Justin/Joey - drag 2

Sure enough, Justin came around the corner, stepping hesitantly and glancing at Joey. The gown was long and slim and a deep indigo, and the slit did go to Justin's hip on the side, and Joey had a moment to wonder just exactly what was keeping it draping just so, over the instep of high stiletto heels.

Joey couldn't help smiling at him as he looked him up and down. Smiling at how lovely Justin was and smiling at what an astonishing turn his life had taken in the last few days. He'd never in a million years expected *this*. "You look gorgeous," he said. Justin didn't need to have his make-up done for Joey to know *that*.

Justin smiled at that, and it brightened his whole face. "Yeah?" He twirled, and the dress flared just a little, revealing a heart-stopping length of thigh. "It's good?" He strutted a little on his way to Joey's side, before sliding his arms around Joey's neck and settling lightly into his lap. He batted his eyelashes campily, still smiling. "You think the boys will like me like this? Will I be a hit tonight?"

"You'll be a huge hit," Joey assured him, giving him a kiss just on the corner of his mouth. "I already can't keep my eyes off you. You're a stunner, baby."

Justin tossed his head back, and his hair fell over Joey's arm. "You're so nice to me," he said happily, lounging back against Joey. "Kiss me more."

"Don't kiss him more," Chris intervened, laughing. "This young lady needs to get her face on. Justin, you hussy, get up. You know once Howie gets here you won't have any mirror space."

"Just one more," said Joey, kissing him square on the lips this time. "Okay. *Now* you can go put your face on. And you promised I get to watch, right?"

"Yes, you can watch." Justin leaned in closer, though, making no move to get off his lap, and curling his fingers into Joey's hair. "Once I get it on you can't touch my face, though. So Chris can just hush and go away, because I want to be like this for just a little while, in my nice dress." He breathed over Joey's lips, then licked gently at the lower one, drawing it into his mouth as his eyes closed blissfully.

"Chris can go find his own boy in a dress to kiss," murmured Joey before kissing him again, and ignoring everything else around them. Justin demanded his attention, and he was only too happy to give it.

"Mmmmm." Justin was making small happy sounds, and squirmed even closer to Joey, curling in and dragging that bare leg up Joey's calf. He sucked on Joey's lip with concentration, eyes still tightly shut, moving like a dancer. "Oh, you're, Joey, ok," he finally whispered, before yelping a little and stiffening. "Ow."

Chris cracked up, slapping his knee and covering his mouth. "Oh, J, sweetie. Talk to Lance about that. We don't play after he's put on his things."

Joey just kept smiling, though, not even teasing. "You're beautiful," he whispered, and resting his hand on the small of Justin's back as he gingerly stood up. "I'll be sure to take advantage of that ... *after* the show. Promise."

Justin shot him a delighted look through the blush, and stuck his tongue out at Chris as he walked by, on his way to the lighted makeup mirror. He settled carefully into the seat, sighing, and uncapped a tube.

"I take it back," Chris said in a loud whisper to Joey, grinning. "Did I say he was shy? I don't know what you've done to my bashful boy, but it's sure fun."

"It's the dress," said Joey, watching Justin from a distance for the moment. "He's not shy in the dress. But wow he's beautiful. Um ... can I do anything to help, Justin?" he asked, a little louder so that Justin could hear.

"Not...at...the...moment," Justin said carefully, leaning close to the mirror and patting on foundation, down across his collarbones. "But you can come here and sit with me and tell me funny stories that I can't laugh at while everything sets."

"He's usually shy until he gets his face on," Chris shrugged, smiling at Joey. "And he is. Absolutely gorgeous. If I didn't have my own beautiful darling, I'd be jealous. Speaking of whom, I'm off to track him down." He patted Joey on the shoulder, and trotted off towards the door.

"Thanks, Chris," said Joey, but he was already standing up and heading for Justin's side. "Do you usually do your make-up yourself, or does someone help you with it?"

"I do it myself, usually," Justin watched him in the mirror, smiling a little. His face was already pale and even-toned. "Sometimes Howie helps if he's not late, he's really good with eyes. He does the *best* eyes. Lance always makes him do his. Do you wanna help me?"

"Yes," said Joey, just a little bit nervously. He had no idea what "help" would entail, but he wanted to try anyway. "What can I do?"

"Hm." Justin's eyes were still on him, in the mirror, contemplating him seriously. "Well, you can't do more than one part at a time, or things get all muddled. But can you get the back of my neck and my shoulders for me?" He held up a little sponge covered in makeup. "I have to all match, or it wrecks it," he explained. "Little dabs."

"LIttle dabs," said Joey, taking the sponge tentatively. All the girls he'd dated over the years, and he'd never done this before. Not once. "Um. Like this?" And he started slowly and carefully applying the make-up.

"Yeah," Justin smiled at him, tipping his chin forward and pulling his hair to the top of his head in two handfuls. There was a little bump at the bottom of his neck, the last vertebra, and seeing it made Joey shiver. "Little dabs, but then rub it in, so it's even, you know? That's perfect."

"O-okay," said Joey, still going very slowly. "I think I've got it now. This isn't too bad. Of course, this is the easy part, right?" He looked up and caught Justin's eyes in the mirror and smiled at him.

"Not so easy if you're trying to do it to your own back," Justin pointed out, smiling back at him. "This is a big help, Joey, thanks. You can kind of just glop it on, if you want, it evens out pretty good when you blend it. Um. This isn't wierd for you, is it?"

"It's different," admitted Joey, still going slowly and carefully despite Justin's words. "Weird? I don't know. A little, maybe, but not a bad kind of weird. It's just a pretty new thing for me is all."

"You're doing a lot of new things lately, huh?" Justin asked softly. "It must be strange for you. But you're so calm about everything, I can't believe it. And you're good at *everything*." He dropped his hair as Joey moved to a freckled shoulder, and picked up a little compact, looking at himself in the mirror. "Grey and blue shadow, I think, to make my eyes look pretty."

"I don't think you can go wrong with those eyes," said Joey, earning an "awwwww" from Howie who had crept up behind them as they put on the foundation.

"Isn't this just the cutest thing? I hardly even want to interrupt. And yet, here I am."

"Hi Howie," Justin sighed, smiling at him a little in the mirror. "This is Joey. Be sweet to him, he's with me." Joey couldn't miss the pride in his voice. "Howie can be a bitch, but he does the best eyes ever." He turned his head back and forth, watching himself critically. "Do you think I need more liner? More blue? I need more *something*."

"Oh honey, did you try to do it yourself again?" Howie tsked at him. "Lemme just get your boyfriend out of the way here and I can take care of that. It's not the seventies anymore, you know. No one needs that much baby blue." He patted Joey's butt to get him out of the chair he'd claimed and took it over the moment Joey moved.

"I think I'm just gonna stand here and watch," Joey murmured, meeting Justin's eyes in the mirror again and smiling encouragingly.

Justin bit his lip, but his smile was still dancing in his eyes as he looked at Joey. "You watch where you put those hands, D, or I'll have to...you just better hope I don't get my hands on those extensions you love so much." He tipped his head back. "That's mine, don't go touching it. And you can *never* have too much blue. My dress is blue, right? I'm just trying to match."

"Don't match, complement," Howie said, then rolled his eyes. "Nevermind, just let me do it. You need something a little darker. A little sexier." He tugged on Justin's chin so that he was facing him and then started to work on his eyes, taking off much of Justin's precious blue and replacing it. Joey didn't have the first clue what they were talking about so he watched and learned. Make-up tips were never something that had much to do with his life, before this.

"Ow," Justin whined, as Howie pulled his eyelid taut to brush a dark slate grey down to his lash line. "He really is good at this," he said to Joey, though, once Howie had moved on to the other eye. "I'm not so great, even though Lance and Howie keep trying to teach me. I like sparkles and stuff, and they say it's tacky. I always thought drag queens were *supposed* to be tacky." He blinked a little as Howie released him, and turned to face Joey uncertainly. "Is it good?"

"You look beautiful," said Joey, reaching partway toward Justin's face but not touching it for fear of messing it up. He finally settled on brushing his thumb over Justin's lower lip, which hadn't been painted yet. "You can wear the sparkles in your hair, if they won't let you put them on you face."

"Oh no he can't," said Howie, turning Justin's face back more gently this time. "Well, maybe a little, today, but only because it goes so well with his dress and that little sparkle you put in his eyes."

"Yeah?" Justin beamed up at Howie. "Can I? That would be really cool." He glanced sideways at Joey, a little blush evident even through his makeup. "He took me on a real date, Howie. That's why I'm sparkling a little, I think. I had a really good time." He tipped his face up willingly, waiting for the next layer of makeup. "Make me really pretty," he urged. "Joey's gonna stay and watch the show."

"Sure," said Howie, giving Joey a wry, sidelong glance. Joey flushed a little under the look. "We'll make you really pretty just for Joey. I'm glad you had a good time, sweetheart. Where did you guys go?"

"We went to a nice restaurant," Justin said eagerly, as Howie uncapped more tubes. "Where you had to have a *reservation*. And we talked, and stuff. It was great." He held his hands up, bare of nailpolish, for once. "I'm wearing the long blue gloves with this. Do I need to do my nails? I don't want to."

"You do if you're planning to slide the gloves off and tease someone with them," said Howie matter-of-factly. This time, when he slid Joey a look, he smiled at him. "It sounds like you had a really great night. Good for you. Now hold still a minute, honey."

Justin sighed disappointedly, but held very still as Howie traced his eyes with liner, and then brushed mascara on. Blush accented his cheekbones. He opened his mouth a little when Howie traced his lips, then filled them in with a lush, shiny pink shade that made him look debauched, and then his whole face was sprinkled with powder. Gel scrunched into his hair, a light sprinkle of glitter, and he blinked his eyes open when Howie stepped back. "Can I stand up now?" he asked, uncertainly.

"You're done, unless you need to do your nails after all," said Howie, standing up himself. "And that you can do yourself. I need to get dressed and put my own face on." He graciously offered Joey his seat back but he didn't take it, instead reaching for Justin's face again but avoiding touching it entirely this time.

Justin blinked up at him, eyes huge and shadowed, smiling a little, a smile that got wider and wickeder by the moment. "Thanks, Howie," he said sincerely, before reaching for Joey's legs, just above the knee. He flattened his palms there, and dragged them up Joey's legs slowly as he stood. In the heels, he was at least three inches taller, and his hands rested easily on Joey's waist. "Hi there," he whispered throatily.

"You're so beautiful," said Joey again, because Justin towering over him like that, looking so lush and gorgeous and predatory, rendered him incapable of thinking of *any*thing else to say to him.

"Yeah?" Justin's teeth were very white and straight and sharp behind his glossy lips, and he licked them a little, watching Joey with knowing eyes that weren't at all shy, any more. He took a little step forward, pressing against Joey's body lightly, from knees to chest. "So are you. You're making me hot, Joey, just standing there, did you know? I'm thinking all kinds of...dirty things."

"Maybe those dirty things should wait until after the show," said Joey, resisting the urge to take a step back from him. It was still just Justin. "I'm sure we don't want a repeat of that earlier incident."

"Oh, I don't know," Justin mused, trailing one hand up Joey's chest, watching it avidly as it scraped over a nipple and the fingers traced Joey's collarbone. "No pain, no gain. And I might be all tied up, but you...I could make you feel good." He met Joey's eyes again, looking like Justin again for just a moment. "If you want," he added softly.

Joey blinked a couple times in suprise, his mouth moving but no sound coming out. "You'd ruin your make-up," he said finally, licking his lips. "And you probably have to go on soon, I hear noises out there. And Howie and Lance and Chris, they'll be back soon."

"You're right," Justin said reluctantly, though his other hand was creeping towards Joey's groin. "It would be silly, and they'd never let me hear the end of it. So maybe just a little preview, to get you through the show..." He was almost purring, and it was campy, but still ridiculously hot, the way his lashes lowered and brushed his cheeks as he cupped Joey intimately. "Oh." His mouth was a shimmering pink circle, and he turned his wrist once, twice, and then let go.

Joey gasped and almost doubled over when Justin moved his hands away again. "Can't ... can't wait for the main attraction," he mumbled, almost afraid to meet Justin's eyes.

"Move *away* from the mirror," said Howie out of the blue. "You've had your turn, it's time for the big girls to play now. Lalo's on her way out, and do you really want to get in her way?"

