, I may be stupid but I'm not MEAN." Joey looked at JC seriously. "I told you, he was asking me a bunch of questions at first. It wasn't til, like, later on that he started withdrawing. And now I'm even MORE confused about why. Why would he pretend he didn't know anything about it and make me tell him things. Why would he DO that to me, C?"

JC wasn't entirely sure, but he could guess. "Well. Did you ... I mean, were YOU comfortable with it? Did you make it sound like something you LIKED? Cause if not, maybe he read your reaction as disapproval ... "

Joey shrugged. "I don't know if I AM comfortable with it," he admitted. "But LIKED it? Yeah. He definitely knew I liked it. I can't think of anything I could have said that might have made it sound like I disapproved, though. Like, not at all."

JC shrugged. "Well, then. There's only one reason *I* can think of that might have upset him." He paused, considering that Justin was going to kill him, or he'd burn in hell anyway. "He was jealous."

"Of what?" asked Joey, becoming a little more relaxed because of how JC was handling the revelation. "He's obviously done WAY more than me. Even if he couldn't just SAY so, when we were talking ... "

JC snorted. "OF all the ... you are a fucking DIMWIT. Jesus. What were you saying, about this guy? What were you talking about?" JC was almost certain, now, that Justin had thought he'd prepare Joey that way, but something had made him too scared to confess.

"Look, do you HAVE to call me that shit?" asked Joey, scowling at him.

"YES," JC scowled back. "Especially if you're being an idiot where Justin is concerned. You gonna answer my question?"

"How am I being an idiot?" asked Joey. "Shit, JC, you're supposed to be my FRIEND. I've already gone into the details ONCE tonight ... do I have to do it again? I was just telling him what we did. is all. And I'm sure it was nothing SPECIAL."

"I'm sure it was, to him, if it was YOU," JC mumbled. "And I AM your friend. Otherwise I would NOT be helping you figure any of this out. But you gotta do some of the work, here, Joe. Why do YOU think hearing it from you mattered so much to him?"

"Look, I don't have the first clue, JC. I DON'T. Call me an idiot or a dimwit or a moron or whatever else you'd like to, but I DON'T know what's going on here. This has been a really fucked up night for me and I DON'T want to have to play any stupid games with you here so you'll explain it to me, since obviously you DO know." Joey's surprised to find he's finished another beer ... and wondered if he should keep going.

JC bit his lip. "Joey," he said calmly. "Justin must have been jealous. Not because it was something he hadn't done, because it was something he WANTS to do." He sighed. "With you."

Joey stared at him incredulously for a moment. "Nuh uh," he said, deciding that YES, he was gonna have another beer. No question. "No way. Why would he be interested in one of us, anyway? There's a whole WORLD out there for him to choose from."

JC shrugged. He already did more for Joey tonight than he felt obliged to; stroking his ego wasn't on that list. "Fine," he said, stretching and drinking more of his beer, casually. "Don't believe me. But I bet you can't come up with a better explanation." Joey sat and thought about it as he sipped his beer. "If he IS interested," he said finally. "I think I would have noticed."

Arching an eyebrow, JC watched Joey. "Think so, huh? Cause, I mean ... I'm sure his face didn't light up when he saw you come over today. And he didn't talk to you all afternoon. And he didn't practically kiss your feet when you gave him a beer. Right."

"Yeah, but ... " Joey paused again to drink more beer. "He's Justin. He's just LIKE that, isn't he? Isn't he like that with EVERYone?"

JC smiled. "Sure. Sure, he is. But you mean to tell me he didn't do ONE questionable thing, all night, when you were talking?"

"Well yeah, sure, he touched me a little, but he was DRINKING, JC. I mean, people do that all the time when they drink." Though, when he thought about it, he didn't know if JUSTIN ever had. But the thought was fleeting as the beer started to take hold.

"And he didn't SAY anything to you, that might have made you suspect?" JC pressed. Apparently, Justin's technique of flirting was way more subtle with guys, if Chris was to be believed.

Joey thought really hard about that one, starting to wonder if JC was right. "I don't ... THINK ... so," he said finally, the beer cold and slippery in his fingers. "I don't remember. Dammit. He didn't say MUCH, just how, you know, he was more experienced than I thought he was ... and then asking me all that stuff."

"Well ... " JC frowned, torn between hoping that Justin had been sufficiently dissuaded by Joey, and feeling sorry for him obviously trying to be subtle about his crush, "I don't know what else to tell you. Why do YOU think he was asking you all that?"

"I THOUGHT he was asking because it was something he'd never done," muttered Joey, not really wanting to think about that anymore, not with these feelings of gut-clenching dread it brought up now. "Now, I just don't know. Maybe he was bored and thought it was funny, making me do that. When he knew ALL about it. Maybe he thinks I'm stupid, too."

JC winced. "Joey ... I'm sorry I said that. I don't think you're stupid, and he doesn't either. Look. He LIKES you. He does. Maybe ... he was asking, to see if he actually had a CHANCE. Hmmm?"

Joey looked down at his hands as he thought about that one, too. "If he wanted a chance, he could have told me he liked guys. How was I supposed to even THINK about it, if I didn't know THAT, huh?" He took another sip of his beer as he muttered, "Who's the stupid one, NOW?" "Hey," JC snapped, punching Joey in the arm, and not lightly. "Don't say that about him. Maybe he was building up to that. Maybe he thought THAT might be too much to take in, in one night. MAYBE you didn't give him any hope ... you KNOW he's not going to do anything that might make him look dumb. Or *feel* dumb."

"Oh, but I had to? Yeah, THAT'S fair," said Joey, rolling his eyes, the smile just wiped from his face, now. "I spilled my biggest fucking secret to him tonight, because I thought that he wanted to hear it. That he cared. And I get to hear HIS, from YOU. And he's the one who was worried about feeling dumb?"

"He's *sixteen*," JC hissed. "And you're twenty; he's *insecure*, and you're the guy he, like, idolizes right now. Don't bitch about what's fair. And *don't* think he didn't want to hear it, or didn't care." JC paused. "You want to know what I think?"

"What?" said Joey, still looking down. "Just WHAT do you think, JC?"

"I think he was trying to figure out the best way to try and get you to notice him. I think he was paying *attention* to you, and *listening* to you, so he learn how to be what you wanted. And I think that's just the sweetest thing." JC bit his lip. "And I think you must have said or done something to make him doubt himself. And I'm not *blaming* you, I just ... wish it hadn't happened, like that."

"But what could I have SAID?" asked Joey, seriously. "I was just TALKING to him. Like, REALLY talking to him ... in ways I pretty much haven't before, not with Justin. And we were having a really good time. And then suddenly we WEREN'T and I don't KNOW what happened, there."

"Well, me either," JC told him. "Obviously. I wasn't there. Look ... Joe, what are you going to do about this? About him?"

"What am I SUPPOSED to do?" asked Joey. "I'm not even sure you're RIGHT, about everything. I mean, Justin LIKING me? Doesn't really seem ... I dunno. I guess a lot of things tonight haven't made much sense, but they've been true anyway."

JC watched Joey carefully. "I guess ... well, me telling you isn't going to convince you. You just need to WATCH him. You'll see. I just ... god, you're not going to CONFRONT him, are you?"

"I don't know WHAT I'm going to do," admitted Joey. "I think this whole thing is just happening ... wrong."

"What do you mean?" JC asked, confused. "Look. Don't be mad at him. He may have more experience than you thought, but he's still ... really fragile. Especially when it comes to you guys, I'm sure."

"I know," said Joey. "I'm just thinking maybe I shouldn't have said anything in the first place. And not STARTED this whole mess."

"It was going to happen anyway," JC muttered. "Despite whether any of us wanted it or not. Apparently, Justin is persistent. And I doubt you were controlling the conversation as much as you think you were, anyway."

"That better not be another stupid comment," muttered Joey, still drinking. "I didn't mean ... THAT. I meant this whole thing right now. Where Justin is all upset and I don't know why."

"He'll tell you, maybe, when he needs to," JC said, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. "In the meantime, Chris'll take plenty good care of him, I'm sure." Idly, he wondered if Chris was ever coming back down ... and if he didn't, what that meant was going ON in Justin's room.

"Yeah," said Joey, curling up in the corner of the couch. "Chris is a good guy, when he's not bouncing off the walls. He'll be good to him."

JC snorted. "I'm sure he will. In his own *special* way."

Joey stared at him again. "Now what is THAT supposed to mean?"

JC froze, and then stared down at his beer. "Um. Nothing. What did I say?" Okay, THIS he was really NOT going to spill. "Nothing."

"You got something against Chris, now?"

"What?" JC said, confused, and looked at his beer again warily. "No. Not at all, in fact. Why?"

"Nothing," said Joey, finally putting the beer down, realizing he'd had MORE than enough. "Never mind. Just me being STUPID again, I guess."

"Stop," JC nudged his with his elbow. "Just stop. I'm sorry. You really didn't have any reason to think Justin felt that way, and I shouldn't have been a jerk about it. I'm just worried about him, and I guess I took it out on you. I'm *sorry*."

Joey nodded. "Okay," he said. "Thanks." He wondered if JC wanted to see a smile, to see that everything was okay with him now, and gave him one even though he didn't feel like it.

"Okay," JC repeated, a little relieved, and wondering just HOW many times he had apologized that evening. "Dude, I'm wiped. Are you okay down here, on the couch?"

Joey spread out a little more. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said, surprised to suddenly realize his voice was slurring, and wondered how long THAT had been going on.

"You okay, man?" JC looked at him, then stumbled himself when he tried to stand up. "Whoa. Dude. How many of these did we drink?"

Joey grinned just a little. "I lost count a while ago. You gonna make it upstairs?"

JC nodded, and put a hand to his forehead to steady himself. "OH, sure," he grinned, swaying as he walked to the stairs. "NO problem."

"Good," called Joey after him. "Cause, you know, it's not like I can HELP, or anything."

JC giggled and waved a hand at him. "Go to SLEEP. G'night!" As he made his way to his bedroom, he passed by Justin's door and paused briefly. He really hoped he didn't do the wrong thing, telling Joey. He REALLY hoped.

Joey closed his eyes, but his brain wasn't shutting down yet, unfortunately. After a few minutes, he had to resign himself to a night of wondering if JC was right, and, if so, just what the hell he was going to DO about it.

---

Justin sniffed at something tickling his nose, and rubbed his eyes open. He smiled when he realized the 'something' was Chris's hair, and that the older man had stayed with him all night. "Hey," he said softly, nudging him awake and placing a kiss on his nose. "Thank you."

"Mmph," Chris grunted, and flipped over in Justin's arms to plant his face in the pillow.

Joey scrubbed at his crusty eyes with his fists, feeling like crap. What sleep he HAD gotten had been constantly interrupted, and he was exhausted and hung over. Groaning, he sat up and tracked down a bottle of water from the cooler -- obviously they'd been through this before -- and drained it.

Justin grinned and rolled his eyes, pressing another chaste kiss to the back of Chris's neck. He knew Chris had plenty more to drink than him, and should probably leave him alone. But as for himself ... he needed his cereal, before anyone else tried to talk to him. AND he needed to pee.

Joey felt a bit better after the water, and grabbed another bottle he stared at the stairs. They seemed a bit daunting in his condition, but he headed for them anyway.

Leaning down against Chris's back, Justin kissed him again. "I'm getting up. Come down when you wake up." He smiled fondly even as he groaned climbing out of bed, feeling a little better about everything that happened with Joey, and hoping that Chris wasn't mad about the pass Justin had made at him.

Joey lugged himself upstairs and decided his first stop should be the bathroom, turning into the hallway and starting down it.

"MMph," Chris said again, and Justin giggled as he backed out of his bedroom into the hall.

Joey paused as he saw someone moving into the hallway. He'd know Justin's body and his laugh anywhere. And surprised himself again by realizing that was true.

Justin turned around and froze when he saw Joey staring at him. "Um," he said. "Hi. What're you ...?"

Joey stared at Justin for a long moment, EVERYthing from the previous night coming back to him all at once. It made him feel worse than the excess alcohol did. "Were you just laughing at me?" he blurted out. "Last night? When I told you that stuff?"

"What?" Justin said, confused, wondering if Joey had heard hm laughing at Chris, and trying to move subtly to block the door. "NO. No, I was ... I would NEVER laugh at you." His brow furrowed. "Why? Why are you looking at me, like that?"

"JC TOLD me," said Joey, almost hissing the words. "I wasn't telling you ANYthing you didn't know about. Why, Justin?"

Justin stumbled back against the wall, surprised at Joey's vehemence, and completely confused about why Joey was mad at him. And scared to death about what JC might have SAID. "Wait, what? Why what? WHAT did JC tell you?"

"About the guys, Justin," said Joey, looking very, very sad. "You couldn't have told me? You had to make me go through that alone? That was HARD for me to say, you know. And there you were and ANY time you could have said 'You know what, Joey? You aren't alone," and you DIDN'T, Justin. I just don't get WHY."

Justin looked down at his feet, his shoulders slumped. He could not BELIEVE JC told Joey that -- it was none of his business, and not his to TELL -- and now Joey was really, really upset with him. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I just ... was trying to be supportive, and ... was maybe a little curious about what you had thought ... like you wouldn't be honest if you knew that I had done it. I'm so sorry, Joey."

"I really needed you to say something last night," said Joey quietly. "You need to do some more growing up, Justin, because sometimes what's being said is not all about how it's affecting YOU."

Justin blushed in embarassment, and his head fell even farther forward. He had fucked up even more than he thought he had, and not even for the right reasons. "I know," he admitted. "Please, Joey ... don't be mad at me. I wasn't trying to hide it from you, I just ... you *already* seemed so unnerved by what I HAD told you, that I thought ... I don't know." He stopped, and bit his tongue to try and hold back tears of shame and frustration and remorse.

"I'm not MAD," said Joey, sighing, wishing he had a smile to give. "I'm just ... disappointed. I don't understand what happened. I don't know what I DID to make you close down on me like that. Wasn't I listening? Wasn't I talking to you?"

Justin couldn't tell him the main reason he had gotten so upset -- that Joey was open to being with a guy, but obviously not him. "You were, it's just ..." -- he risked a glance up at Joey's face, his own eyes blurry -- "you said it was a while ago. I thought that meant you didn't want to do it again, and so ... I felt dumb," he finished lamely.

"I don't know WHAT it means, that I haven't done it again since then," said Joey seriously. "Maybe we could've talked about that, if you'd said. I just don't understand what's going through your HEAD, Justin." Joey studied him again, realizing that everything that Justin had said so far in some way backed up JC's theory about what was going on.

Chris flopped back over on the bed when the soft voices out in the hall kept him from going back to sleep. Grunting, he forced himself to sit up, and was about to yell at whoever it was to shut the fuck up, until he heard Joey's voice drift a little more clearly into the room. His heart sank, a little, and he crept closer to the door to try and hear the rest of the conversation.

"Nothing!" Justin protested sullenly. At least it seemed like maybe JC hadn't told Joey *everything*. "I just didn't want to freak you out, REALLY." He couldn't help himself from asking. "So ... why do you THINK you haven't done it again?"

"I don't know," said Joey, cocking his head to the side, really LOOKing at Justin, now. Looking at the kid in front of him who wasn't really a kid at all anymore, in a lot of ways Joey had just never noticed before. "Maybe it was just never the right time."

Justin's mouth dropped open a little at that, and he pressed further back against the wall under Joey's scrutiny. "Oh!" he said, practically squeaking, and cleared his throat. "Um. Right. I ... I know what that's like." He looked past Joey down the hall, and wondered if he was *trying* to make him uncomfortable, just to get back at him.

"Do you?" asked Joey, a bit sad again. "I wouldn't know that, Justin. I still wish we could have just talked about it, then."

"I *said* I was sorry," Justin complained, exhaling. "I handled it wrong, I can't take that BACK. We can ... talk about it whenever you want. If ... if you still want to."

Joey looked a bit surprised at the offer, then nodded. "I'm not trying to get you to apologize anymore Justin. I'm just saying. You wanted to know what I was thinking and feeling and doing and shit. The grown-up stuff. Well ... now you know."

"Yeah," Justin sighed, looking down at the floor again. "Great. Now I know." He moved to try and close the door again. "I'm sorry," he said again, just not sure what else to say.

"Justin ... " began Joey, then shook his head. "I need to piss. And then I need to sit down. See you ... in the kitchen?" He hoped Justin would take him up on that offer at least, even if he wasn't ready for yet ANOTHER apology. He wished Justin would just tell him what was going on instead of just saying sorry over and over.

Justin nodded mutely and let Joey pass by him before shaking his head and walking down the hall to the stairs. He was going to go eat, and wake up a little, and then when Joey came down, he was going to be open about his experiences. If that's what Joey wanted. Except for Chris, of course.

Joey sighed again. Coming over to Justin's was supposed to be FUN, to get his mind that OTHER situation in his life. And it worked, for a while. But now ... He rested his back against the wall for a moment and closed his eyes.

Chris poked his head out of the bedroom, and his eyes narrowed when he saw Joey standing there. "Hey," he said tightly. "Yelling at Justin take so much out of you, you can't even pee anymore?"

Joey opened his eyes, but surprised and UNsurprised to see Chris. "What are you talking about?" he said. "I didn't yell at him. You know me better than that."

"I DID," Chris admitted. "Did you need to give him such a hard time?" He leaned against the doorframe to Justin's bedroom and watched Joey closely.

"I didn't think I WAS," protested Joey, also unsurprised that Chris had been eavesdropping. It was just like him. "You don't understand, anyway."

"Oh, I *don't*," Chris smirked. "Is that right? You don't think Justin told me what happened?"

Joey just stared. "Fuck. He TOLD you what I told him?"

"Don't bother to get upset about it," Chris yawned. "You would have told me yourself, and you know it. So what is it I don't understand?"

"That's not the POINT," said Joey, running his hand over his face. "And you don't understand what's going on with me. Or Justin. Or ... us. Fuck. Neither do I, though." He pushed himself off the wall. "And I really do have to piss, so if you'll excuse me ... "

Chris put a soft but unyielding hand on Joey's chest. "It can wait," he said quietly. "You can talk to me about this, you know. I understand better than you think."

Joey looked at Chris silently for a moment. "What can I tell you that you don't already know?" he asked.

"Well, Justin can't read your mind ... obviously, and that's probably a good thing ... and neither can I," Chris said, not moving his hand. "So why don't we start with the 'what's going on with you' part of all this."

"I had a VERY eye-opening night," said Joey flatly. "Not just thanks to Justin. And there are just some things I SHOULDN'T have to hear from JC, first, is all I have to say about THAT." He closed his eyes again and wished that things were light and happy and the he could feel like himSELF again. "I feel like a fucking moron, Chris, do we HAVE to really examine that too close?"

"No," Chris assured him. "That's never something I want to have to think too much about," he grinned. "Seriously ... I agree, JC should never have told you what I guess he told you. Um." Chris paused and looked at Joey closely, wondering if there was more than what he shared with justin. "Just what DID he tell you?"

Joey shook his head a little. "That I was a moron, a dimwit, stupid and that I should have know that Justin wasn't a virgin, had been around and, to quote him 'has given more blowjobs than you've ever GOTTEN, Joey'." He sighed heavily.

Chris coughed a little. "Delicately put. Um. But probably more true than not. Is ... was that all?" Despite JC's tenuous promise to stay out of it, Chris knew he was drunk when he left them together last night, and wondered what else he might have let slip.

"What, there's something ELSE that I completely failed to notice?" groaned Joey, tilting his head back and banging it against the wall. "Just hit me with it, Chris."

"Forget it," Chris muttered, relieved that JC had managed to keep his mouth shut about Justin's feelings for Joey, apparently. "Look, man ... don't feel dumb about not noticing, about Justin. I *know* it's hard to see him like that, for the first time. It's ... kind of a shock."

"Well, that was my POINT, when I was talking to him!" said Joey, leaning forward to look at Chris again. "If I didn't even notice that Justin was into guys or even SEX, how was I supposed to figured out he was into ME? Of course ... I still think JC was on crack when he came up with THAT one." His eyes flicked toward the kitchen, though, not at ALL as convinced as he had been last night.

"Oh, fuck," Chris groaned, leaning his head back against the wall, every bit of animosity he held toward JC before their conversation last night flooding back. "That little shit-for-brains," he muttered. "He was supposed to fucking stay OUT of it. Oh my GOD I'm gonna kick his ass."

"What? What are you talking about? Stay out of WHAT, Chris?" Joey's eyes were wider now, his stare more piercing.

Chris slumped against the wall, thinking maybe he should have blown it off, but not wanting anyone to get hurt more than they had already. And, if he was gonna be honest, he thought Joey should know, anyway. "Stay out of it, meaning, not getting in the middle of ... whatever was happening with you," he sighed. "With Justin. With YOU and Justin. Just ... like you said."

Joey frowned slightly, both frustrated and puzzled. "There ISN'T anything, with me and Justin. I don't know what you guys are TALKING about."

"Come on, Joe," Chris breathed, shutting his eyes. "You think me AND JC would sit here and tell you ... that ... if it wasn't true? It's not this, like, *conspiracy*."

"Justin likes me?" said Joey quietly. "Like THAT? For real?"

"Yeah," Chris said, just as quietly, frowning when he realized how much saying that felt like he was betraying Justin in turn. "Yeah, he does. A LOT. I'm ... I'm sure he was trying to tell you. He WILL tell you. In his own way."

"He never said," said Joey, bringing his hand up to his mouth and chewing on already-too-short nails. "He had a lot of chance, but he never SAID. About the guy thing, Chris. And that HURTS. And ... jeez, what am I supposed to do NOW?"

"Well," Chris looked at him, trying not to sound too hopeful, "What do you WANT to do? Have you even ... I mean, *thought* about it? I know you like, JUST found out, but would you *consider* it?"

"Do you think I SHOULD?" asked Joey, surprised. "Chris ... I've never even THOUGHT about it before. With Justin, I mean. Like, at all."

"Well ... " Chris started, then frowned as he looked down the hall. "Um. Maybe we should ... ?" He gestured with his head into Justin's bedroom. "I guess that depends on how you feel about ... being with a guy, first of all."

Joey nods. "Yeah, now THAT'S a whole other can of worms," he said. "Justin ... was the first person I told, about that. So I guess I'm still a little pissed he couldn't keep it a secret, like he promised, to begin with."

Chris walked into the bedroom and sat on the bed, waiting for Joey to follow him. "Wait. He *promised* you he wouldn't tell anyone? Are you SURE?" Chris didn't doubt that Joey didn't want that common knowledge, but he had NEVER known Justin to lie about something like that. Especially because he suspected he intneded to tell Chris all along.

"Well ... I ASKED him not to ... " said Joey, following him slowly. "I just figured he ... wouldn't."

"Well ... knowing what you know NOW ... are you surprised he did?" Chris sat back, relieved. "Really, he just told me because ... it was a shock to him, and he didn't know what it meant. STILL doesn't, I don't think. It kinda messed him up."

"HE'S messed up about it?" asked Joey. "What about ME? You know, speaking of shock and all ... "

"Okay, okay," Chris held up his hands, not wanting to get in the middle of who was more disturbed than who. "You BOTH weren't expecting it. And he DID tell me. So ... let's just accept that and move on, 'kay?"

"Fine," sighed Joey. "I just ... I would've told you, when *I* was ready ... or whatever."

"I know," Chris told him, trying to smile comfortingly, and realizing he wasn't any good at doing that with anybody but Justin. "So. What DID you think about it? I couldn't really get a ... straight story ... out of Justin."

"What did I think about WHAT, exactly?" asked Joey, finally sitting down.

"About ... what you did. With a guy." Chris stretched backwards and grabbed the pillow he had used last night. "Was it good? Did you like it? WOULD you do it again?" He heard what he told Justin, about the opportunity not really presenting itself, and wondered what THAT meant.

"Well yeah, sure," said Joey, smiling to himself self-consciously. "I had a great time. Again? I dunno ... I guess ... "

"Okay ... ?" Chris pressed, grinning a little at Joey's reluctance. "You guess? If ... what?"

"I've just never ... pursued it," said Joey with a shrug, looking down at his hands. "I figured it was a one-time thing, you know? Just ... getting caught up in the moment."

"Oh," Chris said slowly, frowning a little and starting to worry more about Justin than he had. *Especially* since he told him it would only make it easier. But NOW, talking to Joey, he wondered if it was just something he was experimenting with. "Okay, then. Whatever floats your boat, huh? Justin ... he'll get over it, I'm sure."

"Well, wait," said Joey, confused. "What, that's it? I thought we were supposed to be, like, TALKING about this?"

"Well, we ARE," Chris said, frowning in confusion too. "But if it was a one-time thing, then that's that, you know? I don't want to *push* you, just 'cause ... well, for any reason."

"I said I THOUGHT it was," muttered Joey. "Jeez, and you guys are supposed to be the perceptive ones." He sighed, worried that this was going nowhere, that no one was going to be able to help him figure out what to DO about this whole situation.

"But you're not sure it was?" Chris's brow was furrowed. "Like, you'd do it again? With the right person?"

"Maybe," said Joey slowly. "I don't KNOW. I never thought about it much before today. It's not like I never NOTICE guys, or something. It's just, you know, EASIER, to sleep just with chicks. Unless one of them brought their boyfriend along again ... I'd've done THAT."

Chris snorted. "AGAIN? THAT'S when you were with a guy? In a threesome?" Chris laughed, and grinned at Joey admiringly. "Man, you're the coolest guy I know."

Joey chuckled, finally looking up at him. "Yeah. Didn't Justin tell you that part?"

"No," Chris laughed again. "He managed to leave that out. He actually ... didn't give me ANY details. I don't even know if you just kissed, or fucked, or what."

"Oh," said Joey, still chuckling a little. "I thought he said. Um ... it didn't really get anywhere beyond blowjobs. Which was fine, at the time." He chewed on his nails again, his eyes flicking away. "How come EVERYone knew about Justin, and I didn't?"

"Which part?" Chris said warily. "About being with guys?"

"Yeah," said Joey. "Am I really that fucking slow? Seriously?"

"No," Chris said softly, thinking back to his conversation with Justin, and how Justin said he wouldn't tell Joey about their relationship. But wondering if knowing about it might not be the best thing for BOTH of them. "JC just figured it out because ... I dunno. He's fuckin' nosy, like that. And Justin ... well. He came to me about it." He smoothed out the wrinkles in his pillowcase and wouldn't look up.

"He came to you?" asked Joey curiously. "Really? I ... I guess I thought me and Justin were closer than that. But, you know, if it was a while ago he probably knew you better and ... I guess it doesn't matter. He probably thought you'd deal with it better or something." He chewed the nail of his pinky finger. "Probably right, too."

"Probably," Chris said wryly, and took a breath. "Joey ... he came to me, because he knew *I* had been with guys before." He waited for that to sink in, before wanting to hit him with the rest of it.

Joey groaned. "Christ," he said. "I AM slow. When did THAT happen?"

Chris just gestured casually. "A while ago. Before you knew me. College. And then ... well. SINCE you've known me, too. Don't feel bad ... obviously, it's not something either of us advertise."

"Yeah, well, just tell me Lance didn't know, too, and I'll feel a bit better about myself," said Joey, though a bit of a grin was creeping out.

Chris snorted again. "Lance. GOD, no." He relaxed a little more when he saw Joey's smile, way more comfortable at things between them being like THAT. But still knowing he had to tell him the big stuff, even if he was no closer to deciding HOW. "Um. So. Justin ... asked me some questions. Which, you know ... YOU can do, too, if you want. Maybe easier than asking him ...?"

Joey nodded. "I might," he said. "If it comes to that. I wouldn't even know where to START, right now. I'm ... I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the idea that Justin LIKES me. And I'm not getting very far, to be honest."

"Well, he does," Chris confirmed. "It'll only be a matter of time before you can't avoid it, or second-guess it, either. He's ... persistent. No matter how obtuse you are."

"I'm not trying to avoid it," said Joey, shaking his head. "I just ... still don't know how to handle it. Seriously."

"I know," Chris sighed. "I ... know. God. Believe me. Look ... are you interested? At all? COULD you be?"

Joey hesitated, then looked up at him. "I don't know. I never thought about it. I think ... yeah, I COULD be ... maybe ... but, I need to talk to him about this. For sure."

Chris nodded. "Okay ... look. Let me just tell you that ... if you decide you *are* interested? You're not going to regret it." He plucked at his pillow nervously. "If you give him a chance."

"He's a kid," said Joey softly. "But ... he's NOT." He looked at Chris curiously. "What do you mean, though, about not regretting it?

Chris looked pained for a minute, then smiled weakly. "He'll be wonderful to you. He's just ... the sweetest boy, ever, and fun, and ... sensitive, and eager, and energetic ... and ... GOD, gorgeous, and ... sweet ... " His face got distant. "He's an angel. If you let him, he'll be *your* angel."

Joey smiled a bit. "I know that stuff, Chris. He's great, he's one of my best friends. He's also young, and moody, and going through the teenage thing right now. And he doesn't TALK, about stuff, much. And I know THAT, too." He paused again, as he really thought about it. "I've never gone for anyone who was a friend, first. And I've never gone for a guy. So ... "

Chris bit his lip, then made sure Joey was looking at him. "Joe. Believe me. You will NOT regret it, with Justin. I ... god." He looked away, then looked back, his face serious. "I NEVER have. Not for a moment."

Joey's eyes widened at that and he was speechless for a moment. He didn't have to ask Chris what that meant, this time ... he KNEW. "He ... you ... WHEN? Why? How?"

Chris didn't answer for a moment, stretching out on the bed. "A little while ago. It started last year." He started playing with the sheets, running his hands over them. "I TOLD you he came to me. With questions. And, I guess ... ideas, too."

"Oh," said Joey softly. "He's ... a lot younger than you Chris. I never would have thought ... I mean ... shit, I'm saying this all wrong." He chewed on a nail again nervously. "Are those the things you saw in him?"

Groaning, Chris flopped on his back. "Yeah. And did I mention gorgeous?" He wouldn't let himself get upset about Joey bringing up the age thing ... it did take some getting used to. "I don't care how much younger he is. I don't care how much younger he WAS. He's still the most amazing guy I've ever, ever been with."

"Really?" said Joey, still trying to come to terms with what was going on, and everything that he'd learned in such a short span of time. "Then ... how come you aren't STILL with him?"

Chris bit his lip, wondering why he had to go through this twice in twenty-four hours ... especially when the kiss he got from Justin last night made him question his reasons even more. "We're better friends," he said simply. "And maybe we got too close. I don't know. We just ... aren't."

"Okay," said Joey, accepting that. If Chris could give him a better answer, he's pretty sure he would have. Him and Chris, they've talked before ... but never about THIS. "Chris ... I don't know what to do."

That was familiar. "I know," Chris sympathized. "I guess ... you have two choices, right?"

"Two?" said Joey, thinking there were about two BILLION choices and not knowing which one was right. "Well ... lay it out for me then."

"Well ... you go for it, when he asks, or you don't," Chris said simply. "I know it doesn't *seem* that easy, but ... when it comes down to it? when you get rid of all the extra bullshit involved? You just have to decide whether he's worth trying for, for YOU."

"He's special," said Joey immediately. "He's great. I've just never THOUGHT of him, like that, before. I'm just ... I'm not ready to make that decision yet. It wouldn't be fair, if I didn't know, right?"

"No, of course not," Chris replied automatically. "God, PLEASE don't get into something too fast. I *know* this seems sudden -- I had already been looking, when he came to me; I'm a horny bastard, I guess! -- but ... I dunno. Maybe you *should* start thinking about him like that. Just *watch* him. See what he does, how he treats you ... figure out if it's something you'd want him to do every chance he gets."

Joey grinned a bit, then flushed when he realized just where his mind had gone. "He touches really nice," he said awkwardly, wondering if that meant anything.

"Oooh!" Chris leered, heartened by the fact that Joey seemed to really be *considering* it. "He *does*. What'd he do?"

"Just ... last night ... he was touching me a lot," admitted Joey, still awkward talking about it. "I thought it was because he was drunk, but .. maybe not, huh. I didn't really WANT to ask him to stop ... I just thought I was, you know, protecting him from doing something he didn't mean, and would be all embarassed about in the morning."

"Yeah," Chris's smile fell a little. "He wasn't ... I think he felt pretty dumb when you said something. Was he really *that* drunk, or was that just the excuse you made up for yourself, because it was a little easier?"

"I thought he was," said Joey, believing it. "I didn't think Justin would DO that, if he wasn't. Like I said, Chris, I never ever saw him that way. Not at all."

"What about now?" Chris pressed. "Those huge blue eyes, when he looks at you from under his eyelashes? And ... his hands, when he touches your waist, or his lips ... just ALL the time? And ... all the other things that I could tell you about but I'll let you picture yourself?" He rolled onto his back. "He's sexual, Joey. He just IS. He can make it so it's almost all you'll think about around him, if you can convince him it won't blow up in his face to ask."

"He's not a kid anymore," said Joey quietly. "I've gotten THAT far at least. And this morning ... for the first time I think I noticed just how GOOD he looks. And he's always been fun. And ... " He unconciously chewed on a nail again. "I'll be honest here, Chris ... I still get this weird clench when I think about being with a GUY ... which Justin definitely IS."

"Bad weird, or good weird?" Chris wondered. "Cause ... just like you shouldn't make this decision before you're ready, you shouldn't make it for anything but the right reasons." He sat up and stared hard at Joey. "I really, *really* don't want you experimenting with him. He's not ready for that."

"Nervous weird," said Joey after a moment of thought. "Maybe a little scared, weird. But ... good, yeah, I think. Chris, I WOULD be experimenting with him, in a way, if this happened. I'd have to be ... there's a LOT of stuff I just haven't done, that I guess he HAS. But I wouldn't mess with his feelings. He's JUSTIN, after all." And in his mind, that was enough reason right there.

"That's all I meant," Chris insisted, relaxing. "I'll tell you right now, if I think you're using him ... " He stopped himself, and looked apologetically at Joey. "Nevermind. I know you wouldn't do that, I just ... well. You can see how I get about him, I guess."

"You love him," said Joey, nodding knowingly. "Don't worry. So do I. No matter WHAT happens with this whole deal."

"GOD, this is weird," Chris said then, staring at Joey appraisingly. "I feel like I should be resenting you."

"Do you?" asked Joey. "Seriously? I ... this whole THING is weird." He closed his eyes and tried to make sense of it all.

Chris smiled a little bittersweetly, and let himself bury his nose in the sheets of the bed they had shared the night before. "If you just let him in, you'll understand sooner or later. If you let him tempt you enough. And look, *about* that ... are you gonna say something to him? Cause it might go better if you're a little gentler than you were this morning."

"I was upset," admitted Joey, wincing a bit as he remembered how that conversation had gone. "After everything I told him, Chris, and him not telling ME anything ... it was like he was playing games with me or something. And that ... well, it HURT."

"Well, he wasn't," Chris insisted. "He was just being typically insecure. And probably, *mostly*, just honestly interested in your life. Look ... you're better off assuming the positive, with him. You'll be right more often than not, and it won't hurt as bad."

"I had too much to drink, too," said Joey honestly. "And after Justin I was talking to JC. And ... I guess it was easy to think of the bad. You KNOW I'm not normally like that, Chris. I'm a little off my game right now ... "

"Okay," Chris agreed. "But still ... you weren't drunk this morning. I don't want you talking to him like that, again. It wasn't called for, okay?"

Joey frowned at Chris, even though he knew he wouldn't. "Can you at least acknowledge that Justin maybe didn't handle the situation very well either? And that I got hurt in the process? Or doesn't THAT matter?"

"It matters," Chris admitted. "And I'm sorry, that you got hurt. But Justin can't read minds, and I'm sure he was doing what he thought was best for you. And he didn't LIE. So, no ... I'm not sure I *would* say he didn't handle it well." He bit his lip, wanting to add something about whether JOEY had been 'hurt' enough to cry the night before, but didn't want to embarass Justin.

Joey shrugged. "Fine," he said, his guts clenching. "In that case, this might be a very bad idea. I don't think I could deal very well with a relationship like that. So don't worry, Chris ... he's all yours. Take care of him, would you? He IS a special guy. And at least he treats YOU well, apparently." Joey got up and started for the door.

"A relationship like WHAT?" Chris bounded off the bed and moved to stand in front of Joey. "You mean, one where the guy has your best interests at heart? Yeah, let me tell you how much that sucks." He frowned and struggled to keep from getting closer up in Joey's face. "But it's exactly why I'd take him back, if I could."

"Chris," said Joey slowly, with more patience than he thought he would. "You DON'T know what happened between us last night. So don't you think just MAYBE you're taking his side just a little too quickly? Just ... put yourself in my shoes for two seconds and see how it feels, would you?" But Joey realizes that Chris WOULD take him back ... and maybe this is the only chance he'll get ... and that actually scares him a little.

Chris backed down. "Yeah. Yeah, okay. I'm sorry?" He winced a little, and looked at Joey sheepishly. "But ... he at least told me his side. I haven't really heard yours. How did he *hurt* you?"

"Chris ... last night was the first time I ever, ever told someone I'd been with a guy," said Joey, looking him in the eye. "That was, like, a really big deal too me. And suddenly Justin was asking me all these kinda uncomfortable questions, but I answered them because he said he wanted 'guy talk' with me for once, and I though he was curious and just didn't know anything about it.

"And then, all of a sudden, he starts shutting down. Saying he's tired and sick. And making it sound like what i was SAYING was making him sick. But I let it go anyway because he was Justin and he's young and I thought I just needed to give him some time. So I took him to bed and I went downstairs and started talking to JC, who told me Justin had more experience with guys than I could even DREAM of, really. So ... are you maybe getting the picture why I might have been a bit hurt, when I talked to Justin this morning?"

"Yeah," Chris bit out, frowning. "Yeah. I'm ... sorry he wasn't able to listen the way you needed. You couldn't have known, and ... I think ... neither could he. Just ... he IS young. And as much 'experience' as he has ... it's not with people he cares about like you. Mostly." Chris looked down. "He's going to mess up, some. Just don't beat him up for it, is all I'm asking."

"I wasn't," said Joey. "Honest. I was just ... I had to tell him how I felt about that. I wasn't expecting to see him so soon after I got up this morning. Maybe it came out a little wrong," he acknowledged.

"Okay," Chris grinned, hitting Joey's arm and winking. "So ... why don't you go piss, then, and give him a chance to make it up to you? He's better at that than he should be."

Joey smiled back a little, and honest smile, finally. "I have NO idea what I'm doing," he said, then chuckled. "But ... okay."

"Okay," Chris echoed, and walked back over to the bed to grab his shirt from the night before. "And Joe? I meant it, what I said before. You can talk to me about any of this, but about being with guys, especially. I really just want to help. Okay?"

"I'm gonna take you up on that," said Joey, confidently now, or at least sounding like it. "I think ... maybe I'm gonna need to. And God, I DO have to piss. See you in the kitchen?"

Chris nodded, and smacked Joey on the ass on his way by. "Sure thing." Chris breathed a sigh of relief when he walked down the hall ... he felt a LOT better about Justin's chances of not getting his heart broken. Now he just had to decide whether to warn him that Joey knew.

---

Joey headed into the kitchen cautiously. He still didn't know WHAT the hell he was doing, but the kitchen was where Justin was, so the kitchen was where he needed to be. He watched Justin's back at the kitchen table for a long time before he made his presence known. "He," he said softly, getting his attention.

Justin dropped his spoon into his cereal with a splash when he twisted around on the barstool. "Shit," he muttered, wiping at his shirt with a napkin. "Joey. Hey." He watched him warily as he entered the kitchen, wondering if he was about to get lectured again, and wondering what had kept him in the first place. "I'm sorry," said Joey, moving closer now. "I guess I was a little ... harsh, earlier." He almost sits down next to him, then decides to wait, to see if he's welcome, right now.

Justin stared at him as he approached, his eyes wide. "That's okay," he said softly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, about me. That was dumb." He bit his lip and scooted over a little to make more room for Joey, then held up the box of cereal. "Oreo-Os?"

Joey cringed a bit. "Um ... no thanks," he said. "I'm ... not exactly hungry this morning." He did grab himself a bottle of water from the fridge, then sat down so he could face Justin. "I wish I'd heard it from you," he said after a moment, knowing Justin would know what he meant, "but it's okay. I'm just glad I know, now."

Grinning in relief, Justin dug back into his cereal. "Me, too. It's nice to not have to, like, hide it at all. Or have to go to *JC* all the time, about stuff." He crossed his eyes, and laughed at himself a little.

Joey grinned at him, and for the first time just let himself LOOK at Justin, knowing everything he did, now. He was being, well, really cute. Still YOUNG, but not young like Joey had thought of him, up until last night. "JC definitely wouldn't be MY first choice," he admitted to him, leaning against the table and resting his head on his hand as he looked at him, not really trying to hide it.

"Plus he can't keep secrets for shit," Justin went on, his smile growing only a little shakier when he realized Joey was basically staring at him. "Especially when he's drunk. And you guys were worried about ME, last night." He shoveled some more food in his mouth, and raised both his eyebrows at his friend.

"Yeah, well, JC's beyond our help," joked Joey. "There's still hope, for you." He smiled and continued to look at him. Justin WAS cute, in ways he'd never really let himself think about before. Attractive.

Justin's jaw dropped a little when Joey KEPT smiling, really seeming to have gotten over being upset with him. He recovered, though, and shot back a grin of his own, hoping there wasn't chocolate stuck in his teeth. "Right," he teased back. "Does that mean you're planning to give me some more lessons? How to avoid juvenile delinquency, by Joey Fatone?"

Joey shook his head. "Nope. I suspect I'm going to end up contributing to your deliquency, actually." He took another long gulp of his water, wishing it wasn't quite so cold. "But no smoking." He grinned. "I'm sticking to that one."

Justin didn't bother to protest, just relaxed even further. "Oh, yeah?" he asked, leaning his elbows on the table and pulling out of the stool a little. "Contributing, you say? You got something to show me, mister?"

Joey hesitated, but his smile didn't falter. "I'm wondering ifyou don't know a lot more, about some things, than I do," he said. "Oh well ... it was bound to happen sooner or later." He looked around suddenly. "Um ... you mom isn't around, is she?"

"Nope," Justin replied, returning his concentration to his breakfast. "She left a note. Shopping. AGAIN. *Women*." He shook his head, then looked back up. "Um. Did you want me to make you some coffee? Or ... maybe toast?" He shifted in his seat a little, hoping his hangover wasn't too bad.

Joey shook his head. "No ... um ... water is JUST fine," he assured him. "Um, Justin?" he added after moment.

Justin hopped down off his stool and took his bowl over to the sink, rinsing it out. "Yeah?"

"I ... know what's going on now," he said carefully. "Like ... all of it, I think."

Justin stood hunched over the sink for a minute, shoulders bent, before straightening up and turning around with his chin held high. "You do," he said flatly, wondering just what he was talking about, and who told him. Upstairs, apparently, since Justin last saw him. "I'm not really sure I know what you mean ... ?"

"About you liking me," clarified Joey, not sounding very sure of himself now. "Um ... maybe? I dunno ... can we talk about it?"

Biting his lip, Justin's face turned pink quickly, and he tried to hide it as best he could. "Probably something else I could have mentioned, huh," he joked weakly, wanting to be a lot braver about it than he was being, but still feeling more exposed than he remembered ... since Chris. If then.

Joey smiled encouragingly, relieved a bit at how Justin was reacting. "You wanna sit back down?" he asked, patting Justin's still-warm seat.

"Uh, sure," Justin watched Joey closely as he took the stool again, pleased, he had to admit, that Joey was *smiling* about the whole thing. "What part of ... the way I feel about you ... did you might want to talk about?"

"All of it," said Joey, hardly even knowing where to start, and somewhat proud of himself that he got THIS far. "How about ... the way I feel back?"

Justin stared back at him, then sat on his hands to keep them from shaking. He was completely, totally, and in all other ways unprepared to hear about how Joey felt about *him*, like that. And he had assumed JOEY was unprepared, as well. "Um," he said softly, ducking his head. "Seems only fair. If ... you have something to say, that is."

"The truth?" said Joey, lifting Justin's chin with his finger and looking into his eyes. "I don't know yet ... I haven't had a lot of time to think about it. But ... I'm definitely willing to look into it ... And if that's, um, okay with you, then ... we can do that. For a start." He looked at Justin hopefully and prayed he hadn't bungled that as badly as he thought maybe he had.

Justin blinked several times, and caught himself before leaning into Joey's hand. He nodded, and swallowed, instead ... then swallowed again. He *hadn't* fucked it up, and he didn't know HOW he hadn't, but ... he was going to go with it. "Hey," he said softly. "For a start ... I won't complain. Wow."

"I have NO idea what I'm doing," said Joey. "Seriously. I'm not even sure how I feel, yet. This whole thing -- you being, like, YOU -- is just really, really new to me. You ... understand that, right?" Because the LAST thing he wanted to do -- even without Chris' vague threats -- was hurt Justin.

Justin nodded again, wondering how long Joey was going to keep his hand on his face, not wanting him to ever take it away once it was there. "Why'd you say anything, then?" he had to ask, but still had a goofy grin on his face. "If you didn't know, a little better? I mean, GOD ... not that I MIND, ar anything."

"Because I needed you to know," said Joey, stroking Justin's cheek with his thumb without even thinking about it. His skin was so soft and warm and smooth. "You needed to know that that I could ... find out."

Justin's eyes drifted shut, and he sighed. Aside from last night, with Chris, it had been a long time since he'd had a man's hands on him like that. And the fact that it was Joey, and something he had been dreaming about for weeks of long nights ... he was surprised he kept his balance on his chair. "Thank you," he breathed softly. "You don't ... have any idea what that does, to me."

"What what does?" asked Joey innocently, still looking at Justin's face. Studying it.

"To *know* that," Justin whispered, keeping his eyes closed a moment longer, then opening them -- only to wonder if Joey was closer than he'd been. "To hear there's a hint of a chance that you'll bother to consider the possibility of ever maybe agreeing ... to let me be with you." He looked down again.

Joey just lifted his chin right back up. "I think ... I need to get to know YOU a little better first. The you that's really you, not the you I THOUGHT you were. The you that Chris knows," he added softly. "I'm not as smart as him or JC, Justin, and you're gonna have to be PLAIN with me, sometimes ... but I'm willing to try."

Justin blinked again at the mention of Chris's name, sure now that he had talked to him. Curious, a little, about what he said, but also relieved, and proud, that Chris had obviously said good things. "I'll tell you anything you want to hear, Joey," Justin said, still not quite looking Joey in the eye.

"It's not all about hearing," said Joey, and he couldn't really keep the smile off his face. "It's about ... seeing and doing and feeling and things like that. Chris told me things ... well, things that I knew, really, but not in the WAY he knew them. You're ... not a kid anymore. And that's gonna take some getting used to." And still, Joey just LOOKED at him, tried to take in everything that was Justin, now.

That made Justin look at Joey -- right into his deep, smiling eyes -- for any hesitation. "Am I too young for you?" he asked seriously. "Cause, I mean ... that's really, like, subjective. Um. No matter what Chris said." He blushed a little, even *more* intrigued now about what that might have been, but too shy to ask.

"I don't think so," said Joey honestly. "But ... I don't know, Justin, and that's the honest truth. I don't know much right now, except that this is a possibility and you're one of my best friends and I like you a lot and, as it turns out, you're really cute, too ... so I should really, really look at this. Consider it. And believe that it could be real, if it's what we want."

"Okay," Justin smiled. "That's ... wow, that's just great, Joey." He tucked his chin again, so unsure about where to go from there -- if that meant Joey needed time, alone, right then, or ... if maybe his hand, still on Justin's cheek, meant maybe they could start with some of those ways Joey needed to get to know him better. "Why do I feel like I should be saying all this to you?"

"You could," said Joey, nodding his head a little and finally letting go of Justin's chin, but not without stroking his cheek again to get a feel for his skin. "You could tell me where this came from ... and why ... and why ME."

"OH," Justin chuckled self-consciously, but he grabbed Joey's hand as soon as it left his face and clasped it between both of his own. "I just ... want to be around you, all the time, I guess," he admitted, his cheeks burning and his grip on Joey's fingers smothering. "That's ... it was how I figured it out."

When Joey thought back to the last little while, he could see the truth of that. He'd just never NOTICED, just never realized it was exclusive to him, either, until they all started pointing that out to him. "I'm sorry I never noticed," he said with a self-conscious grin, "until everyone kinda planted it right in front of my face. You must think I AM pretty dumb. But hey ... I'm noticing now ... "

"Are you?" Justin asked, cocking his head to the side and watching Joey as he tugged him a little closer by his hand. He's not surprised Joey didn't notice -- it's not really like he tried to make it obvious, his crush -- but now that Joey knew, Justin figured he didn't have to hide it. And so he could start acting the way he *wanted* to, around someone he wanted to be with, 'like that.'

"Yeah," said Joey softly. "I really think I'm finally starting to, Justin." He watched the play of emotions across Justin's face and wished he was able to read them, but at least he could tell that they were good ones.

Linking the fingers of one hand through Joey's and leaving them between their bodies, Justin let go with his other hand and brought it up to Joey's face, tracing delicately along his eyebrow with the pad of his thumb, brushing over the piercing there. "I don't think it'll be that hard, from here on out," he admitted, biting his lip.

Joey grinned, nervously. "I'm starting to see a LOT of things I probably should've a long time ago," he added, not minding Justin's touch at all. And wondered just what THAT was going to mean, in the long run.

"Like what?" Justin asked idly, watching his finger intently as he moved it down the side of Joey's face, along his goatee, to rest on his chin just below his lips.

"Like ... that you're a--a person, and not just a kid. An actual, like, sexual person. A lot more grown-up than I let myself see. Not, um, TOTALLY grown-up ... but I guess I'm not, either ... " Joey knew that the words were coming out a mess, but he hoped that the sentiment behind them was clear.

"Can I ask you a kinda personal question?" Justin replied after a moment. "You don't have to answer, you know, if you're still upset with me about yesterday, but ... it's really been on my mind."

"Well yeah, I guess," said Joey hesitantly. "I think we're on a pretty personal level, now ... "

"Did you let him kiss you?" Justin blurted. "That ... guy. Did you?"

Joey nodded. "Yeah, I did," he said slowly. "Is ... is that okay? Is that bad? I ... don't know what you're thinking, here."

Justin smiled wanly, still staring at his finger just millimeters away from Joey's mouth. "Of course, it's okay," he said. "I just ... wanted to know how much preparation you needed. Um, mentally. Before I get up the guts to do it, is all."

"Oh!" said Joey, his eyes widening a little bit. He SHOULD have been expecting that, but it still came as a surprise. Everything about this whole thing was coming as a surprise, including his own feelings and reactions. "O-okay ... "

Justin laughed lightly and pulled back, but not before running his fingertip aong the edge of Joey's lip so briefly. "Which ... isn't now, I don't think," he backpedaled, just happy he had gotten THAT close to Joey without him being frightened. "But soon. I hope."

"Was it good, when you were with Chris?" asked Joey, reaching up to touch his own lip, and smiling at Justin again. "He says ... he says it was really, really good ... "

Justin paused, letting go of Joey's hand, and nodded. "It ... was. It was wonderful," he smiled sheepishly and looked away. "He was incredible to me. *For* me. I can't ever repay that."

Almost without thinking, Joey reached out for Justin's hand again. "Then how come it ended, Justin? What happened? Was it because of, like, the group, or something ... ?"

"No," Justin said automatically. "No. Didn't you ... didn't he tell you? I ... assumed you talked to him, that's how you know about ... it. About us?"

Joey nodded. "He didn't say much. Just that, you know, you're better friends or something. But ... um ... it didn't sound like that was, like, everything. Or something. Like there were maybe things he wasn't saying. But I can't just figure out what those are." He paused, pulled his thoughts together again. "That's why I'm asking you," he added, finally.

"Oh," Justin flushed, remembering how he had pretty much forced himself on Chris last night, and how Chris had been strong enough for both of them ... and how OFTEN he had to do that. And all that felt way too ... *private*, to tell Joey, when they weren't really *anything* yet. But this was his first chance to show that he could be open, too, and he didn't want to screw it up. "That was a lot of it," he admitted slowly. "We wanted to keep our friendship, more than anything. And ... it wasn't so much that we weren't really in the same PLACE, in terms of what we wanted out of it, 'cause we WERE ... it's just that everything progressed past where that place was. For both of us. Does that ... make sense?"

"Will you be mad at me if I say no?" asked Joey tentatively, trying hard not to let his puzzled frown show. "Is that ... are you saying things went further than you guys were comfortable with? I don't ... quite get it. I'm sorry ... "

Justin smiled and raised Joey's hand to his mouth impulsively. "No, I won't be mad," he murmured, his lips pressed against Joey's knuckles. "It's really hard to put into words. We didn't get uncomfortable, just ... almost too close. Like we were too much for what we were ready for. So ... we called it off, kinda. Before one of us freaked out. It was ... really mutual. Hard as FUCK, but mutual."

"So ... you still want him, then," said Joey slowly, even as a shiver ran through his body at the touch of Justin's lips. "Is that what would happen with us, too, if we got together?" And if it was, he couldn't do this. Because he put his soul into relationships -- the real ones, not the casual ones, the sex ones -- and couldn't do it KNOWING that it would be damaged, in the end.

"Oh, Joey," Justin sighed. "No. I want *you*, and he knows that. And it's the same for him. We're ... still really, really close. He ... slept with me, last night, if ... you didn't know that. But we've both moved on, and ... we're not looking back. REALLY." He kissed Joey's hand again, letting his lips linger longer. "And ... " he looked up hopefully. "I don't have any reason to think that'll happen to us. I wasn't ... ready, with him, to be ... committed, or whatever. I was fifteen." He grinned when he realized that it wasn't like he was much older. "And, just ... trust me. He wasn't either."

"Well, I'm not exactly asking for a commitment," laughed Joey suddenly, happy to hear that in a lot of ways. "But ... yeah ... I just don't want to start something that's DOOMED, you know?"

"Don't think like that, then," Justin assured him, letting go of his hand again. "It's not like there's this curse on intra-sync relationships or something." He laughed brightly, his eyes sparkling.

Joey chuckled a little bit at the term. "Don't make it sound like you're working your way through the group or anything," he teased, once again grabbing for his hand. Justin's hand was large and strong and not at all kid-like, and felt good in his.

Justin thought about the remaining candidates, and laughed again. "Oh, god. JC? Lance??? I don't think so." He looked down at their hands wrapped together and sighed. "Wow," he said again. "After last night, I REALLY didn't think this was how this might turn out. Chris must've left out all my bad qualities, or something."

"I know about a few of those," said Joey gently. "No offense or anything. I mean, you know about mine, too, right? You can't live on a bus with someone without getting to know a FEW things. Though ... I guess I've proven you can miss a few of the big ones, so ... " He stopped talking and just smiled at him for a minute, feeling pretty damn content.

"Heh, yeah," Justin admitted. "But ... you know what I meant, right? This ... giving it a shot, or figuring it out, or whatever, is still light years away from what you thought of me yesterday. He must've said *something* to make you actually consider this ... ?"

"I think the biggest thing?" said Joey honestly, "Was having someone point out to me that it was there to consider. Kinda having someone -- a few someones -- make me wake up and see what was right in front of me." He reached out tentatively and touched Justin's hair, not ruffling it but just feeling its texture.

Justin's eyes fell shut at Joey's touch, again, and he found himself wishing that the other man would caress him a lot less hesitantly. "A *few* someones? God. Did JC say something, too?" Justin couldn't bring himself to be mad, but he was a tiny bit hurt. "And, what ... that's all it took? Yesterday, I'm, like ... your little brother, and today ... someone you'd consider being NAKED with?" Justin knew they hadn't talked about THAT, but needed to make sure Joey was really considering what this *meant.* "Considering and doing are two very, very different things," Joey pointed out, pulling his hand back self-consciously and resting it in his lap. "Justin ... I haven't thought that far ahead yet. I'm still in the 'getting to know the real Justin Timberlake' stage right now. Can we have that, before we rush ahead into anyone else?"

"Yeah," Justin sighed, pouting a little when Joey pulled back. "I just feel kinda ... set up. Like somehow the two of them thought I was screwing this up too much? And then it was all negotiated without me even knowing. Y'know?" He shook his head and stood up, smiling again. "We can do this our way, from here on out. And if right now that means you getting to know me, then ... yeah. We can. We *should.*"

"Yeah, well, it was me they needed to knock some sense into," said Joey sheepishly. "You were the one that was doing everything right, apparently. So yeah ... let's just ... go from here? I don't know how else to do this."

"Okay," Justin nodded, then stood there awkwardly for a moment. "Um ... yeah. So." He flashed a big grin. "This is so dumb. You *do* know me. I have no idea what to TELL you!"

Joey chucked, just as unsure as Justin about what was supposed to happen next. "Tell me about you and Chris," he said finally. "If that's not too awkward. Tell me how YOU guys got together." And while Justin spoke, Joey could keep watching him, listening to him, and trying to figure out just how he DID feel about him, now that he knew what he did.

Justin bit his lip, wishing Joey had asked about something else, but knowing he'd have to share this sooner or later. "Okay. Do you ... maybe want to go sit outside and talk? Or ... " He was about to suggest they go to his room, but he had no idea if Chris was still there. "I don't know. Somewhere else. The other guys'll be up soon."

"Mmm, yeah, maybe you're right," said Joey, sipping his water again and starting to feel a whole lot better than he had when he got up. "Well ... we started this outside, right? So ... maybe that would be a really good place to be."

"Cool." Justin snagged a bottle of water for himself out of the fridge and led the way out onto the patio out back again. He avoided the lawchairs, though -- feeling like that would be too much like deja vu -- and went to sit on the edge of the pool. "So. Chris and me." He waited for Joey to join him. "He was ... my first. Like, *everything*."

"*Everything* everything?" asked Joey, sitting down next to him and turning his head to watch him.

"Well, with a GUY," Justin said, like it should have been obvious. "And ... I was really lucky. He treated me really, really well."

"I knew, with a guy," said Joey, embarassed at Justin's chastisement. He was supposed to be talking to Justin like that, not the other way 'round. "I just meant ... that you'd, you know, done all the stuff I HAVEN'T. With a guy. With Chris."

"Yeah," Justin said, a little awkwardly, trying to keep the wistfulness out of his voice. "Yeah, he was ... really good. Um." He blushed a little and laughed at himself. "A really good *teacher*, I mean. Do you ... I mean, is that going to be too weird?"

"Nothing's TOO weird right now," said Joey, smiling at him. "It's all kinda at the same level of weirdness." He wrapped an arm around Justin's waist and pulled him closer, a friendly gesture he'd made a hundred times before, but never with all these other LEVELS, attached to it.

Justin's skin felt warm everywhere Joey was touching him: on his hip, resting flush against Joey's; on the small of his back, covered by Joey's forearm; on the top of his leg, where Joey's fingers rested. "Okay, good to know," he managed, swallowing and looking out onto the water for a minute. "Um. I guess it all started because Chris would, like, treat me like a friend. Even at the beginning. NOT as a kid. "And it ... took a little while, but eventually I realized that mattered so much because I really *wanted* him to like me, because I liked him. More than I should, for a friend, let alone someone I was gonna be spending so much time with. Kinda like you, really."

"You like me like that?" asked Joey. "I guess I just ... never would have thought that, before. But, like I told JC, I'm the moron that thought you were a virgin, so that should come as no surprise. I think from now on just need to TELL me these things."

"I'm *trying*," Justin grinned, turning to face Joey a little and touching him gently in the center of his chest. "I like you. Like, *really* like you. I like how you look out for me and *usually* aren't all bossy about it, and I like how you'll goof off with me, and I like how you take me seriously when we're working. And I ... just think you're cool. And fun. And you turn me on." He grinned. "Those kind of things?"

Everything Justin said Joey was used to, could easily handle, until the turning-Justin-on thing. "Yeah ... those things," he said, finding his voice after a moment. Justin WAS good looking. And built. And still growing. And Joey KNEW that -- had seen Justin's body many, many times -- but had never KNOWN it on this gut level before.

Justin pulled back a little, wondering if he had admitted too much, too soon. "Um. Sorry. Should I ... go back to telling you about Chris? Maybe it'd be better if you tell me exactly what you want to know." He frowned worriedly and hoped maybe that would keep him from saying something else to frighten Joey.

"I need to hear about you and sex," said Joey suddenly, finally saying what had, really, been on his mind all along. "I need to ... know. Like you know me."

"Oh!" Justin started, then chuckled at himself again. It probably wouldn't be the best time to point out that he really *didn't* know about Joey and his sexual experience, beyond that one time he had described the night before, and then what he'd been able to see himself. "Wow, okay." He started kicking at the water again, splashing idly. "I guess ... you mean, with guys?"

Joey shrugged and looked down for a moment. "Either would work, I guess. With girls, I'd be learning about you. With guys, well, I guess I'd learn something about ... doing it ... to." He turned his head to look at Justin and grinned. "Get myself the eduction I thought I was GIVING you, last night."

Justin blushed again. "I'm sorry. I ... you should know I wasn't laughing at you, at all. God, I was kinda jealous, really ... you had more guts to do more, that first time, than I did. It took me a long time to lead up to that."

"I think," said Joey slowly, "it was easier, with HER there. Like, we could -- *I* could -- kinda pretend that me being turned on was about her. When really, most of the time she wasn't even THERE." He chewed his nail again after he said that, wondering how Justin was going to react to that. "But ... I want to hear about you."

"I KNOW," Justin told him, getting a little exasperated because he couldn't quite figure out WHAT Joey wanted to hear. "I just ... don't know what you need me to say. I thin, up til the point where I basically molested Chris, our experiences were probably pretty similar. With girls. You know ... typical."

Joey smiled. "I never thought of my sex life as typical. But okay." He suddenly took his arm back and stripped his shirt off. "I'm getting in the water," he said. "You wanna swim while we talk about this? Might, um, help with the whole fidgeting thing we're doing."

"That's not what I meant," Justin replied quickly, a little defensively at being called on the fidgeting, and a little breathlessly since he was staring at Joey's chest. "I just meant ... you know. There's a progression. What you do with it is, I guess, the trick." He watched Joey warily. "Um. I don't have my suit on."

Joey grinned as he slipped into the water. "Neither do I. I think we'll cope." He reached out his hand for Justin and raised an eyebrow.

Justin tugged off his shirt awkwardly as he scrambled to his feet, then after a moment shimmied out of his shorts, too. He stood there, in his boxer-briefs, scratching the back of one leg with his other foot, and watched Joey. "You know what I mean, right? How there's kind of this ... set of stages, or whatever. Landmarks. *Bases*," he finished, and laughed at himself.

Joey grinned, and tried to be inconspicuous and he looked him up and down. Damn. Justin DID have a hell of a body already. "I think," he said after a moment, "it's safe to assume we've both rounded the bases. You go beyond typical when you do your, like, victory dance. Or something."

"Is that a ... what's it called? euphemism?" Justin giggled again and dipped his foot back in the pool to flick water at Joey. "So, yeah. We've both kind of ... been there, done that. Um. I've never been with two people at once, though," he admitted.

"Get IN here," laughed Joey, reaching for Justin's ankle. "I bet you're kinda glad now that I'VE been in a threesome, huh ... "

"Well, a *little* relieved," Justin told him, dancing back away from Joey's hand and making his way over to the ladder instead. "But more ... jealous. Of you, a little, but ... mostly of them. I bet you're ... " he swallowed nervously, then finished quickly as he made his way into the pool. "I bet you're really good, in bed."

"Well ... yeah ... " said Joey awkwardly. He WAS good in bed, and he knew it, but it's not the kind of thing you just talked about, like that. "With girls, anyway. I already told you I think I give the world's worst blowjobs. Well, not WORST. I managed to avoid an ugly 'teeth' incident. But ... hardly anything to write home about, if you know what I mean."

Justin coughed, and tried not to picture it as he slipped the rest of the way into the water. "I'm sure it was a lot better than you think. God, the first time *I* did it? I was such a mess. SUCH a mess. Thought I could handle more than I could, y'know? Chris is a fucking saint, for putting up with THAT."

"Really?" said Joey. "The way he talked ... it was like you were the best ever, you know? But I guess ... everyone has a first time. I totally gagged. It was pretty pathetic, looking back on it." He grinned sheepishly and looked up at Justin. "These are the kind of stories Chris DOESN'T hear about," he admitted.

Justin blushed and turned away, surprised and pleased, again, that Chris had obviously been so complimentary. "He did NOT say that," he demurred. "And you're lucky. Unfortunately, Chris has WAY too much knowledge of all *my* stories like that." He swam away a little. "It gets easier," he added, shyly. "You know. If it was something you thought you'd try again."

"It wasn't bad," admitted Joey. "Other than the gagging thing. And ... honestly ... I TOLD him it was my first time, so he didn't have to, you know, thrust like that. Well ... I guess you're the expert on it, though. I don't need to be telling you what it was like." He swam over closer to Justin again, so he could see his face.

"Not an *expert*," Justin complained, forcing himself to stay pretty much in place. "Just ... well. I wasn't lying, when I said last night, that ... I really get off on, uh, giving head." He grinned sheepishly. "But ... he was thrusting? That's ... well. On the one hand, not too cool, but ... you could also take it as a compliment, you know. Maybe you weren't as god-awful as you thought."

"Well, I think we were just lucky all the coughing and sputtering I did after that didn't kill the mood," said Joey swimming a circle around Justin's body. "So, um, you ARE good at it, then? You really like it? How do you get past the whole, you know, jaw-aching part of it?"

Justin laughed, trying to convince himself that Joey was just teasing him, and it was harmless, and that he wasn't making fun of him when he asked that stuff. "Yeah, that's the trick," Justin sympathized, ignoring how odd it was to be giving sex advice to Joey that, presumably, he might want to use on HIM. "You just ... have to relax, first of all. And then ... well, there's some positions, that work better, and ... when you're just starting, it helps if they're already worked up enough by the time you even GET to that point ..." He trailed off, looking over at Joey to see what he thought of all that. "I'm not that great."

"I guess basketball isn't the only thing you're better than me at," said Joey, grinning again, trying not to be self-conscious about that. Joey wasn't the kind of guy to get that self-conscious about ANYthing. "You didn't have to stop talking. You didn't didn't tell me what it was like when ... um ... okay, maybe I"m NOT going to ask that."

"No, what?" Justin pressed. "Ask me. You can. I've already told you I love sucking cock; can it get more embarrassing than that?"

"I never ... um ... finished that guy, right?" said Joey, a little floored by Justin just SAYING it, like that. "And so I don't know ... what THAT'S like ... "

"Ohh," Justin nodded knowingly, and walked backward until he was pressed against the wall, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. "Yeah, that's ... different. But good. *Really* good. I mean ... you kinda got a hint of how he tasted, right? The really GREAT thing is that, remember how you were saying it was cool to *know* the other person is aroused? That's, like, the ultimate evidence. It's cool."

Joey grinned at Justin's obvious enthusiasm. "I want to try this," he blurted out. "I mean ... us. Not blowjobs. Not right now, I mean." He groaned and looked away, but he was still grinning good-naturedly. "God. I'm messing this up already."

Justin's head shot back up. "What? What do you ... what are you talking about? You want me to shut up?"

Joey's eyes widened and he looked stricken. "What? What are you talking about? I just said ... I mean, you didn't change your mind about me, did you? I'm not ... like ... too late?"

"What?" Justin repeated, laughing. "GOD, no, I just ... okay. Back up. You want to try ... being with me?" His face was hopeful, but then was overcome with a little confusion. "But you don't want blowjobs involved? Does that mean, like ... *nothing* physical? Or, you just want to *receive* them? Or ..."

Joey laughed back. "I just meant, not YET," he said. "I mean, I was saying yes to the you, now, and to the blowjobs, like, later. Does that ... work?"

"Sure, yeah," Justin replied eagerly, easily, his cheeks flushed with pleasure and excitement. "Wow. If that's all it took, now I'm all curious about what I can get you to agree to if I talk about what I can do with my tongue."

Joey's laugh turned into a grin. "It wasn't all THAT, Justin. It's ... a lot of things. But you can tell me what you can do with your tongue anyway. That might even be a conversation I can, you know, join in on."

"I was just kidding," Justin mumbled, grinning and ducking his head. "About the tongue thing. But ... jeez ... this is so COOL! Thanks, Joey, for ... y'know, giving it a shot. No matter what convinced you."

"I think looking at you shirtless helped. A lot," said Joey, then winked and suddenly it was like he was the same guy that had shown up yesterday for a game of basketball. Which, really, was probably the way it should be.

"Oh!" Justin laughed, falling back against the wall again, that same combination of embarassed and pleased, again. "Right. Coming from you, that's ... " -- he gestured vaguely at Joey's torso, but wouldn't let himself look too long -- "Right. Whatever."

"Just suddenly realized I was looking at a grown man's body, more or less," admitted Joey. "Let myself think about what that might mean. You know?" He hoped Justin DID know, because he didn't know how else to explain it. Not that Justin's body had been the biggest factor anyway.

Justin, actually, had no clue what Joey meant, but he was just gonna take the fact that Joey even *noticed*, and run with it. He reached out and grabbed Joey's hand gently, spread his fingers, and then placed his palm on the firm ridges of Justin's stomach, one of the parts of his body he was most proud of. "There," he murmured, watching Joey for the first hint that was unwelcomed or unwanted. "What happens when you feel it?"

Joey grinned as he felt Justin up. "I dunno. What's SUPPOSED to happen?"

Justin stared at him for a second, then grinned slowly, tugging on Joey's other hand to pull his body closer. "I can only tell you what it's doing to me," he admitted, knowing that absolutely nothing would hide the erection stirring in his boxers, but hoping to distract Joey enough so he wouldn't comment at least.

Joey moved his hand a little. "It feels ... different. Hard. But ... nice. Really nice, Justin." He realized it WAS doing something to him, and wasn't quite sure what to say about that.

"Yeah, 'nice,' okay," Justin murmured. Joey's hand was large, and hot, on his skin, and it was different from Chris; different from any guy he had been with. Maybe because he had been anticipating it for so long, and it was still so unexpected. And *because* he had waited for so long for it, he told himself he couldn't stop there, not anymore. "C'mere," he said softly, tugging Joey a little closer still and cupping his hand around the base of his neck. "I have something else I want you to feel."

Joey told himself not to be afraid of this, to remember WHO he was with and how much he trusted him, still, and let Justin pull him closer. He was turned on. He was *turned on*. And given what he was wearing, he bet Justin knew that, too. He tried to wrap his mind around THAT, along with everything else. "Okay," he said softly to Justin, in response, and found that was about all he had to say, for once.

Justin stopped their bodies from touching -- not wanting Joey to be scared off by how aroused *he* was, and not really wanting to know if it wasn't doing the same to him -- but otherwise they were about as close as they could be. He smiled, moistened his lips a little, and pulled Joey's head down, tilting his own face up. Blinking slowly, he shut his eyes when he didn't feel any resistence from the other man, and pressed his mouth almost chastely against his.

Joey's heart actually sped up as Justin kissed him; he'd forgotten what it felt like, to have that happen when someone was kissing him. JUST kissing him. He closed his eyes and let instinct take over, kissing Justin back.

Justin let his thumb rub at the hair at the nape of Joey's neck, and tilted his head to the side to deepen the kiss a little. Still no tongue: just wet lips and warm mouths and a slight tickle under his nose from Joey's goatee. He was absurdedly happy, standing in his mom's pool in dripping wet underwear and a persistent hard-on, just learning how Joey tasted. He smiled into the kiss.

Joey slid the hand that had been on Justin's abdomen around to the small of his back as they kissed. He was no longer focused on trying to see Justin as the man he'd grown into, was just responding to him as a man he turned out to be very attracted to. He slid his tongue out to trace Justin's lips, tasting him, kissing him with more tenderness than he'd kissed just about anyone before, but with the same growing hunger.

Justin shivered when he felt the tip of Joey's tongue on his mouth and forced himself to pull back, smiling apologetically. He wanted nothing more than to just capture Joey's lips again and see exactly how far they could get, with that kiss, but he also needed to make sure Joey was okay with it. At this stage, he didn't think he could go slow enough. "Hey," he whispered shyly, tugging on Joey's earlobe gently with his fingers. "So what happened, when you felt *that*?"

Joey grinned shyly. He wasn't used to people pulling away from his kisses, but Justin quickly showed him it wasn't because he wasn't ENJOYING IT. "A lot of very good things happened," he said vaguely, daring to lean closer to Justin for a moment so Justin could feel what he meant by that. "Unexpected things, maybe ... but welcome. I, um, liked it. A lot." He tilted his head to the side to look at him and grinned a little wider.

Justin blushed when he felt Joey's groin against his hip, felt the very response he had hoped for, but then pushed Joey away again, gently. "I liked it, too. So ... you're okay with this? I'm ... maybe I should have asked, first?" He didn't think Joey minded, but he also wanted to have a little time to prepare *himself*. Like ... by jerking off before he started something, next time. Whenever that would be -- he hoped Joey might bring it up.

"I'm okay so far," said Joey honestly. "Kissing is ... yeah, nice. I can do kissing. With you." He licked his lips and wondered if Justin was going to do it again, maybe. He wasn't reacting in quite the ways Joey was expecting -- the average person would have been ravaging his mouth right then, with no worries as to whether he was LIKING it or not -- but it was really nice and sweet and ... well, everything Chris had said it would be, with Justin.

Justin watched Joey's tongue, and then blushed again when he realized he was staring. "Um," he said, letting go of Joey's head and slipping around his body to grab the ladder. "I should probably ... " he gestured inside. "Take a shower. Or something. Are you sticking around, today? Or do you have to go home?" An unfortunate thought occured to him. "Or did you maybe have plans?"

Joey looked at him blankly for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on, trying to figure out why Justin was leaving. "Um, no, no plans," he stammered. "I should, you know, maybe go home and, like, change and stuff.but no plans. If you want me to hang out." He hesitated, then blurted out, like he was some teenage girl who'd never been kissed by a boy before, "Justin, did I do something wrong? Did I, like, not kiss right?"

Justin paused on the ladder, thankfully still submerged in the water to his waist, and looked at Joey strangely. "No," he said, then chuckled and said it again when he realized that Joey probably hadn't expected him to just leave like that. It had been almost automatic, remembering that this was exactly how Chris had handled it with him, but realizing as he stood there that dynamic probably wouldn't work the same between the two of *them*. "No. God, it was great. For me, at least. Almost *too* great, okay?" He blushed, cursing being sixteen, and knowing Joey would read between the lines, there. "*Can* you come back later? Maybe we could do something, just you and me?"

Joey grinned again, then, both happy and relieved and DEFINITELY knowing what Justin meant by that. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, totally. Like, after lunch maybe? I can put in a token appearance for my parents and then come back and we can ... um, whatever." He had no idea what 'whatever' would be, only that it would be new and exciting and he was pretty sure he would enjoy it.

"Cool!" Justin grinned, then bit his lip when he realized he probably wouldn't be lucky enough to be able to climb the rest of the way out of the pool, over to where he left his shorts, while Joey looked away. So he ducked his head and scrambled up the ladder, the soaked cotten of his underwear clinging everywhere, then hastily grabbed his shorts and tugged them on. "Want me to rent a movie?" he asked nervously, trying to redirect Joey's attention. "Or we can just play Sega, or go over to Universal, or ... ?"

"Oh, um, can we stay in?" said Joey, the guy who ALWAYS wanted to go out. He couldn't help watching Justin as he got out of the pool, water dripping of his body, other things visible thorugh his drenched, clingy clothing. The image burned itself in his brain, his first snapshot of sexual-Justin. Justin-who-he-might-someday-touch. "Are, um, JC and Lance going to be home, you think? Or your mom. Or will Chris still be around?" He groaned quietly. "Man, we'll NEVER get any privacy," he murmured.

Justin frowned, wondering if that was just the first of many instances where Joey would be forced to realize that sometimes Justin's age was going to cause problems for them being together. "Oh. Well. Chris ... has a date, later, so he'll probably leave after lunch too. And JC and Lance ... I don't know what they're doing." He wondered if there was any chance that he could get JC to leave for the day. "And my mom's still out, I guess, but ... that's not such a big deal. We can watch TV in basement. Or up in my room." He looked at Joey seriously, his eyes almost smoldering. "It's just you, after all. What kind of trouble could we possibly get into?"

Joey grinned. "You KNOW your mama doesn't trust me," he said, shaking his head. "But she'll probably think I'm teaching you how to smoke pot or something. Not ... that." He licked his lower lip again, thinking about the kiss. "And what? Chris has a date? With WHO? He never told me that, sneaky bastard ... "

Justin shrugged and stared at Joey some more. "Yeah. She'll have *that* upside-down and backwards, huh?" He was actually starting to freak out, a little, about doing something with someone less experienced than him. He didn't think that had ever happened, and it felt strange. "Chris ... " -- he stuck out his tongue and tried to squelch the twinge of jealousy -- "I don't know who it is. Some chick. He's always too busy bugging me about my sex life for me to ask questions about his."

Joey tried to read Justin's expression -- it had fallen away from 'ecstatically happy' into something else, but he couldn't for the life of him tell what. Chris would have been able to, he thought a bit dismally, but Chris wasn't around right now to ask. He just grinned at Justin again, trying to infect him with HIS growing excitement, and started to hoist himself out of the pool. "Does Chris bug you that much about your sex life?" he asked, then chuckled and shook his head. "Nevermind. I guess he's had to pick up the slack for the rest of us."

Justin had to chuckle wryly, and held Joey's tee shirt out to him, trying to avert his eyes as much as he could. "No, I didn't mean that. He doesn't bug me. He's just really good about letting me talk to him about it, and giving me advice, that we barely have time to talk about him. Not that I could help him out, anyway," he finished, self-depricatingly. "He's always been really good to me." He smiled weakly, wondering if he couldn't ask Chris to break Joey in for him, then rolled his eyes at himself.

"I'm glad," said Joey, grinning at him. "I guess you learned from the best, huh." He grabbed his T-shirt from Justin but didn't put it on right away, giving the morning sun a bit of a chance to dry his body off first. "Justin ... " He began, then paused and shook his head. Justin didn't want to hear about his insecurities and, really, they weren't something Joey was used to TELLING. "Never mind. It's not important."

"No, what?" Justin tried to smile, tried not to read too much into that 'learning from the best' comment, and *still* tried not to stare at Joey's broad chest and muscular legs. He ran a hand through his curls -- glad he hadn't gotten his hair wet, 'cause they'd be a mess -- and then reached it out toward Joey companionably. "What were you going to say?"

Joey chuckled again. "Okay," he said, not wanting to push his reluctance too far. "I'm gonna say something to you that I haven't said in a long time, then, Justin," he said, running a hand through his own hair and looking away for a moment, that self-conscious, almost bashful grin still on his face. "I really don't know what I'm doing here," he said finally. "I've only done this stuff the once and it was enough to tell me that I LIKED it but ... you really are the expert here. So ... be patient with me? I can promise that when it comes to THIS kind of stuff, at least, I'm a quick learner."

Justin stared at him in surprise, but with a smile on his face. "You're nervous about that?" He really was taken aback that Joey felt that way -- was worrying about the same thing as him, really -- and had the balls to admit it. "God, me too!" he grinned. "I mean, not the same way, 'cause, y'know, I'm on the other side of it, but ... I'm a little worried about going too fast, or not fast enough, or not being able to tell if you're uncomfortable, or if you're enjoying something, or if you're *ready* ..." He took a deep breath and his grin spread. "God, I can totally be patient with you, if you do the same for me. Okay? Will that work?" The relief on his face was apparent.

Joey laughed, not AT Justin, but at his enthusiasm, and at the nervousness which he now knew matched his own. "Yeah, totally," he said with a sigh of relief, grinning at him and tilting his head just a little to the side again. "Thanks for, uh, not suddenly realizing I'm a total dork or something." Of course, he didn't REALLY believe that ... well, maybe just a little, and only right at that moment. He stood up a little straighter and stretched, then slipped the T-shirt on. "I really do need to head home, even if I only say hi to them or something. But when I come back, we'll ... I mean ... I would tell you, if it was too much or too fast. Just so you know. I'm pretty up front about that stuff when I'm with someone, and I hope you will be, too."

Justin nodded and took a step toward Joey, hesitated, then covered the rest of the distance and threw his arms around him in a tight hug. "I will," he mumbled into Joey's shoulder. "I think this is gonna be just ... great." He stood back and ran a single finger down Joey's chest ... a little sexier than the hug had been, but not seductive. "I can't wait for you to come back."

Joey hesitated, then leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "I think you're right," he said, smilng happily. "I'll be quick. I promise."

---

Chris grinned and clapped JC on the back, almost tauntingly. The three of them --Chris, JC, and Lance -- were all pressed up against the window in the kitchen, watching the exchange by the pool. "That's great. That's *so* great. Look how *happy* he is."

JC shrugged him off and sighed, somewhat unsettled by the fact that Justin had been swimming in his underwear, *definitely* unsettled that they were already kissing, and beyond confused at seeing Justin be the one to pull away. "Get the fuck off me," he muttered.

Lance moved away from both of them when he heard that. "Joey? And Justin?" he said quietly, in a clearly baffled voice. "When did THAT happen?" He looked at JC -- a little wistfully, but the other man wasn't looking to notice -- then at Chris, neither of whom seemed surprised by this. "Why do I get the feeling I'm totally missing something again?" he said, and made a vow to himself to watch all of them a little more closely from now on.

---

Justin was practically dancing around his bedroom, fresh out of his shower -- a shower with multiple uses: one of which, certainly, was rinsing off the chlorine, but another was certainly jerking off. Both as reaction to what had happened with Joey that morning, and in anticipation of what he hoped might happen that afternoon. He had even left his hair alone to dry, giggling at himself for thinking far enough ahead to making out with Joey that he didn't want crusty gel in his curls. He was happy, and eager, and still surprised, and didn't think anything would get him down. Not even Chris leaving to get ready for a date of his own with a similar smile on his face.

JC waited until Lance was engrossed in the movie before silently getting up off the couch and heading up the stairs from the basement. Lance would think he was going to take a piss or something, if he even noticed he was gone at all. Chris had left -- finally! -- and Lynn was still out of the house, as she often seemed to be when they were all home. He padded down the hall and hesitated only for a moment before knocking loudly on Justin's bedroom door. "Justin," he said, forgoing the unnecessarily dramatic 'I know you're in there'. "You and me need to talk."