"Oh, she can *try*," Justin said, with a flick of his hair, turning on one heel and taking Joey's hand without a sign of embarrassment, though Howie was smirking knowingly. "She knows better than to get pushy this close to showtime. And admit it, darling, you just want the good lighting for yourself." He did step away from the mirror, though, tugging Joey with him. His eyes were still hot and wide, when Joey finally looked. "You and Lalo play nicely, now," he cooed, never looking away from Joey. "We don't want a repeat of last week, do we? *SO* unladylike, and really quite unattractive."

"Meow," said Howie, giving a little nail-scratch in Justin's -- no, Justine's now -- direction. "Try telling *her* that." He took over the whole mirror space with his own things, not leaving room for anyone else, Lalo or no.

At this point, Joey just felt like he was along for the ride, and figured he'd probably be a lot more comfortable once Chris showed up again.

"Honey, *NO*," Lalo was standing in the door, dressed in green again, narrow-eyed with hands on curvy hips and tapping an elegantly-shod foot. Chris was peering over her shoulder, and rolled his eyes expressively at Joey, grinning a little. "Get your *nasty* things off that counter, sweet cheeks, or I'll move them for you. You are not the only queen in this room, you know."

Justine giggled lightly and tugged Joey a little further away. "Out of the line of fire," she whispered, eyes dancing and all the heat banked, for the moment. "This is the show *before* the show."

"The private show," murmured Joey, only too happy to back away with him.

"You snooze you lose, honey," said Howie, well on his way to becoming someone else as well, sprawling over the length of the mirror as he put on his foundation. "You want to fool around with loverboy in the back before the show, you pay the price."

Justine slipped around behind Joey, a very 'Justin' mannerism, hanging his chin on Joey's shoulder and tickling his ear with his sparkling hair. "No hair-pulling," he warned softly, and Chris grabbed Lalo around the waist as she was about to storm in.

"You shouldn't be bitter just because some of us are young and pretty enough to get a man," Lalo spat. "You really can't blame *me* that you're running to wrinkles and fat, darling. They have treatments for that now." She twisted free of Chris's hold, and stalked over to the mirror, shoving Howie's legs out of the way. "Now give me my half."

"I'm afraid my fat ass is taking up too much room, darling," sneered Howie, kicking back. If he'd had his heels on he might've done some damage. "Don't worry, I'll be done soon. We all know how much extra time you need to get yourself all the way up to presentable." He sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes before beginning to line them.

"La..." Chris's tone was warning, but he was grinning as he stepped to Joey's side, shaking his head. "Hey, Joe. Aren't you glad you're here?" His voice was heavy with affectionate irony. "Hi beautiful. You are *glowing* tonight."

"Hi Chris," Justine said sweetly. "Thank you. It's Joey's fault."

Lalo bumped Howie's shoulder with an ample hip, joggling the liner, and gasped dramatically with delicate fingers to her lips when Howie yelped. "Oh, I'm *so* sorry, precious, did I do *that?* It's such a shame you're taking up so much room, it really makes accidents unavoidable." He offered a tissue to Howie, smiling brightly. "Tissue?"

Howie plucked it out of her fingers. "That's a pretty dress you're wearing," he said. "It would be a shame if there were any more 'accidents' and something happened to it, wouldn't it." He gave her a tight smile and turned back at the mirror to dab at his eye.

"Are they always like this?" asked Joey tentatively, watching the scene in a strange mix of horror and amusement and astonishment.

"I think La has PMS," Chris said, very quietly, winking at Joey. "They're always a little high-maintenance, but they actually like each other a lot. They even used to fuck, I think, before I came along. Just casually, of course."

"Touch the dress and you *will* lose hair, Dorough," La's voice suddenly deepened to a warning bass rumble that had Justine giggling behind Joey. "This is Givenchy, and it's worth more than you on your *best* night." She turned away, though, and settled rather peacefully to applying makeup, using a corner of the mirror. "Do my eyes?" she asked absently, tilting her head up to check the foundation line.

"Sure, hon," said Howie as he smudged his eyeliner artfully and crossed his legs more comfortable than Joey would expect given the tight red dress he had on. "What look are you going for?"

It took Joey a minute just to take it all in. "And you're okay with that?" he asked Chris after a moment. "That they used to be together?"

"Well, they were just fucking," Chris said reasonably. "They weren't *together* or anything. And La's with me, now, the whole world knows that. Right, baby?"

"Absolutely, sugar." Lalo blew him a kiss, and turned back to Howie. "I'm thinking Liza, tonight. Something really dramatic, lashes to *here*, you know? The baby diva's looking so good tonight, we have to make an extra effort." She pouted at Justine in the mirror, then winked.

"I told you you were beautiful," murmured Joey, squeezing Justine's hand and earning himself a knowing look from Chris. "Absolutely drop dead stunning."

"No need to brag, honey," said Howie, and it took Joey a second to realize that he was talking to *him*. "Just let me finish my eyes, Lalo, and I'll give you lashes like you've never seen before. Should I go with the coral or the ruby for my lips, do you think?"

"Ruby," La opined, touching a thoughtful finger to her own lips. "With that dress, definitely ruby, and it brings out your tan so nicely." She turned back to the mirror and swept blush up her cheeks carefully. "Really, this is *much* more fun with an audience," she said dryly, watching the standing group in the mirror. Joey flushed, because Justine was humming happily in response to his compliment, dropping little open-mouthed kisses behind his ear. "Ju, precious, mind your face," she warned.

"She's being careful," Chris said, winking at Joey and grinning. "Oh, for a video camera. You're looking a little red around the edges, Joseph. Should I bring you ice? A fan? A footstool?" He flapped his hands at Joey's face, creating a tiny breeze.

"Shut up," laughed Joey, ducking his head away from all the attention. "I'm fine, I'm good, and you *all* look beautiful." He reached down and ran a hand over Justine's hip. "But my baby Justine most of all."

"Yes, yes," said Howie as he smacked his lips together. "When do they outgrow the doting stage again, La?"

"Not soon enough, my darling," La murmured, presenting her face to be painted. "We must stay strong. Otherwise the air back here will be just *too* unbearable, all that sugar floating around."

Joey barely heard, because Justine had reacted to his touch with unexpected eagerness, rubbing into his hand with a breathy moan, reaching for his face.

"No, baby," Chris said firmly, capturing his hands with an apologetic look at Joey. "You'll be singing soprano, and I don't think that lipstick is really Joey's shade. Wait until after the show."

Justine pouted devastatingly. "But I want him *now*," he protested. "He's too gorgeous, it's not fair. La and D can do the show, can't you?"

"No!" La laughed at him, carefully not moving. "Justine, behave yourself."

"I'll be watching you," promised Joey, touching Justin's lip where it was already smudged. He was sure the evidence was on his neck. "And I'll be back here afterwards, I promise. After all, we're kind of still on our date."

"Oh, their date," cooed Howie as he smoothed over Lance's skin before starting on his eyes. "Aren't they precious? Ooh, I bet it's flowers next. It's been too long since we've had some nice roses back here. Well, except for those ones from my secret admirer of course, but they were pink. We need some red."

Justine ignored them and licked Joey's finger into his mouth, eyes steady on his. He sucked on it, cheeks hollowing, mouth pursed and pink, and Chris made a little disbelieving sound at Joey's side.

"I think Joey's a red rose kind of boy," Lalo agreed, oblivious to them, his eyes momentarily closed. "Would it be *too* tacky to recommend that lovely little florist down the street? They always have the best roses, and Justine really deserves them. And Howie, you haven't tracked down your secret lover yet? I'm disa-" she broke off when her eyes opened, and caught Justine. "Ju! You little tramp, stop that right now! This is *not* a porn emporium, I'll have you know, this is a quality ladies' establishment!"

Justine smiled wickedly as she let Joey's finger slip out of her mouth, licking the tip as she did. "Florist. Down the street. Got it," said Joey, speechless aside from that.

"Pure porn, that pretty boy's mouth," said Howie with a sigh. "Close again, honey, I'm not finished. These things take time. And no, I did *not* track down that secret admirer of mine. I think I've given up hope."

"But he was so smitten. Those *notes*! So romantic." La sighed and closed her eyes obediently. "I am just burning *up* with curiosity, so don't you dare give up hope. Are you still getting the cards? I haven't seen flowers this week."

"Do that again and I'm getting the hose," Chris warned Justine softly, though he was smiling fondly at them both. "Of course, I'll have to wet down the whole place. You are too hot for your own good, beautiful."

"I just want to be hot for *Joey's* own good," Justine confessed, smiling coyly and licking her lips. "You and Howie are just dirty old men." She squealed and jumped behind Joey when Chris smacked her ass sharply.

Howie reached over and snatched a card up off the make-up table. "This one's new," he said, waving it at Lalo. "Just yesterday. Isn't it the sweetest thing? He's probably some old creep, but still. He's poetic."

"Oh honey, you're already so hot," said Joey, soothing Justine's ass with his palm. "You're beautiful. I can't wait to see you perform."

"Listen to you!" Chris crowed happily, beaming at them both. "And to think, just last night you were too nervous to ask Justine her name! Ju, you have worked a miracle. We have a fully fledged gay man, here!"

Justine smiled shyly and leaned into Joey's touch.

"Oh," Lalo ignored them and sighed happily, reading the card. "Maybe he's a *rich* old creep, though, and he'll fly you off to fabulous exotic places. Or maybe some gorgeous blond god, too shy to make himself known, worshipping you from afar, terrified that you'll reject him. I bet that's it."

"In my *dreams*," said Howie with a pretty little pout. "Okay, lashes honey. Try not to blink *too* much." He grabbed Lalo's chin and turned her head back to him. "Look at me, not at the lovebirds, or you're going to get mascara in the eye."

"I'm not a -- " began Joey, then thought about it. "Well, I am, but I was before, too. I'd still be too nervous to ask Justine's name if we hadn't been introduced."

"Yes, but now you're calling her honey and you've got your hand on that sweet ass," Chris nods knowingly. "Big steps, baby."

"Joey *likes* me," Justine declared proudly, still rubbing into Joey's palm in a very distracting way. "Even the me that I am when I'm not here. So he can call me honey all he wants, and touch me anytime he likes. *Any* time." He lowered his lashes and smiled at Joey.

"But they're so *cute*," Lalo protested, laughing a little, though she was carefully not blinking. "Blissy, look, they're cuddling. Quick. Bring me my maalox."

"Oh, honey." said Howie knowingly. "Do *not* make me get out those atrociously adorable pictures of you and your Chris when you first got together. They'll just make you blush and you *know* what that does to your complexion. Okay, you're done, let me finish making myself beautiful here and we'll be ready. Well, once you do something about the hair of course."

"The wig is setting," Lalo assured him absently, peering closely at the mirror. "Oh, sweetie, this is just fabulous. *FABULOUS.* You are truly a mistress of your art." She bent to give Howie air-kisses, then flocked to Chris's side. "We were never atrocious, were we, Chris?"

"Never," Chris assured her, holding her gently in the curve of one arm. "You were never anything but beautiful and perfect." He kissed her neck gently, and Justine sighed against Joey's shoulder.

"They're in True Love," he said again, quietly, before straightening and squaring his shoulders. "I have to warm up my voice. And so you you, my pets. Bliss, dearest, let's not have a repeat of that voice break in "Raining Men," all right? And La, you just *must* project more." He slipped his hand down Joey's waist to his ass, squeezing lightly.

"Bitch," said Howie -- Bliss, Joey realized -- as she fixed her lipstick in the mirror. "Don't forget you're just a baby, Justine, darling."

Joey grabbed Justine's hand before she left and gave it a little squeeze. Even thought *this* incarnation of Justin seemed to need no encouragement whatsoever. "I'll be fine with Chris," he promised her, in case she needed to hear it.

"Okay. Watch me. I'll be singing for you." She leaned in and nuzzled gently against his cheek, almost a butterfly kiss, before stepping away. She looked at Chris with a small smile. "Keep an eye on him, now."

She turned, and it was like a different person. "I may be a baby, but *you*, my love, were flat. And my age has *nothing* to do with that. I won't be up there sounding like shit, I just will *not*." She pulled a protesting Lalo out of Chris's arms, and herded both of them to the piano at back of the room.

"So, that's your boyfriend," Chris said to Joey, settling into a chair. "Scary, huh?"

"Um. Yes?" offered Joey, watching them as they continued to bicker cattily, just enough within earshot that he could hear the murmurs of words without knowing what they were. "A little? He's like two entirely different people. It's a little unsettling."

"It's...yeah. Helloooooo, split personality." Chris snickered a little. "The first time I saw her, I was sure Justin was high, the way she was acting. I yelled at her, and was absolutely *shocked* when she bitched right back at me. I worry about it, but I figure it's healthier than keeping all that personality bottled up *all* the time."

"It's pretty surprising. It would probably be *more* surprising if that hadn't been the way I met her, the first time. She gets that dress on and *bam*, no more shy. About *any*thing. I ... I wasn't even sure what i was supposed to *do*, to be honest."

"You handled it just fine, baby," Chris assured him, patting the chair by his side. Justin's finger was going, and his voice had risen, and Joey could hear "*Ab* so *lutely* not, and don't be a *cunt*, Lalo, seriously..." before he got quiet again. "You just keep on being yourself." Chris blithely ignored the three in the corner. "She'll bounce off you a little, but just let her. She probably won't go too far; remember, it's still Justin in there. Just a little more extroverted."

"A *little*?" said Joey, unable to ignore them the same way. He definitely wasn't used to this sort of thing. "It's so far beyond that it isn't even funny. I was intimidated by her. I know that sounds stupid, but I was. I wasn't ready for that kind of change. Oh man, that sounds awful, I still like her an awful lot. It's just. Hard."

"Maybe..." Chris eyed him speculatively. "He's so into you, man. *SO* into you. You should tell her, when she's being Justine, that you need her to tone it down just a little. And don't...it's a lot to handle, right away. *She* is a lot to handle. Just keep reminding yourself that it's Justin, just...Justin without any boundaries, really."

"I don't want to ask her to tone it down for me, though," admitted Joey. "I don't want her to change for me. I wanted to be with her because she's special, and ... I'll get used to it. I will."

"Well, don't let it make you so uncomfortable that you can't...that it gets bad, okay?" Chris kept looking at him, obviously concerned. "A relationship's full of compromises. It's better to let her know now, than let it build and become something you can't get over. I won't see her hurt, Joey. I'd do anything to keep that from happening. But as long as you think you can get used to it--and *love* it, just as much as you love it when he's shy--then that'll be fine. And you can always come to me, for a little break, if you need one."

"Do you love it?" asked Joey, taking a seat next to him and giving it some serious thought. "When Lance is Lalo? Do you love that?"

"Of course." Chris smiled affectionately. "The difference isn't quite as extreme, I'll grant you. But he's such a fabulous little cat when he's got his claws on..." He sighed happily. "Really, you need to just sit back and enjoy it, if you can. Just think of it like a play, like an extension of the show, if that helps. They put on these extreme characters, but it's for fun, and impact, and to make an impression."

"And they sure do," said Joey fervently. "I really think I need to give it a chance before I say anything, though, Chris. I mean, this is the first time I've been back here, and this is his life, and it's not my place to say anything just right now. Not before I give myself a little time to get used to the whole thing, get used to Justine being Justine. It's funny ... he was worried a bit, I think, that I only wanted to go out with Justine, when what I really wanted all along was just him."

"Well, this is a part of him," Chris pointed out, more gently than Joey was expecting from him. "Sweetie, he's the whole package, skitzo tendencies and all. And I think it's great that you're giving it a chance. Justine can be *so* much fun, and *so* fierce and fabulous, and I think you'll love her just as much as we do, soon enough. Remember, she's been the one that gets the attention. She's the one that's confident enough to believe you want her."

"The difference is ... unbelievable," said Joey, watching the three of them again. "I'm sure she's amazing and fun and fabulous, but I just don't know her yet. And I know Justin, kinda. A lot more than a lot of people, I think. So I just need to give it a chance, and not let her scare me. Justin remembers that I'm just brand new to this; I'm not sure Justine does, so much."

"It's probably some sort of imbalance, a split that wide," Chris said frankly, watching them too. "But then again, you could say the same for your decent character actors. Justine's a sex kitten, true, but she never gets *too* out of control. She'll probably have fun teasing your boundaries, though." He chuckled a little. "Don't let her scare you, darling. Remember, she's just playing, a lot of the time, and if you play along, you'll get to know her very quickly."

"I'll be honest," said Joey thoughtfully. "I guess I was a little worried about playing along, not just for rme, but for her, too. He talked about how the people he was with before, all they wanted him for was a quick fling. Sex. I don't want him to think that about me."

"There's a difference between fun playing and using him for sex," Chris pointed out, still gently. "She's a big girl, she can tell. You're sweet together, you're dating. You've talked about going out again, right? All those things say 'relationship' to me, in big pink letters, and she can see them too. Don't be afraid to flirt and play and have fun."

"Red letters," said Joey, smiling a little. "Like the roses I'm apparently supposed to buy her and have delivered backstage. I was playing, you saw me. We were having fun. Still gonna take a little getting used to, though. I thought *I* had a pretty big personality, but I'm nothing next to her."

"She'll keep you on your toes, that's for sure," Chris agreed fervently. "But that's half the fun. There will *never*-" he leaned forward earnestly, "-ever be a lack of spice in your relationship. Really, how many people can say that?" He sat back contentedly. "Plus, incredibly fucking gorgeous. Big personality and all, she's a wet dream walking."

"Believe me," said Joey, "I do know how lucky I got. And how lucky I'm going to be for a long time to come, with him. That's why I'm gonna try here. I don't want her to change, I want *me* to change. I'm going to get used to this."

"Well, you rock on with your big bad self, then," Chris said admiringly. "You can do it, honey. And we're all here to help." He was cut off mid-thought by a screech from the corner, then laughter, then Bliss's fire-red wig flying through the air. Justine was laughing so hard she almost fell over in her scramble to Joey's side, gasping, and she flung herself into his lap immediately, clinging, long arms twining around his neck.

"Joey Joey save me," she giggled, tucking her legs up. "It wasn't my fault."

"Why don't I believe you?" said Joey, pressing his face to Justine's soft, sweet-smelling hair for a moment. "What do you *do*, baby? And am I going to get beaten up for it?"

"Justine!" shrieked Bliss, still across the room, hands in fists at her sides.

"It wasn't my *fault*, my *ring* got caught," Justine shouted back, still trying to disappear into Joey's lap, squirming. "Don't you take it out on me, bitch, you should buy a wig that *fits!*" He fell into a fit of giggles again, as Lalo, rolling her eyes, strolled over to retrieve the wig from the floor.

"And just what was your ring doing in her wig anyway?" asked Joey, wrapping his arms around her. He couldn't help laughing a little. "I thought you guys were warming up your voices. Last time I did that, there were no wig or hair mishaps."

"She had a little piece of...fuzz, or something in there, and I was just getting it out," Justine said indignantly, cuddling into Joey's arms contentedly. "I'm all warmed up now, I can't sing too much or my throat gets all scratchy again. They can finish, I'll just stay here."

"Lazy cow," Lalo muttered, walking by with the wig, which she started fitting back over Bliss's ponytail. "There you go, darling, good as new."

Bliss tugged on the wig and glared in Justine's direction. "You wouldn't be laughing so hard if someone'd been tugging on that mop of yours, would you?"

"Oh, now you aren't going to let her get away with that, are you?" Joey goaded Justine teasingly. "No one touches this pretty hair of yours."

"Mine," Justin tossed his hair spitefully, "is all natural. Something she can't even claim for those nasty old extensions *under* the wig." He sneered at Bliss, then turned back to Joey, a fetching smile in place. "*You* can touch it all you like. I want you to. I like you to."

"I'm all scared of messing it up," he admitted, tugging gently one one of the loose curls. "It's all pretty and sparkly and ... I sound like a dork. You're just beautiful, that's all, except you need to fix up your lipstick again."

"That's easy enough to do," Justine shook her head, and pressed her lips to the corner of Joey's mouth, smoothly. "I'll do it right before I go on. That way it'll be perfect. And believe me, the just-had-hands-running-through-it look is not exactly a bad thing for my hair to have, in this place." She kissed along his jaw lightly. "I wanna wear this home for you tonight," she breathed. "I want you to watch me get changed."

Joey felt his breath catch for a second. "O-okay," he said after a second, a long enough hesitation for Chris to catch and give them both a little smirk. "Yeah, okay, let's do that then. Yeah."

"Then I can sit on your lap in my dress and nothing...else..." A tiny thread of voice, that only Joey could hear. Justine licked his ear, a long hot swipe of his tongue, and pulled back, smiling wickedly. "And kiss you until we can't think any more at all." She kissed his mouth again, sweetly, and then slid off his legs, standing and stretching languidly. "It's almost showtime, girls. Are we ready?"

"It's so hard to say," Lalo said cattily, fluffing Bliss's wig. "Can you tear yourself away? Are we distracting you? I'd hate to think our little show was getting in the way of your *love* life, Justine..."

"Says the bitch who once blew Chris under the table when she was supposed to be singing the 'Cats' medley..." Justine commented almost idly, checking her makeup in the mirror.

Joey almost choked but managed to keep himself under control. He did look at Chris for confirmation, who just gave him a broad wink.

"Justine, you little tramp, come here," said Bliss, beckoning her over. "Let me fix your lips so you don't look *quite* so debauched. You can save *that* look for after the show. And Joey, honey ... you're probably wearing a little more makeup than you meant to. Come get a tissue."

"I was careful," Justine pouted, submitting to the dabbing and wiping and reapplication. "Mostly. I thought you said this Max Factor stuff would stay on during a hurricane? I spent a whole paycheck on this, Bliss, you'd *better* not have been lying to me..." She pursed her lips together, then smiled at her reflection. "Perfect, darling. Thank you."

"Kisses." Lalo smiled happily at Chris, and tugged him to his feet. "I need good luck kisses from mah beautiful man..." She kissed him carefully and delicately, but Joey still had to look away from the naked emotion there.

He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and he did, in fact, have a faint tint of pink on his lips and a smudge of it on his neck and ear where Justine had kissed him before it set. Nothing he was in any hurry to wipe off, though.

"I guess this is my cue to find my way into the audience," he said, letting his hand rest on Justine's waist comfortably. "You're beautiful, baby. Knock 'em dead."

Justine tipped her head back to his shoulder lightly, watching him in the mirror. "Can I have a good luck kiss too?" she asked softly, and Joey caught his first glimpse of "Justin" in a while.

He smiled at her gently and gave her a very careful kiss on the lips; she was just as gentle as she kissed him back. "I had a wonderful date, Justin," he whispered. "And I'm looking forward to finishing it. I'll see you soon, baby."

"Okay," she whispered back. "Have fun. Drink some drinks. I'll see you back here after." She stepped away, and squeezed his hand. "Okay," she said briskly, clapping her hands. "Boys go, girls stay. It's that time. Bye bye bye, Chris, go away, take Joey with you. La, let go of him."

"C'mon, Joey," Chris laughed, kissing Lalo once more and then heading for the door. "Let's go get a decent seat."

"From the sounds of things out there, we might be too late," said Joey, looking back over his shoulder at Justine, who was waggling her fingers at him and blowing him kisses. "She's so beautiful, huh?"

"She sure as hell is. Those green eyes, man, they get me *every* time." Chris shook himself a little. "Oh, sorry, you were probably talking about Ju, huh? Yeah. She's stunning. I've never seen her look better than tonight, either. I think she's really trying to make a good impression." He pushed through the curtains and into the crowd.

"She didn't have to do that for me, though," said Joey, touching his neck lightly where he knew the smudge was. "She's already *got* me. I thought she was beautiful all along."

"Yeah, but she'll still try," Chris told him, glancing back at him knowingly and tugging him over to the bar. "Why don't we get you a drink, and then we can scare some of these girls out of the good seats. Let you settle down a little, prepare for the show. Your girl is *on* tonight, and it's all your fault, and I really think you'd better brace yourself. *You* may know you've got her, but *she's* still courting you."

"I *really* didn't know what I was getting into," said Joey, "and that's *your* fault. You were the one who introduced us, who encouraged us. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were staking out this place, just waiting for someone to walk through that door who might be good for your precious Justin ... "

"Shhhhhh!" Chris looked around dramatically, pressing a finger to his lips. "That's a secret!" He snickered, then, and waved down the bartender. "No, honey, I'm not really as calculating as that. I *will* say, though, that the little angel on my shoulder gave me a good pinch when he sat in your lap and you almost creamed your pants on the spot. You seemed like a decent type of boy, possibly, with some work, capable of being worthy of my baby." He grinned at Joey, and handed him a drink.

"With a little work, huh?" said Joey, taking the drink and elbowing him lightly. "I'm trying, man. I'm doing my best here. He's a whole lot of woman for one naive, new guy to handle."