Justin rolled his eyes at the sound of JC's voice, walking over to let him in wordlessly. He continued flitting around the room in his towel, pulling out and discarding several pairs of shorts, digging around for a pair of clean underwear, searching desperately for his favorite shirt that was *that* color blue to bring out his eyes. "Okay, what?" he said after a moment, facing JC finally. "No, wait ... you know, I'm not even sure I want to hear it. Do I want to hear this, JC?"

"No," said JC, sighing a little. It wasn't like he ENJOYED doing this. "But I think you need to, Justin. You wanna put some clothes on and maybe sit down?" He sat down in the chair at Justin's desk after moving a dirty pair of socks off it. "I know you know why I'm here." He waited to go on, though, until Justin was dressed and ready to pay attention to him.

"What?" Justin asked, trying his best not to whine as he tugged on his boxers under his towel, and then pulled on his shorts. "Just *what*. Look ... nothing's happened yet, you don't need to give me any of your famous speeches or anything. Unless ... " he arched an eyebrow. "...you're here to apologize for telling Joey a bunch of stuff about me that you shouldn't have?"

JC coughed politely, but didn't respond to that. "Justin, you haven't thought about this, you're just following your hormones here. Joey's a member of the group. He's OFF limits. And you should KNOW that."

"Says WHO?" Justin stared at him in the process of tugging on his shirt. "Look, C ... I love you, but you are NOT in charge of me, and you're NOT in charge of Joey, and the *idea* of you being in charge of Chris is just laughable. And you're NOT in charge of this group." He laughed a little, but it was humorless, like he couldn't believe JC said that. "You can't make rules like that."

"If I don't, who will, huh?" asked JC, quite serious. "Have you thought about what it's going to be like between you when you break up? You got lucky with Chris, Justin, and you know it. This could tear things apart. How did you convince him, anyway?"

"Convince who?" Justin asked, pulling his shirt on almost violently. "Joey? It didn't take much convincing," he glared. "In fact, you're probably as responsible for putting the idea in his head as I am. I should be *thanking* you." He turned away abruptly. "And don't talk to me about Chris. You know I don't want to hear that from you, *EVER*."

"I'm not, like, MAD about Chris, anywmore," said JC, sighing. "I can ... um ... he wasn't so bad for you after all, I guess. But you can't start it all up again with Joey. You can't just go around seducing all your best friends and not thinking about the consequences, Justin. You gotta grow up and THINK about that."

"Why?" Justin cried. "Why CAN'T I do that? At least my friends, I know they like me for ME. And I like them for THEM. And just *what* consequences do you mean, exactly?" If JC was trying to talk to him calmly, bringing Chris up -- no matter whether HE was mad or not -- was NOT the way to start.

"The consequences of seducing Joey, Justin," said JC. "This isn't some kind of game to you, is it? Just to see if you could? Because hey, you did it, you don't NEED to take it any further, Justin." He was pretty sure that Justin was smitted beyond THAT point, but this was still a very, very bad idea. "Don't you see ... I don't want EITHER of you to get hurt by this."

"Thanks, that means a lot." Justin couldn't believe JC was thinking these things, SAYING these things. "I canNOT believe you think that's what I'm doing. God. I thought you were my friend. The only *consequences* I see of seducing Joey are maybe me not messing it up, like I did with Chris. How is that *bad*?"

"Do you KNOW what you're doing, Justin?" asked JC gently. "Seriously? Look ... I DIDN'T come here to lecture, no matter what you might think. I just came to talk about it, to get you to think about it maybe a little more than you have. Maybe I got off on the wrong foot, here, but I still think it's IMPORTANT, Justin."

"What is there to *think* about?" Justin sat down heavily on the bed next to JC, forgiving him almost automatically even though he didn't ask. "I -- I really like him, JC. He's so, so great to me. Is it ... I mean, should I not want to HAVE someone like that?"

"It's okay to have a crush, Justin," said JC, touching his back soothingly. "Everybody gets crushes. But have you thought about what a relationship with Joey would really be LIKE? He's ... been around Justin. Maybe not with GUYS, but he's done a LOT of things you haven't, and I'm NOT just talking about sex. Do you really think you can handle that, just yet?"

Justin's eyes narrowed. "I handled it just fine with Chris, and he's done more than Joey," he pointed out. "What are you *really* trying to say, JC? Is there some *other* reason that dating Joey would be so bad?"

"Well ... you know him as well as *I* do," said JC. "You've seen him with his girlfriends. He's not always a really nice guy, Justin. He's not always FAITHFUL." JC sighed again, rubbed Justin's back. "Is it so hard to believe that I'm just looking out for you? That that's all I've EVER been doing?"

"No, I know you are," Justin admitted sullenly, NOT wanting to be thinking about any of that before he and Joey even had a chance. "It's ... a little soon to waste my time worrying about that, JC. It *is*. You can't make me." He leaned back into JC's hand anyway, recognizing that WAS a difference between Joey and Chris, and one he *hadn't* fixated on yet.

JC sighed. "I just wanted you to think about it before you got too attached, is all," he said. "And if you and you DID break up, especially over THAT ... it would NOT be all cool and okay like it was with Chris. It would be nasty and bad and could tear us apart."

"No pressure, or anything," Justin sulked, standing up again and walking to his dresser to play with the jewelry he had laying there. "Why can't you be optimistic? Or happy for me, like ever? And not count on the bad shit all the time?" He was wrong, he realized, when he said that nothing would ruin his mood.

JC chuckled a bit. "Because Chris is busy being happy for you and Lance is busy being confused about you," he said without thinking. "SOMEone has to worry, and it's sure not gonna be any of the REST of you."

"You need to relax," Justin moaned, then froze. "Wait. What? LANCE? How does HE know about this???"

JC looked mildly guilty for a moment. "Um ... this morning ... in the pool," he admitted slowly. "You were ... kinda visible. We all saw, Justin. Why do you think I decided I needed to TALK to you about this, before you jumped right into the deep end with him?"

"You guys sat there and *watched* us?" Justin looked pained, *felt* pained. "Even ... Chris? Why ... why would you DO that? That was *private*. God, I feel so bad for Joey ..."

"We didn't WATCH," said JC quickly. "Justin ... we were in the kitchen eating breakfast and it just HAPPENED. You KNOW you can see the pool clearly from the big picture window in the kitchen."

"But you obviously *talked* about it," Justin moaned, wondering what they saw, wondering why Chris let them. "God, and it's SO none of your business ..."

"Not really, no," admitted JC, because they HADN'T, other than reacting to seeing it. "You know I wouldn't have watched. You know me better than THAT. But ... Justin it IS kinda our business, don't you think?"

"How?" asked Justin, not understanding. "Just because of how it might affect the group? How you might -- gasp! -- have to room with Lance every night instead of nine times out of ten, when we're on tour? I don't fucking CARE about that. I just want Joey."

"You SHOULD care about it. We're your friends, Justin. We care about you, AND about Joey. Don't you think it COULD affect the group? Do you want that to happen?"

"No," Justin sniffed, thinking the whole thing was just incredibly *unfair*, that they could all date who they wanted and he couldn't. "Can you just ... leave, JC? I promise, you gave me plenty to think about. Thanks."

JC looked VERY surprised that Justin had asked him to leave. "Look ... believe it or not, Justin, I DO want you to be happy. I just ... don't want you to only be happy for a little while."

"Yeah, thanks." Justin opened the door for him, not entirely subtly, before walking into his closet and pretending to root around in there. If JC wanted him to be happy, he had a pretty weird definition for it. And he didn't know how to force it out of his brain.

"Look ... if you ever need to talk ... " said JC, pausing in the doorway for a moment. When Justin didn't even turn back to him, let alone reply, he sighed and shook his head. "Well, you know where to find me," he finished, and slipped out of the room.

---

Justin gave Joey a soft smile as he let him in the door, his reaction completely opposite to what it had been like the day before. He reached out and touched Joey's hip gently, then grabbed onto the beltloop of his shorts and tugged him inside. "Hey," he murmured.

"Hey," said Joey with a broad grin. "Didn't I TELL you I'd be quick?" He looked around for a moment, checking to see if they were alone or not.

"Yup, you did," Justin replied calmly, padding down the hall to the kitchen in his bare feet, expecting Joey to follow him. "Want a coke, or something?

"Sure," said Joey, still grinning. "You, um, happy to see me, Justin?"

Justin turned to look at him over his shoulder and smiled again briefly. "Yeah. I really am. Thanks for coming back. Did you think about what you want to do? I can drive us, if you want ..."

Joey chuckled softly, knowing how excited Justin had been about being able to drive THEM around to places for the last while. "I, um, though we were gonna stay in?" he said, though, looking at Justin curiously. "Or ... did you change your mind about that?" About me? he wanted to ask, but didn't.

"Oh, right," Justin shook his head distractedly, reaching into the fridge to grab two cans. "No, we said that, didn't we? Well." He placed them on the counter and turned to face Joey for the first time. "We can go anywhere, do anything. Whatever you want."

Joey grabbed the can of Coke. "Did ... something change, while I was gone?" he asked hesitatantly. "You can tell me, Justin. Better now than later, you know?"

"What? No," Justin shook his head again. Nothing had changed as far as HE was concerned, but he was wondering whether Joey would fare better when it was HIS turn for JC's speech. Which luckily wouldn't be that day; Justin had been mopey and cold enough during the end of the movie JC and Lance were watching that JC felt guilty enough to drag Lance to the waterpark. "I'm sorry. Just distracted."

"And not by me?" asked Joey, braving another smile and trying to catch Justin's eye as he opened the Coke. "I was kinda hoping ... "

"Oh," Justin breathed softly, grinning finally and remembering that the way Joey always wanted everyone happy, wanted HIM happy, was one of the things he adored about him. "C'mere," he said after another moment, leaning against the kitchen counter. "What were you hoping?"

Joey's smile widened again when he saw Justin's. "I was ... the whole time I was HOME, I was thinking about ... I mean ... " He stopped to laugh at himself, then leaned in closer to Justin. "I was thinking about you maybe kissing me again."

"Were you?" Justin asked, not really bothering to hide his pleasure. "So should I?" He would NOT let himself think about how the last time, the other guys had been watching. This time it was just them, and they had plenty of time to see where it could go.

"Yeah," admitted Joey, to both questions. "I ... couldn't get my mind off it, actually." He leaned even closer, but wanted JUSTIN to kiss HIM.

And fuck JC *anyway*, Justin thought abruptly, before grabbing onto the front of Joey's shirt and tugging him down, pressing their mouths together and tonguing Joey's lips apart to accomodate him.

Joey was surprised both by the abruptness of the kiss and the PASSION, but he was quick to start kissing him back, bracing both arms against the kitchen counter.

Justin moaned when he felt Joey's mouth open beneath his, and suddenly all thoughts of JC, and Chris, and anybody and anything other than Joey just vanished. This *was* what he wanted, and he wasn't going to let anybody tell him otherwise. And he wasn't going to psych himself out of it, either. He left his hands fisted in the material of Joey's shirt, almost too unnerved about where they might drift if he let go, and licked at Joey's lips before sliding his tongue inside.

Joey HAD been thinking of the kiss all morning, how comfortable it had been, how natural. The ways it had affected his body that he hadn't really been anticipating, and so hadn't been ready for, really. And the way Justin kissed ... even though it hadn't been long or deep, he'd been hard-pressed to remember that Justin was 16 years old, and until the night before he hadn't really thought of him sexually at all. And now that they were kissing again, it was even MORE that, and his confidence in what he was doing grew.

He wrapped one arm around Justin -- the other still gripping the edge of the counter -- and pressed a gentle hand to the small of his back as the kiss grew deeper. As he closed his eyes and managed to forget about the time before when this kissing might not have happened, between them.

Justin worried only briefly that they should be taking this slower, that he shouldn't be trying to taste Joey's tonsils on their second kiss, but the adrenaline rushing through him wouldn't let him pull back like he had that morning. He swayed a little when Joey trapped him against the counter, and clutched at him tighter, reminding himself that he shouldn't be surprised that Joey was adapting to the kiss so naturally and automatically.

Joey finally ended the kiss, rubbing Justin's nose with his as he pulled back and laughed happily. Justin certainly wasn't SHY, that much was for certain. "Thanks," he said after a moment, licking his reddened lips. "That was exactly what I'd been thinking about." Catching Justin's eyes with his, both because he wanted to see them and because he was trying to keep him from seeing OTHER things, he reached down quickly and had to rearrange himself in the jeans he now wore.

Justin was breathing heavily, and it didn't calm down when he watched Joey's tongue peek out to brush against his own lips. It was just a *kiss* -- and he'd been kissed millions of times -- but he still felt almost like they'd gone through three rounds between the sheets. He was surprised to hear Joey say that had been what exactly he was thinking about, since it seemed worlds different from their sweet embrace earlier to *him*. But it also meant it was obviously *okay*, and Justin wasn't ready to talk yet.

"Joey," he choked out softly, then slid up against him, pressing their bodies together for the first time. He kissed him briefly on the mouth again, but just as a way to get Joey back into it; because he immediately moved his lips down across Joey's jaw to the warm skin of his neck.

Joey gasped a little in surprise as Justin pressed up against him, and again when Justin's lips trailed down to his neck. They were warm and soft and wet and very unexpected. "I guess this means that we're staying in," he said, clearing his throat to give his voice SOME semblance of normalcy. He wasn't in control of this, and that wasn't normal for him so it was unsettling and exciting at the same time. And all the more unsettling because it was JUSTIN taking over -- which was what he wanted him to do but he still wasn't really prepared and stiffened a bit, even though he was thoroughly enjoying it and that HAD to be obvious to Justin, the way their bodies were pressed together.

Justin smiled and started licking softly at Joey's throat, nudging his head backwards with his nose to give himself better access. He watched Joey's adam's apple move as he swallowed, and smiled again, before closing his eyes to just breathe in the way Joey smelled. Their bodies were both long, and hard, and pressed together in all the right places; and Justin was a little surprised, and even more aroused, to feel Joey's erection against his hip through their layers of clothes. He noticed Joey's stance grow a little more rigid, but refused to believe he wanted him to stop -- even though it was *them*, this was still nothing he hadn't done, yet.

Joey leaned into Justin's touch for a long time, then used the counter to push himself away a little. "Um ... maybe we should take this out of the kitchen?" he suggested, a lot more weakly than he'd meant to. He couldn't really ask Justin to STOP, because he was the one that had hinted that he wanted this, and Justin was only following his lead. "Movie? Downstairs?" he added, opening his eyes to look at him again, look at Justin's face and the aroused flush that colored it. The idea of making out a little on the couch downstairs appealed to him a lot more then having one of them fall to their knees on the hard kitchen floor because they couldn't stand anymore. Then, abruptly, the idea of either ONE of them on their knees with the other brought an embarassed red to his cheeks.

Justin watched Joey try to come to grips with *something* -- he wasn't sure what -- with a mixture of humor, and concern, and a little impatience. He was only doing what he expected Joey *expected* him to do. But then he remembered that, despite Joey's normal lack of hesitation when it came to doing this stuff with girls, they were supposed to be making sure they were both comfortable when it came to them -- they *agreed*. "You okay?" he asked then, stepping closer again but still keeping his hands off of Joey, eyes widening at Joey's blush. "You're supposed to tell me if it isn't. Is this -- " he punctuated his words with a slight roll of his hips " -- too much?"

Joey didn't WANT to say that it was too much -- it kinda went against what he'd always been all about, when it came to sex -- but he was wondering if maybe it was, so soon, until his brain caught up with his body. Because his BODY was obviously very much into it, while his brain was still trying to cope with the fact that it was JUSTIN doing this to him.

"Maybe ... um ... " Joey struggled for the right words. "I'm not sure it is and I'm not sure it isn't," he confessed finally, hoping that Justin wouldn't laugh at him, or give him any kind of smug look the way he did when he won at basketball. Joey didn't give a shit about losing at basketball and ANYthing like that, but he didn't want to feel like there were winners or losers, here.

"Okay," Justin nodded, trying to avoid looking as chastised as he felt, knowing it would pass in a minute and not wanting Joey to have to worry about Justin's reaction, on top of his own. He moved his body back, but kissed him again as he did -- even though it was a kiss much more similar to the one in the pool. He wasn't really sure what to do with Joey's admission: Chris's technique had always been to stop things once they got to a place of uncertainty ... but it felt more like *him*, and more like *Joey*, to push it until something *definitely* felt wrong ... and then stop *there*. And he tried to tell himself that he didn't think that was the better option, just because it meant he didn't have to stop yet.

He pulled back and smiled, then closed his eyes and kissed Joey again, just not *wanting* to let go of his mouth. "Okay, no kitchen. We *could* go downstairs, if you wanted, but ..."

"But what?" asked Joey, kissing Justin back each and every time Justin's lips came into contact with his. He had to force his eyes open; they wanted to close and let him get lost in each kiss now. "But the rest of the guys are down there and you're just afraid to tell me?" he joked, reaching his hand out and watching it was he traced down Justin's side to his hip. Justin wasn't curvy, but he felt nice anyway. Firm. Warm.

"Mmm, no," Justin murmured, shivering a little at Joey's touch, enjoying the pressure of his hand as it rested on his hipbone. "Nobody's here. I was just gonna say ... was going to suggest that we go up to my room." He watched Joey through half-closed eyes to see what he thought about that. "I mean, I have a VCR up there, since you mentioned a movie, and it's not as ... cold." He grinned, quirking his lips, knowing that he wasn't fooling Joey and hoping he'd take it as a compliment and not as an unsolicited pass.

Joey considered that, then looked at Justin apologetically. "I'm not at 'bedroom' yet," he confessed, hoping that was okay and wouldn't cause things to suddenly go bad. He leaned in and kissed Justin softly, for a long while, really initiating it for the first time. When he pulled back he grinned at Justin and tried to let him know that way that he was INTO this, but maybe it was moving a little too fast. Because he still didn't want to say the words if he didn't have to.

Justin shrugged when Joey released his lips, and turned around to grab his coke and a bag of pretzels. He was glad Joey was being up front with him, but thought his hesitation was kind of ... silly. After all, there sure wasn't anything they could do on his bed that they couldn't do on the couch ... and now that Justin thought about it, he'd probably gotten laid way more times downstairs anyway. But he figured it was probably a mental thing, and Justin could understand that. Kind of. Even if it left him really confused about where he'd be allowed to take this, next. He forced himself to grin at Joey when he faced him again, butting his shoulder with his head since his hands were full. "No problem whatsoever," he assured him. "Any ideas for what movie you want? Or ... Days of our Lives comes on in like ten ... "

Joey grinned at Justin's reassurance, even if Justin's body language was confusing him. He led the way down the stairs, carrying just his own Coke, and wondered whether he should say something about his confusion or just let it go. But then he remembered Justin's gentle reminder that they were going to be upfront about everything -- remembered that that was how HE wanted it -- and decided that he couldn't just let it go.

"It really IS okay, right?" he said setting his Coke down but not sitting down himself. "Like ... you understand?"

Justin was a little surprised that Joey didn't just drop it, since Justin had gone along with what he wanted. "Why?" he asked simply, then grinned and sat down on the couch, hooking his fingers in Joey's beltloops and pulling him to stand right in front of him. "I mean ... yeah, I'm fine with it. I get it. I'm just not sure what to *do* with it, you know?" He looked down, then cocked his head to the side when he glanced back up. "If you think I'm not as capable of violating you down here as I would be up there, well ... maybe that's what I *want* you to think." He laughed at his pathetic attempt to be mysterious. "I just wanted us to be comfortable. That's all."

"I know, I know," said Joey, grinning at him, happy that Justin was willing to talk about it. "I just ... this is less intimidating than the bedroom. Like ... if you're in the bedroom, then you EXPECT things to happen. It's, like, the point. Down here ... they'll only happen if we're both feeling like it, and if not there's, like, other stuff. Um ... did that sound as stupid as I think it did?" He winced and looked down at Justin for confirmation of his suspicions.

Justin just grinned and started pulling Joey back and forth. "I'm still stuck on the fact that you don't think I'm intimidating." He sighed exaggeratedly and stuck out his lower lip, his eyes sparkling -- hoping that, at least right now, Joey *was* 'feeling like it'. "No, I understand. Really. It's just ... well, you know I'm totally hot for you. I shouldn't complain about where I get to show you."

Joey flopped down onto the couch next to him, one leg falling over Justin's. He was still turned on -- and OBVIOUSLY so was Justin -- and he was thinking that a little exploration right now might be a very fun thing. And at least he KNEW, with the door to the stairs open and the danger of someone coming home any time, that things weren't gonna get too out of hand for him to handle. "Well, quick then," he said with a bright grin. "Put a movie in so we can start making out."

"You've got me pinned," Justin protested, then smirked as he ran a warm palm up the inside of Joey's leg until he moved it. "Thank you," he said primly, then scrambled off the sofa to grab some movie, *any* movie, off the pile on the floor that Chris had left. He peered at it, then turned back around to waggle it at Joey. "Um, 'Usual Suspects'? And please, no jokes about how I'm not old enough to see it, okay?"

"Whatever," said Joey, truly indifferent to what was going to be on the television. "Go ahead. I'll just distract you whenever something I don't think you should see comes on the screen." He winked to show he was DEFINITELY teasing about that; he didn't even remember there BEING anything in Usual Suspects except a lot of heavy deceptive stuff you had to be paying attention to get anyway. He leaned up against the arm of the couch and waited for Justin to pop the movie in and come back, utterly unable to keep the smile off his face.

"So, hey," Justin said, chuckling as he went to stand in front of Joey in much the same way he had made Joey stand in front of *him* a couple minutes earlier. "Distract me, huh?" He leaned over a bit to touch Joey's knee briefly, and made his voice a little deeper -- still surprised at how deep it could *get*, now. "You're gonna have to make me scream pretty loud to drown out all the cussing I shouldn't be hearing, I think."

And suddenly Joey WAS intimidated by Justin, and not at all sure he was so ready for this after all. "Um," was about the most intelligent thing he could come up with to say, and wondered what he was supposed to DO, now. He'd been with a guy once. ONCE. And the circumstances there had been very different than now. Now he was going into it intentionally, knowing what he was getting into ... and at the same time not knowing at all. But he was pretty sure making Justin scream -- the way he clearly MEANT it -- was about the LAST thing he was ready for right now. "Justin ... um ... " He reached up and tugged Justin's hand. "Sit down," he said, smiling at him encouragingly.

Justin relaxed himself when he saw Joey smile, having been a little worried that he would've taken his last comment wrong, or too seriously, or something. He grinned back, and knelt with one knee on the couch between Joey's legs. Then he shifted his weight forward, watching the other man carefully for any signs he should stop, and brought his other knee up onto the couch just outside of Joey's hip. Finally, slowly, he moved his first leg to mirror the other, so his lanky frame was straddling Joey's body. He wasn't lewd about it -- he didn't settle down into his lap, or even let his groin have any contact with Joey's torso -- he just wanted to be in a comfortable position to dip his head and kiss him.

Joey tensed as Justin straddled him, but he knew Justin wasn't going to do anything that he didn't want, not on purpose. He just wasn't sure if Justin knew where his limits were. He didn't know if HE knew where his limits were. When Justin leaned over to kiss him he first breathed a quick sigh of relief, then started kissing back. Justin was very, very close to him -- trapping him in fact -- but it was just kissing and kissing was okay. Very okay. He gave himself another mental thwack for being all uptight about this and brought an arm around Justin's back again as they continued to kiss.

"Mmm, hey," Justin mumbled into his mouth, resting one hand on Joey's chest and cupping his chin with the other. Their kisses were much slower, but no less deep, than they were in the kitchen. He started smoothing the hair of Joey's fairly-new goatee gently and unconsciously. "I like this, by the way." He wondered if talking to Joey would help him relax, at all. "It makes you look older. And good. Really good. Accentuates your mouth." He sucked on one of Joey's lips, as if to emphasize that point.

"And I guess you like that, huh," said Joey, grinning again from the compliments. "You already seem pretty happy with my mouth." He barely noticed the movie starting, focused on Justin's face and on the things that he was saying, and starting to wonder a little bit about the rest of his body. Usually when he was with someone it was pretty clear where he was supposed to put his hands, but Justin was shaped differently, and Joey also didn't want to give him the wrong idea that he was ready to do more than he was. "I don't usually talk a lot when I'm doing this," he said as his fingers crept up underneath Justin's shirt to caress the bare flesh of his back. "But I'm thinking maybe we should, this time ... "

Justin arched his back away from Joey's fingers when he first felt them, surprised; then he leaned back into Joey's hand and kissed him even more intimately and searchingly than he had been. "I don't necessarily want you to treat me different," he murmured, lapping at, and then sucking on, Joey's lips again. "But I can talk to you if you want me to." He let the hand on Joey's chest slide a little lower, angling it so his thumb brushed briefly and lightly against his nipple.

"Oh!" said Joey in surprise, but he moved toward Justin and not away from him. For a moment he completely lost his train of thought and practically had to drag himself back. Because it was an important one. "It's ... it's not about me treating YOU any different, Justin ... " he got out, between kisses. "It's about ... about me needing you to maybe treat ME a little different." He parted their lips for a moment and held Justin's face steady with his free hand, looking directly into his eyes. "I really DON'T know what I'm doing here, okay? I can admit that. And I think maybe we need to talk because I'm shit at reading guy-body-language, even yours. Maybe especially yours."

"Okay," Justin tried to nod, his eyes wide. "You don't have to keep saying you don't know what you're doing, though. We're just kissing. Once we get to ... other stuff ... then I'll understand it, but this ... ?" -- he leaned in and pressed their lips together again -- "You're just incredible at it. I knew you would be. Don't over-analyze it, or whatever." He kissed him again, pushing against Joey's hand to deepen the contact, and then rubbed against Joey's nipple so quickly again that it almost seemed like an accident. "Now. What am I doing, that's so hard to read?"

"You're teasing me," said Joey, breaking the kiss, his smile falling. "Look, I know you're the big shit at this, Justin, but can you take me seriously? I MEANT it when I said you needed to be patient ... " He took a deep breath then to make sure he didn't say something he didn't mean. Justin didn't deserve that. But he did make Justin roll off his body and sit on the couch NEXT to him. "I know that's probably pretty hard for you to do."

Justin looked up at Joey from the sprawled postion he had landed in. "What?" he said quietly, not bothering to move at all; *truly* wondering what he could've done to be interpreted as *teasing*. Nothing to warrant being made fun of, or insulted, for the fact that he wasn't new at what they were doing ... he was pretty sure of that. "I *am* being patient. I'm planning on waiting as long as you need me to, for whatever you want to give me ... so what'm I doing wrong?" For not the first time, he remembered why he thought Chris should be doing this instead of him.

"Justin," said Joey. "I told you I needed to talk about this, before we did it and WHILE we did it. You think that was easy for me to admit? ME?" He reminded himself, then, that no matter how experienced Justin had turned out to be, he was still 16. Horny as hell most of the time, and emotionally pretty unready in a lot of ways. "Telling me that I didn't need to ... that I was over-analyzing ... meant that you DON'T get just how much I need it, here. Hell, I'm still dealing with the fact that it's a guy -- you -- making my dick do THIS," he said, gesturing at his hard-on, visible through his jeans. "I never thought I'd be saying this, but ... slow down, Justin. Please? Let me figure this stuff out, the way I bet YOU had to, once ... " "Fine, okay," Justin mumbled, making an effort not to pout as he settled back into the cushions of the sofa, his eyes drifting back to Joey's crotch. He didn't know how to tell Joey that when he had been in *Joey's* shoes, Chris always had him eager and panting and *drooling* for whatever he'd decide to do to Justin. He never had to tell him to slow down -- Chris would tell *him* to slow down instead -- and so the times he'd spend 'figuring stuff out' would be all the times he was left aching for more. Maybe that was what *he* needed to do, he figured. Make Joey make all the first moves. "So, um ... did you want to talk, right now? Or would you rather ... uh, figure?"

Joey chuckled softly, and very self-consciously now. It was VERY obvious Justin wasn't pleased with how this was going, but he didn't know how else to handle this -- if he just barrelled ahead he would probably do a lot of things he wasn't ready for, and end up regretting the whole experience. And he didn't wat THAT at all. "Everything doesn't have to be, like, separate," he mumbled after a moment.

"What does THAT mean," Justin asked sullenly, picking at a scab on his knee and trying to pretend he wasn't as aroused as Joey. "You want to discuss it with me, and think about it yourself, at the same time?" He looked over with a furrowed brow.

"It meant that I didn't mean stop," said Joey quietly. "I just wanted to be able to talk about it and, like, ask questions while we were ... everything." He sighed and reached out for Justin's face to get his attention. "This isn't what you wanted, huh," he said. "Sorry I'm not all experienced at this Justin. I haven't even had time to get used to the IDEA, let alone doing it."

"You pushed me off you," Justin reminded him, knowing he'd start getting embarrassed about that himself any minute. "I don't CARE that you're not experienced, Joey, I just ... wish maybe you hadn't told me you wanted to make out, if that's not what you wanted to DO."

"Yeah, you DO care," said Joey, frustration creeping into his voice. "Because you want me to just be able to DO stuff, like, right away. You don't WANNA wait for me to catch up with you. You just want me to, like, BE." He looked away again, wishing he didn't have to say these things, wishing he didn't have to ADMIT to not being totally cool and on top of things for once. And he didn't want to lose this, now.

"I can wait," Justin said softly, agreeing in his mind that it nevertheless *wasn't* what he wanted to do. "I can. I'm sorry. Chris said ... " -- he closed his eyes and curled up a little onto the sofa -- "Chris told me that most people -- most guys -- aren't like me. That they don't jump into ... this, right away. I'm sorry for being, like, insensitive, and ... I'll stop. I'll be good."

"Well, maybe not *good*," said Joey, beginning to smile again a little. "Maybe we can be a *little* bad ... " He reached out for Justin and pulled him closer again, thinking -- hoping -- that he got it now. "Just ... a little bit slower is all. I'm old and I'm set in my ways and it's gonna take me more than a few hours to be READY ready ... " He grinned, then leaned in and brushed his lips over Justin's. "But I'm liking the kissing."

"Okay," Justin caved, parting his lips a little when Joey prompted him. In the back of his head, he knew he'd have to keep reminding himself that this was how it'd have to go. Joey setting the pace. He just wished it was more like Joey's *normal* pace ... 'cause at the rate they were currently going? He'd have to jerk off TWICE before Joey could come over. "Me too, still," he sighed. "And to respond to your earlier question ... YES, I'm enjoying your mouth."

Joey grinned, even though even HE could tell that Justin was still not happy with how this was going. And started wondering how hard it would be to just let Justin have his way and see what happened, and HOPE that he would like it, just so he'd at least get the sense that the other man was having fun with him. He kissed Justin deeply, then kissed down his jaw to begin nuzzling at his throat, playing it by ear.

"Mmmm, fuck," Justin gasped, collapsing a little against Joey's body when he felt his hot breath on his throat. He failed to see ANY way that necking was somehow 'slower' than the relatively mild way he had been kissing Joey when he got shot down, and groped a little blindly at his thigh. "God."

Joey stayed where he was for a long while, getting used to the taste of Justin, getting used to the way his neck sloped and curved, getting used to the musculature that he'd never really kissed on anyone before. He nibbled down hJustin's collarbone then sucked on his adam's apple, thinking that THAT was a very new thing that he'd have to explore for a while.

"Jesus, Joey," Justin shuddered, clenching his hands into fists to keep from grabbing at Joey's shoulders desperately ... sliding down low in the sofa unconsciously, throwing his head back. "Yeah ... definitely enjoying your mouth ..."

Joey pulled his head back then, took a couple of deep calming breaths and let one hand grip Justin's waist a little too tight. "Mmm," he said after a moment, closing his eyes and licking his lips. "How was that? Did that feel good?"

Justin squirmed under Joey's hands but grinned, even though Joey couldn't see him at the moment. "Yeah. HELL yeah." He tried to scramble up from his half-prone position. "Wanna see for yourself?"

"Yeah," said Joey softly. "Just ... that." His hand gripped Justin a little less roughly, slipped under his shirt again.

Justin nodded, understanding the implicit warning, and shifted around in his seat so he could -- not LOOM over Joey, but sort of *hover* above him. He licked his lips and smiled at Joey until Joey grinned back -- however slightly -- then dipped his head to press soft, light kisses under his chin.

Joey moaned softly and let himself just experience it, not afraid that it was going to go anywhere he didn't want it to, or anywhere he wasn't ready for it to. Justin knew the hell what he was doing, when it came to kissing and caressing his skin and making him feel generally GOOD, though. His hand gently stroked the bare skin at Justin's waist, and hoped he was making HIM feel good, too.

Justin smiled again to himself when he felt the vibration of Joey's moan against his mouth, and let the tip of his tongue dart out to lick and taste his neck. His skin burned where Joey touched him, and he wanted nothing more to just take his shirt OFF and feel those hands everywhere, but Joey was setting the pace. Joey was setting the pace, but Justin could bring a hand up to grasp at the collar of his shirt while he was kissing him, couldn't he?

Justin's lips had moved from warm to hot, but Joey didn't want them to go away, not yet. He'd been with a lot of women who'd been reverent to his body -- especially when they'd still been over in Europe -- but none of them kissed like this, with determination and confidence and lust. "Oh, Justin ... " he found himself whispering, not forgetting EXACTLY who was doing this to him.

Grinning even more broadly when he heard Joey say his name like THAT, JUST like that, the way he'd wanted to hear it, Justin tugged a little at Joey's shirt, exposing the hollow of his throat and licking it generously. "More?" he whispered underneath Joey's ear, wanting to take the lobe between his teeth but forcing himself to wait for permission.

Joey took a deep breath, reached down to adjust himself. "Yeah," he said, his voice husky. "Okay ... yeah. Definitely."

Justin lapped at Joey's earlobe once, like a cat, then sucked it between his lips and traced along the edge with his tongue, inside his mouth. He groaned himself when he finally closed his teeth around it, nibbling gently, and threw a knee up on top of Joey's thigh in reaction to how it was making HIM feel to touch Joey like that.

Joey moaned, louder this time, feeling VERY turned on and VERY ready to be touched like that, but it was almost too much. "Hang on a second," he said, gasping. "Just a second, Justin. I just wanna catch my breath." He squeezed his eyes shut and took a couple of deep breaths, and reminded himself that these sensations were familiar and GOOD and it was okay that it was Justin giving them to him.

Justin pulled back, watching him, alternately licking his lips and then biting them in anticipation. Joey was flushed, and breathing heavily, and just seemed turned ON, and Justin couldn't quite believe he was having that kind of impact on someone who, really, was a lot more experienced than him. "Would it be ... you wanna do that to me, some more? You can."

Joey leaned forward, almost without having to think about, and kissed Justin's lips again, long and slow and deep. Justin's lips were just MADE for kissing and he kicked himself for never having noticed that before.

"Or ... okay," Justin mumbled into his mouth, squeezing his eyes shut and wondering if he'd have to sit on his hands to keep from groping Joey where it wasn't wanted. He nipped at Joey's lips, but just as gently as Joey was kissing him.

Joey moved down to kiss Justin's neck again and used both hand to lift Justin's shirt a little. "Can I explore?" he murmured against Justin's throat, his hands resting gently against the skin of his sides and lower back.

"You can do anything you want," Justin assured him, honestly, and arched his back so Joey could pull his shirt off, if that was what he intended to do. He *wanted* Joey to learn what his body looked and felt like, because he knew that would go a long way toward making him comfortable with being more intimate ... if he was ever going to BE comfortable with it. And he had to keep in mind that might not happen.

Joey's hands slid further up underneath Justin's shirt, lifting the shirt as he went, feeling his abdomen again. The whole time he continued to kiss him, exploring Jusitn's mouth just EVERYwhere. A few moments later he gathered enough nerve to reach up further, to Justin's chest, noting the lack of soft breasts but not letting himself get freaked by that.

Justin pulled his mouth away from Joey's and threw his head back, gripping his forearms in his own hands gently. Joey's hands were so *large*, *easily* the largest he'd ever had spanning his muscles like that. It was a heady rush for him to feel like, once Joey got more comfortable with this, he'd be able to make Justin do whatever he wanted, with those hands.

"Still good?" asked Joey quietly, pressing his lips to Justin's throat again, running his palms lightly over Justin's nipples then gripping the hem of Justin's shirt, beginning to pull it up and off in earnest.

"Uh-huh," Justin nodded, his mouth open slightly, before he clenched his stomach muscles to lift his shoulders off the couch for Joey to be able to remove his shirt. He wondered if Joey knew how good it felt to have him brush against his nipples like that, he wondered what else it might mean that clothes were starting to come off.

Joey dropped Justin's shirt unceremoniosly to the floor and pulled back to stare at his bare chest for a moment. "You look really good," he said, in frank appreciation of his body.

"Thanks," Justin flushed, really pleased at the compliment, especially since it was something he actually *worked* at. Not to mention ... he *loved* Chris, but it wasn't the other man's style to feed his ego like that. He lounged back down into the sofa, waiting to see what Joey would do with all that exposed skin.

Joey reached down and rubbed himself with the heel of his hand very, very briefly, groaning and closing his eyes as he did. "Fuck," he said as he opened his eyes again, tracing the muscles of Justin's abdomen with one hand. "Will you hurt me if I call another time out? I need to ... " He sat up. " ... yeah. Fuck. Wow, Justin."

Justin propped himself up on one elbow, concerned, having missed Joey's discreet grope. "You okay, Joe? You ... should we just stop?" He looked at him warily and started leaning over to grab his shirt.

Joey chuckled and shook his head. "No, no, not stop." He paused for a few seconds, then stripped his own shirt off and threw it down next to Justin's, to put them on equal footing. "I'm just ... this is embarassing ... a little TOO turned on." He sucked in a couple more deep breaths. "This is pretty ... overwhelming. Still."

"Really?" Justin asked in surprise, somewhat taken aback when he saw Joey's shirt land next to his, then unable to take his own eyes off Joey's really, REALLY broad torso. "Um. Can I?" He raised both of his eyebrows as he held a wary hand over Joey's chest.

Joey hesitated, then nodded at him and chewed on his lower lip, bracing himself against the couch for whatever Justin wanted to try.

Justin just rested his palm on Joey's breastbone gently, at first, marveling at the heat and the way he could feel Joey's heart pounding underneath it. Slowly, he began stroking him slightly, petting him ... not venturing too close to his nipples, not dipping any lower than several inches above his belly button. "I can't believe they make you shave this," he murmured to himself, then blushed when he realized he said that aloud.

Joey grinned, GLAD he'd said that, that it was something so blunt and so *Justin*. "Some days, neither can I," he murmured, shifting his body a little bit.

Justin grinned too, in relief, and looked down at his own naturally-bare chest and even chuckled slightly. "Yeah. Um. So, actually ... you're a lot of the reason I work out as much as I do," he admitted, figuring he'd benefitted from giving Joey an honest compliment earlier about his facial hair. "I mean, seeing the way you look, wanting to be ... big, like that."

"You wanted to be like ME?" asked Joey, grinning wider. "For real? Man ... I know I used to bug you about that, but I never thought it was, like ... true."

Justin shrugged, forcing himself not to feel self-conscious about how, even if his abs were maybe a little more cut than Joey's, his chest wasn't as developed, his shoulders weren't as broad... "Yeah," he said simply, then ducked his head. "Anyway. Sorry. How are you doing?"

"That's SO cool," said Joey, pulling Justin into another kiss. "I never would have, like, teased you, if I'd known. You ... you grew up nice, Justin. Just ... wow. Really."

"Thanks," Justin smiled again, then tried to shake off the mini-funk he'd gotten himself into. "You can touch me some more, if you want. I -- I liked having your hands on me."

"I liked having my hands on you, too," confessed Joey. "It's not so ... hard ... after all."

Justin rolled his eyes and leaned against the opposite arm of the couch from Joey. "I'm glad you feel more comfortable," Justin told him earnestly. "I *am* sorry for, like, attacking you when you got here."

Joey chuckled nervously. "Can we lie down together and just neck like ... well, teenagers -- " He grinned and winked at Justin. " -- for a while?"

Justin flushed and MADE himself not take offense to that, even if he knew it was a joke. "Sure. C'mere. I'm scared if I try to get on top of you again you'll toss me off and I'll break my ass. Or something."

"Sorry," said Joey, grinning. "It's just an expression. And ... I'm not going to TOSS you off, Justin. Is that what you think I did?"

Justin KNEW that was what he did, but wasn't going to argue the semantics with him. "Please," he said plaintively, holding his arms out and sliding one foot up so his knee was bent, making room for Joey between his legs if he wanted it.

Joey slid down, half beside him and half on him. "Like that?" he asked.

"Like however you want it," Justin whispered. "However you want me." But he hoped the deep kiss he gave Joey, the way he arched his back just enough to press their torsos together briefly, was answer enough.

"This feels good then," said Joey, moving so their bodies were flush against one another, their groins almost touching.

Justin was pushed down into the cushions by the weight of Joey's body, and it felt incredible. "Understatement, much?" Justin bit out before kissing him again, slipping his tongue inside Joey's mouth and letting his hand reach around Joey's body to grip at his spine.

Joey held Justin's body to his and didn't LET himself back away. He had to just realize that this WAS making him feel good, and there wasn't a damn thing wrong with that. Very, very subtly -- or so he thought -- he rubbed himself against Justin's hip.

Justin couldn't miss Joey pressing his erection into his hipbone, if for no other reason than it meant Joey's hip was digging into HIS cock with each thrust. "Mmmm," he groaned, tilting his neck, arching his back, and moving his hands up to clasp Joey's shoulders.

Joey reached out to grab the back of Justin's head and pull him into another long, searing kiss. It was like, now that he'd had it, he couldn't get enough of Justin's kisses.

Justin's moan was muffled that time, and he cursed the fact that he could NOT help but buck up against Joey's groin when he felt his tongue force its way into his mouth. He felt like he'd been hard for a YEAR, and was somewhat surprised Joey hadn't run away screaming when he noticed.

"This is different," whispered Joey when their lips were parted for a moment, "but I think maybe I really really like it." Then he claimed Justin's lips again and kissed them even more thoroughly.

"Yeah?" Justin asked, then forced himself to shut up while Joey kissed him. But it didn't last long. "Um ... Joey ... remember you can stop me if I do something ... " he trailed off as he brought his hands down to press against Joey's lower back, his fingers brushing the top of his ass.

"I'm not stopping you this time," said Joey bluntly, rubbing himself against Justin's hip again.

Justin wondered just what THAT meant as he dug his fingertips into the flesh of Joey's ass, and ground him down into his hip harder before Joey had a chance to stop moving. Their legs were tangled, their noses bumped, their nipples scraped against each other, and it was all perfect.

"Oh God," moaned Joey, squeezing his eyes shut again. "Oh, wow, Justin ... "

"It's okay," Justin mumbled, licking a little more dirtily at Joey's ear, before sliding one hand over Joey's ass to cup his thigh, and dipping the tips of the fingers of his other just underneath the waistband of Joey's jeans. And grinding again.

"This is very wow," said Joey, cataloging in his head that ways that this way was different from any previous wows he'd had. He found himself grinding back without even really thinking about it, just wanting to feel that electric sensation again.

Feeling Joey respond like that made Justin's face heat up, and most of his restraint vanish. He essentially *bucked* up into Joey's body, clutching at his ass desperately and moving his other hand around to the front of Joey's hip, tugging on his jeans.

"You know ... " began Joey, then groaned. "You know what's ... um ... gonna happen ... if we keep this up." He nuzzled Justin's neck, then bit it lightly.

"You know I'll love you forever if you say you'll have to let us fuck," Justin mumbled, sliding his wayward hand further along Joey's waistband, squeezing it between their bodies, resting it on the button. "Kidding," he muttered unnecessarily, then wrapped an ankle behind Joey's thigh and forced his hips up again.

Joey paused when Justin mentioned fucking. "Um ... about that ... " he began hesitantly, then decided it was definitely NOT the time and ground his thick erection against Justin again. "Nevermind," he murmured, licking at Justin's neck.

Justin wondered what Joey was going to say, but HE certainly wasn't going to pursue it at the moment. "Yeah, nevermind," Justin echoed, and tugged firmly on Joey's pants before basically caressing the button, wanting oh-so-bad to unfasten it. He twisted his hips a little so that his cock was laying between Joey's hip and his cock, and then slid as far down beneath him as he could. "Ohhh," groaned Joey. "Yes. Wow." He wasn't THINKING anymore, just feeling and reacting and doing all the things that made him feel good. That hopefully made Justin feel good. It was all pretty much instinct now.

All of the noises Joey was making, coupled with the fact that he obviously wasn't *stopping* Justin, made Justin just bold enough to unbutton the very top of Joey's jeans and slip his finger tips inside. As he moved his hand down, another button on his fly became unfastened, and then another. All the while, his other hand squeezed at Joey's ass, and his hips were still twisting up into Joey's.

"Whoa," said Joey, awareness slamming back into him as he pulled away and snapped his eyes open. "Whoa ... hang on ... " It was one thing, to him, to be rubbing THROUGH their clothes. It was another to be INSIDE them. "Can I ... think about this?"

Justin pulled his hand back out quickly. "No," he said apologetically. "No, no. I'm sorry." He pressed a pleading kiss to Joey's forehead, then another to his cheek, then dipped his head to suck gently on Joey's neck again. "I'll just ... just forget I did that, without asking, okay? Can we just go back to what we were doing?" He moved his hand out of the way completely, and then used the less-restricted access to grind a little more confidently and firmly against Joey's crotch.

"Oh yeah," said Joey, closing his eyes again. "Thanks, Justin," he added quietly as he pulled him closer and rubbed himself up against him again. He slid a hand in between them and rubbed it against Justin's nipples as he nudged Justin's head up with his chin to be able to kiss him again. And again.

Even that brief touch inside of Joey's pants had left Justin a lot closer to the edge than he had been, a lot more desperate. And then when he felt the somewhat-rough skin of Joey's palm brush against his nipple, he shuddered and squirmed. "God," he mumbled, thrusting his tongue into Joey's mouth in time with each pump of his hips. He knew there was no way he was going to be able to get out of this without coming *somehow*, he just hoped Joey would let it be one of the less-mortifying alternatives.

"God, you're hot," mumbled Joey against Justin's lips. "Why didn't I fucking NOTICE?" It didn't feel so strange now to have Justin's flat body pressed up against his, to feel another man's cock against his own, to be rubbing up against it, pressure rising. He had thought that maybe they might have a leisurely making out session that afternoon, but not quite THIS. But hell ... there was no stopping it now and he didn't want to.

"Mm, Joey," Justin whimpered, clawing a little at Joey's back and thighs. He couldn't remember the last time he had been driven to this point without being able to *touch* the way he wanted to, and it was frustrating and amazing and driving him absolutely crazy. "Joey, please, *please* let me suck you," he pleaded, knowing he shouldn't be asking and he wouldn't be allowed but wanting it more badly than anything. Joey's heart just raced at hearing Justin beg him like that. "Oh God," he said, bucking against him. "Oh God, Justin, soon, I swear. Just ... not yet." He squeezed his eyes shut and kissed him frantically as he gripped Justin's body tightly. "I don't think I'd last long enough -- " He gasped and moaned. " -- for you to get my pants off, anyway."

Justin had no idea when it had gotten so out-of-control, so *desperate* between them, when it seemed like they had just been kissing two minutes earlier. Having Joey tell him how hot he was, and then hearing the promise that he *would* get a chance to suck on the perfect cock that kept dragging against his hip, brought Justin to the edge. "I can't believe we're doing this," he mumbled breathily, then spread his other leg so Joey could fit as tightly as possible between his thighs -- knowing that one or two more thrusts and he was going to have a mess in his pants anyway, so he might as well make it as good as it was gonna get.

Joey locked his body with Justin's as they thrust -- he couldn't even just pretend he was rubbing up against him a little now, this was definitely bucking and thrusting -- and nibbled on his lower lip as he continued to kiss him deeply. "Jesus, Justin," he murmured. "I'm gonna come on you ... "

"Thank god," Justin groaned back, relieved that he wasn't the only one, and wondering if it was possible to be any more turned on than when he heard Joey say the word 'come.' He slid one hand down inside Joey's loosened jeans to cup his ass -- he hoped *that* wouldn't be rejected -- and dug his heels into the couch as he humped against Joey. Then he was coming, as he was kissing him, practically fucking Joey's mouth with his tongue -- but his hips wouldn't stop moving. "God ... fuck ... " he cried, feeling the moisture pooling in his shorts, hoping it wouldn't gross Joey out.

Joey clenched Justin's shoulder and waist as he came, breaking the kiss finally and throwing his head back, moaning loudly. "Oh God .. oh God ... " Slowly, as the orgasm subsided and their bodies stopped moving so frantically, he brought his head back down and met Justin's lips in another kiss, softer this time. "Oh Jesus ... " he whispered. "Oh, Justin, I can't believe we ... " And then he bent his head down and rested his forehead against Justin's shoulder.

"Sorry," Justin muttered, squirming under the weight of Joey's body and trying to avoid looking at him. He couldn't tell if Joey was disgusted, or annoyed, or embarassed, or ... if he was lucky ... just breathless. He just didn't *sound* very happy, and once again Justin had wished he'd been pushy enough to make Joey let him do something that he knew would've felt good. "I'm sorry. Let me up, I have some shorts you can borrow ..."

"Don't go," said Joey, gripping him, still resting his head against Justin's neck. "Damn. So good. All messy." He finally looked up and grinned at him. "I haven't done that in years," he said, laughing a bit. "You see what you do to me?" He reached up and touched Justin's face and wondered why he looked upset. "I wasn't expecting to do anything CLOSE to that, Justin," he said, catching his eyes. "But I'm not sorry."

"Really?" Justin relaxed when he felt Joey caress his face, an intimate gesture that he was sure he wouldn't do if he regretted what just happened. "You're okay with it?" He hummed happily and nuzzled into Joey's neck himself. "I couldn't tell you the last time I had to do that either," he told him, and then wondered if Joey would take that as a complaint.

"Had to?" repeated Joey softly, trying not to jump to any conclusions about that. "Sorry, Justin." He stroked Justin's hair and still held him close. "I'm sorry I'm not ready for what you really want." He didn't want to think about Justin not having enjoyed what they'd just done, not when he was still kinda coming to terms with having done it in the first place.

"I didn't mean it like that," Justin whispered honestly, having only realized once it was out of his mouth how it could've been interpreted. "What I really want is ANYTHING, with you. I told you that. And ... " -- this was tough to admit -- "I'm sorry. For, uh ...bugging you about letting me suck you." He blushed when he realized his hand was still down the back of Joey's pants, and pulled it out slowly. "And I'm definitely sorry for going too far. Uh, with my hands, earlier." There. That was all the things he had to apologize for, he figured.

"I don't want you to apologize for ANY of that," said Joey firmly. "I don't accept. Take it back." He grinned at him and kissed the corner of his mouth. "I didn't say not to push me to my limits, Justin. Just to respect it when I tell you I've reached them." He kissed him again, squarely on the mouth. "I'm still nervous as hell about this," he added. "And if you tell ANYone I admitted that to you ... " He trailed off and grinned at Justin again. "I'm sticky."

"I told you I'd get you some shorts," Justin reminded him, "but you wanted me to stay here and ... cuddle, or something." He stuck his tongue out, then grinned and kissed Joey back. "So," he said a little more seriously, "did I do okay, about stopping, then? It was really tough." He shuddered to think what would've happened if he hadn't prepared himself. And it was still so tough, Justin figured that he probably wouldn't listen next time. "And what are you *nervous* about? It's just me. You can still kick my ass, and probably make me cry without trying very hard."

"Yeah, well, you're the first boy who's made me come," said Joey, shrugging and looking a little embarassed, his arm wrapped loosely around Justin's waist, now. "I guess maybe you don't understand that ... but it DOES make me nervous. It's all new and different." He kissed Justin again, tenderly. "You were very good about the stopping. Thank you."

Justin shrugged that off, since it felt awkward to accept thanks for something he didn't really do willingly. He kissed Joey back for a minute, then smiled and stretched. "I didn't do much," he insisted. "To make you come. I seem to recall you doing quite a bit of ... hip movement ... yourself." He couldn't wait, couldn't *wait*, to *really* have the chance to 'make' Joey come. But he needed to stop thinking about it before he got hard again. Which wasn't that far from happening anyway, despite the cooling dampness in his shorts.

"Well, it was good, anyway," said Joey softly, wondering why Justin wasn't more excited about this, wondering if there WAS something wrong that he just wasn't saying. "Thanks for making it good. Did you ... want to get up? Change?" He wasn't sure what else to do now; nothing seemed quite appropriate. He didn't even know what to SAY, and in his head he was still wondering when things had gotten so out of hand.

"Yeah, I think ... " Justin struggled a little to get out from under Joey. "Will you trust me enough to come upstairs with me now?" He grinned. "I won't even peek, while you change. Unless you want me to." He kissed Joey again, almost as an afterthought, and ran a hand lightly down his chest. He wanted to touch Joey's pants, fascinated by the wet spot there that almost matched his own, but pretty certain *that* wouldn't be allowed either. "You okay?"

Joey's eyes followed the path of Justin's gaze, down at his jeans, and he chuckled. "Yeah. I'm pretty okay. Think I'll take you up on those shorts, too." He looked up again and grinned. "You may as well watch; you've already FELT everything." He finally let go of Justin and let him get up, if he really wanted to.

Justin scrambled to his feet and grabbed his tee shirt off the floor, balling it in his hand in front of his crotch, all in one motion. Then grinned shyly and tossed Joey his, mumbling "you don't have to put it on, though," as he did. "And wait!" he said a little louder, now that he was out of Joey's embrace and could think a little more clearly. "I didn't feel ANYTHING, man. When I had my hand down there, you mean? Except, like, the elastic of your underwear ... "

"I didn't mean felt me up," chuckled Joey, standing up and tucking the shirt into the waist of his jeans like he was out playing football in the park or something. "I meant you FELT it. Against you. You know ... like I felt you." He ran his hands through his hair and tried to tame it, acting totally UNembarassed about the quite visible stain on the front of his jeans. "Boy I'm glad no one else is home."

"Heh, yeah," Justin chuckled, watching Joey almost enviously as he appeared completely unaffected by his physical state. Justin couldn't go long without remembering that in a lot of ways, Joey was still a lot more experienced and mature than he was. He stepped closer and ran his own hand through Joey's hair, spiking it again. "So, yeah ... you felt me ... you felt *good* to me, too ... you've got such a *great* body, Joey." He blushed, but still met Joey's eyes.

Joey grinned. "Thanks. So do you. And ... I MEAN that." He reached out and touched Justin's face, then his now-covered chest. "I wasn't sure how all this was gonna work," he admitted. "Or even IF it was gonna work ... but you make me feel really good, Justin. In, like, a lot of ways that other people don't. So I think maybe this -- US -- is going to be really good."

"What kinds of ways?" Justin asked automatically as he started leading them upstairs. And then, almost immediately, followed it up with another question he had. "I think this could work, too, and be good, too, but ... I mean, as long as I know that *sometime* you'll be more comfortable around me. I mean ..." -- he stopped on the stairs to face him -- "I know I keep saying this, but I really *don't* mind if we're taking things slow, it's just ...hard, and a little painful, to have you be nervous about it. Especially when I NEVER see you nervous about ANYTHING."

"Oh," said Joey softly. "Yeah. Sorry about that." He looked down at his feet, then moved past Justin and headed up the stairs. The sheer disappointment in Justin's voice just about killed him. He NEVER got that, especially not after sex, ESPECIALLY not after being with someone who'd previously wanted him as much as Justin did. But it was pretty obvious to him now -- and he wondered why it wasn't before -- that it was a purely sexual want. And Justin was 16, who could blame him for lusting after just about everything that moved? Certainly not Joey, who'd been there and done that and kicked himself for not remembering better what it had been like, before now.

What Justin needed was someone who was already comfortable having sex with guys, who didn't have to come to terms with it yet. Someone like Chris. Joey'd thought he'd come pretty damn far in less than a day, but apparently not far enough. Whoever Justin really WANTED to be with, it wasn't him.

"It's okay," Justin said lightly, tagging along after Joey up the stairs, completely oblivious to the impact his words had had. "So ... what things? What kinds of things, Joey?" He bounced down the hall beside him, sneaking glances at Joey's bare chest, and his crotch when he could, singing softly to himself and wondering if Joey might let him get away with a *little* something up in his bedroom. Especially if they were gonna have to take off their pants *anyway*.

"Nothing," muttered Joey. "It's not important." He went into Justin's room and waited just inside the door. "Thanks for lending me some shorts. Can I bring them back tomorrow?" he asked, and suddenly he WAS self-conscious about what they'd done, and what it had done to him, and covered himself as best he could. He should have just stayed at home, called up Kelly and apologized profusely for whatever he had done to put their relationship on hiatus, and gone back to his nice, safe, ego-affirming heterosexual life. Instead of developing this this cold, heavy feeling in his gut that today had gone very badly, and that he never should have tried.

"Sure, whenever," Justin said agreeably, walking past him to get to his dresser. "That's fine. I mean, I was gonna go ahead and put your jeans in the wash, if you wanted, 'cause I'm sure they'll be plenty dry by the time you have to leave, but you don't have to change again." He found a pair of mesh practice shorts, plenty baggy, and grabbed them before walking back over to where Joey stood. "Hey," he smiled, tugging on the shirt that Joey still had tucked in his jeans, and using it to pull him closer. "So *now* what do we get to do?"

"Oh, well I was thinking I should probably go home or something," said Joey, looking away uncomfortably and crossing his arms over his chest. "Since I'm not ready to fuck yet or anything, and I don't really expect to be any time this afternoon. Do you mind if I change in the bathroom? I want to wash up a little."

Justin flinched and his mouth dropped open a little. "Wh-what?" He dropped the tee shirt and stumbled backwards, wringing the shorts he still held in his hands. "Joey," he started, frowning in confusion and willing himself not to take Joey's tone too personally, "I *know* we're not going to ... do what you said, today. God. Why would you think ... ?" He trailed off from his question when he remembered the off-hand comment he made about the two of them fucking, when they had been downstairs. "I mean, is that the only reason you think I wanted you to come over? *You're* the one that started talking about kissing me the second you got in the house ..."

Joey shrugged. "You want someone who's totally okay with fooling around with you," he said. "Someone who doesn't need to take these baby steps. That's fine ... though I wish someone had TOLD me, before I started, like, seriously considering being with you." He sighed and reached out his hand for the shorts. "It's totally normal for you to be horny all the time at your age, Justin. I just can't give you what you obviously want from me. I'm sorry. Maybe Chris ... ?" He raised an eyebrow and hoped that he would seriously consider it. Obviously Justin had treated Chris VERY well, when they were together, and it wasn't at all what it was like, when he was with Joey.

"Maybe Chris what?" Justin asked, holding the shorts away from Joey petulantly, still frowning. "Joey ... I want *you*. Just you. Eager, reluctant; experienced, inexperienced; attracted to *me*, or not ... it doesn't matter. I wanted you before I knew *anything* about how you'd react to *any* of this. So how can you say you can't give me what I want, when ALL I want is you? I don't WANT Chris." He took a deep breath as something else occured to him, a thought that he had worried about before. "Unless, you meant ... maybe Chris would be better for *you*, *to* you, than I would? Is *that* what you meant?"

"Chris?" said Joey, frowning. "And ME?" Suddenly he laughed. "What the heck would I want CHRIS for? This whole guy thing ... it's all about you, Justin. I just ... " He frowned again. "Maybe we should lay off the making out thing until I'm a little more sure of myself ... because you're really hard to say no to, Justin. Just ... REALLY hard. Because you want it so bad." He shrugged. "I started figuring that was all you wanted, from me. Am I wrong?"

"God. YES, you're wrong!" Justin stared at him for another minute, relieved -- temporarily -- about the Chris thing, then went to sit on the bed with his legs curled up under him. Still holding the shorts. "And what are you saying? The only reason making out with me was any good was because I was obviously so hot for you I'd do anything, like some ... slutty girl? It wasn't because you were attracted to me in return, or I made it feel good?" He ducked his head and tried not to cry at that, at how badly he had misjudged his own effect on people. Or on Joey, at least.

"I want a lot of things from you," he said a little more calmly, still staring at his lap. "And I still want to try and have them, even if I'm completely confused about why YOU want to. So don't worry. I won't touch you anymore, until you tell me to. Believe me."

"I loved making out with you," said Joey softly. "It was really great, Justin. And it was really cool that it was you, and that I know you just WAY better than any girl I've ever slept with, and we can have more than that. But ... look, it was just really humiliating, they way you acted like there must be something wrong with me that I'm not ready to just do everything, just yet."

He sighed and went over to Justin and knelt on the floor in front of him. "If we're gonna do this, Justin, it's NOT just gonna be about sex. You're better than that, and so am I. So ... if it's gonna be so hard to be patient, when we're touching, then maybe we should try NOT doing that, until I'm ready to take it the same places that you are. That's all I'm saying, okay? Am I making sense?"

"Kinda," Justin scrunched up his face, but still wouldn't look at him. "I just ... okay, you *said* I did okay, about stopping when you told me to, so how am I all impatient, all of a sudden? And ... how are you gonna decide you're ready to move on if we're not touching? I don't get it." He sighed shakily. "God, I really, really suck at this. I know it's my fault. I thought I could do it like Chris, and I ... just can't. I don't *mean* to h-humiliate you." That, even more than thinking Joey didn't want him, made Justin feel awful.

"I just meant ... about how you said you don't know why I would be so damn nervous. Like I shouldn't be, or something. Maybe it was LIKE that for you, but it's taking a little getting used to, for me. I just need to ... get used to the idea. Yeah. That's all." He ducked his head down to look at Justin sadly. "Oh, baby, don't cry," he said softly, putting a hand on Justin's leg. "We'll get this stuff sorted out, okay?"

"I'm NOT," Justin sniffed, fisting at his cheeks. "God." That just made it worse -- he knew, he *knew* Joey was just trying to be sweet by calling him 'baby,' but he *hated* that nickname, and it was even worse as an endearment. "It's taking some getting used to, for *me*, to see you like that. Nervous. That's all I meant, when I said it ... 'cause you're always so sure of yourself. So *cool*, all the time, and ... I just want to be like you. What I said, it wasn't supposed to be something to make you feel BAD." He exhaled again, and wondered why he had to be so young and stupid.

Joey smirked. "Are you saying I'm not cool anymore, Timberlake?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Just you wait and see how cool I can be ... "

Justin looked up finally and gave him a watery smile, even though he wasn't *quite* sure what that was supposed to mean. "I didn't use the past tense," he said, blinking. "Are you ... you're not mad, anymore?"

Joey shrugged. "I don't stay mad much, Justin," he said simply. "You know that. We're good ... I just need that little bit of time to get this all settled in my head is all. You're really okay with that? I mean, it's not gonna cause problems? I don't want you to, you know, regret that it was ME, you know?" He watched Justin after that, to see if he could maybe start to pick up on what he was saying without words.

Justin *did* know that; it was another one of the things he always admired about Joey. Justin knew he would pout as long as people would let him, and JC was terminally pissy, and Chris held grudges like no one else. But Joey wouldn't let stuff bother him like that, and Justin figured he was pretty lucky for that. "Regret that *what* was you?" Justin asked cautiously.

"The person you fell for," said Joey, smiling at him.

Justin looked at him again, a little speechless, needing to see if Joey was teasing him. "Don't make fun," he whispered.

"Make fun?" said Joey, clearly puzzled. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't tease me, just 'cause of the way I feel about you." Justin stared at his hands some more, wondering if he had misunderstood, and Joey was just being THAT up front about everything, despite being 'nervous.'

"Justin ... I wasn't teasing ... " Joey touched Justin's knee again. "Why would you think I AM?"

"I just didn't think you'd bring it up seriously," Justin admitted, sniffing a little again. "Especially because I ... haven't gotten the chance to tell you how true it is. Or anything." For all of Joey's protests that Justin was the one who knew what he was doing, Justin felt like Joey was more and more in control of this relationship every second.

Joey slid down and sat cross-legged on the floor at Justin's feet. "You wanna tell me about it now?" he asked hopefully. "It might be good ... to hear it from YOU."

Justin took a deep breath, and then shook his head. "I ... can't. It's something I want to get right, and I'm too ... fucked-up right now to think straight. I already told you that I want you, and I mean that in like every way I CAN mean it. And I really look up to you. The rest of the stuff? Can I ... tell you on my own terms?"

"Sure," said Joey, wrapping his arms around the backs of Justin's calves. "That's FINE, Justin. Seriously." He leaned forward and kissed Justin's knee playfully. "You know ... I really should have changed BEFORE I sat down ... "

Justin blushed furiously at that, realizing he still had the shorts in his hands. "Oh, gosh, I'm *so* sorry," he said quickly. "Here. Take them. Um ... you can use the bathroom, if you want, or just stay here and I'll turn around, or ... whatever ... "

"Well, I don't want to get up NOW," he said with a grin. "Can I stay here for a while with you? Or do YOU want to change?"

Justin settled back down and looked at Joey a little warily; knowing that a quick recovery was normal for him, but worried he was still on shaky ground. "I'm okay. I didn't want you to go, in the first place." He reached a tentative hand out to touch Joey's neck. "Um. I'm sorry, again, for messing everything up."

"Nobody messed everything up," said Joey confidently. "We're both just ... in kinda different places on this right now is all. I WILL get comfortable Justin. I already am, and don't think THAT isn't a bit of a surprise to me, too." He hugged Justin's legs for a moment and looked up to see how he was taking everything, see if his mood was swinging up again.

"Really?" Justin smiled hopefully. "Really, Joey? Thanks." He sat there in silence for a minute. "I'll be better, about waiting. I know I said that, already, but I want you to believe me. I want you to like me. Like BEING with me, I mean." His blush might as well have been permanent.

"I do," said Joey. "I just need to keep in mind what kind of, like, sex drive you have right now. I, um ... " He looked down at Justin's knees, then back up at his face. "I wanted you to know ... if I'd been a little more ready, I would have been ALL over you, Justin. And that's the truth. I already practically WAS."

"REALLY?" Justin repeated, almost glowing, touching Joey's cheek and then his lips, briefly. "Wow. Will you think I'm even more of a horny kid if I tell you I can't wait to find out what *that's* like?"

"Yes," said Joey with a grin, "but I'm okay with that. I'm not exactly, you know, frigid, myself."

"I know," Justin grinned, then leaned over to hug Joey spontaneously. "Thanks for telling me that," he mumbled in his ear. "But I'm gonna show you that I can be a lot more, to you, than a horny kid. I can be about more than sex."

Joey grinned wider, NEEDING to hear that, right now, despite feeling better about it all already. "I'm looking forward to that," he said. "I do have just a LITTLE question, though ... "

"Yes, yes," Justin backed away, smiling. "Here, here are the shorts."

Joey laughed. "No, I mean ... are we gonna be out in the open about this, to the guys? I KNOW Chris and JC already know everything, but ... " He let go of Justin's leg and grabbed the shorts. "And no, don't worry, I will NOT be telling your mom."

Justin chuckled, but then sobered up somewhat quickly, remembering his conversation with JC. "Um. ABOUT that ... I think we're a little ... LATE ... to be able to make that decision."

"Huh?" said Joey blankly, not catching on at all, wrapping his arm around Justin's leg again and holding them close. "What are you talking about?"

Justin started tugging nevously on Joey's hair. "Um. Well. You know JC? he came up here, and talked to me? while I was getting dressed before you came over? and ... " He swallowed, a steeled himself for Joey's reaction. "It seems like they saw us. Um, in the pool. All three of them."

Joey blushed and looked down for a moment. "Oh man," he said. "That ... that was our first kiss. That was PRIVATE." He sighed. "Well, I guess what's done is done."

Justin sighed too and dropped his hand. "I'm sorry," he apologized again, even though it wasn't his fault and he was secretly elated that their first kiss had been that important to Joey. "But ... I mean, we can decide how much we *tell* them, I think?"

"Oh, well, I WANTED to tell them anyway, Justin," he said quickly. "It was just that was, you know, just supposed to be between you and me. So ... um, what did JC come up to talk to you about, anyway? Just about seeing us?"

Justin's lips were pressed together in a firm line. "Something like that," he muttered. "Who knows the reasons behind what he does, sometimes."

Joey nodded. "Yeah, I know," he agreed. "I've know the guy forever and he STILL baffles me, like, all the time." He leaned over to kiss Justin's knee again. "He's gonna freak on me about this. He thought I was straight. Oh well ... "

"Yeah, well," Justin murmured again, flushing a little at the feel of Joey's mouth on his bare knee. "Serves him right, for telling you all that shit about me, last night."

Joey grinned up at him again. "Well, um ... I'm kinda GLAD now that he told me stuff," he admitted quietly. "Because that's part of what GOT me here ... "

"*I* would have told you," Justin reminded him, and tried not to pout. "On my own time, and in my own way. Like them all finding out about us. It's not fair he took that out of my hands, too."

"I know," said Joey quietly. "I know it wasn't. But I still can't say I'm sorry it happened because I"m here right now, you know? And if it hadn't ... I wouldn't be."

"Okay," Justin said, knowing that was true, but not wanting to admit he owed JC anything, given how pissed he was right then at him. "You're really smart."

Joey laughed. "Wow, THOSE are some words I've never heard about ME before," he said a moment later, squeezing Justin's legs again.

"Well, you are," Justin said softly. "Smart about people. You and Chris are both like that. I don't get it, so much ... I don't know. Maybe that's part of the reason I was attracted to you both."

"I'm NOT smart about people," chuckled Joey, shaking his head. "I wish I was, Justin. Then maybe I would have figured this all about BEFORE JC had to lay it out for me like that."

"But you're smart about how to TREAT people," Justin insisted, leaning forward and rubbing his thumb along the short hairs at the back of Joey's neck. "You are. And stop arguing with me."

Joey grinned. "Okay," he said. "I can accept that." He caressed the backs of Justin's thighs with his thumbs. "Thank you."

"You're welcome?" Justin looked at him questioningly, and then squirmed a little. "So. Here we are, in my room, and I'm not molesting you," he babbled nervously. "I told you it was just as safe as the basement."

Joey nodded. "I'm more okay with it now," he said, smiling, still holding him.

Justin's cock twitched and he had to fight not to pull Joey's arms off his legs. "The room, or me molesting you?" he tried, somewhat desperately at banter, completely unsure of whether Joey was coming on to him and NOT wanting to make any assumptions.

"The room," said Joey. "I'm comfortable in here. And I trust you."

"That's sweet," Justin murmured, knowing he wouldn't be trusting him so easily if he knew where Justin's mind was drifting, especially having Joey on the floor in front of him. "Can you stay over, tonight?" "Um ... just us?" asked Joey, a bit nervously. "I can. Yeah. That's no problem." He had to wonder, though, just what 'staying over' MEANT to Justin, now.

Justin hugged him again impulsively, then tried to nudge Joey away so he could stand up without shoving his half-hard penis in his face. "Cool. Look, for real: why don't I go put your jeans in the wash?"

Joey looked down. "Yeah," he said, making a face. "They're getting kinda crusty, aren't they?" He pushed himself to his feet, then bent over and picked up the shorts again. "Thanks again," he said, holding them up. "You're a life saver."

Justin looked down at his own crotch, then tugged his shirt down over his lap a little farther. "Least I could do," he said lightly, watching with interest to see where Joey decided to take his clothes off.

Joey walked over to the other side of the room and turned away from Justin, then stripped his sticky clothes off. "Ugh," he said, looking down at himself once his pants and underwear were in a heap on the floor. "I SHOULD have used the bathroom. I need to clean this up."

Justin couldn't respond, transfixed by the sight of Joey's bare back -- a long clean line from his neck to his ankles, uninterrupted except for the stark tan line so low on his hips. "Um," he choked. "I don't ... I can ... "

Joey groaned, then held the shorts in front of his groin as he turned around. "I'll be right back," he said, flashing a smile at Justin, then walking past him and out of the room, towards the bathroom.

Justin groaned and flopped back onto his bed, laying on his back but twisting his face into the pillows. *GOD*. And the thing was, he had no idea if Joey was teasing him. Or if even knew WHAT he was doing. He stuck a hand into his own soiled shorts resignedly.

Once again thankful no one else was home, Joey slipped into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. He grabbed a fresh washcloth out of the drawer and wet it with warm water, then began wiping the dried streaks of cum off his groin. It really HAD been a long time since he's done anything like that, but the memory of it already brought a smile to his face.

Justin shuddered when he gripped himself, loosely at first and then a little firmer. He wasn't sure what he was doing, exactly -- that wasn't going to HELP his predicament any -- but he was already horny. *Still* horny, really, and seeing that much of Joey's bare skin made him wonder whether he'd be able to keep his hands off of him that evening or not.

When he was clean, Joey looked up and stared at himself in the mirror for a moment. He didn't LOOK any different. But inside ... it was like everything was different. Changing.

Forcing himself to remove his hand, Justin sat up on the bed and stared out the window for a second. He could *do* this. He'd wanted Joey for a long, long time, and he'd had to work hard for things he'd wanted, before. And if squelching his hormones was what it would take, he'd do it. Shaking his head, he stood up and stretched, then shifted his weight to one foot so he could pull off his own clothes.

With a sigh and a smile and a shake of his head, Joey quickly pulled on the shorts and ran his hands through his hair a couple of times, looking in the mirror again to make sure he was presentable.

Justin kicked his own shorts and underwear over to where Joey had left his, making a small pile he could take down to the laundry room, and then went over to his dresser to find a clean pair of boxers and some more shorts. He paused, not putting them on right away, struck by the idea that maybe they could go swimming and he could rinse off *that* way.

Joey stepped out of the bathroom, flicking off the light, and went back into the bedroom. "MUCH better," he said with a definitely relieved smile, looking down at the shorts that actually fit pretty well. "Thanks again. You want me to put my own clothes in the wash?"

"God!" Justin turned around, startled by Joey's voice, then remembered he didn't have any *pants* on and turned back to face the wall. He fervently hoped that his tee shirt was long enough to cover the erection that *had* been obvious, but was now quickly disappearing. "Um," he whispered, fumbling as he tugged on his underwear. "No, it's okay ... I was just gonna put them in with mine." Blushing again, he crawled across the bed to grab the pile and approached the door, his head down.

"Okay," said Joey, looking up at him then and smiling, not having noticed anything. "Need any help or do you just want me to hang out here and wait for you?" He wasn't entirely sure what he wanted to happen next, between them, but he was definitely going to stay a while, at least, now.

"You can come with me," Justin said nervously, brushing past him out into the hall. "I mean, I'm *capable* of doing it myself, but ... you can come with me." He was heartened by the fact that Joey obviously *didn't* have a problem hanging out in his room, but he was feeling a little jerked around at the moment and just wanted to be away from any temptation.

"Sure," said Joey following him and beginning to wonder if something was wrong, the way Justin was acting. He didn't say anything this time, though, didn't want to put the idea in Justin's head TO be upset, if he wasn't. "I'm pretty hopeless at laundry anyway, so it's probably better that you're taking care of it."

"Well, it'll only take a couple minutes," Justin said softly, walking down the stairs and turning back around periodically to look at Joey. "Then we have to find something else to amuse you, I think." He sighed, and wondered if they shouldn't just resort to swimming after all. "We could actually *watch* that movie, if you wanted. Or we could still go out."

Joey smiled again. "I'd still rather stay in," he confessed. "I still want to be able to, you know, TOUCH you. And learn the feel of you. I think maybe I'd like sitting in front of the movie, curled up with you on the couch and just, you know, LEARNING you." He blushed a little at that, not really having SAID something like that to someone before, and looked at his feet.

Justin paused at the bottom of the stairs, wondering if that was something he should be reading between the lines about too. "Okay," he said easily, and tried smiling in return. He just hoped Joey took everything they had talked about to heart. AND he hoped that he'd be able to keep his own hands to himself ... which was going to be difficult with Joey in thin shorts, nothing underneath, and a bare chest. A bare chest. He looked up and stared again. "Um ... Joey? Did you want to, maybe, get your shirt first?"

"Why?" asked Joey, looking down at himself and frowning. "I mean ... I CAN, I just ... " He looked up at Justin again and shrugged.

"No, nevermind," Justin blushed. "I just ... it's cold downstairs. Um. Unless you thought we'd watch the movie back in my room?" Justin started chuckling at himself as he opened the door to the laundry and tossed the clothes on top of the dryer. He couldn't believe he was *asking* Joey to put a shirt on.

"I think ... yeah, I think I'd be okay in your room," said Joey, leaning against the wall and watching him. "I mean, you're not gonna, like, ravish me or anything."

"This time," Justin breathed, and grinned crookedly at him over his shoulder. He just needed to relax, to enjoy this rare time *alone* with Joey, and let him 'learn' Justin the way he wanted. "Let's watch something else, though. You pick."

"Oh, whatever," said Joey breezily, grinning at him. "Something funny. Or romantic. Or funny and romantic, maybe."

"Dude," Justin looked at him digustedly as he filled the wash with the detergent. "Like, a chick flick? I guess we could check JC's pile ..." He closed the lid with a bang and turned to face Joey with the first real grin he'd had in several minutes. "And you know how pissy he is about sharing."

"I didn't say a *chick flick*," said Joey, making a face at him. "You can have funny and romantic and, like, manly. Can't you?"

"Can you?" Justin challenged. He'd believe it, if Joey said so, and didn't care if it made him sound like a puppy. Cause he kind of was, where Joey was concerned. He hooked a fist in the waist of Joey's shorts -- his shorts -- and pulled him closer, looking up at him from under his eyelashes.

"Sure," said Joey with a cocky grin. "If I watch it, it HAS to be manly, right?" Then he leaned down, surprising himself, and kissed Justin's slightly-parted lips.

That was exactly what Justin wanted, and he enjoyed the kiss, but didn't let it drag on too long either. "Joey," he mumbled, before kissing him again, "You like *musicals*. They are NOT manly." His hand was still clasping Joey's waistband, but he suprised himself by not letting it wander anywhere.

"Musicals are TOO manly," argued Joey, his face hovering close to Justin's. "Those guys? In the musicals? They got ALL the chicks." He paused. "Not that getting chicks is a requirement for, like, being manly."

Justin laughed lightly. "Yeah, watch yourself." He let go of Joey finally and squeezed his hip once before pushing him away. "Okay, let's go see what we can find. Something without singing, however."

Joey chuckled. "Okay, I'm sure we can find SOMEthing," he said, then added, "not that there's anything wrong with SINGING, either." He leaned down to steal another kiss before leading the way out of the room.

Justin smiled at how naturally Joey seemed to kiss him, now, after only half a day. He really *did* take to it quickly, and that made Justin hopeful for when they'd be able to move on. Not because he was horny -- even though he could admit he was -- but because he really just wanted to show Joey how good it could be. Impress him some more, maybe. "Maybe you should check my *mom's* stack," he teased Joey.

Joey stuck his tongue out at him. "You're mom's movies probably don't even have the *comedy*, let alone the manliness." Joey puffed out his chest. "And I'm a manly man, after all."

"I dunno," Justin pretended to ponder it. "You *did* suggest something *romantic*, after all ... " He reached out to tug on the hem at the back of Joey's leg. "Maybe I need to pay more attention to what you have under there, again ...?"

"I think you know VERY well what I have under here," laughed Joey. "Especially NOW." He reached over and toyed with Justin's hair. "What's wrong with romantic?"

Justin blushed but tried to play it off by scrunching up his nose. He figured he was probably sappier than Joey, when it came down to it, but that was NOT something he'd admit before it was time. "I just ... don't need to see *other* people doin' it, you know? Now will you PICK something?"

"Fine," said Joey, still grinning at him. "Maybe I WILL go through JC's movies." He reached out and took Justin's hand as he led the way to JC's room. "He's not home, he'll never know, right?"

"Probably has 'em booby-trapped," Justin said warily as he followed him just inside the door. "Just grab one, whatever's on top of the pile." Joey's hand was warm and he didn't really want to let go.

Joey grabbed the movie on top of the pile. "Jerry Maguire," he said, grinning. "Funny. Romantic. Manly. Ha, I TOLD you!"

"Tom Cruise is short," Justin said critically, eyeing the box. "And I'm not so sure about the manly thing. But Cuba ... he's hot."

"Is he?" asked Joey, squinting at the box. "Okay. I'll trust your judgment on that. So ... this is acceptable to you then?" he asked, then muttered, "and it IS manly. It's about sports. Sports are manly, right?"

"For those of us that can *play* them, yes," Justin teased, then yelped and dashed out of Joey's reach, bouncing down the hall to his room.

Joey groaned and called after him, "Watching sports is manly, too!" Then he made his way back to Justin's room, catching up wtih him finally. "I think you cheated," he said, tossing him the movie. "I'm not sure HOW, yet, but I think you did."

"Cheated?" Justin echoed as he caught the movie easily and slid it into the VCR. "What are you *talking* about?" He shook his head and took in Joey's half-naked form again, then grabbed an extra blanket from his closet. He was NOT going to suggest they get under the covers.

"You weren't supposed to beat me back to the bedroom," said Joey, climbing onto the bed. "You must've cheated. We need anything else?"

Justin just laughed and grabbed the remote. "We left our cokes downstairs," he noticed, watching Joey settle onto the bed and trying to figure out where he was supposed to fit in. "Want me to go get them?"

"Oh!" said Joey, beginning to get up again. "I forgot, do you want me to go? You can, like ... " He looked around. "I dunno. But I can, if you want."

"No, I just wasn't sure you wanted yours. I'll go, if you do. Sit!" He laughed. "I'll be right back."

"Okay," said Joey, getting comfortable again. "Hurry back. I want to ... start the movie." Then he winked and chuckled and hoped to coax another brilliant smile out of Justin.

Justin grinned widely, even though -- as was seeming to be the pattern -- he couldn't quite tell if that was a come-on or not. He hurried down to the basement to grab the cokes, but frowned when he realized how warm they had gotten. So he took them to the kitchen to recycle them instead, and got another coke for Joey and some water for himself out of the fridge.

Joey shifted a little bit, then flipped over onto his stomach. That was better -- put him MUCH closer to the TV. He smiled and waited for Justin to come back.

"Hey," Justin said a little awkwardly when he reappeared at the door. "You want me to sit on the floor? Or ... um, the chair?"