"You can do it. Rah, Joey, rah." Chris did a little cheerleading fist-pump, and smirked at him. "No, seriously, you're handling her just fine, so far. Just remember, this dating thing? *So* new for Ju, not just you. Kid gloves, sweetie, remember, she's a delicate flower behind that trucker's mouth. And don't let her scare you. *Don't* be afraid to stand up to her; you saw the kind of things she's used to hearing. You won't shock her!"

"Yeah, I'm kinda starting to realize that," said Joey, watching the curtains where Justine would be appearing, in a little while. "Hard to wrap my mind around right now. I got used to this one idea of him, and then there's this whole other side that he just ... *becomes*. It's not even like he's acting. When he's made up, that's who he is, isn't it?"

Chris sipped his drink, clearly thinking about his reply. "I...I think so, possibly. Probably. She's his alter ego. The drama queen within, only let out to play." He laughed a little. "We've all got one, after all, he just gets to *be* his, every once in a while. I think it's liberating for him, becoming someone no one from his old life would even recognize. And he can say, 'oh, that's just Justine,' to explain being so outrageous."

Joey nodded, remembering him saying that, talking about her like she was someone else. "I don't think I have a drama queen within," he said finally, probably giving it way too much thought

"Oh, honey, we all do. Gay or straight, whatever," Chris chortled, patting his arm. "Maybe it's a quiet little queen, not much to say, but we've all got one. Don't worry about it too much. Some snappy bitch will someday be snitting at you or Ju or trying to take you home, and you'll see her, ta da! She'll come out finger-waving-head-going-bitch-slapping. Even if she expresses herself by punching the guy in the face."

Joey laughed. "Yeah, I think that one's more likely. But I guess you never know. She hasn't had much to say so far though, for whatever that's worth. Maybe my new life with bring her out. If anything could, I bet it would be this."

"Well, she's bound to be comfortable among her own kind," Chris agreed comfortably. He turned sharply to the man at his left, who was leaning far into Joey's personal space. "Hello, precious? Yes, you." He made shooing motions with his hands. "I hate to be rude, but the overwhelming stench of that...is that *Brut*?...is making me gag. Thanks so much." He turned back to Joey like he hadn't been interrupted. "So, any other aspects of your brand new life throwing you for loops?"

Clearly *Chris's* inner drama queen was alive and well, not that that was any surprise. But it got Joey to wondering if he was going to change. If people were going to notice the ways he was different, now that his life was changing so much. "I think the whole thing is throwing me for a loop," he admitted. "The kissing part's awfully good, though, so I'd imagine the rest will be just as much fun. But that's nothing you don't already know."

"Oh, you mean the whole sex thing?" Chris raised his eyes knowingly. "Baby, once that sweet child gets you home and starts stripping out of that slinky blue dress, I don't think you'll have any reservations left. Justin'll take good care of you. And I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how easy and natural it all is."

"Yeah, yeah, so you keep telling me," said Joey, smiling to himself as he thought about Justin and that dress and going home with him after. "Sex is part of it, of course. And rearranging my life. And coming out. And finding out things about myself that I'd just completely missed before. How do people *do* this? Especially when they're young."

"I think everyone has to work that out for themselves," Chris said, popping the olive from his drink into his mouth. "You should ask Justin, sometime when he's in a sharing mood. A *good* mood. Hearing him talk about it, it's both the easiest and hardest thing in the world. It'll give you some perspective. Me, I was fairly angst-free about the whole thing."

"You seem to be pretty angst-free about just about everything," noted Joey, looking him over. "Unruffleable. Did you just figure out one day that hey, you liked guys, and that was it? It was all normal and good and okay with you, and everyone?"

"My fiancee was pretty pissed," Chris reflected, pushing away from the bar. "Honestly, though, can you blame her? I mean, I had to do some soul searching, sure. It wasn't just bing bang boom, I'm the most fabulous piece of gay ass on West Street. That part took time." He smiled fondly. "It helps that my mom loves Lance almost more than I do."

"Your ... what?" said Joey, glad he'd already swallowed before he heard that. "Wow, Chris. Wow. That's ... some seriously uncomfortable timing there. Was it always just Lance, for you?"

"Aside from our dramatic breakups because I was still engaged, and then because he wanted to move to France, and then because we thought we wanted to see other people? Yep. He's my one true love. And we're in it for the long haul. I met him at a laundromat, can you imagine? We danced around each other for months before we got together."

"Oh, you couldn't possibly have. Laundromat? Really? I just ... I guess I just figured you met here. I didn't imagine you meeting somewhere so ... normal. You're so good together, though. And you're both so good to Justin, mostly."

"Mostly?" Chris raised his eyebrows, and his voice took on a little edge. "I'd walk into traffic for Justin, and so would La, and don't you forget it. Don't let the feathers and sparkles distract you, honey. We *are* family, and that boy *is* one of the most precious things in the world to all of us. We're just as normal as everyone else, that way."

"I just mean, you know, how Justine and Lalo are together," said Joey defensively. "I didn't mean anything by it, Chris, you know I didn't. I just meant you didn't coddle her. Him. All the time."

"Don't get your panties in a ruffle," Chris reassured him. "I know you didn't mean anything bad by it. Just a little reminder. And we don't coddle him, as much as we can, anyway. He *is* a pain-in-the-ass drama princess, quite a bit of the time, remember." He patted Joey's arm. "Even when he's not in a dress. Come on, sugar, let's go get a seat, the lights are about to go down."

"Already?" said Joey, finishing off his drink. "Okay, yes, let's do that. I didn't realize it had gotten so late." He followed Chris through the crowd, since he seemed to know exactly where he's going. "And Justin is the sweetest person ever. He's most definitely *not* a drama princess out of that dress."

"He can be," Chris said warningly, smiling as he grabbed two stools from behind the backstage curtain and dragged them out, gesturing to one with a flourish. "See? Seats. I rule." He propped his elbows on the high railing that ran around the seating floor. "Anyway, yes. He's a sweet, shy, utterly adorable drama princess, but he takes things very seriously. Everything is *very* important to Justin. You'll see."

Now *that* Joey had seen a bit of, in his time with Justin. "I'm doing my best," he said again. "I really like him a lot, Chris. Like ... a lot. A *lot* a lot. You know that, right?"

"I'm starting to get hints," Chris nodded. "Which is fabulous. Because my baby boy is head over fine *ass* for you, he has *fallen*. Don't be surprised if you start seeing love poems. He's been in love before, but never with someone he had a chance with. It's just sparkling all over him. Gorgeous."

"Am I his type, do you think?" asked Joey, smoothing his hand over his shirt, over his body. He still couldn't help comparing himself to all the guys that Justin -- or Justine -- *could* have. "It's all happening so fast. Sometimes I don't know what to think." It didn't really click until he said that that Chris had used the words "in love".

"You're definitely his type, for sure," Chris assured him, blithely oblivious that he'd said anything noteworthy. "You're good to him, good *for* him. You won't push him too hard, or use him and toss him, I can tell you're not that type. Just...relax, and enjoy it. Enjoy *him*. He's never been in a relationship before, but I think he'll be good at it."

"I suck at it," admitted Joey. "Of course, I've never tried it with a guy before. But still. I've been a really lousy boyfriend, before. Don't hate me for it, okay? It's not like I try to be bad. And Justin's special."

"I won't hate you for it, as long as you're not bad to *him*," Chris said seriously. "Whatever you did before, that's the past. But with him...you gotta toe the line, he's very special. I mean, you know this, clearly, so I think you'll be fine, honey. Just...the two of you can figure it out together. Okay, shhhh." The lights fell, and there were screams and whistles and hoots from the crowd.

"Oh," said Joey softly, his eyes drawn immediately to the curtain, already looking for Justine. He was missing her. *Missing* her. And they hadn't even been apart that long. This was what the beginnings of relationships were supposed to be like, wanting to be together a lot, all the time. "Oh shhhh." He wans't even sure who he was talking to. Certainly not Chris, who was already quiet with what seemed to be the same kind of anticipation that Joey was feeling.

"Shh yourself," Chris said absently, but then went completely silent as the curtain slid open, revealing Justine, standing with her back to the audience, looking over her shoulder with Lalo and Bliss lounging at her feet. She turned slowly, arching her back, and the crowd went crazy. She smiled wickedly and waited until it was quiet, then raised the microphone and Joey recognized the first few notes of "Material Girl."

Joey gasped; he heard himself, rather than realized he was doing it. They were amazing. *She* was amazing. And he noticed even more than he had the first time how well Justine worked the room. She seemed to know just who was going to react to her the right way, who to stay away from, who to give just the wave and the wink and move on. Joey could hardly tear his eyes away from her for even a moment, even when the other two were singing.

After three songs, she finally started towards their side of the room; she'd been playing the audience, teasing one *very* young man, cuddling up to him and saying suggestive things, turning him into a blushing, stammering wreck. She still hadn't made eye contact with him, but as she stepped past a tall blond man in a suit, trailing her gloved fingers across his shoulder, she looked up at Joey and locked eyes with him. The piano track silenced the room, and everyone heard her start "I....keep on fallin', in and out, of love, with you...", her voice low and husky, Bliss softly harmonizing on the high notes.

"Oh," breathed Joey, remaining absolutely motionless until Chris gave him a little nudge. Then he found himself matching Justine's bold look, playing along instinctively and following her lead. Not like the first night, when he'd been too shellshocked to do more than just sit there when she approached him. This time, he knew what was going on.

She slid across the floor, eyes never leaving his even when she toyed with one man's tie, touched another's cheek. For the climactic chorus, Lalo sang too, the three voices blending richly as Justine came closer, closer, touching him, a hand trailing down his face, his chest, his leg, until on the last note she was kneeling gracefully between his feet, and tilted her head down to his knee, relaxing into a completely submissive pose.

There was a moment of silence, and then Joey was almost deafened by the explosion of applause.

He smiled down at her and stroked her hair, his hard pounding hard against his ribcage. She was so amazing and she was his. In this incarnation and the other. And he couldn't imagine wanting anyone else. "Your public awaits, baby," he whispered, unsure if she could even hear him over the catcalls and applause. "You're wonderful."

She raised her head slowly, smiling like a siren and not saying a word. Standing as gracefully as she'd knelt, she blew him a tiny kiss, and then turned to the crowd, wandering back towards the stage, accepting compliments and collecting Lalo and Bliss before starting the next song.

"Wow," Chris said, just loud enough to be heard. He was watching Joey with a smile.

"That about sums it up," said Joey, and there was a long delay before he could really move his eyes from Justine to so much as give Chris a look. "I lo--. Wow. It's hard, just watching." He realized only afterward how many ways that could be taken.

"Reaaaaaaallly." Chris smirked. "Joey, really, my virgin ears! Just tuck it in, there, sailor, and save it for later. I'm sure Justine'll be much happier to hear about it than I will." He captured a passing waiter and ordered drinks, and Joey caught the words "tall" and "strong" and "stiff" like suddenly he was attuned to anything that might be dirty. When Chris turned back, he was grinning again. "So, yeah. Now you've heard our little songbird in full voice. What do you think?"

"I can see why she's a star," he said, his eyes drawn back to her again as she took a drink of her own -- water, looked like -- and smiled naughtily at her admirers. "Can't believe he's mine, all over again. I think I'll always feel like that, watching her work."

"She walked in here and had the place in the palm of her hand," Chris told him, nodding. "She's really too good for this place, that voice and that kind of stage presence. But she'll only sing for an audience when she's in drag, and that kind of limits her, in terms of venues." He waved at Lalo, who had spent a suspicious amount of time on their side of the room. Lalo waved back with a blinding smile. "It's hard to believe, sometimes. They're too pretty to be real, it seems like."

Joey didn't admit out loud that he'd hardly noticed the other two; he did make it a point now to at least take a look and he had to agree. They were all so perfectly made up, so stunning. "Maybe one day, when he builds up his confidence, he won't need to. Until then, this makes him happy. Oh, Chris, just *look* at her."

"I see her, honey," Chris said, fondly. "I know." Justine was dancing a little with Bliss as Lalo sang, her curls pulled over one shoulder, baring her long neck and diamond studs. Her face was literally glowing with laughter and pleasure, as the crowd around them reached out to touch and praise. "This is just about it. One or two more songs, some more banter, and then she's yours."

"Right now, she's everyone's," murmured Joey. In truth, he thought that would bother him more than he let on, but it really didn't. Justine made it very clear -- to him, to anyone who was looking for it -- just who she was with, who was the one she wanted. "She loves this so much, doesn't she?"

"Oh, she *does*. Before you came along, the only time I saw her smile like that was here, when she was performing." Chris's fingers tapped his leg restlessly in time to the music, and he was grinning at the dancing. "She's yours, though. You can tell. She keeps looking at you, baby, did you see? She wants to make sure you're still watching her."

"I know," grinned Joey. "And I am. I couldn't stop if I wanted to now, I think. I'm surprised she even remembers me, when she's doing that, but she does. She does. She's so amazing. Oh. Um. They all are. Amazing. Lalo too."

"Don't scramble too fast, you'll trip," Chris said dryly, elbowing him in the side. "Don't worry, I know you're still all caught up in the 'seeing nothing but my beloved' phase. I'm sure you'll be able to take time to appreciate my darling sometime later. I don't mind, I love her enough for everyone."

"You're all just so nice to me," said Joey, shaking his head but not obviously enough to obstruct his view of Justine for even a moment. Justine who was singing again, and all but straddling the lap of one man who was obviously enjoying it. "Ever since I showed up. I've been so lucky."

"We're your gay angels," Chris said, laughing and flapping his hands like wings. "No, baby, really. There are too many evil people in the world, when someone nice and sweet like you comes along, we have to snap you up to make sure you don't fall in with an unsavory crowd. Plus, you know, Justine had her eye on you."

"Not until you sat next to me like a great big flashing neon sign," said Joey, elbowing him. "I was just a wallflower 'til you took me under your angel wing there. Oh ... oh, they're going away, Chris ... "

"They're going *backstage,* not away away," Chris said reprovingly, elbowing him back. "Relax, he's not leaving without you. But if you really want him to strip down and squirm all over you somewhere private, we might want to get back there ourselves, huh? As your gay angel, that would be my advice."

"You're a very wise gay angel," said Joey, still mesmerized by the whole performance. Justine was so confident, so flirtatious ... the very opposite of Justin. "No thinking about Justine squirming all over me, though. That's private."

"Honey, nothing's private," Chris smirked, tugging him off the stool when he didn't move fast enough. "Half this place is thinking about Justine squirming, and the other half is only *pretending* to be gay. Now come on, if you hurry you'll catch her in the post-show high. Feel free to drag her out of here without saying goodbye."

Joey grinned at him and thought very seriously about that. It wasn't such a hard decision to make. "All right, let's go," he said, sliding to his feet. "While she's still hot."

"Well, *that's* not gonna change," Chris laughed, towing him backstage quickly. "Girls, girls!" He shouted outside the door. "Hide your blushing bosoms, the men have arrived!" He pushed it open, and was almost knocked over by Justine, who headed straight for Joey.

"Hey baby," he said, more than ready for an armful and a half of Justine. "You were amazing. *Amazing*. I adore you."

"No, I adore *you*," Justine said, laughing and dropping little kisses all over Joey's face. "I was amazing tonight, it's true, but it was all for *you*. Mmmmm." He stopped talking and kissed Joey for real, tongue fast and urgent pressing into Joey's mouth, and Joey could hear little whimpers in the back of his throat.

He just went with it though, and forget everyone else who was in there with them, they didn't matter. They were friends. "Let's go, baby," he said, just as urgently. "Let's go, and get you out of that, and ... whatever. Let's do it."

"Okay," Justin breathed, pulling away long enough to look him in the eye. "Let's go. Your place, because AJ's home. I *need* to get out of this dress. And the other things I'm wearing. And you look good enough to eat..."

"Don't mind us," Chris said, waving cheerfully. Lalo was grinning from his lap. "Have fun, kids. Do everything we'd do."

"I'm not sure we have time," said Joey, giving Chris a wink that just came out of nowhere, but felt right. "See you later!" And already he'd taken Justine's arm and was heading for the door, not even worried about the kind of looks they were going to get on their way out. It was right. Him and Justin, right now, it was right.

"Take the back way, darlings!" Lalo called, and Justin veered right as they left backstage, pulling him along, intent and moving fast. She swept through the crowd, stroking Joey's palm with her fingertip, not looking at him or from side to side, and before Joey knew it they were pushing through a small door by the bar, and Justine paused on the sidewalk, straightening her skirt.

"Your house, Joey," she said, urgent and low, the look in her eyes direct and knowing and very male. "Where did we park, again?"

"Around the side," said Joey. "Here, here, right here, let's go." Justin's place was closer, but his was more private. It was a trade-off, and he didn't even think twice about it. He wanted time alone with him, needed it. He could practically hear the rush of blood in his veins, in anticipation of what was going to happen next.

Justine slid into the car gracefully, every long line of her tight with tension. The minute Joey closed *his* door, she was across the small space between them, a hand burrowing into his lap, kissing his mouth and throat and ear for a frantic moment before pulling back, breathless.

"Drive," she whispered, stroking his thigh. "Better drive quick."

Joey couldn't do *anything* for a moment, gripping the steering wheel and catching his breath. Then with one quick daring glance at Justine -- daring because he knew once they started they weren't going to stop -- he turned the car on and whipped out of the lot, hopping the curb in his haste to get onto the street and one his way. "Believe me," he said, "you haven't even *seen* quick til you see how fast I'm gonna get us home."

"Don't get pulled over," Justine warned, laughing low in her throat and clinging to the seat belt as Joey took a corner at speed. When the car evened out again, she slipped a hand into the crook of Joey's elbow and lifted one foot to the dashboard, letting the dress fall away. In the light of the streetlamps and in the stiletto heels, her leg looked endless. "Joey, watch the road," she teased.

"How am I supposed to watch the road when I have *that* to look at instead?" he asked incredulously, screeching to a stop at a light, almost not making it. "Damn, Justin ... " he said, running his hand up Justin's calf. He had to force himself to start going again at the green. "We're almost there, I swear, we're almost there."

"Damn, Joey," she purred in echo, leaning closer. "We'd better be. This dress, these clothes I'm wearing...they're getting kind of constricting. I'm hot. I need to take them off." She trailed fingers up her own leg, watching Joey's reaction with wide eyes, and only stopped when the jolt as Joey jammed the car into its parking spot rocked her in her seat.

"Let's go," he said, throwing his door open and himself out of the car. "C'mon, Ju, let's go, baby!" It wasn't demanding, just urgent, and Justin clearly felt the same way so it was all okay. "I'm on the tenth, we're almost there."

Justine laughed happily, slipping out of the car with more grace but equal haste. One long stride took her to Joey's side, and she followed eagerly, pressed against Joey and breathing on his ear, touching him teasingly in the elevator and almost pushing him through his door. "Oh," she sighed, pausing as Joey flipped on the light with a shaking hand. "This is a really nice place, baby. It's *so* nice." The light caught the sparkles in her hair and made her eyes even more dramatic.

"Can we maybe save the grand tour for later?" he suggested, quickly slamming the lock into place behind them. "I'd be happy to show you the bedroom, or the couch, or the living room floor. But mostly the bed, because someone as fucking stunning as you deserves something with a bit of class."

Justine smirked a little, and sauntered over to the couch, leaning back against it and watching Joey. "Why don't you pick a spot that'll be comfortable for you. Couch or bed, whatever you like, and I'll slip into something...more comfortable. A little less binding. And we'll worry about class once we're there." She turned aside a little and lifted a foot to the arm of the couch, bending to start slipping the high-heeled shoe off.

Joey froze again, watching here. Dammit, he wasn't *like* this, he wasn't, he was smooth and cool and seductive and ... screw it. "Oh yeah, you're calm *now*," he said, and it was obvious that *he* certainly wasn't. "Oh Justin ... wow."

"I'm not calm," Justine said calmly, wiggling her toes--nails painted blue--before setting that foot down and raising the other. "Inside I'm feeling a little like I swallowed bees. All humming and buzzing and stinging a little. I think..." she stepped to Joey's side carefully, the dress brushing the ground, now, and hooked his two index fingers into Joey's waistband, "...I think you should come sit down, now," she whispered, smiling a little secret smile.

"I think you're right," he said, using every ounce of willpower not to just jump her, to slide that dress right off. And most of that came from the fact that he really, really wanted to watch her do it herself. Watch Justine transform back into Justin.

She backed away, pulling him after her, pushing him gently down onto the couch, then standing back and just looking, licking her lips. "You're gorgeous, Joey," she whispered, sliding her hands down her sides and hips, stroking the silky fabric. "You were the hottest man in that room, and I wanted to stop the show and crawl all over you and taste you." She pulled the dress up her thighs, reaching inside and shimmying her hips, then throwing her head back and gasping before kicking something small and lacy off one foot.

"Oh ... " breathed Joey, staring at it for a moment, knowing exactly what he was seeing. "Just so you know? I think it's pretty much impossible to turn me on much more than I already am, Justin. You had me while you were still performing. It was amazing, watching you and knowing you were coming home with *me*."

"And now I'm home with you," Justin said, voice somehow deeper now, his eyes never leaving Joey's face. "And I've been turned on since before the show, and it *hurt*, Joey..." he arched his back easily, pushing his hips forward, and now where the line of the dress had been flat, there was a hard curve holding it away from his body. "And the dress...it's soft...it's rubbing me..." he gasped, chewing his lip and making no move to touch Joey yet, or even himself.

Joey couldn't help reaching out though, like that had been an invitation. He rested his hand on Justine's hip and caressed her through the fabric, resising the urge to cup the erection in his hand. "It's not hurting now," he said. But he might have been wrong about that. He'd been hard just about as long, and *he* was aching.

Justine sucked in a breath, mouth dropping open like she'd been shocked, as Joey's hand moved over the slippery-thin fabric. "Oh," she said softly, moving towards Joey, reaching down to bunch the skirt in her hands. She slipped forward, knees on the couch on either side of Joey's thighs, moving agonizingly slowly until she was seated in his lap, the whisper of cloth the only thing between Joey's hands and her body. "You can touch me," she whispered. "Please."

"I don't know what you mean by that," he admitted, but obviously part of him did because his hand was already sliding up Justine's thigh, up under the dress. "Baby, I can't take this much longer. I don't want to be like all those other guys, but all I want to do right now is slide that dress off and run my hands throught that hair until it's messy and gorgeous and kiss you all over and make love to you."

Heat flared in Justine's eyes, and she hummed a little, draping her arms around Joey's neck and squirming under his fingers. "You can do that. This body is your playground, honey, and I surely do hope you want to play." She reached an arm back and there was a zipping sound. "Any time you're ready," she whispered against his mouth. "I'll be bare for you."

"Let me see," said Joey, moving his head back enough to watch her, hand still cupping the lower curve of her ass. "I want to play with you, baby. I'm yours too, you know. I want you to."

"You have to help," Justine pouted a little, placing her hand over Joey's and moving it in a long hot stroke down her thigh. Bare smooth skin, so similar to what Joey was used to touching. Her other hand started toying with the top button on his shirt. "I think it would be hot. Me, all naked on you, with all your clothes on. And then we can play."

"I'm not sure how much I like the idea of me being all dressed," he teased, reaching up to begin sliding the dress down. "There's not enough room in these pants as it is, I think." But he saw the look on Justin's face, so warm, so happy, and he thought he'd probably be willing to do whatever he wanted.

"Yeah?" Justin breathed, drawing the long skirt up over his thighs until it was draped around his waist, baring his legs. He kept smiling even as he raised his arms above his head, waiting like a child for Joey to undress him. "We'll get you out of those pants soon, don't worry," he added, looking hungry. "I want to play too."

Joey licked his lips and reached down again to continue the dress' steady progress up and off. He knew that Justin was already bare -- or mostly bare at the very least -- underneath, and wasn't entirely sure how he was going to handle that, but given everything that had happened so far he figured that it would be all okay. That it would be fantastic.

The dress slipped off surprisingly easily, and Joey watched his hands, feeling Justin tense and flutter under his touch, moving pliantly as cloth moved up his body. Finally, he wriggled his fingertips and it fell away, a puddle of blue satin on the floor, and Justin was naked. Bare, sitting on Joey's lap, straddling his hips, and it *was* Justin. Justin with makeup and a wild glittering mane of hair, but not Justine. This was definitely a boy.

"You're beautiful," said Joey for the millionth time, because he couldn't think of a better way to say it. The right words didn't exist in his vocabulary to describe just what it was like to have Justin there, like that. He wasn't sure where to touch, what to do, it wans't as obvious and instinctive as it would have been with a girl in his lap. That, he had done hundreds of times before. This, never. But he wanted to. So, so very much.

"You're beautiful," Justin murmured, reaching for his hands. He took them and brought them to his mouth, kissing the fingertips gently, before placing them low on his own waist, hard with muscle. "There," he said softly, flushing a little despite the erection that rested between his body and Joey's. "And...remember when I said you could touch me? You can. And you can look at me, too."