"What?" said Joey, looking up at him. "Don't be ridiculous. You're sitting up here with me. Well ... laying really. What happened to your Coke?"

"Hmmm?" Justin said, handing the soda to Joey. "Oh. Um." He blushed and sat precariously on the very edge of the mattress. "They were warm, so ... I got you a cold one. And, um ... I'm kinda not supposed to drink that much soda, so. I have to, like, have water in between." He shrugged and ducked his head.

"How come?" asked Joey, leaning over the edge of the bed and opening the can. "Something your mama says? And geez, get comfortable, it's a long movie, Justin."

Justin blushed even more heavily. "Kinda," he muttered. "Just ... while I'm still growing, and all." He flopped onto his back, thinking that really nothing could be more embarrassing right then.

"Ohhhh," Joey said knowingly. "My mom tried to get me to stop drinking coffee. Didn't WORK, but I don't think it did me much harm." He rolled over onto his side and looked at Justin, smiling. "You're gonna be, like, HUGE, when you stop growing."

"Maybe," Justin shrugged, then flopped an arm over his face. "It's kind of ... habit, I guess. Especially at home, when I don't, like, NEED the caffeine to get me through an interview or some shit. Y'know? It's easier to not fight her on it." He had no idea why he was still talking about it, but he didn't want to seem as young as he thought he did.

"Yeah, I know the feeling," said Joey sympathetically. He HAD been there before, and he did get it. "And by the way, you didn't NEED to take the remote control with you downstairs. Or did you think I was gonna, like, start the movie without you, or something?"

Justin snorted and tossed it in his lap. "Sorry. Not like I'd have missed too much, anyways. That's the great thing about chick flicks ... " He winked at Joey and turned over onto his side.

"Jerry Maguire is SO not a chick flick," mumbles Joey as he grabbed the remote and rolled back over onto his stomach again so he could see the TV again. "You can, like, lean against me or something if you want," he said as he started the movie. "You can't really see very well from where you are, can you?"

Justin bit his lip and shook his head slowly, then curled his legs under him so he could twist around on top of the blankets and stretch out beside Joey. "I just didn't want to get too close," he said softly, almost innocently.

"Why not?" asks Joey, turning his head to look at him again. "Is ... um ... did I do a bad, or something?"

Justin shook his head again, and smiled softly before draping his arms over the edge of the bed just like Joey had been doing. "Just didn't want to crowd you, is all."

"You're not," said Joey, smiling. "I like having you close." He looked up at the screen. "Can we fast forward through the previews? Oh ... wait ... I have the remote ... " He chuckled and pulled it out and pressed the button.

Justin rolled his eyes and shifted his weight so he could rest his temple on Joey's shoulder. Joey's *bare* shoulder, and Justin *still* couldn't get over how comfortable and confident Joey was about his body. He sighed a little, contendedly.

"That's better," murmured Joey. "I was getting worried you were, like, trying to avoid watching the 'chick flick' that I chose." He nudged him playfully and pressed play again as the movie started.

"Don't worry, I am," Justin murmured, turning his head to kiss Joey's shoulder softly before resuming his position. His arms were going to fall asleep pretty soon, but right then? Being close to Joey like that was worth it.

Joey laughed. "Haven't you seen this movie before? If JC has it, he's probably made you watch it, like, a hundred times already."

"I am AVOIDING it," Justin clarified, kissing him again, because his skin tasted good, and then licking him just a little.

"You should trust me," said Joey, shivering a bit as Justin kissed him. "It's good. And it's NOT a musical."

Justin grinned, but his eyes were closed anyway, simply enjoying the comfort of laying next to someone he cared about as much as he did Joey. "I'm glad you're staying tonight," he whispered, hoping that was okay to say.

"Yeah?" asked Joey, looking at Justin again and not at the movie. "Me too. It's gonna be fun." Whether something happened or not, Joey realized he DID want to be there, with Justin, right then. And nowhere else.

-----

Justin wiped roughly at his face with the washcloth then tossed it on the counter and grabbed his toothbrush. He could barely stop smiling enough to get it in his mouth, however. He had a *great* afternoon with Joey ... they'd watched the movie, doing nothing more than cuddling, and then Justin's mom had cooked burgers for them and JC and Lance out by the pool. Then the four guys had gone downstairs to watch baseball on TV before Lance and JC had ultimately begged off to go to bed. And he and Joey had kissed a little more until Justin asked nervously if he still wanted to stay ... which Joey did, and was now getting ready for bed in Justin's room.

He spit into the sink and wiped his hands on the flannel boxers he always wore to bed, and then dug around under the sink for a spare toothbrush. Teeth brushed, face washed ... now he just had to remember to breathe.

Joey sat on the edge of the bed and toyed with the hem of his boxers -- Justin's boxers -- and wondered just what the protocol was here. Who slept where and what were they going to do, and was it rude to just sleep? Oh what. They were definitely coming up on some new territory again.

"Hey," Justin said softly, walking back into his bedroom. Seeing Joey sitting there reminded him of all the times they'd napped together, on the bus and stuff, and thought that this didn't have to be as different as it felt. "Um ... I got a toothbrush for you. Um. If you wanted it, I don't even know. It's the red one." He smiled and stepped slowly over to the bed before sitting down. "I'm glad you're here, Joey. I'm glad you stayed."

"Thanks, yeah," said Joey, getting up off the edge of the bed and smiling at him gratefully. "Morning breath is icky at best, and you don't want it any worse than you have to." He gave Justin a little hug before he went into the bathroom. "You'll get your kiss when I get back," he called over his shoulder, but not so loud that anyone else in the house could hear it. They had to be a lot more careful now than they had earlier in the day. "I promise."

Justin didn't even try to wipe the grin off his face, just turned off the overhead light and turned on the little lamp on his bedside table. Then, biting his lip, he pulled back the covers of the bed and fluffed the pillows a little. Suddenly, he wondered if the one Chris had used the night before still smelled like him, and grabbed them both to figure out which one it was before shoving it on his side of the bed. What had happened with Chris was totally innocent, but he didn't want to risk anything making Joey more uncomfortable than he might already be.

Joey came back a few minutes later, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Okay," he said, standing next to the bed. "So ... um ... how does this work? Your mom doesn't still come in and wake you up in the morning does she? Because that would ... kinda suck if I'm all wrapped around you... " He looked at Justin speculatively and hoped that he would say no. Even if they weren't doing anything else, he wanted to be able to TOUCH him.

Justin smiled and walked past Joey to close the door, but very obviously not locking it. "She won't come in," Justin assured him, moving next to him smoothly. "And even if she did -- which she won't! -- it's not a big deal. She's seen Chris in my bed, and me in JC's, like a billion times. She thinks it's really innocent." He grinned and leaned into Joey. "You're safe. 'Wrap' away. But ... first you owe me a kiss."

Joey grinned. "Well, I certainly HOPE it was innocent when you crawled into JC's bed," he said right before he kissed him, pulling both of them onto the bed. "Are you sure you don't want to add Lance to that list? Then you'd have a complete set." He kissed him again, leaning over him on the bed and running an hand down his bare arm.

Joey's kiss and touch softened the faint insult that Justin felt about the 'complete set' comment, and so he just kissed him back before he could worry about it. Or be surprised at, again, the ease and natural-ness with which Joey handled himself in and around a bed. "I only want you on my list," he swallowed, looking up with big eyes at Joey hovering over him.

"Oh man," said Joey, bending over to kiss him yet again. "That's SO sweet, Justin. I mean it." He lay down so that he was on his side next to Justin, comfortable on the bed now, and ran his fingers down his chest almost curiously. "People aren't usually that sweet to me. They're usually ... you know. Especially overseas."

Justin shivered a little and felt his nipples harden just at Joey's brief gesture, even though he hadn't touched them directly. He didn't mind Joey calling him sweet -- he *wanted* to say nice things to him, he *wanted* Joey to know this wasn't all about hooking up. He *wanted* Joey to like him. "They're usually what?" he asked curiously, still watching Joey. "You mean ... girls? They're not nice?"

"Oh, they're NICE," said Joey quickly. "It's just ... one of the best and the suckiest things about being kinda famous over there. You can sleep with someone whenever you want, but it's all about, you know, bragging rights or something. They don't ACTUALLY want you, for you." He shrugged and kissed him again. "I guess you know all about that, though. And ... it's different with you. You KNOW me, smelly feet and all. It's kinda cool."

Justin threaded his arms underneath Joey's and wrapped them loosely around his back. "You make it hard to be 'sweet' when you bring up your feet," he murmured, then closed his eyes, trying to figure out how *he* felt about sleeping with fans. He'd probably agree, about the girls ... but the guys he'd been with? -- not that he'd *slept* with any of them -- hadn't really been like that. Justin usually felt like they picked him up 'cause they were attracted to him, not because of who he was -- if they even knew. "What about Kelly?" he asked softly. He didn't open his eyes to see how Joey fielded that question.

"Kelly's ... different," said Joey quietly, his grin fading. "She ... she KNOWS me ... she's known me for a long time, but it's like ... " He shrugged and looked Justin in the face again. "It's like she always wants me to be someone I'm not, even though she knows who I really am. And sometimes that's okay because she's a great girl. But sometimes it's not. And sometimes SHE gets tired of me being who I am and leaves. But you know how it is, with her. I complain about it enough." He smiled and kissed Justin again.

Justin was a little startled when he felt Joey's lips again, and opened his eyes before shutting them again quickly. He didn't know *why* he brought that up, except that he *did* kind of know how it was with them, and it worried him. That when Kelly decided she wanted to be 'on' again, that Justin would be cast aside. And what Joey had said hadn't really done anything to make him think otherwise. "Why are you *with* her, then?" he asked gently, trying mostly-successfully to keep the jealous tone out of his voice.

"Because she was always there," said Joey with a soft sigh, closing his eyes for a moment. "Every time I came back she was always THERE, and it was something kinda stable, even with the whole on-off thing we had happening. But ... I just don't think that's ENOUGH anymore. I don't think she really likes me very much." And Joey wasn't sure he liked HER very much, either, but at least she HAD always been there, to come home to.

"Oh," Justin said softly. "How come you don't try to meet someone else, then? I mean, you meet girls all the time, and if you'd give them a *chance* ..." Justin trailed off. He figured it was obvious that he had really just wanted to tell Joey that he, Justin, would be stable. More stable than some chick. He also figured it was pretty obvious that Joey wasn't supposed to take Justin's half-hearted attempts to get him to think about being with someone other than *him* seriously, either.

"I met someone," said Joey simply, opening his eyes again. "I don't have to go back to Kelly anymore. I think ... that'll be a relief for her, too." Right now he was vaguely aware of the movie going on in the background, but once again he wasn't really watching it, focusing instead on Justin.

"Are you talking about me?" Justin asked simply, squeezing his arms around Joey a little more tightly, not wanting to try and play coy with him. "You think that whatever this could be, it'll be enough?" He smiled and picked his chin up, positioning himself perfectly so Joey could bend down and kiss him again if he wanted to. Or lay down and stretch his body on top of him if he wanted to.

"Yeah, I'm talking about you," said Joey with a tender smile. "I dunno .... do YOU think this could be that, eventually?" He reached up with a hand and traced Justin's lips. "You know I'm not in it just for the physical stuff. Obviously."

Justin watched Joey's face closely when he parted his lips under Joey's fingers. "Yeah, I know. I just ... " Justin didn't want to talk about Chris right then, even though that was the best evidence he had that this could work if they wanted it to. But he was still confused about what Joey had meant when he said Kelly hadn't been enough -- and what that meant Justin had to do, or be. "You need to tell me what you mean. When you ask me if *this*" -- he tugged Joey a little closer to him in a gesture -- "could be 'that'. Can you?"

"I can try," said Joey, touching his face again. "I'm not really good with words, especially about this. But I'm hoping that, you and me together, since it seems like we both kinda want this, will make me feel, you know, whole. In a way I didn't with Kelly, cuz I never knew when she was gonna get mad and leave and leave me alone for a long time. I think maybe you like me, and you liked me first, before anything else, and I like YOU, and that's the important stuff. Kinda. You think?"

"Okay, yeah," Justin breathed. "I'll try, Joey, to make you feel the way you want to feel. I'll try really hard. And I won't leave you, either. I wouldn't ever want to." He licked and parted his lips slightly, hoping to encourage Joey to touch them again. "I'm gonna try to be really good for you," he finished openly, honestly, knowing that he'd put almost everything he had into it.

Joey leaned over and kissed his lips softly. "I just want you to be you," he said. "I want to get to know YOU. So just ... be yourself. And so will I. And we'll see what happens, right?"

"Right," Justin murmured, kissing Joey back for a few moments, then pressing himself back further into the bed and coaxing Joey back with him, deepening the kiss. He couldn't help it: he couldn't help wanting to kiss Joey with all the intensity of what he felt for him, especially when *he* said such sweet things in reply. "Do you mind this?" he asked, when he had to pull back to breathe.

"Mind?" breathes Joey. "Why would I MIND? I'm ... really into the whole kissing thing now ... " He kissed him again, clutching his body and holding him close.

"*NOW*, you are?" Justin teased, squirming under Joey. "You seemed to enjoy it, before. Or is it just ME, kissing you?"

"I was talking about you," said Joey. "I never used to kiss YOU, like that. I'd like to do it again, though."

"Oh, Joey," Justin breathed, streching out beneath the other man. "Please. PLEASE kiss me. Do wbatever you want, to me."

Joey held him down as he kissed him again, deeply, closing his eyes. He was definitely getting aroused again, and there was just no way of hiding that.

"What about the rest of it?" Justin had to ask, muttering into Joey's lips, bucking up against his hands even thought he shouldn't have been that aroused. "What are you gonna ... what are we allowed to do?"

"I don't know yet," admitted Joey. "Do I ... need to know, just yet? Can we just kiss for a while?"

Justin attacked Joey's lips as an answer, tugging on the back of his head, letting a hand rest on his ass. He attempted to pull the covers up over the two of them, nuzzling his face with Justin's nose. "Are you okay in here?"

"Yeah, I'm really okay," said Joey, touching him hungrily. "REALLY okay." He kissed Justin again. And again. "I'm comfortable."

"Just tell me when you want me to stop," Justin reminded him, nodding to himself a little and then licking along Joey's jaw. "You have to tell me, 'cause I may not be able to tell just by looking at you."

"I'll tell you," says Joey, tilting his head back to let Justin at his neck, "if you promise to listen. And ... you can tell ME to stop, too ... " He ran his hand up along Justin's bare side.

"I won't, though," Justin assured him, pressing his mouth to Joey's throat. "I mean. I WILL. Listen. I just won't tell you to stop. That's not gonna happen." He leaned up into Joey's body and then squirmed out from underneath him somewhat.

"So anything that I wanted to do now," says Joey, nibbling on his ear, "you wouldn't stop me. I could try anything? And would it be okay if the stuff I tried, I didn't finish?"

Justin had to wait a minute to find his voice again, after feeling Joey's teeth on his ear, and pulled the rest of the way out from under him. Propping himself up on and elbow, he looked at Joey seriously. "Yes. You can try whatever you want. I want you to be comfortable with touching me. I know that can't happen right away. Do you ... I mean, do you want me to stop you? Before you feel like you have to stop yourself from doing too much?"

"Maybe we just need to do status updates, from time to time," said Joey in Justin's ear. "Make sure we don't hit any 'points of no return' that we're -- I'm -- not ready for. But otherwise just kinda ... kiss and touch and stuff. That way maybe no one will have to, like, stop anyone."

"Status updates," Justin echoed in a funny voice, then pushed Joey onto his back gently and lay down next to him, his groin pressing into the outside of Joey's hip. "I'm *so* glad you didn't just want to go to sleep," he muttered.

Joey grinned playfully. "You're making fun of me, aren't you," he says, but his lips were against Justin's ear again and it was more of a murmur. "I'm glad you didn't want to sleep, too. I think it's going to be a really great night."

Justin flushed with the promise in Joey's voice, but didn't want to jinx anything by agreeing. Or seeming too eager. "I wasn't teasing. And what's really great ... is what you keep doing to my ear."

Joey licked at the lobe. "Like that," he asked seriously, then sucked on it softly. He kept his eyes open, watching Justin's reactions. "I'm not used to trying to turn on guys," he whispered, "but I guess this one works for everyone."

Justin shivered and tilted his head away. "Yeah, that," he murmured. "And Joey ... you don't have to *try* to turn me on. I always am, around you. And if I wasn't before, then having you half-naked in my bed would do it damn quick."

"Maybe I want to," said Joey quietly, his lips still brushing the lobe as his hands traced Justin's sides again. "Maybe I want to make you feel good on purpose, instead of just accidentally."

"Then keep doing that," Justin reassured him, arching his back a little, unsure of what to do with his own hands. "Anything with the ears is good. Do you like that, too?"

"And neck," said Joey, between kisses on the soft flesh behind Justin's ear. He let one hand rest on Justin's hip and tangled the other in his hair.

"God, and hair," Justin gasped softly, loving the way Joey's large fingers felt digging into his curls. He reached up with his own fingers and traced down the side of Joey's throat. "I woulda cut it all off, by now, if I didn't love having people grab it when I'm in bed with them."

"It's great to hold," agreed Joey, moaning quietly. "And softer than it looks." He grasped it just a fraction tighter, but certainly not enough to hurt, and ran his other hand over the curve of Justin's ass.

Justin smiled when he felt Joey touch him there, for the first time, knowing it was actually kinda intimate. And probably felt really different from a girl's ass. He flexed his muscles there a little, and then moaned and rubbed back into Joey's hand. "It looks bad?" he asked softly.

"It looks like it would be coarser than this," corrected Joey, but his voice wasn't anxious. He didn't seem worried about Justin misinterpreting. "I already knew it would be soft, after all this time. I just ... forgot." His hand traveled past Justin's ass to his upper thigh, then back again to cup it securely.

"I'm glad you like touching it, real glad," Justin murmured, then tried to pull himself up again. He felt like he was just laying there, and even though he had told Joey he could try anything he wanted, he figured he should be reacting a little more. It just felt SO good that he didn't want to interrupt. "I'm glad you like touching ME."

"I do," murmured Joey, sucking on his neck for a moment, then nibbling down to his collarbone. "You have a really nice body. It's good to touch and hold." He shut up again and he resumed sucking and biting at Justin's neck, back up to his other ear.

"You're very good at both of those things," said Justin, before hissing when he felt Joey's breath in his ear again. He reached around to cup the back of Joey's thigh almost automatically, then pulled his hand back off again, not sure if that was welcome. "You seem very ... intent."

"I'm learning how you taste," said Joey simply, moving down to suck at his shoulder, then at his upper chest. "You can touch me back, if you want. I'm not going to stop you." And he was confident about that, that he wanted to be touched right now, to be shown some affection by the person he was rapidly coming to think of in a very sexual and romatic sense.

"Oh, good," Justin breathed, grabbing at Joey's leg and hauling it up beside his own without any hesitation. The hand he used to brush against Joey's ass was softer and slower, not tentative but more ... tender. "What do I taste like?" he asked, his nipples hardening, although again Joey was only very peripherally giving them any attention.

Joey shrugged a little. "You taste like you," he said, as though the answer should have been obvious. "I like it." He shifted his leg against Justin, moving into a more comfortable position. He ran his tongue over Justin's nipple briefly, then kissed it. "I wouldn't want you to taste like anything else."

"Oh," Justin squeaked, his hand clutching tighter at Joey's ass when he felt his tongue there. "I'll make sure not to change, then," he added, running the fingers of his other hand through Joey's hair in what he hoped was an encouraging way.

"You'll tell me if I do something stupid?" asked Joey, moving toward the other nipple. "You'd tell me if I did something that just isn't cool to do to the average guy?" He licked this one slower than the last, and nipped at it lightly rather than just kiss.

"Oh, Joey," Justin breathed. "I'll say I'll tell you, if it'll help you relax, but ... you won't do anything stupid. Just do the things you think would feel good, to you." He blushed. "I know that sounded ... lame, or cliche, or something ..."

"I am," murmured Joey, moving back up to Justin's neck again, then to his lips. "You, too." Then he kissed him, slowly, confidently, for a long time.

Justin flushed even deeper. "Um. You might not be ready, for some of that," he admitted. "But if you're sure...?" He pulled back from his lips reluctantly, giving him another reassuring kiss after he had nudged Joey onto his back one more time, holding him down with his hands on Joey's pecs.

"I ... wanna try," whispered Joey, his hand caressing the flesh of Justin's lower back again.

"Okay," nodded Justin, ducking his head for another kiss and trying to keep the eagerness out of his voice. He pulled his knees up under him a little, so he didn't need to rest his weight on his hands to keep his balance, and tucked his fingers into the waistband of Joey's underwear, just holding them there. He kept kissing Joey's mouth encouragingly, and familiarly, as he let Joey get used to having Justin's hands where they were.

"You're so warm," murmured Joey, closing his eyes and just feeling the way Justin was covering him and touching him. And definitely NOT being afraid of what this might lead to.

Justin tugged down a little on Joey's underwear ... not exposing anything, but maybe implying. He *wanted* to be able to appreciate Joey's dick, if he'd let him. "*You're* warm," Justin disagreed. "Hot."

"You can ... take them off," said Joey slowly, dragging his lips over Justin's skin as he spoke. "I'm pretty sure I'm okay with that."

"God, really?" Justin said breathily, not expecting to be able to see Joey naked for quite a while. " I won't hurt you, I promise." He flattened his hand son Joey's hips and started sliding his underwear past his dark hair at his crotch.

"Really," said Joey. "All you've done so far is make me feel really good. I want to be able to keep doing that." He found he was shaking just a little bit, but he didnt' want to stop, not yet.

Justin noticed the shaking, and left Joey's underwear where it was, tugged halfway down his hips. "Hey," he whispered, bringing one of his hands up to cup Joey's chin and kissing him. "Are you *really* sure? Would it ... " he bit his lip. "Would it make it easier or harder if I took mine off?"

Joey wasn't sure which, but he said, "Easier," because at least that way they would be on equal footing. "Justin ... there are no expectations here, right? Of what's going to happen? We're just gonna ... go with what feels right?" He hated asking that and possibly ruining what was going on, but he wasn't sure if he was quite ready to do anything Justin had in mind, and didn't want things to go too far if that was what he expected.

Justin kissed him again, thoroughly. "I don't have any 'expectations,' Joey," he assured him, reaching down to run a warm palm over Joey's hipbone. "I'll just ... try some things. And it's perfectly okay for you to put the brakes on any of it." Justin knew that was something he had to say, even if he worried to himself how it was going to feel if Joey did stop him.

"Just so you know," said Joey, touching Justin's back and his face, "I'm nowhere near saying no right now. I'm REALLY turned on, Justin. By you. And I want to see where we can take that."

Kissing Joey even more deeply in response, Justin moved his hand slowly across the front of Joey's boxers to rub against his erection. He had *felt* it, before, on his leg, but being able to cup it in his hand -- to get the first real sense of its size -- was something else.

Joey moaned into the kiss. Justin's hands were larger than anyone's who'd ever touched him there before; he was able to hold him securely, and Joey grew all the harder for it. "Justin," he whispered, a name he'd never expected to whisper in passion, but now he wondered why the hell not.

Justin could feel Joey swell even larger in his hand, making it impossible for him to even consider letting go. He was a little scared that if he did, he wouldn't be allowed to touch it again. So he slowly started squirming out of his underwear using his free hand, still kneeling crouched over Joey, sucking on his lips. "This is ... nice," he murmured, giving him a little squeeze.

"Nice," said Joey, licking his lips and kissing him again, "is NOT the right word." His fingers traced down Justin's back, then touched the flesh of his ass for the first time, cupping it tenderly and stroking his thumb over it. He arched slightly into Justin's hand, wanting more.

"It is, for *this*," Justin insisted, gripping Joey's cock a little more firmly, so it was clear what he was referring to. He pulled his face away from Joey and rested his other hand on the mattress, balancing himself so he could kick his underwear the rest of the way off. It felt really good to be naked; his cock was aching so bad that having the material of his boxers rubbing against it had been torturous.

Joey laughed, a flicker of his usual confidence in it. "Are you saying I have a nice dick?" he asked, and pulled Justin into yet another searing kiss, his fingers digging slightly into Justin's ass. "I'm not scared," he added, wondering if Justin was still worried about that, or even really new how nervous Joey had been about this whole thing, really.

Justin nodded, still keeping his hips from touching anything, even when Joey's grip on his ass made him want to let himself be pulled right on top of him. He loosened his hold on Joey somewhat. "I haven't seen it, yet, though," he murmured deeply into Joey's ear before licking along the ridge of cartilege.

"Is that the next step?" asked Joey with a smile. "It usually is ... " He looked down almost expectantly, waiting for Justin to strip him, shivering at the feel of Justin's lips on his ear. Slowly, Justin snaked his fingers under Joey's waistband, just where he had them minutes before. Joey was smiling, and joking now; still shivering, but Justin didn't think it was for the same reasons. "Yeah," he muttered, leaning back on his knees, sitting almost upright. "I wanna see."

Joey released his grip on Justin enough for him to move easily. "Okay," he said, opening his eyes and really looking at him. "Seriously, Justin," he added, just in case. "I want you to." He rolled his hips up towards him again for good measure.

Justin smiled gratefully at Joey's reinforcement, and tried not to let himself be self-conscious about the fact that this was also the first time Joey had seen *him* naked and aroused, and didn't seem to be all that affected. Justin knew he wasn't as *big* as Joey, or anything, but still. He sighed and ran a hand across Joey's belly before gripping the back of his boxers with his other hand and pulling them down past Joey's ass.

"See, now you're just teasing me," said Joey with a grin, then let his gaze travel slowly up and down Justin's body. His eyes sparkled, and he liked what he saw. "You did grow up nice," he murmured, touching the front of his hip and his thigh, letting himself acknowledge the strong attraction that was there. To guys. To Justin, in particular. "Can I touch?"

Justin closed his eyes and willed himself not to throw himself against Joey's hand. He nodded shortly, and busied himself with removing Joey's underwear the rest of the way, with both hands this time. "Not teasing," he whispered, opening his eyes and letting himself look. At Joey. Naked. His lips parted a little, automatically, involuntarily.

Joey brushed his fingers from the base of Justin's erection to the tip, trying not to remember that it was only the third one he'd ever felt like this -- including his own -- so he wouldn't get spooked. It was dry and hot and soft to the touch, yet solid underneath. He wrapped his hand around it for a moment, then let go. "Yeah, okay ... " he whispered, meaning nothing in particular.

Justin made a weak mewling sound when Joey removed his hand, after he recovered from the surprise of Joey actually touching him unbidden. Even being prepared for it. He sighed again, then, and returned his attention to Joey's cock ... and his mouth started watering. It *had* to be okay to do what he wanted to do, 'cause Joey had done it before. He fervently hoped so, at least.-->

He reached out his own hand, and mimicked the way Joey had just touched him -- the heat and texture bringing back fond memories of others and even fonder fantasies, of Joey.

Joey moaned again, his eyes closing for a moment. "You're good at that," he mumbled. "Feels good." Then his eyes opened again and he grined a little cockily. "See?" he says, and there was almost a moan constantly in his voice, beneath his words. "I'm a fast learner, sometimes ... "

"Not *too* fast," Justin replied, in a way that Joey would know he thought that was okay, moaning a little himself. He gripped Joey a little more firmly, and didn't let go as he bent over to kiss Joey some more -- not able to help the added sexual element to what he was doing with his mouth, now that they were naked. His mind went there automatically.

Joey pulled Justin closer to his own body, wondering why he was still holding parts of himself away. "Over here," he mumbled against Justin's lips, then slid his tongue inside Justin's mouth and this time didn't give it a second thought. He let his fingers wrap around Justin's erection again, and got used to the feel of it, the weight of it, before he did anything.

Justin flinched when he fell against Joey's body, worried about smothering him or pressuring him or doing anything that would make Joey think that he was trying to do too much, too soon. But he didn't stop kissing him, and even began sucking gently on Joey's tongue.

Joey just kept kissing him for a long while, quite content with where they were and what they were doing and how he was feeling. He squeezed Justin a lightly and rubbed his palm against his erection, but didn't try to start stroking him. Not yet.

Justin was fairly successful at keeping from squirming into Joey's hand, but he was too eager and too turned on to be content with just letting Joey touch him. He pulled his mouth away and started licking at Joey's jaw, and throat, and collarbone ... taking his time, but moving with *direction*.

Joey moaned again, and smiled at himself on the inside and figured Justin would quickly learn that he did that a lot. Justin's lips were incredible and talented and anything but innocent. He gripped him a little tighter -- as tight as he would have found enjoyable -- and began stroking him very, very slowly.

Justin bit gently at the skin of Joey's neck when he felt the other man starting to tug on him. Part of him really wanted to ask him *not* to do that -- he was worried about coming before they could *do* anything, and that'd already happened once that day -- but he knew that wasn't fair. Joey wanted to learn him, and Justin had to let him do that in the way he was comfortable with. "You have nice hands," he murmured instead.

"So do you," said Joey as Justin's hands and lips caressed his body. He let his eyes close again so he could just focus on the warm sensation of Justin "Wow, I'm a selfish bastard," he said aloud, almost not meaning to, licking his lips again.

Justin looked up at Joey's face warily, before ducking his head again to lap at the skin stretched across the muscles of his chest. "Why do you say that?" he said throatily, not even intentionally so. He still touched Joey's cock with light fingers, tracing around the head and down the shaft.

"Because I want to ask you to suck me now," says Joey quietly, looking down at him, shivering again at the touch, "even though I know I might not be ready to do it back ... " He squirmed beneath Justin's fingers and wondered if he needed to say anything more to explain what he was thinking and feeling.

For what felt like the millionth time that day, Justin was speechless again. He lifted his head and stared at Joey with huge eyes that then crinkled when he grinned. "Oh, god, that's okay ... that's SO okay, I don't even care about that. I just want you to let me. And you will? I can? Really?" Justin was vaguely aware that he probably sounded way too exuberant at the prospect of blowing Joey, but he couldn't help it. He *loved* doing it, and couldn't wait to show Joey.

"Yeah, you can," said Joey, then chuckled. "But ... thanks for asking. I really want to feel that Justin ... from YOU." He gripped Justin's back with one hand and squeezed him again with the other.

Justin's breath hitched and he was very, very glad that Joey was going to have to let go of him once he moved far enough down to be in the right position for what he was going to do. Justin kissed him on the lips quickly, breathing "wow," and then went right back to what he was doing before -- kissing Joey's chest, touching his cock lightly.

Joey let go of Justin's erection and grasped at his lower back as Justin moved down his body with hot, wet kisses. "You're wonderful," he murmured, and tangled a hand in Justin's hair again, wishing it were just a little longer so he could grip it properly.

Justin's heart hiccuped, or something, when Joey said that -- especially when he wasn't doing much beyond kissing him, so Justin knew he could believe Joey meant it -- that it wasn't something he just said in the throes of passion or anything. As he moved down the bed, he slung a leg over one of Joey's, moaning when his cock brushed against Joey's thigh.

Joey was at once grateful and frustrated at how Justin was taking his time. He definitely, definitely knew what he was doing though. His image of that innocent Justin was gone now, but that wasn't a bad thing. Just different. Experienced Justin had a whole new set of things to offer, and was just as wonderful as ever. "So good," he murmured as Justin continued to touch and kiss him.

"I hope you don't make me stop," Justin whispered, his lips pressed against Joey's navel. "I want to taste you." He slid his other leg between Joey's thighs and settled in, resting mostly on his haunches so he could keep touching Joey's cock, and rub his hip comfortingly at the same time. Slowly, he started stroking Joey, getting him used to Justin's touch.

"I don't want you to stop," whispered Joey, both to Justin and to himself. "I don't WANT you to stop, Justin." He squirmed again and made sure he WATCHED Justin, kept his eyes on him, knew what he was doing. Knew that it was Justin doing it to him.

Justin moved down far enough to where his face was hovering right over Joey's groin. When he inhaled, his senses were filled with the musky way that Joey smelled, and his want to taste him quickly turned into a need. He stuck his tongue out and gave the head of his cock a generous lick.

Joey moaned again, even louder, having to force himself to keep his eyes open. He clutched at Justin's hair, his thumb digging into Justin's scalp. "Yeah ... yeah ... I'm okay ... " he murmured.

"Shh," Justin groaned, licking him again, not able to keep his mouth off of Joey's cock now that he could. He shifted at the foot of the bed so he was lying between Joey's legs, his own cock pressed into the sheets, and took that opportunity to whisper at him. "Joey, shh. You gotta be quiet. Jace's right next door."

"I'm not very quiet in bed," admitted Joey in a hoarse voice, his eyes wide. "Should I have ... mentioned that before now?" He licked his own lips as he watched Justin lock at his cock, completely helpless to do anything but feel.

Justin smiled tenderly, keeping his own eyes on Joey as he licked him from base to tip in a particularly leisurely and almost lewd manner. "No, you didn't need to tell me ... just TRY, tonight, for me. Okay? When we're alone, I promise I'll do it again, and you can scream and yell my name, if you want. That might be nice, actually."

"I would," admitted Joey. "Scream and yell your name. If I could. You've HEARD me in hotels before, I'm sure ... " He let his eyes close for just a brief moment as he gasped and thrust his hips out closer to Justin, then focused them on him again. "You're so good ... to me ... "

"Shh," Justin said again, this time meaning that Joey didn't need to say those things to Justin. He petted him idly for a moment, on his hips and belly and thighs, and then took a deep breath and let his lips close around the head of Joey's erection.

Justin's lips were wonderful. Just wonderful. Joey wasn't sure how he managed to keep watching, but he did. Watched Justin's eyes close as he sucked him gently, watched the ecstasy cross his face. His lips parted and he struggled to breathe -- he'd heard that no one knew how to do this better than another man. Now he knew that was right.

There were a lot of things Justin could do, *had* done, to make this blowjob feel even better for Joey, but as he let Joey's cock slide further into his mouth he realized that he shouldn't push it. He didn't have to *prove* anything to Joey this time. He didn't have to try and out-do The Chick Who Gave Great Head. He moaned a little himself when he tasted the first bit of Joey's pre-cum, and thrust his hips against the bed jerkily.

Joey's hand roamed Justin's hair, sometimes smoothing it, sometimes tugging on it, never leaving it. He could feel little sparks of pleasure already, shooting through his body. He loved getting head, and had had countless blowjobs over the years, but even this first time, with all his nervousness, with all JUSTIN'S nervously, Justin was something special.

Still humping the bed slowly, Justin let his hands drift to the inside of Joey's thighs as he sucked him. He was blissfully happy, relieved but not surprised that Joey was gentle and conscientuous about getting head, and he had to force himself to remember that just because Joey seemed to be enjoying it, that didn't mean he could let his fingers go where they had been heading.

Joey began to relax and closed his eyes for a moment again. His nerves relaxed anyway; not his body. His body was VERY riled up by what Justin was doing to him. For him. With him. "Love this," he murmured, wanting to be sure that Justin still knew he was nowhere near 'stop'.

Justin pulled his hands back and placed them on Joey's hips again, tilting his pelvis up so he could take as much of Joey's cock into his mouth as was possible without him gagging. His tongue flicked around inside his mouth before he pulled all the way off, then plunged back down, moaning and reminding *himself* that he had to be quiet. But he was more and more aroused by the minute.

"Oh, God, Justin," moaned Joey, then took one of his hands off Justin's body and clapped it over his own mouth. He could see Justin's wet lips, and the strings of saliva that connected them as he pulled away. But above everything else he could FEEL it, feel the things that Justin was doing to his body.

Justin grunted when he heard Joey say his name like that, and jerked his hips against the sheets. He was gonna come before Joey if he wasn't careful. He reached up with one hand and pulled Joey's hand away from his mouth, replacing it with his own. He wrapped his other fingers around the base of Joey's cock, incorporating them smoothly into his movements.

Joey licked and bit at Justin's fingers, his sounds muffled now. Feeling safer, he made more of them. He rested both hands on Justin's head now playing with his hair restlessly, caressing his ears and his cheeks and his neck. He could feel his orgasm begin to approach and knew that he could hold it off for a while, but didn't know if he really wanted to for very long.

Joey's teeth on Justin's fingers startled him so much that all of his concentration and self-control slipped, and he was coming -- hard -- in the sheets. He didn't stop what he was doing, though, just whimpered and suckled at Joey even more intently, lapping at him with his tongue when he needed to breathe.

Joey began squirming and tried to tell Justin that he was gonna come, but his voice was still muffled and the words wouldn't come out, so he just gripped Justin's hair and the back of his neck urgently.

Justin choked a little when the pressure behind Joey's hands increased, but he didn't balk or pull away or slow down. His cheeks hollowed as he started sucking much more earnestly, wanting Joey to feel like he couldn't do anything to hold back his orgasm.

"Justin," Joey tried to say. "Justin!" And then he was coming in his throat as Justin sucked him with single-minded attention to the ultimate goal. He shouted behind Justin's hand and his hips came off the bed a little. He tried to pull Justin's hand away, not to make a sound, just so he could begin to catch his breath.

Justin was laughing practically before he swallowed, pulling himself up to rest on one hand and wiping at his mouth with the other. "Joey!" he whispered. "God. You were supposed to wait until NEXT time to do that." He pressed a kiss to Joey's hip, and then rested his chin on the top of his thigh and watched him.

Joey struggled to be able to understand what Justin was saying. "Sorry?" he offered weakly, still gasping, trying to pull away a little.

Justin wrapped his forearm underneath Joey's hips and held him close, showing him he didn't want him to move anywhere. "Screaming my name," he clarified, flushed with pleasure regardless and still chuckling. "Remember? God, I hope C's asleep."

"I screamed into your hand," said Joey with a relieved grin. "He ... didn't hear a thing. Wow ... Justin ... that was wonderful." He licked his lips again and took a deep breath. "What can I ... do for you?"

Justin blushed, but his grin didn't fade as he ducked his head to place a kiss on Joey's leg. "Tell me again you liked it," he said clearly. "You seem ... happy? ... about it. Comfortable. Are you?"

"Yes," said Joey. "Yes, yes, yes. Definitely. Need to hold you." He recognized he wasn't quite speaking in complete sentences, but he knew Justin would know what he was saying. " I'm not sure I'm ready to do that back," he reconfirmed a little regretfully. "But ... I will be."

Justin laughed. "Later," he agreed, and slid up Joey's body to kiss his cheek gently, not really bothering to hide that he wasn't hard anymore.

Joey reached down and touched him wonderingly. "Did you ... did I ... was it ... ?" He shook his head, unsure of what question he was trying to ask, and just kissed Justin's slightly-swollen and wet lips.

Justin kissed him back gently, calmly, warmly. "What are you trying to ask me?" he murmured with closed eyes, trying not to shrink away from Joey's hands.

"Um ... did doing that really turn you ON or really turn you OFF?" asked Joey, actually embarassed to be asking. "I kinda want to make sure I didn't do anything wrong, Justin ... " He kisses him again, and just savors the feel and taste of his lips.

Justin wouldn't let himself be embarrassed about it, he WOULDN'T. Hopefully Joey would take it for the compliment it was, and not think he didn't have stamina or control or anything. Or think he was a slut or something because he got off on it. "I *told* you I love doing that at least as much as I love having it done to me," he reminded him in a voice more confident than he felt. "I ... hope that's okay. I *really* loved doing it, to you."

Joey grinned. "I think it's great," he said, and kissed him again, even deeper. "I'd ask you if you even KNEW how good you are at that ... but I bet you do." He grinned at him again. "I'll learn. I promise."

"No rush," Justin assured him, grinning back in relief. "Obviously." He actually wouldn't complain if Joey wanted to give it a shot -- he'd be ready in another couple minutes or so -- but wasn't sure if he'd maxed out on his experimentation for the evening. "And you can never tell a guy too often that he gives good head. Not if it's me, at least."

"I'll tell you again, then," said Joey. "You give great head, Justin. I'm almost embarassed to try. I'm really good at going down on girls, though." He grinned at Justin's expression. "Don't look at me like that. I had to brag about SOMEthing. I have an ego to prop up here."

"Why?" Justin asked honestly, nuzzling into Joey's neck and rubbing a little against his hip. "Why are you worried about your ego? All sex stuff -- even giving head, on guys OR girls -- depends on two people. You know? I'm sure you've had girls that were awful to give head TO. Or, like ... that guy? With the thrusting?"

"Well, yeah," agreed Joey. "But there IS a certain amount of skill involved." He grinned again. "Let me brag? A little? Even though it's completely irrelevant to what we have now?"

"Not *completely* irrelevant," Justin muttered, sticking his tongue in Joey's ear. "But go ahead. Expand on your talents of eating girls out." He smiled. "C'mon, 'dirty talk' me."

Joey laughed. "Okay, all I want you to say is "I believe you. Joey, you're good at giving head to chicks.' That's all I need, Justin. And then I won't bring up girls when we're in bed naked again. Promise."

Justin shrugged and kissed Joey on the cheek. "Doesn't bother me," he admitted, then closed his teeth around Joey's earlobe and nibbled on it while he continued talking in a deeper voice. "I believe you, Joey, you're good at giving head to chicks. I hear *them* too, you know." He sighed. "I don't see how you could be anything less than amazing at anything you did in bed."

Joey nuzzled Justin's neck. "Well, I've been pretty less than amazing to you so far," he admitted. "But I'll make up for that. I'm just a beginner to this guy on guy stuff." He wrapped an arm around Justin's waist and help him close. "Thank you again for being patient and not giving up on us before we even started. Thank you for making this easy."

"Am I?" Justin flushed with pleasure at the compliment, and at the amazing way it felt to have Joey wrapped around him. "Just so you know, I think making me come from basically kissing you, twice, is pretty amazing ... that said, what were you thinking about? Um ... in terms of 'making up' for it?" He grinned eagerly.

"Everything," said Joey softly, kissing those grinning lips. "Eventually ... everything. I'll START by trying to go down on you. But not tonight?" He yawned. "I would NOT do it justice tonight. And I may need another demonstration ... " Of course, it went without saying how many 'demonstrations' he'd already had over years, but they weren't from Justin, and that made all the difference.

"Oh," Justin said, after kissing Joey back, trying to keep any disappointment from his voice. "Yeah ... okay. You sleepy? Are you hot? Or cold? I could get another blanket, or if you want a shirt, or ... "

"I'm comfortable," said Joey, caressing Justin's lower back with his open palm. "I don't want to sleep yet. Do you?"

"Oh," Justin replied, pausing in the middle of grabbing their underwear from the foot of the bed. "No?" he looked at Joey to see if that was the answer he was supposed to give. "You just -- I thought you said you didn't ... um. Nevermind."

"Hang on," said Joey, pulling him back and looking into his eyes. "You lost me there. What's up? Did I say something wrong?" He asked that casually, though, as though he MIGHT have done something wrong, but he fully expected that whether he had or he hadn't, Justin would tell him what was going on.

Justin shook his head, looking very young. "No. I just ... thought you said you didn't want to do anything else tonight. But then you said you weren't ready to go to bed. I just thought ... I didn't know what you wanted me to do." Justin felt like he probably looked pretty lost. Which was how he felt, so it made sense at least.

"Oh," said Joey. "I thought we could just cuddle and talk. Or something. For a while. Unless you don't want to?" He paused. "Or unless this is against some etiquette that I dont know about it? Just ... what do YOU want?" he asked finally, feeling a little awkward himself, now.

"No, nothing," Justin shook his head, leaving the underwear where they were. Then, after a second's pause, he scrambled out of the bed and went over to lock the door. He didn't really look at Joey as he walked back over to the bed, knowing that the man could see that his cock had begun to firm up again, but not really in the mood to acknowldge it any more. He crawled into the covers and pressed his face into Joey's neck. "I would LOVE to cuddle and talk," he whispered forcefully.

"If you wanted something else, you would say so, right?" said Joey uncertainly, folding his arms around Justin again. "You wouldn't just do something, just because I said it?"

Justin wondered about that. "No," he said finally. The he decided to be really honest with Joey. It had always worked with Chris. "I mean ... I wouldn't have *complained* if you wanted to go again. Like, at all. But I don't *need* to. Talking sounds really great. And having you hold me like this -- you're really strong! -- that's pretty great, too."

Joey grinned then, not so much at what Justin said as the fact that he said SOMEthing. "You never know where talking and cuddling might go," he said with the hint of a promise. "Look what happened when we tried to watch a MOVIE. And we weren't even naked in bed together, then."

Justin grinned too, even though he didn't hold out much hope for it. And that was okay. 'Cause they WERE naked in bed together, and that was one of Justin's favorite things. "I'm *so* glad you stayed," he mumbled again. "Can you always?" He said it sweetly, innocently. No desperation.

"I wish I could," said Joey, kissing him. "I'll do it lots. Always and the folks might get a little suspicious." He sighed, then smiled at him hopefully. "You'll have to come to my place sometimes."

Justin grinned back eagerly, then his face fell a little. "Oh, but. My mom." His eyebrows furrowed together. "She'll wonder why you didn't just come here, if I say we're sleeping over, or whetever." He sighed again and leaned over so Joey could kiss his forehead. "I'm so annoying. I would love to stay with you in your bed. I'd love it even if you weren't there, 'cause it'd smell like you."

Joey suddenly smiles again and his eyes sparkle. "Oh Justin, that's just the sweetest thing," he said and kissed him again. "Chris was so right about you." "About what?" Justin said softly, not sure whether it felt good, or hurt, that Chris was apparently saying nice things about him to Joey. "You were talking about me?"

"That you were really sweet," Joey reassured him. "He said you were a wonderful boyfriend and very, very sweet."

"Oh," Justin said. "Sweet, huh? Okay." He tried really, really hard not to think that was just a synonym for young and naive. "I just like the people I'm with to know I like being WITH them, is all."

"Well, if I can make you feel HALF as special as you just made me, I'll know I'm doing okay," said Joey, squeezing him tightly for a moment.

"I made you feel special?" Justin smiled, relieved at that happy accident. "Cool." He bit his lip and squealed a little when Joey grabbed him. "So what else did Chris say?"

"Not much," admitted Joey. "Just that ... I should maybe try. Because he thought you would make me really happy." He smiled, then. "And you do, Justin. He was right. You do."

"But I haven't even *done* anything," Justin giggled in confusion. "I mean, I know I give good head, male OR female" -- he looked at Joey significantly -- "but that can't be all it takes."

Joey shook his head. "That's not what I'm talking about," he said vaguely. "I ... can't explain. It's just you being you. Don't ever not be you okay?" He kissed Justin lightly. "And jeez, Justin, do you have to be good at EVERYthing?"

"What's wrong with trying to be good at what you do?" Justin asked softly, looking at Joey with wide and legitimately innocent eyes. He knew he tried really hard, and got kinda ... pouty ... when he couldn't do something right, but wasn't that how everyone was?

"Nothing," said Joey honestly. "Nothing at all, Justin." It wasn't how HE tackled life, all the time, but he knew it was how Justin did. He didn't always aim to be the best, but he knew what it was like to want to be good. Of course he did.

"You think I shouldn't try so hard," Justin said, not frowning, but not really smiling either. "*There's* something I'm not good at." He sighed and kissed Joey's neck distractedly.

"No, no," said Joey, holding him close again. "You're SO wrong about that. Stop reading things into what I'm saying, Justin." He kissed his lips so he couldn't speak right away. "I want to be good, too."

"Okay...?" Justin's lips quirked into a cautious grin. "At something in particular? Or ... are you, like, reforming or something?"

Joey laughed. "I definitely don't want to be THAT kind of good. THAT kind of good would mean I couldn't be curled up naked in bed with my boyfriend right now." He kissed him again happily, glad that Justin wasn't falling into a funk, then burrowed his face into the crook of Justin's neck.

"Hey," Justin said softly, by way of acknowledging Joey cuddling against him. But his mind was racing, wandering. Joey's *boyfriend*? Sounded great to him, but they hadn't talked about it, and JC's warning about Joey's fidelity came back to him almost immediately. Not to mention his own perceptions of how Joey was with Kelly. "Um. So what kind of good, then?"

"GOOD good," said Joey easily. "Good at something. Maybe even the best at something, sometime." He grinned. "You've been the best at a lot of things, Justin. What's it like?"

"Shut up," Justin said, smiling again and shoving at Joey weakly. "You're good at everything I've seen you do. The important stuff, at least -- 'cause you sure as hell can't play ball. But other than that!" He kissed Joey's lips gently. "I'm not anything special. Really."

"Yeah, you are," said Joey seriously. "You're something very special. And don't you ever forget it, baby!" He kissed Justin's forehad, then pulled the covers up to their necks.

Justin flinched at that endearment, again, and turned his face into the pillow they shared. The Chris-pillow, he noticed, and hoped that could be overlooked. "Thanks, Joey," he said softly, because he had to acknowledge the compliment somehow.

Joey stroked Justin's hair and looked at him with concern. "Did ... I do something wrong again?" he asked, watching the way Justin pulled away from him.

"What do you mean, 'again'," Justin mumbled, not wanting to answer the question. It seemed like too much of a stupid thing to get upset over, especially since he'd be over it pretty quickly anyway. "You're fine. Feels nice."

"Fine is not ... " Joey closed his eyes and sighed and reminded himself that no matter what else, Justin was STILL 16 years old. And that meant something. "I can't mek it right if you don't tell me what it is, Justin."

"I'm just being dumb," Justin said, biting his lip again in worry when Joey seemed to be getting exasperated with him. "Like, oversensitive. It'll blow it out of proportion if I even bother to say anything."

"You ever think maybe talking is good?" asked Joey, poking him playfully but being serious at the same time. "You just tell me stuff, and then we let it go, and it's as simple as that, Justin. Honest."

And *then* it just bothered Justin that he had to actually *tell* Joey, without him knowing automatically, like Chris did a lot of the time. "DOn't make me say it," he said softly. "It's embarrassing, and you'll think I'm being a b- ... you'll think I'm being silly."

"Well, okay," said Joey, sounding a bit weary and sad. "If you say so, Justin. I just ... wanted to know."

Justin lifted his head quickly to look at Joey, to try and see what he was feeling. "Oh," he said softly, reading his expression as disappointment. "Oh. You want me to say, really?"

"Well yeah," said Joey, surprised that Justin didn't already realize that. "I just ... I don't get stuff until you tell me Justin. Maybe I'm supposed to or something -- God knows enough girls I've been with have given me hell about that -- but I just DON'T. So I'd rather you just said than me lie here and wonder all night what I did wrong to make you unhappy."

"Do you like nicknames?" Justin asked softly, kissing Joey's jaw, deciding to do this but not able to look at Joey while he did. "Like, having a ... girl, I guess, for you ... call you, like, a pet name? Like 'hon,' or 'sweetheart,' or ... 'big daddy,' or something?" He tried to make his voice a little lighter, not wanting Joey to get the idea that he was *really* unhappy.

"Well, not 'big daddy'," chuckled Joey, imagining that. "But yeah, sure, I think it's great. Makes me feel kinda, you know, warm. Like they're being all affectionate. Why?"

"WOuld it make a difference if it was a guy? If it was me? Would that be weird, or too ... girly, or whatever?"

Joey shrugged. "No, not at all. I don't THINK." He grinned. "I've never had the chance to have a guy call me pet names before. As long as it's not 'bitch' I think it would be pretty cool."

"I like it," Justin admitted softly. "Like, especially if it's a special nickname, that he'll only use around me, and for me." He kissed Joey's shoulder. "But ... well, you know how the five of us, we have nicknames for each other too, and sometimes they're not so nice? Like, um ... calling Chris 'psycho,' or calling Lance 'Lancey-pants'?"

"Can you just tell me what I did wrong, Justin?" asked Joey sadly, looking at his face. "Because whatever it is ... I didn't mean to ... "

"Sorry, sorry," Justin muttered, knowing he was going about this all wrong. "I know you didn't, it's just ... okay. I don't like being called 'baby.' I just ... *don't*. Not by JC, when he's making fun of me, or Lance when he's trying to act all mature and shit. And not by the people I sleep with, either. Is that ... I mean, do you get that?"

"Oh," said Joey, startled. "I ... didn't know. I'm sorry. I ... didn't mean it like they do, Justin. I just ... shit, I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

"I know," Justin sighed, rubbing his head and turning his face into the pillow again. "I know how you meant it, and I'm just a spoiled brat who can't appreciate it when someone does something nice." He sighed again, louder. "I'm not mad at you, just ... annoyed with myself."

"Hey," said Joey, rubbing his back. "I didn't say THAT either. If it bothers you it bothers you and I respect that, okay? Now come back here. Please?"

"But you think it's stupid," Justin said softly, blinking a little when he turned to face him. "I want you to call me what you want to call me. If you want to call me baby, I can learn to love it."

"I didn't say I thought it was stupid either," said Joey softly. "Did you think it was stupid earlier, when I wanted someone to say that I was good at something?" He turned away for a moment. "Wait ... bad example ... you probably did. But you know what I mean." But Joey wondered if Justin DID understand that.

"But you seem all ... unsettled ... by it, or something." He frowned and touched Joey's nose, to get him to look at him again. "Did you ... was I not supposed to notice that you called me that? Are you embarrassed?"

Joey smiled. "Only embarassed that I didn't notice it was bothering you," he said honestly. "Just poke me or something if I do it again, okay? It's just a word that comes naturally to me, when I'm being cuddly. I don't mean to upset you ... honest."

"I *know* that, fool," Justin grinned back. "That's why I said I was being selfish, 'cause you were being sweet. See? Selfish! Wouldn't know a good thing if it got under the covers and sucked my dick." His grin turned cheeky.

"Pushy bugger," said Joey, relieved that Justin was smiling at him again and burying his face in Justin's neck, sucking at it tenderly. "Soon enough," he added. "Soon enough."

"I'm just teasing you," Justin said softly, cupping the back of Joey's head and closing his eyes when he felt his mouth on his throat. "It was a joke. Sorry I kinda ... freaked out there, for a second."

"You didn't freak out," said Joey, kissing the underside of Justin's chin. "You just gotta tell me things, okay? I'm a little thick."

"But sometimes those things are really hard to admit," Justin complained, remembering again that Chris could do it, and kicking himself mentally for even starting to *make* comparisons like that.

"Yeah, I know they are," said Joey quietly. "I'm not saying you have to, Justin. I'm just saying ... I probably won't understand if you don't, that's all."

"Well," Justin tilted his head back a little. "I mean, we just started this. Maybe, once you get to know me a little better...?" His voice was pretty hopeful. "I mean, I'm not all that deep or anything."

"Justin," said Joey with a sigh. "Please ... don't make me into someone I'm not, okay? I can't live up to that."

Justin's face crumpled, and this time he rolled over completely to the other side of the bed. "I'm not ... that wasn't what I was doing, Joey. Really. I don't expect you to change, I wouldn't want you to. I can't believe you think I would." He sighed and clutched the other pillow to his face, wondering if what he had done was really all that bad, or if Joey was actually sort of predicting bad things to come.

"What are you doing?" asked Joey, sighing again, this time in frustration. "Where are you GOING, Justin?" He reached out and lay his hand on Justin's back and wondered what it was THIS time, and how he was supposed to handle it. "I just didn't want you to get your hopes up that I'm ever gonna be as smart or, like, perceptive as you or Chris. This is me, you know? I want that to be enough."

"It *is* enough," Justin cried softly, his voice muffled by the pillow. "I *know* you, I know how you are. And you're what I want. So I just ... hate making an ass out of myself around you, by admitting that dumb things like you calling me 'baby,' they get to me. 'Cause then I figure you won't want *me*." He pulled the pillow off and looked at Joey with bleary eyes. "Please don't be mad at me. I take back what I said, okay?"

"Justin, I'm not MAD," insisted Joey, trying to roll Justin back towards him. "I don't GET mad when people tell me stuff. And you know that already. You KNOW I like it when people are just upfront and honest and I don't have to try and guess stuff. So come back over here, okay? I just want to hold you for a while."

Justin bit his lip, but he did scoot back over next to Joey. "I *am* a baby," he sighed wetly, looking into Joey's eyes and touching his cheek and eyebrow with a fingertip. "I deserve being called that. I'm really sorry." He lifted his face to press his lips to Joey's jaw, moving his finger up to Joey's ear. "But I really like it that you don't let me pout."

"You don't NEED to pout," said Joey, wrapping his arms around Justin again. "That's, like, the whole point. So ... is there something I CAN call you, that's not baby? That would make you feel special and not silly?" He kissed Justin's forehead and caressed his back as he spoke, making sure Justin knew that he DID want him here, and want to BE here, very much.

Justin shrugged and snuffled into Joey's neck, licking at the tendons there gently, like a cat. "That stuff always comes when you aren't thinking about it," he said softly, remembering the circumstances of the first time Chris called him 'angel,' and blinking back tears. "We'll figure it out." He sighed heavily, like he was trying to exhale all the dumb stuff he was letting bother him, and slumped into Joey's arms. "You're great, at this cuddling thing."

*Yeah, well, that DID come out when I wasn't thinking about it,but it was all wrong,* Joey wanted to say, but didn't. "Thanks," he said instead, grateful Justin thought he was doing SOMEthing right. No matter what Justin said, and no matter that JUSTIN was the one that had fallen for HIM, this whole first while was going to be Joey proving himself. And he'd been through this before with other people, but with Justin, for the first time, he wasn't sure he was going to be able to do it.

Reaching behind him to pull the covers back up, Justin yawned and pressed his face closer into Joey's neck. "You need something? Water? Nightlight? Another blowjob?" He giggled at himself as he kissed Joey's collarbone lightly. He was tired, and emotionally kind of drained after everything that had happened that day, and hoped that this sort of awkwardness would pass quickly.

"No, just you," said Joey, smiling, holding Justin close. "It's been a while since I've actually slept with someone. You know, like THIS. This is really nice, Justin." He kissed Justin's temple and closed his eyes and once again got used to just feeling Justin's body next to his, noting all the differences between Justin's body and a woman's body and just ... accepting them.

Justin blushed, feeling a little guilty that he himself had done it last night. But there was no way he could mistake Joey's body wrapped around his for Chris's ... they were just *nothing* alike. And the way Joey's felt ... was what he'd been dreaming of for months. "It is," he yawned again, smiling. "And don't forget you promised we'd do it lots." Giving Joey one last kiss, straining up to meet his lips, he smiled. "G'night, Joey. Thank you."

"Nothing to thank me for," murmured Joey, kissing him back lightly. "Good night, Justin. And don't worry, we WILL do it lots." He held Justin close, still, as he began to drift off to sleep. It had been a long day, full of a lot of surprises, but definitely a very GOOD day.

---

Chris yelled out for the person ringing the doorbell to just "hold the hell on, for a damn minute," as he raced down the hall to answer it. It was early -- before noon, which was *early*, especially since he had been out late the night before. On an ultimately very UNsuccessful date, but still. He opened the door to his apartment and was only mildly surprised to see Joey standing there, keys in hand. "Hey man," he said with a clap on his shoulder. "What's up? Did I forget about some rehearsal today or something?"

"No, no," said Joey, shifting from one foot to the other as he stood in the doorway. "I just came to hang out. Or something. Can I come in?" He peeked past Chris into the apartment, making sure that no one else was there, that he wasn't interrupting anything. "Or are you busy?"

"Heh, no," Chris said wryly, stepping back to let Joey inside. "Not busy, no. Trying to wake up. Want some coffee?" He padded back down the hall in his bare feet, expecting Joey to follow him, not quite conscious enough yet to give too much thought to why Joey wanted to "hang out" this early. "Do we HAVE rehearsal today?" he asked, after thinking about it for a second. "I need a personal assistant. Are we famous enough to get some of those?"

"No," said Joey, closing the door behind him. "No rehearsal today. No rehearsal for a while. And no, you DON'T need a personal assistant to remember what days we have rehearsal when we're back home -- you should be able to do THAT on your own at least, Christopher." He stepped into the kitchen and leaned against the counter. "Is it too early?" he asked, uncustomarily jittery. "I can wait ... it's not important ... "

"Fine, just *rain* on my parade, why dontcha?" Chris pouted, cursing when he spilled coffee grounds everywhere. "And no, you're cool. I should've been up by now anyway." He yawned and turned to look at Joey with bleary eyes. "What's up with you, man? And *what's* not important? I thought you just came over here to bask in the pleasure of my company."

"Yeah, yeah right," said Joey, grinning at him. "I wanted to come over for your pretty face and sparkling personality. I just couldn't wait." He yawned and stretched and leaned back against the counter again. "Actually, it's about Justin ... "

"Oh? OH! Oh, fuck, man, I totally forgot about that!" Chris shook his head, not quite able to believe that wasn't the first thing on his mind when he saw Joey. "Man, he was, like, over-the-TOP excited at lunch yesterday, after you left. Musta been some kiss." He leered a little, and reminded himself that was how he had to handle this whole thing -- by being happy for his friends. "How did last night go? What'd you guys do?"

"Was he?" asked Joey with a slight grin. "I'm glad. I wasn't ... sure." He should have sorted out just exactly what he wanted to say and ask Chris BEFORE he showed up here this morning, so he wouldn't be at such a lost for words. He opened the fridge to get the milk and bought himself a little time. "You and him ... you had it good, didn't you?" he asked after a moment.

"Hey," Chris said softly, especially for him, as he paused in the middle of trying to get some coffee mugs down out of the cabinet. "Joey. I don't mind talking to you about that -- I *told* you that -- but ... well, look. If something happened, something bad, it'd probably be better for you just to tell me right off the bat, okay?" He wasn't sure why he was making that assumption, but there was something in Joey's voice that hinted at wistfulness and he wondered if Justin had been as bad at keeping his fond memories to himself as Chris had been.

"Nothing BAD happened," said Joey right away. "No, no, Justin was great and stuff. But ... well, I'm REALLY not used to being with someone -- especially in bed with someone -- and feeling like they're totally disappointed in me. In what I'm doing and in what I'm saying and in what I'm NOT saying and in the things I don't understand ... " He sighed. "You KNOW me, Chris, and you know I don't go around being all insecure, but dammit, I might have to START ... "

"Whoa," Chris said, frowning, dropping the mugs onto the counter with a bit of a clatter. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're right, you *don't* go around being all insecure, and you shouldn't be today, either. What in the world makes you think Justin is disappointed in you? I mean ... not that I have any clue what happened -- and maybe we should start there -- but ... you don't seem upset with HIM?" Chris looked at Joey questioningly to confirm that. "So he must not have done or said anything boneheaded to you. Please tell me he didn't."

Joey shrugged. "Of course not. He's Justin. He was just ... very 16. Chris, I need your help," he admitted, looking down for a minute. "And I will HURT you if you ever tell anyone I came to you for sex advice," he added after a moment, looking up again and grinning to show he was half joking, but ONLY half. "So how do I make Justin happy?"

"Um. Just a sec." Chris grabbed the coffee pot and filled both mugs, pulling the sugar out with his other hand as he did. Then he put a spooonful in his, paused, and dumped another one in. "Okay," he said, sitting down at the table and wincing when he burned his lip, thinking that this had the potential to be one of the most bizarre conversations he'd ever had, and willing himself not to be uncomfortable about it. Since it was obviously important enough to Joey that he risked asking something like that. "Okay. What makes you so sure you didn't? And, um ... are we getting detailed, here?"

"As detailed as we can," Joey assured him, then sighed as he sat down across from him. "He was pretty obviously disappointed, Chris. I mean, the first time I wasn't ready to get naked with him, and then the second time I wasn't ready to give him a blowjob. He's just ... he's so IMPATIENT. I need to catch up, and you're the only way I can think to be able to do that by, like, the next time I see him ... " Joey looked at him hopefully. "I just don't want to have to see that look on his face again, Chris, now that I know what it means. It's even worse than the one he got when I called him baby."

Chris winced again. "Oh, you didn't," he sighed softly, then gave Joey a brave smile. "Well ... probably the last time you'll do *that*, right?" He drank some more of his coffee and tried to make some sense out of the jumble of thoughts in his head while trying to ignore the tugging on his heart. "Look ... is he pushing you, or something? 'Cause, I mean, I *told* him that he needed to take stuff slow with you. And getting naked isn't ... exactly slow." He kicked out at Joey gently. "And I know I don't have to tell you this, but doing stuff you're not ready for -- even if you think it'll break his heart if you don't -- that's just a bad idea. I'll answer your questions, or whatever, but I'm not going to be able to make you comfortable with it if you're not."

"Yeah, I'm not going to risk any more terms of endearment, that's for sure," said Joey, sighing and looking down at his coffee. "Look, I don't know what to do here, Chris. I think he wants me to be YOU, and I'm just ... not. I don't know what he THOUGHT he'd be getting, when he went after me, but whatever it is, he's obviously not getting it. And I don't know whether to just give up now before it all goes bad, or try my fucking hardest to be ready for whatever he wants the next time I see him." He looked up then, seriously. "I'm NOT ready, Chris, but he's 16 and he's not exactly good at patience."

Chris bit his lip, feeling guilty, although he wasn't sure why. Because of what he'd had with Justin? Because he hadn't taught him better about waiting? Because *he'd* been the one to encourage Joey? "Joe, man," he started awkwardly. "He doesn't want you to be me. Really. I think ... he *can* be patient, you just have to ... tell him no. And not give in to the pouting. He won't be the one to give up on *you*, I promise." He frowned a little. "I'm really surprised he's being so impatient, actually ... that doesn't sound like him. Maybe ... don't get mad ... he just doesn't understand why being with him is any different than being with a girl, and since he sees how ... not slow ... you move with them?" He shrugged. "I know that's not fair, 'cause he's a *guy*, but ... Justin didn't ever really bother to get uncomfortable about it, so maybe he thought you wouldn't either."

"That doesn't make me mad, Chris," said Joey, shaking his head and sipping the coffee. "It's just ... am I supposed to feel like there's something wrong with me, that I can't get past that in, like, one DAY?" Whatever frustrations he hadn't let out in front of Justin were coming out now, to Chris, who Joey had ALWAYS ended up going to when he needed to work shit out. "I mean ... we both got off twice. And nevermind that the first time we weren't even undressed because it still HAPPENED. I mean, isn't that a long way to come from where I started?" He shook his head again, trying to make sense of it all. "Guys ARE different. They have different bits and they feel different and the talk different and they touch different and they act different and am I supposed to just NOT be kinda fazed by that? Not notice?"

"No, you are," Chris admitted. "It's just that HE wasn't. He's ... different, I don't know. If it makes you feel better, it took me forever to be able to come with the first guy I did anything with, I was so fucking nervous. Almost *couldn't*, actually. So the fact that you did -- the first day, and TWICE, no less" -- he looked at Joey appraisingly -- "naw, man. That *is* a long way. Which brings me back to what I was asking you before: what did he say, or *do*, that made you think he wasn't satisfied with that? I mean ... you both came twice, that seems like a good sign ... ? And hell. You let him suck you, I promise that made him happier'n a pig in shit."

"Yeah, it made him come," said Joey happily. "That was a good part of the night. It was just ... Justin things. Like moving away, and not wanting to tell me stuff, and ... he said something about wondering if I'd EVER be ready. That one kinda stung. Just a bunch of stuff like that. I mean, I didn't totally let it get to me or anything, but it adds up. And I'm not, like, invulnerable or something." He stuck to holding the warm coffee cup, not really wanting to drink it right now. "I think maybe you're right. I think maybe he thought I'd just ... be ready. Right away. Like I am with chicks. Or WAS, really, since I'm not exactly 'with chicks' anymore ... "

Chris looked at him speculatively. "Well, you're not *gay*," he pointed out. "So presumably, you could still be like that *with chicks*." Leaning forward a little, he scratched at his jaw. "Like I said, he just doesn't *get* not falling into it naturally. He just doesn't. I had to basically hold *both* of us back, when we got together, so things wouldn't happen too quickly and, like, blow up right off the bat. I ... think he's probably worried about pushing you, maybe more than you're worried about being pushed, but thinks that because he doesn't *say* anything, you won't know what he's thinking. I love that boy, but he can be too easy to read for his own good." Chris took a breath. "Just ... don't let him. Push you. Say no if you have to. Like I said ... he'll stick around. For you."

"Well, it doesn't MATTER if I'm gay or not," chuckled Joey. "I'm not with chicks, I'm with Justin. Probably for as long as he wants me, which won't be more than the next 24 hours if I don't figure out how to be good in bed with him," he groaned. "I know, I know, you say he'll stick around. I just don't know how you can read people like that, Chris. And then call it 'easy'. I CAN'T. You know I can't. Not even Justin -- especially not Justin, right now. He ... I think he's really hating that I, like, make him tell me stuff. But you know me, I just don't GET it unless I'm told right out."

Chris grinned, even as his mind started racing with the things that Joey's comment about being 'with' Justin implied. He wondered if Justin knew how seriously Joey was taking it. And whether that was what Justin hoped to get *out* of it. "Yeah, he gets pretty pissy sometimes if you make him own up to what's going on in his head. Especially when it's the stuff he wishes he wasn't thinking. He'll always be his own worst critic, though, even though he never believed me when I told him that." He sighed and let his mind wander for a moment, before turning his attention back on Joey and downing the rest of his coffee. "Anyway. Okay. How to be good in bed with Justin. Um ... well, what DO you think you're ready for?"

"I have NO idea," said Joey, giving Chris a grin. "I guess I'd better learn how to give a decent blowjob though. Listen, Chris...Justin doesn't know I'm here, but I don't want to, like, KEEP it from him or anything. Do you think he'd be cool with it if he knew? I mean ... I can admit to him that I was looking for advice .. but would he be willing to talk with me about it, you think? Before we do anything?"

"Talk with you about ... what, exactly?" Chris asked, his brow furrowing. "About how to give good head, or ... about what he and I had? Or about what you and I talk about? I'm not really sure why he wouldn't ... " Chris froze as something Joey said sparked something else in his head, and looked closer at Joey. "Wait. Wait. Bear with me: it's still early, and I'm slow. You're not ... I mean, when you say 'before we do anything,' are you suggesting that WE do something other than *talk*, right now? You-and-me 'we' as opposed to 'you and him' we? 'Cause I don't know, man, that'd be kinda ..."

"No, no, no," Joey protested quickly, "I didn't mean that at ALL Chris. Seriously. I just mean ... if Justin wants to try something, can I mention that it was something that you and I talked about, and maybe you suggested I try it in a particular way to make it easier for me? Or even say that you told me what to expect? Or would that just freak Justin out. Because I know it would be okay with ME, if *I* was in his position -- actually, I might be flattered -- but I'm not Justin and Justin's not me and I don't know NEAR as well as you how he'll react to stuff, is all."

"Oh," Chris said, relieved, and slumped back in his chair. "Okay. Good. Not that you're not hot, or anything, but ... good." He chewed on his lip for a minute, thinking about what Joey had asked, and *how* Justin might react to it. "I don't ... know," he admitted, looking at Joey apologetically. "It's hard for me to say, because I know in one respect it'll make him feel really self-conscious, to know that we were talking about him. I mean, I just *know* his mind'll go straight to thinking that we were swapping stories. But ... maybe if you just make it clear that I was helping you less about *him*, in particular, and more about guys in general? Would that work?"

"Oh yeah," said Joey, nodding. "Totally. I mean ... that IS what I'm here about, more than anything. To, like, figure out what to do with a guy, in bed. And the Justin stuff ... that's kind of a separate issue. Lessons on 'how to read Justin'. Huh. I could use some of those." He looked up and grinned at Chris again. "Thanks for being so cool about this, man. It feels really weird, asking. Usually when you and me are sitting at this table it's all about the chicks we got laid with the night before, you know?"

Chris snorted, thinking about the chick that he did NOT get laid with the night before. "It feels pretty weird being asked. Kinda deja-vu, but not." He closed his eyes, because he would not not NOT start thinking about that, about how all this started, even though it would be an impossible task given the subject matter. "Naw, it's cool. I really ... if I can't have him, I'd be happy that it was someone else I loved, you know, that got to be with him. So if I can help ... " he trailed off. "I'll do what I can. But -- let me just say this one more time -- I really think he's going to be happy with whatever you do. I know for a fact Justin can *show* you things I can't explain, and he'll be glad to do it. He *doesn't* expect you to know everything."

"I'm not trying to know everything," Joey assured him. He wanted to ask Chris if he wished he and Justin were still together, and WHY they weren't, again, but that would have been just TOO awkward. "I just ... don't even know where to START, with him. And it's a lot less intimidating asking you these questions at the kitchen table than asking Justin these questions when we're naked in bed." He did take a sip of the coffee, then, to steady his nerves a bit. "So. Blowjobs. Okay ... there was that ONE time, so I kinda know what it's like to have a dick in my mouth, and I've GOTTEN them, but I have NO idea how to do it. Seriously. And you and I both know that Justin SERIOUSLY outclasses me here. That's a bit, you know ... intimidating. Again."

"Yeah," Chris sympathized, scratching the table with his thumbnail. "Yeah. He sure as hell took to THAT like a duck to water. He really, really likes it. Really. I mean ... obviously! And that's kinda hot." He shared a look with Joey. "But ... look, okay. I mean, the trick is not to psych yourself out, first of all. You've got a talented tongue, you know you can drive a woman crazy with it ... don't focus on how it's different. Don't try to take too much in at once, until you're used to it ... just use your hand, or your fingers, and wrap them around ... " He paused and looked at Joey guiltily. "This sounds very generic, and ultimately not-helpful. I'm boring myself, in fact."

"No, it's helping," Joey assured him. "Actually, it's helping just having someone TALK about it. Like, just casually. So how do I not focus on how it's different. I mean, it's pretty OBVIOUSLY different. Or are you just saying, make sure I remember to use my tongue?" He raised an eyebrow at Chris, looking for confirmation. "And as for deep throating ... I'm SO not up for that yet."

"Did Justin do that to you?" Chris asked, not bothering to hide his surprise. "I mean, I know he *can*, he just ... doesn't. Usually. Which is no big deal because it's fantastic without, especially when he ... " Chris cleared his throat. "Mmm. We'll get to that, in a bit. But ... when I said that, about not thinking about how different it is? I just meant ... I mean, yeah, you want to use your tongue. But more, like, you just can't really be hesitant -- enthusiasm is, like, way more than half the battle. Make sure your lips aren't too dry, and you want your hand to be kinda slippery too, just like when you rub a girl's ... uh, clit. Right? There's totally such a thing as too much friction."

"He can?" said Joey, his eyes widening. "No ... he didn't ... wow." He grinned. "Are you sure he's actually just sixteen?" He toyed with his coffee cup again for a while, considering what Chris was telling him. "Okay ... so when your mouth is around it, though -- I've never gotten this -- HOW do you use your tongue really well?"

Chris stood up and grabbed to coffeepot, pouring himself another cup. "Well ... I mean, obviously, your range of motion is a little limited when you have his dick *in* your mouth. Then you pretty much just use it for suction, right? I mean, you can run it up the sides, and under the head and all, but that's almost more trouble than it's worth." He winced at the bitterness of the drink without any sugar. "Um, Joey? Look ... about that deep-throating thing ... don't ask him to, okay? 'Cause ... he'd do it, and he really shouldn't. His voice and all."

"I wasn't gonna ask," said Joey with a bit of a wistful smile. "I know what it's like. But ... I really don't think I'd have the strength to stop him if he tried." He toyed with the coffee cup again. "So ... enthusiasm. I ... " He chuckled. " That might be easier than I thought, at first."

Chris grinned back, but a little warily. "Okay ... ? What's THAT supposed to mean?"

Joey shrugged and looked down for a minute. "I just ... thought the guy thing would be a bigger obstacle than it is. And I thought the Justin thing would be harder. And I thought the 16 thing would be harder. Well ... the 16 thing kinda is. But the other two, they just, really, AREN'T. Not like I was worried they would be, you know?"

"Yeah," Chris smiled fondly at Joey. "And it'll only get easier, I think. Can I ask you a question? Why would the fact that it's JUSTIN be a big deal? Just 'cause of how long you've known him? And, um ... why is the age thing such an issue? Especially considering he's not a virgin, or anything ..."

"The age thing?" repeated Joey. "Just ... he's so IMPATIENT. He wants it all right now. And moody, too. But maybe that's just Justin." He grinned at Chris, knowing he would understand, knowing that he knew Justin better than anyone. "I was worried that maybe I knew him TOO well, and that I'd always, you know, though of him as a kid before."

"And I assume he's made you see the error of your ways," Chris teased. "One of his blowjobs'll do that. I'm just ... I still can't believe he's being so impatient, like you say." He stared at Joey intently. "Given how he's normally pretty sensitive, and the fact that I told him to be really understanding with you ... he must really, really get turned on by you. For him to act so out-of-character."

"Well, THAT'D be nice to believe," admitted Joey. "Still ... it makes it a little harder. Because I feel like I should be doing things with him that I'm not ready for, because he wants them so bad." He laughed, suddenly. "God. I sound like a virgin."

"You *do* sound like a virgin," Chris laughed. "What's up with that? Seriously, what's got you so nervous? Is it, like, the things that'll be involved physically? Or is it still a mental block against being with a guy? Or ... is it more that you're worried about not being as good as you want to be, right off the bat?"

"Yes," said Joey, then grinned at him. "Okay ... seriously ... um, there's this whole thing that we haven't talked about yet. And yeah, that's got me a little more nervous than the rest."

"Yeah, I figured ... " Chris said knowingly. "Cause the rest of it could be cured pretty quickly by that 16-year-old we know and love. Um. So. I take that to mean he didn't ... touch you, last night? And that other guy?"

"Actual virgin territory," said Joey with a bit of a sigh. "No one. Ever."

Chris leaned back in his chair. "You know enough about this to know that it WILL feel good, right? Once you're comfortable with the idea, and all?" Chris is actually a little surprised that Justin apparently didn't TRY that, last night ... if he was being as impatient as Joey said.

"I've been TOLD it'll feel good," said Joey, knowing it's not exactly the same thing. "And I know WHY it's supposed to feel good. I just can't ... quite ... imagine it." He looked down at his cooling coffee again, then back up at Chris. "I'm just being honest here. That's the thing that, you know, make me feel weird."

"No shit," Chris said, grinning. "Look, it's weird. It's a totally, totally weird concept. But ... look, first of all, let me say that no one is going to make you. Justin won't make you. If you don't ever want anything of his near that part of you, he'll be okay with that. It's not unheard of. Justin's one of the happiest bottom boys I've ever seen; you're set."

"I'm not ready to DO that to someone either, though," said Joey honestly. "Not until I know what I'm doing. But I'm thinking ... yeah ... that would be easier for my brain to take."

"Well," Chris chewed on his lip, "If it's not something you're going to want him to try, you might should tell him that. Or ... " he frowned. "I could tell him. Not that I think I should be getting involved in your sex life, but. He should know."

"That's not what I SAID," said Joey, grunting. "I just meant I'm not ready YET, because I don't know what I'm doing. Jeez. You and Justin, both jumping the gun all the time."

"I meant him, touching YOUR ass, buddy," Chris said, trying to be patient with Joey ... *knowing* he was uncomfortable, and uncertain, and not used to being either. "You want to talk about that, too?"

"I knew what you meant," muttered Joey. "Just because I'm not ready TODAY, doesn't mean I won't ever be. You're both just fucking rushing me here. It's like ... either I'm ready now, or I never will be. And it's not LIKE that." He didn't want his frustration at the whole situation to come out in his voice, but knew that it had.

"Hey," Chris said shortly, standing up and not caring that his chair scraped loudly against the floor. "I'm not rushing you to do shit. YOU came to ME, about this ... I'm just trying to help. But I feel like I'm talking out of my ass, because you're not *asking* me anything. You're just ..." He was going to say 'complaining,' but stopped himself. "Am I even going to be able to help you? At all? Will you LET me?"

"Wow," said Joey quietly, staring at him. "This was such a mistake. This WHOLE thing. You guys have both just, like, TOTALLY forgotten what it's like to be new to this and uncertain and a little fucking scared and not even KNOWING what to ask because you hardly know what's out there. I should never have listened to any of you."

It was Joey's calmer voice that got Chris's attention, and he frowned at himself. He WAS acting really badly, toward Joey, and he had no idea how it happened or why. He just hoped it wasn't out of too-fierce protectionism of Justin ... or even worse, jealousy. "Oh, Joe. I'm sorry. You're right. Fuck." He reached under the cabinet and grabbed a bottle of tequila. "Don't give up on Justin because I'm being a fuckhead. Please."

"I feel like I'm not doing anything right," admitted Joey. "And ... he's made me WANT this, like, really badly now ... only to realize that maybe I'm not ready to have it. It's a really fucked up feeling, Chris."

"Hey," Chris said softly, squeezing his shoulder. "It's okay. Relax. Like I told you when you got here, he was psychotically happy yesterday. Like, higher than I've ever seen him. I promise you're doing a lot of stuff right." He held up the bottle in offering to Joey as he grabbed a couple shot glasses from the drawer. "And ... hey. How did you leave it, last night?"

"What do you mean, how did I leave it?" asked Joey, eyeing the shot glasses and then the time. "You mean, before we went to sleep?"

Chris caught the gesture and grinned sheepishly. "Just one or two -- I never thought I'd say this, but I could use some relaxing myself, if we're gonna talk about this." He poured one for himself before what Joey had actually said, rather than done, registered. "Whoa. Wait. You spent the night?"

"Well yeah," said Joey, surprised that that seemed to surprise Chris. "I came over here after breakfast. Why?"

Chris looked at him, then closed his eyes and took the shot, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Nothing," he said softly. "Okay. I'll rephrase. How did you leave things, between you, this MORNING?"

"Oh, well, we had breakfast and I said good-bye to him and his mom and JC shot me dirty looks and then I headed home and had a shower and then came here. Things were fine. I think ... " He frowned at Chris. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Chris said again. "Just kick me in the ass, or the nuts, or somewhere painful, next time you think I'm giving you a hard time about taking things slowly. Okay? I'll deserve it." He shook his head and licked the shot glass clean. "So. You woke up with him, and he was happy? That all sounded fairly drama-free, with the exception of the drama queen himself."

"Well, it was, more or less," said Joey. "I didn't say there were all these dramas. Except maybe the ones inside me." He smiled then, thinking back to that morning. "He did seem pretty happy to see me there. But he made bad faces when I told him we probably shouldn't shower together."

Chris laughed. "I think he used to have shame. Whatever. He'll wear you down eventually. You seeing him today? Is that what this visit's about?"

"Well yeah, I'm supposed to hang out there again later," said Joey, sipping the coffee and avoiding the tequila. "But this VISIT, it's just about the whole thing, Chris. About me and suddenly being into guys and Justin and you being the ONLY person I can talk to about this."