"I'm looking," said Joey. "Believe me, I'm looking. I'm always looking at you, Justin, I just can't stop. Not ever. It's all just new and wonderful and ... new." He touched him, though, and not just because Justin had asked or encouraged him. "It's been such a wonderful night and I want to end it right. With us ... together."

"We are," Justin said, smiling at him bright as the sun. "You an' me, we're here, together. Us. We're an us." He trailed his fingers up Joey's arms, then around, down his chest, slipping his fingers inside Joey's shirt to tease his chest. "Oooh, strong," he sighed, eyes fluttering to half-mast. "I want you so much my tummy's turning somersaults," he confessed, rolling his hips for just a heartstopping moment. "*So* much, Joey. You're so hot to me."

Joey gently ran his hand over Justin's fluttering stomach. "You don't need to be nervous," he promised him. "*I* should be nervous. I'm still scared I won't measure up. But I want to try, Justin, you just have to help me out a little." He left his hand on the stomach, not dropping any lower, not yet.

"There's no way you could not measure up," Justin said simply, giving a funny little bounce and wiggle to get him closer to Joey. "I'm not measuring. I just want *you*, and there's no expectations except that you'll try to have fun too." He met Joey's eyes, smiling eagerly. "How can I help?"

Joey laughed nervously. "I have no idea," he admitted, running his hands back up Justin's chest. He couldn't stop looking at him, didn't want to ever stop. This was what he'd wanted, even before he'd been admitting himself that he'd wanted it. This was what had been in his dreams and on the edge of his waking thoughts. This, someone just like Justin. "Just be you, I think."

Justin shuddered a little, though he kept smiling. "I need a script," he complained, letting his hands wander a little more boldly. "If I were being totally me I'd probably be on my knees by now sucking your cock with a finger in your ass, or, rather, if you weren't you, that's what would be happening. With you, it's nicer to take my time. I feel all bare and...special. Is that dumb?"

"It's not dumb," insisted Joey. "It's how you *should* feel. It's how I want you to feel with me, because you're just so much more special than you know. Although ... that blowjob thing? We could, yeah, try that later, I think. If you wanted."

Justin laughed happily, eyes crinkling up as he leaned forward, pressing his bare chest against Joey and kissing him sweetly. "We can do that later, sure," he agreed. We can do anything you want. But I think first you're gonna have to be able to touch my butt. Otherwise we're not going to get very far." He wriggled the behind in question down into Joey's groin, biting his lip even redder.

"I was, before, remember?" said Joey, but his hands were a long way from there now and he hesitated for just a second before heading for it again. It was very different, having a boy in his lap. He had to get used to just where all the fun bits were. "Like this?" he asked as he squeezed it gently with one hand.

"Yeah," Justin breathed, ducking his face down behind his hair. "A-and if you go like this..." he brought Joey's other hand to his other hip shyly, leaving it there as he braced his own palms against Joey's shoulders, "...you can feel what it feels like when I do *this*." He started moving his hips slowly and fluidly between Joey's hands, circling and working his pelvis almost like he was dancing.

"Oh," said Joey, his eyes wide as he watched the expression on Justin's face. He looked blissful. "Oh, that's ... I'm really trying awfully hard to take this slow, but it's not getting any easier," he admitted squeezing gently again. "Were you worried I wouldn't like this ass?"

"You don't have to take it any slower than you want to," Justin said, punctuating his words with a little moan that was pure porn. "I wanted you to like it, even though it's not even a little bit girly. But Joey...you don't...can you..." he moved his hips a little more urgently, pressing forward like he was looking for something, more contact.

"I don't know what you want," said Joey, a little desperately. He didn't know what *he* would want, in Justin's position. If he could even imagine *being* in Justin's position. "Please, Justin, help me out, I want this to be perfect for you."

"I'm so close," Justin babbled, and when Joey finally glanced down between them, his cock was stiff and looked almost painful, the head glistening wet. "You've gotta stop touching me, or touch me more, one or the other so I can...I don't want to make a mess...Joey please..." His face was tight and flushed, and his eyes were almost black as he met Joey's gaze.

"This couch has seen its share of messes," said Joey once he really got it. "It could handle one more. I think he'd like it to." And, leaving one hand gently gripping Justin's ass, he wrapped the other around his cock and stroked. Justin would never last, if they tried anything else, and this was as good a start as any. A comfortable one. One that felt right.

Justin's hand flew up to fist his own hair, the other tight in Joey's shirt, and his back curved into an obscene arch as he moaned, long and deep and broken, and started to come. That fast and sudden and he looked as shocked as Joey felt, hips bucking frantically, pulse after pulse over Joey's fist and his own thigh and Joey's shirt. "Ohno," he keened, shaking.

"Oh yeah," said Joey in return, slowing his thrusts just as quickly as he'd started them. His heart was pounding hard in his chest again as he watched the way Justin came. "I never want to forget what you look like, right now. It's amazing."

Justin bucked his hips twice more, helplessly, his head falling forward and hair curtaining his face. He moaned again, softly, and slumped forward, folding his hands on Joey's chest and hiding his face against them. He was trembling a little, a light shiver that Joey could feel all over his skin. "Sorry," he whispered, just a thread of sound. "I'm sorry, Joey."

"No," said Joey quickly. "No, no, no, Justin, Justin." He pushed him away gently, so he could see his face, so he could kiss him hard and wet and sloppy. "No sorry, Justin, no sorry."

Even though his eyes stayed miserable, Justin slipped his arms up around Joey's neck tentatively, returning his kiss. "You must think I'm such a baby," he murmured, looking down again. "A stupid baby with no self control at *all*, but you made me so hot, and I was hard so long, and I just couldn't *help* it..." he stopped babbling and tipped his mouth back to Joey's, before slipping gracefully down Joey's body, until he was kneeling naked and submissive between Joey's knees on the floor. "You're still hard," he whispered, stroking Joey's thighs. "Let me help?"

"You want to know what you made me feel?" Joey asked, bending over so he could kiss Justin again. "Yeah, you made me feel like I'm so hot to you that you couldn't help yourself. And that's a great feeling, Justin. For me. To know that you want me like that. Makes me feel a lot more confident about everything. So ... do I get to be naked now, a little?"

Justin's eyes lit up with his smile, and he nodded a little, though his cheeks were still flushed hotly. "You did. Make me that hot. It was all you, Joey." He slid his hands further up Joey's thighs, until they were framing his groin, resting against his hipbones. "I want you to be naked. So I can see you, all your skin, and touch you, and kiss you..." He pushed his face into the V of Joey's thighs, biting lightly at his zipper.

And Justin thought *he* came fast ... Joey almost lost it right then, with Justin's teeth on his zipper, before Justin even told him. "Okay," he breathed, and reached down to help, to pull them off. "Just tell me what you need me to do."

"Be naked," Justin said simply, lifting his face and smiling a little when Joey's hips moved, seeking a return of that incredible feeling. "Take off your shirt, Joey," he instructed softly, reaching for his pants. He opened them agonizingly slowly, running his fingers down the ridge of Joey's cock before sliding the zipper open, curling his fingers into the wasteband of his pants and boxers, tugging gently. "Lift up," he said, voice still quiet but excited now.

Joey lifted up enough for Justin to get his pants down to mid-thigh before lowering himself again, all the while fumbling with his shirt to get it off and out of the way. Never had it seemed quite so difficult before.

Justin chuckled, a sultry little sound, and pulled the pants down and off smoothly, only pausing briefly to deal with his shoes. "Here." He leaned up, between Joey's bare thighs, which closed reflexively around him. He met Joey's eyes with a smile, and pulled Joey's shirt gently off his body, never looking away. When it was gone, he stayed where he was, hands touching lightly over Joey's chest, his arms, his throat and belly. "So hot," he said wonderingly.

Joey *felt* hot, that was for sure. And he didn't let himself think too hard about what he was doing, what *they* were doing. It felt good, so good, and that was what mattered right then. Justin knew what he was doing, he would take care of him, and Joey didn't need to worry about it at all.

Justin must have felt something, though, because he leaned back on his heels a little, stroking Joey's hips with gentle fingers like he needed calming. "It's okay," he murmured, glancing up into Joey's eyes with a little smile. "I'll take care of it." He pressed a wet, open-mouthed kiss to the soft skin on the very upper part of Joey's inner thigh, and then lifted up a little, taking Joey's cock in one hand and guiding the head of it into his mouth.

Joey just let his mouth fall open, then let his head roll back as he first felt Justin's mouth on him. It was incredible already, and it was going to be even more so. It was going to make him forget every other blowjob he'd ever had, he was sure of it, even if it wasn't the best. He just had so much more of himself involved.

Justin teased him a little, sucking gently on the head, making Joey squirm. He drew back, then, still cradling Joey in his hand, and lapped at him with a long pink tongue. Joey had to look, and his breath caught at the sight of Justin, eyes closed in obvious bliss, licking him like he was a candy treat. Just a little rough, and wet, and hot, and it was the best thing Joey could remember feeling.

"I don't think I'm gonna ... last long enough to appreciate this," he gasped, reaching for Justin's hair without even thinking about it. Tugging but not too hard. "I want to appreciate, Justin. You. Appreciate you."

Justin moaned a little at the pressure of Joey's hands in his hair, and sank his mouth back down around Joey, forcing his own hand out of the way as he took Joey in to the root. His nose pressed against Joey's belly, his throat was like a furnace that sucked Joey in. One hand slipped under his chin, cupping and rolling Joey's balls, as he whimpered and whined and worked his tongue.

Joey's first response was to clutch at him tighter, to moan and tense up and make a real effort not to thrust. The second was to feel a moment of panic as he thought he might come right then and there. The third was to warn Justin before it happened. Or try, anyway. "Justin, Justin," he said urgently, breathlessly. "Justin, I'm ... I ... oh ... oh ... "

Justin hummed encouragingly and took him, impossibly, deeper, hollowing his cheeks and sucking and licking, driving Joey crazy, and as he tightened all through his thighs and grabbed Justin's hair in a deathgrip, Justin drew off and then plunged back down, a slick smooth slide that tipped Joey over the edge.

Joey'd known lots of girls who swallowed, and he'd known more than didn't, and he just hoped that Justin was the kind that did because there wasn't really any choice anymore, he was too deep and it was too sudden and it was almost over before he knew it. "Fuck," he blurted out and for a second he knew exactly how Justin had felt no so long ago when he was worried that he'd done something wrong, too fast, but he felt too good to let that worry linger.

Justin swallowed eagerly, gripping Joey's thighs almost *too* tightly, and kept Joey's cock in his mouth, even as Joey moaned and trembled under the force of the pleasure. Even after he was done, like he didn't want to let go, and Justin's grip changed to a soft stroking again, fingers petting up to tangle in the curls at Joey's groin.

"Hey," said Joey softly, to get his attention. He was *so* sensitive now, every touch made him quiver. "Hey, Justin? Justin, baby, c'mere. C'mere. Baby."

Justin finally, reluctantly, let his cock slip loose, and nuzzled Joey's thigh, before sliding up his body and back into his lap. Justin was half-hard again, and Joey realized with a start that this was the first time they'd touched like this, all naked. Justin's skin was like hot satin, sleek and smooth and tight, and as Jusitn settled back onto his thighs, he was smiling. "How was that?" He sounded a little proud, and still a little shy. "You look like you liked it."

"Like it is an understatement," laughed Joey, taking Justin into his arm as best he could and holding him there. "You were great, Justin. I mean, not great in a technical way. I mean, you were! You were. But I mean it more like ... that was special. That was wonderful."

"It was," Justin agreed happily, cuddling close to him, touching his face. "You taste so good, Joey. So yummy." He licked his lips, now bare of lipstick but still shiny and swollen from Joey. "I didn't want to stop. I want to do that all the time, now, can I? That's one of my favorite things, and it's the best it's ever been, with you." His cock twitched a little against Joey's ribs.

"I, um, think I might need a little time to recover," mumbled Joey, incdredulous and, well, stunned. "It it really? Your favorite? And with me it's ... good? I've never ... you know, done that. Well, obviously, since I've never done anything."

"You've done it before *sometimes*," Justin teased him lightly, smiling even wider. "Just not with *me*. And it's just *one* of my favorite things. Though right now it's my favorite ever ever, because it's with you." He tucked his knees up along Joey's sides, getting as close as humanly possible, fingers toying idly with Joey's nipple.

Joey quivered again and caught Justin's wrist. "Too much, baby," he whispered, then pulled Justin's wrist up to his mouth and kissed it. "I've never done what you just did, I mean. I don't know what that feels like, to *do* it."

"Well, soon enough you might," Justin offered, leaving his hand in Joey's grip and curling his long body around until his head was resting on Joey's shoulder. "If you want to, I mean. Sometime." He shifted uncomfortably, then pushed and prodded Joey until he tipped sideways, and spread over his body like a blanket. "Much better," he sighed happily, tucking himself neatly between Joey's thighs.

"O-okay," said Joey, taking a moment to force himself to relax again, to not think too hard and talk himself out of this. Not that he would do that, but he could tell he was still a little nervous, a little unsure of everything. Especially now that he'd come and rational thought was returning to him. "I'd like to try at least," he said. "Maybe not just yet, but I would."

"Okay," Justin murmured agreeably, stroking his arm softly. "You're all tense again, why are you tense? This is okay, right? It's still good?" He reared up a little, looking at Joey. "Am I...do you not like this part, the after part? I could..." He started to roll away from Joey, but hesitated, waiting for an answer, smudged eyeliner making his eyes huge and wary.

Joey held on to him, so he couldn't get far. "I'm just nervous," he confessed, practically whispering it in Justin's ear. "Don't worry, this is good. It feels nice. I don't want you to go anywhere, okay?"

"Okay," Justin said again, settling back against him, a little more carefully. "Why are you nervous?" He sounded genuinely curious, and only slightly worried. "I'm not going anywhere, you can tell me if you want. We could move to the bed if you're uncomfortable, though. We're big boys." He thumped his bare foot on the arm of the couch in illustration.

Joey couldn't argue with that, that was for sure. "It's not you," he assured Justin immediately. "I'm just a little nervous about sex again. No, I mean, about all of this. Stuff with a guy. Just nervous, not having second thoughts or anything. Just got the jitters."

"Well, since I'm the guy you're doing the jittery stuff with," Justin started slowly, brow wrinkling a little. "It kind of *is* me, huh? But that's okay, I think. I'll try to be really un-scary." He propped his chin on the hands he'd folded on Joey's chest, and smiled at him tentatively. "It was nice, though, huh? The sexy stuff?"

He had such a proud, happy smile on his face that Joey couldn't help but grin back. "Yeah, it was nice," he said. "It made me feel really good, like stuff hasn't before. You're not being scary. It's just scary at first, I think. You know that, right?"

"Sure, but it's hard not to think it's a little bit me," Justin answered frankly, still smiling. "Since I'm a big part of the scariness. But as long as it's not BIG scary, just little scary, that's okay, I think. Since it's new and everything. But...tell me if it gets too bad, if I'm doing something that's too much, okay? Promise?"

"I promise," said Joey, pulling him closer for a kiss. "I promise. And it's really not you. The only way it could even be a little bit you is because you're just, you know, so sure of yourself, when it comes to this. You know what you're doing. But you don't make it scary, Justin, you make it easy."

"Oh, good," Justin said, relieved and kissing him back easily and sweetly. "But I'm not so sure of myself, you know, because maybe I've done a lot things, but I don't know how *you* like them, yet. But I'll figure it out." He wiggled around a little until he was curled against Joey's side, and took one of Joey's hands, nibbling on the fingertips. "I think I'm hungry," he announced.

"Hungry for what?" teased Joey, running a fingertip over Justin's lower lip. "I don't know how I like things yet either, Justin. Most things. I *thought* I knew how I liked blowjobs until you just completely changed my mind about it. So I guess we both get to figure out all that stuff together."

Justin snapped at his finger with playful teeth before rubbing his cheek into Joey's palm, catlike. "I'm hungry for *food*," he said reprovingly, grinning. "And then more of you. I wanna lick you all over, and see if you like *that*. And then you can maybe do me."

"In bed," insisted Joey. "In bed this time. I want to show you my bed. I want you to be in my bed. But first, I can feed you, baby. What's your pleasure?"

"Wow." Justin peered at him through corkscrew curls. "You must have a pretty great bed. I can do that, the bed thing, I mean. After food." He clearly thought about it carefully, tapping fingertips against Joey's chest, nose scrunched a little. "I don't want sweet," he declared, after a long moment. "Salty, or maybe like, starchy. Something with bread." He nodded.

Joey grinned again. "I like a guy who knows what he wants," he said, then patted Justin's ass. "Up, up, we need to get into the kitchen if we want food, which means you have to let me up. Much as I'm liking feeling you against me."

"Don't wanna," Justin pouted, clinging to him. "Can't you magic it up or something? Really long distance microwave control?" When Joey raised his eyebrows and patted him again, though, he sighed and rolled off of Joey, standing gracefully and stretching with no sign of selfconsciousness.

Joey took another stolen moment to look at him, look at everything. It sparked excitement alongside nervousness for him -- he really had wanted this for a long time, even longer than he'd really known. "You'll be a lot more comfortable in the bed," he said, a little inanely. "I mean, if you've got a kind in your back or something? The bed will be help." That certainly wasn't any better, either. "Okay, yeah, food."

Justin grinned down at him, flaunting himself a little. He knew how he looked, Joey knew, and seemed delighted that Joey was distracted. "I don't have a kink in my back right *now*," he almost purred, looking Joey up and down. "But you can put one there later, if you want."

Joey shivered again. "I ... okay," he said, not really thinking about what that answer meant he was going to do. "You still hungry baby? I can cook. I'm *good* at cooking."

"You're good at other things, too," Justin said softly, "like turning me on." Joey couldn't help but notice that he was still semi-hard, his cock hanging heavy between his thighs. "But I need to eat first, or I won't survive all that strenuous...kinking." He held a hand down to Joey. "Come cook for me."

Joey let Justin help him up; he was strong, muscular even. You just had to know where and when to look. "You still have to tell me what you want. Something more than just "bread". Did you want a sandwich or something? I don't have to cook a sandwich, exactly, though."

"What do you have?" Justin followed him as he stepped towards the kitchen, draping himself over Joey's back and matching his stride. "Not a sandwich, something hot. You have to tell me what my options are, though. And it has to be quick." His hand snuck around Joey and smoothed over the very lowest part of his belly.

"I don't even know what you like!" protested Joey. "I'm ... I'm pretty well-stocked, really. I like to have everything on hand. I have cheese and eggs and bread and milk and meat and pasta and ... help me out here, Justin. I just want to make you hapy." He knew he was babbling a little to keep himself calm, especially as Justin touched him so intimately, but it was working so he didn't worry about it too much.

"You'd make me happy if all you had here was dry toast," Justin said, sounding a little surprised and pressing a kiss to the top of Joey's shoulder. "I'm not really a picky eater, you know. How about fried egg sandwiches and milk? And I'll be happy as long as you are. Does that sound okay?" He stopped talking and hung onto Joey, dragging him to a stop with his weight alone. "You still okay?"

"I'm okay," said Joey, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "I'm fine, Justin. Just still nervous. Don't ... don't tell anyone I got this nervous, okay?" He laughed softly as he turned to face him and gave him a soft kiss. "It's kind of embarrassing."

"Oh, I would never," Justin said earnestly, kissing him back and still hanging on him like a monkey. "This is us-time, nobody hears about that, except...no, okay, I won't tell anyone, even though Chris will *yell*." He kissed Joey again and nudged him towards the kitchen again. "Plus, there's no reason to be embarrassed. I mean, it's the first time you've had some boy get all naked and suck your cock."

"Yeah, but only with a boy," said Joey. "I've *done* this before, kinda. It's a little embarrassing. I'm not the kind of guy that gets this nervous much, I swear. It's just all new and fast and ... well, you already know that. I don't need to tell you again. Um. If you need to tell Chris? It's okay. Just ask him not to laugh at me or whatever."

"Well, I'm gonna tell him *some* stuff," Justin admitted with disarming frankness. "I mean, it's only just about the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me, coming home with my very first boyfriend and giving him our very first blowjob. This is big exciting news, Joey, I'll have to tell him. But I won't tell him that you were nervous. If you want to talk to someone about it, you can tell him yourself." He let go of Joey and wandered through his kitchen, poking at things. "Look at all the pots you've got!"

"Well yeah," said Joey, flipping on the light so Justin could see everything. "I told you I liked to cook." The kitchen might've been the best room in the house, hanging racks of pots and utensils and a big island that would've been more at home in a mansion than a moderate-sized apartment. "I got this place because of the kitchen. Did I tell you that? The bedroom's kinda small and the bathroom's outdated, but the kitchen? It made it all worth it."

Justin giggled, swinging Joey's ladles until they rang like wind chimes. "This is really cool. It looks like something from a restaurant. Do you ever use all this stuff?" He looked like he was about to hoist himself to a seat on the island, but then thought better of it. "You could cook for like a thousand people! You should be the one having dinner parties, not your friend. Though I guess he got to use all this stuff when he lived here."

Joey grinned. "His girl? She has a lot of the same stuff. But between you and me, she can't really use it. She tries, but ... it's a little bit of a disaster. Kevin's thinking about getting her cooking classes for her birthday but he doesn't know how she'd take that. And I couldn't cook for a *thousand* people. Maybe a dozen or two. In a pinch."

"That's a *lot*," Justin said, amazed and shaking his head, then stepping over to the refridgerator and opening it, peering inside. "Whoa, you have, like, cooking type stuff. There's chicken in here that's, like. Raw." He bent over, bare behind on display, and it would have been funny if it hadn't been such a *nice* behind. "Found the milk!" He said triumphantly, emerging with it and closing the fridge with a little shiver.

"Did you find the eggs, too?" asked Joey, still watching him, the way he moved, the way he was when he wasn't being conscious of himself. "The bread is on the counter. You don't need to worry about the chicken just right now."

"I wasn't worried about it," Justin assured him, making a face. "It looks all naked and slimy, not in the good way. Ick. I like my chicken to have the good fried stuff on the outside and be cooked already when I see it." He opened the fridge again and came back with one egg, which he handed to Joey with a proud smile. "There, egg."

"Thanks, Justin," he said, and it was impossible not to smile back, now with Justin looking that happy and proud. "I feel like I'm in an operating room. Nurse, get me my scalpel! Or ... okay, maybe just a frying pan."

"You're on your own, there," Justin confessed, looking around the kitchen, a little lost. "I mean, you have about twenty pans here that I'd probably try to cook eggs in, but you probably want a specific egg-cooking one, huh?" He slid around behind Joey and hung his arms over Joey's shoulders, propping his chin on Joey's shoulder and pressing against him. "I'm just gonna watch the genius at work," he murmured.

"Well, not necessarily a special pan," said Joey, reaching back to caress his thigh. "Just ... well, a little one. LIke this one." He coaxed Justin to take a couple of steps with him and grabbed a small frying pan off a hook. "This here is an all-purpose little frying pan. Nothing special about it. Usually pretty safe to use for anything. Nice non-stick coating, just a little bit of wear. And I'm totally boring you, huh?"

"Oh, no," Justin breathed, husky. "No, keep talking. Someday I wanna make you breakfast in bed, and if you don't tell me now, you may, you know. I might burn down your kitchen or something. Aren't you supposed to fry eggs in something? Butter or something?" He moved his arms lower, snugging them around Joey's waist, and rubbed his hips gently against Joey. "I'm paying attention. Learn me the good stuff."

"You don't have to, if you've got a good frying pan," said Joey, getting Justin to step with him again over to the stove. "I like to use a little because I like the taste, but it's not really great for me. So ... it's up to you, I guess. It's your sandwich, baby." The though of Justin making breakfast for him was sweet, but a little alarming at the same time.

"Do it how you do it for you," Justin insisted. "I want to see. Otherwise I'll never learn it right." He dropped little kisses along the line of Joey's shoulder, absently. "How hot is the stove? Is it different if you're making more than one egg? I think I might need more than one egg. I have to keep my strength up, you know. All that waiting and being sexy and then getting naked and then this, it's very tiring."

"Well then you're gonna have to get me another egg," said Joey, poking at Justin playfully. He *liked* this kind of attention, turned out. "Keep the stove pretty hot; eggs cook fast and they're hard to burn. But not impossible, believe me."

"I don't wanna," Justin bumped his hips gently against Joey again, and he could almost *hear* the pout. But Justin stepped away, and when he returned, his hand slipped back around Joey's waist, holding two more eggs easily in his broad palm. "I decided I wanted two more," he explained, grinning. His free hand stroked down the front of Joey's thigh, fingers playing in the dusting of hair there. "Hurry." He nipped at the side of Joey's neck. "I'm *hungry*."