"Are we starting it over, then?" Chris asked hopefully, jumping up onto the counter. "I'm done being a punk-ass. I want to help. So ... " he started swinging his legs, "you think you might try something today, then?"

"Well, I was thinking tonight it might be kinda nice for him if I TRIED giving him a blowjob," admitted Joey. "At least that, it's not TOTALLY alien to me, you know? But ... I'm not sure what he's goign to try. That's why I'm just kinda fishing for ... information. About anything. Including the things that still make me uncomfortable."

"Ahhh," Chris said, nodding. "Okay. I'm getting this now. First off ... yeah, it might be nice to give it a shot. Um ... just do it where he's laying down ... less chance of thrusting than if he's standing. And take your time, and don't worry about swallowing. Justin'll tell you when he's going to come, he wouldn't EVER want someone doing that who didn't want it. He might even pull you off, if he convinces himself you don't."

"Well," said Joey, trying not to sound embarassed. "Here's to hoping I get him that far, then. I just want him to be happy, Chris. Seriously. I just want US to be happy."

Chris's face was a bit of a mask. "I know," he said, more lightly than he felt. "You will be. Don't do it tonight if it doesn't feel right. But if you do ... don't worry that you won't get him 'that far.' As you're so fond of pointing out, he's 16."

Joey grinned. "Okay, yeah, good point," he said. "Can I ask you something personal?"

Chris groaned inwardly. "You can ask," he said, not bothering to mask his hesitation that time.

"Is there anything that he really likes, that I should do? Or anything that he DOESN'T like, that I shouldn't?" asked Joey nervously, wondering if those questions were crossing some sort of unspoken line.

Chris let himself smile. "I wouldn't call him 'baby'," he teased, hoping it was something he could joke about. "No, seriously? I don't ... it's hard to really say. You're talking about, like, in the context of giving him a blowjob, right?"

Joey sighed sadly. "I only called him baby because I wanted him to feel special," he murmured, looking down for a moment. "I meant in the context of anything, actually," he said, raising his voice to normal speaking level. "Just ... anything that I should know."

"Shit," Chris muttered, jumping off the counter to kneel beside Joey. "I know what you were doing. He does, too. You just ... I mean, I know it felt natural, but you need to try and be careful with that. It's practically the only thing that bothers him. You guys'll find names for each other soon enough. But if I hear 'pookie' come out of either of your mouths, I'm quiting."

"I know that," said Joey. "He told me the same thing. I'm just really screwing up, Chris, and I need your help."

"Shh," Chris said, rubbing Joey's thigh a little awkwardly. "You're not. You're okay. I promise you're okay. Look ... he *likes* you. He *wants* you. If he wanted what I had to offer? what I had, that I could tell you to do? He'd be with me. He's not, though, Joey. Do you get that?" "No," said Joey. "I DON'T get that, Chris. Why aren't you together?"

Chris looked down at the floor. "We talked about this already. I TOLD you this already. And I know he did, too. Look ... it doesn't matter. I'm *telling* you he wants you. Don't question it."

"I know he does," said Joey, nodding. "He shows it, when he's with me. I mean, we wouldn't DO those things, if he didn't. It's just a little overwhelming, Chris, is all. Two days ago I wasn't even considering this. And now I'm DOING it. So ... any advice you can give me, I'll gladly take, okay buddy?"

"Okay," Chris nodded, plopping down on the tile at Joey's feet and pulling his legs up to sit indian-style. Making this easier for Joey would make it better for Justin, which justified all of this to Chris. Plus it didn't hurt that he *was* getting to give Joey sex advice, which was something he could teasingly hold over his head for a while. "Well, first ... you know about the ears, right? And ... as much as he hates his hair, you can -- you *should* -- definitely play with it, if you want, in bed. Use it as leverage, whatever. You don't even really have to be gentle. But ... *don't* tug on it if he's going down on you. That's never cool." He looked at Joey speculatively a minute. "There's some other stuff, if you want me to keep going ... ?"

"Yeah, yeah, definitely," Joey said eagerly. "I figured out that hair thing last night, though. He was just REALLY happy with that -- it'll have to be a little longer if I wanted to grip it, though." He sipped the coffee again as he waited for Chris to go on, wondering what he was going to tell him next.

"Heh, right," Chris nodded, and started pulling at his shorts. "Okay, this is a little ... I dunno, harder to describe. But, like ... you know how he's so sensitive about being treated like a kid, around us, or whatever? Like, it's the reason he works out so much and tries to act really mature and all? That kinda ... doesn't translate the same way when you get him in bed. He just really likes being petted, and ... babied, a little. Like, pull him into your lap, lots; make sure you're always the one grabbing HIM if he tries to pull away." Narrowing his eyes a little, he looked Joey up and down critically. "You can probably still pick him up. That's good. Do it. Hold him up against a wall and fu -- just kiss him. Or whatever. The idea is that he's still not entirely comfortable with growing up, so he likes it when he can let his guard down and still BE the younger, littler one in bed."

"Really?" said Joey, surprised. "I ... I REALLY wouldn't have guessed that." He thought back, though, to how Justin had acted in bed with him, and it made sense. It made sense of a lot of things. He chuckled self-consciously, though. "It's kinda hard to baby him when I'm relying on HIM to show me what I'm supposed to be doing," he admitted. "He's good to hold, though. He really likes to curl up against a person, huh."

Chris sighed. "Yeah. He does. Was it nice, sleeping with him?" He thought a little more, trying to figure out what else Joey should know. "I'm not really sure what else to tell you, man. Just let HIM treat YOU well -- that makes him happier than anything else. And ... don't give up on coming up with something to call him, something special for the two of you. That'll ... it'll mean a lot to him."

"That's not something I'm gonna TRY for, Chris," said Joey honestly. "It kinda backfired too badly. Maybe it'll just happen some time, I dunno." He put the coffee down and pushed it away, then fiddled with the knee of his pants nervously. "Can you tell me about sex, Chris? Just so I know?"

Chris laughed, then put a hand over his mouth quickly. "I'm sorry. I'm not laughing at you, that just ... seemed kinda surreal, there, for a second. Um." He leaned his head back into another one of the chairs, still sitting comfortably on the floor. "Sure, sex, okay. I guess ... probably should start with you doing it to him, huh, since you're still not sure about the other ... ? Okay. Anyway. The big thing is that guys usually need a little more ... attention ... than chicks do, before you just stick it in and go to town. I mean, those are pretty tight muscles you gotta manuever around, so you normally gotta try and stretch them a little, first. With your finger. FingerS, I guess. Which should be lubricated with *something*. With Justin, you can probably just suck on them, or whatever. But if he does it to you, he'll probably use real lube. He should, at least." Chris thought for a second. "Maybe I should go grab you some? Just in case?"

Joey was kinda paralyzed for a moment, then flushed and nodded. "Don't know if we're gonna be going there but yeah ... just in case. Maybe." He squirmed a little in his seat, knowing that Chris had DONE it, probably many times. And obviously liked it. "Am I totally embarassing myself here," he asked awkwardly, "or can I keep asking things until I get it?" He was picturing doing that to Justin, now, and the idea was kinda turning him on. He wanted the idea of Justin doing it to him to turn him on, too.

Chris put a hand on Joey's knee and squeezed it gently. "I promise I don't mind you asking me this stuff," he assured him. "I don't expect you to know anything about this. Am I being too ... like, preachy, or something? Or know-it-all? Cause I promise I'm not trying to." He went on anyway. "Okay, so ... you use a finger or two, or three, whatever, and just ... stretch him out, gently. You can get his prostate, if you want -- it's a little tricky to find, but just curl your fingers up toward you if he's on his back and you'll get it eventually -- but don't do that too much if you want him to come when you're actually *doing* it." His voice got a little deeper for a second. "And for God's sake, Joey, use a condom when you DO do it. Don't fuck around with this. I mean it. If I find out you didn't I will kick your ass. And don't bother getting all indignant 'cause you know I'm justified in giving you shit about it."

Joey glared at him for a minute. "I'm not a moron, Chris. And it's not like JUSTIN has exactly been keeping it in his pants all this time." Joey knew he didn't exactly have a perfect record with using condoms in the heat of the moment, but this was JUSTIN. It was different. Then he sighed and nodded, acknowledging what Chris was saying to him. "So ... um ... what does it feel like, Chris? Being the one who's ... you know ... GETTING it?" It was awkward asking that, too, but at least he COULD, with Chris.

Chris smiled a little, not bothering to get bent out of shape about JOEY getting bent out of shape about the condoms. It needed to be said. "It's really good," Chris said simply, honestly, in response to his question. "It's hot. I mean, to have someone touching you in all these places that haven't been touched, can't be touched accidentally ... you can feel it in your back, your gut, you know? And shit, man ... that prostate thing? Way, WAY cool. The whole thing is kinda ... liberating. You really have to lose control, and that's pretty sexy. And plus ... fuck, man. Justin's hips. That's all, ALL I'm saying."

Joey squirmed in his seat again. "So it's worth it then? To give it a shot? Even though I'm still kinda ... nervous? I'm gonna have to trust your judgment on this one, Chris, because I just don't have the first clue about my ass." He chuckled at the way that came out. "You know what I mean. How long before YOU ... you know ... did that?" He couldn't believe he couldn't say the words, when he'd always been VERY blunt about sex, and he hoped it wouldn't be long before he could. It was easy to say ... when it wasn't about HIM.

"Let somebody fuck me?" Chris grinned. "Um ... it took a while, kinda. But, I mean ... I'd had guys AND girls, like, finger me before, so it wasn't TOO weird. My first time, though, I waited ... until it was a guy I was kinda seeing in school. Someone I trusted. Someone who had *done* it before, too ... that's huge. I actually let him do me before I ever was ... uh, the top." He shrugged unconcernedly even as he looked at Joey with appraising eyes. "Made the whole thing easier. Justin, I think, would be really great as *your* first time, if you think you might try it. Um. How much detail have you guys gone into, about what he's done? And with who?"

"Um, none?" offered Joey, thinking about what they had talked about ... how LITTLE they had talked about, really. "We didn't spend a lot of time talking about it. Maybe that's something we SHOULD do, you think? He seems to like DOING a lot more than talking." He thought about what it would be like, with Justin. "If we're being honest," he said slowly, "and I know we are ... I'm a little worried Justin will go too fast, if it's something he really wants. And that's something I just DON'T want to do fast. Maybe ... fingers ... I dunno ... " He looked down again, considering THAT, and when he might be ready. "You should talk to him," Chris said a little softer. "You should talk to him no matter what. But ... look, I can tell you this: that *that* kind of sex? What we're talking about? He's only ever done with me. And not for lack of opportunity. So ... you can take that however you like, but I doubt seriously he'll push for it quickly." He watched Joey to see how he'd take THAT news. "Look, he's gonna be okay with blowjobs. Really. He might want *you* to use your fingers, but he won't expect you to want that yourself, unless you say."

"Oh," said Joey quietly. He wasn't quite sure what to make of that, except that Justin thought sex -- anal sex -- was special. And that Chris was special. But he'd already known THAT. "Well ... yeah. We'll talk about it, then. So if I do, you know, use my fingers in him, is there anything else I should know? I mean, I know how to finger a woman just fine, but this is a little different. I don't want to hurt him." He made a face and looked down, thinking maybe he should try some stuff out on himself and see if he liked it at all before he asked Justin to do it. But he didn't have the first clue how to go about THAT, either.

Chris's expression softened. "You won't hurt him. It'll be fine. Look ... he's gonna be really turned on, by the time you get to that point, so he'll be relaxed. And he's had things ... well, *A* thing, I guess, way bigger than your fingers ... in there, so he's used to it. He'll probably be kinda tight, since ... I guess, it's been a while ... " Chris paused, wondering about that for a minute, not sure *himself* exactly who else's fingers Justin had accepted like that, even including Justin's own. "Just be gentle, to start. He'll tell you to do it harder if he wants. Just, like I said before, make sure you've got your finger pretty slicked up. And if you're just doing it to get him off? Instead of getting ready to fuck him? Then it really *is* kinda like fingering a girl. You've got plenty practice."

Joey nodded, still staring at his knees. "You think he'd like it, if I offered?" he asked carefully. "Because I think I could maybe do THAT, without getting too uptight. I mean, if I can find his prostate I'm set, right?" He looked up at Chris hopefully. "I won't make an utter fool of myself or anything?" Because the last thing he wanted to do was make a fool of himself in bed ... but maybe it could be fun, just trying things out until they were right, if Justin was willing to just do that with him. If it wouldn't make him feel too weird.

"I *know* he would like it, if you offered," Chris replied gently. "He'd really be ... honored, I guess, as strange as that sounds. He'd feel special." He grinned at Joey, then. "Man, I'm so not used to seeing you like this. Have a little faith in yourself! It's not hard, and Justin'll help you. And it'll be worth it, Joe, to see him squirming on your hand. Really." Chris's face got a little flushed, but he was going to blame it on the tequila. "I think you'll find that this idea of fucking him? It's gonna be a matter of WHEN, and not IF, after you see that. It's ... um. Arousing. Yeah."

"Okay, it's like this," said Joey, gesturing aimlessly with his hands. "I'm in bed. With JUSTIN. And he knows more than me. If there was ever ANYthing in this whole world that's gonna make me insecure? That's it." He grinned at Chris, even through his awkwardness. "At least I'm not being a TOTAL pussy. I mean, I have been naked with him, and done stuff. It's just like my first time all over again. It FEELS like that. And I'm, like, way behind where I should be, as far as knowing how to get someone off is concerned. I mean, I bet I could jerk him off like a pro -- I've been doing THAT for years -- but everything else pretty much is all new."

Chris laughed. "I know. Dude, the getting naked is the hard part, really. Or, it was for me. I dunno, Justin I guess was more like you? ... dropping his boxers as soon as I looked at him. Must be nice to be that confident in your body." He grinned again and lay back on the floor. "You''ll be fine. To keep our running theme going ... he's 16. He's really, really happy to be getting groped however he can. And it's probably really exciting to feel like he *can* show you stuff, since he knows he defers to your superior knowledge, or experience, on almost everything else. Just count your blessings, man, and go with it."

"You saying you're not?" asked Joey, poking Chris with his toe. "Confident in your body? Because you're sure as hell cocky about everything else!" he added, grinning. "I AM just going with it, Chris. I'm just figuring out HOW to go with it. I just didn't want to disappointand all. So thanks. For the advice and the ego stroking and the rest. You mind if I hang for a while, though?"

"Nope," Chris stretched. "Got the new Final Fantasy, if you want." He wondered, briefly, if he actually did any good, and then just decided to suck it up and ask. "Did that ... actually help, at all? Sorry for being a little ... impatient, or whatever, earlier. It just took me a little while to figure out what you wanted. Or needed. Look." He sat up and rested his chin on Joey's knee. "Just *talk* to him. He'll make you feel better about it than I ever could. He's just ... the sweetest thing, ever."

"Sweetest, *horniest* thing ever," corrected Joey with a grin and a shake of his head. "I WILL talk to him, but at least now I have a starting place. Thanks Chris." He shifted in his chair a little and took a quick assessment of how he was feeling. "You've made it easier to picture, and maybe to do. So yeah, thanks ... you helped a lot."

"Well, if it's *picturing* you wanted, I've got some great gay porn you should check out ... " Chris laughed merrily at Joey's expression. "Just kidding. I don't. C'mon, lemme kick your ass for a bit before you run off to test all this new-found confidence." He stood all the way up and looked back at Joey briefly, seriously, as he made his way into the living room. "You're welcome," he said softly, almost grudgingly, but not quite. "Just treat him good."

"He's JUSTIN," said Joey, as though that should alleviate ALL Chris's fears. "Of course I'm gonna treat him good." He got up out of the kitchen chair and stretched, the grinned at Chris lazily. "Kick MY ass? In your dreams, Kirkpatrick. Let's go."

---

Justin winced as he pulled his hat down over his brand-new cartiliage piercing, before deciding avoiding the possible yelling-at from his mom wasn't worth the discomfort. He barely had time to run a comb through his hair to fix it when the doorbell rang. He bounded down the stairs, ignoring his mom's comment about why Joey was coming over so much, and threw open the door with one of his patented grins. "I *missed* you," he told Joey happily, throwing his arms around him and knocking him backwards down the steps a little. "All DAY I missed you."

Joey laughed and held himself back from calling Justin 'sparky', figuring that was another one that would just make Justin sulk, even thought it seemed to fit the moment. "Me too," he said quietly. "Careful, I can hear your mom from here." He did squeeze him back, though, and gave him a gentle shove back toward the house. "So what's the plan for tonight? Who all's home right now?" He peered in the door, looking to see if he could spot JC or Lance.

Justin shoved Joey back, a little, then reached out to grab his hand and pull him inside. He let go reluctantly, but knew Joey was still nervous about his mom. And JC, for that matter, after all those dirty looks that morning. "It's JC's turn to be out on a date," Justin told him, grinning as they walked through the hall. "And Lance is pouting in his room, for some reason. So the basement's ours, or the pool ... whatever." He smiled again, did a little pivot, and pretended to flip his hair over his shoulder like a girl. "So? Notice anything different?"

"Huh?" said Joey, staring at him a little. Then he reached out and touched Justin's ear. "Oh, hey, is this new?" he asked, grinning at him. "That's really cool Justin, when did you do that?" He touched his waist for just a moment, inconspicuously. "Let's go downstairs. Your mom kinda likes to come outside when we're out there, and that wouldn't be cool if it's just us."

Justin couldn't stop grinning if he tried, at that point, that Joey had noticed his new piercing. The one that pretty much exactly matched Joey's, although he had a hoop already and Justin'd have to wear a stud for the next several weeks. "Today," he said, a little shyly, before unneccessarily adding "It's like yours." Then he blushed, and buried his face in Joey's back as he nudged him toward the stairs to the basement. "I missed you," he repeated again, then blushed even more furiously.

Joey grinned even wider. Chris was right again -- he WAS just the sweetest thing. "It looks good," he said honestly, thinking maybe Justin might like to hear that. "You look cool." He looked around to make sure that no one could POSSIBLY see him, then turned around and kissed him swiftly before heading down the stairs. "We gonna watch a movie or something? Or maybe play video games? Or ... something else?"

"There's baseball on," Justin shrugged, thundering down the stairs after Joey once he recovered from the unexpected kiss. And the compliment. He couldn't stop touching his own lip with his fingers, either, he realized as he turned on the light. "And, um, I think there's still beer down here from the other night, if you want ... ? Or ... " He shrugged again, and gave him a wary smile. "You know. Whatever."

"Yeah, baseball's cool," said Joey. "Bet the beer's piss-warm though. Maybe we shoulda grabbed something before we came down here?" He flopped down on the couch, then pulled the remote control out from under his ass. "So ... um ... am I staying over again?" he asked, figuring he'd get that out of the way right away, so he'd know where things were at. Maybe figure out where to go from here.

"Yes," Justin said without hesitation, then went on a little more cautiously, remembering that he was supposed to be *patient*. "Um, if you want to, that is." He smiled, and ran a hand up Joey's arm as he walked behind the couch. "You want me to go get you something to drink? Or, um ... I could make you some nachos. Anything you want." He stood in front of Joey for a minute, then sat down on the floor at his feet, looking up at him. "What'd you do today?"

"I just went home for a bit then hung out with Chris," said Joey, putting his feet up on the couch. "Kicked his butt at Final Fantasy. Made fun of that ugly-ass rug he has in the hall. You know, the usual." He gnawed on one of his nails, wondering if Justin was going to ask about what he and Chris talked about, because he knew he'd tell him if he did. "Actually, could you grab a couple of cokes for us? Or I could ... "

Justin hopped to his feet quickly, putting a hand on Joey's thigh when he did. "No, I'll get it for you. I told you I would." He smiled, and leaned down in tentative jerks to press their lips together. He pulled back after a moment and sighed, then looked at Joey apologetically and crawled over into his lap, kissing him deeper. "I'll get it for you in just a second, 'kay?"

Joey grinned and wrapped an arm around his waist, keeping him right where he was. "I don't need a coke after all," he said and kissed him right back. "Did you close the door at the top of the stairs?" He glanced over at the stairs, nervous for a moment, but there was no one uninvited standing there.

Justin's smile faded a little, but he nodded almost obediantly. "Yeah, I did," he said softly, leaning over to steal another kiss and then straightening back up to play with Joey's necklace, not at all wanting to ask what Joey was scared or ashamed of. "So. How was Chris? How'd his, uh, date go?"

"Good," said Joey, kissing his nose. "I wouldn't want your mom coming down to do laundry or something and catching us making out." He pulled Justin closer again, back onto his lap. "I didn't actually ask Chris about his date," he said, stealing kisses between his words. "It can't have gone THAT well, though ... he was alone when I went over there."

"Huh," Justin muttered, trying to appear interested but not *too* interested. It wasn't his business anyway, who Chris saw, and he could ask him himself if he decided he needed to know. Sighing, he snuggled happily into Joey's embrace instead, trying to curl his long legs up underneath him. "I didn't know you weren't really doing anything today. You should've come over *here*, instead. *We* could've played Final Fantasy."

"Well, I WAS doing something," said Joey, kissing the tip of his nose tenderly again. "I was seeing Chris. I, um, asked him about some stuff, too. Like, we talked." He saw a strange expression cross Justin's face again and tried to kiss it away. "You can ask me about it if you want," he added. "It's nothing I won't tell you."

"You can *tell* me about it, if YOU want," Justin replied warily, wondering why he hadn't realized that there was probably a reason Joey had gone over to Chris's at what was, apparently, first thing that morning. "I guess ... I mean, it was about me, huh. You guys were, um, talking about me? Were you still mad at me, about last night, or something?"

Joey made sure Justin was firmly in his arms and in his lap before speaking. "No, no ... it was kinda about you, yeah," he admitted. "But not exactly. Okay. Um ... don't laugh?" He gave Justin a pleading look, but didn't wait for an answer. "I just ... when we go to bed together tonight ... I kinda wanted to be able to do something for you. So I asked Chris for advice. SEX advice." He grinned sheepishly. "And believe me, he is NEVER gonna let me live that down. And I knew that, before I went over, but ... I guess maybe I wanted to impress you a little. Make you happy."

Justin sat, blinking and a little speechless. "You wanted to ... what?" He couldn't quite get his mind around that, having Joey talk to Justin's ex-lover -- not to mention someone he had to see every *day* -- about what he liked in bed. It was either kinda creepy or just the nicest thing anybody'd ever done for him. Either way, it was making him horny, and he had to shift in Joey's lap. "God, Joey, you didn't have to do that," he grinned, blushing again when he realized how giddy he sounded. "That's really cool, though. Wow. Uh ... what'd he say?"

Joey chuckled at himself and almost didn't answer. "Um ... God ... he told me how to give a blowjob, okay? So I wouldn't totally fuck up and embarass myself. Which I'm already DOING, actually ... dammit."

Justin leaned forward and kissed Joey deeply. "I can't believe you did that for me. I can't believe you spent so much time THINKING about it. I didn't ... I really had no idea you were, like, *planning* that." He kissed him again, sucking on his lip. "Don't be embarrassed, Joey. That's too distracting."

"I just admitted I asked Chris for advice on how to give my boyfriend a blowjob. Wouldn't YOU be embarassed?" Joey grinned and kissed him back, still holding him tightly. "I'm not ... promising anything," he added. "But I think I at least want to try."

"You missed out if you didn't get him to *show* you," Justin teased. "Although I guess we already established you've had plenty of 'demonstrations,' right?" He squirmed against Joey's frame some more, pushing them both deeper into the couch. "And you're gonna make me wait until we go to bed? You're mean."

"Well, I'm not gonna try it HERE," said Joey, laughing in surprise. "Someone could come IN, Justin. I'm ... looking forward to bedtime though." He winked at Justin and kissed him again.

Justin tried, but not very hard, to keep from moaning. "*I'll* try it in here," he muttered, slinking a hand between their bodies and rubbing the heel against Joey's groin, just beside his cock. "You just gotta be quieter, this time."

"That WAS quiet," protested Joey. "Fuck. I need my own place." He was going to say that Justin needed his own place, too, forgetting for all of 5 seconds that Justin was NOT going to get his own place at 16. "Are you gonna make me come in my pants again?"

"You want me to?" Justin countered, stretching a little straighter out on top of Joey's body, grunting when he rubbed his erection into the muscle of Joey's thigh. That wasn't exactly what he was referring to, or what he had in mind, but he would do anything Joey asked for.

Joey kissed him again, a little less hungrily. "I want to wait until we get into bed," he said honestly, catching Justin's eyes. "Right now I just want to make out a little and maybe talk and watch some TV. And relax around each other so we can, like, touch without it being a big erotic deal." He sighed and grinned. "Except that ALL your touches turn me on, now."

Justin sighed too, just like Joey, and smiled at him as he rolled behind him on the sofa. Then he pretended to yawn and look at his watch. "Wow, would you look at the time?" he teased, then kissed Joey's cheek and reached down to adjust himself. "I'm kidding. What you said, that all sounds nice. You still have the remote?"

"Um ... I tossed it somewhere," he confessed, looking around. "It was digging into my ass." He spotted it a moment later and stretched out his arm to its very limit to pick it up. "How about you lay on top of me?" he said, turning his head to face Justin as he handed over the remote. "Unless that's uncomfortable. "I can, um, hold you better that way ... and still see the TV."

"Priorities, right?" Justin grinned, then clambored back on top of Joey's torso. "Must be a rough life ... laying around on your back ... remote in hand, not a care in the world, cute guy smothering you to death ... You sure I'm not too heavy?" He blushed when he saw Joey wince after elbowing him on accident. "Sorry."

"S'okay," said Joey, adjusting their positions a little. "You're definitely not too heavy for this. You're just right." He wrapped his arms around him again and rested Justin's head against his chest, turning his own head towards the television. "I'm pretty comfortable. You?"

Justin nodded, and closed his eyes as he breathed in Joey's faint cologne and all his other smells, toying with the buttons on his shirt. "Very good," he murmured. "Don't let me fall asleep, though." He didn't think he would -- he was too wired, being this close to Joey -- but their shared body heat was really relaxing.

"What if I WANT you to fall asleep on top of me?" asked Joey, kissing the top of his head. "I think that would be really nice, having you there. Feeling all warm and safe."

"Nuh-uh," Justin raised his head, pouting while at the same time wondering how Joey knew that was how it made him feel. "Don't tease, like that. I want to fall asleep with you upstairs. AFTER we do ... stuff. So ... entertain me. What else did Chris say?"

"It's embarassing," said Joey again, tickling Justin's side gently. "I ... kinda asked him about sex, too."

Justin screeched softly and tried to duck out of the way of Joey's fingers, stopping a little abruptly when Joey said that. "SEX sex?" His brow furrowed but his heart was beating a little faster. "That's ... THAT'S not something you want to do tonight, though, right?" He asked a little warily, definitely fazed.

"No," said Joey, shaking his head. "No ... I'm really not ready for anything like that. I just ... didn't know ANYTHING about it, really. And I was there ... so I asked. More or less." He kissed Justin's head again. "Just getting a head start, I guess."

"Oh," Justin breathed, processing that. He was a little surprised at how seriously Joey was taking all of this -- referring to Justin as his boyfriend the night before, getting sex advice, actually considering being intimate like THAT at some point in the future? He swallowed. "Um, Joey? I haven't really ... I mean, I'm not *so* experienced with that either." He wondered curiously just how many guys Joey thought he HAD slept with.

"Yeah," said Joey. "That's a bit of a relief, actually. Not that I thought you HAD. Just that ... I don't feel QUITE so outclassed." He pulled Justin up closer so he could kiss his lips. "Mostly he told me I should talk to you about it," he added with a smile. "But he did tell me SOME stuff."

"It's not a *contest*," Justin murmured, wondering why Joey was so easily bothered by being embarrassed, or not being good at the sex stuff right off the bat. "So, wait ... he TOLD you he's the only guy I slept with? Just like that?"

"Is he?" asked Joey seriously, looking Justin in the eye.

"Yes," Justin said softly, meeting Joey's gaze then looking away. "But I don't see how that's something that's any of his business to tell you. Does that ... matter?"

Joey shook his head. "He didn't tell me as some kind of gossip, Justin. I don't even think he meant to. It's just ... the thing I'm MOST nervous about. Like, by far. And I think he was trying to reassure me that I wasn't going to mess everything up. I mean, this is all after he told me what it felt like to have someone inside him. So ... don't be mad, okay?"

Justin scooted back down a little and licked at Joey's chin, relieved. "I'm not mad. It just felt weird. FEELS weird, to know you guys were talking about me so much, and private stuff like that. I don't know." He tongued Joey's throat a little too. "And you're supposed to let *me* reassure you that you won't mess anything up, anyway."

"We didn't really talk about you, Justin," Joey told him, stroking his cheek. "We talked about sex. I asked him questions so I wouldn't have to be all clumsy with you and not know what I was doing. I wanted ... to make you feel as good as you made me feel last night. Honest."

"Promise?" Justin murmured. "Promise, Joey? Cause, I mean, I know you've never done this before. I *know* that. I just thought ... I kinda thought you wanted me to show you how. Or something."

Justin's smile spread broadly across his face. "Stop," he said firmly, kissing Joey's lips. "Stop," he repeated, a little slower, licking up along Joey's ear. "Just stop," he eventually whispered, biting gently at his throat. "I'm not going to laugh, or leave; I'm just going to be very, very eager to see what you *can* do."

"Thanks," said Joey, tilting his head back to give Justin better access to his throat. "I think I really needed to hear that. I, um, AM going to try tonight. A blowjob, I mean. And I'm not going to be freaked out and I'm not going to worry and I'm just going to do all the stuff that I think'll make us feel good. Promise." He lowered his head again and captured Justin's lips. "I may need a little encouragment from time to time, though."

Justin smiled into the kiss. "I think you'll find that I'll do pretty much whatever I can to encourage you," he giggled, before resting his cheek on Joey's chest again -- feeling much, much better about whatever Joey's conversation with Chris had been about. He'd have to remember to thank Chris, too, because Joey was being much more relaxed, and physical, and it felt wonderful. After a minute, however, he had to turn his head and face the other direction. "My ear hurts," he sighed, sticking his lower lip out.

"Sorry," whispered Joey, stroking his back gently. "Anything I can do to make it better?" He shifted his hips again so the pressure on his slightly-swelling dick wasn't quite as great. He was quite comfortable, though, with Justin's weight against him. "You can get up, if you want, but I like you right where you are."

"No, I don't want to get up," Justin sighed, nuzzling his nose into Joey's chest, then poking the tip of his tongue through the gap between the buttons of his shirt. "That's not going to help. Would ice help, do you think?" He stared intently at Joey's chest, even though his face was so close to it it made his eyes blurry, and then slowly unbuttoned one of the buttons. "And I still owe you a coke."

"Ice'll help a little," said Joey, squirming and laughing softly as Justin's nose and tongue tickled him. "Mostly I think you just have to wait, and make sure it doesn't get infected. Mine never hurt much, so I'm not sure. My eyebrow did, though." He slipped a hand up under Justin's shirt so he could touch the skin of his back. "I'm in no hurry for that coke, though ... "

Justin pressed his lips to the bare skin he could reach, again, and spread his hands out along Joey's ribcage. He could feel Joey's heartbeat under his cheek, and it felt so warm and nice and intimate that it didn't even occur to him to be embarrassed about seeming wimpy about his ear. "I like your eyebrow ring. It's cool. How long are you gonna keep it? You ever think about getting something else pierced?"

"Well, I'm planning on keeping it for good," said Joey in surprise. "Or at least until I'm old and it looks silly. I can't think of anything else I want pierced right now. I'd get more tattoos, though," he mused. "If I thought of something else cool to get." He kissed the top of Justin's head again and lifted one hand higher to cup the back of his neck.

"Yeah, I want a tattoo," Justin agreed eagerly. "I just don't really know what. Or, um, where to get one. Or how!" He laughed. "I'd have to find someplace that would do it, even though I'm not old enough. Although that's the kind of place maybe you don't *want* doing it." He reached up behind his head and covered Joey's hand with his own. "Would you ... you think maybe you would go with me? Could you do that?"

"Yeah, sure, I'd take you," said Joey easily, grinning, stroking the skin of Justin's back again. "Mama Harless'll have my ass for corrupting her little boy, though, but you're old enough to know what you want to do. Think about it a little more, though, okay? Make sure you know what you want, cause it's gonna be on your body, like, forever."

"I know," Justin told him, shivering a little with the cool air in the basement and the sensations of Joey's palm brushing lightly along his back. "I went with Chris to get one a while ago. It was neat. The guy that did it was pretty cool, he let me watch and all, and ... um, you know. Didn't care if Chris was, like, touching me. During." He blushed and unbuttoned another button on Joey's shirt. He'd almost gotten one that day, actually, before Chris had a bout of guilty conscience. It was going to be a tiny angel, right on the small of his back.

Joey felt a little nervous at the mention of Chris, knowing THAT was really what he would be measured against. "I think it would be kinda hard to ... touch .... someone while getting a tattoo. It'd be nice to have a hand to hold, though. It can get a little intense." He tilted Justin's chin up and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "Maybe we'll go together some time, if you want."

"I would *love* that," Justin breathed, his eyes sparkling when he opened them after the kiss. He remembered what Chris had looked like, his glazed expression, and how horny he'd been after they got home. After Justin stopped pouting over Chris telling the tattoo guy that he wasn't old enough to get one, that is. Joey was *kinda* the same way, worried about what his mom would say, but he also seemed to give in to Justin when he wanted to do stuff. So far, at least. "How about this weekend? What should I get?"

"Justin," said Joey gently. "When I said think about it a while, I meant more than a few days. Don't just CHOOSE something. Only get one if it's something you really want, okay? That's, like, the BEST tattoo advice that anyone ever gave me." He kissed him again, seeing a frown crossing Justin's face. "But when you DO know, I'll take you. It's not about being a kid or anything, it's just about being sure of what you want."

"Oh, okay," Justin said, a little disappointed, but willing to listen to Joey on the matter. He really *didn't* have anything he could think of that he wanted. Maybe if sometime *Joey* came up with a good name for him, that would be a cool tattoo, he could get THAT -- he smiled at the thought of telling Joey that would be what he wanted, and hoping he'd think that was cool. "So what *do* you want to do this weekend? Can we hang out? Or do I, like, have to ask you out on date?"

"Well," said Joey, "my dad's having this barbecue so I have to be at that on Sunday. It's for, like, work people or something. It'll be no fun. But I could come over after. And I think we have some kind of rehearsal or something on Monday, so maybe I could stay over without it looking like I was staying over EVERY night. But Saturday's cool." He grinned down at Justin. "You COULD ask me on a date. I promise I'd say yes, but it would be cool anyway."

"Oh!" Justin exclaimed, a little surprised and caught off guard by that, when he'd been teasing. Not *entirely* teasing, because they hadn't even come close to talking about whether what they were doing meant they were going out on dates at all, or whether they weren't seeing any other people, or *anything*. And not that he didn't *want* to do something nice for Joey, just that ... he usually had more time to plan it. To make it perfect. Now he kinda felt put on the spot, and didn't have any good ideas. "I hadn't really ... um. Okay. Would you, uh, like to go out with me on Saturday? We could go see a movie, maybe?"

"Sure," said Joey immediately. "That would be fun. Just us? Like a real date?" His eyes were bright and he looked HAPPY, in a way he hadn't, quite, before. "We could go shopping, too. I need new shoes. And CDs. But I ALWAYS need new CDs." He watched Justin's face again when he could, still trying to learn how to read it. He'd managed to pick up on a couple of warning signs already, and was pretty proud of himself for that.

"Oh, yeah!" Justin grinned back, happy that JOEY seemed so excited, pleased that he kinda rescued him from a lame, generic first-date idea. He leaned down and kissed him generously. "We should totally go shopping. I want some new CDs too." It still never occured to Justin how much he was trying to emulate almost everything he could, about Joey. "And it would *definitely* be a real date. I'll buy you Taco Bell." He laughed loudly. "Isn't that what they do, in high school?"

Joey grinned. "If you want to be around me after I've eaten Taco Bell, be my guest. I LIVE for the stuff, you know that." He started to get excited, too, about doing something really non-intimidating and normal. The stuff he would ALWAYS have liked to do on a first date if the girls hadn't been so hung up on making sure that people saw them and wearing the right outfit with perfect make-up and doing stuff that wasn't just about the two of them having FUN together. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Me too," Justin said, then put his head back down on Joey's chest and enjoyed the confortable silence as they watched the game for a bit. "I don't want to go to rehearsal on Monday," he said eventually, not bothering to hide the slight whine in his voice. "I don't want to go back on tour." He sighed, and thought about how much fun he'd had since they'd been home, and how it wasn't fair that they'd have to start *working* again, just when he and Joey were trying to get to know each other like this. They wouldn't HAVE the time to just go shopping, or to a movie, when they wanted, anymore.

"Yeah, you do," said Joey encouragingly, able to recognize THAT tone, if no others. They'd all heard it many times. "You know how much you love it, Justin. The singing and the performing and the seeing new places and the fans. I know it's tough work, but it's worth it, right?" He lifted Justin's chin again to kiss him, deeply. "And we'll be doing the whole thing together, which is even cooler, now. When we go out on tour again, I won't be leaving someone behind."

"Oh," Justin breathed, blinking slowly. It was nice to have Joey so optimistic, even if he wasn't. He hoped it would rub off. "But ... you always go out, when we're on tour. With Chris and Jace and all. And sometimes, a lot of times, I *can't*. And that sucks. And I *hate* hanging out with Lance when you do, 'cause he's boring. And I'll just miss you. And ... and what if you want to bring a girl back with you?" That was Justin's roundabout way of asking that question that had been nagging at him.

Joey frowned, suddenly both upset and confused. "Why would I bring a girl back when I'm with you, Justin? I don't get it. And why would I go OUT all the time, without you, either? I mean sure, I'm gonna go out SOMEtimes, cause they're my friends and I wanna hang out, but ... " He continued to frown. "I don't understand why you think I would. Unless you're saying you don't want us to be together anymore when we go back on tour ... cause THAT would kinda suck, Justin."

"No!" Justin said quickly, bracing himself up on his elbows above Joey so he could look at him, worried at the frown and kicking himself for being dumb and putting it there. "No, that's *not* what I'm saying. Joey, god, of *course* I want us to stay together then. I'm going to really *need* you, I think." He bit his lip and bent his head to try and kiss Joey -- wanting to avoid asking what he *really* wondered about, about the girls -- but ended up just licking his own lips instead and frowning himself. "What I meant ... what I *should* have asked you, I mean ... okay. Please don't freak out on me. I just ... we hadn't really talked about what we're *doing*, you know? I didn't ... I wasn't sure if you thought this was like a 'friends-with-benefits' thing, or if we were DATING dating, or if you still wanted to see other people like you did with Kelly ... I just didn't know. I DON'T know."

"Well," said Joey slowly. "I thought we were together. You know, just you and me. That's what a REAL relationship is, to me. I wouldn't just fuck around with you, Justin ... you're too special for that, for me." He made a face about Kelly. "Kelly was just different. We both just kinda did our own thing, more or less. I mean, she fucked around, I fucked around, and we both knew it. I always figured if I had something BETTER than that ... it would be different. And it is ... I hope." He looked into Justin's eyes and hoped there was an answer there. "Maybe you guys can't read me as easy as you think you can."

Justin stared back at him. "*I* don't think it's easy to read you ... *obviously*, since I had no clue what you thought we were doing! What you said ... what you described ... that sounds just ... perfect. It's exactly what I've wanted with you, and what I've dreamed about. But, um ... it's also what I wasn't supposed to get my heart set on. I'm sorry I had to, like, doubt your intentions." Mentally, he cursed JC for his role in all of that when he closed his eyes. "So you're really not going to, like, pick up girls any more now?"

"Why would I pick up girls when I have you?" asked Joey, quite seriously. "I mean, okay, I KNOW I fucked around on Kelly all the time, but that was just an entirely different situation. You KNOW that, right? That I wouldn't be like that with you?" He held Justin's face in one hand to make sure he didn't look away. "When you came to me, when we talked, I said I was gonna try, right? That means that it's just you and me."

"Is that what it means?" Justin asked softly, not even trying to pull his face away, nuzzling Joey's hand with his cheek instead. "Joey ... if you tell me that you aren't going to pick up girls, I'll believe you. I just ... well. Don't get mad at *this*, either." He squinted a little. "I just know that we're maybe a ways away from doing much else than blowjobs, and I didn't ... I wasn't sure if that was going to be enough, for you. Which is kinda why I asked." "Are you saying I can't go a few weeks without fucking something, Timberlake?" asked Joey, obviously half-teasing. "Come on ... even *I* know that it's not always about the sex. I have a hand and I know how to use it, and I'm sure if I ask Chris nice he'll give me a blow-up doll for my birthday if I get THAT desperate. But ... I don't think I will." He looked at Justin seriously and gave him a brief kiss. "I think if I'm wanting it THAT much, I'm gonna be wanting it from you."

"I wasn't meaning to say you *can't* go that long, just that ... well, you *haven't*. That's all I meant." Justin blushed a little and ducked his cheek back into Joey's palm. "You're really nice to me, Joey," he said softly, after a quiet sigh. "I'm glad you didn't get mad at me asking you all this. I know it seems kinda soon to be talking about what being together means, and if we're, like, in a relationship ... I'm just glad we cleared it up. You know I totally agree with you, right?"

"I do now," said Joey, smiling brightly at him. "I just ... I AM taking this seriously, Justin. I have been all along. And the one thing I CAN promise you right now -- since I can't make any promises about what I'm ready for -- is that I'm not going to fuck around on you. You're better than that." His hand moved under Justin's shirt again, resting against his warm, soft skin.

Justin threw his arms around Joey's neck and hugged him before he could see his eyes brimming with tears at that. He hated being such a baby sometimes, but how could he help it when the guy he looked up to more than anyone said such nice things to him? And was making sacrifices -- or promising to -- that Justin *knew* he hadn't made for anyone before? "Thanks, Joey," he whispered in his ear. "Thank you so much. Can you kiss me lots, now?"

Joey laughed happily. "I love to kiss you lots," he said fervently. "You're a great kisser. I just need to find your lips first." He pulled Justin's head away from his shoulder and paused as he saw the tears. Then, without a single comment, he brushed them away from Justin's eyes, leaned forward and started kissing him.

Justin choked a little when Joey gently kissed him, and grasped desperately at his wrists -- holding them so Joey wouldn't pull his hands away from his face. Every time Joey did or said something totally cool, he'd manage to do something else that would make Justin fall even harder. A big part of him couldn't believe that Joey didn't tease him about crying over nothing, but the rest of him was learning that Joey was a lot sweeter and more serious than even he had given him credit for. Justin couldn't hold back a small whimper as he opened his mouth to let Joey's tongue inside, gripping him tighter.

"Shhh," said Joey softly as he pulled away for a moment, worried a bit that Justin was crying, but not so much that he wanted to stop what they were doing. He ran a hand through Justin's short hair, then began kissing him again, closing his eyes and running his hand further up Justin's back.

"O-okay," Justin managed to hiccup, wiggling against Joey and running his own hands fleetingly over his torso. "Sorry," he breathed against his lips. "Sorry, Joey." He felt really taken care of, right then, and just wanted to curl up against Joey and not let go, and let him say nice things like that to him, forever.

"Sorry for what?" asked Joey, shifting again so Justin couldn't roll off him. He cupped the back of Justin's head and kissed him yet again, softly but deeply. "I don't remember there being anything to be sorry for."

Justin grinned wetly when Joey squirmed underneath him again. "For crying," he whispered shyly, almost inaudibly. "That's so stupid. You should just keep me around to kiss. I'm not good for much else."

"You're being silly," said Joey, kissing his nose. "Don't get me wrong, I love to kiss you, but there's a lot of other stuff to you, too. That I like just as much." He slipped his fingers into the waist of Justin's pants, right at the small of his back. "You're very sweet, Justin."

"Thank you, Joey," Justin replied softly, pressing his wet cheeks into Joey's neck and hugging him again. "You are too. I didn't ... I'm not sure I realized you would treat me like that. It's a wonderful surprise."

Joey chuckled in surprise. "How did you THINK I would act?" he had to ask. "Did you think I would treat you bad, Justin? Why would you want to be with someone you thought would treat you bad?" He kissed Justin's cheek and then just held him for a moment; it seemed to be what he needed.

Justin giggled. "I didn't think you'd treat me BAD," he clarified. "To be honest ... I hadn't really thought about *how* you'd treat me. I didn't think I had a chance with you." He scooted up against Joey a little, forcing the other man's hand farther down his pants. "And then when you said you wanted to try ... I don't know. I guess I couldn't really picture you being any different toward me than you always were. Which was GREAT, but not ... I wouldn't call it 'sweet,' you know?"

"Well, I don't treat my friends the same way I treat my boyfriends," said Joey with a grin. "Or. Boyfriend, actually, since I've only had the one. I told you, Justin ... you're special. And I wouldn't treat you any other way." He didn't worry too much about where Justin was making his hand go and just focused on kissing him again and again and making him realize that Joey was for real.

There it was again, that term, and Justin couldn't let it go this time. "Is that what I am?" he asked meekly. "Your boyfriend?"

"Well ... what else would you be?" asked Joey, a look of confusion crossing his face, his voice concerned. "Did I miss something important here, Justin? Have I got something all wrong? I thought that, you know, that's just what we were, now ... "

"No, no," Justin protested, trying to chase Joey's lips down with his own. "We can be. We ARE. I'm just ... surprised again, at that. I know you kinda mentioned it last night, and maybe I should've said something then, but. I dunno. It makes me really happy, to hear you say it, is all."

"Am I YOUR boyfriend?" asked Joey, almost hesitantly now. "I thought I was." It was implied by what Justin had just said, but right then Joey really needed to hear it to be sure he understood what was happening.

"Yes, Joey," Justin said patiently, cupping Joey's face in HIS hands this time, his tears almost dried. "I'm really excited that you are, too. I'm gonna treat you so good, you don't even know. Promise."

"Yeah?" said Joey, grinning again. "I'm gonna treat you good, too, Justin. You know that, right? I do stupid shit, sometimes, but I'm always gonna try and treat you good."

"I know," Justin told him, intently running a finger along his goatee. "Just try not to make me cry the next time you do, okay? I already feel like such a kid around you most of the time, anyway."

"I didn't mean to," said Joey, a little worried, wondering if what just happened was a good thing or a bad thing. "Crying's not a kid thing," he added, hoping that would help. "You're not a kid, Justin. Not anymore."

Justin's grin hesitantly grew a little bigger. "I'm glad I finally got you to notice," he told him, wiggling a little more against his body, trying to settle back against him comfortably. "I *am* happy you're my boyfriend," he insisted. "I really ... missed having someone take care of me."

"I'll take care of you," promised Joey, holding his squirming body close, kissing him again and again. "I'll take care of you any way I can."

"Take me to bed, then?" Justin mumbled plaintively, his eyes shut tightly as he opened his mouth to Joey's kisses. "I'm a growing boy, I need my rest." He didn't make any move to get up, though, sneaking his own tongue between Joey's lips.

"I thought we were going to watch TV and make out for a while?" said Joey a moment later, after he finished ravishing Justin's mouth. "Or is 'a while' over now?"

"You know those are both things we can do upSTAIRS," Justin reminded him, but he settled down against Joey's chest and turned his attention to the game again. "I'm kidding. You're right. This is nice."

"I'm still comfortable," admitted Joey, kissing Justin's soft hair. He began stroking his back again, moving all the way up to his shoulderblades and back down again.

"Mmm," Justin purred, arching his back slightly into Joey's touch. "Keep that up and you'll have to carry me to bed." He forced himself to pick his head up, digging his chin into Joey's chest a little and watching him. "Was Kelly the best girlfriend you've ever had?"

"Why ... " He'd been about to ask why Justin asked that, then decided that just answering would be a better idea. "No. I had a girlfriend before Kelly that I really loved. Kelly was the longest, though."

"Who was it?" Justin asked, touching Joey's chin and trying to smooth away the confused look on his face. "What happened?" Justin wished he knew a little more about why Joey really hadn't been all that interested in a girlfriend, or boyfriend, since the group started.

"Just a girl," said Joey, shrugging a little. "From high school. She dumped me."

"Okay," Justin said softly, tucking his chin again and resting his forehead on Joey's chest so he couldn't look at him. He sighed a little, though, and tried to convey to Joey through his closeness and level of comfort that he was happy to be where he was, even if Joey obviously didn't want to talk about ... whatever.

"And I didn't want to feel like that for anyone again, because it hurt. And then there was Kelly ... and that worked perfectly for a while, until I started to want it again. And by that time ... it was just too hard to get." He hugged Justin and chuckled, trying to shake himself out of it. "Am I being too unmanly yet?"

"Why?" Justin asked, looking up in confusion. "Just because you wanted to love somebody? Or have them love you back?" He stuck his lower lip out, a little. "I don't get why that's not ... manly, or whatever." Even though Justin had to admit he wasn't as sure about what WAS manly. "I didn't mean to bring it up ... ?"

"No, it's okay," said Joey, kissing his forehead, then his lips. "You asked. I'm not sure why ... but you did. So I answered. I can tell you more ... if you want to know." He looked at Justin curiously, not dreading the questions, but still wondering how important they were.

Justin blushed a little. "I was just laying here, thinking ... you know, kind of curious, or whatever, about how you seem really excited about this. About US. Which is great, I just ... wondered where it came from, kinda. Since, you know, you've always kind of acted like Kelly was more of a burden than anything. I wondered if that was how you've always been, in a ... relationship, I guess."

"Kelly was comfortable," said Joey, with a sigh, closing his eyes as he felt the beginnings of a headache come on. "She wasn't exciting and I didn't love her, but she was THERE, and I knew that if worse came to worse, she always would be, you know? It was better than nothing. And for a long time that was okay. That was enough. But ... " He sighed and shook his head and hugged him again.

"But what, Joey?" Justin asked softly, placing gentle kisses all along Joey's neck. "But now it isn't? Why not?" He slipped his four fingers inside the still-open gap of Joey's shirt and brushed the pads over his skin.

He smiled and opened his eyes again. "I'm getting sappy. You're right, now it isn't. But I still had Kelly and things were still okay, and sometimes habits are hard to break. You know." He moved up against Justin for a moment. "And then I found something better."

Justin wouldn't let himself ask if Joey was talking about him. He figured he was supposed to know that he was. And if he *wasn't* ... well, Justin would rather not know, anyway. "Joey," he warned then, shuddering a little when all the pressure between them doubled with Joey's movement. "Careful, okay? Save something for later."

"Oh," said Joey soflty. "Is that my cue to shut up?" He fell silent and closed his eyes again. "More than you wanted to know, huh."

"What?" Justin looked him with honest confusion on his face. "No, I ... I'd love for you to tell me about it. Tell me what you found, that was better. I just ... all I was ... God." He blushed. "I just wasn't going to be able to, um, keep from getting aroused if you held me like that. And I wasn't ready to interrupt the conversation."

Joey's lips curled into a smile and he opened his eyes again. "Yeah?" he said. "I'm ... a little turned on myself. But I was just, you know, saving it. For later." He shifted his hips one last time, then wrapped both arms around Justin. "I found you, that was better. Much better. You ... excite me in ways she never did, in my body and my head and stuff. More like ... the girl before."

Justin poked playfully at Joey's ribs. "Save it for later, that's what *I* said." Then he snuggled into Joey's strong arms. "Am I going to be able to measure up, to her?" he asked bluntly, but still lightly.

"She was a long time ago," said Joey easily. "It was a whole different thing. Relationships aren't about, like, measuring up to something. They're just about the people in them, aren't they?"

"Hmm," Justin sighed, then hummed a little before starting to sing softly. "She was long ago, she's so yesterday ... she's pre-you ... she's just another girl that I once knew ... " He blushed again, but met Joey's eyes when he looked down at him.

Joey smiled softly at him. "You ARE the sweetest thing," he said. "You're the best."

And it didn't even remotely bother Justin to have Joey say that to him; it didn't make him feel young. Just special. "You can sing to me, sometime," Justin told him. "When I'm all upset about you ditching me to go to a stripclub with JC in Mannheim, or something."

"I'm not going to any stripclubs," laughed Joey. "I don't need to. I might go out for DRINKS ... but I have you, right?"

"I love you," Justin said innocently, "But you're not getting me to do any pole dances. Period." He stretched his arms out beside Joey's head and sat up a little. "Will you sing to me, then, when I'm all upset about you ditching me to go out for DRINKS?"

Joey paused a moment at that, not *positive* of what he was hearing, and what it meant, and decided to just answer the question instead of puzzling it out. "I'll sing to you any time you like," he said, petting Justin's hair softly. "Does singing make things a little easier?"

"What things?" Justin murmured, his eyes shutting at the sensation of Joey's hands in his short curls. "Being abandoned just on account of being a baby? Yeah ... having you sing to me might make it easier. Or ... " he grinned and stuck out his tongue. "Maybe *you* can do the pole dance -- whatcha think?"

Joey chuckled. "I'll have you know I do a mean pole dance," he said, capturing Justin's tongue as he kissed him. "You'll probably get to go out drinking next time we're over there anyway, as long as your mama doesn't stop you. They aren't picky about things like age. Well, obviously. You and Lance have both been, before." He kept stroking Justin's hair, and watched happily as his face relaxed. "You're not a baby. I know that much."

Justin sank back down against Joey's chest when he released his lips, in a strange in-between stage of really relaxed and really turned-on. That was something unique to Joey, he realized, making him feel that way ... and wondered if that would make it easier or harder to be around him all the time. He worried, just fleetingly, that he'd lose his motivation to do anything beyond just following Joey around, once they got on tour, but maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. "How do you know that," Justin asked him, a little rhetorically.

"I just do," said Joey, grinning. "Sometimes I DO know stuff, you know." He left his hand in Justin's hair as he turned his head to glance at the TV again, content to have Justin resting against his chest and his legs. His heart was beating a little more rapidly than normal, just from him being there, but nowhere near what it did when they were actually doing anything. It was exciting and .... nice.

"Are you gonna want me around, when we're back on tour?" Justin asked suddenly, comfortable in being there with Joey but still not able to shut out all the questions he'd had in his head. "I'm sorry I keep bugging you -- I know I should be quiet -- but ... I dunno. I know I get kinda annoying on the bus, and it's annoying to have my mom around, and JC'll be annoying, too, and I just worry that it'll all be too ... annoying."

"Well yeah, sure I'm gonna want you around," said Joey earnestly, surprised that Justin was even asking. "It's gonna be a little harder keeping your mom from finding out, maybe ... or maybe not. I mean, we're managing to keep it from her in her own house, right? And JC's just annoying anyway," he added with a reassuring grin. "That's not gonna change whether we're together or not. So why on earth would I want to not have you around, when I've just finally GOT you?"

"*I* don't know," Justin shrugged shyly, then decided to let the conversation lapse back into a comfortable silence. He wondered, as he unbuttoned Joey's shirt a little farther, if Joey realized that he kept saying the exact right thing to take care of Justin's fears. And then he wondered how much of that was Joey, and he just hadn't given him enough credit, and how much of it was maybe Joey following Chris's advice. If they had talked about anything other than sex.

Joey stroked his fingers up and down Justin's spine lightly, and wondered what he was thinking about. Justin's eyes weren't on the television at all; sometimes they were closed and sometimes they were on him and sometimes they just seemed to stare off into space. "I do want you around," he said softly after a long silence, wanting to be sure Justin knew that, and wondering if Justin needed to hear things like that, sometimes, the way HE did. "And I want to be around you."

"How do you know what exactly what I need, all the time?" replied Justin, pulling his head up to watch Joey again for a little bit. "I'm not listening to you, any more, when you say you can't read me and that I have to tell you things. Because Joey? You *must* be reading me, 'cause I don't think I've ever been with anyone that just ... makes me feel right, like my reactions and my thoughts and what I say are okay. Not like this, at least."

"Wow," said Joey softly, his eyes wide and startled. "Really? Justin, I ... I'm just kinda doing what feels good, you know? I'm saying the kinds of things that I like to hear, and hoping you do, too. Maybe I'm starting to be able to read you a little bit," he admitted with a smile, more than a little pleased about that, "but I do still need to hear things. Please don't stop, Justin ... I love it when you talk to me." He placed a lingering kiss on Justin's forehead, then looked into his eyes again and tried to make sure Justin could read his own sincerity.

"Okay," Justin blushed, knowing that Joey had guessed it was hard for him to talk about stuff, sometimes, just cause he was so worried about what other people would think of him when he said it. And realizing that, with Joey at least, he didn't have to worry. "Um ... what would you like me to tell you?" he asked, still tentative. "Is there something that's been ... on your mind, or whatever? You can ask," he assured Joey, avoiding his eyes in case it made him nervous, and ducking his own head to kiss his chest again.

"Just whatever you're thinking," said Joey. "If something makes you sad or upset ... of if something I'm doing is making you really happy. I especially like to hear that. Or just ... anything." He paused, and ducked his head to capture Justin's eyes again. "I'm gonna tell you something," he said slowly. "Justin, it makes me feel a lot more confident, about everything, when people tell me stuff and I can know I'm not just guessing. It makes me feel better. I don't go around showing nervousness a lot of the time, because it just doesn't do anyone any good, but I do FEEL it." He made sure both arms were wrapped securely around Justin, then kissed his face. "You're learning all my secrets," he added with a smile.

"I like knowing your secrets," Justin said proudly, letting Joey squeeze him. "That's what ... I think that's what makes being with *you*, and caring about *you*, different from the way I love the other guys, you know? That you trust me like that cause you want to, not 'cause you have to 'cause of the group." He sighed and tried to look as kissable as he knew how.

"I like being just that little bit different, to you," said Joey, kissing him gently, but still wanting to talk. "This thing, with us, it came outta kinda nowhere for me, but it's just really wonderful now. You're wonderful, and I never even really knew it the way I know it now." He kissed him again, and fell silent this time as he deepened it.

Justin tried to hold still, to let Joey kiss him the way he wanted to. To let Joey do *anything* the way he wanted to. He could listen to Joey tell him those things -- things he really never thought he'd hear because it came out of nowhere for him, too -- he could let Joey taste his mouth, he could let Joey hold him close all day, every day. "I think you're wonderful, too," he murmured, licking at Joey's lips gently. "You keep surprising me, and it's all good things."

"I hope it's always good things," said Joey, just staring at him for a moment, staring at Justin's soft hair and his angular face and his hard body. Staring as though he could see those things inside that were drawing him to Justin, the sweetness, the intelligence, the unashamed desire for HIM. It was amazing. "Wanna go upstairs?" he asked softly, realizing that the game was over and they both really wanted to just be together right now.

Even though he nodded, Justin recognized that Joey was studying him, and didn't want to move much until he was done ... since his tone of voice -- and his words -- indicated that he liked what he saw. "Remember how you carried me the other night?" he smiled lazily. "That was nice. I was so afraid I'd get a hard-on, and you'd know, though." He'd ask again, now, since it didn't *matter* if Joey noticed; except he figured he was probably too big to be dragged up the stairs.

"I would have teased you, then," admitted Joey, but he was smiling. "You were fun to tease, because you got all blushy and adorable. But I wouldn't tease you now." And after saying that, Joey realized that maybe -- in the back of his mind -- he'd been looking all along. He stroked Justin's hair again, then moved underneath him a little so that maybe he could lift him up and carry him at least part way. But their positions didn't let them do much in that direction.

"You *would* have teased me," Justin agreed, remembering how Joey hadn't really shown any mercy when he was giving him shit about jerking off that same day. He sighed, pouted, and sat up, straddling Joey's legs. "Are you saying you don't think you can make me get all blushy and adorable, anymore? 'Cause I bet you could."

"I think I'm gonna have to find new ways to make you blushy and adorable," Joey teased, reaching out and tickling his side. "Can you think of any?" He tried to sit up, and ended up just propped up on his elbows. "Because I can ... "

Justin did blush, and batted at Joey's hands. "Stoppit. No tickling." He didn't squirm out of the way, however, staring a little when Joey's unbuttoned shirt fell open when he braced himself up. "Do I want to hear these ways of yours?" he asked, biting his lip and fighting to keep from reaching fingers out to touch that tanned skin.

"I'd rather just try them," said Joey, his lips slightly parted as he stared at Justin with purpose, now. His fingers slipped underneath the front of Justin's shirt and stroked his stomach tenderly. "Wouldn't YOU rather I just try them? Experiment a little?"

"Um," Justin said, feeling a little out of his league at the completely and totally seductive way Joey was staring at him, for the first time. He remembered Chris using the phrase "looking someone hard," once, which was definitely beyond-a-doubt EXACTLY what Joey was doing to him. His blush wasn't fading, either. "Um. Here?"

"God you're hot," whispered Joey, then blinked a couple times and shook himself out of it enough to think about the questions. "The things I want to do," he said slowly, his voice low, his eyes burning, "should probably be done in the privacy of your bedroom, with the door closed. Locked. Alone together."

Justin gasped, Joey's tone and expression and fierce gaze making his stomach and groin heat up. He couldn't do much but watch and accomodate Joey when he sat up a little further. He couldn't do *anything* in response, really, and wondered when the tables had turned so completely from him being the experienced, impatient one to Joey absolutely taking control the way he was -- looking at Justin like he just wanted to eat him alive. He nodded, and added a weak "okay."

Joey wrapped his arms around Justin's waist and abruptly pulled him forward, so that Justin's ass was against his groin. Then he swung his legs off the edge of the couch and stood up, lifting Justin as he did and holding him there. He grinned and kissed him thoroughly before letting him down. "Upstairs," he said, urgency evident in his voice. "I'll follow you."

Justin stared dumbly again as he stumbled to catch his balance, then stood there licking his lips unconsciously for a moment before Joey's words even registered. "Oh," he breathed, and threw himself against Joey for another whirlwind kiss before brushing past him to vault over the back of the sofa and dash up the stairs. His mind was absolutely racing with thoughts about what Joey might do to him once he got there, blissfully happy that the other man *wasn't* hesitating and seemed to actually *want* it. Whatever it was.

Joey closed his eyes and took a couple minutes to pull himself together, then decided he was better off NOT figuring out what he was doing and just going with what his body was telling him. And his body was telling him to race up to Justin's bedroom, get naked with him, and let nature take over. More or less. A moment later, he headed for the stairs.

"Joey!" Justin hissed down the stairs, shifting his weight nervously. He'd already made it to his room and stripped off his shirt, and then kind of stood around for a few minutes waiting for Joey to appear. When he didn't, he walked back to the top of the staircase to see what was taking him so long. He could only hope that Joey hadn't changed his mind, and was kicking himself for acting so rashly and letting the other man out of his sight. Or out of sight of *him*. "C'mon!"

Joey turned the corner and raced up the stairs, smiling broadly when he saw Justin there, waiting for him. "I guess we both know who the athletic one is," he said as he grabbed him and kissed him. A moment later he grabbed Justin's hand and then both ducked into his room; Joey took the opportunity to kiss him again, planting his arms firmly around Justin's body.

Justin's knees buckled a little when Joey attacked his mouth again, then reached around him to lock the door. He really *was* unbelievably intent, and Justin again was relieved that he hadn't second-guessed what he was doing when he was downstairs. The places where Justin's bare chest pressed against the exposed skin of Joey's muscles practically burned, and he moaned encouragingly into Joey's mouth. "I don't know ... about the ... blushing," he groaned as Joey ducked his head to his neck, "but you've found ways of doing *something* to me."

Joey pulled back and ran his thumbs over Justin's face. "Your cheeks are definitely red," he said with a grin, nudging him toward the bed gently. "And you were adorable all along. So what do I win?"

"Me?" Justin asked breathily, knowing Joey would smile or laugh at that cheesy line, trying to do his part to keep things light between them even though he just wanted them to kiss and grope and rub all over each other and not talk. Well, a little talk. He stepped backwards hesitantly.

Joey laughed and wrapped an arm around Justin again, hoisting him easily up and onto the bed. "Good," he said, crawling up after him. "Just what I always wanted."

"Nuh-uh ... !" Justin grinned. "What luck." He scooted back on the bed and ran a hand over his own bare chest briefly, wondering if he could do *anything* sexy enough to bring back that look he saw in Joey's face down in the basement.

Joey loomed over Justin, straddling his body with his arms and his legs, looking at him for a long moment before leaning in and capturing his lips. He ran a confident hand up Justin's side to his neck, which he cupped as he kissed him.

Justin returned the kiss excitedly, and dragged Joey's mouth down with him when he fell back into the pillows. He started tugging insistently at the back of Joey's shirt, barely hanging on his frame. "Please," he murmured as huskily as he could. "Please, I want to feel you."

Joey stripped the shirt off and tossed it on the floor, leaning over Justin again. "Better?" he asked, just hovering over him, watching him breathe and squirm and lick his lips.

"What?" Justin asked, arching his back up off the bed and running his hands over Joey's shoulderblades. "Why are you looking at me, like that?"

"I like looking at you," he said quietly, his eyes intense, his hand tracing Justin's body again. "You look great."

"Well, I FEEL pretty good, too," Justin squirmed some more, trying to avoid his gaze but not being successful for any length of time. "Especially my lips, I bet they feel GREAT. Please, Joey ... you're teasing ... "

"They do feel great," said Joey, lowering himself but not quite kissing him. "You're a great kisser, Justin."

Justin wanted to scream. This was definitely an element of their dynamic that hadn't been present before, but Joey seemed unbelievably comfortable in it. "Well, I'd return the compliment but it's been so long since you've DONE it, I can't properly recollect."

"Think ... harder," whispered Joey, lowering his body impossibly close to Justin's without touching, then giving him the briefest of kisses.

Whimpering when Joey pulled back, Justin wrestled with grabbing him and tugging him down on top of his body, but didn't want anything he did to unstettle Joey. Because as crazy as this was driving him, he was enjoying it more than anything he COULD remember. *Harder,* indeed. "Wonderful mouth," he whispered finally, haltingly. "But I'm sure you don't want to be judged on such a quick sample as that."

Joey suddenly grinned and laughed and fell to Justin's side, wrapping his arms around him and quickly rolling them over so that Justin was on top, just like he had been downstairs. "This is great," he said, his eyes sparkling as they watched Justin's every expression.

Justin smiled back hesitantly, still not sure what Joey was doing, and scrambled a little to get his knees under him so he wasn't resting ALL of his weight on him. "What's great?" he asked, eyes big and innocent.

"THIS," said Joey, finally kissing him thoroughly. "You. Me. Everything."

"Oh," Justin breathed when he could talk again, glad Joey was happy but hoping the tone of the evening hadn't changed again. He started to paw a bit at Joey's pants, he couldn't help it. Joey had to know how turned on he was.

"Should've taken those off before I got in," muttered Joey, reaching down to unbutton them. "Damn things always manage to get in the way. Yours too."

Justin's hands were probably getting in the way more than they were helping, but he needed to be doing something to speed this up. He wanted Joey's hands and tongue and mouth on him, in all the places he'd promised. "Please," he mumbled again. "I need you."

"I'm not going anywhere," Joey promised him, his voice a little rough and low. He does hurry as he strips off his pants, a lot more unselfconscious about it this time. There was nothing that Justin hadn't seen or touched. Then he moved onto Justin's, tugging at his waist.

Joey couldn't push his pants down much further than his thighs from his position beneath Justin, so Justin had to kick them off before clamboring back on top of him, squeezing his hips between his thighs. "We need to be quiet, again," he reminded him as he ran a finger under the waistband of Joey's underwear.

"I might have a problem with that," Joey warned him, his eyes twinkling with remembrance and amusement, "but I'll do my best."

Justin WANTED to suggest something Joey could put in his mouth to keep it quiet, but ... as was the pattern ... he wasn't confident enough in how it would be received. "C'mere and kiss me quietly, then," he said instead, sliding his hands under Joey's shoulders. "I still have to tell you if you're a good kisser or not."

Joey leaned up and kissed him, closing his eyes, putting just about everything he had into it. His tongue roamed Justin's mouth and his teeth grazed his lower lip. His arms locked themselves around Justin's back again, holding him tight.

Justin melted into the kiss, not even remotely surprised when he shuddered and his knees gave out sending him heavily down on top of Joey. He didn't stop kissing, though. "Okay," he murmured when he managed to pull away. "You have to be the best kisser there ever was. How do you DO that?"

"I'd say practice," said Joey quietly, nibbling on Justin's ear. "But I'd be lying. It's all about who you're kissing."

Justin giggled. "Stop lying, you know you're good at it. It has nothing to do with me." He rolled off him, then, resting on his side, braced on an elbow, watching him. "You turned me on something fierce, downstairs."

"Does that mean I'm not, now?" asked Joey, rolling over and nipping at Justin's ear again. "Because I'm trying my HARDEST, Justin ... " He pulled his head back and grinned and kissed his lips.

Justin rolled his eyes before closing them as he leaned into the kiss, prepared to squirm away if Joey went for his ears again. "You don't have to use the innuendos around me," he reminded him. "Just give me some more of those fuck-me eyes from the basement and I'm all yours."

"I'm just playing," said Joey, giving him half a smile, poking him in the side. "Is that not allowed, now?"

"Why?" Justin pulled back, his brow furrowed a little in worry. "Did I ... I was just ... nevermind. Of course you can." He just felt like Joey was stalling, a little, and that worried him.

"Justin," said Joey, laughing in surprise. "I'm just fooling around. Having fun. Aren't you having fun?"

"Sure," Justin said easily, except all the talking and then few seconds of worry have rapidly put him out of the mood he was in. He sighed and grabbed for a pillow at the head of the bed, tugging it down and resting his cheek on it as he played with the waistband of Joey's boxers. "I've had fun all night with you."

"I like to have fun in bed," said Joey, taking one of Justin's hands and lacing their fingers and wondering if he understands. The look on Justin's face wasn't promising. "I like to kiss and touch and tickle and lick and smile and I like to laugh when I come and when I can do that, it's almost perfect for me. I like to look at you and eat you up without ever touching and then I like to grab you and roll around and play. It's all good, Justin."

"Okay," Justin says in that same tone, not really moving except to slide his fingers under the waistband. He gets all that, he *does*, but Joey had gotten him all worked up and then just ... stopped. And Justin wasn't used to that, and it distracted him. And he just wasn't as into it anymore. "You want me to suck you?" he asked casually, figuring that would probably be expected regardless.

Joey sighed. "No," he said. "Thanks anyway. You want me to turn on the TV or something since I seem to be boring you?"

"You're not," Justin said softly, but not with much passion behind it. He wasn't bored, just a little disappointed. "Let's talk some more, okay?"

Joey lay back on the bed and closed his eyes for a moment. "Yeah, sure," he said. "I think we'd better. Can you maybe tell me how I fucked it up this time?"

"What do you mean?" Justin frowned. "I thought this was what you wanted -- just to talk, and play, and stuff. That's what you seemed to want, at least."

Joey looked at him sadly. "You DIDN'T get it," he whispered, looking down for a moment. "Justin ... I didn't want to STOP." He reached down and cupped his still-present erection. "I STILL don't. So ... whatever I did wrong, can you tell me? Please?"

Justin didn't want to say anything, as usual, but this seemed like it fit right into that category of things that he was talking about, when he *asked* Justin to talk to him about stuff so he wouldn't have to guess. "It's just ... you kept switching gears on me," Justin admitted. "Like you were all about to just swallow me whole, and then you started laughing and making weird references to erections, or whatever, which is FINE, it was just hard for me to keep up. Especially since this is still kinda new to me and I thought maybe it was your way of, um. Stalling."

"Not stalling," said Joey, shaking his head. "Definitely not stalling. Justin ... you know I'm pretty up front, right? I've told you exactly what I'm doing. And I'll KEEP telling you, okay? Do you ... have any questions? I mean, am I doing something that doesn't make sense? I thought I was just, you know, having fun. In bed. Almost naked. With my boyfriend. You know?"

Justin turned his face into the pillow, but didn't move away, and didn't stop touching Joey's stomach. He thought he had explained himself pretty well, but it must not've registered with Joey. He just didn't want the first time he did this to be a *joke*. Further down the line, yeah, sure, he'd want to play around in bed. But one of the things that really, really attracted him to Joey in the first place was how seductive he could be. And now Justin was just worried that Joey didn't really see him as someone to seduce, since he wasn't a girl. "Okay, Joey," he said, resigned to getting the affection from Joey any way he could. "I'm sorry I assumed you were stalling. Can you just ... kiss me some more?"

"Sure," said Joey hesitantly, disappointed that Justin had pretty much stopped talking to him now and trying to guess at what was going on here. And failing. And it was pretty hard to be confident in bed when you were trying to figure out what you were doing that was making the other person unhappy, and wondering if they didn't wish they were in bed with someone else, after all. He cupped Justin's head and kissed him softly, and very nervously.

Justin opened his mouth to Joey's, and as always the kiss was wonderful and full of a lot of emotion, but he'd kissed enough -- and kissed JOEY enough -- to know something was holding him back. "What," he sighed, flopping back on the bed. "I'm SORRY I stopped you. Do you just ... would you rather not do this tonight?"

"Yeah, of course I want to do it," said Joey sighing. "But what's the point if you aren't enjoying it, Justin?" he asked, seriously. "I went from doing everything right to doing everything wrong, and I don't know what to do about that because *I* was thinking it was great. And obviously you weren't." He pulled Justin closer, not wanting to let him get away, and kissed him again, more firmly this time. "Stop asking me if I don't want to do this. I DO. You know that. Is it YOU that doesn't want to do this tonight? It's okay if you don't .. but please just be honest about it ... "

"Of course, I do," Justin mumbled, bringing his hands up to the top of Joey's arms and holding him loosely. As much as he didn't want to talk about this and look stupid, it was a lot more important for Joey not to worry. "And you're not doing everything wrong. I just ... are you making, like, some kind of joke out of it, so you can get through it? Because ... " he shifted uncomfortably and didn't want to see what saying that did to Joey. "I mean, you really, really made me feel sexy, earlier. Like how I'd grown up seeing you act around the girls you picked up. And then once we got our pants off, it was like: Nope! This is Justin, so I have to be buddy-buddy about it and laugh and goof off. And if you need to do it to be comfortable, that's okay, but ... well. You asked what was bothering me."

Joey actually relaxed, hearing that, knowing that it wasn't something bad but more of a misunderstanding. "You've never actually seen me in bed with the people I genuinely like," he pointed out, kissing him softly. "Justin, this isn't because I don't think you're sexy. This is because this is just what I'm LIKE, in bed. I like it to be fun. I'm sorry if you don't like that .. honest. This is just how I naturally act." He took Justin's hand and slowly moved it down to his own groin, letting Justin cup his large and solid erection. "You're very sexy," he said, his breath catching as Justin touched him, staring into Justin's eyes. "And I want you very much."

Justin's eyes opened a little more widely in surprise when he felt that Joey was telling the truth, and that he obviously was still turned on. His own cock recovered a little when he felt the heat of Joey's through the thin, thin underwear. "Oh," he said softly, venturing a small smile. "I like it to be fun, too," he admitted, moving the heel of his hand a little. "I just ... I'm sorry I read too much into it, thinking you were acting like that for some hidden reason, or whatever. It was just kind of sudden."

"I don't have a lot of hidden depths," confessed Joey, moaning as Justin rubbed him slowly and releasing his wrist. "What you see is what you get, here." He wrapped his arm around Justin's back again, holding him securely, and kissed him for a long time. "I'm comfortable with you," he said. "I don't have to TRY."

"Good," Justin murmured, watching himself massage Joey's erection, enjoying what it was doing to Joey's breathing. "Want me to suck you?" he asked again, but huskier this time, more earnest -- actually wanting it and meaning it. He started tugging on Joey's underwear with his other hand, rubbing his thumb over every inch of exposed skin.

"Yeah," said Joey, "but ... can I? First?" He'd made up his mind to do this -- tonight -- and he remembered what had happened last time Justin had sucked him. He just wanted to make sure he had this chance, partly so he couldn't change his mind and partly because he really WANTED it.

"You don't have to ask," Justin told him gently, letting go and rolling over onto his back again, stretching his arms over his head and then letting one drop back down to his belly, his palm rubbing gently over his own stomach, his fingers dusting lightly over the tip of his getting-there erection. "I hope you like it."

"I know I will," murmured Joey, really believing that. "Um ... if I start to get lost? Just talk me through it, or something. It doesn't mean I don't want it." He reached down and stroked Justin's erection lightly, getting used to the feel of it again. He sucked on Justin's ear and then nibbled at his throat, getting accustomed to his taste, as well, even though there would be no comparison.

"God, with the *ears*," Justin groaned, but couldn't bring himself to pull away this time, not with Joey's hand on his dick holding him in place just as firmly as if he'd trapped him with his whole body. "You'll be fine," he whispered, really believing THAT. "Just ... you know. Do what you'd want to have done to you. That applies to a whole lot in life." He wriggled his hips a little and parted his lips, breathing audibly as he watched Joey's tongue and teeth tease him.

Joey sucked on his collarbone, then moved down to lick and suck at his nipples for a minute, loving the way that, too, made Justin squirm. And thankful that doing the same thing to THOSE as he did with women had just about the same results. With his hand still on Justin's dick, he began stroking him slowly, not trying to take him too far but savoring the hardness and heat.

Justin bunched the pillow up hurriedly behind his head, propping it up so he could still see Joey as he made his way down Justin's torso. His chest ached, a little, with how badly he wanted him, and he tried not to moan too loudly when Joey did wonderfully taunting things with his tongue. And Joey massaging him ... he didn't mean to spread his legs wider, but it was as involuntary and automatic a reaction as bucking up into his hand. Which he did, too.

Joey tried not to get nervous as he moved further down Justin's body, reminding himself that HE was feeling good, and Justin was obviously feeling good, and there wasn't really all that much to this. He kissed Justin's stomach and swirled his tongue in his navel, then lifted his head for a moment and let go of Justin's dick so he could just look at it. A moment later, closing his eyes, he leaned down and licked it, in a long, single stroke, from base to tip.

"Fuck!" Justin blurted, then clapped a hand over his mouth and leaned his head back on the pillow so he couldn't watch any more. He felt his cock twitch under Joey's tongue, and wondered darkly if he was going to be able to last at all, having JOEY between his legs, EXCITED to have his mouth on his dick. He shuddered and reached up behind his head with his other hand, clutching the blankets tightly so he wouldn't paw at Joey's head.

That seemed to go over well, so Joey did it again, bracing his hands against Justin's hips. Then he took the head of his cock into his mouth and swirled his tongue around it, feeling him, tasting him. This was different ... but definitely good. He slipped a little more into his mouth and stroked his tongue along the underside, then let it slip out again and looked at it for another moment, licking his lips.

Justin's breathing was shallow, and he had taken to biting the skin on his wrist to keep from making all the noises that threatened to come out of his throat. He started, a bit, when Joey pulled his mouth off, and stopped gnawing on himself long enough to reassure him that "that's good, yeah ... you're doing it just *right,* Joey," and then spread his legs wider. Joey watched his legs spread with widening eyes, then leaned down to lick at Justin's cock again, discreetly sucking one of his own fingers into his mouth. He didn't know if he was going to DO anything with it -- if he'd be able to work up the nerve -- but he remembered everything Chris had told him and kept it in mind. Then he closed his lips over the head of Justin's cock again and sucked lightly before using his tongue on it again.

"Mmph," Justin grunted when he felt the first suction from Joey's mouth, arching his back -- a motion that forced his hips into the bed so he wouldn't thrust. "That feels so good," he choked out again, "But I'm not gonna talk for a while, okay?" Then he grabbed the pillow out from under his head and covered his face with it, knowing Joey wasn't drawing it out to tease him, but the effect being the same regardless.

Joey didn't say anything to that, but it didn't bother him. Justin's reactions had ALL been positive so far -- the biggest impression he was getting was that Justin wanted MORE. He sucked a little harder and moved his lips up and down to simulate shallow strokes. A moment later, bravely, he slipped his hand between Justin's legs and prayed he would be doing something good. He found Justin's hole easily, feeling a little weird that he was touching him THERE, but surprisingly okay with it, and just rubbed his finger against it, not even trying to go inside.

"Holy shit," Justin whimpered to himself, likely too muffled for Joey to hear, and bit the pillow in an effort to keep from coming. Having Joey's finger touch him there was the *last* thing he was expecting to feel, and wondered where Joey got the guts to do it. And the combined sensation of that and Joey's wet mouth sliding along his shaft? WAY too much. He forced himself to relax in case Joey *did* decide to try and actually penetrate him a little, and tilted his hips up encouragingly.

Joey continued rubbing at the hole, a little harder when he noticed that Justin seemed to be encouraging him. With his other hand he grasped the base of Justin's cock as he sucked him with more and more enthusiasm, watching he didn't graze his teeth against it but letting pretty much anything else just happen. He pressed his tongue flat against the underside as he sucked for additional stimulation, and stopped worrying about whether he was doing it right or not. Whatever he was doing, it was fun and it seemed to be working.

Justin abruptly threw the pillow off his face and grasped at Joey's shoulder, careful to keep his hands away from his head. "Please," he gasped out. "You can, I want you to ... " He started rotating his hips a little, not pushing himself any deeper in Joey's mouth but doing his best to rub back against his moist finger. He ran his other hand down his own torso, tracing over his hip and across his navel and then down along the inside of his spread thigh. "God, your mouth ... Joey ... "

Joey pushed against his hole and was a bit worried about how much pressure to use as he slid it in to his first knuckle. And then, more easily, to the second. He thought he could feel Justin's balls tightening, his body tensing, and was a bit worried about how to handle things ... then just bit the bullet and kept on with what he was doing, sucking and tonguing ... and fingering a little, now.

"God," Justin moaned again, digging his fingers into Joey's shoulder with increasing pressure as Joey began sliding his finger into him at increasing depths. He still seemed a little hesitant, a little tentative, but otherwise Justin would never have thought Joey hadn't done this a million times. And so it was too easy to fall into his habits. "More," he bit out, before he could stop himself, bringing his fingers up to close around Joey's wrist.

Joey was a bit intimidated, but all of Justin's reactions still fell on the good side of things so he didn't stop. Didn't even slow down. Didn't think Justin meant him to. He slid his one finger all the way into Justin's body and was amused for a moment to recognize that HE needed more time to get used to the sensation than Justin did. He wiggled it around a little and got used to the feel of the constricting walls, the tight entrance. His lips were still busy on Justin's cock, taking it in only as far as he was comfortable and using his other hand to stroke the rest.

Justin cried out and tightened his grip on Joey's wrist when he started moving his finger around inside of him. He didn't interfere with his movement, at all, just held on and hoped to be a steadying influence. The rest of his body was hyper-sensitive too, and he hadn't forgotten about Joey's wet lips and hot tongue on his cock -- in fact, he reminded himself absently that he'd have to make sure Joey moved his mouth soon. He could finish him off with just his hand, or Justin could even do it himself. "More," he mumbled again, this time, really *meaning* more.

Joey paused for a moment, then drew his hand out entirely. He ignored Justin's efforts to get it right back in there and drew it up to his mouth to wet a second finger before returning. It felt strange to have a finger in his mouth at the same time as Justin's cock, but he managed. As he sucked, he let go of the base of his cock and used that hand to gently cup Justin's balls, supporting them and stroking them with his thumb.

He slowly -- VERY slowly -- pushed two fingers into Justin's body. Joey remembered what Chris had said about the prostate, but it was vague and in the back of his mind now and he wished he'd asked more questions when he'd had the chance. As it was he was just feeling around -- way sooner than he'd expected to be -- trying to find it and make this as good for Justin as he could.

"Oh god holy SHIT Joey," Justin burst out when he slid both fingers back in, then started pushing desperately at Joey's shoulder. He was gonna get lucky sooner or later, and Justin had no doubt that the second Joey rubbed against his prostate -- intentionally or not -- he was gonna be spurting everywhere. He just didn't have any *control* yet. And Joey didn't need *that* his first time sucking someone off. "Please ... I don't wanna ... you don't have to ... "

Joey wasn't planning to stop, and wasn't even planning to SAY he wasn't going to stop, until he realized maybe Justin needed to hear it. He slid his lips off Justin's cock just long enough to say, "I know, it's okay," before beginning to suck him again, hard, confidently, rubbing his tongue everywhere that he could. He moved and thrust his fingers, still a little blindly, and curled them a bit inside Justin's body.

"But ... " Justin whimpered, picking his head up worriedly. "Joey ... " Then he was throwing his head back, shoving his shoulders down into the mattress, tugging on Joey's hair with one hand and pulling on his wrist with the other, and coming with a soft cry. Hard. He tried to ride out the sensations that were triggered the instant Joey curled his fingers, but he couldn't remove himself enough from the fact that he was awful and inconsiderate and Joey deserved better.

Joey was still surprised when Justin came, even though he'd been preparing himself for it. He swallowed as quickly as he could and sucked very, very gently until Justin was clean. Then he lifted his head and removed his hands, resting one on Justin's hip. He used the other to wipe a dribble of cum from the corner of his mouth, popping his finger in his mouth afterwards to suck it clean, then grinning at Justin happily.

"I'm sorry, I'm SO sorry," Justin panted, grabbing at Joey's arms and trying to tug him up next to him. "I *tried* to get you to move ... are you mad at me?" He was still trying to catch his breath, and not grin TOO much, even thought Joey's smile was going a long way towards making him feel better.

"Sorry?" laughed Joey. "For WHAT? Justin ... I'm just counting the minutes 'til I can do that AGAIN." He wrapped his arms around him and kissed him deeply. "That was great. Was it okay? I didn't expect to ... you know ... but you seemed to want to and I just kinda went with it and ... " He realized quickly he was babbling and just kissed him again.

Justin moaned excitedly into Joey's mouth. "No, no, it was PERFECT," he assured him, placing kisses all over Joey's face. "I can't believe you DID it, though. But you see?" He pressed his hips up into Joey's a little. "You see what it did to me?"

Joey grinned happily. "Yeah. Wow, yeah." He grabbed Justin's face between his hands and kissed him again, fiercely. "I'm glad I did okay. I loved that."

Justin wouldn't be surprised if he got hard again, within minutes, tasting himself on Joey's tongue and knowing the other man had enjoyed it so much. "Yeah," he said knowingly. "Pretty hot. I'm just ... I *am* sorry, if you didn't really want to ... you know, swallow that ... "

"Well, I SAID I did," Joey pointed out. "I told you, Justin, I KNEW what was coming ... and I didn't want to stop. I wanted it. Okay?" He released Justin's face and rested his hands lightly on his shoulders. "I wanted it. And I still do." He rubbed himself against Justin's hip, showing him he was still hard, still ready.

Justin flushed, not QUITE sure what Joey meant by that. "My turn?" he asked softly, reaching a hand down to Joey's ass. "Or ... did you maybe think ... I mean, if you *wanted,* we could try something ... ?" He wouldn't even bring it up, except he was already surprised at what Joey had done that night, and figured *he* wasn't going to be the one to put the brakes on.

Joey's eyes widened and he flushed. "I didn't mean THAT," he says quietly. "I mean ... just not yet. Because what we did was ... wow ... amazing ... but it was already, you know, further than I thought I'd be ready for." He grinned. "And I would do THAT again, if you wanted ...but can we wait on the rest?"

"God, of COURSE," Justin reassured him with a tight hug. "Are you ... okay with it? Really? Did you ... like it? I didn't ... thrust too hard, or anything, did I?"

"No, not at all, it was great," said Joey, kissing him wherever his lips could touch. "That was so much more amazing than that time I did it before. I'm so glad I tried. You made it wonderful, you really did." He was still excited about having done it, and having made Justin feel so wonderful, and having enjoyed it himself so very much.

"I didn't DO anything," Justin blushed, letting his hand drift to rest on the very top of the back of Joey's thigh. "Besides, you know, having to practically kill myself to keep from coming the second you put your tongue on me. I KNOW you think I have, like, NO stamina."

"No, you did, you did," said Joey. "You ... made it easy. You made it easy to want to do again. Which I do. Many times." He kissed him again. "I'm not exactly Mr. Stamina myself, around you," he reminded him.

"Better than me," Justin insisted, nuzzling into his neck and squeezing his ass just a little. "How did I make it easy?" Justin wasn't quite sure what he was stalling for -- he figured he really SHOULD be returning the favor -- but he was enjoying coming down off of his orgasm too much to even think about that. And letting himself look forward to the next one, wondering if Joey was SERIOUS about maybe doing it again, later.

"You didn't push me," said Joey, still punctuating his words with kisses. "You didn't ... ask for anything I wasn't ready for. You let me know when something was good. And you just ... let me do things until I got them more or less right. That was just exactly what I needed, Justin. Exactly what I needed to be able to really DO this."

"I'm so HAPPY right now!" Justin grinned, patting Joey on the ass and trying to roll him off of his body. "That was just ... WAY more amazing than I thought, or expected. Your mouth, your tongue ... and GOD, your fingers, Joey ... " Justin WAS getting hard again, and wasn't even ashamed. "Did you like THAT part?"

Joey blushed a little, and hid his face for a moment to cover it. "It took a little bit of getting used to," he admitted. "But the things it did to you ... that was amazing. Did it feel good? I've never ... well, duh, you KNOW I've never done that before."

"It felt AWESOME," Justin assured him, rolling his hips slowly against Joey's and then punctuating his words by bucking slightly. "I can't even ... I don't know what it compares to. It's been a little while, though ... thanks for being, y'know. Gentle."

"I tried," said Joey. "I've never had anyone do it to ME, either. So I didn't know, you know, what was too much or too little or ... " He gestured vaguely. "i'm glad I did okay. I'm glad I made you feel good." He rubbed himself up against Justin again, almost without thinking about it.

"You did," Justin said softly, then fell silent as he shifted his hips again, pressing their groins together -- unashamed at being naked, wanting Joey to be bare, as well. "You're TOO good to me. Now I'm all ... self-conscious. Hoping it feels good, when I do it to YOU ... "

"Everything you do to me feels good," admitted Joey, not really recognizing what he's asking for, not consciously. "You're just about the most amazing lover I've ever had." He wrinkles his nose at the word 'lover'. "I don't know what else to call it ... because calling you my best boyfriend isn't exactly a compliment with, you know, so little competition ... " He rolls his hips again, comfortable with his own body and with Justin's.

"Okay, we have to stop that," Justin muttered, pulling back a little reluctantly -- the pressure from Joey's groin feeling great, but the friction almost too much on his still VERY sensitive cock. "I'm really ... you think I'm AMAZING? WHY?" He's beyond giddy at THAT compliment, and just not sure why he deserved it.

"Because you make me feel really good things," he said. "I don't ... know how else to explain it. You're good to me and you make me feel good and ... you worry about me and what *I* want. I like that. It's kinda new, for me." He smiled and kissed him again, his lips feeling swollen.

Justin kissed him back sweetly, and finished rolling him over. "So help me out a little, here. What DO you want? You said you're not, uh, ready for sex or anything, so ... would you mind? Um, if I ... ?" He gestured vaguely at Joey's groin.

"That could mean a lot of things," murmured Joey, looking down. "And I like them all. Whatever you're thinking ... go ahead, Justin. Just go ahead and make me feel good." He sighed happily and squirmed on the bed in anticipation.

"NO, I ... " Justin bit his lip in uncertainty even as he reached for Joey's underwear. "Please tell me what'd you like. Please. While this is still new? I can ... get creative when we're a little more ... comfortable."

"Can you suck me again?" asked Joey a bit nervously. "I really, really liked that. With you." He reached down to tug at his underwear. "Is it okay to ask for that? You offered before, right?"

"I DID offer," Justin agreed, batting Joey's hands away playfully and sliding his underwear down almost seductively himself. "And it's ALWAYS okay to ask. Since I will ALWAYS say yes." He shimmied down the length of Joey's body. "I'm gonna suck you everywhere we go, Joey; anytime you let me."

Joey's breath caught as Justin said that. "Please," he said, his voice a little shaky now, his muscles tensing. "I need you. And ... I'll always say yes, too, Justin. From now on. I mean that."

Justin laughed lightly, emboldened by Joey's altered breathing, tugging the boxers past Joey's knees and landing brief licks all along the inside of his legs, down to his calves. "Be careful, what you promise me," Justin warned him, sucking gently on Joey's ankle after tossing the underwear over his shoulder. "I could get very attached to having your hand in my ass."

Joey laughs at that. "I ... yeah ... it was good. It really does feel good?" he asked. "Honestly? It's ... hard to imagine." His body shivered again from Justin's wet kisses.

Justin slid quickly, but not abruptly, back up Joey's body so he could see his eyes. "Would you like to know what it feels like?" he said softly, as non-threateningly as he knew how, running his fingers along Joey's pelvis. "I won't hurt you, but I don't want to push you, either."

"I ... I want to know," admitted Joey softly. "It's okay if I say stop? You won't be disappointed?" He caught Justin's eyes, needing to know the answer to that before he could even BEGIN to relax. "I might not have ... but the way you seemed to like it ... it was amazing ... "

"I would not, at all, be disappointed," Justin murmured, closing his eyes and kissing Joey, even though his eyes were still open. "It's not like anything you've felt before, I know that." He couldn't keep his own eyes open, though, once he let his hand slide over to fondle Joey's erection. "I'll ... stop right away, if you need."

"Okay," says Joey, a bit breathlessly. "Yeah, okay. Just ... tell me what to do, okay? I really need it this time, Justin." He gripped the blankets in one fist and closed his eyes. "Shh," Justin murmured as soothingly as he knew how, trying to take everything slowly even though he was so, so hard again and couldn't wait to make Joey come. He kissed Joey's cheek, and lips, and neck as he stroked him slowly, running his other hand almost greedily along Joey's thigh. "You need to relax, first."

"I'm trying," said Joey, his voice strained. Whatever he was doing wasn't working so far. "I'm a little ... nervous," he admitted unnecessarily. "Maybe talk to me a bit ... first?"

"God, sure," Justin said softly, growing more confident, moving his hand out of the way so he could lie down the length of his body on top of Joey's carefully, putting his mouth right at Joey's ear. "I need you to relax for me, bear. I'm not gonna hurt you, I'm gonna take really, really good care of you ... just think about what my face looked like when you had your fingers inside ME ..."

Joey smiled a little, his eyes still closed. "You looked amazing. It was like you were feeling ... I dunno ... something I can't describe." He clutched the blanket again. "I went in ... pretty easy. Easier than I thought ... "

Justin chuckled and rested a pink cheek against Joey's collarbone. "Uh, yeah. Well." Titling his head back up, he kissed Joey's ear as he forced one of Joey's legs a little wider with his own knee. "I bet you'll look amazing," he assured him softly. "Will you laugh if it makes me come, too?"

"No," said Joey, then paused. "Except sometimes? I laugh when I'm happy. So, um ... maybe. But only because I'm happy. Honest." He shivered again, with nervousness and anticipation. "Will it hurt?"

Justin kissed his cheek and ran a hand over his forehead. "It shouldn't. I'll be really, really careful, and really gentle ... I want you to TELL me if it does, though, okay? I'll stop right away. I promise." He really didn't think it should hurt, but he didn't want something to happen and then have Joey never trust him again. He sighed a little, to relax *himself*, and reached over across the bed to hunt around in his nightstand.

"I'll tell you everything I'm feeling," said Joey, his voice low. "I won't be scared. I want you to do this."

Justin kissed him in response, and placed the bottle of lotion carefully down beside their bodies before giving Joey another tight hug. "I have to ask you a question," he said softly. "I wouldn't ask, I'd just DO it, except I really want to do this the way you want me to ... "

"Okay," said Joey, his voice a little tight, still not relaxing, quite. "Go ahead, what is it?" He wrapped his arms around Justin and hugged him back and tried to get a bunch of his nerves out that way.

"Would you, um, rather I just ... sucked you first? And then ... maybe try it, if you ask me, during? Like you just did for me?" Justin rubbed Joey's shoulders a little, still trying to be soothing and not used to the role. "Or would you ... do you want to not be, um. Distracted, at all.'

Joey took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I don't know," he said honestly. "Maybe ... maybe do it a little, first. And then if I like it, you can do it while sucking me, too. And ... if I don't -- not that I think I won't, or anything -- then you can just suck me after and make me feel really good. Would ... would that be okay?"

"Definitely," Justin smiled, happy that was Joey's choice, wanting him to actually *feel* what it was going to feel like, to know that what he hoped would be the sparks of pleasure he'd feel were all because of THAT. He squeezed his hips gently, then slid one hand down Joey's thigh to rest on his knee. "You still want me to talk to you?"

"Yeah," said Joey, squirming. "Um, definitely. No one's ever touched me there, Justin. I mean ... no one. At all." He clenched the blankets again and took a few deep breaths. "I need to know what's happening."

"Okay, it's okay," he murmured, kneeling up on the bed a little, pushing up on Joey's knee so his leg was bent. He used his other hand to tug Joey's hips toward him a little, petting the skin there softly after he had him in a little better position. Still not spread open wide enough for Justin to do anything, but the first step. "You're gonna be fine. I'm just touching you a little bit, now, so I get can where I need to be to do this. Okay?"

"Okay," echoed Joey, breathing deeply. "Am ... am I being ridiculously nervous about this?" he asked. "You can tell me if I am. It's okay."

"God, no," Justin smiled, leaning over to kiss Joey's stomach, nuzzling below his belly-button. "I ... I just can't believe you're letting me. I'm so glad you trust me, Joey, it's ... " he sighed, and ran a finger down the length of Joey's cock. "Making me really happy." Even if Joey WAS being nervous -- more nervous than he had been -- it was okay. He really was getting more comfortable at being able to show his friend all these things.

"Thanks," said Joey, sounding relieved. "I do really want you to do this, Justin. I just -- still -- have no idea what to expect. I guess I'm kind of a virgin. And I feel really stupid saying that."

Justin smiled and licked at the trail of hair leading down to Joey's groin. "It's OKAY, Joey. I just ... I really need you to relax. I can't do this if you're tense." He rubbed Joey's other thigh firmly with his fingers. "I wouldn't want to, first of all, but I really ... I CAN'T." He didn't know if TELLING Joey to relax was going to work, but he didn't know what else to do.

"How do I relax?" asked Joey, seriously, no sure how to make his body stop tensing the way it was. Justin's gentle hands on him were helping, though, the way they were soothing his skin, reassuring them that Justin was going to be gentle.

Justin bit his lip, and then moved up over Joey body again. Bracing himself on his elbows, on either side of Joey's head, he looked into his dark eyes for several seconds before kissing him as gently as he knew how -- doing his best to restrain from showing all the arousal he felt right then. "Just don't think about it," he whispered, sucking on his lips. "Think about how, in just a couple minutes, I'm gonna be sucking you so hard that LANCE'll hear you come, all the way down the hall ... "

Joey chuckled. "Lance sleeps like the dead," he said, but actually, that helped. He took a couple more deep breaths and let go of the blankets. "I know you're going to make me feel good," he said softly. "I'm looking forward to it, Justin. I really am."

"Me too," Justin breathed, and he really, really was. He'd gotten to the point where he was over his OWN insecurities, which allowed him to actually think about the fact the HE was the first person Joey ever did this with. That it really WAS like Joey being a virgin, and JUSTIN was getting to be the first one to ever make him feel this. "God," he moaned a little, then forced himself back down between Joey's legs before he started grinding against him.

Joey moaned softly and squirmed on the bed. Chris had been right that Justin was going to be really good and really patient with him, and he was sorry he hadn't really been able to believe that at the time. Now that they were both a little more comfortable with each other, things WERE going at an easier pace for him. He reached over and ran his hand through Justin's hair.

Justin relaxed himself, even more, when he heard Joey's moan. He must've just needed to remind Joey that he was aroused, get his mind off of what was GOING to happen, and focus on what WAS happening. He nudged Joey's thighs apart just a little with his knees, resting his warm hands on the flesh right where his legs joined his pelvis. "You're really fucking hot," Justin blurted out softly, feeling like Joey was almost putty in his hands, wishing he could actually do everything he wanted to, to his body.

"Yeah," said Joey, not really thinking about what he was saying, feeling the heat coming off his body and off Justin's. "You're good to me," he mumbled and closed his eyes again, focusing on the good things that Justin was making him feel, right then, and every time they'd been together. Trying NOT to focus on the unfamiliar sensations he knew he'd be feeling, soon.

"Yeah," Justin echoed, and fell silent again as he moved his hands up a little more, his thumbs rubbing in small circles, pushing Joey's legs wider apart as he went. His thighs were so muscular; much bigger than his own, or Chris's, and he couldn't help but let his mind go there: thinking about what it would feel like to have them wrapped around his waist. As soon as he was satisfied with where their position, he moved one hand to cup Joey's balls gently.

Joey moaned again. Justin's hand was warm and gentle and made him feel really, really good. He shifted his hips and tilted himself upward a little, but didn't squirm this time. "Feels good," he murmured, keeping his promise.

Justin smiled and let one finger drift just underneath Joey's sac, keeping his other hand steadly on his upper thigh. "Hey," he said softly as he started rubbing gently at that spot, right behind Joey's balls, still fondling those with his thumb. "You ever had a girl touch you there?"

"Um, yeah," mumbled Joey, tensing for a moment, then reminding himself how good he was feeling. "Couple times. Is nice." He lifted his hips just a fraction again to make this easier for Justin.

"Feels pretty good, huh?" Justin whispered again, not condescendingly, but just to be saying SOMETHING. He pressed a little harder, and as he leaned over to grab the lotion again, he kissed Joey's ribcage, then stuck his tongue inside his belly button. "I'm just getting some lotion, okay?" he sighed. "So this'll be nice and smooth and feel really good."

Joey tensed again, even though he tried not to. "Okay," he said, his voice rough, clutching at the blanket again. He knew that he would be making things harder by getting nervous, but he couldn't help it. He DID, however, note just how turned on he still was, from doing this with Justin.

Joey's reaction didn't go unnoticed by Justin, who frowned slightly but tried not to react visibly. He pulled his other hand away long enough to squeeze a generous amount of lotion into it, then rubbed both together and tossed the bottle back on the bed. Gently, he grasped Joey's cock again, sliding his now-moist fingers down the shaft. "I know THAT feels good," he said bravely.

Joey moaned, loudly this time at the unexpected sensation and thrust up slightly into Justin's hand. "Yeah," he murmured, focusing on the good. "Real good, Justin. Thank you."

Justin chuckled and stroked Joey for a few moments as he got his legs situated comfortably underneath him, watching Joey's face and the hand he was using to clutch the sheets like a lifeline. "Thank YOU, for letting me suck you again," he said, remembering how talking a little dirty earlier had preoccupied Joey. "You've got, like, the biggest dick I've ever had in my mouth ... I LIKED it ... "

"You're lying," teased Joey, but he started to relax again as Joey stroked him, as much as he COULD relax while having his dick stroked, anyway. He forced himself to let go of the blankets again, resting a hand on Justin's hair again. That, more than anything else, helped him get himself under control again. "So soft," he murmured, and a few deep breaths later he was more or less fine.

"I'm NOT lying," Justin insisted, bending over to lick gently at Joey's tip. He wasn't going to start sucking him until he'd at least *tried* fingering him, but the more aroused Joey was, the easier it'd be. He brought his other hand up to Joey's balls again, palming them but not really rubbing them with his fingers -- not wanting all of the lotion to rub off before he needed it. "We still okay?"

Joey moaned. "Yeah, DEFINITELY okay," he said, quite clearly. "I'm okay, Justin." He ran a hand through Justin's hair again. "Can I leave my hand here?" he asked, knowing the answer but wanting Justin to know what he needed to do, right now.

Justin turned his face so he could kiss the inside of Joey's wrist. "Yes," he said simply. "It'll make me feel better, if you do." He took a deep breath. "Okay, remember how you just touched me, first? I'm gonna touch you, Joey, but it's okay. It's just me, and I'm not gonna put anything inside you just yet ... " He closed his eyes, and slid the tip of his thumb down to brush gently at Joey's opening.

Joey shivered and his muscles tensed. It didn't feel BAD, but it was very, very unfamiliar. "Okay," he managed to get out, and used his hand in Justin's hair to start to calm himself again. Justin had done this before, and he would never hurt him, and both he and Chris had assured him that -- somehow -- this was going to feel very good.

Justin moaned, a little, when he felt that tight pucker of skin, and TRIED not to frown when he felt Joey's body grow a little more rigid. "Shhh," he said again, kissing Joey's wrist in another effort to calm him. He rubbed small circles around the hole, not trying to do anything beyond getting Joey used to that feeling. "You've got such a great body, I love touching you."

"Thanks," said Joey softly, stroking and petting him. He forced his other fist not to clench and lay it flat against the bed. "This is good for you?" he asked, already knowing the answer to THAT question, too. He shift his hips again to allow Justin more access; he was still determined to do this, still really did want to know what it felt like.

Without removing his thumb, Justin let go of Joey's cock and grabbed his hand in his own, guiding it to his own erection. He didn't want Joey to feel like he had to do anything -- didn't want him to distract him, really -- but wanted him to know JUST how good it was, for him, to be touching him there. "Just put your hand there, for a second, bear," he told Joey softly, his voice tender using the nickname that had come out of thin air. But since Justin had never been one for 'sweetheart' or 'hon' ...

Joey squeezed him gently, reassured by Justin's obvious arousal and remembering how much Justin had loved having this DONE to him. "You're so hot," he said breathlessly.

"Mmm," Justin murmured, moving his hand slightly so he was using his finger rather than his thumb to rub at Joey. "Okay," he said softly, cupping his other fingers around the hand Joey had on his cock, "I'm just gonna push a little bit, now. I won't go too far in, I promise. I want you to tell me to stop, if you need me too. And ... I want you to feel what it does to me, when I do this." Justin nudged gently at Joey's hole, grunting a little when the tip of his finger slipped inside that tight muscle. As he expected, he felt his dick twitch in Joey's hand -- he couldn't help that.

"I f-feel," said Joey, his voice shaky, his body shivering yet again. "That feels ... strange," he said, trying to describe it, wiggling against Justin's finger a little. "but okay." He ran his hand through Justin's hair and managed to keep himself from tensing up completely.

Smiling, Justin let go of Joey's hand, allowing it to fall away from his cock if he wanted. "You're really, really sexy, like this," Justin assured him, stretching him a little with just the tip of his finger, slipping along just inside the rim, sliding progressively deeper. "You're doing great. Just ... tell me if it gets uncomfortable. Strange I can handle ... 'ow' is no good."

Joey's hand did slip off his cock, but hovered nearby as though he wanted to be able to reassure himself again on the spur of the moment. "It's not ow," he said aloud. "I know you won't make it ow." He wasn't sure what he should be doing, and decided to just keep focusing on relaxing and letting Justin do this. He really COULDN'T describe the sensation, it was so different from anything he'd associated with sex before.

The only thing that worried Justin was that he didn't want Joey to think this was, like, *clinical*. Cause he was really, REALLY turned on, and figured that Joey was, still, too, but ... he seemed like he was in his head, too much. He let his other hand drift to Joey's hips, and tummy, and cock, petting him and stroking him while he slipped his finger in deeper. "You feel really fucking good," Justin assured him, blushing a little at being vulgar like that. "Really good, and tight, and I'm probably gonna come before you do."

Joey laughed, making his whole body shake a little. "I'm ... um ... REALLY turned on," he confessed, opening his eyes a crack to look down at Justin. "So ... um ... I doubt that. A lot." He was slowly but surely getting used to Justin's finger being inside him, and it was starting to feel more than okay. "I trust you, Justin," he added, needing to say that. "You're making me feel good."

"Thank you," Justin whispered, not even really realizing he needed to hear it. "You're doing good, with the relaxing," he said softly, licking at Joey's arm near his face. "I'm just gonna ... " He drew his finger back, a little -- up to that point, he had just been sliding it in, further, letting Joey adjust -- and then thrust it forward very, VERY gently, and shallowly.

"Oh!" breathed Joey as a slight shot of satisfaction went through him. "Yeah ... okay ... " It did still feel weird, but it wasn't a bad weird. "Yeah, you can do that," he finally managed to get out. He recognized he was tensing and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and audibly.

"Shhh," repeated Justin, gripping Joey's hip with a little more intent than he had been using, and thrusting again immediately. "God," he muttered, marveling that it was still smooth to do this, even with someone who'd never done it. And Joey was so, SO tight ... he thrust a third time, bit his lip, and curled the tip of his finger as he dragged it back out.

Joey shouted, literally shouted, and clutched at Justin's hair involuntarily.

Justin yanked his finger out all the way, startled, and jerked his head back. He winced as that movement doubled the pain in his scalp, but was way more concerned about making sure Joey was having the reaction he hoped he was having. And worried about who HEARD that ... that would have to come later, too. He leaned down and kissed Joey surely, even as he mumbled "shh, sorry" against his mouth.

Joey's eyes opened wide and he let go of Justin's hair. "Holy Shit, Justin, do that again!" He bit his lip. "I promise I won't shout or yank this time, honest, I just ... never thought ... wow. Why doesn't EVERYone do that?"

Justin grinned broadly, and kissed Joey again. "You're way too coherent for it to have felt THAT good," he teased, but didn't hesitate to slip his finger back in -- it went more easily that time -- and curl it immediately. "You canNOT yell again," he whispered loudly in his ear. "I don't care about my hair, but ... " -- he twisted his finger and thrust a little deeper than he had before -- "No. More. Yelling."

Joey whimpered and bit his lip, hard. "Oh, Justin," he said finally as he gasped for breath, rocking back against him with no conscious intent. "Yeah ... yeah ... " He squeezed his eyes shut again, unable to look.

Groaning when he felt Joey start to buck on his finger -- one finger! -- Justin was all of a sudden torn. He couldn't help wanting to jerk off, watching and hearing and FEELING Joey get off on something he'd never done with anyone except him ... and knowing he promised he'd suck him, if he was enjoying it. He licked Joey's ear, mumbled "fucking HOT" to him, and slid a little clumsily back down to the foot of the bed.

"Love this," murmured Joey, relaxed now, no longer uncertain about what he was going to feel, ready to be okay with whatever Justin did. He spread his legs about as wide as they would go and just opened himself up to Justin, trusting him completely. "You're so good to me."

Justin laughed with pleasure, trying to ignore how inviting the space between Joey's thighs looked when he spread them out. He toyed with asking permission to use another finger, but some part of him wanted to wait to see if Joey would ask. Not that one didn't seem perfectly sufficient, he mused, as he bent over and took over half of Joey's cock into his mouth at once.

Joey gasped and tried not to make noise. And almost succeeded. "Oh god, Justin, make me explode. Just ... thrust into me and suck me and I'm gonna come SO hard, Justin ... I can tell ... " His hand moved restlessly through Justin's hair as he drew his knees up further.

Pressing Joey's hips down into the bed with his free hand, Justin started sucking vigorously, tonguing underneath the head of Joey's cock, swirling it around the tip, mimicking the movement with the finger in Joey's ass. He didn't add another, even though he almost pulled out completely to just shove his dick in there when Joey lifted his legs, but curled his finger and shoved it in all the way to the base of the knuckle.

Joey wriggled and thrust himself on Justin's finger, words coming to his lips that he never expected to say. "More?" he pleads as Justin sucks hard on his cock, wanting to feel a larger, bigger sensation in his ass and not stopping to try and grasp the implications of that. The only important thing right now is that it felt good.

Joey was so hot, and so into it, and seemed to want it so bad, Justin had wrenched his mouth away and said "God, I want to fuck you," before he even realized it. Then he hoped that Joey hadn't heard, and felt awful and guilty and awful and pushed another finger in beside the first maybe a little more abruptly than he should've.

Joey opened his mouth to say yes, then thrust himself back against Justin's fingers, as hard or harder than Justin had thrust himself in. "Finger-fuck me, then," he said aloud, the words feeling dirty and hot in his mouth. "And suck me, please ... I'm gonna come SO hard, Justin. Just SO hard ... "

Justin gasped when he felt Joey's ass moving against his hand in the opposite direction from what he feared. He whimpered and ducked down, in response, taking Joey in his mouth without any preamble and thrusting his fingers haphazardly but purposefully. Rather than grab the base of Joey's cock with his hand, or even his own although it was aching for attention, he braced his hand on Joey's hip and used it as leverage to dig his fingers in as deeply as he could.

Joey stifled another shout and tried to fuck himself on Justin's hand, hardly aware of what he was doing other than it felt wonderful and it was all going to make him come very, very soon.

Justin choked slightly when he moved his mouth down on Joey's cock a little farther than he meant to, without really preparing, and had to pull away. Which meant he caught sight of his hand, his fingers sunk deep in Joey's ass, and the look of satisfaction of Joey's face -- he slid a third finger in without hesitation and started really stretching Joey with *intent*. If any guys, or girls for that matter, had ever been this into fooling around with Justin ... HE couldn't remember. And he had only one thing on his mind.

Joey almost lost control when he felt his ass stretch to accommodate Justin's third finger, thrusting back against him again, wondering just how much more he could take. Already he was feeling more pleasure than he could remember, and it wasn't just centered in his cock for once. And that was a really, really incredible thing on its own, with out Justin being so GOOD at it.

"God, oh please, oh please Joey," Justin babbled, grasping wildly for the lotion again and crawling up Joey's body to suck on his throat and ear. He shifted his hips and slowly, slowly let the tip of his cock brush teasingly at Joey's entrance. "Please, you're so good, so hot, fucking yourself on my hand like this, wouldn't you want to try it on my dick please PLEASE say you do ... "

"Yeah, uh huh, more," mumbled Joey, then repeated those words louder, more confidently. He moved himself against Justin's cock so the tip almost pushed inside. "Please?" He tugged on Justin's hair, wrapped his other arm around him and kissed his face blindly.

"God, oh GOD," Justin breathed, refusing to think to himself that they shouldn't be doing this yet, that he was taking advantage of the situation ... He managed to uncap the lotion and pull back enough to squirt more on his cock without taking his other hand away from Joey's ass. He moaned, loudly, as he smeared it on, and pulled one of his fingers out ... rubbing intentionally against Joey's prostate again with the other two before he spread them as widely as he could.

Joey's breathing was ragged, his legs spread wide, his hips high so that Justin could just enter him. He'd never been in this position before and it felt strange and new and exciting and it was nice to let Justin take control, it really was. "Yeah," he moans quietly. "I want it. I do."

Justin whimpered as he grabbed the base of his cock, guiding himself to where he held Joey open with his fingers. "I've never wanted anything more than I want you, your ass, right now," he grunted, then edged the head through the ring of muscle. He abruptly let go with both hands, moving them to Joey's hips, shifting himself up to slide his knees under the backs of Joey's thighs. "FUCK me, that's tight ..."

Joey whimpered, then gasped; it hurt a little, but not nearly enough for him to make Justin stop. "Keep going," he whispered, his voice rough and quiet. He tried to push back against him but it was more difficult now, the way Justin was propping his legs open. Joey opened his eyes and almost came when he saw Justin between his legs, entering him.

Justin dropped his forehead to Joey's chest as he slid in further, using his grip on Joey's hips to steady both of them, and had to practically bite his tongue to keep from pounding into Joey ... especially after that husky plea. He realized all of a sudden he had NO idea how to do this to a virgin, none at all, and started whimpering in earnest that he'd do something wrong. Sucking in a breath, he started to pull back out.

"Oh God, that's wonderful," moaned Joey, clutching at Justin's hair. "I never knew it would be so wonderful ... " He closed his eyes again, a smile on his face, that initial flash of pain long gone now. "That YOU would be so wonderful, inside me ... "

"Oh," Justin cried softly, and tugged down on his hips, sliding back in until he was buried to the hilt. Then he shifted, again, leaning forward to rest some of his weight on a hand beside Joey's head, grabbing Joey's cock with his other, and pushing off his knees to create a rhythm. "God, I love you, Joey, I love you ... please ... " He didn't quite know what he meant by that, except it was how he felt for the only other person he'd done this with, and so he didn't think anything of saying it to Joey.

"Oh Justin, me too," said Joey, but didn't say the words. He thrust back against him against and again and knew now that he was mere moments away from coming, but he wanted to at least try and make this good for Justin, too. It took the last of his will power to even think of that.

"God ... love you ... " Justin hissed again, before starting to jerk frantically at Joey's erection. He would've come ten years ago, the second his finger slid inside Joey's ass, if he hadn't already had an incredible orgasm. Right now he just had to wait for Joey -- he twisted his hips as he thrust, trying to make him let go.

Joey's whole body shuddered. "Oh, Justin," he said, letting Justin fuck him and jerk him and make him feel amazing. "Oh, Justin!" He came even harder than he'd expected to, could feel it explode in his dick and his ass and his brain. He shouted again -- there was no way he could stop it -- but it wasn't as loud as the last time, thankfully.

It didn't matter how loud Joey's shout was; Justin's drowned it out when he felt Joey's ass, already so tight, squeeze him like a vise. He almost blacked out as he whole body pulsed with his orgasm, and let go of Joey's cock immediately before collapsing on top of him, crushing him to the mattress with all his dead weight.

"I love you," whispered Joey as he started to come down from his orgasm, mumuring whatever came into his head. He pet Justin's hair and clutched at his back and wasn't thinking at ALL yet about what he'd -- they'd -- just done.

"God," Justin muttered, Joey's words not really registering as he licked gently at Joey's neck and jaw, in absolutely no hurry to move. "GOD, Joey. Are you okay?"

"I ... think so," mumbled Joey. "I just ... wow, did I just ... ?" He stroked Justin's back restlessly, starting to process it all.

"Okay," Justin said nervously, starting to pull away. "It's okay, you're okay. You're okay, right?" He brushed a hand over Joey's cheek, kissing his forehead, watching him carefully for him to open his eyes. "Please, be okay."

"I'm okay," Joey assured him. "I'm a little overwhelmed I think. Can you ... just hold me for a few minutes?" he asked. He'd just let Justin fuck him. He'd just let him be inside him, touch him THERE, where he'd barely been ready to be touched, earlier. A man -- Justin -- had just made love to him. It was a little hard to believe, just yet.

"God, sure," Justin said easily, leaning back over him and pressing more gentle kisses to his face and neck, wrapping his arms tightly around Joey's frame. "You're so wonderful, Joey, god, I just ADORE you, you don't even know ... that felt so, SO amazing ... " He was basically overwhelmed with affection for him, right then, and stared at him with bright eyes.

Joey looked into Justin's eyes and smiled shakily. "Yeah," he agreed. "I ... um ... really didn't expect to be doing that," he admitted, knowing full well Justin already knew that. "But ... I'm not sorry I did. I'm just a little ... yeah. A little shaken up, is all."

"I'm right here," Justin told Joey earnestly, smiling broadly at him, not wanting to give away any of his own concerns about what they'd just done ... thinking that Joey would need him to be as mature and positive as possible right then. He leaned down and kissed him slowly, leisurely. "I'm not letting go of you until you make me."

"Don't go," said Joey, clutching at him. "I feel strange. Different."

"Shh," Justin smiled, brushing Joey's hair back from his forehead. "I just said I wouldn't, bear. Tell me why you feel strange." He squirmed a little, feeling his cock softening and feeling a little discomfort at the pressure, but knowing that pulling out would be just as uncomfortable for Joey.

"I've just ... never. Not even close," he said, trying to put the words together right but having a lot of trouble with it. "And then ... from nothing ... I had everything ... you know? I don't know how to explain." He looked at Justin helplessly, hoping he understands.

"Okay, shh," Justin said again, kissing Joey's lips gently. He had no idea what Joey was trying to say, but got that he was just overwhelmed. Justin just needed to be patient. "I know. But I LOVE you, Joey, and I won't ever, ever hurt you, so it's all okay."

"Do you?" asked Joey softly. He could still feel Justin inside him and it felt incredibly intimate. "Can you ... tell me about your first time?"

"Sure," said Justin, smiling encouragingly. "It was ... god, just really scary, afterwards. I promise I know what you're feeling like." It HAD been scary. Chris had been wonderful, but Justin had cried anyway. "I ... um. Cried. Just a little, though."

Joey smiled. "I have no idea what I want to do right now. I can't really believe I just ... but it felt right. It felt RIGHT, Justin. That's all I know, right now."

"That's really ... god, a relief," Justin murmured, kissing him again. If Joey said it felt right, it must be okay. "I can't believe we did it, either. Um. I yelled." He blushed furiously at that admission, and kissed Joey hard so he couldn't say anything for a minute.

"Yeah. I yelled, too," said Joey sheepishly, when he could. "Um ... so I was okay?"

"God, please, PLEASE don't even think you have to worry about that!" Justin gasped. "It was ... SO incredible ... YOU were incredible ... so hot. God. I've never been like that. I yelled," he repeated, and grinned.

Joey grinned, then. "Really?" he said, his insecurity fading. "I can't believe how good that felt. I mean, that's my ASS, you know? But ... yeah ... okay. Whatever works, you know?"

Justin giggled and squeezed Joey to him. "Really, bear. I mean ... Chris wouldn't let me fuck him in the house, 'cause I'm always way noisier when I'm on top, but ... I don't remember *yelling*."

Joey blushed. "I'm still having trouble ... believing I did that," he admitted.

"But you're okay, right?" Justin said again, worrying a LITTLE that Joey didn't seem willing to let him go just yet, which really contradicted everything he knew about him. "Should I ... you think maybe I should've stopped you? Us?"

"No way," said Joey. "That was the best sex I ever had. I was TOTALLY capable of saying no, Justin. And I didn't." He smiled shyly. "It just all happened at once, you know? I mean, I thought I'd be able to let you use a finger in me, but once I felt it I just wanted more and more and more. It's a little hard to get used to the idea that I like that."

"Oh," Justin said softly, wondering if that was maybe some kind of insult that he wasn't getting ... except that hearing that was the best sex Joey'd ever had? That made up for it even if it was. "I'm glad you didn't think that I ... pushed you. Um." He blushed and looked away. "I guess I kinda did, though."

"You didn't do anything without asking, first," said Joey honestly. "You were wonderful. Are you upset about something?"

"What? No," Justin said quickly. "I'm just ... don't take it the wrong way, like I'm trying to be all grown-up, if I say I'm worried about you. Okay?" He looked at Joey pleadingly. "I'm not so good at being the one who's showing the other person the ropes."

Joey grinned. "Well, will it make you feel better if I tell you I want to do that again? I mean, not right NOW, because I think maybe i'm gonna be a little sore, after, but ... soon. That and sucking you. I really liked that too."

Justin laughed out loud, then clapped a hand over his mouth. "Whoops," he whispered bashfully. "Um. Yes. I think that would make me feel very, very good. Joey ... " he smiled softly. "Thank you. I've never been with anyone who can turn me on like you. I mean that."

"Me neither," admitted Joey quietly, almost awkwardly. "And ... that's saying a lot, Justin." He licked his lips, then kissed him. "I don't know what it is, but it's there. And I'm trying not to let it be TOO scary, but it's really, you know, BIG. And maybe important. And stuff."

"'Cause it's me?" Justin worried. "Or 'cause I'm a guy?" He didn't understand why it had to be SCARY, being turned on by him. "Hold on a second," he murmured, then, really *needing* to pull out of Joey's body, wincing as he did.

Joey grunted a bit when he does, then relaxes again. "Because it feels really big, you and me. Like it's more special than anything I've had before. That's ... what I meant. And the sex is a part of that, I guess."

"Mmmm," Justin replied, then buried his face in Joey's neck. "Bear?" he said tentatively. "It's gonna be okay. I love you so much, and I'm already learning to LOVE love you, and just ... I'll take care of you," he finished bravely.

Joey laughed happily and held him. "Thank you," he said. "I think I do need a little taking care of, sometimes. But only a little. I'm still ... I really liked that. Like ... REALLY liked that. I never imagined it would be that good."

Justin grinned a little uncomfortably at that, not sure how to respond. "Well ... I'm glad? Do you think ... I mean, would you maybe want to do it to me, like, ever?"

"Oh God, yeah!" said Joey fervently, then chuckles in embarassment. "I mean ... yes?" he offered. "I think it would be ... really good." he said. "I think ... if I practice with my fingers more ... I'll be able to do it without worrying that I'm hurting you."

Justin chuckled too. "Um. I don't think you'll hurt me. And the way you might hurt me?" -- he thought about how big Joey really WAS -- "I don't think your fingers are gonna help."

Joey frowned. "Can you explain that?" he asked tentatitvely. "I'm not sure I understand ... and that worries me."

"OH!" Justin blushed. "No, I didn't mean to worry you. I just ... I wasn't kidding, when I said that, um. You know. You're the biggest guy I've been with. That's all." He kissed Joey's cheek quickly. "But you won't hurt me. We'll be really careful and I know it'll feel amazing."

"Oh!" says Joey. "Um ... I'll be careful," he promised. "I won't do it until I KNOW what I'm doing. I ... okay, at this rate? That'll be, like, tomorrow," he joked.

Justin laughed brightly. "God, I know. It took me, like, forever to do that with Chris. Except ... well, that was way more his doing than mine, so. Maybe it's not so strange." He kissed Joey's lips again, sucking gently. "I might wake you up, tonight, even," he grinned wickedly.

Joey laughed and kissed him. "I'd probably just blow you, if you did that." Then something occured to him, and he hesitated for a moment. "Um ... Justin?"

"Yup?" Justin asked, licking Joey's jaw gently, trying not to give away the fact that he was turned on again, already, from Joey alluding to giving him another blowjob.

"We didn't use a condom, did we," he said slowly. Nervously.

Justin didn't say anything, because Joey knew as well as he did that they didn't. His face fell, and he placed another gentle kiss on Joey's cheek before rolling off of him for the first time since they made love. "You're mad?"

"No, I'm not mad," he said, shaking his head. "I just ... okay, we didn't talk about this much, but Chris pretty much threatened to kick my ass if we ever did it without. Can we ... not tell him? Please?"

"It's not his business," Justin said stiffly, wondering what ELSE they talked about, about him. "But I'm still sorry."

"No, it wasn't his business," agreed Joey. "And I pretty much told him so, too. So don't be sorry. Do you want me to, though ... when I, you know, do it to you?"

Justin turned over and shoved his face in a pillow. "We should," he muttered. "Right? We should, no matter what?" He exhaled heavily. "That was really shitty of me. I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing," insisted Joey, pulling him back into his arms. "I just had the best sex of my life with you. The BEST, Justin. Don't you dare apologize for that. Look, let's just talk about this now, before we're in the heat of the moment again, okay?"

"That's not what I'm apologizing for," Justin said softly, touching Joey's face tenderly, letting him hold him. "It's just ... I'm not a kid. I KNOW better. If I'm old enough to do this, I'm old enough to be responsible. And it didn't even cross my mind. And Chris would kill ME, not you, for it."

"No, he'd kill me," said Joey with a sigh and a sheepish smile. "He knows I've, you know, forgotten ... before. Do you have some? For next time? Or do we need to go out and get some?" he asked earnestly. "I can even go out tonight, if I have to."

Justin smiled and stretched out sensuously along Joey's body. "No, I have some," he said huskily, licking his lips and smiling. "For tonight, if we have to." He moved a hand up along Joey's thigh. "So ... Chris doesn't find out. We're agreed on that."

"Definitely," he agreed. "Not a word to Chris. Where are they? Just so I ... know. In case." He grinned and nipped at Justin's earlobe. "In case things go crazy again."

"God," Justin shuddered a little, and smiled. "Hold on, I'll get them." He rolled over and off the edge of the bed, stretching as he stood up, smiling almost coquettishly over his shoulder as he made his way to the closet. He grabbed a strip of condoms from his suitcase and slinked back over to the bed, kneeling on his hands and knees and crawling over Joey's body. "Where would you like them?"

Joey grinned and decided to skip the obvious innudendo there. "Next to the bed," he said. "And, um, out of sight. In case we forget about them ... and someone comes in here." He felt Justin's erection brush against him and grinned wider. "You can't possibly be hard again."

Justin just nodded, not bothering to be self-conscious about it, and smiled winningly before sliding up further along Joey's body -- further than he needed to reach over and put the condoms in the bedside table drawer, but just far enough that Joey could get a fairly up-close-and-personal idea of just HOW hard he was.

Joey closed his eyes and exhaled softly. "You're -- what's it called? -- insatiable," he said, poking him. "I haven't recovered yet."

"Hmmm?" Justin questioned, leaning back but still hovering over Joey's body. He smiled and reached above him to grip the headboard, bringing his groin even closer to Joey's face. "I didn't do anything."

"Nothing, huh," said Joey, poking him. "Can you ... still hold me a little?" He felt silly, asking that, but it felt like something he needed, right then. "And don't tell me I'm being a girl, okay? I'm feeling, like, vulnerable and stuff."

"I wouldn't say that," Justin insisted, scrambling back down to lay beside Joey. "Are you okay? Am I ... not doing something you need?" He cupped Joey's neck in his hand and kissed him slowly.

"Did it make YOU feel kinda different?" he asked, his face still close to Justin's. "After you had someone inside you for the first time?" He looked into Justin's eyes, wanting -- needing -- an honest answer.

Justin nodded, then cleared his throat. "Yeah," he said softly. "I felt kinda ... owned, for a while after that. Does that make sense? But it was also ... kinda nice, 'cause I felt protected, too. Like somehow doing that, Chris ... or whoever ... had left something of his with me." He blushed. "Dumb, huh?"

"No, that's ... " Joey smiled at him and kissed him very, very softly. "Yeah, that's it exactly. Owned. I lost control. I gave it to you."

Justin smiled back when he realized he'd said the right thing. "Ready to take it back, then?" he murmured in a deeper voice, pressing his pesky erection against Joey's leg.

"I need a little more time," Joey murmured, clutching Justin to him. "Not just yet, okay?" He kissed his head and realized that he really wasn't quite feelig like himself, not yet, but it was coming back.

Justin sighed and wiggled against him, not feeling TOO spurned. "Sorry," he breathed, reaching a hand out to trace along Joey's chest. "Thanks for staying again, tonight," he whispered. "I don't know if I could sleep without you, now."

"People are gonna talk," teased Joey, rolling over onto his side and touching Justin tendrly. "I guess I don't want to be away from you either, though. That'll get easier on tour, if we share a room." He grinned. "See? There are benefits."

"Everything about you is a benefit," Justin said solemnly, with wide eyes, holding still so Joey could touch him however he wanted. "Um ... how are you feeling?" He was starting to worry, a little, that Joey would be in some discomfort.

"What do you mean?" asked Joey, running a hand over Justin's stomach. "I'm fine, I think. Still a little shaken up, but good."

"Not sore?" Justin clarified, although he was relieved that it obviosuly couldn't be bothering him too much. He arched his back into Joey's touch, and tried half-heartedly to ignore his erection. "I didn't ... I should've maybe gotten you ready, a little better."

"Oh," said Joey, nodding his head, understanding. "Yeah ... a little," he admitted. "But I was kinda, you know, expecting that. It's hardly anything. Don't worry. You got me ready just perfect." He stroked Justin's side, then his arm. "Probably even more than you needed but oh god, Justin, it turned me on SO much ... "

Justin stuck out his tongue. "C'mere, bear, and I'll show you 'hardly anything,' for the love of Pete ... " He tugged on Joey until he rolled over on top of him, and then smiled up at his lover's face. "Hey there," he murmured, closing his eyes and tilting his chin for a kiss.

Joey straddled him comfortably and kissed him, closing his eyes. "I'm not afraid of anything anymore," he murmured against his lips.

"Good to know," Justin whispered, still a little teasingly, even though he wondered what exactly Joey might be referring to. He ran his hands down Joey's broad back, and cupped his ass very gently before thrusting his erection up against the inside of Joey's thigh.

"You are SO horny," laughed Joey, rubbing against him slightly as he kissed him again. "I can't believe there was ever a time where I didn't think you were, like, totally sexual." He looked at Justin's happy, youthful face, his almost fully-developed body, his talented hands. "I'm glad we're together," he added.

Justin blushed with pleasure. "Me too," he said softly, then grabbed the lotion still on the bed and held it out enticingly at Joey before stretching over and putting it back in the drawer. With the condoms, now, he remembered, and smiled. "Okay, hop up," he said, patting Joey's legs. "I gotta go clean up, a little."

Joey rolled off him and back onto his back again, caressing Justin's chest as he did. "Okay," he said, nodding. "I should, too. I feel ... sticky." He made a funny face. "That's definitely a new feeling."

"I would make you come with me, but ... " Justin shrugged. "You know. It's not MY bathroom. I may have no shame in here, but ... " He stretched and stood up again, yawning and still as hard as ever. "You okay in here? Want the remote?"

"I'll be fine," said Joey with a reassuring grin. "I'm just gonne ... you know, think. Dibs on the bathroom after you, though."

"Yeah, let's hope you don't run into my mom," Justin grinned, then looked around a minute for his underwear. He couldn't resist giving Joey another kiss before he left. "And don't hurt yourself."

Joey stuck his tongue out at Justin as he left, unable to resist, then lay back on the bed and pulled the covers up a little higher, closing his eyes.

-----

Chris poked Joey in the side playfully. "You're doing it again," he teased. "You've got that goofy, sappy, cute little smile on your face." He reached up and pinched Joey's cheek like a grandmother. "You're gonna spill sooner or later. You know you will."

Joey poked him back, then shuffled over on the couch so Chris couldn't easily reach him. "Not now," he whispered loudly, but Chris was right, he couldn't keep the smile off his face. He glanced over at JC and then at Lance to emphasize his point. Thankfully, they were sitting on the other couch with controllers in their hands, intent on their game and not really paying attention to anyone else.

JC, in fact, was not happy, but doing a pretty decent job of hiding it, to that point. He'd given Joey what were probably even nastier looks that morning at breakfast than he had the day before -- but, he felt, more justified ones too. It seemed like -- SOUNDED like -- both Joey and Justin had just completely ignored his warnings about being cautious about what was happening. And that really pissed him off.

Lance could tell that JC was agitated about something the second he got to the kitchen for breakfast, but he would never be the one to confront him about it. He just went along with it when JC told him he was going to play playstation with him, and tried not to be too obvious about shifting closer to him on the couch.

Justin could be heard bounding down the stairs before they saw him. He burst in with wet hair and a huge grin. "Okay! We swimming, today? It's totally gorgeous out and mom made sweet tea before she left!" He tossed a towel in Joey's lap and had a special smile for him, trying to convey how much he wanted to give him a hug and a kiss, but knowing they hadn't really decided how to talk to the guys about what was going on between them.

Joey smiled back, his eyes twinkling, even happier now that Justin had joined them. He grabbed the towel and slung it over his shoulder, standing up and winking at Chris. "I'm in," he said easily, the image of Justin half-naked in a wet bathing suit crossing his mind. His reaction to that alone would probably be enough to tell the guys that there was a lot more than innocent kissing going on between them.

"How come Joey's special?" pouted Chris, standing up and crossing his arms over his chest. "Where's my towel?" He walked past Justin on his way to the stairs and ruffled his hair affectionately on the way by. "Come on guys, get your asses off the couch for a while and get some fresh air!" He looked back over his shoulder. "Last one in has to make lunch!"

Justin stuck out his tongue at Chris's retreating back and let him pass by without making any motion to follow him without Joey beside him. "Hi," he said shyly and softly, under his breath so only Joey could hear. "Did you say anything?" They really had left it up in the air, but both agreed that something should be said sooner or later.

Lance stood up to follow gamely, tossing down his controller, but JC acted like he had barely heard Justin come in the room. He continued to stare at the television, switching the game over so he was playing against the computer, and didn't say a word. He didn't feel like swimming, and he didn't feel like having to be nice to anyone, and he SURE didn't feel like having to watch Joey and Justin grope each other in the pool.

Joey shook his head. "No, not without you," he murmured, touching Justin's side fleetingly. "Well, Chris knows. Obviously. But not, you know, what we agreed not to tell him -- I didn't actually SAY anything. I, um, think maybe I was obvious in other ways." He smiled sheepishly. "I want to be able to touch you in front of them, especially with your mom being out again."

Chris waited at the top of the stairs and hollered down. "Hurry UP, JC, you're a shit cook!" He could -- just barely -- see JC from the stairs, so he grabbed a kleenex from nearby and, when JC showed no signs of getting up, he started wadding it into little spitballs and flicking them at him.

Justin flushed at the brief contact and looked at JC guiltily. "I want you to be able to, too," he whispered to Joey. "I don't have the self-control to try and keep my hands off you, if you're gonna be all naked and wet and stuff." He smiled and touched Joey's hand before finally walking over to the stairs. "C'mon, Jace," he said louder, echoing Chris's words and chuckling good-naturedly at the bits of paper landing all around him.

"I'm not going, okay?" JC said tightly, still not turning around, startling Lance. "I don't want to. And Chris, stop throwing that shit at me, I mean it."

Lance sat back down gingerly. "Well ... if you're not going, then I ... "

JC gave him a thin smile and handed the controller back. "Not a bad idea. You might want to re-think it too, Chris," he called a little louder. "Three's a crowd, y'know. Especially with those two."

"Shut UP," hissed Joey at JC the moment he said that, wishing he was close enough to smack him on the arm. "You're such an ass sometimes, C." He touched Justin's waist again reassuringly, letting it linger for a moment that time. "You love swimming. Will you just come already?"

Chris came down the first few steps and flicked one last spitball at JC. "It's not like they're going to fuck in front of you," he said bluntly. "Stop being such a baby. Lance is coming, aren't you, Lance?"

Joey cringed a little when Chris said that, but once it was out of his mouth there was no taking it back.

Lance watched JC for a minute, waiting to see if he said anything else, then looked at Chris a little hopelessly ... torn between doing what everyone wanted. But JC wouldn't look at him, choosing instead to glare at Chris.

"You'd hope they wouldn't, at least. But regardless, I don't want to risk getting a visual to go along with the soundtrack from last night. Thanks, though." Satisfied with the shock on Chris's face, JC fixed his gaze on Joey, and then Justin, before turning back to the TV.

Justin whimpered and stepped back, almost like he'd been hit, and felt tears start to burn at his eyes as he stared at the back of JC's head. This was exactly the kind of thing he didn't want to have happen, and somehow he'd messed it up anyway. He moved out of Joey's reach and looked like he might bolt upstairs any second.

Joey reached out and grabbed Justin firmly around the waist. "Fuck you, JC," he shot out over his shoulder at him and kissed Justin firmly. "Don't listen to him," he said softly in Justin's ear as he moved into a tight hug. "We knew maybe he heard, but he doesn't have to be an ass about it. I'll take care of him, okay?"

Chris smiled at them, a little proudly and a little wistfully. And a little worriedly, too, wondering just what JC had heard the previous night. Or what he thought he heard, anyway. "Lance?" he said again, a little less firmly and a little more kindly. "Why don't we go get towels for everyone." Then, watching them for another moment, he added, "Justin, wanna come, too?"

Justin squirmed away from Joey with an apologetic look, wiping his eyes with a fist and ducking his head under Chris's arm to move past him up the stairs. Lance stood up again, too, trying not to look as shocked as he felt about the prospect of Joey and Justin having sex, and not really sure how to react to JC being just ... nasty to them about it, all unprovoked. He smiled at Chris gratefully, though, and went and stood with him on the stairs.

"You might as well go, too, Joe," JC said bitterly. "I mean it, I'm not going, and I'm not talking to you right now. And I'm not apologizing either -- you guys gotta deal with all the consequences of what you're doing." He didn't bother to turn around, didn't see Justin leave, didn't catch any of the looks any of the other three guys were throwing at him.

Chris hurried them up the stairs and handed Lance a pile of fresh towels, then urged him out into the backyard by the pool, but stopped Justin from following him for a moment. "S'okay, angel," he said, kissing him on the cheek since it was getting harder and harder for him to reach the top of Justin's head. "Let them have this out -- they needed to at some point. You wanna talk to me what's going on between you and Joey now?"

----

"Who the HELL do you think you are?" Joey blew up at him as soon as the other three were gone, stalking over and laying a firm hand on JC's shoulder. "And what are you trying to pull here? That was just ... god, you can be SUCH an asshole sometimes. I can't believe you! And you have the nerve to talk to ME about consequences?"

"Get OFF!" JC shrugged his shoulder, trying to get Joey to let go without seeming like he cared enough to actually grab his hand and make him do it. He looked around, finally, and seeing they were alone, shut off the game. "How'm I being an asshole? I was just ... you know. Making sure everyone was on the same page, or whatever. If you guys are ...doing what you're doing ... then Lance and Chris, they deserve to know, too. And if you don't have, like, enough respect for us to *tell* us about it, then you shouldn't expect that you'll get treated with respect in return."

"Did you even give us a chance?" asked Joey, shoving him. "Christ. I thought you were my friend, JC. We deserved to be able to tell you all OUR way -- that was part of why Justin was trying to get everyone outside, right before you decided to throw this little temper tantrum of yours. Not that you could possibly know that because you decided to take it upon yourself to assume you knew what was going on and just blurt out something that, until we told you, was NONE of your fucking business." He glared at him a little longer and waited for JC to start explaining himself.

"Hey!" JC protested when Joey shoved him, fighting hard not to push back. "God, you had all morning to do it. And I didn't bring it up; CHRIS did. So don't get like that with me." He bit his lip and tried to calm down, because Joey WAS his friend, practically his *oldest* friend, and he didn't want Joey mad at *him*, even though he felt justified being mad at *Joey*. "So explain it to me. If it's not what I think it is -- and god, Joe, I hope it isn't -- then what were you *going* to say?"

"There IS such a thing as the right time, you know," scowled Joey. "And fuck, is it so strange I was waiting for Justin to be here too?" He flopped down on the couch where Lance had been sitting before and stretched his arms out along the back. "That was our business to tell, JC, and you know it. I mean, we ARE together now and we aren't just fucking, you know. We're going out. You made it sound like we were screwing and that's all there was to it, which was just fucking rude. Christ."

"So you *are* having sex," JC said softly, his suspicions raised last night, underscored with Justin's reaction earlier, and now ... confirmed by Joey. One of his biggest fears. "Shit, man. I don't ... look, you were *straight*, like, 48 hours ago. What the hell is going ON, here? I mean, I know sex isn't a big deal to you, but that's *fast*, even by your standards."

"I KNOW," said Joey, then lowered his voice. "God, I know, JC. Don't you think I'M a little shaken up by how fast it's going? But ... this feels really right for me. I don't expect you to understand that or maybe even care, but it does. And it's not just sex, not with Justin. We're dating." He looked at JC for an honest reaction now, both fearing it and needing it.

"You're dating," JC echoed flatly, still watching Joey warily. "I'm sorry, I just ... think that's a really weird way to describe whatever it is you're doing. And just ... Jesus, Joe, what FOR? You think this is something long-term, something that isn't just a phase for you, at least, and probably for him too?" He gestured at the room, meaning the group, and closed his eyes. He wanted to be supportive but he just couldn't condone this. "And even if it isn't ... haven't you ever heard that anything worth having is worth waiting for? If you're so disturbed by the whole thing, why'd you make him do it?"

"Make him do it?" repeated Joey, staring at JC. "Make him do WHAT, exactly? Just what do you think IS going on here, JC? Why should we wait, if it's something we both want? If it's the GROUP, you're worried about, right now -- from what I can see -- YOU'RE the only one on his way to fucking anything up. Chris is pretty damn happy for us, and Lance doesn't seem to have a problem either, in case you hadn't noticed."

"They didn't have the pleasure of hearing you fucking Justin's brains out last night, either," JC replied snarkily. "*IS* it something you both want? Maybe I'd believe that a little better if I thought either of you had actually thought about it for thirty seconds. Shit, Joey." He rubbed his forehead and leaned back on the couch. "He's sixteen, he's not going to say no. And it's YOU, so he's *definitely* not going to say no. What happened to being, like, an adult about this and looking out for him, instead of just sticking your dick in him the first chance you got? The fact that you're shaken up by it ... shit. How do you think HE'S handling it, then?"

"It didn't happen that way," protested Joey, suddenly uncomfortable with telling JC what they HAD done. "Look, we DID think about it, and we talked about it, and we KNOW what we're getting into. You think it's me pursuing Justin? You KNOW you've got that backwards -- it was ALL him at first JC. He pursued me. And frankly? I'm glad he did. We're good together and you're too fucked up about this to even notice that. Justin is handling it just fine, JC. It's ME that just had his sexuality turned upside down ... but I don't regret it. Not one single fucking moment. You got that?"

"I got it," JC assured him. "I'm sure he's great in bed; I'm not surprised you don't regret it. That's just like you." He exhaled and tried to get his temper under control. "Look, maybe you *could* be good together. It's just ... how would you even know? You haven't done anything except make out. THAT'S why it's hard to take you seriously when you say you're 'dating.' What you're doing sounds just like screwing around, to me."

"Is that what you think?" asked Joey incredulously. "Has it even occured to you that maybe we've been hanging out when you're not around? That maybe some of the stuff we do together is private and special and you can't overhear?" He smacked JC's arm again, but not hard. "You're a moron sometimes, C. We ARE dating, and we want to be able to be affectionate in front of you guys because it's not something we want to hide from the three of you. And that's not going to change, no matter WHAT you think you know about me and Justin and what we are to each other."

"Fine," JC said stiffly, turning his game back on. "I don't really care if you're affectionate in my *lap*, you know THAT'S not what's bothering me. You're just doing this WAY too fast. You are. And I'm worried about both of you." He paused the game, then, and faced Joey. "So you've been hanging out? Really? Would that be ... down here, when none of the rest of us are home? Or in Justin's room, when we are? Cause you haven't had TIME to do anything. I know you haven't."

"Yeah, we have," insisted Joey. "We hung out here and watched a movie when you and Lance weren't around. And we just watched movies and talked in his room, too, sometimes after you went to bed and stuff. Yeah, I know it's a little fast, but last time was the first time we, you know, had sex. So, I mean, obviously it's not ALL we've been doing. So what are you worried about, anyway? We're fine, JC. We're happy. What are you all WORRIED about?"

"You're fucking Justin," JC reminded him with an arched eyebrow. "He's, like, my baby brother, and you're my best friend, and I don't ever, ever want to be in the middle of that. And, shit, Joey ... he's *sixteen*! I know we all think he's so mature, but ... the fact that he's just a kid has to come out SOMEtime. And it's not like either of you can say no. Chris, at least, knew when it started to get too much. Neither one of you are gonna be able to recognize that. THAT's what worries me."

"I KNOW he's sixteen and I KNOW he's not quite grown up yet and don't you think I've thought about that? But you know what? Neither have I. He's even the more experienced one here, JC -- not that I need to be telling YOU that, since you got to be the one to tell me in the first place. We're not exactly planning on breaking up." Joey paused to clench and unclench his fist for a moment. "And if you want to get technical about it," he added. "Justin is the one fucking ME."

JC stared at Joey for a moment before muttering "wow," and getting up to walk over to the pool table. He never, never expected to hear that, never expected Joey would admit it, if it was the case. More than anything, though, it meant he didn't have the first clue about how much Joey really did care about Justin. "Okay, you know what?" he said softly, eventually, rolling the balls around on the surface. "I don't think we need to continue this conversation. Obviously I just have, like, *no* idea what's going on between you. And I'm not going to pretend to understand. So just ... " he sighed and shook his head. "Go on. Upstairs. I'll apologize to Justin later."

"I don't want to just DROP it," said Joey in frustration. "You're my best friend and I just told you, like, one of the biggest changes that I've had EVER in my life, and I want us to DEAL with this. I'm not gonna let you sweep this under the carpet, JC, not now. Maybe you don't understand and maybe *I* don't understand entirely either, but it IS happening and can we talk about it? You can't just ... do this and then drop it. You can't. YOU brought it up, so YOU get to deal with the, like, consequences of that, now."

"What do you want me to say?" JC told him, still in a quiet voice. "I just ... I can't relate to any part of this. I don't know what it's like to be with a guy. I don't know what it's like to be with a guy who used to be, like, in LOVE with one of my best friends. And I really don't know what it's like to be with a guy -- be with *anyone* -- that I'd trust like that. I'm ... I *don't* trust like that. So ... really ... all I can do is wish you well and tell you that I'm here if something ... falls through. I don't know how else to 'deal' with it."

"Do you at least know it isn't just fucking now?" asked Joey, walking over to the pool table and leaning on it next to JC. "Yeah, I had to trust him. A lot. And I do. And it was wonderful, JC, and that's all I'm gonna tell you about that. Probably more than you wanted to hear." He touched JC's shoulder gently to make him turn around and face him. "It's maybe not gonna be perfect, but what is? We both want to try ... and it's gonna be hell to do that if you're against us, JC."

JC looked at Joey. "Well. It *sounded* wonderful," he joked weakly, hitting him on the arm. "But yeah, I'll ... take your word for that. Just ... you were careful, right? God, please be careful." He winced, a little, thinking about how *bad* it could be if they weren't. "And I'm not *against* you," he assured him, after enjoying their proximity for another moment or two. "I just ... I can tell you I'll be bad about jumping to conclusions, if you guys don't ... tell me things."

"Next time give us a chance, okay?" said Joey, punching him back and braving a smile. "We needed a little time to get used to it ourselves, before we told everyone about it. And we'll try and keep it down. Fuck, if LYNN ever heard ... well, there'd be hell to pay, that's for damn sure." He grimaced and looked down for a moment. "NOT looking forward to the day when we work up to telling HER about us ... "

"Yeah," JC said a little awkwardly. "That'll be ... yeah." He didn't say anything for a moment, actually kind of stunned that Joey really DID seem to be thinking so long-term, so *seriously*. He had no idea *what* Justin did to him -- this really *wasn't* the Joey he knew -- but ... JC did have to admit he seemed happy. "You still gonna make me apologize to Justin?"

"You should," said Joey, nodding seriously. "That really upset him, JC. He ... is as into this as I am, okay? So don't make like it's not important to us, that's all. I dunno. Maybe someday soon I'll actually be able to explain it to you. Not just the guy thing or the Justin thing, but ... everything." He grinned at JC, then, and punched his arm again. "So are you coming swimming or not?"

"In a little while," JC sighed. "I hafta sit down here and craft my apology." He turned around and squeezed Joey's elbow in return. "I'm sorry, too. For how what I said might've made you feel, or ... yeah. I'm sorry." He hopped up onto the table, biting his lip. "Give Justin a hug for me, 'kay?"

Joey grinned and winked. "Can I squeeze his ass for you, too?" he joked bravely as he moved away to grab the towel that Justin had given him, looking back over his shoulder at JC.

JC rolled his eyes good naturedly. "No. Do that for yourself, horn-dog. Jeez." He smiled, a little more broadly than he felt, and waved Joey up the stairs. He really, really needed a little time to himself to think about all of it, before he felt brave enough to talk to Justin.

"I'm gonna tell them you're coming," Joey warned him as he slung the towel over his shoulder again and headed for the stairs. "Don't be too long, or Chris'll come down her and throw, like, gummy bears at you. Or no, Chris would never waste gummy bears, but, like, carrots, or something. It won't be pretty."

"Yeah, yeah," JC waved at him, then walked over to the sofa and threw himself down on it. God.

---

Chris hurried them up the stairs and handed Lance a pile of fresh towels, then urged him out into the backyard by the pool, but stopped Justin from following him for a moment. "S'okay, angel," he said, kissing him on the cheek since it was getting harder and harder for him to reach the top of Justin's head. "Let them have this out -- they needed to at some point. You wanna talk to me what's going on between you and Joey now?"

---

"Why's he so mean, to us?" Justin sniffed. "We didn't do ANYTHING wrong. Did we? And he was just so ... so MEAN." He bit his lip and swiped away more tears. "I should go make sure Joey's okay."

Chris put a hand on Justin's arm, firmly but kindly. "Justin ... Joey can take care of himself. You know that. Do you want to sit down somewhere, to do this?" He gestured toward the empty kitchen behind them as an option.

"To do what," Justin replied distractedly, still looking down the stairs, shrugging Chris's hand off. He knew Joey said he'd talk to JC, but ... Justin figured JC was just worried about him, still. And so maybe if Justin just TOLD him how happy he was ...

"I just wanna know what's going on, angel," he said soothingly. "I wanna know what JC meant when he said he heard you last night. I'm a little worried, and talking to you will make me less worried, I think, okay?" Chris forced himself into a take-care-of-Justin mindset, even though all he wanted to do was go downstairs and pour glue in JC's hair or something.

Justin finally looked at Chris and let him lead him into the kitchen. "What? Oh. No, we're fine. Why are you worried?" He looked back over his shoulder at the stairwell. "I guess he just heard us, y'know. Um. Making out." He grinned. "Joey's loud."

Chris nodded and grinned at him. "Good to know," he said. "You're not pushing him too much, are you?" he asked, remembering his conversation with Joey the previous day. "He hasn't done a lot of the stuff that you have. Even though he's the Big Joey Sex God, it's all been with girls ... "

Justin frowned and ducked his head. "Why would I PUSH him? Do you think he doesn't want me? Did he SAY that? ... And while we're on that subject, I ... god, Chris, it feels really weird that you talked to him about me."

Chris nodded and looked down guiltily for a moment. "We ... didn't really talk about YOU much, Justin," he said. "Though we did a little. Joey wanted someone to talk to about it -- someone OUTSIDE the relationship -- and I was pretty much the only option. Really ... he just asked me about, like, sex ... so he'd know how to make you feel good. He was really kinda embarassed, too. Sex God Joey doesn't have to ask about sex much."

"*Big* Sex God Joey," Justin corrected him, and then smiled to let Chris know that he wasn't that upset about them talking. Especially since Joey had reassured him of the same thing, that they weren't talking about HIM. "No, I know. I guess ... I should thank you. I think you made him comfortable in, like, a way I couldn't."

"Well, I guess you'd know," said Chris, smirking at the 'Big'. "But listen Justin ... there were some things that we talked about -- I think you can probably guess what -- that he seemed REALLY nervous about. It might be a little while before he's ready, so take it slow, okay? He needs you to take it at his pace for a little while." The reminder was gently and loving, not pushy.

Justin swallowed and looked away from Chris, trying to hide the concern on his face. He was pretty sure he COULD guess what Chris meant, and it just brought back a lot of his concerns about how quickly they did ... what they did. "Okay," he said softly. "But ... what if he says it's okay? THEN we can do stuff, right?" He really, really wanted Chris's reassurance.

"Well, yeah, sure. You guys can do whatever you want, when he's ready for it," Chris said easily, grinning at Justin's obvious eagerness. "And I know I don't have to give YOU the safe sex lecture, right?"

Justin buried his face in his hands. "No," he mumbled. "No, you don't have to tell me that I suck if I don't use a condom, and you don't have to tell me I suck if I let something happen in the heat of the moment when we haven't discussed it ahead of time, and you don't have to tell me I just ... suck, okay?"

Chris frowned in concern and reached out to lift Justin's chin. "Okay," he said. "That was a bit of an overreaction. Have I been that bad with the safe sex lectures? I just, you know, care about you, angel. And I *never* said you suck ... "

"I know," Justin said softly, pulling his face away gently, feeling strange to have Chris touch him like that since he'd been so intimate with Joey. "Your lectures are fine, forget it. I'm just ... I feel like I should be feeling bad about something, but I kinda *don't*, and so ... I'm feeling BAD that I don't. Y'know?"

"No, I don't know," said Chris, shaking his head, even though he thought he was getting an inkling that something had happened he didn't know about. "Why don't you tell me, Justin?"

A pained look crossed Justin's face. "It's not really ... I'm not sure I should tell you about it. I don't want you to, like, get mad. Although ... saying that, I guess you can figure out what I'm getting at."

Chris's eyes flicked down for a brief moment, and he didn't confirm or deny that. "What happened last night, Justin?"

Justin frowned, again, knowing he'd tell Chris because he asked, and sort of wishing he didn't feel like he could unburden himself. It wasn't Chris' problem. Or his business. And Justin was being insensitive and dragging him into it. "We did it, we had sex," he said shortly, and waited for the reaction.

Chris is startled, but not as much as he would have been without Justin hinting at it. "That's fast," he acknowledges. "He wanted to?" He shook his head at himself. "He must've," he added, answering his own question. "Hell, just yesterday he was asking me the right way to finger someone ... "

"Yeah," Justin sighed a little. "He was really good at it, too. The fingering. Well, and the rest." He didn't take his eyes off the older man. "Chris? Are you ... do you think that wasn't smart?"

"To let Joey make love to you?" asked Chris, choosing his words carefully. It wouldn't do any good to overreact right now, even though it hurt to hear that Justin had finally had sex with someone besides him. "Did you both enjoy it?"

Justin nodded, watching Chris with big eyes. "Yeah, a lot," he said honestly. "I was ... kinda worried about him, but ... he swore he liked it. Um. He said it was the best sex he'd ever had." He bit his lip. "Chris? Please. Was that bad?"

Chris shook his head. "It's up to the both of you what you want to do with each other," he said honestly. "As long as you stay safe, and you both want it, then it's not bad, Justin. Trust yourself ... you're not a bad person." He grinned encouragingly. "Best sex he ever had?" he repeated. "Be flattered."

Justin couldn't keep the grin from his face. "Well. I mean. Not that he had, like, ANYTHING to compare it to. Maybe he just was ... y'know. Kinda caught up in the new-ness."

"Well, yeah," agreed Chris, happy to see Justin smiling about it now. "But he HAS fucked a lot of girls. And that's KINDA the same." He reached out and tweaked Justin's nose. "Be flattered, already."

"Well, RIGHT, but ... " Justin trailed off, suddenly realizing what Chris thought had happened. "Oh. OH. Chris ... no ... that's not, um, what happened." He blushed furiously, and tucked his chin, trying not to feel strange that Chris had made that assumption.

Chris frowned at him; Justin couldn't POSSIBLY mean what he thought he meant. "Explain it to me in simple words, Justin," he said softly. "What happened?"

Justin shrank back a little from the intensity of Chris's expression. "We ... had sex. Like I told you. But ... I don't know. It seemed like you thought I ... bottomed? But HE did." He looked at Chris with a measure of apprehension and confusion.

Chris's eyes widened in shock. "HE did?" he repeated, almost not believing it. "There's no way ... really? Um ... wow, Justin. I don't know what to say." And he really didn't, the utter shock of that relevation overwhelming everything else.

Justin's face fell. "You're mad," he said quickly. "I shouldn'tve, right? That's what you think? I'm SORRY, Chris ... "

"I'm not mad," insisted Chris, reaching out for Justin's arm, still trying to get a handle on what he'd been told. "I'm just ... surprised. Really, really surprised. There's just ... there's no WAY he was ready for that, when I talked to him. What changed?" He smiled, quickly figuring out the answer to THAT at least. "He must care about you a lot, Justin."

Justin shrugged and shrank back a little more. "I don't know. I ... asked, and he said 'okay.' I didn't know he was that ... nervous about it, or scared, or whatever. You don't think he'd want me to, or something?"

"He must've wanted you to very much," said Chris softly, still trying to reassure him. "He wasn't ready when I talked to him. I guess he ... was ... when he was with you. And," he added. "He certainly seemed okay with it today. Okay with being with you. You didn't do anything bad, Justin."

Justin bit his lip, knowing that they had done something a little bad, but steadfast in his promise to Joey not to say anything. "I think he is okay with it," he agreed quietly. "It was really nice waking up with him, seeing him smile ... you don't think he was just telling me it was good, to make me feel better, do you?"

"Joey wouldn't do that," said Chris confidently. For a moment he had to just look at Justin, to remember what they'd had, once, and he KNEW Joey wasn't just telling him that. Justin could be your whole world, when he wanted to be. "He meant it."

"I think he did too," Justin breathed, hugging himself. "I'm really lucky. How lucky am I, seriously? I mean ... I had NO idea he'd be interested in a guy, at all. And look at us now."

"You're very lucky," said Chris, forcing the smile to remain on his face. "You're incredibly lucky, Justin. And so's he. Just remember to be careful and ... remember I care about you, okay, angel? Take care of yourself."

"Okay, Chris," Justin said agreeably, thinking he really WAS lucky: Joey was downstairs, yelling at JC because he made Justin cry, and Chris was sitting here, being way cooler than he had to be, making Justin feel better about everything ... "I am," he assured him. "And I'm taking care of Joey, too. I told him I would."

"Yeah," said Chris, leaning his elbow against the table and resting his head on his hand. "He needs a little taking care of. I bet he's taking care of you, too."

Justin nodded. "He is. I mean ... he already looks out for me. Like you did." He smiled. "I think I maybe don't deserve him. Why didn't Kelly treat him better? Or the other girls he dated?"

Chris shrugged, unable to answer that question. "Maybe it had something to to do with how he treated them, too," he admitted. "He treats you good?" It was both reassuring and painful to know that Justin viewed Joey as affectionately as he'd viewed Chris, once.

Justin smiled tenderly. "So far, yeah. He doesn't let me pout, and he holds me really close when we fall asleep. And he plays with my hair." He sighed and leaned his chin on his own fist, mimicking Chris. "He makes me talk a lot, though. He doesn't know me like you do."

"Joey and me are different people," said Chris, knowing maybe that Justin knew that, but he didn't KNOW that. "We learn different." He reached out and ruffled Justin's hair, just wanting to TOUCH him. "Maybe having to learn how to talk about stuff is good for you. Who knows."

Justin blushed and batted at Chris's hand. "I don't like it, though," he pouted. "Can't you, like, tell him how to read me? Like you gave him finger-fucking lessons?" It doesn't really occur to Justin that it might be really, really hard for Chris to hear any of this. Especially after Justin had thrown himself at Chris only a couple nights before.

"You know I can't do that, Justin," said Chris, trying not to show any of the emotions that he was feeling right then. "Joey's not me. And he's never going to be me. And you wouldn't WANT him to be me ... right? You want him to be Joey."

Sighing again heavily, Justin smiled at Chris. "I know. He's perfect, the way he is." He closed his eyes, remembering the way he felt inside him. "I'm glad you're not mad at me, for sleeping with him," he said earnestly. "That would make me really ... sad."

"I'm not mad," Chris assured him again, closing his own eyes for a moment, but for different reasons. "If you two care about each other enough to do that, and you both WANT it, then that's great. It really is."

"You okay?" Justin asked offhandedly as he stood up. "Can I go check on Joey, now?"

"Why don't you go outside?" suggested Chris gently, ignoring his first question. He didn't even know how to answer. "I think Joey is doing what he needs to do right now." And he did believe that, that Joey and JC were too good of friends not to work this out, and if they had to yell at each other first, that was okay.

Justin turned around, sensitive enough to catch on to a little of what wasn't being said. "Come outside with me, then. And tell me you're okay, Chris." He didn't bother to mask the worry on his face, even if he wasn't sure what caused it.

"I'm fine," said Chris breezily, smiling at him, genuinely touched by his concern. "You go ahead. I'm just gonna get some drinks, okay? Lance has been alone out there for a while ... "

"Lance!" Justin scoffed. "He's fine. He needs the sun." But he fell for Chris's smile, and the fact that the other man used to be blunt if something wasn't going the way he wanted. Justin walked over to him, throwing an arm around his neck and kissing him gently on the lips before backing up toward the door. "Thanks for listening, Chris."

Chris touched his lips with his own fingers fleetingly. "Any time, angel. You know that. See you in a few minutes."

"'Kay!" Justin said, bouncing out of the room. "You'll send Joey out as soon as he comes up, right?" he called over his shoulder.

"I don't think I'll have to send him!" Chris called back, opening the fridge and pulling out a can of Coke for himself. Then he sat back down at the table with no intention of leaving just yet.

A few minutes later, Joey did come up the stairs, followed shortly by a tense-looking JC who made a beeline for the fridge. "Oh!" he said sharply when he turned around and actually noticed Chris sitting there. "I thought you were outside, man. And what? No spitballs?"

Chris smiled sheepishly and shook his head, not really having the energy -- for once -- to make a snappy comeback. "I'm just ... you know." Then he shrugged and took a dip of his Coke. "Everything cool? I mean ... with you and Joey? And ... the situation?"

JC narrowed his eyes at Chris's response, then joined him at the table. "Yeah, we're ... okay. He set me straight on some ... stuff, and ... " He trailed off, knowing how painful the knowledge he had would be to Chris, and not wanting to get into it. "I gotta apologize to Justin, though, which I totally am not looking forward to."

Chris nodded. "He wanted to go down there," he said. "I told him that you and Joey needed to handle this on your own." He twisted his lips a little, then took a sip of his Coke to hide what he was thinking, what he might have said.

"Thanks for calming him down," JC said, relieved. "You've got the magic touch, with that boy." He drank a little bit of the tea he'd poured. "Are you gonna make me come out and ASK why you're still in here?"

"Does it matter?" he asked honestly. "I'm just ... not ready to go outside yet. I'm ... allergic to the sun."

JC stared at Chris carefully, appraisingly. "Okay. Are you gonna make me come out and ask why you're avoiding Joey? Or Justin? Or ... the two of them, together?"

Chris cringed for a moment, torn wide open by that observation. "I miss him," he said simply, each word laced with pain. He looked down and sipped his Coke again and hoped that JC wouldn't take advantage of that confession. A moment later he wondered why he'd said it at all.

"You do," JC agreed, and tried to decide if that was an invitation to talk. Or a plea, even. "This can't be easy. Did ... does he know? Justin? Did you tell him?"

Chris looked up again, just enough to see him. "Tell him WHAT?" he asked, clenching his teeth invisibly. "That I miss him?"

"That," JC said evenly, shrugging. "Or that this is hard for you." JC knew the answer was no, but wanted Chris to realize he could say that stuff to Justin.

Chris shook his head. "Justin ... doens't need to hear that right now. He needs to know that I'm supporting him, which I am." There were a lot of other things he could have added to that as well, but he didn't know if JC wanted to hear them, so he sipped his Coke instead.

"You know I have to ask why that's the case," JC told him, apologetically. "Why you're supporting him, I mean. Especially ... I mean. Do you want him back?"

"Because he wants Joey and Joey wants him," said Chris. And to him, it WAS as simple as that. "Whether I want him back or not ... it doesn't matter. I don't think about it."

"Liar," JC said softly. "And long do you think you'll be able to keep him fooled, anyway? At some point -- if he hasn't already -- he's going to come to you with some story, or some look on his face, and it's going to rip you open."

"I'll get over it," said Chris, his voice rough. "We haven't been together for a while now, JC. It's not like he dumped me for Joey, or something." But he knew, somehow, that JC was right, that someday, some mention of Justin's happiness with Joey WAS going to be too much, no matter how happy he was FOR them. And he genuinely was, because more than anything he wanted Justin to be happy.

"Well," JC leaned forward. "if you can figure out how that makes it any easier, I'd be interested to hear." He sat in silence with Chris for several minutes before speaking up again. "Don't make me ask you, again, Chris. I can tell you need to talk about this. You might as well do it with me."

Chris sighed heavily. It was easy, coaxing people to talk to him. He was friendly and harmless and had an innocent wisdom about him. It was hellish trying to make himSELF talk about anything important. "Look, Justin was a fantastic boyfriend and I miss him to pieces. And he's with Joey, now. And even if he WASN'T with Joey, he wouldn't be with me. And I can't change ANY of that."

"Probably not," JC agreed reluctantly, remembering how Joey had defended Justin so protectively, remembering the implications of Joey letting Justin make love to him. "You probably could've gotten Joey to back off, earlier. But now? He'd fight you, HARD, over that one."

"I didn't want to keep them apart," said Chris, shaking his head. "Do you get that? I wanted it to happen ... because Justin wanted it to happen." He closed his eyes for a moment and tried to lock down the pain that was so obviously leaking from him. If JC had come upstairs even five minutes later, this conversation probably never would have happened. But he didn't, and it was.

"That's very brave," JC said honestly. "No regrets, then?" He wasn't sure what he wanted Chris to SAY, really, but he knew he was still keeping things inside him that would come out sooner or later. And it might be better that it was with JC, than Joey. Or Justin.

Chris shrugged. "If I thought I could have him back? And that he would be happy with me forever? Then I would go for it. But shit ... I mean, I'm not even sure *I* could be happy with *him* forever. And that's part of the reason we broke up in the first place. I'm not so far gone that I'm forgetting that. It's just ... you know." He shrugged helplessly and hoped JC DID know.

"It's just raw right now?" JC guessed. "Seeing them so wrapped up in each other?" He took a breath. "Or ... DID Justin say something, to you?"

"Justin said a lot of things to me," said Chris, moving his coke aside and resting his forehead against the table, muffling his voice. "None of them helped. But ... at least he's happy. THEY'RE happy."

"I'm ... sorry," JC said awkwardly, not used to seeing Chris like that, and knowing he had good reason. "Did you want to go home? I can tell them you got called away to do something, if you want ... ?"

Chris shook his head. "This'll pass," he said, sounding as confident as he could. "I'll be fine. And I'll watch them tease and play and I'll KNOW that I'll have that again someday, and with someone I love ... just not with Justin. So I'm not being a TOTAL loser about this, or anything." He lifted his head and looked at JC. "But thanks. For offering."

"You're welcome," JC said softly. "You're not being a loser, Chris ... I meant it when I said you were really brave. You just ... you gotta look out for yourself, too, okay? Don't get roped into these conversations with Justin where he waxes poetic about Joey. I doubt he knows that it's affecting you at all."

Chris smiled, almost to himself. "He doesn't know," he said quietly. "He wouldn't do it, if he knew. He's a sweetheart, that way. But really ... I don't want Justin to ever feel like he can't come to me about stuff like that. I'll cope, JC. I'd rather have it, than not."

"WHY?" JC winced. "Why do you want that? It'd be really easy to get him to stop. Like you said ... if he knew how it made you feel ... "

"Because if he doesn't come to me, then who is he going to?" asked Chris sincerely. "JC ... I'll answer anything Justin ever asks me, and I'll do it honestly, and I feel safe, knowing he'll come to me about ANYTHING. That he trusts me, and he'll never have to go without that kind of confidant. I'm not going to ruin that." He smiled sadly. "And I love him," he added. "I'll take what I can get, sometimes."

JC exhaled shakily at that admission. This, THIS, was just another one of the reasons that this thing between Joey and Justin was NOT a good idea. At some point, Chris would start resenting Joey, or having to distance himself from Justin, and it would really ruin the already-tenuous dynamic. "What happens if he asks you *that*, then?" he questioned. "If he asks you if you still love him? Or ... if you still want him back?"

"I'll tell him I still love him," said Chris easily. "But I won't tell him I want him back. I mean ... I don't, not if it gets between him and Joey. I mean, have you SEEN them together? It IS right. I don't doubt that." He rested his chin on his hand again and sighed. "I'd love it if me and Justin worked out, but maybe I just want that KIND of relationship back. Guy, girl, whatever -- just that no-holding-back love thing that we had. That he probably has with Joey, now."

JC sighed, knowing that Chris was probably right, but also knowing there was no way he was going to get that from somebody outside of the group -- not for a while, not with what their lives were going to be like. "I haven't really seen them together, no," JC admitted. "And I don't know when *you* did, but ... I don't know, I guess you can see things I can't. I *do* know that Joey's really ... god, he must be serious about it. The thing he was maddest about? Was, like, me saying something that made whatever it is they have sound ... cheaper, I guess, than how he sees it."

"Well, you did," said Chris bluntly. "What ... they did ... they have ... wasn't cheap, not to them." He remained deliberately vague about it, not knowing what JC knew, or thought he knew, or heard ... or what Joey had told him about it. "And you know the both of them better than that, anyway. I mean, this isn't some random chick -- they were friends, first. It DOES make a difference, you know." He sighed again. "Not that you've ever really understood what it's like."

"What *what's* like?" JC asked tightly, knowing that whatever it is, Chris was probably right. He *didn't* feel like that about girls he dated -- not yet, anyway. "Being in bed with a friend? Or with a guy?" He leaned back in his chair. "Doesn't matter. I *don't* think it was cheap. I never said it was. I just ... had a hard time taking it seriously, since it happened *so* fast. Don't you think it was fast?"

"Don't I think what was fast, exactly?" asked Chris carefully, watching JC's reactions. "It was a pretty smooth transition from friends to dating, really. Maybe it only looks fast, you know, from the outside." He sipped the Coke again; it was starting to get warm and flat. He wished it was something stronger.

"*Dating,* right," JC snorted, but not meanly. From friends to *fucking*, he wanted to say, because he wanted *someone* to agree with him that this was all WAY too fast, but there was no way he was going to tell Chris about that. He was already more depressed than he ever saw him, and JC had gotten in trouble way too much for opening his damn mouth in the last two days, spilling secrets. "Joey was *straight,*" he reminded him, finally. "And he's spent the last two nights here."

"Well, then, I guess he WASN'T so straight, after all, was he?" said Chris with a bit of a smirk. "I know he's been here the last two nights," he went on. "That's what the beginning of a relationship is like -- can't get enough of each other. Look ... were they really that loud last night? Do I need to be telling the two of them to be a little more careful?"

JC had an uncomfortable expression on his face. "Yeah, they were," he said softly. "Loud. *Both* of them. I mean, I used to hear the two of *you*" -- he blushed at that admission -- "but not like this. There was ... uh, shouting. And it wasn't that late, either. I don't think Lynn thinks twice about you guys staying over, but if she hears that? There's no way that wasn't obviously ... what it was."

"Sex," said Chris bluntly, then shook his head. "I guess I get to work that into my next safe sex lecture." He frowned and tapped his fingers against the table. "I hate being the grown up," he admitted. "But Lynn would NOT be happy about that." That's a gross understatement, and they both know it. "Shouting? They know better."

'Apparently not," JC said softly, watching Chris carefully, wondering if he *knew*, or was guessing. He couldn't begin to imagine how that felt, for Chris, knowing that Joey had basically taken his place in Justin's bed like that. After a moment, JC realized Chris HAD to know ... it really was the only way to explain how bent out of shape he really was. "Justin told you," he said, and it wasn't a question. "He told you what they did, didn't he."

Chris nodded. "Yeah," he said softly. "We talked about it. He's really happy. Is Joey as happy as Justin is?" He looked at JC, hoping he would get an honest answer about that at least, needing to know. "I never thought they would, not this soon ... especially not, you know, THAT way ... "

JC blushed, that comment get almost too detailed for him to deal with again, so soon. "He said it was wonderful," he remembered. "He's ... a little shaken up, but he doesn't regret it one bit, I don't think." He got lost in his head for a minute, actually thinking about it. "I can't believe he let Justin do that to him, I CAN'T believe it. God, he's fallen hard. He was about to rip my head off."

"Yeah, I think he has," agreed Chris, remembering how nervous Joey had been to begin with, and how, in the end, he'd jumped in with everything he had to offer. His whole body. His whole heart. "I think we both have to accept that. Joey and Justin ... it's a good thing." He did wonder if Joey, too, was going to come to him later, to go into detail about what they'd done and ask more questions. He wasn't entirely sure he could DO that.

"How would we know, if it wasn't, though?" JC protested, surprised that Chris *was* actually okay with how much had happened between their friends already, and a little upset that he was alone in this again. "How would *they* know? It's not like they've had enough time to even catch their breath, let alone *think* about this." He bit his lip. "I'm still really worried. I know they care about each other, and trust each other, and wouldn't hurt each other on purpose, but ... " He sighed. "God. Joey was even talking about what it was going to be like to *tell* Lynn about them. That's *serious*, man."

Chris nodded solemnly. "They AREN'T just fucking with each other, and it is a big deal and a serious thing, and we need to let them do it. It's not our choice, JC, and I think we BOTH need to remember that. So ... whatever happens ... we need to be here for them. They're, like, falling in love and they're NOT totally rational right now and we can't expect them to be. I ... I remember what that was like. So we just ... let this happen. Ride it out. And look out for them. And that's ALL we can -- and should -- do."

"God, how do you DO that?" JC looked at Chris incredulously. "They're *fucking*, Chris. Justin, the guy you said yourself you're still in love with, is fucking somebody else. One of your *best* *friends*. And *talking* to you about it, about how good it is. And ... okay, falling in love with him too, I guess. He's *replacing* you, Chris. Isn't that hard to deal with?"

"Shut UP," said Chris, looking down and gritting his teeth. "Jesus, JC, don't you have any TACT?" He squeezed the Coke can until it began to dent and crumple. "Yeah ... it's hard to deal with ... okay? But I AM. I have to. He was going to find someone else someday, and part of me is GLAD it was Joey. Someone I know and trust, more or less. And I'M going to find someone else too, someday. That's just how life is."

JC flinched, not meaning to make Chris mad, just ... still trying to get someone else on his side, thinking that this wasn't all hearts and flowers. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I just meant ... I can't believe how well you're taking it, is all. I still think maybe you should let him know that he can't ... go to you, like he does, anymore. I care about you too, even if you think that's crap, and I don't want you to be ... hurt like this, everytime Justin gets all swoony."

"He CAN come to me," insisted Chris. "He can ALWAYS come to me, and I'm not going to change that. Not a chance, JC. It would hurt worse to think he thought he couldn't. Seriously. I need to be ... THAT, to him. It makes me feel safer. It makes me feel like HE's safer. Frankly ... I'd do it for all of you if I thought you would take me seriously." He let go of the can and shoved it away again. "I'll cope, JC. I have been."

"Fine," JC said softly, trying not to take too personally the way his concern was sort of ignored. He was doing and saying the things that *he* thought were best for everyone involved, too, even if no one seemed to get that. "Will you promise *me* something, then? That you'll come talk to me, if you need to, if it hurts? Cause ... I'll listen, and I'm really worried about what might happen if you don't let it out somehow. Worried for *you*, that you might say something to him, or to Joey, that you'd wish you hadn't."

Chris looked up at him, surprised, then smiled. "That's really decent of you, JC," he said. "Thanks. That's, um, what I think I'm doing ... right now. Because it DOES hurt ... even though I know it'll pass." He sighed dramatically. "Maybe I just need to get laid, huh?" he said and grinned at him. It really did mean something to him, that JC was offering, like that. It wasn't something he did, often.

"We ALL just need to get laid," JC said, echoing Chris's sigh, thinking that he himself needed reaffirmation that sex could be just SEX. With some girl that he didn't need to be in love with, or WORK with, for shit's sake. "You'll be okay," he said then, seriously. "You're, like, the strongest guy I know. And ... I don't know if this helps, but ... " He squinted at Chris. "You'll always be the first person he loved, Chris. And that means ... a lot to him."

Chris smiled, and it wasn't quite as sadly this time. "Justin and I still have something special. It's just not ... that ... anymore. And that's okay, it really is." He reached out and squeezed JC's arm. "How about you and me hit the clubs tonight?" he suggested. "See if we can't find what we need?"

"That'd be great!" JC grinned broadly, newly 21 and really basking in the invitation from Chris to go out for real, not just to be 'seen.' Or because he got roped into babysitting Justin. "Really, thanks, Chris." He sighed and stood up, putting his glass in the sink. "You ready? I think I want you out there, when I apologize to Justin. He's less likely to rub it in, if he thinks he's acting immature around you."

Chris nodded and threw his mangled Coke can away. "Yeah," he said after a moment. "Okay. I think I can do this now." He smiled genuinely at JC. "Thanks, man. I mean that." He wondered briefly if JC would be freaked out if he picked up a guy tonight, then pushed that thought away. He'd deal with that later. "Grab some drinks to bring out -- I told Justin I would."

"Then *you* do it," JC teased, opening the fridge to grab some more sodas himself anyway. And the tea. "I'm kidding. And ... you're welcome, Chris. It's ... nice to feel like everyone doesn't think I'm, like, the spawn of Satan, all the time." He looked forward to a fun night where he didn't feel like he'd have to be the responsible one, either. Nudging the door to the deck open with his shoulder, he gave Chris a brief smile.

"Just treat them good and they won't," said Chris honestly. "I'm not trying to, you know, piss you off or anything, but ... you KNOW Justin is just, like, the best friend ever, if you treat him good." He grabbed another drink for himself and headed for the door. "Good luck," he said on his way by. "It'll be fine."

"I *do* treat him good," JC muttered, letting the screen bang shut behind them. "I just seem to be the only person who remembers he's only sixteen, half the time." He sighed and squinted into the sun, thinking this was about the last thing he wanted to do right then ... made tolerable only by the prospect of getting laid later that night.

---

Justin leapt down the stairs and made his way quickly over to where Lance sat, looking a little dejected, by the pool. "Hey man," he said breezily, feeling like a pretty big weight had been lifted since he got some of that off his chest to Chris, and he hadn't gotten upset. "Thought you'd be all greased up and ready to get burnt to a crisp, by now."

Lance looked back over his shoulder. "Justin?" he said, as though not believing he was really there. He smiled, only slightly. "You came. I thought ... never mind." He looked back at the water again. "It wasn't much fun, being out here alone."

"Sorry 'bout that," Justin said easily, resting a hand on the back of Lance's neck. "I kinda had to ... fill Chris in. On, uh, what JC was talking about." He wasn't going to be embarrassed talking to LANCE, and he wasn't going to really apologize either.

"What WAS JC talking about?" asked Lance, not looking at him this time. "Is someone gonna fill ME in, too, maybe?" He didn't want to be pushy, but he did want to know what was happening here.

"I thought ... " Justin frowned. "I thought you were there. The other day, when ... y'all saw us in the pool? Me and Joey?" Justin did think Lance could be kind of slow sometimes, but he didn't think he was THAT dense.

"Yeah, I saw," admitted Lance, nodding, shrinking into himself a little more. "But what does that MEAN, exactly? I mean ... what's going on between you two. Am I ... am I allowed to know?"

Justin laughed at him a little. "Sure, of course. We were gonna tell all of you, together, before JC opened his big fat mouth." He smiled broadly. "We're going out. Together. And ... stuff."

"For real?" asked Lance, turning to look at him this time, his eyes wide. "You and Joey? You're ... ?"

Justin nodded energetically before his smiled slipped a little. "You seem ... surprised. Uh, is it ... are you uncomfortable, 'cause we're ... guys?"

Lance blushed and shook his head. "No, it's cool. I'm just ... I didn't know is all. You guys never said you were, so ... I just didn't know," he finished lamely.

Justin caught the blush, and wondered about it fleetingly before fixing on what Lance said. "We never said we were ... what? Into guys? I don't ... I'm not sure Joey really was."

"Yeah," agreed Lance, nodding. "That you were into guys. So ... Joey wasn't?" He bit his lip and looked at him hopefully. "How did you convince him?"

Justin's jaw dropped a little at Lance's pleading expression. "Um, what? I didn't ... I really didn't do anything." He wondered if he should be saying anything, if this was still private for Joey, and then figured it couldn't hurt. "I think he had experimented a little, but ... I don't know. JC told him I liked him and it kinda all ... went from there." He watched Lance carefully. "Why?"

Lance looked down and blushed again, shaking his head. "No reason," he lied. "So ... um ... you were into guys? Before?"

Justin started a bit, before he realized that Lance must not know, still, about him and Chris. And that *was* still private. "Yeah," he said honestly. "I've dated guys. Loved a guy, actually. I'd say I was into them." Still staring, he cocked his head. "Lance? Seriously, why'd you ask me that, about ... convincing Joey?"

Lance was still blushing, or that would have done it again. "I just ... like someone, you know? And I don't know how to approach them ... and, well, if you can approach JOEY, you must know a lot about that kind of thing. I thought. Maybe."

Justin laughed. "Are you kidding? I was scared shitless of him finding out. He was telling me about this guy he'd been with, kinda by accident, and I practically pretended I had no idea what he was talking about. I didn't *approach* him. He confronted ME, after JC told him. And Chris confirmed it, I think." He wondered if that would make Lance feel better or worse, and wondered just who the girl was, that he liked. And where he met her.

"Oh," said Lance, sighing softly to himself. "Thanks, anyway." He pulled his knees up to his chest and held them there. "So ... um ... what does JC think of all this?"

"Hey," said Joey, slipping out the door into the backyard. "Did I miss anything fun?"

"Joey!" Justin scrambled to his feet and ran over to meet his boyfriend, practically knocking him over -- as he tended to do -- with the force of his hug and kiss. "Did you beat him up?"

Joey laughed and lifted him up a little as they hugged. "I didn't beat him up," he said. "We just talked. I explained a few things to him."

Lance shrank into himself even more and just watched them, they way they acted around each other. Wondered if Justin had ever really wanted to talk to him at all.

Justin squealed a little when Joey picked him up. "What things? He was so mean, what he said." Justin was really content to just stand there in Joey's embrace, his conversation with Lance pushed to the back of his mind.

"Yeah," said Joey. "He was being a little shit. But it's gonna be better now, honest. He's -- " Joey looked at the door. "He's right behind me. He'll be out here soon. And it'll be okay." Joey felt more comfortable, too, now that Justin was in his arms. "Did you tell Lance, about us, or should we do that now?"

"Oh," Justin said, twisting around in Joey's arms. "No, yeah, I told him. Right, Lance?" he called out a little louder. That actually reminded him that he never found out who Lance liked. "Sorry," he said softer. "Should I have waited?"

"What?" said Lance, not having heard a single word of their conversation. "Sure, right," he agreed. Because he always agreed.

"No, it was okay," said Joey. "After downstairs ... well ... he kinda knew anyway, right? So it's cool. He okay with everything? No repeat of the JC thing?"

"Well," Justin frowned. "I didn't explain THAT part. I just told him we were together, and then we kinda ... got sidetracked." He leaned up and kissed Joey softly, thoroughly. "I think he's okay. Look ... Joey ... there's something maybe I should tell you ..."

"Yeah?" said Joey worriedly. "What is it, b-- Justin? Is something wrong?"

Lance turned away when he realized they weren't really talking to him, hugging his legs and staring at the pool.

"No, no," Justin reassured him. "Just ... he seemed to have some questions, or whatever, and I figured we could both maybe talk to him, but ... he doesn't know about me and, uh, Chris. And ... we'd kinda like to keep it that way, okay?" He squinted at Joey to see his reaction to that. "It's just ... nothing he needs to know."

"That's ... up to you," said Joey honestly, stroking Justin's side. "I won't say anything to him." He wondered why, now that Justin and Joey's relationship was out in the open, but he figured now might not be the best time to ask. "What kind of questions?"

"I don't really ... " Justin shrugged and trailed off, then tugged on Joey's hand. "C'mere. YOU talk to him."

Joey shrugged. "Sure," he said easily, smiling at him then turning to Lance. "Hey Lance, what's up?"

Lance turned his head towards them again, resting his cheek on his knees. "Nothing important," he mumbled. "Everything okay?"

Justin plopped down heavily next to him again. "Sorry, man," he said simply, again, feeling a little bad for just jumping up like that when he saw Joey. Especially seeing Lance's face. "Here, you wanna ask Joey what you asked me?" He really wasn't sure if Lance wanted Joey to know or not, otherwise he'd just tell him himself.

"Everything's fine," said Joey, ruffing his hair. "Don't worry your pretty little head about it."

Lance shook his head as much as he could, the way it was resting. "It wasn't important," he whispered sadly. "I shouldn't have asked."

Justin tucked his chin and exchanged a look with Joey, wondering if he had a better clue about what had upset Lance so much ... hoping it wasn't them being affectionate in front of him. "Lance?" he ventured. "Are you *sure* you're okay with the idea of us being together?"

"Yeah, uh huh," said Lance immediately, lifting his head off his legs. "No, that's cool, I'm happy for you. Okay ... I just kinda asked, you know ... how Justin convinced you. To try it. With guys. With him." Lance blushed. "I'm sorry."

Justin giggled, and looked at Joey from under his eyelashes. "So how 'bout it, big boy? What'd I do to convinced you?"

"Oh," said Joey, glancing at Justin, then back at Lance. "That's a good question," he said. "I'm ... " He gestured at the edge of the pool. "I'm just gonna sit down for this one." He reached for Justin's hand and whispered in his ear. "Don't tease him, Justin. You know how get gets."

"You don't have to answer," said Lance, looking at Justin and wondering if he was planning on telling Joey the REST of why he'd asked that.

"I wasn't trying to tease HIM," Justin hissed jokingly at Joey, then smiled a little more tenderly at Lance. "I think it was maybe more of ... not really knowing you want something, until someone points it out, to you."

Joey smiles at Justin for a moment. "Yeah," he agreed. "That's ... a lot of it. And I guess I'm pretty will to try things, most of the time." He reached out and touched Justin's cheek. "Justin's pretty easy to fall in love with, when it comes down to it."

Justin's lips parted a little in surprise when Joey said that -- it was a little different from anything else they'd admitted out loud, to that point. He blushed and looked at Lance, even as he groped for Joey's knee, needing to touch him. "That's not gonna help too much, though, huh?"

"You guys are in love?" asked Lance, blinking at them both. "No one told me THAT."

"Getting there," said Joey, still smiling at Justin. "So are you just curious, Lance, or ... you got someone you wanna try Justin's tricks out on?"

Blushing heavily, Justin let his other hand trail in the water. That really wasn't what he was going to say, but he wondered if maybe he was too anal about keeping that sort of stuff private. "Do you mind talking to both of us about it, Lance?" Justin said tentatively, grateful for the distraction.

"No, really, I'm just being stupid," said Lance dismally. "They're never gonna pay attention to me like THAT, anyway, so I may as well not even try."

Joey reached out and shook Lance's ankle. "And how do you know that if you don't even try?" he asked honestly. "Where would I be if JUSTIN had never tried, huh?"

Justin arched an eyebrow and exchanged a look with Joey, Lance's earlier comments about being with guys making a little more sense, suddenly. "THEY aren't?" he prodded softly. "How do you know?"

Joey looked at Justin, wondering if Justin had picked up something he hadn't, about this whole thing.

"Because," said Lance simply. "I'm just me. I'm not the cute one like you or the flirty one like Joey. I'm just Lance."

Justin didn't understand that sort of self-depricating comment, and so never knew how to respond. "But you can't know that, like Joey said, unless you try ... "

Justin didn't understand that sort of self-depricating comment, and so never knew how to respond. "But you can't know that, like Joey said, unless you try ... " He wished fleetingly that he knew Lance a little better, could read what was going through his mind. And maybe help. 'Cause Justin was excessively happy, right then, and wanted everyone else to be happy too.

Joey smiled at Lance and ruffled his hair again, affectionately. "Exactly," he said, taking the whole situation down to its bare bones. "You're Lance. You're exactly what you should be."

"I think maybe I'd rather not know than be turned down," admitted Lance, curious about why Justin was being so nice to him right now. "Unless there was a way to maybe find out, without SAYING ... or a way to convince them to maybe just try, even if they aren't sure ... " He looked at Justin hopefully again, as though he would have all the answers.

Justin wasn't surprised to see Lance apparently hanging most his hopes on whatever he had to say ... since that basically described exactly what had happened with him and Joey. "Lance," he said a little pleadingly. "I really just got lucky. Okay? There's no guarantee that it'll work the same way, again. Why don't you ... why are you so sure this guy'll turn you down?" Justin kept talking, unaware of the assumption he had just made vocal, after he had gotten it in his head that it must be a guy. "I mean, if *you* like him, then he's probably really great, and nice, so he might just like you back, y'know?"

"Wait, it's a guy?" asked Joey, confused. "When did it turn into a guy?" He looked at Lance for confirmation.

Lance pressed his face to his knees for a moment. "He doesn't like me that way," he said after a long moment before lifting his head. "I wish I knew how to make him see me THAT way." He was blushing fiercely as he looked at them, but he steeled what nerves he had and didn't look away. "I still can't believe you two are together ... like THAT ... "

Justin blushed furiously, too, when he realized what he had let slip, and put his hand on Lance's ankle. "Sorry," he mumbled sheepishly, and couldn't meet Joey's eyes. "Why's it so hard to believe, Lance? I know Jace thinks we have, like, nothing in common ... is *that* what you mean?"

Lance looked at him sharply when he said JC's name, then realized a moment later that Justin hadn't figured it out and relaxed. "No. Yes. I just meant ... I thought *I* was the only one ... you know?" He smiled at them both sheepishly. "And then everyone else seemed to know what was going on except me. And no one TOLD me, 'til now."

"Wait," said Joey. "I"m still on the you-like-a-guy thing. Was EVERYone gay, and I just didn't know it?" he asked, looking from Lance to Justin. "Wow do I feel stupid."

Justin looked at Joey with a little bit of hurt, thinking that he had JUST gotten through telling Joey not to bring the stuff with Chris up, and now he was doing just that, however indirectly. "None of us is *gay*," he said easily. "We like girls too. But ... you think you might be, Lance? Have you ever been with a guy?" He was still surpised at how much he had to learn about the shy boy that lived in his house and seemed so much younger than him.

"I don't like girls," said Lance softly, shaking his head. "I never have. It's not such a big deal to me anymore. But ... no." He blushed again and wished he wasn't QUITE so fair. "I've never been with anyone. And I never TOLD anyone ... and no one ever asked before. I guess you guys just thought I was too young to want to date or something."

Joey looked at Justin apologetically; he hadn't meant to give anything away like that, but it looked like Lance hadn't even picked it up. Or, if he HAD, he wasn't letting on. Sometimes he thought maybe Lance caught a lot of stuff that he just didn't talk about, for whatever reason. He reached out and tugged Lance's ankle again. "Boys are fun," he said with a grin when he had Lance's attention.

Justin tried to ignore Joey for the moment, even with the sheepish look he threw his way. He was too embarrassed by the fact that he had basically made Lance out himself -- and felt awful that no one HAD bothered to ask him. He threw his arms around him easily, even though they had never really hugged as much as Justin hugged the other guys. "I'm sorry," he said. "Do you want to talk about it? You just seemed ... really shy, Lance, and we didn't know ... "

"You ARE really shy," added Joey. "We just didn't know what you were shy OF, is all. So who's this guy you like. Anyone I know?" He was still grinning at him happily, happy that Lance was talking, that Justin was treating him well, and especially that all of the rest of them knew about him and Justin for real now, so he didn't have to worry about touching him.

"Thanks," said Lance to Justin, even more surprised now by the hug. "I guess maybe yeah," he admitted. "I REALLY don't know how to, you know, let a guy know that I like him." He realized he sounded really young and naive there, especially to Justin and Joey, but he WAS young and naive and he didn't know this stuff and if they were offering to answer his questions, without teasing him, he was gonna take them up on it.

"Well," Justin said slowly, not letting go, just rubbing Lance's thin back. "I guess that really depends on whether he's interested in guys. I mean ... you probably oughtta use a bit of a different approach. I mean, with Joey ... well, like we said. We just kinda fell into that. But with this other guy? It was kinda easier, 'cause I knew he'd been with guys before. So I just ... went up to him and told him I wanted to." He shrugged. "Simple as that." And to Justin, it WAS as simple as that.

"Well, I don't know," said Lance dismally. "So how do I find out? Is there a way to, like, ask, without asking? And if he's not ... is there still a way that maybe he'll try?" Lance's voice was a curious mix of hope and resignation. "Cause I think maybe he's not. And that if he was, it wouldn't be me, anyway."

"You've gotta believe in yourself a little more, kiddo," said Joey, shaking his ankle playfully. "I dunno ... maybe you could ask him what he thinks of gay people, in general? Or is that really obvious?" He paused. "Is that really obvious, Justin?"

Justin couldn't hold back his grin, thinking that he had the best boyfriend ever, and he loved how he took him so seriously. Usually. "I guess," he said, smiling. "I mean ... well, you have to be KIND OF obvious, anyway, or else you'll never get anywhere. Why don't you just try flirting with him? If he doesn't respond, then ... hey, you have your answer, right? Cause ... yeah, I don't really see someone responding to that question like: 'oh, I LOVE gay people. *I'M* gay, you know.' You know? Especially if he's never really done anything to make you think he is." He paused, figuring maybe he sounded dumber than he thought he did. "Um. So. *IS* it someone we know?"

"I've BEEN flirting with him," groaned Lance. "I think. I've been trying. Maybe I'm just really, really bad at flirting or something. It's not like I know what I'm doing." He shook his head. "I think maybe ... I'll just keep going the way I am. And if he's interested, something will happen. I guess."

"Yeah, but you didn't answer," teased Joey, poking Lance in the side lightly. "IS it someone we know? Should we start guessing?" Lance shied away from his poking, clearly embarassed.

"If it's someone we know, Lance," Justin said slowly, starting to get a sort-of bad feeling about the whole thing, "Maybe you should tell us. We could give you some outsiders' opinions on whether he might be interested ... " What really worried Justin was that Lance WAS shy, and he didn't talk to anyone really, outside the group ... not enough to pretend to be flirting with, either. And if it was someone in the group? That was just bad. Because he and Joey had each other now, and JC was so straight it wasn't funny, and Chris ... he didn't want to think about that, so he didn't, but he frowned.

"No," said Lance softly, shaking his head and looking down at his knees, clutching them tightly again. "It doesn't matter ... I was being stupid. I already know he doesn't like me, but I can't help FEELING this. I've tried." He buried his face in his knees and tried not to cry in front of them. THAT, they would tease him about. Or Justin would, at least.

Joey's face fell, wondering where everything suddenly fell apart. He reached out to touch Justin, to assure himself that THAT, at least, was still real and intact. And maybe to see if Justin knew what was happening here, because HE certainly didn't.

"I'm sorry, Lance," Justin said softly, although he'd about had his fill of trying to be sensitive and accomodating for the afternoon. If Lance didn't have the balls to talk to this guy -- whoever it was -- that wasn't Justin's fault. Or his problem. Of course ... he conveniently forgot that he didn't really have the balls to talk to Joey, either. He kept his hand on Lance's back, but leaned into Joey's touch. "Crushes can suck."

"Crushes really suck," agreed Lance, still hiding his eyes. "But it feels kinda good, too." He wasn't lying when he said he knew JC didn't want to hook up with him, but that didn't change how much he WANTED it to happen, and wished it could. And he did want to talk about that, some time, but not with Justin. Not even knowing what he did now about Justin and Joey. "Are we gonna swim?"

Joey tried to pull Justin into his embrace, needing to hold him and touch him and kiss him for a minute. He wanted to tell Lance that he could keep talking and asking them questions, if he wanted, but even HE could tell that the moment had passed. "Sure," he said. "And Chris and JC certainly are taking their sweet time about getting out here, aren't they."

"There they are," Justin said, still quietly, scooting back from the edge of the pool to climb into Joey's lap, Lance's problems already in the very back of his mind. His own stomach kind of clenched when he saw JC at the door, reminding him that he was really hurt by what he had said earlier. And that Joey never really told him what they talked about. But he was going to do what he wanted -- and right now, that involved shoving his relationship with Joey into JC's face.

Lance smiled and waved as he saw JC come out of the house with drinks, Chris close behind him, brightening immediately even KNOWING the hopelessness of the situation.

Joey wrapped his arms around Justin's waist and held him there, giving JC a significant look. He was probably the only one who knew what was coming, for once. He did smile at him, though, to give him that bit of encouragement he probably needed to do this. "Hey guys," he said aloud.

JC paused and frowned when he saw Justin draped all over Joey, but with a slight shove from Chris between his shoulder blades he continued out to the pool. He returned Lance's wave quickly and distractedly, and when he got close enough, patted his head a little. "Hey," he said simply, shifting his weight back and forth as he stood over the three of them, waiting for Chris to catch up so he could apologize.

Justin didn't bother to smile at him, just turned his face a little and nuzzled into Joey's cheek. And then he smelled so good, and felt so warm, that he moved his head even further back to nip at his ear. He knew he was being kind of immature, but he didn't really care.

"Hang on," said Joey in his ear, kissing him lightly. "In a minute, okay?" He grinned at him. "You're like the energizer bunny ... you just keep going and going ... " He kissed him again, right on his earlobe. "And I love you that way."

Chris watched them a little uncomfortably, hovering nearby, then smiled broadly and sauntered over. He reminded himself he was very happy for him, VERY happy that Joey had reciprocated Justin's affection, and forced his jealousy to the back of his mind. "What, no one's in the pool yet?" he asked.

"We waited," Lance told him, then turned away and smiled up at JC again. "Where were you guys?"

"Commiserating," JC muttered under his breath, then inhaled deeply. "Um. Justin?" He waited for Justin to look at him, tapping his foot a little when the younger man took his sweet time about it, apparently having to lick at Joey's ear again, first. "Look ... about what I said downstairs ... I'm really sorry. I didn't ... realize that this was as serious as it is, I guess, and ... I should've let you guys say something first. And not jump to conclusions." He looked at Joey, and then Chris, to try and see if they thought he left something out. "So ... yeah. I'm sorry."

Justin shrugged and turned back to Joey. He figured JC would try to apologize, but he was starting to realize that words sometimes meant very little to his friend. And he wasn't going to let JC have any more leverage on him, wasn't going to let him know that he could hurt him by saying those things. "Okay," he said, exaggeratedly indifferent, and ducked his head to suck at Joey's jaw.

Joey pulled away a little and nudged him. "Justin," he said softly. "He's serious. He's trying to make things okay between all of us again." Joey took JC's apology at face value, and wished Justin would just accept it. If he didn't, things could blow up all over again, and he didn't know if he could make them better this time. And if Justin wanted to be treated like a grown-up, he was thinking, then this would be a very good time to act like one.

Chris nodded his head at JC but wished he'd sounded just a BIT more sincere, instead of like he was being coerced into it. But he also knew that a lot of JC's tone was because of how Justin was acting towards him. He'd earned that kind of reaction, but this would have gone a lot more smoother if Justin had resisted the urge to act his age, just this once.

"Okay?" said Lance. The question was soft, but audible to everyone in that uncomfortable silence. "Are we all okay?"

Justin rolled out of Joey's lap, trying not to show that he was hurt at *that* dismissal too, and stripped off his shirt before holding his fist out to JC to bump. "We're fine," he said, looking at Lance and avoiding eye contact with JC. And trying to avoid Chris and Joey's slight disapproval, while he was at it.

JC eyed him, then touched their fists together and turned back to the drinks. He raised his eyebrow at Chris and shrugged, knowing he did what he had to do, and if Justin was going to pretend it didn't mean anything to him, JC wasn't going to be the one to harp on it. *That* out of the way, he could really relax, and start thinking about what he and Chris were gonna do that night, instead. "I think you were the last one out," he smiled at Chris. "You know what THAT means."

"Actually," said Chris mischievously, "I believe it was 'last one in the pool' ... " With that he leapt and cannonballed into the water, not even pausing to take his shirt off.

Lance laughed and slipped into the water a little more slowly than Chris, giving himself time to get used to it. If JC got stuck making lunch he'd probably go in and help him anyway -- he didn't mind -- but if HE got stuck with it, he didn't think anyone would help him. And it was a lot more fun with company.

"That's better," whispered Joey in Justin's ear after getting to his feet. "I think he's finally coming around, after we talked. That'll make it a lot easier, huh." He took Justin's hand and drew him closer, kissing his throat before leading him to the edge of the pool again and toeing the water.

"Mmm," Justin hummed, letting Joey walk him backwards. "If you say so." He didn't much care, right then -- Joey knew very well what it did to him to have him do *anything* to his ears, even just whisper like that, and now that the attention wasn't on him anymore ... He reached up to grab his chin, kissing him full on the mouth without any buildup; not shy about using his tongue, or tugging on Joey's shirt.

JC rolled his eyes at the public display of affection, and wondered whether he'd just dig himself into a deeper hole if he said anything. *He* didn't care, but now he was inordinantly attuned to what was going on in Chris's head. He did take advantage of them being distracted to slip into the pool himself, however, swimming up beside Lance and tugging on his wet tee shirt. "Not THIS again."

Lance blushed and tugged at his own shirt. "C'mon, Jace," he mumbled shyly. "You know I burn and stuff." But he didn't mind JC being so close to him, paying attention to him, even if it was over this.

Chris swam to the deep end of the pool and starting hanging off the diving board as he watched them all. He did have to smile at Justin and Joey, even though it tore at his heart a little. Joey was very protective of him and Justin was being his affectionate self and they looked very, very good together. And Justin deserved a good guy like Joey, he really did -- someone who could appreciate him for the angel he really was.

Joey kissed him back for a long time. Now that he was comfortable -- inside himself -- being with Justin, he didn't care who saw them together. They were dating, so it felt natural that they kiss each other like this. "Uh oh," he said aloud, so that everyone could hear. "Looks like we're last ... guess we have to make lunch." He nibbled at Justin's ear for a moment. "Maybe we should go inside and get started right away ... "

Justin swooned a little in Joey's arms, tilting his head back to expose his throat and practically tipping them into the water when he did. "But ... " he breathed softly, so only Joey could hear. "But. What about being naked and wet?" He couldn't believe that he could get like this, this *obvious* in front of his friends ... and was especially surprised that it didn't bother Joey.

JC found himself biting his tongue, again, and studiously ignoring Joey's inneundos, and forced a smile for Lance. "Yeah, but you're never gonna *not* burn if you don't get yourself a base to work from. C'mon. Off with it." This wasn't so bad ... Justin had Chris AND Joey to look after him now, the least he could do was the same for Lance.

Lance giggled. "You're tickling me," he said as JC tugged at his shirt, then he sighed and raised his arms over his head. "Well, okay, but YOU get to rub lotion on me when I burn," he said, almost hoping that he WOULD so that JC would have to run his hands all over his body. But then he started getting hard and very, very quickly shoved that mental image away.

"Well," said Joey, his lips against Justin's ear, his arm wrapped possessively around his waist. "The way I see it right now, we can EITHER get wet, in the pool, with the guys ... or we can get naked, in the house, alone together. So take your pick ... "

"Oh," Justin shuddered, closing his eyes and gripping Joey's arms. He had a flashback to the night before, when Joey had been so seductive down in the basement and really taken control of all the passion between them ... and was a little nervous about what he was in for, now that their relationship had progressed so much and Joey was obviously much more comfortable with the physical stuff. "God, okay," he said, flinching when Joey's teeth closed on his ear again. "Okay. Just ... we're not *really* fixing lunch, are we?"

JC smiled in self-satisfaction and tossed Lance's wet shirt up on the edge of the pool. "Okay, I guess that's fair. At least I already have some practice greasing you up." He squeezed Lance's arm and fell back into the water, swmming away lazily.

Lance blushed and hid his face for a moment, then swam after him, grabbing hold of his ankle playfully and trying to get his attention back.

Chris pulled himself up onto the diving board, finally having to tear his eyes away from Joey and Justin. He stretched himself along it and closed his eyes against the sun overhead, trying not to think about anything else.

Joey laughed softly and licked Justin's ear. "They can make their own damn lunch," he said. "I KNOW what I'm having already and I don't plan to share." He pulled his head back and winked at Justin and tugged at his waist. "Coming?"

Justin HOPED so, letting Joey pull him away from the pool, not bothering to glance back, not bothering to pick up his shirt, not bothering to say goodbye to the other guys. "You meant me, right?" he asked tentatively, almost tripping over Joey's heels as they made their way to the door. "Right, Joey? You're having me?"

JC squawked and tried to jerk away from Lance, grinning broadly and splashing around until he caught sight of Joey and Justin's retreating forms. "And there they go," he muttered, suddenly solemn, pulling back a little more jerkily from Lance's touch. "Is this what it's gonna be like, now?" he said to no one in particular.

"You'd be like that too if YOU'D only been with someone a couple days," points out Chris, sighing only to himself as he watches them go. "Just cross your fingers that they don't open the window or something. I really don't think we need to be hearing that."

Lance looks at Chris, then at JC. "Huh?"

JC shot Chris a dirty look, then tried a smile for Lance. "Nothing, don't worry about it," he said easily. Knowing that he had alluded to exactly what Chris meant when they were in the basement, but not about to let him corrupt Lance's ears.

Lance frowned and swam to the edge of the pool and let Chris and JC talk about the stuff he apparently wasn't supposed to hear.

Chris sighed again and slipped back into the pool. "I"m not thinking about it, okay?" he said. "I'm just gonna ... swim."

"I think we should ALL just ... swim," JC muttered, hoping they wouldn't hear them, and hoping Lynn wouldn't come home, and hoping Chris might magically decide that they get a head-start on their evening by getting them drinks NOW. He sighed and started floating on his back.

---

"Of COURSE I meant you," said Joey, still laughing happily, closing the door behind them. "What else could I POSSIBLY have meant by that?" He clutched him around the waist again, right there by the door, and kissed him firmly. "I'm very glad they know, now ... even if we DIDN'T manage to get into the pool with them after all."

"Who cares about the pool," Justin mumbled against his mouth, pulling at Joey's shirt again. "We can go in it, later. Who cares about THEM? We'll see them later, too ... " He dropped to his knees suddenly, and pressed his cheek against Joey's crotch.

"Justin!" said Joey, almost giggling, getting harder by the second. "They can SEE us, here." He rested a hand in Justin's hair, though, and didn't want him going anywhere.

"So?" Justin said, his voice even more muffled as he slid his palms up the inside of Joey's legs and pressed his mouth against the front of his shorts. "You're the one that stopped here. Did you have someplace else in mind?"

"Yes," said Joey, clutching at his hair and moaning. "Bed. Naked. Now." He tried to tug Justin in the direction of the stairs, but at the same time still didn't want to move from exactly where he was.

Justin tugged at the back of Joey's shorts, then cupped his ass and yanked Joey down on the ground with him. "We've already *done* that," he teased.

"Is there something wrong with doing it again?" asked Joey right as fell to his knees and toward Justin. He gasped. "Um ... we should close the curtains," he managed to get out after that.

Laughing himself, Justin fell backwards and tugged Joey with him before shoving his tongue in his mouth. "You didn't have any problem doing this out THERE, in front of them ... " he reminded him, rubbing his thigh between Joey's legs insistently.

"Yeah, but THIS might become THAT, soon," Joey pointed out, rubbing himself against Justin without shame. "And if THAT happens then do you really want them watching? I don't mind them watching THIS, but THAT is personal." He kissed Justin, then, to shut himself up.

Justin grabbed Joey's hand and guided it to his own bare chest, hissing a little when he brushed against his nipple. "Well, go ahead and do something about it then," he moaned, straining up to catch Joey's earlobe between his teeth. "I'm kinda ... pinned, here."

Joey ground himself against Justin's body, pinching his nipple lightly. "I think they're not looking," he said after a moment, his breathing already rapid. "I'm willing to take my chances ... "

Justin laughed again. "Okay, c'mon." He hadn't *really* meant for them to get stuck here, he just had needed to touch Joey right away, as soon as he could. But Joey really didn't seem to be moving yet. "We can't do anything here; c'mon." He pushed at Joey's shoulders and stomach.

Joey groaned again. "Just one more minute," he pleaded, kissing Justin fiercely. "YOU started this," he complained. "YOU made me this hard. I'm blaming you, entirely."

"Okay," Justin said agreeably, spreading his legs wide under Joey. "One minute; make the most of it." He slipped his tongue lewdly inside Joey's mouth again, kissing him as dirtily and wetly as he knew how.

"Oh God," moaned Joey, grabbing and sliding and thrusting and kissing. A minute was way, way, too short for everything he wanted -- almost needed -- from Justin, right now.

Giggling still, Justin squirmed under Joey's weight -- gasping when he felt his erection on the inside of his hip, squealing when Joey dug his fingers into his ribs. "Thirty seconds," he breathed.

"Not ... enough ... time," said Joey, holding Justin down, kissing him fiercely as he ground their bodies together. "Bed. Soon. Need you."

Justin's giggles faded slowly as he began to realize that, all joking aside, he wouldn't be getting up unless Joey let him -- which just made him harder, and desperate himself for the bed. "Okay," he said quickly, panting. "Bed. Need YOU."

Joey groaned one last time then leapt to his feet. He reached down and just lifted Justin up, clutching his ass and upper thighs so their groins were together again. "Hold on, he grunted, kissing him.

"Oh!" Justin gasped, wrapping his arms around Joey's back and rocking his ass down against Joey's cock, eyes wide. "No way you're getting me up those stairs, though," he breathed ... although he had to admit he wasn't convinced of that. And THAT made him harder, too.

"Try me," said Joey, almost growling the words, beginning to carry him in that direction. "You're not THAT big, yet." He was still breathing heavily, and NOT from the exertion of carrying him.

Justin let a hand fall to squeeze Joey's ass. "You should know *exactly* how big I am," he teased softly, ducking his head out of the way of the landing as Joey started up the stairs. "Sorry it didn't make a better impression."

"I have a pretty good idea," said Joey, squeezing Justin's flesh as he carries him. "I think maybe I need to do a closer inspection, though."

"You can inspect me however you want," Justin murmured, rocking his hips again. "You can do anything you want to me." He sighed and let his head fall back, wishing they had stayed downstairs, so they'd be naked already.

"Almost there," Joey promised, carrying him down the hallway, kissing him again. "Then ... naked. Bed. You. Me. Sex."

Justin reached behind him to push open the door with his hand when they reached it. "You're really hot," Justin said bluntly, opening his eyes again. "I think it's really damn hot that you just did that." He squeezed Joey's hips with his thighs and looked at him seriously.

"Yeah?" said Joey, carrying him to the bed, a low moan escaping his lips. He kissed Justin again, then leaned over and set him on the bed. "I think you're really hot, too. I think we're both gonna be even hotter when we get these damn clothes off. And when did you get so much control over my dick, anyway?"

"I didn't ... I don't ... " Justin sort of sat there, not sure if he was supposed to lay down, or start undressing himself, or pull Joey over to him and press his face to his crotch again. "I had no idea I did," he said honestly.

"You do," Joey told him honestly, leaning over top of him and kissing him again, using one hand to try and pull Justin's shirt off. "You so do." He kissed his throat, then his ear, sucking on it lightly. "So what do you want?"

"Oh," Justin breathed, swallowing hard, watching Joey take off his clothes with a sort of detachment. He'd forgotten, for a moment, that as natural as this felt to him, it was still new to Joey and there were just things they hadn't done yet. "What will you give me?" he countered, hoping he'd say something along the lines of 'serious deep dicking' ... then he blushed at himself.

"Everything," said Joey honestly, pausing a moment to make sure Justin KNOW what he meant by that from the expression on his face, from the hardness in his shorts. "I'll give you everything now, Justin. How do you want me? Where do you want me?" He stripped Justin's shorts off then pinned his arms to the bed. "What do you want me to do for you?"

"God, just ... that," Justin moaned, fighting weakly against Joey's hands even as he spread his legs as far open as he could. "Just go for it, Joey. Show me what I do to your dick. Please."

Joey took a deep breath. "Okay," he said. "Okay, Justin. I will. I want to." He rested his hands on Justin's bare thighs and just STARED at him for a moment, then in a flurry stripped all his own clothes off. Neither one of them payed much attention to the open window across the room. "God you're hot," he said, staring again before he began to touch.

"I've wanted this for months," Justin choked out. "God, if you knew how many times I've jerked off thinking about you, all up in my ass, Joey ... " His head is swimming and he doesn't care if Joey laughs at that, as long as he still fucks him.

"I'll try and live up to your imagination," said Joey with a grin, tracing the lines of Justin's chest almost too gently. "I like the idea of you jerking off," he admitted in a low voice. "I like having that image in my head. I bet you're really hot, when you do it." He looked down at Justin's dick and licked his lips. "Can I suck you a little first?" he asked.

"Just a little," sighed Justin. "I want to wait." He knew, he KNEW he'd come with Joey inside him ... wanted him to see that he could without touching his dick at all. And wanted it to last more than thirty seconds for him. He ran his own hand down his chest, down below his balls, before trailing it back up and grabbing the base of his erection. "Here," he murmured, stroking it a few times and then holding it straight out, away from his belly.

Joey leaned down and licked the head of Justin's cock smoothly, then took it into his mouth, moaning as he did and closing his eyes. He gripped Justin's hops and moved down the bed a little as he sucked.

"Not too much, now," Justin reminded him, exhaling. He stretched his other arm out across the bed, and arched his back so sharply that he almost brushed Joey's forehead with his abdomen. "I didn't realize you'd like it so much."

Joey let his mouth slide off Justin's cock and licked it all over before pulling back. "That's, like, one of the most fun things I've ever discovered," he admitted, staring at it again, licking the saliva and precum from his lips. "DAMN, you're hot," he muttered, stroking Justin's body with his fingertips. "So ... where'd you leave the ... um ... stuff? Condoms ... lube?"

"Drawer," Justin mumbled, letting go of his shaft too and trailing his fingers further down between his legs. "Just use the lotion. Wait." He grabbed for Joey before he could lean over to the nightstand. "Kiss me first. And ... that's the last bossy thing I'm saying tonight, I promise."

Joey kissed him firmly. "You can be bossy," he promised. "I may not listen, but you can be as bossy as you want, Justin." He reached back behind him and pulled the lotion and a condom out of the drawer. "I'll try not to mess this up too badly," he said, setting them aside and pushing Justin's knees up so his legs could fall apart even further. "I want to look, this time."

Justin wasn't sure what Joey wanted to *see*, exactly, but he picked up his hips a little, angling them for better access. Whenever Joey was so inclined. "I don't want you to let me be bossy," he admitted shyly. "I want you to try whatever feels right to you." He wondered briefly if Joey would feel more comfortable in a different position, but figured he'd say something if that was the case.

"That's what I'm doing," said Joey honestly, cupping Justin's balls then feeling the stretch of skin behind them. "Unless you tell me to stop, Justin -- and I will, if you ask -- I'm going to KEEP doing whatever feels right. And whatever I think you might like." He slipped a finger down further and rubbed it against Justin's hole, firmly enough that he could feel it start to give.

Joey's dry finger tugged a bit against Justin's skin, but he bucked down on it anyway -- needing something inside him, very much. "You'll figure it out," he assured him breathily. "Like Chris said, it's not like you've never fucked anything before." Thinking about Chris started something nagging in his head, but he pushed it down.

Joey had Justin's legs tilted up so he could WATCH what he was doing now, watch himself playing with Justin's hole. He flipped open the lotion and spilled some on his hand before touching Justin again, sliding more easily this time, pushing against him just enough so that the tip of his finger went inside. The sight was fascinating.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were teasing me," Justin breathed out, feeling himself start to stretch a little. He had to force himself to relax -- *really* relax -- if they were going to be able to do this. Joey'd had ... two fingers? ... in him the night before, but other than that ... it'd been months since he and Chris had last slept together. He wondered if it was going to hurt at all; he'd assured Joey that it wouldn't, but what did he know? He'd only ever been with Chris.

"Not teasing," said Joey, sliding his finger in slowly. "Just ... exploring. Have you ever watched this?" he asked. "This is amazing to watch. To watch myself disappear inside you." He slid his finger back out, then in again. "It's like you're just ... eating me up. Sucking me inside you. Do you want more, Justin? Can I give you more?" he asked eagerly. "I'll be slow and gentle and it'll be amazing."

Justin flushed with pleasure -- both from the sensations, and also from the way that Joey seemed to be just entranced by his body. He had no idea what had happened to the desperation they had both felt downstairs, where Joey had found the self-control to be so gentle, but he wasn't complaining. Yet. "Why do you think I *had* to fuck you last night?" he bit out, his own voice much, much raspier and shakier than Joey's. "Seeing the way your ass just *took* my fingers?" He tilted his hips higher and hoped that was a sufficient response to the question of whether he wanted more.

Joey stretched him out and slid a second finger in, spreading him out, penetrating him more deeply. He curled his fingers in a deliberate attempt to stimulate his prostate this time, knowing a little better what he was doing. "I'm so fucking hard," he muttered, his voice rough. "I'm scared I'm gonna come just from watching this." He thrust the fingers just a little less gently this time, hoping that if anything hurt Justin would tell him right away.

Moaning when Joey's fingers raked across his prostate like he could *see* what he was doing, Justin arched up off the bed again and let a hand fly to his own cock. "You better not," he gasped, starting to jerk himself quickly. "You said you'd fuck me, and I need it. I *need* it, Joey ... just stretch me out really good, okay?" His other hand clenched and unclenched the side of the mattress, and he tried NOT to let himself worry.

"You're easier to stretch when you're turned on," said Joey, scissoring his fingers inside Justin's body. "I'm going to have to remember that prostate trick. God I want to be inside you. So, so much." He moved a third finger into Justin's body; it was a tighter fit this time and he had to stretch some more with all of them before he could even thrust a little. "Soon ... I can't wait much longer ... God this is amazing ... "

Justin exhaled shakily when Joey added that third finger, his body remembering what this felt like much easier than his mind did. "Amazing to see, or amazing to feel?" he breathed, starting to stroke himself a little more slowly now, feeling his arousal level off, some, so he could just ride out everything that Joey was going to give him. "And if you wait much longer, I'm gonna think this isn't doing anything for you, at all."

"I'm leaking on your bed," confessed Joey, thrusting his fingers into him. "I think I'm staining your sheets. I NEED to be inside you, but I don't want it to hurt." He carefully withdrew his fingers and reached for the condom, sliding it on quickly despite his slippery fingers. "You have no idea how much I want this," he said, sliding two slick fingers back inside him and stretching him open. "Love you, Justin."

"Oh," Justin breathed, never feeling more like he was just *waiting* to be filled as he did just then. "I'm ... Joey, I love you, too, I do *so* much. Here." He pulled on Joey's arm a little, nudging him closer to the bed before lifting one of his own ankles and sliding his calf over his broad shoulder ... really spreading him to accomodate Joey's frame. The other man's skin was hot and damp with sweat, and Justin wanted to feel it however he could. "Gentle, at first," he warned.

Joey pushed just the head of his cock inside and pulled his fingers away, resting them on Justin's leg. "Oh my God," he breathed. "This feels incredible. I'm gonna keep going now, okay? Slow ... I promise ... slow." Joey pushed himself in as slowly as he could, watching Justin for signs that he wanted him to stop. He couldn't believe how tight and hot and amazing it was, being inside Justin.

Justin winced, he couldn't help it, when he felt Joey's head pop through his tight opening. Then that feeling of pressure that was just not like *anything* else seemed to grow as Joey slid himself in, almost completely. "God," he choked out, waiting for the tension to pass and the really incredible sensation to start. "God. You're huge. Feels ... good." He rested a gentle hand on Joey's neck and closed his eyes.

Joey paused, hearing the strain in Justin's voice. "Too big?" he asked, a little nervously. It wasn't quite like entering a woman, and he couldn't tell how Justin was feeling. He ran a hand along his calf to soothe him and closed his own eyes, just for a moment. "I'll stop if you say so," he said again, though it was hard to say those words. "But I REALLY want to do this, Justin ... "

"Me too," Justin insisted softly. "I told you how much I've BEEN wanting it, just ... " He took a breath and shoved himself down against Joey's groin, driving him the rest of the way in with a yelp. "There. Just *move*." He slowly started circling his hips, using the his foot on the bed as leverage, beginning to pant a little from the stimulation. Joey was still absolutely immense inside him, but that just meant he could feel everything just that much more.

Joey groaned as he felt himself pulled all the way into Justin's body and he had to pause a moment for his own sake before pulling out slightly and thrusting back in. "You make me so hot," he mumbled. "I'm gonna make this last as long as I can, but ... " He wanted to close his eyes and bask in the sensation, but it was more important to him to be able to watch Justin and make sure that everything he was doing was okay. He tried a small thrust again, angling himself -- he hoped -- against Justin's prostate. It took all his self control not to just start thrusting inside him, hard and fast.

Justin yelped again, then grinned and caught Joey's eyes to convey that the thrusting made this a good thing. A *very* good thing. A good thing that Joey should do much more of, much stronger, and right away. "Oh, yeah," he sighed, squeezing Joey's neck and rocking his own hips almost involuntarily, *knowing* that Joey was no stranger to pounding into someone and wanting that someone to be HIM, right then. "Joey ... you can do me however you want ... just ... *c'mon*. FUCK me."

Joey grinned back and began thrusting slowly and deeply. Justin was still loosening up a bit, it felt like, and he wasn't going to go full out until it would be comfortable. For both of them. Which certainly didn't mean he didn't WANT to -- it was about the only thing he wanted, right then. Gradually his thrusts got harder and longer, almost slamming into Justin's body. Joey's hands roamed Justin's legs and stomach and chest and just explored everywhere he was able. He bit his lips and closed his eyes now, trying to maintain enough control that he couldn't come right away. Which he was definitely in danger of doing.

Justin, for his part, was moaning continuously, and alternating between his small yips and grunts each time he felt Joey's hips pound against his ass, his cock penetrating him more deeply than anything he'd ever felt. He couldn't wipe the stupid *smile* off his face, though, and hoped Joey didn't think he was laughing at him. It was just something he'd wanted so much that it was surreal to get it. "Just ... tell me ... when you want me to come, Joey," he giggled haltingly. "I've been ready since you picked me up."

"Oh God," moaned Joey as he gripped Justin and thrust into him, now. "Oh God ... any time ... I'm right on the edge ... " He bit his lip hard enough to leave marks as he kept pumping his hips, opening his eyes again and gasping as he watched his own cock slide in and out of Justin's body; he rolled his hips and made sure he drove right up against Justin's prostate with one of his thrusts.

Justin screamed -- which he'd *never* done when he was being fucked before, no matter how good it had felt -- and then cried out as his orgasm burst from him. Cum shot into the air between them and seemed to land everywhere; then continued to dribble down the side of his cock as it kept pulsing. It was still throbbing when he gained enough control back over his body to clamp down on Joey, still buried inside him. "Come ON," he grunted.

Joey came almost as soon as Justin did that, gasping in surprise and gripping Justin's skin even tighter as his body stiffened. "Oh, Justin," he cried out, his voice raspy, then sank down to hold him, still inside his body. His veins were throbbing and he could hardly see straight. "Oh fuck ... Justin ... wow ... " he said, trying to clear his head so he could tell Justin for real just how wonderful it had been.

"Ow, hey," Justin pushed at him weakly, trying to get Joey to move back enough so he could get his leg off his shoulder. "I know I act like a girl sometimes, but I'm not *that* flexible," he smiled. He reached up with a shaky hand, then, and cupped Joey's face. "You okay? How was that?" He tried to tell if Joey had really enjoyed it as much as he'd hoped, by looking in his eyes. It also helped keep his mind off of how much he was gonna be hurting, in a couple minutes.

Joey kissed the inside of Justin's knee. "Sorry," he said as he set it gently on the bed. "Wanna hold you now." As carefully as he could he pulled himself out of Justin's body, touching his hole with a still slick fingertip afterwards. He stripped off the condom and wrapped it in a kleenex before tossing it away. "Can I?" he asked his eyes wide and bright and happy. "Can I hold you now?"

"Sure, bear," Justin replied softly, not having moved much at all when Joey pulled away, blushing a little at what felt almost like a caress from Joey's finger when he had. He bit his lip solemnly and watched him approach, wondering if maybe he hadn't heard Justin when he asked if it was okay, hoping he wasn't ignoring the question because it *wasn't*, for some reason. "Um. I yelled, again."

"Yes, you did," said Joey happily, taking Justin into his arms and nuzzling his throat and ear. "I almost did, too. That was amazing. Did I do okay? Do you feel okay? I didn't hurt you, did I? God, I loved that. Can we do that again, too?" He grinned. "We're gonna have to have sex all the time, just to be able to do all the things I want. I mean, wow, Justin .. I watched you come and it was just the most amazing thing and then *I* was coming ... inside you ... which is SO damn special ... " Joey bit his lip to keep himself from babbling any longer and just stared into Justin's face happily.

Justin smiled sweetly back, petting Joey's neck, sighing contendedly whenever Joey's nose or lips brushed against his skin. "I yelled, again," he repeated quietly, nestling into Joey's arms, completely un-self-conscious about the mess between them. That actually meant a lot to him, in retrospect ... he'd loved sex with Chris, but it had never done *that* to him. "I see what all the girls are so happy about." He closed his eyes and thought about how Joey had said he loved him, and wondered how much he meant it -- hoping and praying it was as much as he did.

Joey chuckled and nuzzled his cheek. "Sex with girls was never like THAT," he admitted. "You're special, Justin. You're special to ME." He kissed his lips tenderly and let his eyes flutter closed. "I love everything we do together. You're addictive. I don't even WANT to be apart from you. It's been ... a really long time since I've felt like this. And really ... it's never been quite THIS before." He bowed his head down and rested his cheek against Justin's. "Thank you."

"Oh," Justin sighed softly, opening his eyes. "Oh, Joey, that's ... " He thought that was probably the nicest thing anyone had ever said to him, but he had no idea how to *tell* Joey that. And he *still* can't believe how hard Joey seemed to have fallen in a matter of a few days. "Thank *you*," he breathed, wishing he was good with words, at all. "Will you stay with me always, then? Please? I need to know you won't suddenly change your mind back, just as quick."

"It doesn't work like that," said Joey quietly, kissing his jaw. "When I fall, I fall hard. That's ... why I don't do it so often. I have to trust, first ... and I already had that with you." He ran his fingers up and down Justin's sides gently, stroking his sensitive skin. "I'm not going to leave you, Justin. I don't want to. And I always do what I want."

"Stay with me tonight, at least, then," Justin pleaded, grabbing Joey's hands in his and bringing them up to his lips. "Please, I ... I haven't done that in a long time, and ... I just need you with me." He worried, a little, that if Joey left, he'd feel abandoned, and start ... thinking about Chris, or something, and that would just be bad. He needed more of this; more of Joey's sweet words, and comforting touches, and explanations of falling in love with him.

"I'll stay as long as you want me to," Joey promised easily. "But remember the guys are still outside, and if we don't go down then they'll probably come up. Asking where their damn lunch is." He sighed. "NOT that I want to get up. At all. I just want to lie here and touch you and kiss you and be all cuddly. Um ... WAS it good sex? For you? I ... I was a little hard, at the end. I know I was. Did I hurt you, Justin?"

"No," Justin whispered. "I yelled," he smiled, like that was answer enough, and kissed Joey's face and hands some more. "Joey ..." he said, taking a deep breath and figuring he might have to explain that a little, "I mean, I'll probably be a little sore later. But you didn't do anything bad. I know I'm not all *that* experienced, and you're only the second guy I've ever slept with ... " He paused, wondering if Joey knew that, then hurried on. "But I don't know how anybody could make me feel better than that. I yelled." He shrugged, and tried a bright smile.

Joey chuckled happily. "I made you yell," he echoed, kissing him. "Okay. Yeah ... I was a little sore after. But it was like a GOOD sore. And it wasn't bad, especially since it was like my first time, ever." He kissed him again and again. "I love you, Justin. I want to be able to do all kinds of things with you, all the time. This is wonderful. This is the best. Honest. And I DO have stuff to compare this to."

"Is it weird?" Justin asked softly. "For you, being ... in love with me? Being in love with a guy? Or is this still ... you know, just ... getting there?" Justin figured he'd been in love twice before -- a guy and a girl -- and it had been different ... but they were just really different people. So he wasn't surprised that Joey felt different too. "Nevermind," he said softly when Joey didn't respond right away. "Let's go see what mom left us for lunch."

"Not weird," said Joey, holding him right where he was, his arms wrapped tightly around him. "Just new. It's been a long time since I've been in love. I really like being in love with you."

"I feel really ... young, around you, sometimes," Justin admitted. "Like ... you're really grown up, and made this huge grownup decision 'cause you WANTED to. That's ... cool." He let Joey hug him a little longer, but then started squirming.

"Didn't you?" asked Joey, letting him go a little. "Didn't you make a grownup decision too?"

"I guess," Justin mumbled, still twitching in Joey's arms. "But I had this crush, for a while. And you just decided to like me, when you felt like it. When you were presented with it. You know? And didn't wait for someone else to tell you to do it. Or let someone else do it for you. Which I kinda did."

"You did tell me," said Joey. "You told me what you wanted, even knowing that I might not want it too. You KNEW what you wanted. That's pretty grownup, I think." He kissed him, a little sloppily. "I wouldn't be here without you being brave like that."

"I *didn't*," Justin insisted, sitting up finally and crossing his arms over his chest. "*JC* told you. And CHRIS told you. And then you made me admit it in the kitchen. That's ... SO not brave." He smiled weakly at Joey, not upset, but ... not wanting to talk about it either.

"I think you were braver than me," said Joey honestly. "But it doesn't matter now. We're here. You know ... naked. In bed. With each other. So it all worked out. I don't wanna think of myself as more grownup than you, Justin. We're, like, equals ... in this."

"Okay," Justin shrugged, rolling over to kiss him quickly, then searching around on the floor for his underwear. Before realizing he should just put his suit on ... so he stood up, stark-naked, and stretched.

Joey stared at him and licked his lower lip. "Um, back in bed now," he said, his vocabulary reduced to monosyllabic words. "Please? Now?" He reached out his hand to Justin so he could bring him back.

Justin looked at him worriedly, and knelt on the bed -- taking Joey's outstretched hand and holding it to his chest. "What? Are you okay?"

"Want you back," said Joey simply, smiling at him. "You look so good. I want you back in bed, Justin." He tugged on him a little, trying to get him closer. He was getting turned on just looking at him, even so soon after their first time.

"Oh, hey," Justin smiled broadly, feeling ridiculously special that Joey liked the way he looked, liked his body. He fell over onto his hands and crawled next to Joey's reclined frame. "But I thought you were worried about lunch ... ?"

"Fuck lunch," said Joey, grasping him firmly. "Stay here first. I'm in no hurry, are you?" He grinned and kissed his face and wrapps his leg around him. "They can wait. You locked the door?"

Justin giggled. "No. When would I have done that? I was ... being thrown around like a sack of potatoes when we got here." He ran a broad, somewhat tentative palm up Joey's thigh. "You ready again? Already?"

"Can we make out?" asked Joey, kissing his lips hungrily again. "I'll take my changes with the door. If they open it, they deserve to get an eyeful of whatever we're doing." His rolled onto his back, with Justin half on top of him. "You turn me on all the time now."

"No, I don't," Justin blushed, trying to wiggle off of Joey so he wouldn't be annoying him with his slight erection, rubbing it all on Joey's leg. "Do I?"

"ALL the time," groans Joey. "Even when we're with the guys, like outside. I just look at you and I think about what we do when we're naked together and I get all hot and hard and stuff." He looks down at his own groin. "See?" he said, gesturing at it. "I'm gonna have to move it. JC can live with my parents. They already like him and everything."

"JC doesn't have to move," Justin argued. "I'm keeping you under my bed. And just pulling you out when I'm in the mood." He leered at Joey, then laughed when he realized he couldn't pull it off. "What were you thinking about THIS time?" he asked a little softer, touching a timid finger to the head of Joey's cock.

"If you feed me from time to time I'm okay with that," said Joey, grinning. "Because I KNOW you'll be in the mood lots and lots and lots." He moved his hips in Justin's direction, just a bit, and reached out to touch his stomach. "I was thinking about sucking you," he confessed. "Am I getting better at it? Can I do it again soon? I think I'm getting better at it ... "

Justin smiled and wriggled around under Joey's hand. "I thought it was great the first time," he said honestly. "And earlier ... well, to be honest, I was kinda distracted." He smiled sheepishly. "What'm I gonna do for YOU, then?"

"Not leave for lunch?" suggested Joey. "You could do THAT for me. I'd appreciate it. Do you ... want me to? Suck you? Or should we kiss and rub and grope a bit first, like people our age USUALLY do at the beginning of a relationship?"

Justin's smile froze on his face. He knew how fast this was going was going to catch up with them, sooner or later. But it also seemed like ... just groping was kinda anti-climactic. "Let me fuck you," he murmured instead, thrusting a little against Joey's hip. "I want YOU yelling, this time, not me."

Joey's breath caught and he had to force himself to suck in air. "Um. Okay," he said, exhaling softly, his eyes wide, but not frightened. "I ... probably will yell, if it's anything like last night ... "

"I like you," Justin whispered unnecessarily as he climbed on top of Joey. "I like that you're horny like me. Horny FROM me. I like that a lot." He straddled one of his legs and smiled. "I like your blowjobs, too, but ... I like your ass more."

Joey pouted exaggeratedly. "I still want to blow you again," he said. "But I'm willing to wait. Because I really think I want to be fucked right now. I'm addicted to you. And I'm addicted to your dick," he joked. "I ... the way you felt inside me. There's nothing like it. There's nothing I can even compare it to."

"You know I thought it'd be a year before you let me do this," Justin admitted, touching Joey's lips with his fingers and trying to smooth away the pout. "Which would've been fine, but ... it surprised me, last night. WE surprised me."

"Surprised the hell out of me, too," said Joey. "But ... I like it and it feels good and I love you and ... that makes it okay. With all that going for it ... why SHOULDN'T I be having sex with you, right?" The pout faded, replaced by a smile as he looked up into Justin's excited face

"You've given this a lot of thought," Justin teased, dipping his hips to rub his erection along Joey's thigh. At some point he really wanted and needed to talk to Joey about what he *meant* when he said he loved Justin. But he wasn't sure he could form complete sentences right then, not when Joey was going to let him inside him. "And here I thought it was gonna be just this whole 'heat of the moment' thing." He reached down to grab Joey's cock in his fist, and placed his lips right below his ear. "You gonna make me be gentle, again?"

"I'll stop thinking now," promised Joey, hissing in pleasure as Justin grabbed him. "You don't ... have to be as gentle ... this time. I know what's coming." He spread his legs without any encouragement from Justin, wanting to let him in this time, not afraid of it. Even if Justin wasn't as gentle this time, he would never hurt Joey. Not on purpose. And he knew it.

Justin smiled and threw his other leg over Joey's thigh, settling in against his hips. "Do you like it, really?" he asked with a soft smile, still stroking Joey. Gently. So far. "I wasn't sure you'd like it, either. I guess ... some guys don't." He brushed his other fingers over Joey's face: his nose, and lips, and goatee. "Think I'm any good?"

"I didn't ... I wasn't sure I would," admitted Joey, his breathing rapid as Justin touched and stroked him. "I was worried that it would hurt or be uncomfortable or whatever. And it WAS weird, at first, but then it got really, really good really, really fast. And ... I want to feel that again." He paused to wet his lips and moan and catch his breath. "It's funny thinking of THAT part of my body as sexual ... but it is. I love the way you make me feel when you touch me there. You're so good."

"I've jerked off thinking about *that*, too," Justin sighed, teasing the head of Joey's cock with his fingernail very, very lightly, then running it down the length and over his balls. "In the bathroom? The whole idea, picturing you like that? making me so hot that I can barely get my pants off before I come in the tub or in my hand or against the sink?" He licked at Joey's adam's apple. "You'd laugh if you knew how many times I'd done that."

"Oh, wow," said Joey, his whole body shuddering. "I just ... pictured that. And it made me SO fucking hot, Justin." His dick got even harder in Justin's hand, even bigger. He spread his legs wider and lifted one knee to make himself comfortable -- he WAS very comfortable showing off his body to Justin, all of it, which made things a lot easier. "I love thinking of you as so hot for me you'll come almost without touching yourself."

"I was," Justin admitted. "I *am*. And you opening your legs up like that, like you want my dick really bad ... that's not helping." He lifted his head to kiss Joey deeply, slowly thrusting his tongue, then pulled back enough to be able to see his face. "You wanna try this a little different?"

Joey very deliberately spread his legs even more, with a grin. "Different how?" he asked, stealing another brief kiss. "I'm always up for something different. At least ... NOW I am, again. Those last two days, with the nervousness? That was, like, my evil twin or something." His breath caught again as Justin -- maybe unintentionally -- rubbed against him. "What did you have in mind?"

Justin actually paused to *think* about that for a minute. He *didn't* have anything in mind, really ... Joey had just seemed so agreeable, so hot for it, that he thought he'd take what he could get and run with it. It *was* a huge relief to know that Joey was back to being his open-minded, adventurous self ... that excited Justin even more, that he could feel free to try things, and that Joey himself might actually take control more often. He shifted his hips, letting the tip of his cock brush between Joey's legs again teasingly, and sighed exaggeratedly, eager to play around with Joey some. "I just don't know. I guess you're probably not really *ready* for anything that's not ... you know ... totally *vanilla*, are you ... ?" he taunted gently.

Joey poked him with his foot. "You know me better than that, Timberlake," he scoffed. "I can take anything you wanna give me." He thought about taking that back as soon as the words were out of his mouth -- he WASN'T sure if he could -- but then he trusted Justin not to take him places that he wasn't ready for. Not to hurt him. "Is it, like, a new position or something? I can do that, no problem ... But ... um ... as long as it involves your dick being in my ass because I'm REALLY kinda looking forward to that now ... " He tried to wrap a leg around Justin and draw him closer.

Justin bucked backwards, slapping Joey's thigh gently in retaliation. "Patience. I'll get in there soon, okay?" He smiled and rolled off the bed, walking calmly to the nightstand and grabbing another condom, tossing it on the bed next to the lotion that was still out. He stood with his hands on his hips, looking Joey over, sprawled out on the blankets with messy hair, flushed cheeks, and a hard cock. "Yep, I'm keeping you here," he murmured, moving forward slightly so his knees hit the edge of the bed, and crooking his finger. "C'mere, you."

Joey got harder -- if that was possible -- when Justin just stared at him like that, took in his whole body. "Can't move," he murmured as he shuffled closer to that end of the bed, reaching up toward Justin but unable to reach him. "You went away ... come back." He reached down to touch his own cock, then -- something he'd never really done before -- moved his fingers behind his cock and behind his balls and trailed them teasingly toward his hole.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Justin stood and watched Joey, watched his hand moving, for several moments ...growing more aroused himself as he teased both of them. Reaching out, he tugged on Joey's calves to pull him closer to the edge of the bed. "Whatcha need, bear?" he asked softly. "I'm right here." He trailed a finger up the inside of one of Joey's legs, and followed the path of Joey's finger, circling it, getting in the way ... then nudging both of them toward Joey's opening.

"Oh ... yeah ... " said Joey, Justin's fingertip hitting his hole first. His whole body was flushed now and he clenched involuntarily as a jolt of arousal went through him, then relaxed again as he teased his own skin. "Inside," he murmured. "Find that spot for me ... this is SO hot." He wanted Justin closer, but figured this was part of Justin's grand plan so he went with it -- splayed open and completely exposed to him. And feeling just fine about that.

Justin silently agreed, and slowly knelt down beside the bed so he didn't have to strain his back when he leaned over. He moved his own finger out of the way, letting Joey's rub around the muscle for a moment, before nudging back there himself. "This would feel a lot better if you let me get you wet, you know," he said, almost conversationally, tickling Joey's hamstring with his other hand and lapping delicately at his opposite knee.

"Yeah ... lube," said Joey, closing his eyes, almost completely at Justin's mercy. "Lotion ... spit ... whatever." Joey let his own hand fall away as Justin began to take care of him, gripping the edge of the bed. It was all so gentle this far, and it was making his whole body tingle, even up to the top of his head.

Chuckling, Justin leaned further in ... pushing Joey's leg back, cupping his balls gently and lifting them out of the way -- before running his tongue broadly across Joey's hole. He watched all of Joey's muscles twitch, and laughed delightedly before ducking his head and doing it again. Flicking it this time, watching Joey's hole pulse slightly.

"Oh my fucking God," breathed Joey, not knowing what else to say. He hadn't been expecting this, hadn't even really THOUGHT about this being a possibility. Justin's tongue was on his ass. Almost IN his ass. And it felt great. "Oh, Justin, wow ... " he added, his breathing shallow and rapid.

Justin was in an incredible mood -- feeling wonderfully well-fucked and about to get off again -- and doing things to Joey that he knew the other man'd never felt made him braver and more brazen than he'd normally be. "You love this, don't you?" he whispered against Joey's hip, before lapping at his opening again and poking his tongue inside quickly. "Letting me do whatever I want, to your tight ass?" He blushed at himself, but didn't stop what he was doing.

"Yes," moaned Joey, feeling just a little bit slutty when Justin said that. But the good kind of slutty -- the kind of slutty that was only for Justin. "You can do anything you want to my ass. Everything you do feels SO damn good." He pushed himself against Justin's face, but wasn't able to move far in his current position. "You like it too, don't you?" he said right back. "You love my ass."

"God, yes," Justin moaned in reply, surprised at how much more turned on it made him to have Joey actually *respond* like that. He slid his tongue into Joey's ass again, moving it around as much as he could against the tight walls before moaning again when Joey started bucking against him, and pulled away. "Want me to show you how much?" he whispered, reaching beside Joey for the lotion and condom and dropping them on the floor beside him, then cupping his knees and tugging him almost off the bed. "Get down here and I'll *worship* your ass."

Joey scooted down so his tailbone was just at the edge of the bed, his legs in the air and pushed to the sides. "Yeah," he said, the word one, long, drawn-out moan. "Do it. God ... your tongue ... I wanna worship your tongue." Joey let go of the edge of the bed and reached out for Justin, but once again he couldn't quite make it. He FEELS hot, all over, from what Justin is doing to him. And he wonders if he'll ever be able to do this back to Justin.

Justin relented for a moment, licking and even sucking at Joey's hole slightly, before grasping his hips. "That's not ... exactly ... what I meant," he said huskily, pulling back so that Joey's feet lowered to the floor. "Better angle," he murmured under his breath, tugging so that Joey slid off the bed completely, into his arms, "for worshipping." With a gentle kiss to Joey's cheek, he guided him onto his stomach over the edge of the mattress.

"Oh my God," breathed Joey, feeling like he was in a porno or something. Justin's hands were on his hips just holding him exactly where he wanted to be, and he was completely in Justin's -- definitely capable -- hands. It meant he had to surrender all control to Justin and he did, willingly, knowing that whatever Justin did to him would probably be one of the best things, ever. Would probably make him gasp and shudder and maybe even should and DEFINITELY feel very, very good.

"You okay?" Justin asked gently, but still throatily. He couldn't see Joey's face any more, but the other man's body wasn't tense, and he wasn't squirming away, and he seemed more than willing to be bent over the bed, so ... he rested a large, tender palm on the small of Joey's back and nudged one of his knees between Joey's. "Tell me you still want this," he added, stroking Joey gently on his back, his buttocks, his neck, as he grabbed the lotion.

"I still want this," said Joey, echoing his words. "I want this so much. Whatever you do, just DON'T stop. You're so fucking good at this. Just, like, bend me over and fuck me or whatever. I know it'll be good." he spread his knees further and arched his back so his ass tilted up for Justin.

Justin smiled and coated his hands with lotion, then started stroking himself after he held Joey open long enough to slide a finger from his other hand into his ass. He wasn't trying to stimulate him at all, at this point ... just finishing the job that he had started with his tongue, stretching Joey so he could accomodate Justin's girth. He wondered if Joey was swollen, at all, from the night before, and hoped Joey would be okay with telling him if something was too sore or too raw. "You know how much deeper this is gonna be, right?" he murmured, draping himself across Joey's back. "You ready for that?"

"Yeah, I know," mumbled Joey, pushing back against him. "I want to be fucked, Justin. I know what's coming. I've had you inside me. I want you inside me again." The feel of Justin's finger inside him was good, but it wasn't enough, not now that he wanted to be fucked. REALLY fucked. He wanted to know what it felt like to have Justin pound into him until he came, especially bent over the bed like this. He wondered if this would happen again, if one day when they were on tour they would get horny and Justin would bend him over the desk, or the bathtub, or the dressing room table. The thought made him even hotter.

"God," Justin moaned again as Joey ground himself back against his finger. He groped for the condom and ripped open the wrapper with his teeth before rolling it on, squirming a little at touching himself when he was absolutely rock-hard like he was. He added a second finger almost as an afterthought, but Joey seemed really, really relaxed and turned on and he wondered if it was even necessary. "You *do* want this." Reluctantly he pulled his fingers out so he could add more lotion to Joey's opening, and coated his erection with it. Then finally, *finally*, he slid forward, bracing his knees inside of Joey's, spreading his cheeks with eager fingers.

"Are you going to fuck me now?" asked Joey in a strangely soft voice, squirming on the bed when Justin removed his fingers and slathered more lotion on. His erection rubbed against the mattress as he squirmed -- he could have come like that if he'd let himself keep doing it, but he stopped. He knew what was coming, though, know that something thick and hard and hot was going to enter him, soon. Was going to stretch him and fill him and make him feel amazing. "Please?"

Justin didn't answer but pushed himself right in, in all the way to the hilt, not stopping until he felt the flesh of Joey's ass pressed tightly against his hipbones, until he felt the soft skin of his balls brushing against Joey's. Then he pulled back out slightly and thrust immediately back into him, grinding like he could somehow actually get deeper if he did, whimpering at Joey's tight, too tight heat. "Since you asked so nicely," he choked out, and then slammed into him again.

"Oh God," moaned Joey, forgetting to be embarassed about how easily Justin slid into his ass. "Oh, Justin." He bucked back against him, wanting to feel that sensation again and again. It did hurt, just a little, but it's the hurt he thinks he'll always feel when they do this, that slight stretching and filling. It was quickly forgotten. "Fuck me hard. Fuck me HARDER."

Justin held Joey's hips at arms' length so he could do just that ... scrambling on his knees to find the right angle, thrusting his hips sharply and shortly until he did ... and then digging in and burying his cock in Joey's ass. Then, instead of pulling back out and thrusting back in, he pushed off the floor with his knees, crushing Joey up against the bed with his gangly strength, delving to find that extra inch of space. "Joey," he gasped. "JOEY."

Joey could feel Justin so amazingly deep inside him and let out a short shout, pushing back against him, never wanting the feeling to end. He knew he was going to come soon -- he couldn't help it, not with Justin doing THIS -- but he hoped that wouldn't stop Justin from fucking him hard and fast and deep. Or, if it did, that they would do it again soon. Neither one of them was afraid to use their strength with the other, and it was a heady feeling.

"You still okay?" Justin panted, sort of wishing that he didn't have to ask -- that he could keep pretending that it was just about fucking, it was fun -- but he cared about Joey too much to maintain the act. 'Course it didn't mean that he slowed down, at all ... he just slid his hands lower, to the top of Joey's thighs, yanking him back against his cock and holding him there while he waited for a response.

"YES!" shouted Joey, lifting his head. "Don't stop!" He squirmed on the bed, wanting more and more and more of him.

Justin bit his lip, hard, when he heard Joey scream ... encouraging him to start pumping again, but almost painstakingly slowly. And with a sharp twist of his hips at the end of each thrust, still trying to find a way to get deeper. "Do that again," he hissed, breathing heavily. "Scream again, Joey."

Joey grunted that time, pushed into the bed by Justin's thrusts and loving it. "Harder," he said honestly, hardly able to believe himself how much he was able to take, how good this new kind of sex felt to him. "Deeper." As if he could, as if it were possible. "FUCK me!"

Justin wanted to laugh at that -- what ELSE was he doing? -- but he felt too incredible to even catch his breath to do it. He'd NEVER been this ... uninhibited ... with Chris, and if Joey didn't seem to be loving it just as much, he would've been a little scared of himself. As it was, he really, really wanted him to scream again. Grunting, he wrapped his arms around Joey's chest and hefted him farther up against the bed, so he could get his feet underneath him and use all of the muscles in his legs to drive into Joey. As hard as he had asked for it.

Joey shouted, then bit into the blankets beneath him. "Lord, Justin," he said a few moments later, after heaving in a huge breath. "I'm gonna ... I'm gonna ... " He bit his lip and tried not to come.

Biting at Joey's back, Justin dipped his hips again and pulled out farther than he had since he first got inside him -- before pounding back into him twice in quick succession. Then he repeated the movements, gasping Joey's name with each flex of his muscles and pump of his hips.

Joey yelled as he came, lifting his head off the bed again and just letting it all out. It was one of the most powerful orgasms he could remember, spurting into the bed and sending shocks all the way up his spine, as Justin continued to pound into him. It was almost enough to blow his mind, and he had to close his eyes, overwhelmed by sensation.

Justin figured that it felt TOO good to have Joey throbbing around his cock, to have him yelling out loud because of something *he'd* done ... that was the only reason he could come up with for why he wasn't coming right away and hard. Instead, he kept pushing himself inside him, against him, above him, saying his name progressively louder and louder until he was yelling, too.

Joey's breath was coming in pants and gasps. He was either going to scream or cry and he wasn't sure which, but SOMETHING incredibly intense was building inside him and it wasn't an orgasm -- he'd already had one of those. So he kept breathing and kept feeling Justin's wonderful cock in his ass and waited.

Finally Justin just couldn't hold it back any longer, slamming Joey's body down on the bed again and crying out his name as his orgasm exploded from the small of his back. He kept whimpering, his body dead weight on Joey's back.

Joey still struggled for breath, even after Justin came, explosively. He could FEEL him coming, and it was almost enough to make him hard again. But after that kind of fucking ... not quite. "I love you," he whispered, his cheek pressed against the bed.

Justin was completely wrung out, and burst into tears. In so many ways, he really wasn't old enough to be doing what he was doing, to have felt what he'd felt. And hearing Joey say those words, so softly like he couldn't manage to say them louder ... "God, Joey," he cried softly.

"I want to hold you," said Joey a moment later, feeling Justin's tears on his back. "You need to move a little, Justin. I need to hold you." He nudged him with his shoulder insistently.

"No!" Justin whimpered, holding Joey tighter from behind. "No, don't." He didn't want to let go, to let him up ... he was too scared of seeing disapproval, or hurt, in Joey's face.

"Please, Justin?" said Joey, his voice a little stonger. "You made me feel wonderful and .... I need to wrap my arms around you right now. I need to hold you tight and whisper stuff in your ear."

Justin held him still for another several seconds, before sniffing and grabbing the base of the condom as he pulled out gently. He tugged it off and dropped it on the floor, not caring, and buried his face in his arms on the side of the bed.

Joey pulled Justin into his arms and held him tight. "I don't even know what to say," he said softly in his ear. "I don't even have words to describe that. I've never felt anything like that before in my life. That was just ... the most intense sex of my life." He still felt the pressure of tears, or something, inside his head.

Shaking his head, Justin's tears didn't slow. "That was really bad of me, though, wasn't it? To act like that? To say that stuff?" He KNEW it was the most intense sex of HIS life, but that didn't make it okay, if he hurt Joey. Or hurt his feelings.

"What are you TALKING about?" said Joey. "That was fantastic! What ... what do you think was wrong about it?"

"It wasn't too rough?" Justin asked pleadingly. "It wasn't ... tacky? ... of me, to say that stuff?" He knew *he'd* never done it before; he wondered if Joey had some insight. Or advice.

"That was," said Joey, looking directly into Justin's eyes, "So. Fucking. Hot." Then he kissed him thoroughly.

"So ... so you liked it?" Justin asked, a little more sheepishly. "I've never really ... talked like that, to anyone. And I LOVE you, so I'm not quite sure why I DID, I just ... looking at you, I couldn't help it. It's what came to my mind."

"It was great!" Joey assured him. "It was really sexy, Justin. We don't have to, like, be romantic ALL the time. Sometimes ... it can just be hard and hot and dirty, if we both like that. And *I* liked that. With you. I really liked that with you. You were so strong ... I've never had it like that before." He was definitely going to be sore after this one, but it was worth it.

Justin ducked his head, pleased with the compliment but still embarassed. "I liked it that way, too. I just ... didn't want to say I did, if you didn't." He blushed even more and tried to cover his face. "Do you think ... I mean, maybe you could do it like that, to me, sometime?" Suddenly he wanted that very, very much ... Chris had always been beyond gentle with him.

"I'll have to, you know, do it a couple more times first to get used to it and all," said Joey simply and honestly. "But sure. I'd ... like that. I think it made both of us pretty hot, Justin." As a matter of fact, he was STILL flushed from it, and it wasn't just the exertion. "You can tell me when you like stuff, even if I might not," he told him as well. "I'm not going to get mad or laugh or something. I promise."

Smiling finally, if weakly, Justin kissed the side of Joey's neck. "I know you won't laugh," he assured him. "I just ... don't want you to think that you have to do something, or you should do something, if you're not ... cool with it. I don't want to be like that. That scares me."

"I wouldn't, though," said Joey, hugging him. "You know me better than that. If I didn't want something ... I WOULDN'T do it. I mean, you'd tell me if YOU didn't want something, wouldn't you?"

Justin nodded again. "Mm-hmm," he said, although he thought he'd probably try pretty hard to want something, if Joey wanted it. "I'm glad you liked it," he whispered then. "REALLY glad."

Joey wrapped his legs around him, too, and held him very, very close. "I've never felt anything like it," he said. "I love that you're not afraid to be strong with me. No one's ever been like that, and it turns me on SO much."

"I kept thinking it would be too much," Justin admitted. "But ... you kept saying you wanted it, and it felt really REALLY good, and I ... " He shook his head and ran his hands over Joey's legs. "I'm just never going to be able to fall asleep in here again, without thinking of you on your knees, up against this bed."

Joey moaned quietly. "Me neither," he said, glancing at the spot where he'd been kneeling. He licked his lips and closed his eyes. "I'm getting hot just thinking about it. But there's just NO way I'm gonna be able to do it again right now."

Justin giggled. "I know that. Maybe tonight, though?" he said hopefully, giving Joey's thigh a little squeeze. "Right now we should maybe ... clean up a bit. And, um. Lunch."

"God. Lunch. Right," said Joey, groaning. "I bet they're waiting." He sighed and unwrapped himself a bit. "As long as they're not waiting outsite the door. Um ... hope I can walk," he added, flushing a bit and looking down at himself.

Frowning, Justin froze in the middle of unpeeling his skin from Joey's. "Oh," he said softly. "Are you ... hurt? Not okay?" He touched the top of Joey's ass gently, where his hipbones had probably laid the foundation for some bruises. "Oh, bear ... I'm sorry ... "

"No, no, it was GREAT!" he assured him again. "I'm ... yeah, I'm a little sore, but it was so worth it Justin. I loved that. I'm just not used to it is all. Do NOT apologize, okay?" He kissed his lips tenderly. "I mean it."

"Okay," Justin replied meekly, standing up. "Would you ... maybe I could give you a back rub, or something, later?" He held out his hand for Joey, and remembered as he straightened up that HE wasn't going to be free from soreness himself.

"Oh," said Joey softly. "Oh ... that would be wonderful," he admitted, already thinking of Justin's hands kneading his flesh. "We're not going out tonight, right? I don't think I'm into that, right now."

Justin shook his head and bit his lip. "No. Let's just stay here. I just ... want you to pet me and kiss me and ... maybe tell me you love me, some more ... " He looked at Joey furtively, before going on. "All the nice stuff we haven't done yet, since we woke up."

Joey smiled and leaned up on his elbow. "Tell me about the nice stuff you want to do with me," he said quietly, catching Justin's eyes and reaching for his waist. "I want to hear."

"JO-ey," Justin whined, blushing and slapping at his hands. "Just ... stuff. I don't know. Lots of kissing, and maybe going swimming in the dark, and ... making you a banana split, and cuddling up on the sofa having you touch my hair ... I don't know! NICE stuff."

Joey grinned. "I like all those ideas," he said. "Because ... really ... I think I'm gonna have to blow you tonight. I'm not much good for anything else 'til tomorrow, I think." He sat up on the edge of the bed and winced for a fraction of a second.

Justin whimpered a little, again, when he caught Joey's flinch. "You don't ever HAVE to do anything," he whispered, turning sideways, waiting for Joey to stand up but not wanting to see if THAT would hurt him, too.

"I did exactly what I wanted to," said Joey firmly. "And I don't regret a thing. I WANT to be sexual with you tonight ... I just can't ... you know. And I LIKE blowing you." He grinned at him and reached out his hand for Justin to help him to his feet. "I'm just not looking forward to the teasing I'm gonna get from the guys about that. I don't have a whole lot of comebacks yet."

Justin relaxed. "Well, like they can talk!" he smiled. "Chris digs it too, and apparently Lance would like it if he had the opportunity ... *I* say you use it as a way to punish Jace for being odd-man-out, since he was so mean to me, earlier."

Joey grinned. "That's not a bad idea," he said. "I love you Justin. Help me up, would you? Let's see if I can stand without wobbling here."

"Oh, sorry!" Justin said quickly, rushing back over to grab Joey's arm. Trying, again, not to fixate too much on the easy way Joey said he loved him, vowing that maybe later that night he'd actually ask about it. "Sorry. Just don't ... you know ... be TOO mean. I'm sure he meant it when he said he was sorry."

"He did," said Joey solemnly. "I told you ... we talked about it. I think maybe he understands a little better now, that I'm not just fucking with you and you're not just fucking with me." He got to his feet, hesitantly, feeling a little shock of pain but nothing TOO bad. He exhaled in relief.

"Here, stay right there," Justin said hurriedly, tugging on his underwear quickly and dashing out of the room. He returned a second later with a sopping wet washcloth, and dropped to his knees in front of Joey. "Can I?" he said earnestly, looking up with big eyes.

"Oh," said Joey softly. "Oh ... yes ... thank you," he murmured, staring at him, taking in this wonderful boy on his knees in front of him.

Justin bit his lip in concentration as he rubbed the terrycloth as gently as he could over Joey's belly and hips. Then, holding him with a hand even shakier than Joey's knees, he cleaned Joey's soft cock delicately. "Hold still," he said, almost inaudibly, as he made himself run the cloth under Joey's balls, wiping gently at his hole.

Joey whimpered, and ran a hand through Justin's soft hair. "Oh," he said again, very softly, not sure what else to say. It hurt, just a little, but felt good, too.

"Sorry, sorry," Justin murmured, dropping the towel as soon as he felt like he had cleaned Joey up enough that he'd be comfortable, at least, until he took a shower. He reached over and grabbed his underwear, then, and clasped Joey's ankle to help him step into them. "So you don't have to bend over," he explained softly, his head still bowed.

"You're so wonderful," whispered Joey, steppingi into the boxers. "I guess you know what I'm feeling right now, huh ... "

Justin just shrugged, allowing himself the pleasure of touching Joey's skin as he pulled them up his legs and over his ass. He's realizing that he definitely *is* sore ... that HAD been HIS first time in forever, and Joey was so big ... "Yeah, maybe that blowjob idea isn't so bad, after all."

Joey pulled him into his arms and kissed him passionately. "I'm looking forward to it," he said. "Maybe we could ... hang out and kiss and touch," he added. "Like you said before. And be all relaxed together. Is anyone else gonna be home?"

"Dunno," Justin admitted, stepping back and looking around for his shorts. "We can find some place to be together. Even if we have to take the car and go park out in an abandoned lot, somewhere."

"Maybe Chris'll let us borrow his place some time," says Joey tentatively. "So we'd be SURE we had no interruptions ... "

Justin paused, almost imperceptibly, before grabbing the rest of his clothes. "If you ... I mean, I guess we ... " he stuttered, then stopped. He couldn't even make himself agree to that, for Joey's sake. That would just be ... too weird. And he loved Joey, he DID, but he couldn't run the risk of maybe hurting Chris. If it would bother him.

"Or not," said Joey, looking down and shaking his head. "Sorry. I should ... um ... put some clothes on."

Justin sighed, but even then couldn't force himself to speak up, to agree to it. He was really surprised Joey had broached it. "I'm ... sorry," he said lamely. "I just ... *I* wouldn't feel right, asking him that. Please, understand. Joey?"

"No, it's okay," said Joey, sitting back down on the edge of the bed. "You're right, it was a stupid idea. I'm sorry I said anything. We can stay here, here is fine."

"Joey," Justin said a little more desperately, his shoulders slumping. "PLEASE. We're totally, totally over each other, but I just can't DO that. It feels really mean."

"No," said Joey. "It's OKAY, Justin. Honest. I just wasn't thinking there for a minute. I was just thinking how we were gonna have a place to ourselves with no parents to worry about, and no JC and no Lance and stuff. I'm sorry."

"You believe me, though, right?" Justin pressed, completely having forgotten about getting dressed, or getting lunch, or anything. "And ... I mean, this was good, right? Nobody's here, really, and ... " he attempted a smile. "We yelled, you know."

"Yeah," said Joey with a smile. "We yelled. No, it's cool, Justin. Really. It's great." He hoped Justin believed him this time, and felt like an idiot for bringing it up in the first place.

Justin knelt down in front of him, putting his chin on Joey's knee. "And, I mean ... we'll be back on tour soon, and ... did I even tell you? my mom won't be there the whole time, this time, and ... " He sighed. "We'll find ways to be alone, Joey. I promise. I'm sorry."

"Stop saying you're sorry, Justin," said Joey. "It's FINE, honest. I was just, you know, trying. I'm glad we'll have some time alone ... it'll be good. Um .. are you hungry?"

Justin pulled back. "I only said it twice," he muttered, then stood up. It seemed like maybe them getting together wasn't going to be as seamless as he'd hoped. "Not really," he replied. "But like I said ... mom left something for us."

"I love you," whispered Joey, looking up at him from where he sat. "I don't know what you think of me, and my relationships ... but I don't say that just 'cause. I wanted you to know that."

Justin fought back a fresh set of tears. "I love YOU. I don't say it just 'cause, either. But ... I loved him, too. And I don't WANT to forget that."

"Oh, Justin," said Joey, holding out his arms. "I don't WANT you to forget that. Why do you think I do?"

Justin let Joey wrap him up, and pull him into his lap. "I don't know," he said softly. "I just ... do YOU think he's totally over me, like that? That ... having us there, in his BED, wouldn't bother him?"

"I didn't think about it," said Joey honestly. "I should have -- that would probaby be too weird for him. I was just thinking, you know, Chris is the only one with a place of his own, is all." He hugged Justin tightly, then just held him there. "I want to be able to yell without worrying about consequences. I mean, you've GOTTA know they heard that."

That actually HADN'T occured to Justin, and he started blushing furiously. "Oh, no ... do you really think so?" He knew he yelled, but he never knew how loud he got. "Oh, no."

Joey grinned. "It's not like they don't know what we were doing, Justin," he admitted. He was embarassed, yeah, but pretty okay with it, too. "But it might be nice to NOT have them around some time, and not have to worry about them coming back."

"I KNOW they probably knew, but ... " Justin bit his lip. "I mean, that's just kind of trashy." His mind wandered for a moment, thinking about all the things that JC might say, all the confused looks Lance might give them, all of the disapproval on Chris's face. "I'm sorry I'm so young," he said softly. "This is such a pain."

"You can't help that," said Joey, still holding him in his lap. "I live with my parents too, you know," he reminded him as well, hoping that would help. "I don't think they would have LISTENED, or anything. The guys aren't like that."

"I know," Justin sighed, then started squirming. "Well ... let's just go. I'd rather go ahead and get this over with. You ... are you still okay? Want to borrow a pair of looser shorts?"

Joey winced again. "Could I? Would you mind?" He let Justin go so he could get up, but didn't quite get to his own feet again yet.

Justin sighed again, almost miserably, and went over to his dresser to find a pair of basketball shorts. "Here," he said, crouching down to pull them on Joey's legs again, and then wrapping a strong arm around his waist to pull him to his feet. As much as he had loved it, and as much as he WANTED to, he basically vowed to himself that he'd never do it like that, with Joey, again.

"Thanks," said Joey, kissing him hard. He still wasn't very good at reading Justin, but he could definitely tell something was bothering him right now, and had a pretty good idea of what it might be. "You remember how I said that last time was the best sex of my life?" he said, touching Justin's face. "Well, this topped it. I don't hurt so bad ... I promise."

"You're lying," Justin said softly, watching his face, his own eyes sad. "I'm really, really glad you liked it, during ... I believe that ... but you ARE hurt. And that makes me a really ... god, a shitty person. That was your SECOND time, Joey, and I did something wrong AGAIN."

"Don't be ridiculous," said Joey, reaching out for him and pulling him close again. "First of all, I would never lie in the first place, especially not to you. And SECOND of all, you did exactly what both of us wanted. Exactly what I ASKED you to. So tell me how that was wrong, and how it makes you a shitty person? Because I don't think you can."

Justin nodded in protest. "Cause you didn't KNOW, what you were asking for," he insisted. "And I ... had some idea, at least. So I should've resisted. And, god ... LAST night ... I practically FORCED myself on you ... this is just a really bad pattern."

"Justin?" said Joey, squeezing him. "You're not listening to me. I'm telling you that I liked it, and you DIDN'T force yourself on me, not one bit. Are you telling me I don't know what I want? That I can't decide for myself?" He tried to catch Justin's eyes, but Justin dodged him. "Well ... kinda," Justin admitted, trying to pull away. "Just ... let's just forget about it, okay? You said you're fine? Fine. Okay. I believe you." He sighed, and eyed his shorts that Joey had had to put on, and sighed again. "C'mon."

"No," said Joey, pulling him back. "No, I'm not just going to forget about it. You're not believing me and something is wrong and you're not talking to me. And I'm guessing it's because you think I'm hurt bad or something. Or I didn't like it. Am I right?" He sighed. "I need to talk about this, Justin."

Justin relented a little, at Joey's sigh. "I beLIEVE you," he said. "It's just, the LAST thing I'd ever, ever want to do is hurt you. And ... I didn't really know what I was doing, and I hate that I might have done it bad. And you ARE hurt. But ... talking about it isn't going to make me feel less guilty, so let's just GO, okay? Please?"

"Don't feel guilty for making me feel good," said Joey, loosening his grip again. "That's all I'm saying. Because that's what you did, Justin. You made me feel good."

Justin moved back as soon as Joey had given him enough leeway to do it. "Okay, I won't," he said hollowly, beyond grateful that they had already established they were only doing blowjobs that evening. He knew he couldn't bring himself to try to have sex with Joey again yet. He tossed Joey his teeshirt before pulling his own on. "You coming?"

Joey looks down at his groin then back up at Justin, grinning again. "Not yet," he said, "but I have high hopes for this evening." He pulls the t-shirt on and reaches out to take Justin's hand before they leave the room. The soreness is already fading into a background irritation, and the sex had definitely been worth it. "Let's get lunch."

---

"Can I talk to you a second?" JC said tightly, tugging on the sleeve of Chris's shirt, glaring a little at the man sitting in the stool that Chris had just been pressed up against. "Okay, see?" he said, when he'd pulled him to another table, a little less well-lit. "That's NOT what I thought you meant, when you said we were going out to get laid."

"What?" said Chris glancing back at the man JC had pulled him away from, with his blond curls and boyish good looks. "That's who I'M gonna get laid with, not you. What's the problem?"

JC looked back at him too, then stared at Chris, thinking the problem was obvious. "I just ... okay, wasn't really prepared for it to be a guy, first of all, and ... don't kill me? maybe you're not really understanding this whole 'getting OVER Justin' thing. Are you?"

Chris frowned at him. "What are you talking about? Just because I want to get it on with a guy tonight, means I'm not over Justin? That's jumping to conclusions, don't you think?"

"Sure, silly me," JC scoffed. "I guess you're just hoping this guy won't mind if you CALL him Justin in bed?"

Chris glanced at his 'date' and all of a sudden realized what JC was talking about. "Well fuck me," he breathed. "Shit. I didn't even ... " He figured JC wouldn't believe him if he said he didn't even notice. He wasn't even sure HE believed that, now. "You don't have to, like, MOCK me about it, though ... "

"I *wasn't*," JC insisted. "I was just ... looking out for you. Really. That just ... wouldn't be too healthy, for you. You KNOW that, right?"

Chris glanced back. "But he's so damn CUTE," he complained. "And he was gonna do me. I know he was." He sighed, knowing JC was right and hating him for it. "Not that I expect you to understand this ... but I kinda thought I needed that tonight. After ... you know."

JC winced a little. "AFter ... which part?" Not that they had any REAL insight into what had caused the noises they'd heard from Justin's bedroom earlier, but they did know it was at least two rounds' worth.

"Look ... I'm HAPPY for them. But I don't want to listen to it yet. And I CAN'T listen to it without getting ... needs of my own, I guess." He glanced at the man again; he waved back with his fingertips, raising his drink. "Like I said ... I can't expect you to understand. Either part of it."

'STOP," JC said firmly, moving to stand in Chris's line of sight. "And shit, Chris, I can't pretend to know what you're going through, right now, but I think this might be some way of avoiding reality, which just doesn't seem like YOU."

"I'm not avoiding reality," laughed Chris. "I'm trying to get laid. Something that doesn't happen for me as often as it happens for you, I'm guessing, so I take it where I can get it. And, I mean, so WHAT if he bears a passing resemblance to Justin. That's just ... coincidence. Maybe that's just my TYPE, huh?" He didn't believe a single word of that, almost couldn't believe he was spouting that kind of bullshit.

JC stared at him some more. "STOP," he repeated. "I'm not an idiot. It is EXACTLY avoiding reality. You want to take that kid home, that kid who's the spitting IMAGE of Justin, and sleep with him. Don't TELL me that's not about pretending you had the real thing."

"Yeah, okay, that's EXACTLY what I was planning to do," sighed Chris, frustrated. "Who's that gonna hurt, huh? He gets what he wants, I get what I want, and life goes on." He looked at JC curiously. "Why are you so worried about me, anyway? Shouldn't you be looking for a chick for yourself?"

JC shrugged, unconcerned. "Already had one," he said simply. "Look, I just don't want this thing to KEEP being an issue. You do this, you sleep with this kid? You lose all the progress you made since the last time you slept with JUSTIN. Except it'll be HARDER this go-round, 'cause he HAS someone. Do you really need me to TELL you what that's going to hurt?"

"Well then what am I SUPPOSED to do?" asked Chris, seriously. "What am I supposed to do here?" He looked around JC, gave the guy an apologetic look and a shrug, and pulled JC away. "I DO just wanna get laid. I just need to find someone else, I guess."

"Probably would be best," JC agreed, squeezing Chris's arm. "I don't ... I mean, it could even be a guy. Just not ... THAT guy. He'd make you feel worse, you know."

"He had a pretty mouth," said Chris. "I think he would have made me feel good." He glanced around the bar. "It IS gonna be a guy, just so you know. That's what I need tonight. I need to ... do what they were doing. So ... you already had one? What, in the alley or something?"

"The bathroom," JC muttered, and turned his head away. "Just head, no big deal. Anyway." He leaned back against another table. "What about that guy?" he said, pointing to a tall guy with spiky hair. "He's hot, right?"

"Sure he's hot," said Chris, nodding. "Unfortunately, he's straight. End of the bar. Dark hair, goatee. I'd do him. What do YOU think?" He glanced at JC, smirking a little, feeling SLIGHTLY strange cruising guys with him, but probably not as strange as JC felt.

"I dunno," JC narrowed his eyes. "He looks a little like Joey. That's introducing a whole OTHER wrinkle to the problem." For his part, JC was trying to be as straightforward as he could ... anything it took to get him to leave the Justin-clone alone.

"Well, it's not like I have a thing for JOEY that you have to worry about," snickered Chris, giving the guy a little smile that was returned quickly. "He's cute. Not as cute as the first guy, but ... " He looked at JC. "Do I get your approval or should we keep looking?"

"I can't believe I'm doing this," JC muttered to himself. "I guess he's alright," he said louder, "Just ... are you SURE this is what you want? Maybe a chick would be better after all ... you won't risk confusing her with Justin at ALL ..."

"Don't make me be blunt," chuckled Chris, punching his arm. "Will you know what I'm telling you if I say a chick can't do for me what I need right now?" He raised an eyebrow at JC and wondered if he needed to be more explicit. Because he WOULD, no problem. Even with JC.

JC grimaced. "Uh, yeah. No ... clarification necessary, thanks." That was still really STRANGE, to him, that the need to have someone do ... THAT to you could be anything like the need to do it to someone else. Strange. "I just still think it's not a hot idea, if you're gonna be thinking of Justin the whole time."

"Who says I'm gonna be thinking of Justin?" asked Chris, narrowing his eyes a little. "I'm interested in other guys besides Justin, you know. I just want to get laid, JC. I think you know THAT desire pretty well, don't you?"

JC wouldn't let Chris pick a fight with him. "Sure," he said easily. "I just think it's really a coincidence that you were so ... bothered earlier, about Justin, and now you ONLY want to pick up a guy, and it was your FIRST inclination to choose one that looked exactly LIKE him. You have Justin on the brain. Admit it."

"He wasn't FIRST," lied Chris. "I looked at a bunch of other guys before him. It's not exactly easy to pick up guys in a straight bar, though ... I didn't have this huge selection. He just happened to be one of them. And for your information, I intended to pick up a guy all along -- I bet you just ASSUMED I wanted to pick up a chick."

"Yeah, fine ... all along, AFTER we had that little conversation earlier," JC protested. "AFTER we decided that we both just needed to get laid so we didn't have to deal with that stuff with Justin. Look, you're not FOOLING me. Do you ... I mean, is it something you need to TALK about? I don't want you going all self-destructive on me."

"I'm not going all self-destructive on you." Chris rolled his eyes. "I'd ask YOU to fuck me just to get it out of the way if I thought you wouldn't freak out and ditch me here," he snickered, looking at JC out of the corner of his eye. "I'm NOT looking for someone to spend the night with. I just ... okay yeah, it DOES have to do with ... what we heard today. Feel better now?"

"I'm not ENJOYING this, Chris," JC rolled his eyes, shifting uncomfortably at Chris's proposition, however joking. "You think I WANT to be sitting here, making sure you don't give yourself a huge mindfuck? I got other stuff I could be doing."

"Like?" asked Chris. "I'm not giving myself a mindfuck. I want to get fucked because I heard them, and I remembered what it's like, and I realized that I MISS it. That it's been a long time since I've had that. Okay, sure, that guy who looked like Justin was maybe a mistake. But me finding a guy isn't, JC. Honest."

"I don't know," JC frowned. "Maybe NONE of this was a good idea. Is it going to help to let someone you don't even want to let spend the night do that to you? That won't just, like, remind you of how different things were with Justin?"

"I don't want what I had with Justin anymore," says Chris quietly, wanting JC to realize how serious he is about that. "I'm not trying to find that tonight. Maybe I AM trying to find the opposite of that ... and isn't that okay?"

"No, I think that's good," JC assured him, touching his arm gently. "As long as that's what you're doing, okay? I THOUGHT it was, but when I saw you with that guy ... well, I had my doubts." He grinned slowly. "You know I'm never gonna be the one to give you shit about meaningless sex ..."

Chris chuckled. "Very true," he said, fidgeting a bit. "Fuck, I need a smoke. Promise not to tell Justin if I do? Or Joey, I guess? They think I don't. They'd give me all kinds of shit, 'cause I lecture them about it."

"Justin knows you do," JC muttered distractedly, catching sight of another girl who might be interested in a little bit of dancing. "He loves you anyway, and still idolizes you, and so he listens to you about it, in spite of that. He's a good kid." He really wasn't paying attention to what he was saying.

"Yeah," said Chris softly. "He is. I miss him. But I'm not looking to replace him tonight." He looked up, to see where JC was looking. "Go for it," he said, when she looked back at him. "I'm fine. I'll find what I'm looking for."

JC turned back to him. "You sure?" he asked, with a furrowed brow, then frowned when he saw that Chris's gaze had fallen right back on the curly-headed guy. "Naw, she's not my type," he said carefully. "I'll sit here with you a little bit more, if that's okay?" He'd already taken care of his own aching need for the evening, and he was not about to let one of his friends make a mistake.

Chris looking at him steadily for a moment, then shrugged. "Hey, I don't mind the company," he said, pulling his eyes away from his almost-date again regretfully. He wasn't caring, right then, what a bad idea it might have been. He just wanted SOMEthing back again. Some part of what he'd had with him, and that he hadn't REALLY had since. Something that Justin had again, with Joey.

"Good," JC said, then attempted a smile. He didn't want to confront Chris again about it, about what he was so obviously doing, but he DID want Chris to know that he could talk about it. "So ... Justin said you had a date the other night? With some girl? How'd that go?"

"It was a bust," said Chris with a sigh, really wishing he DID have cigarettes on him. But he doesn't, and doesn't feel like getting any. He snuck glances at the blond again. "She wasn't really my type, after all. Or I wasn't hers. Or both."

"Were you really giving her a shot?" JC asked gently, noting that Chris still couldn't keep his eyes off that guy. "I mean ... that was the day we all found out about Joey and Justin hooking up, right? You sure it's not that your head just wasn't in the game?"

Chris snorted. "Nah, man. She just wasn't much fun, and you know how I am about that. I wanted to go out and have a good time and she was just WAY to serious for me. Especially for a first date. It had nothing to do with Joey and Justin and what's going on with them." He hadn't thought so, anyway, but now JC had put the thought in his brain and he began to mull it over.

"Okay," JC said agreeably. "Can I tell you something? Part of me really wishes I hadn't gone out that night, too. Maybe all of this wouldn't be happening so fast if they hadn't been alone."

Chris gave him a look. "We have NOTHING to do with what's happening," he reminded him with a weary sigh. "Trust me, if there's one thing I know, it's THAT. They're going at ... at the pace that's right for them, I guess."

"I hadn't really thought about what a dangerous combination they are," JC admitted. "I mean ... Justin being sixteen, and Joey being ... Joey ... dude, I just hope we don't have to hear THAT every time."

Chris looked down for a moment. "I hope not," he admitted. "That was .... tough." He knew that JC knew that, but it was the first time he'd said it aloud. First time he'd really admitted it.

"Sorry, man," JC said, feeling bad for bringing it up again. He reached for Chris's hand and squeezed it, and then just let it rest in his. "I'm already gonna say something to them about doing it when Lynn can hear, maybe they'll be more careful in general ...? And especially after all that shit we gave them today ... Justin was really mortified."

Chris nodded and grinned, just a bit. Justin HAD been mortified, and even Joey -- who had little shame -- had been a bit embarassed. But they hadn't been TOO hard on them, no more than they deserved for their little performance. They could have at LEAST closed the window. "S'okay," he said. "I WILL get over it. I just need a bit more time. I'm not all pining over him or anything."

JC frowned again when that line was delivered with Chris's eyes fixed on the Justin lookalike again. "Chris," he said softly. "Look, why don't we go someplace else? If you really want to find a guy, let's ... I'll go with you to another bar. Or club, or wherever. To find a guy. I don't mind."

"You sure?" asked Chris, surprised. "I ... I dunno ... always figured you'd be all uncomfortable, in a place like that. Because you WILL be hit on. I guarantee it."

"Well ... it's not my FAVORITE thing to do, but I'll deal," JC said hesitantly. He just really wanted to lose that other guy. "S'not like it hasn't happened before." He grinned a little then, and trailed a finger up Chris's arm teasingly. "What's wrong? Worried about the competition?"

Chris snickered and batted his hand away. "You're not competition," he said, lying his ass off again. He knew JC would get hit on twice as many times as he was, if not more. But that was cool with him. "All right, fine, let's go." He nudged JC's side.

"I guess I can safely assume you know where you're going?" JC rose reluctantly, not quite sure what he'd really gotten himself into, but hoping it would turn out to be a good deed.

"Huh? Yeah, of course," said Chris, getting up and heading for the door, shooting one last look over his shoulder at his blond boy. "Just come with him. You've never been?"

JC sighed and shook his head, letting Chris lead him out. "No. Tragically straight, here, remember? I mean ... the hitting-on thing, THAT'S not new, but ... " He just shook his head again, and thought to himself that Chris owed him BIG.

Chris nodded, understanding and unsurprised. "We don't even need the car, it's two blocks over. Just ... be cool and don't get too weirded out. And if you decide to dance, be prepared for the consequences." He grinned. "That's about my only advice."

"Consequences?" JC stuttered. "Um. Okay." He had NO idea what that meant, but suddenly he figured he'd be sticking to the bar.

Chris grinned, enjoying this now. He didn't get to tease JC like this often. "You have a cute ass. I'm sure it would get a lot of attention. Actually, there's not a bit of doubt in my mind that it would."

"Chris! God." JC stopped in the middle of the walkway for a second and covered his face. "I think I could have lived my life in peace, not knowing you thought that. GOD." It wasn't making him feel any more at ease, either, even though he knew Chris meant it good-naturedly. "That seals it, too. DEFINITELY no dancing."

Chris laughed. "If it makes you feel any better," he said, clapping a hand on JC's shoulder, "I don't spend a lot of time contemplating your ass. I'm just suggesting that other people might not be so pure of thought." He paused, and stopped JC with his hand. "Um ... thanks," he added, more seriously. "I appreciate this."

"I know," JC said softly. "C'mon. Let's go find you a hot boy so I have time to come back here before last call." He grinned and winked.

Chris grinned. "Are all blonds off-limits?" he asked, turning the corner towards the bar. "Do I need to get your permission before I start flirting?"

JC pretended to ponder that. "I GUESS you can be on your own," he said slowly. "But if I see you cozying up to another guy like that one back there? I'm playing the wounded diva ex, and don't think I won't."

Chris reached for his wallet as he pushed the door open; there was only a short line up inside. He needed to pay cover, and he was always ID'd. ALWAYS. "You wouldn't," he chuckled. "I know you too well."

JC just shrugged. "Don't push your luck. I'd stick to tall, dark and handsome, if I were you." He grabbed his own ID and some cash, looking at the strange stamp he got on his hand in return. "What *is* this?" he said, throwing his wrist over Chris's shoulder.

Chris grinned. "You need to ask?" he said, leading JC into the loud club, through the mass of bodies. "I need a drink." His lips were almost against JC's ear. "You want something?"

JC tried not to flinch away from Chris's warm breath on his neck. "Um, sure," he said, taking in his surroundings. "Um. A beer? Is that acceptable?" He could barely see past all the people in the dark to the bar.

"Yes," laughed Chris. "Don't worry, they DO have beer here. Will you be okay if I leave you alone?" He was serious, but he didn't expect JC to say no.

"Sure," JC replied, braver than he felt. "You don't have to babysit me; we're here for you, remember?" He ducked his head a little when he caught a pair of guys looking at them, and gave Chris a little shove. "Just ... let me know where you're gonna be."

"Just getting the drinks," said Chris, pointing at the bar, over the heads of a bunch of people. "Just ... stay where you are. I'll be back. Promise." He gave JC a reassuring grin, then headed for the bar, a little happier to be here than at the other bar, and having a bit of fun with JC's uncomfortableness, too.

JC backed up a little until he was leaning against a pillar, standing on his tiptoes at regular intervals to make sure he could still see Chris. He didn't look at ANYONE else, figuring -- at least HOPING -- that he wouldn't get bothered if he didn't make eye contact. He knew he'd have to relax.

Chris grinned at quite a few people on his way to the bar, knowing his braces were a turn-off to a lot, but not being self-conscious about it. He didn't have to be -- he got his fair share of smiles and appraising looks in return. He would have stayed with one cute brunet he'd started chatting with at the bar if he hadn't promised JC he was coming back with his beer.

Even doing his best to look either unavailable or disinterested, JC had to turn down quite a few offers to dance before Chris made it back to where he stood. "Thanks!" he breathed gratefully, grabbing the beer and downing most of it at once. "So," he said, wiping his damp lips off with the back of his hand, his shoulders relaxing a little. "Any prospects out there? You know you don't have to stay here; it's gonna be tough to talk to people if they think you're ... with me, or something." He blushed, because he WAS having to lean really close to be heard.

Chris laughed and pointed out a few people he'd 'met' on his way back from the bar. "Let's see if we can find somewhere for you to sit," he said, his lips unintentionally pressing against the rim of JC's ear. The odds were against it, but he figured JC would feel a LOT less vulnerable if they could find him a table to huddle over. There WERE some, near the back of the club, but they were usually pretty full. As they made their way, Chris's hand on JC's elbow, Chris rubbed up against one tall guy with red hair and almost stopped dead to start dancing with him.

JC turned around when he realized that he'd lost Chris somewhere, and couldn't help smiling a little when he saw the guy that had caught his attention -- he was older, and kinda punk-y, and looked *nothing* like Justin. Squeezing back to where Chris had stopped, he put a hand on his hip and a chin on his shoulder so he could tell him where he'd be. He'd spotted an empty stool at the bar and gestured at it, gave the redhead a winning grin and an encouraging look, then whispered "have fun!" to Chris before he left.

Chris gave him a playful swat on the butt as he left and turned his attention back to the redhead for a while, dancing up against him until someone else caught both their attention. Which certainly didn't mean they wouldn't hook up again later on -- Chris thought he might be VERY promising. He ground up against a guy who looked suspiciously like JC next, and almost hoped that JC was watching -- wouldn't THAT be a mindfuck.

JC had his back to the dancefloor, chatting amiably with the bartender over another beer, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He stiffened, shared a bit of a 'help me!' look with the guy, then turned around to turn whoever it was down. Beer practically came out of his nose as he choked when he saw the guy, though: if the kid at the other club could've passed for Justin's brother, *this* one was his fucking spitting image -- a little older, sure; a little less bleached. But the curls were there, if a bit longer, and the same wide smile and dark, dark eyes. "Fuck me," JC breathed, and almost fell off his stool as he looked around wildly for Chris.

Chris danced with that guy for only a couple minutes before being bored by his lack of rhythm and deciding he needed a drink. He gave him a friendly slap on the hip before he started to weave his way through the bodies towards the bar. He did pause, partway there, to be felt up by a buff guy in a leather jacket, but managed to make it. He was about to say something to JC -- had even parted his lips -- when he spotted the guy next to him and his eyes lit up.

JC cursed his luck when Chris appeared right next to him, out of thin air, before he had a chance to send the guy packing ... and was really at a loss for what to do. He didn't want to embarrass Chris in front of the guy by telling him he couldn't talk to him, but there was *no* way JC was going to let that happen. And he couldn't just hope the guy would go away, either. He really didn't have much of a choice ...

He gave Chris a look that screamed 'don't you dare!' and then, steeling himself, put a hand on the other guy's arm. "Hey," he said, just loud enough to be heard, a bit of a sexy grin pasted on his face. If the guy was talking to *him*, then he couldn't talk to Chris, and that was all that mattered to JC.

Chris stared at JC for a moment, his mouth hanging open. There was just no WAY that JC was flirting with this guy, let alone successfully. His mouth snapped shut and he shot him a glare before he moved closer to the blond and set his hand cockily on the upper curve of his ass. "Wanna dance?" he said in his ear, his tongue flicking out and touching the lobe. It hadn't even registered on him yet how much he looked like Justin -- he was just responding to his looks on a gut level.

JC frowned when he saw the guy take note of Chris, apparently responding well to his more brazen methods of flirting. "He's dancing with me, Chris," he said firmly, icily, letting his hand trail farther up the guy's muscular arm as he stood, encouraged by the way that brought his attention back to him. "Don't push it," he hissed in Chris's ear as he tried to nudge him out of the way, wondering if just the threat of dancing with the guy would be sufficient to get Chris to wake up ... HOPING so, so he wouldn't really have to go through with it. "Leave it alone; I *told* you what I'll do if you don't."

Chris was almost too shocked by that to do anything for a long moment, then he nudged JC out of his seat at the bar and claimed it for himself. "Go ahead," he said, kicking at JC's shin. "I need a drink anyway." He gave the blond a smile and a wink and felt his groin tightening as he gazed at him. "I'll be here when you come back," he said, not to JC but to the other man. He wondered if JC would even go through with it -- if he didn't, now, the blond was all his.

"Would you excuse me, just a second?" JC said to the guy, forcing a smile. "Don't go anywhere." He kept a hand on the guy's hip as he leaned back over and got in Chris's face a little. "Look, why don't you go find that redhead again, or something? I'm not letting you do anything with this guy. I'm serious. You know I'm not doing this for my health or anything. So don't test me, okay? *Find* *someone* *else*." He turned around and let the guy lead him to the floor, glad he had at least *some* alcohol in him, and hoping there would be some easy way of getting out of this without the guy expecting something. That he was sure Chris would be more than happy to provide.

Chris frowned at him as he left, wanting to tell him that the guy was CUTE and looked strong and that was the only reason he was interested. Except that, when he watched JC lead him out onto the dance floor -- with, yes, more than a little bit of amusement -- he realized how big of a lie that was. The guy WAS Justin, about 3 or 4 years from now. And THAT was the reason he wanted him ... and THAT made him finally face up to the fact that he wasn't over him even as much as he thought he was, and he was looking to find him again. He should have been grateful to JC for doing what he was, and in the back of his mind he kind of was, but he was more frustrated than anything right now. Finally tearing his eyes away from them, he ordered himself a strong drink.

JC tried not to flinch as the guy -- Colin, he learned, a good three inches taller than him -- grabbed him comfortably around the waist and started swaying his hips in good time to the song. It wasn't as weird as he thought it would be ... he'd danced with Joey like this, sometimes. But Joey never wore pants like that, and never let his hand grope JC's ass. Not seriously, at least. Plus he'd already had to deflect questions from Colin about how he knew Chris, thankful that it was too loud on the the floor to really talk. He kept his hands on Colin's biceps and closed his eyes, desperately hoping that Chris had taken him seriously and moved on from the bar so he wouldn't have to do this much longer.

Chris nursed the drink for a while, looking toward the dance floor every so often to make sure JC was doing okay. He looked a bit uncomfortable, but he wasn't in any trouble so Chris didn't worry. JC could take care of himself, and if he wanted to do THAT, just to keep Chris from sleeping with the Justin-clone, Chris was going to let him. Only when the drink was gone did he get up from the seat and try to figure out what to do. The last thing JC would want him to do is go RESCUE him, considering that would involve Chris getting with the guy after all, so he just wandered away from the bar. Almost immediately, as if by fate, he ran into the redhead from before. He paused, then grinned at him hopefully. "Hey," he said, leaning up to his ear. "I'm Chris."

JC breathed a sigh of relief when the song ended and Chris had, apparently, taken his advice and moved on from the bar. He thanked Colin, ducking out of the way when he tried to dip his head to kiss his neck, and backed up to the bar again himself. He really, really needed another drink. He struck up another conversation with the bartender as he guzzled his beer, halfway-seriously trying to find Chris again to see who he was talking to *this* time ... and didn't notice when Colin apparently had better luck finding him, making his way over to where Chris stood with the redhead.

Chris was touching the redhead's -- Jared's -- elbow when the Justin-clone came up and touched his waist. "I thought you said you'd be waiting," he murmured in Chris's ear, moving closer to his back and pressing up against him, his hand sliding around to Chris's stomach to hold him possessively. Jared sighed and gave Chris a tight smile before moving away from him again, giving his wrist one last clutch.

Chris turned his head and stared at him for a moment. All the reasons he shouldn't be doing this flashed through his mind, but with the blond here, touching him, they weren't enough to stop him. "Hi," he said, turning into his arms. "I'm Chris. Wanna find some place to be alone?"

"Looks like your friend doesn't care about your sloppy seconds," the bartender told JC, gesturing across the room to where Colin had Chris practically wrapped up in an embrace.

"Fuck!" JC spit, slamming his bottle back on the counter and jumping off his stool to cross over to where they stood. He fucking TOLD Chris not to push his luck, he *warned* him, and JC had enough alcohol in him that he didn't care about making a scene. "You little *bitch*," he cried, yanking at Chris's elbow and tugging him away from Colin, trying not to notice how their groins had been pressed so close together. "You're NOT going to get me to come back to you, so stop trying to make me jealous."

Chris looked at him in shock, then said, "You sonofabitch," under his breath and let JC drag him away and back towards the bar. There was just no way he actually thought JC would do that; he didn't think he had the nerve. Then again, JC HAD danced with the guy ... Chris should've known something like this would happen. "I can't believe you just did that," he muttered, looking up at him. JC looked pissed off, but he ALSO looked worried and Chris felt a bit of guilt creep in again. "I, um, just want you to know ... HE came and found ME."

"Doesn't matter," JC told him, trying to slow his breathing as he signaled for a couple more drinks. "You looked happy enough to see him, regardless. Look, I'm ... sorry, but I TOLD you I was gonna do that." He leaned onto the bar on his elbow. "Is it so hard to just pick someone else? I'm just ... really trying to help, okay?" He shrugged another guy's arm off him as he stood there, wishing he *hadn't* danced with the guy now. "God," he muttered, then looked at the bartender again. "Can you make those tequila shots, instead?"

"I went and found Jared," protested Chris, tugging on JC's arm to keep his attention. "You know, the redhead? And that guy ... he just found me. And ... it's really fucking hard, okay?" he admitted. "I could make myself not go after him, but then he was there and he was touching me, and ... " He trailed off, not expecting JC to really care about that. "And Jared left, so I guess that blew my chances with HIM." Chris pressed his forehead against the bar for a moment. "This sucks."

"Here," JC said, handing Chris the shot glass before licking his own wrist slowly, dumping salt on it, and licking it again. "I'm sorry," he said again, weakly. "I should've ... danced with him some more, or something, I just ... it wasn't very easy." He was *extremely* embarrassed to admit that it had made him uncomfortable to worry about what the guy might've wanted to do. "Look," he went on. "There're a ton of other guys here, and if they've been hitting on you *half* as much as they're hitting on me, you're set. Or maybe ... Jared? ... maybe's he's just taking a leak?"

"I don't think so," said Chris, making a face. "He ... that other guy got kinda friendly fast. He took off. Can't say I blame him, either." Chris could see that the blond was already back on the dancefloor -- it wasn't like HE was short of prospects. It made him feel both better and worse, that he'd been so quickly forgotten. "I need to take a piss myself," he said suddenly, setting the shot glass down and sliding off the stool. "Um ... if you need to go, use the ladies' room," he warned JC. "Just ... trust me on that. I'll be right back."

"Um, okay," JC said hesitantly, frowning at Chris's back as he walked off. He felt really, really bad for his friend, and wondered if HE was the one making the mistake. If he should've just let whatever was going to happen, happen. Another guy brushed up behind him again, and he rolled his eyes before grabbing Chris's abandoned shot and downing it, too. Guilt and discomfort were never a good mix.

Chris pushed his way into the men's room and tried to take a piss without being groped; he really did have to go. On his way out he almost laughed as he ran into Jared at the door. "Fancy meeting you here," he said, daring to rest a hand on his waist again. "Look, sorry about before," he said, his voice actually audible in the relative quiet, "That guy's after my friend, really ... " He smiled at him and was relieved when Jared smiled back and ran a hand down Chris's arm.

"One more?" JC persuaded the bartender, swaying a little but hiding it pretty well. He was about to head to the restroom anyway, to try and find Chris and help him find *someone* to take home, when he saw him walking back out with the redhead after all. Smiling, he tossed a bill on the counter and made his way over to his friend. "Here," he said, grabbing his keys and shoving them in the pocket of Chris's pants, smiling apologetically at the other guy when he gave him a questioning look. "You alright? You happy? I'm just gonna head back to that other club, I think ... "

"Yeah, I'm good," said Chris, leaning against Jared, his hand stuffed in the back pocket of his jeans. "Go get laid, C. You can get home okay?" He adjusted the keys in his pocket so they weren't digging into his erection. Turned out Jared was quite the kisser, and he wasn't at all disappointed about who he'd ended up with. Or ... not much, anyway.

"Only if I strike out," JC winked, before hugging Chris impulsively. "I had fun tonight," he whispered in his ear. He surprised himself, really, with how much he had enjoyed Chris's company. And how much he felt like he got to know the other man a little better. "And he's hot, stud, so have a good time. Be *careful.*" He grinned and waved a little as he pulled away, happy and buzzed and horny, with Joey and Justin pushed to the very back of his mind.

"I'm always careful," whispered Chris, grinning and rolling his eyes as he left. "I'm Mr. Careful." He'd have to thank JC tomorrow, he really would. For ... a lot of things. He turned into Jared's arms, then, and looked up at him. "You ready to get out of here?" he asked him. Jared's crinkle-eyed smile and slight nod were all the answer he needed.

---

Justin sighed and squirmed under the heavy weight of Joey's arm, yawning a little as he blinked his eyes open. "Bear," he said softly, looking at the clock a little worriedly, nudging his neck with his nose. "JOEY." They'd stayed up late, talking and kissing, and sort-of waiting for JC, and it was already pretty late in the morning ... his mom would get suspicious if Lance or JC was up and they weren't, yet. "Time to wake up," he sang softly, sighing at how peaceful Joey looked, his dark eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks.

"Just a few more minutes," mumbled Joey, turning his head and pressing his face into Justin's warm chest, holding him close. The last thing he wanted to do right now was get out of the nice, soft cozy bed, least of all when Justin was in it with him, and he couldn't for the life of him figure out why Justin wanted them to. He put it out of his head as unimportant and began to drowse again.

"Joey!" Justin protested, giggling when his goatee tickled his chest. "C'mon, bear, it's late. We gotta wake up. Go see if JC ever made it home alive ... have some cereal ... try to make up some new excuse for my mom about why you're in my room, again ... " He ran a warm hand down Joey's back, under the covers, petting his bare ass as he kissed the top of his head. "Don't make me bust out the heavy-duty tactics, here ... "

"Mmm, so comfy," complained Joey when Justin proved to be persistent. Justin's actual words weren't quite registering on him yet. All that was clear was that Justin was in bed with him, and for some reason he wanted to be up. "Make love now, bunny?" he mumbled, kissing Justin's throat blindly, still half-asleep. Because it made sense to him, right then, that if Justin was awake, he must want to have sex again.

Justin giggled at the nickname, and at the way Joey was just as insatiable as he was. Or usually was. "Jo-EY," Justin whined, smiling. "We can't. We gotta get up. Later, though ... I *promise*." He laughed again when he rolled Joey over onto his back so he could sit up, and the sheets did nothing except emphasize Joey's erection. "Later?" He couldn't help tugging the covers down, though ... wanting to see all of his new boyfriend and revel in how comfortable it was.

"'Kay, later," said Joey, pouting as he struggled to open his eyes. He managed to get one open so he could stare at Justin, more aware of his surroundings now. "You really making me get up?" he asked quietly, reaching for Justin's body so he could pull him back down again. "Don't wanna. 'S'not important, right?" He sighed as Justin resisted being pulled back into bed. "You really ARE making me get up," he said, his voice clearer now.

Justin giggled and bit back a joke about how much more 'up' Joey thought he could be, before rolling out of bed and stretching. He made sure Joey was watching him before shaking his own bare ass at him teasingly as he went to grab some clean underwear. "C'mon," he cajoled. "Plus, it's date night, remember? We were gonna go shopping, and maybe see a movie ... ?" He hoped Joey was still looking forward to that as much as he was, actually getting out of the HOUSE with him.

Joey managed to get his eyes open wider and smile at him. "I remember," he said happily. "But, what, it takes you all morning to get ready to go shopping?" He propped himself up on his elbow and was content to just watch Justin for a while, as he grabbed some clothes to wear without putting any of them on. Joey reached down and tugged at his erection for a moment, but didn't try to take it anywhere. He could do that in the shower if he had to -- and he probably would since it seemed Justin really DID mean 'later'."

"Tease," Justin pouted at him. "Stop doing that when I can't help." He bounced back over to the bed and peeled Joey's fingers off himself before bending over and giving his cock a leisurely lick. He moaned, and did it again, before he could force himself to stand up again. "And come ON. Were you not listening to me? I wanna see if Jace is home, and we have GOT to get you out of this room before my mom freaks ... "

Joey's eyes widened. "Shit, right." He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, his cock painfully hard now. "Um, throw me some boxers?" he said. "I NEED to take a shower." He looked down at his lap. "Like ... right now. Um, besides ... that way we won't show up downstairs at the same time, right?" He reached out his arms to Justin, then realized he wasn't going to make it that way and finally got up off the bed. He reached out his arms for Justin again, catching his shoulder this time, still struggling to wake up entirely. "Need one more thing b'fore I go, bunny," he said, and pulled Justin into a searing kiss.

"God," Justin moaned, feeling Joey's erection poking him in his hip, grasping his ass tightly before murmuring "sorry, sorry," and letting go, hoping that hadn't hurt any bruises or sore spots. "Boxers, sure," he sighed, definitely not wanting Joey to get dressed, but knowing he had to. And that showering-first thing was probably smart. He tossed him a pair, then grabbed him again before he could put them on and leave for the bathroom. "Later," he repeated firmly, looking up at him intently with big eyes and reaching down to grasp his cock one last time. "I want this inside me. *Later*."

"Mmm, fuck yeah," said Joey, closing his eyes and licking his lips. "After movie," he added, reaching down to grope himself again. His eyes flew open. "Okay, shower, now. Before I come all over your floor." He pulled the boxers on -- more to keep himself from being able to touch his dick anymore than anything else -- and gave Justin another deep, heavy kiss before dashing out of the room and into the bathroom.

"BEFORE the movie!" Justin called out after him, laughing again. He finished getting dressed himself, just throwing on a pair of shorts and leaving his chest bare, before bounding down the stairs to the kitchen. He was *really* surprised to see JC there, awake, until he noted that he was in the same clothes he had on the night before. "Hey," he smirked. "Looks like it's a good thing we *didn't* try and wait up, after all. Good night?"

JC rolled his eyes at Justin, both at his leer and the casual use of the "we." He had no doubt who he meant by that. "None of your business," he reminded him. He'd never shared much of the details of his love life with Justin. It just wasn't a part of their relationship. "Where's Joe?"

Joey turned on the water and got in quickly, leaving the fresh boxers on the bathroom floor. He started jerking off right away, and without ANYthing resembling foreplay. He just needed to get off before he exploded all over something, quite literally -- he'd woken up SO turned on, and unable to do anything about it with Justin. He came hard against the shower wall within minutes and let the spray wash it clean as he caught his breath.

"Showering," Justin mumbled, a little sad that JC still seemed to be holding some grudge against him, or them. He grabbed a bowl for some cereal. "You have fun, at least? With Chris? Did he ... um, hook up too?" Justin was still surprised they had gone out together; Chris and JC hadn't gotten along in at least a year.

JC smirked and sipped his coffee again. "That's none of your business, too," he snarked. "But I guess he'll probably tell you anyway." He leaned back in his chair. "Did you guys manage to keep it down, at least, last night?"

Joey washed his hair and body quickly, wanting to get back downstairs now that his "problem" was taken care of. He wanted to feel Justin wrapped around him, like he had last night. It was a warm and comforting feeling, to be with someone who was large enough to do that for you, and still the right size for you to do it for them.

Justin flushed and glared at him. "That's none of YOUR business," he sniped back, shoving the milk back in the fridge. "And for your information, we didn't even fuck last night. So." He wasn't sure why he even told JC that, but figured it had something to do with not wanting him to think this thing was only about sex.

Faking a gasp, JC got up to pour himself another cup. "Whatever," he said easily. "Look, I'm not your mom, or anything, but don't you think you guys should seriously think about being a little quieter? Dude, are you READY for your mom to find out?"

Joey pulled the boxers back on and headed down the stairs, still toweling his hair. "Hey," he said brightly as he sauntered into the kitchen . "How was you night, Jace?" he asked, winking at him broadly before taking the seat next to Justin but not touching him. He didn't know who was home and who wasn't.

JC just raised an eyebrow, and gestured at his smoky clothes, figuring that was answer enough. He did pour Joey a cup of coffee. "Mornin.'"

Justin was frowning, and leaned his head on Joey's shoulder as soon as he sat down. "I'm getting yelled at, again," he told him softly.

Joey shot JC a look. "What's up?" he asked. "Are you cranky 'cause you didn't get enough sleep or something? What are you bitching about NOW?" He reached out and touched Justin's leg, but only briefly. "Is your mom home?" he whispered to Justin nervously.

JUstin shrugged. "Just about us being ... uh, loud, yesterday, again," he sighed, nuzzling more into Joey's arm. "I told him we didn't fuck or anything last night. I think he's bothered that we apparently only make noise when he's around, to annoy him."

JC rolled his eyes again. "I *told* you why I care, justin," he said evenly. "Some people won't laugh it off like others of us. And," he went on, remembering Chris, "some of the people you think are laughing, may NOT be. So."

Joey sighed at his friend. "Just say what you mean, okay? Look ... I thought we were past this stuff. I thought you were okay with me and Justin now." He turned back to Justin again, happy to be nuzzled but worried at the same time. "Justin, bunny," he said softly, so JC couldn't hear. "If your mom's around we shouldn't be doing this ... "

Justin smiled at the nickname, again, and let go with a lot less fuss than he otherwise would've. Joey smelled really good, though, and walking around in only his underwear ... Justin couldn't help wanting to touch him.

"Just try to be a little more sensitive about who you fuck within earshot of, okay?" JC bit out, ignoring Justin's flinch. "God. I *am* fine with it. I just want you to, like, respect the rest of us. Okay?"

"Is this about yesterday?" asks Joey seriously. "Cause, like, we weren't being insenitive there, C. We were just ... taking advantage of what little time there is. I mean ... " He lowered his voice and reached out to touch Justin's leg briefly again. "Do you think it's EASY for us to get together, when Lynn's always around?"

Justin sighed morosely, and opened his mouth to speak, but JC cut him off. "I'm not saying don't *do* it," JC admitted. "Hell, better then than like the other night, when I heard you through the walls. It's just ... I know you guys aren't *flaunting* it, but it might be a little bit of a hurtful reminder?" He hated having to be blunt like that, but if Joey was going to be dense, and Justin was going to pout and be silent, that's what he had to do.

Joey frowned and squinted at him a little, trying to figure out what he was saying. "To who?" he asked. "If one of you guys has a problem with us going out, shouldn't you say? I mean YOU'VE always been honest about it, but we worked that out, right?"

Chris pulled into the driveway and parked the car in JC's usually spot, pocketing the keys and locking the doors before heading into the house. He banged on the door a couple times, but didn't wait for an answer before trying the knob. It was open.

Justin shifted uncomfortably and started poking at Joey's knee. "Um. I think ... he means ... " He trailed off when Chris stalked into the room with his typical energy.

JC gave Joey a pointed look, then grinned broadly and went over to slap Chris's back. "Dude!" he said, honestly happy to see him. "What're you doing here, so early?"

Chris grinned and poked him. "I think I remember these clothes," he teased. "What, you just get here? Twice in one night. You're the man, C." He dug the keys out of his pocket and handed them over. "Thanks for the loan," he said as he sat down at the table.

Joey looked up at Chris, happy to see someone with a smile on their face even though it seemed ... strange ... how close he suddenly seemed to JC. Wasn't it just the other day they were fighting? Or ... just about every other day, for the last while?

Justin looked back and forth between them, frowning, and waited for Chris to even acknowledge they were there. When he didn't, after what Justin deemed too long, he sighed mightily. "Hi, Chris," he murmured in a weak voice.

JC caught Chris's gaze and shrugged as if to say he had no idea what Justin's deal was. He grinned again, then, and rubbed a hand on Chris's shoulder as he pocketed his keys. "No problem. I just hope you made it worthwhile." He had no doubts, really, seeing the satisfied look on Chris's face and the tired eyes that indicated a busy night.

Chris winked at JC. "He was the athletic type," is all he said at first, to intrigue him. Then he reached over and ruffled Justin's hair affectionately, a little surprised at how UN-painful it was at the moment, to see him and Joey so close together. To see him at ALL. After all, he had a new phone number written on his fridge, and the satisfying soreness of a good night of fucking.

Joey began to smile a little, at their interaction. "Um, does ANYone know if Lynn's home?" he asked quietly, looking at each of them in turn. "Is her car outside, Chris?"

Justin shrank back from Chris's hand. "You were with a guy last night?" he said softly, not really aware of anything that had been said after that. Then he turned to JC. "And you knew about this?"

JC hooted and gave Chris a high-five. "*Athletic*!" he repeated. "I love it. Sure, I knew," JC said, offhandedly, to Justin. "We *were* at a gay club."

Chris laughed. "Can you BELIEVE it?" he said, jerking his thumb at JC. "I got Mr. Straight Boy here to come to a gay club with me. It was a riot." He deliberately chose not to mention anything about the guys he HADN'T gone home with. "By the way," he said, turning back to JC for a moment. "Thanks. I mean it. It's ... easier to see you were right, in the light of day."

Joey stood up from the table, giving Justin a brief but tender kiss on the head. "Fine," he said, rolling his eyes. "You guys keep talking about your conquests last night and *I'll* go see if it's safe for me to just hold hands with my boyfriend." He stepped out to the front door first, checking for Justin's mother's car.

JC smiled softly at Chris, to let him know that he understood and was welcome, before his lips curved into a more impish grin. "Your ass *better* be thanking me," he laughed. "Literally, even," he amended, and cracked up like that was the funniest thing he'd heard in a while. -->

Justin bit his lip and let his spoon fall into his bowl with a clatter. "What?" he said sullenly, when JC and Chris both looked at him. "God, don't let me interrupt." He couldn't really understand what was going on: he supposed it shouldn't bother him that Chris had hooked up with soomeone, hooked up with a GUY, but it was weird that JC was so happy for him about it.

"Yes, my ass thanks you," said Chris, cracking up, too. "Remind me to tell you all about it later. So what about you guys?" he asked Justin. "How was YOUR night? Do anything interesting?" He actually figured that, even if Justin told him they'd spent the whole night fucking, he'd be okay with that.

Joey didn't spy her car out front, and was about to start checking the house from bottom to top when he spied a note on the counter. Pushing past JC's chair, he grabbed it. "Hey, did you see this when you came in, C?" he asked him, waving the note in the air.

Justin looked at Joey, wondering if maybe he'd answer, and just frowned deeper when he seemed too distracted. "We just hung out," he mumbled, feeling young and lame and boring and ... young. And cheesy. "Who was the guy?" he pressed softly, instead. -->

JC gave the note Joey held out to him a cursory look and shrugged. "Nope. From Lynn?" He let Joey read it, not bothering with it. "Ooooh, Jared," he cooed at Chris instead, tugging on his braids.

Chris chuckled again, happily. "His name was Jared," he told Justin. "He was ... tall." He turned to JC suddenly. "Was he tall for real? Or was he just tall to me? Anyway we ... " He waved his hand and neglected to go into detail. "I got his number, though," he said, grinning. " I think maybe we're gonna see each other again."

Joey dropped the note on the table. "She took Lance to his dentist appointment this morning," he said, sitting back down next to Justin and wrapping an arm around him again, feeling safe, now. "They won't be back until after lunch. Thanks for your help, guys," he added.

JC brushed Joey off. "No, he was definitely tall," he assured Chris. "Big guy. He was hot, too, man ... *totally* your type: really cool, older, punked-out hair ... " He smiled at him again. "If you're seeing him again, I consider the sacrifices I made dancing with that *other* guy worth it."

Justin let Joey hold him for a minute before standing up abruptly and putting his half-finished bowl of cereal in the sink. He didn't want to hear anything about the hot older guy that Chris slept with, who put that smile on his face. *He* was supposed to be Chris's type, even IF they weren't together any more. And JC ... if you asked him, HE was being the insensitive one. Because obviously what Chris had heard yesterday hadn't scarred him too badly or anything. He sighed again and started to leave the kitchen.

Joey shot both JC and Chris a look and got up from the table to go after Justin. "Hey," he said softly, laying a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "What's up?" He turned Justin around and lay a hand on his cheek. Even HE could tell that JC and Chris had done something to upset him, and he didn't entirely understand what it was -- he had his OWN issues with them right now -- but he was mad at them for it anyway. "You wanna talk to me about it?"

Chris watched Justin, and then Joey, go with a frown on his face. He'd hoped Justin would be happy for him, having found someone that made HIM happy, but he obviously wasn't. "Lay off a bit, C," he said quietly, poking JC in the side again, still a bit playful. "Something's not right, here. Did ... they say anything to you before I got here?" It didn't even cross his mind that Justin might be feeling some of the same things as him.

"Not really," JC said, dumping out his coffee cup, not really wanting to worry about Justin pouting. "They just got up, I think. I said something about them being a little more sensitive about what they do, where ... maybe he's resenting me for that, or something." He turned back around and grinned again. "Dude, don't worry about it. You should be *psyched*. You think it helped?"

"What, I'm cool," Justin said tightly, kissing Joey's thumb. He couldn't think of a good way to say that hearing about that guy was just the last thing he wanted to do, he didn't think Joey'd understand. Even if some part of him was dreadfully curious. "I just thought it was maybe my turn to shower, that's all." It was a weak excuse, so he let Joey pull him back into the kitchen, but he wouldn't meet any of their eyes.

"Um ... remember what we talked about?" said Joey hesitantly, still just out of earshot of the other two. "How ... I can't read between the lines really well? Well ... I'm not entirely getting this, Justin. Can we talk about it later, if you don't want to do it now? I won't push you in front of the other guys or anything." He caressed Justin's cheek again, worried.

"JC," said Chris, rolling his eyes a little. "You KNOW I don't need you talking to them about that. Really, I'm fine. I'm better than ever." And if a small part of him still wished he'd ended up with the Justin lookalike last night, well, he didn't have to acknowledge it. That part wasn't NEARLY as loud as it had once been. "And I AM psyched, C. I totally think something might, you know, happen. With him." He grinned happily, remembering how well the previous night had gone. "What about you?" He looked JC's clothing up and down again. "Looks like you might have a story to tell."

"Naw," JC waved him off. "Just, y'know. Went back to the club, found some chick who didn't have a roommate. No big deal. I can tell you that something definitely *won't* happen with her." He lounged against the counter. "So?" he pressed, not seeing Joey and Justin walk back into the room. "You promised details..."

Justin clutched Joey's hand a little tighter when he heard that, but smiled gamely anyway. He *should* be happy for Chris, he *was*. *He* had what he wanted, which was Joey, and there was no reason Chris shouldn't have that, too. If it hurt, a lot, that Chris had obviously already slept with the guy? Well, that was his prerogative. He *was* 25. And plus, all he was doing now was worrying Joey. Which he didn't want to do. "He was nice, Chris?" he asked quietly, hopefully, with a soft smile for Joey to let him know that he was okay. Whether he'd talk about it later was something he didn't want to address right then.

Chris poked JC again, not wanting to give any details in front of anyone else. Or ... in front of Justin, really -- he'd be pretty happy to share them with Joey under different circumstances. "He was nice," Chris assured Justin, turning toward him with a smile. "I think I'm gonna see him again." And he was FUCKING good in bed, he wanted to add, still feeling it, but he didn't think that would go over well, not with THAT look on Justin's face.

Joey squeezed Justin's hand back, then wrapped an arm around his body and hugged him from behind as he and Chris talked. "Love you, bunny," he murmured in Justin's ear, so quiet that no one else could hear. He wasn't sure how else he could make it better, right now, until he understood what was going on. And it was for him, too, reassured now that Lynn WASN'T around, and he could touch his boyfriend as much as he wanted.

"That's ... nice," Justin murmured. "I'm glad you guys had fun." He *still* didn't understand why JC and Chris had gone out together, and why JC had apparently *encouraged* Chris to go after this guy, when he was still being so mean to Justin about Joey. And it just wasn't fair that he kept trying to get Chris to talk about him, when Justin knew that all that stuff JC was saying earlier, about being sensitive, was about Chris. He couldn't keep from glaring at JC, then, as he turned his head to lick wetly at Joey's cheek.

JC caught the glare, but just laughed at Justin's attempt to goad him. He could tell Justin blamed him for Chris hooking up, and was sort of glad that Joey was the one who'd have to deal with the aftermath. If he even knew what he was in for. "Hey, I saw a way better show than that last night," is all he said.

Joey frowned at JC. "You're such a prick sometimes," he muttered, reaching out to smack his arm. "Justin," he said softly in his boyfriend's ear, his eyes still warily on JC. "Do you wanna get out of here? Go take your shower now? Or ... something else?" He kissed his cheek softly.

Chris looked down for a moment, at his hands, then his head bounced up again. "I need corn pops," he said. "Do you guys have corn pops?" He got up from the table and started rummaging around in the cupboard. "Ooh, Fruit Loops! Can I have some?" He bounced on the balls of his feet for a moment with the box in his hand before reaching for a bowl. "I haven't had any sugar yet this morning," he explained with a grin as he returned to the table. He wondered if ALL of them would get that the subject was now dropped -- tensions were running just a little TOO high, right then.

JC turned away from Joey and Justin and sat back down at the table with Chris. "No coffee for you," he said, ready for the other two to leave so he could talk to Chris about Jared. He obviously *wanted* to, but it was just as obvious that he wasn't about to do it in front of Justin. And JC only felt marginally guilty that he had pushed the issue.

Justin couldn't take his eyes off Chris, for a moment -- he could tell what he was doing, changing the subject because he could *tell* how much he was upsetting Justin ... and it made Justin nostalgic again for the way Chris could read him all the time. But it was Joey's arms he turned into. "Let's go upstairs," he said softly. "It's later."

Joey smiled at Justin happily and pressed a soft kiss to his nose. "Okay," he agreed easily, wanting to take him away from what was hurting him as much as he wanted to make love to him. Jerking off in the shower hadn't quelled his desire at all, it had just saved him from having to come downstairs with his boxers tenting out. He grasped Justin's hand and led him towards the stairs.

"You're very smart," Justin mumbled, groping Joey's hips and ass distractedly as he followed him up the stairs. "Not putting any clothes on. Less work for me." He just wanted to go back in his room, shut the door, take advantage of the fact that his mom was gone for a while by expressing physically the way he was falling in love with Joey more every day ... and maybe, do whatever it took to get Chris and his new ... lover ... out of his mind. And Joey was talented like almost nobody else at preoccupying him.

Joey grinned as Justin fondled him on their way up the stairs, eager to get into the bedroom with him. As eager as he had been when they'd woken up that morning. After leading Justin inside he very deliberately closed and locked the door. There were going to be NO interruptions. He even double checked to make sure the window was closed and the curtains drawn. "Come here," he said, pulling Justin closer to him, both still standing at the foot of the bed. He caressed Justin's cheek and shoulder. "Your call," he said. "What do you want, bunny?" He grinned at him and winked, profoundly grateful Justin hadn't objected to the nickname Joey had been calling him in his head since the previous day.

Justin returned the smile as broadly as he could manage, then kissed Joey softly before dropping to his knees in front of him. He tugged his underwear down unceremoniously and cupped Joey's ass gently, reminding himself that it hadn't even been a day since he had been so rough with Joey and he had to be careful. Rubbing his cheek against Joey's plumping cock, then ducking his head to lick softly at his balls, Justin moaned a little. "You're all clean," he murmured. "Guess that means I get to have you get ME dirty. All over." He just desperately wanted to forget about everything else.

"If we do it right," teased Joey, letting his head loll back as Justin licked tenderly at his balls, "we're BOTH gonna get dirty." He reached for Justin's head and ran a confident hand through his short curls. "You wanna get in bed, for a start?" he asked, kicking off the boxers and getting them out of his way. Justin's lips and tongue were warm and soft against him, though, and he didn't want them to go away.

Justin sighed and moved his hands around to clasp Joey's hips, before pushing him back onto the bed. He remained kneeling on the floor, between his legs, and rubbed his calves a little as he watched him ... leaning forward every so often to suck Joey gently to hardness. "You like me, right?" he said eventually, softly. "Bear? You like my body, and the way I look, and ... you're at least okay with me being young ... right?" He knew it was stupid, and he should never have listened to anything JC said, but he had obviously been wrong about what *Chris's* type was ...

"Would I be here, if I wasn't?" Joey asked him right back, leaning back on the bed and resting his weight on his hands. "I think you're wonderful, Justin, and I'm very, very glad I'm here with you. That you chose to be with ME, of all people. I'm lucky." He leaned forward then, far enough to plant a kiss on the top of Justin's head. "That's not something you ever need to worry about, wondering if I want to be with you. I do."

"Okay," Justin said, relieved, leaning forward to suck at just the tip of Joey's erection, his own cock pressing insistently against the fly of his shorts. He crawled up on top of Joey, straddling him innocently but pulling his hands out from under him, too, so he could move up higher on his ribcage. "I like it when you call me 'bunny'," he admitted, licking his lips and giving Joey the most angelic face he could come up with. "It makes me think you *do* want me with you."

Joey smiled at him happily. "I want you with me tons and tons," he said honestly. "But you're wearing too many clothes, bunny." He reached out and tugged at Justin's shorts. "You could get rid of these ... if you wanted ... " He licked his own lips then smiled at him again, anticipating what might be coming. No matter what he did with Justin, he enjoyed it.

"What about what *you* want," Justin asked tentatively, only a couple seconds away from panicking that Joey *didn't* want to be doing anything with him then, since he wasn't doing much touching. He watched him questioningly as he unbuttoned his fly, shifting up onto his knees and tugging the shorts over his slim hips very slowly ... like Joey might stop him at any moment. Looking at Joey with wide eyes, he realized that he *needed* him to reassure him ... and hoped he wouldn't have to ask.

"You're so beautiful," murmured Joey, getting incredibly turned on watching Justin get undressed. He reached out to stroke his flat, hard stomach. "What I want ... is you naked and touching me and kissing me and just, you know, BEING with me, no matter what we end up doing," he added, still staring at Justin's wonderful body. "I think I'd like, maybe, to suck you ... if you want that ... " He raised his eyes to meet Justin's, his hand snaking around from Justin's stomach to the small of his back.

Justin rolled off of Joey awkwardly, to tug his shorts the rest of the way off, then curled up next to him on the bed. "I won't say no," he said softly. "Will you use your fingers?" He let his own dance across Joey's chest, playing at a nipple, then tracing them up his neck and over his lips. A huge part of him wanted Joey to fuck him, but he was still the tiniest bit sore himself, and really, he guessed he just wanted the sensation of *something* inside him. Plus, then he'd get to do it, back.

"Do you want me to?" asked Joey, rolling onto his side so he could see Justin as he touched him, running his hand around the contour of his face then down to his chest to tease at a nipple for a long time. "I like doing that. I like being inside you with my fingers or my cock or ... maybe I'll try my tongue, some time?" He grinned at him and ran his hand down the rest of Justin's body to capture his very hard cock.

"God," Justin moaned, flushing all over at the visual that gave him. "You ... don't have to," he managed to say. "Not everybody does." He whimpered when Joey tugged at him a little, and spread his legs automatically. "Your fingers are plenty good," he added, arching his back. "In me. *Please*." He closed his eyes, willing to let Joey pleasure him, if that's what he wanted to do.

"I'd like to try sometime, at least," murmured Joey, urging Justin further up on the bed so he could get between his legs. "Maybe not right away, but some time." His hands roamed Justin's abdomen and thighs before returning to his cock. "I can't believe there was ever a time when I thought I might not want this," he said incredulously. "I love your body, Justin. I love YOU." He bent over and licked at the head of Justin's cock eagerly but slowly, one hand grasping the base loosely.

Justin whimpered, almost pitifully, again. He was so, so hard, and had to bite down on his lip not to come in Joey's face as soon as he felt his tongue. Hearing his words, his assurances, let him relax and his mind wander ... straight back to Chris, and how he'd seemed so excited about the new guy he met. How he'd admitted they'd fucked. How Chris used to fuck *him*, whenever he wanted, without having to explain himself or even asking for it.

Justin tasted good on Joey's tongue and he wanted more, mouthing the head of Justin's cock and letting it slide further inside his mouth. With his free hand, he lifted Justin's knee and spread his legs wider, forcing his hips to left off the bed a little. He reached between his cheeks tenderly as he sucked, and felt that he was a tiny bit swollen. Pulling his head back, he spread Justin's cheeks with both hands just far enough to take a look. "Oh, bunny," he said softly. "You're still a bit red. If you still want me to do this, I'm using LOTS of lube, okay?" He lifted his head so he could catch Justin's eye.

"God, please, it's fine ... " Justin murmured, trying to shimmy his hips enough to get Joey's thumb, or finger, or *something*, to touch him there again. It really hadn't hurt when he brushed up against him, and he *knew* it wouldn't hurt once he got inside him, and he just *needed* that. He grasped Joey's head and pulled on him a little -- not forcefully, just encouragingly -- knowing that that, too, would provide enough of a distraction to wipe away any discomfort. He'd been finger-fucked enough times by Chris to know it would.

"No, really, I need some lube," said Joey softly. "It's right next to you, Justin, you wanna toss it to me?" He let his hand hover at Justin's hole, though, delicately touching the skin there as he licked and sucked at his cock again. He didn't doubt that Justin COULD take it, if he just spit on his hand and thrust his finger inside, but he also didn't doubt that it would feel MUCH better if it was slick before it went in.

Justin grunted, slightly annoyed, very impatient, even as he knew in the back of his mind that it was wonderful that Joey was being that considerate. He grabbed the lotion they'd been using for everything, closing his eyes again as soon as he'd located it, dropping it down on the bed by his hips. "PLEASE," he said again, grabbing his knees and opening himself up to Joey even more, needing and banking on the sexual release to make everything else matter less.

Joey gasped at the sight of Justin spreading himself open like that for him, and didn't waste any time coating his fingers with the lotion. He leaned forward and slid one finger into Justin's ass, so easily he almost gasped again. His finger was being gripped tightly, but he could smoothly move it in and out. And he did. Often. Twisting it this way and that and curling it up to hit Justin's prostate as he lowered his head to take Justin's cock into his mouth again. He tongued the head, especially the underside, and a few moments later slid a second finger inside Justin's ass.

"Shit," Justin bit out, bearing down on Joey's hand, wanting everything deeper, wanting him to keep raking against his prostate, wanting that wet heat surrounding his cock not to *go* anywhere. It felt perfect and he slipped even farther into the sensations, eyes still closed, his hands rubbing up and down his own thighs and across his belly. It reminded him of every time Chris had ever done this to him, with his quirky, kinky mouth and quick fingers ... and he wondered if Chris had done it to that *other* guy. And whether he'd liked it as much as Justin had, every time.

Joey slid more of Justin's cock into his mouth again, loving the feel of it, the taste of it, even loving the fullness of his mouth when it's inside. He fucked Justin with just the two fingers, not wanting to stretch him too far, not when he's still sore. But what he was doing -- if the hardness and twitching of Justin's cock were any indication -- was a very good thing anyway.

"SHIT!" Justin repeated, crying out as Joey curled and spread his fingers in a teasing and taunting rhythm. He was close, *so* close to coming, and he knew that when he did it was gonna be quick and hard and strong. 'A quick trigger,' Chris had told him, and it was true. "Shit, I'm gonna come ... "

That's the point, thought Joey, smiling inside his head as he sucked a little harder, licked a little harder, thrust a little quicker and curled his fingers more confidently than ever to stimulate his prostate. He WANTED Justin to come, in his mouth, and hard.

"Shit," Justin gasped, not able to hold back any longer. "Shit, shit shit SHIT, Chris!" he cried, squirming away from Joey's fingers and the too-intense sensation they caused as cum shot from his cock, down Joey's throat. Once everything stilled ... he whispered it again, completely aware of what he'd just done. "Shit."

Joey went absolutely still for a moment, then let his lips slide off Justin's cock. He carefully pulled his fingers out of Justin's ass and wiped his mouth with the back of his wrist. He really, really didn't want to deal with what had just happened. "I have to go," he whispered, unable to look up at him. "I ... have to go." He all but fell off the bed in his haste to get away.

A post-orgasmic Justin never moved so fast in his life, scrambling up to sit and then kneel on the bed, grabbing Joey's elbow tightly. "No," he said, fighting back tears, completely unsure of how to even BEGIN handling this but knowing if Joey left? it wouldn't ever be the same. "Joey ... god, please ... you can't."

"I have to go," repeated Joey, searching for his boxers. Those were the only words running through his head, right then. "You just ... " He shook his head, unable to even talk about it. "I have to go."

"Joey, PLEASE!" Justin cried, tugging on Joey's underwear when he picked them up, pulling them out of his hands as if THAT would make him stay. "Don't do this. Don't leave. *Please.* I'm so, so, SO ... " he stopped abruptly when Joey actually looked up at him.

"Sorry?" finished Joey quietly, reaching out and taking the boxers back with a snap of his wrist. "Look ... I just need to ... get away. We'll talk about this later, okay?" He looks away again. "Fuck. I have to go."

"Sorry, yeah," Justin echoed, pouting but completely unaware of it. "God. Joey. I can't let you leave, okay?" he told him, reaching out for his waist. "If you walk out, it's going to be pretty much impossible for you to come back, I just KNOW it. And I can't lose you, I can't. PLEASE."

"You're not losing me," said Joey, backing away from him. "I just ... I can't deal, Justin. You just ... Chris ... I can't deal yet, okay? Just let me go."

"NO," Justin cried, throwing his other arm around Joey's chest, trying to pull him back onto the bed, tears flowing freely and on the verge of what looked like a temper tantrum. "You HAVE to. You have to let me EXPLAIN. It's not ... it wasn't what you think, I swear!"

"Give. Me. Time," said Joey, trying to extract himself from Justin's arms. "Fuck, Justin, just give me a few minutes to myself, here, all right? I don't WANT to hear you explain yourself yet. I'm too fucking HURT right now, okay? Just let me go." He pushes at him again, not wanting to hurt him just wanting to get out of the room. "Let me GO, Justin."

"No," Justin sobbed, but his grip loosened anyway. He had no idea whether he WAS supposed to let Joey go -- he KNEW he was hurt by what had happened, but Justin worried that Joey might think he didn't care about him if he let him leave. "Where will you go?"

"I'm just going downstairs," said Joey, putting the boxers on finally and looking away from him. "I'm not LEAVING, Justin. I just ... need to deal. This is really fucked up right now."

"O-okay," Justin hiccuped, feeling absolutely wretched -- more than if he really HAD been fantasizing about Chris, which is what he was sure Joey thought -- and just at a complete loss about what to do. "You know I don't want you to go, right? Am I supposed to be trying harder to make you stay?"

"No," said Joey, shaking his head. "You're supposed to be letting me go, right now. We WILL talk about this, Justin. Trust me ... we will. When I'm ready."

Justin choked back another sob, then collapsed on his stomach on the bed, still naked, burying his face. He couldn't watch Joey leave, he couldn't approve of it. But he couldn't stop it, either.

"Love you, bunny," murmured Joey, pausing to look back just before slipping out the door.

---

Chris watched them go, munching on the cereal dry and not saying anything as they left. It wouldn't have mattered if he did -- they were pretty much in their own world. "He's still just a kid in some ways," he admitted after a long moment. "You don't need to goad him like that, JC ... even when he's earned it."

"I *wasn't*," JC insisted, watching their retreating backs as well. "HE'S the one that thought sucking on Joey's face was going to get me to react. Look ... if he's going to pout like a baby? I'm not cutting him slack. He's too mature for that shit."

"He's insecure about the whole thing, still, I think," said Chris with a shrug. "He's really mature in a lot of ways, yes ... but he IS 16. I never forgot that, JC. I'd cut him some slack, if I were you. YOU'RE too mature for that shit." He stared at the stairs where they'd gone. "We had a great time last night, yeah, but we don't HAVE to rub that in his face ... "

"That's not what I was doing," JC said honestly, trying not to take Chris's criticism too personally when they'd just had a rapproachment of sorts. "I just ... was really happy that we were able to accomplish what we set out to do, is all, and I was a little excited to hear how your night went *after* left. Sorry if that's going to make him *insecure*, but it's not like he wasn't doing what HE wanted to be doing. Or WHO he wanted to be doing."

Chris nodded. "I'm just saying," he said. "You know how Justin can get, C. Best not to, you know, bring it on if you don't have to." He grabbed another handful of cereal and grinned at JC. "Thank again, for last night. I got EXACTLY what I needed."

"Yeah?" JC raised an eyebrow, ready to forget about Justin. "So NOW do I get the details? You *really* think you're going to see him again?"

"Well, I DID get his number," said Chris, perking up again. "In black marker. On my fridge. So ... " He rubbed his hands together and gave JC a devious look. "What kind of details did you WANT, exactly?"

"Whatever won't give me nightmares," JC laughed. "Seriously, I'm prepared. And I can tell you're gonna bust a gut if you don't tell SOMEONE, so lay it on me. You can start by explaining the 'athletic' comment, if you want ... "

Chris chuckles and waggles his eyebrows. "Well, I definitely didn't get much sleep last night. And I learned at least a dozen new ways that the human body can bend. I was VERY impressed." He grabbed another handful of cereal and offered JC some. "And when I say I got what I needed, I meant it EXACTLY how you're thinking."

JC shook his head at the offer of food. "Listen, man ... you need a ride home? You can tell me all about it in the car." He smiled. "Is this gonna work, to get your mind off him?"

"Yeah, that'd be cool," said Chris getting up from the table and grabbing the Froot Loops. "Do you think they would notice if I stole these?" He looked at them, then shrugged and stuffed them under his arm. "I'm feeling a lot better about ... things," he said after a moment. "Definitely."

"Really?" JC asked him, holding open the door, pretending he didn't hear the moan from upstairs. "Dude, he WAS seriously hot. And ... I mean, it's gotta be good to be with someone who's had a little more experience, right?"

"Yeah," breathed Chris, pausing, caught in flashback for a moment. Then he shook it off and grinned sheepishly and stepped outside. "I'll tell you this," he said. "I probably had more sex last night than Joey and Justin have had the whole time they've been together. So ... they're not doing so bad. All things considered." Which didn't mean that it didn't hurt, but it DID put it in perspective.

"Whoa," JC froze on the steps, then shook his head and kept walking, not really wanting to contemplate the mechanics of that. "Well, you DID say you needed it. But ... I'm not sure I understand what that has to do with Joey and Justin being together ..."

"I just mean that ... no matter, you know, how it's hitting ME ... they're being pretty damn normal, for a new relationship. That's all." He hopped into the passenger side of the car and immediately opened the glove compartment, looking through it. "They gotta be a little more discreet, maybe, but I bet they're not thinking about that yet."

"Yeah, no, they do," JC agreed, backing up down the driveway quickly. "That's all I was trying to say, earlier. It wasn't all about you, man." He looked over at Chris. "Dude. More times in one NIGHT? Did ... you take turns?" JC had really no idea HOW that worked. he was actually a little surprised Chris wanted it so bad, when JC had assumed that Justin would usually, if not always, bottom for him.

"Yeah, kinda. I mean ... there was the kitchen, then the bedroom, then the shower, then the couch, then the bedroom again ... and then this morning. I mean ... it wasn't the same thing OVER and OVER or anything, though. We didn't just, like, fuck each other in the ass, or something. There was other stuff." He wondered if he was being too blunt, then shrugged and reached into the box for more froot loops.

"Okay ... " JC said slowly, looking at Chris appraisingly out of the corner of his eye as he drove down the streets of Orlando to the other man's apartment. "Wow. You wanna ... tell me about the other stuff?" He was a little surprised about all that ... including the fact that they did it again in the morning, which JC never, ever did with any of his hookups. He also wondered about the long-term potential of a relationship that started out like that.

"I suspect there's very little I can teach you about blowjobs," snickered Chris, spraying multicoloured crumbs on his lap. "Or finger-fucking, probably ... " He added, squinted at JC for a moment as though sizing him up. "Seems to me SOMONE had to have tried that on you, at some point. And ... we did talk. Right around the time we straggled into the kitchen for something to eat. So it wasn't a fuck-and-run. Jared was ... a really great guy, turned out."

"Um," JC muttered, blushing a little, and mentally cursing Chris for being so observant. Just because someone had tried it, didn't mean he hadn't freaked out. Which made him feel dumb, he realized, as he turned onto Chris's block. "Well ... that's great! Did you tell him what you do? Did he *really* seem to want you to call?"

"I didn't tell him much," admitted Chris. "Just that, you know, I was a musician. And HE'S the one who went searching my drawers for a marker so he could give me his number ... so I'm thinking he wants me to call. And I'm thinking I will." As JC pulled up to his his apartment building he turned to him. "Did YOU have a good time? Seriously?"

"I had a *blast*, man," JC grinned back. "I mean, the whole gay-club thing might take a little getting-used to, but we should totally go out again. It's nice to not have to worry about sneaking anyone in, and despite the way I acted last night, I think we both respect each other's boundaries. So ... I say we continue to ditch the kids." He unlocked the doors for Chris. "I think you *should* call him," he said a little more seriously. "I wasn't just messing with Justin when I said he seemed like your type. And if you got along with him, well ..."

"I plan to," Chris assured him. "He's a good remedy for ... what's going on." He leaned in the passenger side window after getting out of the car. "We're totally gonna do that again, though. Seeing you dancing with that guy just about made my night." He grinned and backed away, waggling his fingers at him. "Toodles, C."

"What is *that* supposed to mean?!" JC called after him, but Chris just laughed and kept walking. He couldn't help but grin, himself, as he pulled away from the curb to head back home. It was really, really good to see Chris happy, especially after seeing Joey and Justin together, and it was really, *really* good that the two of THEM were getting along better. That could only mean good things for the group.

He was still grinning, in fact, when he got back home -- thinking it was Saturday night, and that maybe Chris would go with him to a *straight* bar this time, and help *him* find someone -- and slipped into the kitchen to grab some water. He just wanted to shower and get out of his smelly, smoking clothes, and then maybe nap out by the pool, and give Chris a call later.

Joey sat on the bottom step of the stairs, staring at his hands, still kind of in a daze. After something like that, he couldn't help but question the WHOLE relationship, and whether Justin had ever really wanted HIM in the first place. There had been little clues all along that Justin would rather still be with someone like Chris, if not Chris himself, but only now was he putting all of them together. He heard the front door open and looked up to see JC come in, but he didn't call attention to himself.

JC was already trying to strip out of his shirt as he juggled the water bottle making his way to the stairs, when he looked up finally and saw Joey sitting there in his boxers. He looked ... stunned, or something, and definitely pained, and wouldn't look up at him even though JC knew he knew he was standing there. Maybe he WAS going to have to deal with the aftermath of Justin's mood that morning ... because he doubted anything else would make Joey look like that. "Hey, man," he said awkwardly, reaching for his knee. "You okay?"

"No," said Joey, shaking his head, staring at his hands again. "Am I in your way? I can move ... " He slid over so he was pressed up against one side of the stairs. "Sorry 'bout that," he murmured, expecting JC to pass him by. JC didn't really care about what was going on between him and Justin, after all ... he probably never had, despite the goodish talk they'd had the day before.

JC looked at him, then took advantage of Joey moving to squeeze in next to him on the step. "Scootch over more, Fat One," he said, wriggling his hips and pushing up against him even though there was plenty of space. "Here, let me drape all over you with yummy club stentch permeating my whole body." He watched Joey to see if any of that would get a smile, or even acknowledgement. When it didn't, really, he sighed heavily. "I want you to tell me why you're not okay," he said gently. "And it'd be great if you don't make me ask eight times before you spill it."

Joey looked to the side, at JC's surprisingly earnest face, then down at his hands again. "He called me Chris," he said softly. Simply. Almost surprised that the words actually came out of his mouth instead of staying in his head where they'd been echoing around ever since Justin did it. Then he waited for JC to snort or gasp or laugh at him or SOMEthing.

JC did inhale sharply, assuming -- judging from Joey's attire -- that it had been while they were having sex. And almost immediately, he felt like complete shit. He'd only cared about how Chris had been getting over their relationship, and it never occured to him that Justin was having to go through the same thing. And now *Joey*, his best friend, was having to deal with the consequences. "God, I'm sorry," he mumbled, resting his head on Joey's shoulder. He wanted to ask if Joey was sure, but ... that would probably only make him angry. "Did he know what he was saying?"

"Yeah, he knew," said Joey, his voice gaining just a tiny bit of strength. "He about freaked out, after. I suppose I should be thankful that he REALIZED he was saying the wrong name as he was coming. Fucker's lucky I didn't bite down, though," he muttered, not really meaning it. He was grateful that JC didn't laugh or anything, and was being really nice about it, even though it was horribly embarassing to have happen to him. "You think I should just step aside, let them get back together if that's what they want?" he added reluctantly.

JC could definitely picture Justin panicking, and actually that was a good thing. It probably meant that he was really scared about losing Joey. But it also made answering Joey's question really tough. "I don't know," he answered honestly, and he really didn't. If he had to guess judging by the way Chris had acted *yesterday*, he figured that Chris would try. But today, he wasn't so sure. And he had no *idea* what Justin was feeling -- even though he suspected that he could've had Chris before this, if he'd been so inclined. "You think that you're the thing that's keeping them apart?" he asked in return. "I really ... my guess is that that's not what's going on."

"I've never been the, like, naive one before," muttered Joey, still not looking up."I thought he really wanted me for ME. I should've known I had nothing to offer him, especially not after CHRIS." And he didn't really believe THAT, either, except for right at this moment. "I feel really fucking used right now, C. I don't like being, like, a stand-in ... or something ... "

JC tried to rub his knee soothingly. "He *does* want you for you. You don't know how long he's been crushing on you, but *I* do. And it's a while. And he could have had Chris back at any point during that time if he wanted him, I think. *You've* talked to Chris about it ... it's not like he can hide that." He bit his lip and decided to tell Joey what HE thought happened, even though he didn't ask. "Look, there's a *reason* Justin is upset, I think. He's probably really scared that he did something you can't forgive him for." Not that JC was saying he should, or shouldn't, but there it was.

Joey nodded slighly. When he turned his head to the side to look at JC his eyes were bloodshot, but not tear-filled. "I told him I'd go back when I'd ... dealt. He's still in his room. God ... I'm insecure enough about this gay sex stuff without being called by someone else's NAME." Pain lines creased his forehead. "I'd like to think that he was thinking about me, at least."

"I'm sure he knew he was with you," JC said, knowing how empty that sounded, worried himself at how ... numb Joey seemed. "Hell, he was screaming YOUR name loud enough yesterday to practically bring the roof down. It seems you've picked up on the 'gay sex stuff,' as you put it, pretty damn well." He turned and looked up the stairs. "Have you considered that he just had Chris on his mind for, uh ... other reasons?"

"While I was blowing him?" said Joey a bit wryly. "If he did, I'm not sure I WANT to know why. I mean, I'm new to it and all, but I'm not THAT bad." He looked down again, at his fidgeting hands. "I'm not all mad, JC ... I don't think. I'm just confused. It's like ... everything I THOUGHT was going on between us, now, maybe isn't. Maybe it's not like I think it is."

JC sighed and lounged back on the stairs. It was really tough to hear Joey being insecure ever, but especially after he'd been so insistent about how *real* what he had with Justin was, yesterday. But he couldn't bring himself to be mad at Justin -- not when the kid was being faced with someone else being prominent in the life of his first real love. He wondered if Joey *got* that. He wondered if that's why Justin wanted to have sex in the first place. "Just because he made a mistake? I thought you guys were closer than that."

"Fuck you," said Joey mildly. "You have the guy you're in love with call you by someone else's name while you're giving him head, and see how YOU'RE feeling, fifteen minutes later." He shook his head and looked up at him again. "It's not like I'm breaking up with him or something, C," he added. "I'm just trying to sort this shit out in my head, okay?"

"Okay, god," JC said, hurt, and trying not to get defensive, because this wasn't ABOUT him. "I didn't mean to make it worse, I just ... did he explain anything to you? Did he try? Do you ... should I go check on him?" He closed his eyes. "I know I haven't been all that supportive, of this, but I am your friend, and I can try to help you if you tell me what you need."

"I didn't want him to explain," said Joey, gripping JC's knee to keep him from going upstairs. "I didn't want to hear it, yet. I'll go when I'm ready." His eyes captured JC's for a long moment. "Do you know how much this hurts?" he asked, his face still lined. "Seriously?"

"No," JC breathed softly. "You know I've never ... lov- ... cared ... whatever. Felt like that, about anyone. So." He put his palm on top of Joey's, rubbing it patiently. "You can tell me about it. Tell me why you're worried things aren't what you thought they were." He sighed, again, and squeezed his hand. "I'm not going anywhere, okay?"

"Look, just ... " Joey was feeling REALLY vulnerable -- hadn't really come to terms with what had happened yet -- and didn't want JC to quite KNOW that. But he couldn't help it. "Why wasn't he thinking about ME, you know? I was thinking about him ... " Joey sighed and had to look away again. He didn't like getting uptight about this shit, and hoped the feeling would pass soon.

JC sighed again, and turned away himself. He still figured that was maybe his fault. "Joey?" he said cautiously. "Did, um ... do you think Justin was acting a little strange, earlier? When we were all in the kitchen?" He waited until Joey looked at him to continue. "Did you think at all about what was going on with him? What ... what he thought and felt about what we were talking about?"

"Yeah, I thought about it," said Joey, staring at him. Not wanting to believe that Justin was being jealous, because Justin was supposed to be HAPPY with him. "You were throwing Chris's new lover in his face and he was getting resentful. I understood THAT much at least. I'm not ready to forgive him yet, JC. Fuck, I can still taste him in my mouth, and every time I DO, I think of THAT ... "

JC flinched and let go of Joey's hand. Looked like he wasn't the *only* one who thought he had something to do with what happened. "Okay, wait here," JC said, scrambling to his feet and running up the stairs two at a time. He paused briefly in front of the closed door to Justin's bedroom, and almost knocked when he heard -- still -- muffled sobbing inside. But he shook his head and continued to his own room, stripping off his stinky, stinky clothes and throwing on some shorts, and then grabbing a bottle of whiskey out from under the bed.

"Here," he said, tight-lipped, when he made it back down the staircase and saw that Joey hadn't moved an inch. "Have some of this. We've already watered-down Lynn's stash enough."

Joey drank right out of the bottle, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Thanks," he said quietly, setting the bottle down on the bottom stair. "So what do I do now?" he asked, looking up at him. "How am I supposed to deal with this, when I can't help wondering, now, if he was ever even thinking of me?" He sighed. "Be honest, JC. Him and Chris were great together, weren't they?"

JC sat down behind him and wrapped his arms comfortingly around Joey's neck. "They had something special, I think yeah," he admitted, resting his chin on Joey's head. "And they were in love. But Joey ... they didn't *stay* great together, okay? They ended it, for whatever reason, and it was a while ago. And I even *asked* Chris if they'd slipped up, if they'd even so much as kissed since then, and he told me they hadn't." He squeezed him again, before finishing the thought he hadn't wanted to say out loud. "I think Justin's fallen in love with you, Joey. Really hard, and really pure. Please ... don't doubt that." "Then why?" asked Joey, his eyes watery now. "WHY would he be thinking about Chris, when it was ME with him. I mean, I really went through some stuff, inside me, to be okay with being with a guy in the first place. And that took, like, a lot of trust. And I want to STOP feeling like I've lost that, that I've been used, here. Because it really sucks, okay? Because I fell in love with him, too, and I don't want to be second. I don't want to be a runner up or a consolation prize because he couldn't have Chris anymore. I'm NOT Chris. I'm nothing LIKE Chris. And I don't know what he wants anymore."

"I know, man," JC said, pained. "I just think that ... this morning, that stuff? made him face some things that he hasn't really had to deal with, yet. Like ... being replaced, you know? Losing a bit of a security blanket, the guy who obviously hadn't gotten over HIM, yet: thus a guy that he figured would be around if he got burned by you. You're first in a lot of ways, for him, Joey, but ... Chris *was* *first*. And as much as he's into you now, Chris'll always have that pull on him.

"Look, you need to look at it like this," JC continued, after running his hands through Joey's hair for a minute. "Justin took big, huge risks to go for you, instead of taking the easy route and going back to Chris. Why would he *do* that if he thought you wouldn't measure up?"

"I don't KNOW," said Joey. "That's why I'm getting so fucking confused. And I'm sorry to lay all my shit on you here, C, but I DON'T measure up to Chris in a lot of ways. I'm not as smart as him. I'm not as thoughtful as him. I'm not as experienced as him. If THAT'S what Justin's looking for, then no wonder he's so disappointed in me, you know? God. I THOUGHT things were good now, I thought everything was fine, until THAT." He looked at JC seriously. "I've said the wrong chick's name in bed by accident before," he admitted easily. "I know how it can happen. But every single time it was because I WAS thinking of them and not thinking of who I was with. So ... there you have it, I guess."

JC kissed the top of Joey's head gently, still feeling awful for his friend. "Joey ... obviously, I don't know what was going on in Justin's mind, but ... I think he was probably just really overwhlemed by all that stuff that Chris was saying. And so he had it on the brain. It doesn't mean he was, like, fantasizing about Chris ... just that, yeah, maybe he was really prominent in his mind right then. It, um ... might not have been such a good idea to try and *be* with him, if he was upset like that, without ... talking to him first ... " He braced himself for Joey's reaction to THAT, but JC thought it was true.

Joey snorted. "It was what he wanted, C," he said simply. "You don't know what it's like getting Justin to talk to me about anything. It's like pulling teeth, I swear. He just expects me to kinda KNOW what's going on with him ... like Chris would, I guess. So I have to trust him to tell me when he needs something, and what he needs." He snorted again. "And no, I HAVEN'T forgotten that he's 16. But still, I need to trust him with that, to tell me things. Cause otherwise -- you know me -- I just don't get it."

"You just need to be *bigger* about it," JC said, still softly, curling his fingers through Joey's hair again, and brushing behind his ears. "Even if he wanted it? If he's upset, you have to tell him no. For his own good. For *your* good, too, 'cause he'll use that body of his every time to get out of talking about things that'll make him uncomfortable." He thought for a minute. "I love you, Joe. And I love Justin. But this is never gonna work, between you, if you wait for him to talk to you. That just *isn't* *him*, and I don't think it ever will be."

"But I DON'T wait," protested Joey. "I push and I push and I make him talk to me even when he doesn't want to. If I'd had ANY idea he was THAT upset about it, and not just feeling lonely for me, I WOULD have made him, C." He sighed and picked up the bottle, taking a swig and coughing slightly. "I'm not going to change either, you know. I'm not going to suddenly get smart and perceptive, as much as he wants me to. And I don't know what to do about THAT, either."

"He doesn't want you to change," JC reassured him. "And ... look, you think Chris could read him as well as he does, right off the bat? I doubt it. It took a lot of fights, I'm sure. The only edge that Chris has on you, as far as that goes, is that he's a stubborn little shit. More stubborn than J. Okay?" He moved his hands down to rub at his neck, massaging him gently. "You're gonna be okay, Joe, the two of you. You are. Just ... let him apologize, when you're ready to hear it. Let *him* tell you why he's with you and not Chris. I'm sure he'll welcome the chance to be able to convince you of that."

"You know I will," muttered Joey, still holding the bottle in his hand. "You KNOW I'm going back in there, in a bit. I don't need to be told to, JC." He looked at him again, suddenly very grateful he was here, and that he was his friend, and that he was finally really listening again. "I'm doing my best with him, you know. I am."

"I know, buddy," JC sighed, punching his arm gently and holding his hand out for the bottle. "He's happier than I've ever seen him. I don't think I've told you that, yet. Whatever you're doing, it ... looks good on him."

Joey grinned slightly at that, thinking of how happy Justin DID seem with him. And how happy he found himself when he was with Justin. "My blowjobs look good on him?" he said, faintly teasing. "Good to know." He handed the bottle over to him and played with his boxers restlessly. "I hate that this happened, C."

JC patted his hand again as he took a swig of the whiskey himself. "Me, too," he admitted. "ANd I mean that. And I bet Justin hates it more than either of us. And CHRIS would ... " JC flinched, trying to figure out WHAT Chris would do. "Well, we're not telling Chris this. Right?"

"No," said Joey, shaking his head. "None of us are, okay? He doesn't need to know about this."

JC looked at Joey appraisingly, wondering just how insecure he WAS about competing with Chris. And what, if anything, JC could (or SHOULD) do, to help. "Right," he said, remembering how difficult the night before had been, keeping Chris away from tall boys with curly hair. "Okay," he said simply.

Joey sat up straighter. "I ... think I need to talk to Justin now," he said, firmly but quietly. "Thanks, C. For, you know, being my best friend and all." he took the bottle back, took one last gulp for courage.

JC stood up, and held out his hand to help Joey to his feet. "No matter what, I'm your best friend," he replied seriously. "Just ... be careful, okay? He ... " JC bit his lip. "He was still crying, when I went upstairs."

"Shit," whispered Joey, standing up and giving JC a quick but fierce hug. "Thanks for not laughing at me, man."

"Why would I laugh?" JC frowned, then shrugged and pushed Joey up the stairs. "Go. I'll be out by the pool, if you need me. I mean it, for anything." He nudged him again, gently, then made his way out into the backyard, collapsing on one of the deckchairs. God.

The distance between where he stood and the top of the stairs seemed daunting now. Joey stared at his feet, then just took one step at a time until he reached the top; it was all he could do. As he stepped slowly toward Justin's door he, too, could hear the faint sobbing, and as hurt as HE was about what had happened, he still wanted to make Justin all better. He knocked softly before opening the door.

Justin, for his part, almost yelled "Leave me the HELL alone" -- not expecting Joey to come back so soon. Or to knock, for that matter. But he bit his tongue and sat up when he heard the door open, and continued to cry -- silently, now -- when he saw that Joey HAD come back to him. For him. He hoped. He just ... couldn't read his expression through his tears.

Joey paused at the door, then closed it behind him and moved closer to Justin, sitting down on the floor by the bed, near his feet. "I want to know what happened now," he said quietly, unable to look at his face.

"Joey," Justin choked out, crawling to the edge of the bed and trying to grab onto him, to pull him up into his arms. He would tell him anything he wanted to know, he WOULD, he just needed to feel him. He needed to be touched, to know that Joey would still be there in two minutes or ten minutes or five hours, when he was done.

Joey reached out his hand to Justin but didn't move any closer. He needed that bit of distance, until he knew what was going on here. Until he knew that Justin was reaching for HIM, and not just a warm body. "I love you," he whispered. "What happened, Justin?"

Justin took Joey's hand, grateful for what he could get, and kissed it before pressing it to his wet cheek. "I love you," he hiccuped in reply. "I do, I love YOU, Joey. It was ... an accident. I'm so very, very sorry."

"Why were you thinking about HIM?" asked Joey softly, unable to mask a sniffle. Justin's skin was warm and wet and he DID just want to hold him and forget it all happened. "Why weren't you thinking about ME?"

Justin's face crumpled even more. "I'm SORRY," he practically wailed. "It wasn't about the sex, I promise. I PROMISE, Joey. I just ... he was in my head, and I don't even KNOW why. And it just ... came out." More tears fell from his eyelashes. "I wasn't thinking you were him, or ANYTHING. I swear."

"I thought you were with ME," whispered Joey, squeezing his hand. "I'm not even TALKING about the sex, entirely ... I'm talking about everything. Why were you thinking about CHRIS, when you were with me? Justin ... I don't understand."

Justin cried quietly for several seconds, unable to find his voice. "I don't know," he finally mumbled back. "I don't know. Just ... JC ... and, I don't know. Please, Joey." He tried to tug him up against him again.

Joey sighed, then pulled Justin down and into his arms. "I'm not mad," he said, stroking his hair. "I'm just really confused, and a little hurt, and a lot worried that maybe you want him more than me ... " It was a hard admission to make, but he needed to do it.

Justin embraced Joey gratefully, crawling into his lap on the floor even though he was far too big for that. "Please," he whispered, fresh tears still streaming from his eyes. "I don't. I just don't. Not like that. Not like ANYTHING. I haven't even thought of him like that, since I started falling for YOU."

"Then why were you thinking about him, bunny?" Joey asked, kissing the top of his head. "Why did you say HIS name? That ... it really, really hurt. I'm sorry, but it did."

Justin shuddered and sighed when Joey used his nickname. He really *didn't* seem mad, and Justin was relieved. "I think ... I was a little messed up," he admitted quietly. "That he was with that guy last night. It felt ... weird."

"Why?" asked Joey, stroking his hair again. "Why shouldn't Chris be happy? I mean ... we are, right? Justin ... we're happy ... right?"

"Yes," Justin breathed, because it was the complete truth. He turned his face to watch Joey, hoping he might bring his lips close enough that Justin could press his own mouth to them, and reassure him that way. "You make me happier than anyone, than I ever thought I could be, Joey."

"I wanted to hear MY name," whispered Joey, closing his eyes. "I wanted to know you were thinking about me. It's ... it's still hard enough for me to think that I'm doing okay at it, when we do stuff, without thinking that ... he was better."

Justin took a breath and kissed him, almost not caring if it was welcome or not, just needing Joey to know that's what he needed to do every time he touched him, practically. "I know," he said when he pulled back, watching him carefully, licking away the taste of Joey's mouth and his own tears. "He wasn't," he said simply.

"That's really hard to believe right now," said Joey, kissing Justin's forehead. "What happened ... it was a real shock. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what I'd done wrong." He kissed him again. "But I wasn't mad, really," he added. "I just ... I didn't know, is all. I'm still confused."

"It was an accident," Justin sighed again, closing his eyes when he felt Joey's lips on his skin one more time. "Just a mistake. I just ... had it in my head that ... maybe I wasn't his type, after all? And that maybe you'd decide I wasn't your type either? And ... my head was just going bad places. It wasn't ANYTHING you did, or didn't do."

"Oh, bunny," said Joey, squeezing him. "Just because you like me now doesn't mean Chris wasn't YOUR type, when you were going out, right?" It pained him a bit to say that, but he thought maybe Justin needed to think about that, to get over whatever this was. "I wish ... I wish we hadn't been having sex, with you thinking like that, though."

"I know." Justin ducked his head, a little, to rest it on Joey's chest, just under his chin. "That was my fault. I just ... wanted to get away from him, from THEM, but I ... didn't want to talk about it. That was ... I shouldn't do that."

"You don't NEED to do that," Joey told him, letting Justin curl up against him and wrapping his arms around him. Protecting him. "We can always talk, Justin. We maybe need to do more of that."

Justin sighed heavily. "I know. But ... we've talked about this before. I'll say I don't want to talk about the things that make me feel dumb, and you'll say that you won't be able to tell what's going on *unless* I tell you, and then it's just this whole ... vicious cycle." He dug deeper into Joey's lap. "Can't we just ... assure each other, right now, that this is what we want? And then forget all the rest? That way we don't *have* to talk about it, 'cause there won't be any worries TO talk about."

"I need to talk about this," said Joey, his voice tight. "I need to talk about this or I'm not GOING to just forget. I'm going to worry every day about what happened, and whether it might happen again. This IS what I want, Justin. This with you. But I need to feel comfortable again." He cuddled Justin almost in apology, holding him firmly in his lap and stroking his arm. "And then, when I'm comfortable and reassured, I think I need to make love to you again ... "

Justin didn't struggle, knowing that he brought this on himself, and that he'd have to do whatever Joey wanted to make it up to him. He just wished they could do the easy part -- the making love -- first, and leave the hard stuff for when they were happy and sated and wrapped his each other's arms. Right now they *were* wrapped in each other's arms -- and Justin was still naked -- but it didn't feel the same. "How can I reassure you?" he asked softly, breathing in the way Joey smelled.

"I don't know," said Joey softly. "Can you ... tell me about you and him? So I know, and I'm not just wondering?" He turned his head up and kissed the corner of Justin's mouth. "I know it's a very private thing, Justin, and it was between you and him ... but it might help both of us if we talked about it. What it was like. And what's so different now that you want ME and not him ... "

Justin closed his eyes for a long moment. "Okay," he said finally. He *would* tell him, he just ... worried that Joey might not look at him the same, after. "I already told you he was the first guy I did anything with, and ... that wasn't entirely unintentional. I mean ... I *liked* him, a lot, but I also knew he had been with guys before. And ... " he frowned, and made himself go on. "Well, I kinda knew, from the way he looked at me, that he'd do it." Justin let that sink in, and hoped it didn't make him sound manipulative. "That's so different from the way I started to fall for you, Joey."

Joey nodded, wanting him to go on, wanting him to talk about the way he fell for HIM, too, now. But mostly he wanted to know just what Justin and Chris had had, and how what Justin had with him could possibly be better, especially since they both obviously thought of each other so much, still. "How old were you?" he asked softly, closing his own eyes. "When was this? Where?"

"Last year," Justin replied. "Last summer, after I turned 15 -- right after Lance's birthday, actually." He stretched a little, and squirmed around in Joey's lap. "And ... I dunno. It ended earlier this year. Spring. It just got ... to be a lot. It was harder and harder to keep from you and Lance, and JC was ... typically JC ... and things were taking off." He bit his lip. "I loved him, I *do* love him, but ... I don't think I ever wanted something that serious with him. I didn't think that's what it would turn into. And since I felt like that? it was easier to blame everything else for why we stopped."

Joey let Justin squirm but still kept him on his lap; even as big as he was, it was comfortable with him there. "Do you want something serious with me?" he asked, his eyes still closed, almost not wanting to see Justin's reactions to his questions. "Or is this going to end if it starts getting too hard, Justin? And ... if you didn't want that with him ... why were you so upset that Chris maybe has a new boyfriend now? Especially, you know, because you got one first ... "

"Don't you get the difference, Joey?" Justin asked wistfully. "I mean ... with him? it was a lot about learning about being with a guy. And I *grew* to have feelings -- I mean, they were strong feelings, but -- still. He took care of me, and taught me a lot, and loved me maybe the way I needed to have someone love me. But with you?" He turned to look at him. "I *want* you. I want *you*. I've been with other guys, now, and I know what I'm looking for, and it's been you for months. Even though I didn't really think you'd ever want me back." None of that really answered Joey's questions, but it was getting there. He had to ease into it -- and he really *didn't* know whether he was supposed to say he wanted something serious, or not. He didn't want to scare Joey.

"Okay," said Joey softly, opening his eyes to stare at Justin's blond curls as he spoke. "I want to believe that, Justin. I ... I know you already know it was a big step for me, to try things with a guy. And I've never regretted it, not for a single second, not even with what just happened. But I want -- need -- to know that you want me for ME, now. And ... why. I fell in love with you really hard and really fast and it's kinda scary how powerful it is, inside me. So ... I need you to tell me you feel something back, right now, even if you think I already know." He kissed his hair again, and thought maybe he wanted to kiss Justin's lips, very soon.

"Oh, Joey," Justin breathed, tears brimming at his eyes again. "I'm sorry that anything happened to make you doubt that I want you for you ... that I LOVE you for you. But if you need me to tell you why ... of course, I will." He placed a hand on Joey's knee and shifted slowly so he was straddling him -- trying *not* to think about their relative lack of clothes, just wanting to be able to cup Joey's face in his hands and look in his eyes. "I started wanting you because you're so happy. You make *me* happy, when I see you smile. It's ... infectious, or something. And you're fun, to be around, and you look out for me but not annoyingly, and ... god, you know how hot you are." He grinned, and brushed his thumb over Joey's lips. "Way hotter than Chris," he admitted.

Joey chuckled, very happy to see Justin's grin. "Well, of COURSE I'm hotter than Chris. I'm hotter than all the rest of you guys... well, except maybe you." He leaned forward and kissed the tip of Justin's nose. "Okay, um, from now on? If you're upset about something or have something pressing on your mind besides having sex with me? We aren't doing it, okay? I can't ... I can't feel like that again. The shock and the ... everything. It really hurt, even if you didn't mean it that way."

"I know," Justin whispered, deciding to keep the rest of what he was going to say -- about why he LOVED Joey -- for later, since Joey already seemed satisfied. Or happier. "I mean, I don't *know*, but I can guess. I'm so sorry." He looked at him sheepishly. "Um. It was really, really good, though ... and I need you to know that I wasn't pretending you were him. I just wasn't. I've ... I never came as hard with him, as I do with you." He needed to not pursue that line of thought, though, because he had no way of hiding what it would do to him. Idly he figured he really *should* grab some underwear, at least.

"I believe you," said Joey, kissing his lips softly. "I still need you to talk to me though. I BELIEVE you knew it was me, when we were doing that, but you were still thinking about him. And ... I guess that's gonna happen for a while. Are you over him, Justin? I mean, honestly? Do you love ME, for real?" He held Justin close to him, both hands at the small of his back, as he waited for an answer, waited to hear what he needed to hear from him.

"You're so gentle with me," Justin murmured to himself. "I love that." He took a deep breath. "Joey. I promise you that I'm over Chris. I don't want him. I just ... was surprised that he didn't want ME, any more. I know that's awful, but it messed me up anyway. And I ... I already don't care, any more. Because what you said before? You're right. He should be able to have a new boyfriend, because I do. I did FIRST. And it's ... it's you, Joey, someone I can honestly say that I already love more seriously, more selflessly, than anyone I've ever loved before."

"Wow," said Joey softly, kissing him again. "Just wow, Justin." He wasn't sure what else to say about that, and rested his cheek on Justin's head and closed his eyes and just cuddled him close. He didn't want to lose him, not now, not ever. "It's okay to miss him," he admitted as he unconsciously began rocking them both. "I just don't want him to come first, is all. I love you, bunny."

"I love you too, Joey," Justin said firmly. "I might miss little things about him, but it's not anything like what I'd miss about you, if you let me go." He kissed him gently, softly, then licked tentatively at his lips. "So don't let me go. I've fallen too hard and too fast for *you*." Justin was a little surprised that talking to Joey had been so easy ... maybe it wasn't a bad thing, after all.

"I'm not letting you go," said Joey. "Not ever." He leaned forward and kissed him then, shifting his body slightly to get his arms underneath him, lifted Justin up quite easily and set him on the bed. "I'm a stud," he said with a grin, then leaned over to kiss him again. "So, are we okay now, Justin?"

Justin felt like he should be completely dehydrated, from all the crying he'd done, but ... "Yeah," he said softly, watching to see if Joey would join him on the bed. "Thank you for coming back, so soon. I ... was surprised. And didn't expect to see you." He started tugging the sheets over his lap, embarrassed that having Joey pick him up had turned him on.

Joey knelt beside the bed for a moment, tugging the blankets back off again and stroking Justin's calves, just enjoying the feel of his skin. "I told you I just needed to, you know, kinda wrap my mind around it. Oh ... JC got back when I was downstairs -- I guess he took Chris somewhere. I dunno." He was hesitant to even mention JC to Justin right now, but JC had been really good to him, just now, and he didn't deserve to be ignored. "You wanna stay in here for a little while?"

Justin pulled back on the blankets, whispering "stop" very shyly. He didn't know what to say about JC -- he was really mad at him, for doing what he did, and on purpose ... and wished he'd just keep his nose out of Justin's business. "I still need to shower," he said then. "You can go talk to ... him ... if you want."

"I'd rather stay with you," said Joey, resting his cheek against Justin's thigh and gazing at him. "I need to ... be around you right now. Can I shower with you? Would that be okay? Your mom and Lance won't be home for a little while." His voice was hopeful, and he nuzzled Justin's leg with his nose and cheek. "It doesn't have to be, like, about the sex or anything ... I just want to be with you."

"God, Joey." Justin's eyes fell shut at the sensation of Joey's goatee tickling high on his thigh, his breath brushing between his legs. He already couldn't ever say no to him, and he wanted Joey with him too, but ... he just hoped he'd have the self-control to *keep* it not about the sex. "Sure," he exhaled shakily, running a hand over top of Joey's head. "Sure, bear. I wasn't ready for you to go away, either."

"Good," said Joey softly, kissing his hip. "Or I can wait here while you shower, if you'd rather ... ? I promise not to go anywhere." He got up on the bed and stretched out next to Justin. "I'll stay right exactly here until you get back," he added, stroking up and down Justin's side now and kissing him deeply, unable to resist those rosy, slightly parted lips. He also couldn't resist kissing the tearstains high on Justin's cheeks, trying to make them go away, trying to make him -- them -- happy again.

"Oh ... bear ... " Justin whimpered, trying to sit back up. "I don't want you to stop, but if we're going to wait until everything's totally okay again, then ... " He let Joey interrupt him with another kiss. "You gotta not do that." He scrubbed at his face a little, and watched Joey. "How about ... maybe just come in there with me? Talk to me? You can sit on the sink or something ... "

Joey smiled broadly. "That'd be just perfect," he said, kissing his nose and giving him an impromptu hug. "I really LIKE talking to you, Justin," he admitted. "Not just because we have to, but because you're a really smart guy and you have a really nice voice. I like to just listen sometimes." He grinned. "Do you sing in the shower? That'd be cool, too."

Justin laughed. "I do." *Among other things,* he wanted to add, but ... thought it might not actually be a joke. It was going to be really hard to keep from touching himself in the shower, now that he'd gotten so turned on again, and wondered if he'd be able to do it subtly enough. "C'mon," he said, a little more timidly, crawling off the bed and turning his hips away from Joey to try and hide everything as much as he could. "I've got James Taylor in my head. You like him, right?"

"I like everything," Joey assured him, taking his hand and squeezing it. He wrapped one arm around Justin's waist from behind and hugged him gently, resting his chin on Justin's shoulder. "I'm glad we worked this out, Justin. You and me are too good together to let a, you know, misunderstanding like that get in the way of being together." He kissed Justin's neck, but only very briefly, then patted his ass. "Okay, let's go, before your mom DOES get home."

"Well, at least it really *will* be innocent, if she does," Justin pointed out, trying not to rub backwards against Joey when he felt the heat from his groin pressing against his ass. "Um. Why don't you put on some shorts, just in case? And ... I'll meet you in there?" He whirled around and gave Joey a sweet kiss on the cheek, too fast for him to see anything, then grinned and dashed out of the bedroom.

Joey chuckled a little, and began following him slowly. He did feel better about the whole thing now, even if he still wondering about Chris, and how big a place he still had in Justin's heart. He did snag a pair of shorts before making his way to the bathroom, tapping lightly on the door before going in.

"Yup," Justin called over his shoulder, not hearing Joey open the door. He was still naked, bent over the tub a little, testing the temperature of the water out of the faucet before he turned on the shower. He yanked the curtain back as he turned on the spray, and gave Joey a quick smile before slipping behind it.

Joey sat down on the lid of the toilet, and imagined he could see Justin's shape behind the curtain. He grinned at him, but more to himself, happy to be right where he was, right then. "Are we still on?" he asked. "For our date?"

"If you want," Justin reassured him, calling over the top of the shower. He'd grabbed a washcloth and was rubbing it over his body with the hand that was closest to Joey, but he was definitely fondling himself gently with the other. "I want to buy you a present."

"Buy me a present?" repeated Joey. "Really?" He wanted to get Justin something, too, but he wasn't gonna say that. And it wasn't gonna be cool or anything, just a CD he thought he'd like. "What kind of present?"

Justin giggled to mask how breathless he was getting from stroking himself smoothly under the spray. "WHy should I tell you that now? If you're nice, maybe I'll let you help pick it out. Or ... try it on. But I'm not going to just TELL you."

"Try it on?" repeated Joey, intrigued now. "Try what on? Are you getting me a thong or something? Cause I gotta tell you, those things are REALLY binding ... "

Justin threw back the curtain and stared at him before laughing again and shutting it. "God. No. Ew. Just ... no." He grasped his cock in his fingers again and tugged a little harder. "Mmmm," he exhaled, softly, then started talking again. "Just SOMETHING. Jeez. Can't you let it be a surprise?"

"Sure I can," said Joey, grinning even more widely now that he'd caught a glimpse of Justin's wet body. "But can't I guess? Guessing is fun. It's like Christmas ... I ALWAYS guess my presents at Christmas. That's, like, half the fun."

"I still want to get ... that tattoo, too," Justin said, trying to be conversational, knowing his voice was getting a little breathless. "You promised you'd take me. Maybe I'll get a little bunny, on my hip ..."

Joey didn't think his smile could get any wider, until he heard that. "Oh wow, Justin ... that's just, like, the SWEETEST thing, like, ever." He wanted to leap into the shower and pull him into a hug, but he could wait.

"CAN I?" Justin said eagerly, letting go of himself for a second when he heard how excited Joey was at the prospect. "Really? You don't think that's ... like, too much, or whatever? Cause I TOTALLY want to."

"I told you you could," said Joey seriously, but still a bit giddy. "But not right away, okay? I still want you to think about it some. I don't want you rushing into ANYTHING that involves permanent stuff on your body."

"I'm NOT," Justin protested, then decided to drop it. If Joey wasn't as happy about it as him, what was the point? He sighed and dropped the washcloth on the ledge, grabbing for the shampoo. "What are you gonna look for, at the mall?"

"Stuff," said Joey vaguely, still grinning happily at the thought of Justin getting a tattoo to remember HIM by. If he hadn't already heard Justin say it was serious for him, THAT right there would have told him. "I need new shoes. And, like, music. Like always. What about you?" he asked. "Do I get any more hints about my present?"

Justin was having quite the hard time trying to work the shampoo through his hair, and still keep touching himself. He just couldn't *stop*, though ... he was way past that point. And he really couldn't believe he was doing it practically in *front* of Joey. "I ... don't know," he grunted. "More shoes, I guess." He lost his balance a little and had to grab at the curtain before he could stand back up. "And that wasn't a big enough hint, before?" Justin knew it wasn't, actually, but it was fun to tease Joey.

Joey leapt up to catch Justin when he seemed to lose his balance and tilt against the curtain, but he quickly righted himself and Joey sat back down. "Maybe. Yeah. But it's fun to keep playing. You sure you don't need any help in there, bunny?"

"What? No," Justin said quickly, ducking his head to rinse off, letting his fingers slip behind his balls, enjoying the way they slid over his skin when he was wet. "Just ... clutzy, sorry. What kind of hint do you want?"

Joey heard Justin's low, breathy noises under the sound of the water and suddenly had a very good idea what he was doing in there. He flushed at the idea that Justin was touching himself just the other side of that thin curtain and didn't say a word, didn't want him to stop. Listened closer. "Uh, anything," he said after a moment, remembering there had been a question. "That's the fun of it."

"Oh," Justin said softly, bringing his other hand back down to grip at his erection, not doing anything even remotely shower-related at that point. "Um. Okay ... you don't have to get -- mm, naked -- to try it on. So that blows your thong idea out of the water."

"So I guess it's not a cockring either, then, huh?" teased Joey, trailing his fingers down the shower curtin, but trying not to let Justin know he was so close.

Justin gasped. "No. Just ... no." He was a lot closer to coming than he had been, and barely noticed as his elbow began to brush up against the material of the curtain with each stroke of his fist. "Is that what you wanted it to be?"

Joey watched the motion of the curtain, mesmerized for a moment, picturing each stroke of Justin's cock. "What? Uh ... no ... just teasing." He brain blanked as he get even harder and didn't dare do anything about it. "I ... I was just playing around."

Justin couldn't even answer when he let just the tip of his finger slip inside his ass -- not that he trusted himself to talk. It was really hot, for him, knowing that Joey was just feet away and maybe -- hopefully -- had no idea what he was doing. He would have wanted him in there with him, except ... he knew it might be a little while before Joey was comfortable being intimate, after what happened. He exhaled shakily again.

"I love you," said Joey suddenly, trailing his fingers down the curtain again, peering at it as though he could see more than a faint sihouette of Justin's body.

"Do you?" Justin choked out. "Even after what I did?" He slid his finger back out and ran that hand over his chest before reaching out to touch the curtain himself.

"Yeah, I didn't stop," said Joey, gasping as Justin's fingertips almost touch his, hovering just above them.

Justin closed his eyes, and then pulled back the curtain again. He was surprised to see Joey so close, but recovered, facing him as the water ran down the side of his body, not bothering to hide his straining cock. "Me either," he said firmly. "I haven't stopped loving you for one second, not since you let me kiss you."

Joey looked him up and down, yanking his hand away. "Um ... yeah ... " he breathed, and closed his eyes for a moment. He was SO hard now, but wasn't sure he was going to do anything about it. There was this ball of hurt sill inside, but it was being overwhelmed by everything else.

Justin waited for several more seconds, then turned away and closed the curtain again slowly. Not that he thought he was irresistable, or anything, but he would've hoped Joey wouldn't have closed his eyes like it disgusted him to look at Justin aroused, like it was too much of a bad memory. "Yeah," he echoed, grabbing his cock again, wanting to just get it over with.

Joey reached out for the shower curtain again when Justin was gone, almost -- but not quite -- touching him. He opened his eyes when he'd stopped quivering inside and saw the silhouette move in quick, jerky strokes. "You're so hot," he whispers, almost inaudible over the stream of water. "Oh, bunny, you're so fucking hot."

Justin responded to Joey, even though he wasn't sure if he was supposed to hear that. "I just *think* about you, and it gets me like this," he admitted, letting his hand slow down a little. "You MAKE me hot, Joey, all the time. I'm embarrassing myself by jerking off in front of you, and I can't HELP it."

"Don't be embarassed," said Joey, laying his palm flat against the curtain, staring at it with wide eyes. "It's ... really turning me on," he admitted. "You're all ... wet and slick and touching yourself ... "

"And wishing it was you," Justin added. "All the times I did this, in here, before I ever thought I'd feel your hands on me ... all the ways I imagined it, they don't measure up." He moaned a little, trying to hide it just a pointless effort. "Joey," he breathed again, making his strokes longer.

Joey gave in and stuck his hand in his shorts to touch himself, meaning only to do it a little. "Oh God, Justin," he moaned, gripping himself, imagining what Justin was doing. "You make me feel things I didn't think were possible ... " he said, closing his eye again, one hand still against the shower curtain.

Justin heard Joey's moan, and wondered what he might have meant by that. He wanted to open the shower curtain again, knowing that if it was Joey in here? he'd definitely want to see it. But he figured it was easier, somehow, for Joey not to watch him just then. Perhaps some other time, they could do it together, he figured ... whimpering a little when he tugged too hard on himself.

Joey began stroking himself; he was already too far along to stop. "Tell me ... tell me what you're doing right now ... " he said.

"Yanking too hard," Justin chuckled, then moaned a little when he did it again. "Joey ... god, can you tell me why you won't look at me?"

"I am," said Joey, staring at the curtain. "Oh God, Justin, trust me ... I am." He watched the silhouette move as he slowly stroked himself, taking his dick out of his shorts entirely.

"But you can't SEE me," Justin replied, confused. The he remembered what Joey asked him to do. "You can't SEE me squeezing myself, from ... from the base of my cock, right up to the tip, all ... slick from the shower. You couldn't SEE me, earlier, when I slid a finger inside myself ... "

Joey moaned again, loudly, moving his hand downward to fondle his balls and stroke that bit of skin behind them. "More ... " he said, moving up to stroke himself again, pressing a bit harder against the curtain so that it dented inward.

Justin leaned his shoulder into the curtain, shuddering a little when he felt the pressure of Joey's hand through the thin plastic. "No," Justin moaned. "I can't. Please ... you can open this ... and watch me. I wish you wanted to."

Joey pulled his hand away from the curtain and sighed at Justin's demanding impatience, at the obvious fact that Justin hadn't been enjoying this like he was. He pulled his other hand out of his shorts and wiped it off on the hand towel, then pulled the shorts up again; it didn't matter, he was wilting a little anyway. Giving in, he pulled the curtain back.

Justin stumbled back against the wall a little when the curtain was pulled back abruptly. "Oh," he said softly, his own hand stilling on his cock when he saw that Joey was still dressed, and must not have been doing what he thought he was doing. "Hi," he said, in a little voice.

Joey smiled at him encouragingly. "How come you're stopping?" he asked, his hand gripping the curtain. "You don't look like you want to stop."

"Oh," Justin repeated, following Joey's gaze down to his groin. "I just ... " he started rubbing himself again slowly, fisting his hand tightly when it ran down his shaft, relaxing a bit as he slid up. "Thought you ... nevermind." He turned around so his back was to the showerhead, and let the water run down over his shoulders.

Joey fell silent, his eyes running over Justin's body, watching the water flow down it. His erection had gone down, yes, but not entirely. "You look so good," he said quietly, after a song moments of watching Justin's slow, sure motions.

Justin smiled, his eyes closed, and tilted his head back into the water. "You have no idea," he murmured, "about what a fantasy-come-true this is for me." He ran his other hand across a nipple. "Shit. NO idea." He'd only imagined this, EXACTLY this, a million times ... Joey catching him jerking off somewhere, and Justin admitting he'd been thinking of him ...

Joey shivered a little, watching Justin pleasure himself and hearing him talk about it at the same time. "I think ... " he said slowly, his head feeling a little light, "that maybe I do ... "

Justin groaned, and squeezed a little tighter, suprised he'd lasted this long. "I don't think so," he protested huskily. "If you did, you'd know that most of the time when you caught me, you'd help."

"You should ask me about MY fantasies some time," murmured Joey as he stood up, moving closer to the open curtain and reaching out to trail his fingers down Justin's tensed arm. "There might be some surprises."

"You haven't noticed me long enough to have fantasies," Justin whispered, his head falling forward at Joey's touch. He was going to come, and soon. "Unless you weren't talking about the ones with me ... ?"

Joey ran his hand over the front of Justin's shoulder, the water spraying him lightly. His fingers slid towards Justin's tight nipple. "Don't count on it," he said, knowing he probably wouldn't be telling him anyway. Knowing that Justin would probably take it the wrong way, and think he'd done something wrong. He could recognize THAT much at least.

"God!" Justin grunted, reaching up with his free hand to grasp Joey's wrist as his orgasm hit, knees crumpling a little, shoulders still hunched. "God," he said again, after his cock had stopped pulsing thick fluid onto the wall of the shower. "Um. In my fantasies, I promise I last a little longer after you touch me."

"In your fantasies, I probably interrupt you sooner," said Joey, kissing his neck. "You're gorgeous when you come, bunny. Just totally hot."

Justin giggled when Joey's face got all wet, and he turned around to rinse off briefly before shutting off the water. "Thank you," he said shyly. "You make me feel like I look good, Joey. I love you." He smiled, and tried to reach past Joey to grab his towel.

Joey reached over and grabbed it for him. "You do look good," he said simply, wiping off his own face and neck before handing Justin the only-slightly-damp towel "Better than good."

Justin took the towel and wiped off his own face, giggling when his hair kept dripping into his eyes anyway. He climbed out of the tub and stood too close to Joey, dripping on him, too, and placed a kiss on his bare chest. He loved compliments like that. "You too, Joey," he insisted, smiling.

"Thanks," said Joey, resigning himself to becoming completely wet. "So much for being innocent in here, huh," he added, reaching out to touch Justin's damp cheek.

Justin started to say something, then cocked his head when he heard the phone ring. "Hold on," he said quickly. "Don't go ANYWHERE." He wrapped the towel around his waist and dashed out of the bathroom to hunt down the cordless.

Joey peeked out the bathroom door, surprised, then reached out and grabbed a towel for himself to take care of the lingering droplets on his neck and chest. It felt like things were going to be okay with Justin, now -- he wasn't feeling that sick ache that he had been -- and that was probably a very good thing.

Justin bounded back into the bathroom moments later, throwing himself onto Joey and getting him drenched all over again. "That," he said, in between noisy and wet kisses, "was Mom. Lance had to get a tooth filled so they're going to be a lot later." He smiled and pressed up against Joey. "You know what that gives us time for ..."

Joey laughed. "You could at least have a BIT of sympathy for Lance, you know," he said, but he kissed him back just as messily. "So what did you have in mind, for our time alone?"

Justin grinned, knowing he was being a little bit of a selfish kid, but so happy that Joey had forgiven him that he didn't care at the moment. "What you told me to do," he replied, running a hand around to the small of Joey's back, slipping his fingers into the waist band of his shorts. "Asking you about your fantasies."

"Ah," said Joey, smiling at him nervously. "Are we done in the bathroom now, then? JC'll probably get really pissy if we stay in here all afternoon."

Justin's smile faded only a little as he tightened the towel around his waist. "I thought you said he went out to the pool ... ?" he asked, then shook his head. "Doesn't matter, I'm finished. Are these fantasies, like ... only worthwhile in a certain place?"

"No, no," said Joey, patting his ass fondly. "I just thought we might be more comfortable back in the bedroom ... ?" He waggled his eyebrows at Justin and smiled suggestively.

"You mean, the den of sin?" Justin smiled back, lacing his hand with Joey's and tugging him gently -- but insistently -- back down the hall. "We'll definitely be more comfortable, yeah." He held open the door for Joey and locked it behind them, smiling a little more shyly.

Joey leaned back against the door, his hands behind him, his pelvis jutting out just slightly. Justin was very close, and still looking very hot. He pulled off the wet look like no one else. "Den of sin," he repeated, grinning. "It is that, isn't it?"

Justin blushed under Joey's gaze. "And I remember the time when you were scared to come up here, with me," he reminded him, still amazed sometimes about how close they'd gotten so quickly. He pulled at his towel. "Um. You're making me wait, to tell me, aren't you?"

"I'm not making you wait for anything," said Joey, smiling at him, watching Justin's body bounce a little from the buildup of energy in it. "I'm still thinking about the look on your face when you came, the way your whole body tightened up. The way you looked at me."

"I promise you can see it again," Justin whined softly, pouting, stepping a little closer and letting his towel fall a little looser about his waist. "Joey. TELL me. Please. What kind of fantasies have you had, with me in them?" He couldn't keep the eagerness from his face.

"I like to listen to you," admitted Joey softly. "When you were behind the curtain? Touching yourself and making hot little noises? I was ... totally getting off on that. I've had fantasies like that ... where I can just hear what's happening ... " He looked up and wondered how Justin was going to react to that, especially the way he'd pushed him before.

"Oh," Justin breathed, his mouth opening a little. "I *thought* I heard ... " He tried to figure out what Joey was asking him for, tried NOT to think about how Joey wasn't getting off on it after he started watching him. He'd told him he looked good, and Justin would believe him. He bit his lip, anyway. "But I thought you didn't want to BE in the bathroom ... ?"

"Yeah," said Joey, grinning a little. "You heard. Another time, maybe, we can do that?" he asked, reaching out one hand to touch Justin's waist. "When we both haven't already come once within the last hour or so?"

"Oh," Justin's face really fell. "But I thought ... " He really had hoped, with the time that they'd bought, they could do something *together.* He bit his lip a little harder. "Was that ... the only one?" He had an idea, brewing, if it was, but ... he wanted to wait and see what else Joey had to say.

Joey laughed. "I have a BIT more stamina than that," he promised, thankful that Justin wasn't really reacting badly, not at all. "I just meant ... for THAT fantasy ... it really, um, works in my head, if we're both, you know, really needy ... "

"*I'M* really needy," Justin insisted, smiling, and he sort of was: the terry of the towel brushing against his cock was teasing and arousing when he was this close to Joey. "But I kinda meant ... was that your only *fantasy*."

"Ohhhh," said Joey. "Um ... no ... that's just the one that was kinda playing out." He reached out for Justin again and tugged lightly at the towel. "how needy ARE you," he teased.

Justin grinned up at him as seductively as he knew how, and tugged on the other end of the towel so it came off in Joey's hand. His cock was long and full, but not erect, hanging between his legs. "Really getting there," he said, keeping his own hands at his sides. "Will that make a difference?"

Joey licked his lips, wanting to suck him but remembering what had happened last time. "What do you want, Justin?" he said, wanting Justin to ask for what he needed, not knowing what HE wanted, right now.

"I want to be a fantasy, for you," Justin said honestly, looking very young at that moment. "I want to know that I can be ... what YOU dream about, since I know you're what I *obsess* about." He stepped closer, searching Joey's face, touching it hesitantly.

"Oh, bunny," said Joey, reaching out for him again. "You SO are." His every erotic thought now was about Justin, about what Justin did to him and the ways he made him feel. "I hope you know that."

"I need BE that, though," Justin said softly, leaning in to whisper in Joey's ear. "Can't you let me prove to us both that I am? Isn't there anything I can do? I'll do it, I will." He just wanted to be EVEN with Joey; that mattered a lot to him when he already felt out of his depth sometimes.

"Justin, come here," said Joey, tugging on him, trying to get him closer. Trying not to feel like things were getting awkward again all of a sudden. "Don't TRY so hard, bunny. Just let this happen, okay?"

"Okay," Justin replied softly, knowing that maybe he WAS pushing things, but just wanting to feel like what had happened earlier was COMPLETELY behind them. And a lot of it WAS that he knew he'd been dreaming of Joey for months, and he WANTED Joey to think about him, that way. He stepped into Joey's arms and kissed the ear he'd been whispering into.

Joey wrapped his arms around Justin's back and squeezed him tightly. "That's better," he said, his lips against Justin's ear. "Love you. Still want you. Okay?"

"Okay," Justin echoed, hoping Joey wasn't just trying to convince himself. "Love you back, bear." He ran his hands down the front of Joey's stomach when he pulled back, and gave him another sexy smile. "This IS tame, for the den of sin, though," he teased, hoping Joey would realize he was just doing HIS part to reassure both of them that things weren't awkward.

Joey grinned and nodded. "Are we going to do something about that?" he said, letting a hand trail down to cup Justin's ass

"Sure," Justin smiled, shivering at the feel of Joey's warm palm on his still-damp skin. "I'm ready," he reminded him, nodding down at his still-growing erection. "How about YOU?"

"Ready for WHAT?" he asked, kissing his neck wetly and squeezing his cheek a little. "Don't be afraid to be graphic, either," he added.

"Mmm," Justin mumbled, loving the *strength* that Joey had in every bit of his body. "You know," he said slowly, "you mentioned that it really turned you on when you couldn't see what I was doing to myself ... what do you think it might do, if you can't see what I'm doing to YOU?"

Joey shivered a little in anticipation. "I ... " He licked his lips. "I think I have a brand new fantasy," he said, his lips curling into another smile. And he realized then that he still trusted Justin enough to do that, that maybe the relationship WAS in pretty good shape.

Justin smiled and took both of Joey's hands in his own, walking them backwards to the bed. *He* didn't really understand the appeal of doing this -- he liked watching, too much -- but it excited him to see JOEY so excited by the prospect. "C'mere," he said softly. "Lay down. I gotta ... get something."

"Get something?" asked Joey, sitting down on the edge of the bed instead of laying down like he was told. "Get what, bunny? What are you getting"?"

Justin laughed and pushed against Joey's chest gently. "Something to make sure you can't see," he winked. "You don't expect me to trust you to keep your eyes closed, do you ...?"

Joey shivered again, and grinned. "Moi?" he said dramatically, then stretched himself out on the bed. "Maybe not."

"Maybe not," Justin echoed, watching Joey lay out his long frame on the bed, shivering himself. He walked over to his dresser, biting his lip as he tried to come up with *something* to use as a blindfold. But his eyes kept drifting back to Joey, watching him.

Joey squimed on the bed a little, hard inside his shorts, feeling like Justin was taking forever to come back. "You aren't gonna tie me up, are you?" he asked.

"Oh! No," Justin reassured him, looking almost horrified at the prospect. "That's ... too much at once. God. Would you *want* to not be able to touch me OR see me, at the same time? I'd go crazy!" He took a deep breath. "Sorry. No. Just ... trying to find something to use." Out of the corner of his eye he saw a bandanna that he had used for Halloween, and wondered if that would work.

"No," agreed Joey quietly. "Not ... YET, anyway," he added, winking and not really meaning it. "You could seriously blow my mind that way."

Justin pouted teasingly as he moved back to the bed, wrapping and unwrapping the thin material around his hands. "I wish that didn't mean that I *don't*, normally," he told him, but smiled to let Joey know he knew he didn't mean it like that.

Joey stuck out his tongue at him, his eyes widening a little as he saw the bandanna. Justin was really going to do this for him.

"Hi," Justin said softly, sitting down at the edge of the bed, squirming to find a position to accomodate his erection. "You need to sit up again," he told him, "if this is what you want." He reached out to touch Joey's face, to get a couple last good looks into his eyes.

Joey blinked at him as he sat up. "You're in control here," he said, giving him a smile, a big one. "I ... I trust you, Justin. I really want to do this."

Justin kept his eyes open as he leaned over to kiss Joey, sucking gently on his tongue as he brought his hands up between them. "I'm not tying it tight," he murmurs, making sure Joey's looking him in the eye. "So you can pull it off, if you need."

"I won't need," Joey assured him. "It's not like you're tying my hands up on anything. Wow ... this'll be SO cool." He leaned in to kiss him again. "Thank you, bunny."

Pulling back reluctantly, Justin gave Joey what he hoped was a brave smile before folding up the bandanna and placing it gently across his eyes, then tying it in a knot quickly. "There," he breathed, kissing him before he moved totally away. "Can you see anything?"

"I can see your bandanna," said Joey playfully. "But that's it." He was really, really hard already, and dying for Justin to do something about that.

Justin laughed, a little impressed that Joey seemed so unfazed. "Okay, NOW lay down," he encouraged him, pushing on his chest again and making sure the pillow was plumped well enough behind his head. He hadn't really gotten far enough to figure what he was going to DO with Joey like this, but he knew he'd have to ease into it.

Joey groped the bed as he lays down again, in the same spot as before. "I'm dressed," he pointed out, gesturing at his shorts as though Justin, too, couldn't see them.

"Yes," Justin said patiently. "I'll do something about that in a minute." He ran his hands down Joey's chest, then lifted them and slid them up the length of Joey's thighs, pushing them gently apart as he went, shifting to kneel between them. He ducked his head and just rested his cheek against Joey's groin, smiling at the heat of his erection, enjoying the way it twitched beneath him.

Joey moaned, feeling where Justin was but unable to see him. He licked his lips and tried to hold still for him.

"You're so hot, bear," Justin murmured, reaching up with one hand to rest his fingers against Joey's lips, using the other to unbutton his shorts and tug them halfway down his hips ... just far enough for his cock to spring free.

"Ahhh," said Joey, grinning. "Thank you. That's a start." He felt exposed, but in the good way, and licked playfully at Justin's fingers.

Justin licked playfully at Joey's tip, in return, and sighed himself when he felt Joey's tongue on his fingers. "As you pointed out, you're not tied up," he reminded him. "You can HELP me get these off, you know."

"But where's the fun in that?" teased Joey, nipping at the tip of his finger and moaning again as Justin's lips and tongue touched his straining cock.

"That isn't *supposed* to be the fun part," Justin grunted, sighing as he moved his hand to the other leg of Joey's shorts, not willing to move his fingers from Joey's mouth to take care of the undressing properly. He struggled to get them off, with his own body in the way, and practically collapsed on top of Joey's body when he finally managed.

Joey laughed happily. "See?" he said. "Fun stuff. Now I get a naked Justin on top of me." He nipped on his finger again and traced a line up Justin's spine with his other hand.

Justin shivered and pulled off him reluctantly, but not far enough away that Joey had to move his hand. "You're very hot," Justin said again, almost reverently, finally knowing what he wanted to do. "Will it make you happy to know that you're gonna have a naked Justin on top of you until that blindfold comes off?"

Joey grinned wider. "You have to ask?" he said, still troking him. "Tell me what you're going to do ... "

"Ride you," Justin said bluntly, but softly. "Suck on you until you're all slicked up, and then sit on your dick and just *ride* you, Joey." THIS was why he could enjoy this, Justin realized. Knowing Joey couldn't see him, he wasn't embarassed to say things like that. He wasn't even blushing.

"Oh God," said Joey, squirming in arousal again. "You're so fucking hot when you talk to me like that. I want you to ride me, Justin. I want to feel that so bad. Will you talk to me while you do?"

"If you'd like," Justin said softly, slipping back down to lap at Joey's erection again. "If I can manage anything beyond moaning your name, when I get you that deep in me."

Joey just moaned that time, realizing for the first time just HOW at Justin's mercy he was. Even though he wasn't tied up, he might as well have been; he couldn't predict what Justin would do or where he would be from moment to moment.

Justin sucked on him gently before pulling away again, to grab a condom and the lotion out of the drawer. It was fun, and ... hot ... to see Joey's hips try to chase his mouth when he backed away. "You want this?"

Joey fell silent and tried to listen. "You stopped," he whispered. "Want you back, bunny ... "

Justin leaned over til his lips were right at Joey's ear. "I'm not stopping," he assured him in as deep a voice as he could manage. "I was being good and getting a condom because I NEED to be on your dick right now. Bear," he added, smiling gently.

"Oh, God," said Joey again. If possible, he just got harder. "Are you ready for me, Justin?" he asked. "Did you do anything to yourself to get ready for my dick?"

"I'm really turned on," Justin assured him. "And still stretched from before, and I just ... " he ripped open the package. "Just really want to feel how big you are. I'll be careful."

Joey imagined how tight Justin was going to be around his cock and moaned again. "Hurry," he whispered. "I need you. I'm so hot for you. Keep ... keep talking to me ... "

"You're just huge, right now," Justin told him, brushing his fingers lightly along the head of Joey's cock before unrolling the condom down his shaft. "You can't see it, but you can feel it, can't you?" He poured some lotion into his hands and spread it thickly over the rubber. "That's for me?"

"I feel it," whispered Joey needily, his cock twitching as Justin touched it. "It's ALL for you, Justin. Always."

"Remember, you can touch me," Justin said, a little nervous about doing this as he threw one of his legs across Joey's hip. He reached a little blindly himself between them to grab the base of Joey's cock, and leaned forward a bit to spread himself out. "Please."

Joey reached out blindly for Justin, managing to snag one upper arm and stroke it. "This'll be easier in a minute, I bet," he said, feeling Justin grasp his cock and hold it in position. He bit his lip and let out a sound almost like a whimper.

Justin slowly smoothed the rest of the lotion between his own legs, then tried to force himself to relax as he moved down enough to feel the hot head of Joey's erection pressing against his opening. "God, Joey," he moaned, knowing a little what he must feel like, not being able to see him slip inside either. He moaned a little as he pushed down harder, feeling the tip slip past the ring of muscle, still feeling raw and not really believing he was doing this.

Joey tried desperately to grip something as he began, slowly, to enter Justin's body. He couldn't see him, though he knew where he was now, and one arm flailed helplessly before clenching the blankets. "Oh, God, Justin," he moaned, hardly believing Justin was doing this for him.

"You're *so* big," Justin choked out as he forced himself to keep pushing down. He'd only done this a couple times with Chris, and he just ... hadn't really prepared for the angle and what it would feel like. He let go of the base of Joey's erection and reached up to grasp Joey's hand, to ground him a little, hoping it would help him too. "Are you picturing me?" he asked softly, still whimpering. "Or something else?"

"You," said Joey, trying not to thrust inside as Justin slowly lowered himself onto him. He grasped Justin's hand back gratefully when it was offered, clinging to it. "This is SO intense, bunny ... this is amazing ... " His voice was awed and he wasn't even trying to see anymore, imagining what Justin looked like right now, imagined the expression that went along with those soft noises he was making.

When Joey was finally most of the way inside, Justin exhaled shakily and leaned forward enough to kiss Joey softly on the mouth. Then he took Joey's hands and placed them gently on his own waist, implicitly encouraging Joey to help him move. "Oh," he grunted as Joey slipped in deeper when he sat back up, the sharp jabbing sensation a little painful but also really ... hot. "Can I ... move, now?"

"Oh yeah," moaned Joey, holding Justin's hips and moving his own carefully. He couldn't see Justin's face so was apprehensive about how much he should do. "You have to keep talking to me, okay? You have to keep telling me where you're at and what's going on ... it's so hot when you talk to me like that, Justin, it's SO hot." He moved his hips again and felt himself slip just a tiny bit deeper inside.

Justin actually felt *light* in this position, especially when he could feel himself being pushed off the bed just from the gentle force of Joey's hips. He helped him out a little, pushing up from his knees to slide up Joey's length, then crying out a little as he thrust himself back down against his groin. "There," he bit out when he could. "I'm fucking myself on you, Joey, and I love it, and ... " He did it again. "Oh! it's good, so good ... "

"Can I move, into you?" asked Joey, his hips twitching in anticipation. "I bet you look really hot right now. I bet your hair is a mess and your cheeks and chest are flushed and your lips are wet. That's what you always look like when you're naked and turned on, bunny, and it makes me SO hot for you. I can see it, in my head, the way you must look." He fell silent, and listened to Justin's soft moans and quick breaths. "SO good."

"Oh," Justin whimpered, holding his hands over Joey's tightly, not letting himself touch Joey's chest or his own cock or anything. He swivled his hips slowly, grinding into Joey, before slipping up a little. "Please," he sighed, knowing he probably *was* flushed, and a lot of it was pleasure at hearing Joey describe him like that. "Please, you can do anything you want to me, I told you. This was what I wanted to do, for *your* fantasy."

"Won't hurt you," murmured Joey, his hands still firmly on Justin's hips. He stroked up Justin's sides and then down his thighs, getting a better sense of just exactly where he was, then gripped his hips again and slowly drove up inside him, pulling Justin down at the same time. He bent his knees up, shifting his body just enough so that his cock was now tilted slightly forward. He hoped that would have the effect on Justin he thought it might, but it was impossible to tell from Justin's little gasp. "Keep talking, bunny," he said softly, drawing himself out a little again. "Keep talking."

Justin inhaled sharply when he felt the tip of Joey's cock press *right* against his prostate, but it was over much too quickly. "Oh ... Joey," he cried, leaning back and gripping Joey's knee with one hand. "Please ... do that again, longer. And harder, okay?? God." He moaned insistently. "Please, you should have seen what that did -- I'm just --- my dick is just DRIPPING, right now ... "

Joey pressed his feet into the bed to thrust up inside him again, a little harder and a little faster. One hand trailed off Justin's hip to grope his erection, grabbing it in his fist after a moment and running his thumb lightly over the slick head.. "Yeah, you are," he murmured, drawing out and thrusting back in again, hoping Justin would move soon, too. Knowing that once they were moving together it wasn't going to be long before they came. "You're dripping for me and I'm so hot and hard inside you and oh, Justin, you're SO tight ... "

"No, you're just so BIG," Justin protested, crying out again when Joey jerked gently on his cock. "I can't believe how, just ... " -- he ground down onto him, moaning even louder when the felt the thick base of Joey's erection pushing at his opening -- "so DEEP, Joey." He leaned back with his other hand, his hipbones jutting out along with his own erection, and started moving his hips in small circles as Joey kept driving into him. More than any other position, they could *both* contribute to the motion of their bodies, and it was incredible.

Joey quickly found a rhythm with him, pushing up and driving against Justin's prostate, then Justin pushing back down on him, rolling his hips, taking him further inside than he'd ever been. He loved this feeling, and stroked Justin's cock just a couple times before placing his hand on Justin's hip again and just fucking him. And, in a way, being fucked by him. "So hot, Justin, you're so hot," he mumbled, imagining a look of awed ecstasy on Justin's face that would match his own.

"Oh, God, Joey, only you could make me feel this way," Justin assured him, crying out every time Joey's hips dug into his thighs and ass. He moaned when Joey let go of him, but in a way couldn't bring himself to care, too caught up in all the other sensations he was feeling. He wondered if Joey would want him to tell him when he was going to come -- soon, now -- or if he'd enjoy just having Justin surprise him by spurting all over his stomach. "It's *always* hot."

"I think," said Joey, driving deeply inside him, "that you could make me come just by saying my name." Justin KNEW it was him here with him, he was sure of that now, as sure as he was that it was JUSTIN with HIM. Not that he hadn't known, before, but this moment finally relieved the last of his lingering fears. "I think," he added, a moment later, his fingers digging into Justin's flesh, "that very soon, I'm going to."

Justin thought he'd scream when he finally came, but instead he just breathed out Joey's name softly before he froze -- his cock spasming, milky fluid spilling onto the tan skin of Joey's belly, watching the surprise on Joey's face when he felt Justin's ass tightening. "Oh. Oh, Joey." He'd never felt more possessed then he did at that moment -- Joey's heat inside of him, large hands gripping him and keeping him close -- he couldn't force back the tears of relief, didn't really want to, but was glad that Joey couldn't see them anyway.

Joey wouldn't let Justin move off him when he came, as he thought he would, right as Justin's body tensed and he whispered Joey's name. He held himself deep inside Justin's body, so hot and tight and wringing his orgasm out of him. "Oh, Justin," he breathed, his lips falling open and his tongue darting out to wet them. "Oh." He couldn't think of a single other word to say, right then, while his body was still tingling, his breath coming in gasps.

Justin thought the whole moment was just beautiful, in the quiet of early afternoon, the breathy way their orgasms chased after each other, the satisifed way Joey's face looked. He wondered -- hoped, really -- that had done what Joey wanted it to do, that it helped him reconnect with Justin in a way they really needed to. And he wished that the uncalculated way that it had all happened felt as good for him as it had for Justin. "Oh, bear, I love you," he hiccuped, not able to keep that emotion inside, and not trying to hide the tears in his voice.

Joey let go of Justin's hips and held his arms out, wanting to feel close to him. "I'd like to see you now, bunny," he said softly, letting Justin be the one to remove the blindfold. "That was so wonderful and amazing and ... just everything." He let his hips fall to the bed, still buried snugly inside Justin's body. It felt perfect.

Justin pushed off of Joey's knees and leaned forward, brushing his fingertips lovingly over Joey's face before slipping a hand behind his neck. He lifted Joey's head and pulled the bandanna off gently, just as a tear dripped off of his nose onto Joey's chest. "Hi," he said weakly, smiling as Joey blinked up at him. "I like you better when I can see your beautiful eyes, Joey."

Joey couldn't help but smile, seeing Justin above him. "Oh," he breathed, "You're so beautiful, Justin." He reached out to brush a tear off of Justin's cheek -- he knew where they were coming from; he almost thought he was going to cry himself. "I love you so much. Thank you." He blinked a few more times, becoming accustomed to the light, and then just stared at Justin, at the body he knew would be flushed, the eyes he knew would be bright.

"We're so spoiled," Justin whispered, capturing Joey's wrist in his hand and kissing at his fingers, damp from his own tears. "I've never been with someone that I thought was even more perfect, once I had them. But you are, Joey. I don't even worry any more than you trust me and love me and even if sometimes I think I don't deserve it? I think I'd just be lost without it." He blinked a little himself. "Can you just ... not let me go?"

"I don't want to let you go," said Joey honestly, a warm wave washing through him as Justin kissed at his fingers. "You can't ever go. I won't let you. My life isn't the same without you in it anymore." He realized just how sappy he was getting, how strange those words probably sounded coming out of his mouth, and stopped to just smile at him. "I don't care that you're younger than me or anything," he said, "'cause you're right for me, Justin. We're right, together, okay? You don't ever have to worry about me going anywhere because we're right."

"I'm getting that tattoo," Justin said softly, his eyes still brimming. "Today. Okay? Okay, Joey? I want to get it today because I want to always remember how you forgave me for fucking up, and how I finally convinced you that I love you more completely than I ever loved Chris, and how we really ... made love. It felt different, today." He looked at Joey hopefully. They *were* right together, he just knew it, in a way he hadn't ever been sure of much.

"Yeah," said Joey, seeing his determination. And seeing the unconditional love just shining out of Justin's face. "Yeah, okay, bunny," he said softly. "We'll do it today." He smiled at him broadly and gave him a swift, heartfelt kiss. "How about me, too? How do you think I would look with a bear on my hip?" he suggested, winking.

"Oh," Justin smiled, blinking rapidly. "Oh ... Joey, that's ... would you really? You'd look ... wow, just great, but ... " He blushed and ducked his head. "You don't have to." Then he looked back up hopefully. "But it could be a really cool and ferocious bear?" His heart was just bursting.

"Well, of course," chuckled Joey happily. "I AM a really cool and ferocious bear, after all. And you are an adorable and energetic bunny." He lifted Justin's chin and kissed his lips again, tenderly. "I know I don't have to, Justin. I want to. I was thinking about it, even before you said. I thought it was maybe something we could share .. you know, forever."

"For-forever?" Justin stammered. It wasn't that he didn't *realize* that's what a tattoo meant, it was just ... he'd never had anyone say something like that to him, just as he doubted Joey had ever said it to anyone himself. "You okay with that, with me?" he asked softly, still feeling Joey inside him, feeling it everywhere. "I am, with you."

"I wouldn't do it, if I wasn't," said Joey honestly, holding Justin's face in his hands now. "I've never had anything in my life that felt so right to me. I know that we're gonna have a lot of people talking shit about us, for all sorts of reasons, but I don't care. I want to be with you, Justin. And I don't ever, ever want to lose you."

"You won't," Justin sighed. "I'm not so young that I can say I don't know what I'm saying, either. God, Joey," he said, covering his hands with his own. "I promise you won't. I LOVE you."

Joey planted a firm, confident kiss on his lips. "It may have taken me a while to catch onto this whole thing," he said with a fond grin, "but I think I've got the hang of it now. I love you too, Justin."

"Yes, you're VERY good at that, now," Justin smiled, and then wiggled his hips a little before laughing out loud. "It's the den of sin; you can't help it, bear." He smiled and sighed, thinking of *their* tattoos, and what they were going to symbolize, and couldn't ever remember being so content.

END.