Joey giggled and put everything down so he could take the other eggs. "Do you want me to make you an omelet instead of a sandwich maybe?" he asked, turning around so he could finally face him again. "Take care of this hunger of yours?"

"Noooo, that would take too long." Justin grinned at him cheerfully, leaning in to feather a delicate kiss on his lips. "I'm hungry for lots of things, and eggs is just one of them. The sandwich sounds like it'll be absolutely perfect, I really want it now. Fried so the middles aren't too runny?" He batted his eyelashes campily. "Pretty please?"

"Sure," said Joey with a grin. "Though I'd like to point out that the omelet would be faster. Go ahead, make yourself some toast, hon. I'll take care of these eggs for you and then ... then we can take care of other things. Yes?" While 'other things' were getting more comfortable for him, he still wasn't quite at the point where he was detailing just what they were.

"Yes!" Justin agreed, letting go of him quickly and bouncing over to the counter to fiddle with the toaster. "I can make toast, that I can do. Are you sure you want to be frying things naked? I...once there was...someone burned herself on grease, I remember. So be careful, I don't want to be putting cold packs on your dangly parts. And then I'll eat, and we can get to the other things. I like the other things."

"I'll be careful," Joey assured him, "but you're definitely not getting any bacon. I'm just saying. He turned on the burner and cracked the egg into the frying pan. "The dangly bits are going to be in fine shape by the time you're done eating. Oh, you'll have to get yourself a plate, too."

"Where?" Justin turned in a slow circle, his own dangly bits on clear display. "This kitchen has more stuff in it than my whole apartment, I think. Are you sure you're supposed to be that close to the stove?" He held his hair out of his face with one hand, and peered closely at the pan. "Is it supposed to be doing that?"

"It's doing exactly what it's supposed to," Joey assured him, bumping him with his hip. "Haven't you ever fried an egg before? The plates are in the cupboard next to the fridge. Butter's in the fridge if you want it for your sandwich." He grabbed for the salt himself, happy to be doing something he was completely comfortable with, at least for a little while.

"No butter, I don't think. It'd be all greasy." Justin bustled off and grabbed plates, setting them on the island. "I've never fried an egg before. I've never fried an anything before. How do you know when they're ready to flip over? Can you do it without turning them into little fried-egg piles?" He leaned on Joey's side, watching with deep interest. "It smells really good."

"You wait until they're firmish," said Joey, poking at the egg. "You actually don't have to flip them over if you do it right, but you'll want to because they're gonna be in a sandwich and they don't have to be pretty. You've really never fried anything before? Never ever?"

"Nope. Never ever." Justin's forehead wrinkled a little. "I thought you had to flip them, like pancakes. Huh." He fidgeted and fiddled with a fork while Joey tended the eggs, looking up brightly when Joey stood back from the stove. "Are they done? They smell so *good*." Joey was abruptly reminded that Justin was only twenty; he remembered his own appetite from then, and shook his head fondly.

He flipped the eggs and then turned to give Justin a hug, impulsively. "I really like you," he said softly, unable to come up with a better way to say what he was feeling, not without being gushy and sappy and saying things in a way he didn't really mean them. "Okay, eggs. How's the toast?"

"Oh!" Justin wriggled out of the hug he'd been curling into, and dashed back to the toaster. "I totally forgot about it! It's done." He plucked the pieces out and put them on a plate, bringing them back to Joey. "I think that's half the problem with me cooking. I forget." He butted his head against Joey's shoulder, hair tickling Joey's chest and arm. "I really like you too. A lot."

Joey adeptly plunked and egg down on Justin's toast and smiled at him, at everything about him. From his long curls down to his painted toenails. "There's more where that came from," he told him. "You might want more toast, baby."

"Can you put two eggs on one toast?" Justin peered at his half-sandwich. "Because that might be very time-effective. Are you having eggs too? I can totally wait for you, if you are." He glanced around the kitchen, at the stools, and then back to Joey. "I should probably...I don't wanna put my bare butt all over your furniture, but all I have is my dress. Got any suggestions? I guess we could eat in bed."

"Sure you can," said Joey, slipping another one on top, "but you have a third egg coming too, remember. And three eggs on a sandwich is kinda pushing it. And feel free to put your bare butt wherever you like but you are *not* getting crumbs in that bed right before we make better use of it."

"Okay." Justin grinned at him, and padded away with his sandwich. "I can just eat the third egg naked. I mean, obviously, but it doesn't need a sandwich, really." He settled on the stool and took a *huge* bite, a look of bliss on his face. "Mphhgjeeegd." He chewed and swallowed and tried again. "Oh man, Joey, this is good. So good. No crumbs in bed."

"Glad you like it," said Joey, turning off the stove and leaving the third egg in the frying pan until Justin was reading for it. He even liked watching Justin eat. He obviously had it bad. "And sex is definitely better with no crumbs. I mean ... if that's what we're gonna ... "

"I sure *hope* so," Justin said, licking his fingers clean. "Sex of some sort, anyway, or even just sleeping with you...all that'll be better with no crumbs." Another giant bite, and the sandwich was half gone, but Justin paused in his inhalation of the sandwich and looked up at Joey, worry written clearly all over his face. "I...I'm not assuming too much, right? There will be sleeping? You, and me, here?"

"No, you're not assuming too much," said Joey, still happy with just watching him. "I was really hoping that we would. I think it's gonna be really, really nice, Justin, you and me together like that. Even if there's nothing but sleep now."

"Well. We'll just see about that." Justin's eyes twinkled at him from behind his hair, puffy and frizzy and still so gorgeous to Joey. "Beds are fun places. Lots of room to roll around and explore." He finished the sandwich with a final satisfied munch, and licked his fingers again. "There, done. Watching you cook made me...it was neat. You're all competent and stuff, like Emeril. Only sexy."

"Watching me cook turned you on?" teased Joey, offering him the last egg. "Is that what you're trying to tell me? That would be kind of cool, to be sexy doing something I do really well ... "

"You *are*," Justin protested, pink-cheeked. "You're sexy all the time, but you look all comfortable there, doing that. Relaxed, you know? It's cool." He ate the egg in three quick bites, using his fingers neatly, then looked at Joey again with undisguised eagerness. "Bed now? My feet are getting cold."

"Dishes in the dishwasher," insisted Joey, cleaning the frying pan out himself in the sink but leaving it on the counter afterwards. "*Then* we go to my nice, big, soft, crumbless bed. And do whatever. You're full now? Won't need to get up for a midnight snack?"

"Um. No promises," Justin laughed. "Chris says I eat more than any three people he knows. But...if you wear me out..." He glanced up at Joey through his eyelashes, before standing gracefully and bringing his plate to the dishwasher. "There." He stepped right into Joey's personal space, swaying close and running careful fingers up Joey's sides. "Can I kiss the cook?"

"You can do pretty much anything you like to the cook," murmured Joey as he forced himself to keep relaxing with Justin *right there*. "You can even do it right here ... I won't make you wait."

Justin cocked his head thoughtfully, fingers still gentle on Joey's skin, and looked at him for a long moment with indigo eyes, before they fluttered closed and he touched their lips together. "Thank you," he said, just a breath of sound against Joey's mouth. "For the sandwich. And tonight, all of tonight, and for being so nice to me."

"Well ... " said Joey, touching Justin's lips with his fingertips once he moved away again. "Thank *you*. Thank *you* for being all patient and understanding and believing in me even when I make things kinda weird, and letting me do nice stuff for you. And just for being such a sweet thing."

Justin blushed, red rising up his neck and down to his collarbones; and actually looked down, shifting from foot to foot. "You don't make things weird," he said in a whisper. "They're nice. Just like how they're supposed to be, with b-boyfriends." He glanced up through his eyelashes, and reached for Joey's hand. "Can you show me your bed, now? This amazing bed with no crumbs in it that I'm going to love?"

It was easy to *talk* about the bed, but being in it was a little more nerve-wracking. Not that Joey let himself back down, not one bit. "This way," he said, taking Justin's hand and leading him out of the kitchen again, though the living room and pushing the bedroom door open. "This is ... it." And he reached inside the door and flipped on the light.

Justin stepped close enough that their hips were pressed together, and smiled. "It's a very nice bed. I already like it." He let go of Joey's hand and walked into the room, crawling up onto the bed without hesitation, settling himself on his knees in the very center, his feet tucked under him. Watching Joey very seriously, he beckoned to him. Apparently Justin really did like the bed; the evidence was hard between his legs, in the clenched muscles of his abdomen.

Or maybe he just liked the idea of what he thought he'd be doing in it. Or both. "Um, light on or off?" asked Joey, hand still on the switch, eyes roaming Justin's body everywhere.

"Whatever you want," Justin said softly, still holding out his hand. "Whatever will make you comfortable. I like seeing you, but dark is nice too." He stretched a little under Joey's gaze, showing himself off just a bit, rolling his shoulders and bracing himself back with one hand on the bed, so his whole body was an invitation.

Joey left it on, because he thought that might make everything a little less intimidating. It would probably easier to know just what was coming at him. "Um. So what are you thinking about right now?" And he slowly approached the bed.

Justin grinned, a quick flash of even white teeth. "I'm thinking dirty thoughts," he confessed, watching Joey come closer. "About you," he clarified, "and it's not helping that you're all naked and stuff, and wondering what you're gonna want to do with me."

"I don't know," admitted Joey, leaning over the bed and resting both hands on it. But looking at Justin's body some more, he certainly had some ideas. "I might just have to try some stuff out, see what I like. You think?"

"I think that would be good," Justin said, his voice a little breathless now that Joey was so close, and he leaned back a little further, braced on two hands now. "I think whatever you want to do with me will be really nice. You can do whatever you want, Joey."

Joey crawled up onto the bed. "You could always give me some ideas," he murmured, kissing Justin's ankle. "Let me know where I should start. Cause there's just too much for me to know, Justin ... "

Justin chewed his lip, watching Joey with wide eyes. "I could...I think you should start by kissing me, and then we can lie down, and after that...it's not so much to know. Really honestly, it's not so much to know. Anything you liked before, with girls, you'll still like that, and I probably will too." His leg jumped a little under Joey's touch, and his thighs spread as he sprawled backwards onto the bed.

Joey felt like he was just so hard, it was embarassing. And also very clear that he was exactly where he wanted to be. "I can do that," he said. And he could, he did, he fit himself between Justin's legs and didn't let himself think about it and just kissed him until his lungs screamed for air.

Justin was gasping and wriggling under him by the time he had to pause for breath, eyes heavy-lidded and his arms linked around Joey's neck. He smiled a little, slow and hot, and slid a knee up Joey's thigh until it was at his hip, and his leg settled lightly over the small of Joey's back. "Mmmm, I like that," he said, not looking away from Joey's eyes even as his movements shifted them and snugged Joey's pelvis even closer to him. "You feel good on me."

Joey just let the words skim over his consciousness, only keeping the spirit of them close -- that this was good. That they felt good. Once he did this once, he convinced himself, then everything would be easy again. And he'd already done lots of stuff with Justin who was beautiful and wonderful and sexy. All he had to do was keep going. It was no work at all.

"Do you want..." Justin's hands dropped from his hair, smoothed down his neck to his collarbones, to his chest, where he rubbed his fingertips lightly over Joey's nipples, even as his hips lifted up lightly against Joey's. "We can...have sex. If you want, if you think it would be good. Is it slutty of me to want that?" His eyes were big and worried, even though they were still dilated with arousal, his hair spread in a mass of tangled curls over the pillow.

"Yeah, um, I think I'd like that," admitted Joey, rubbing himself against Justin instinctively. So easy. "Yeah." He leaned in and pressed their chests together, trapping Justin's hands, and kissed him again. "Yes. Please."

Justin laughed shakily into the kiss, rubbing up against him more insistently. "Okay, okay, condom, Joey, where?" He broke free, panting, and moaned, and Joey wondered what he was feeling, though his cock was hard and hot against Joey's belly. "And lube, we need lube, for sure. Do you have that?" His hands were urgent on Joey's chest, then slipping free and down his sides, rubbing lightly over Joey's shoulders.

"Oh, I ... no," Joey admitted and closed his eyes and bit his lip. "I didn't think ... I didn't know ... I mean, I knew, but not tonight. Is there any other way, Justin, anything else we can use? There must be something, my bathroom's full of slippery crap ... "

"Lotion works," Justin nodded, chewing his own lip red. "I want it a really lot," he confessed, lifting up against Joey again, squirming his hips until Joey's cock was tucked neatly between his legs, and gasping again. "Oooh, Joey."

"Me too," gasped Joey, and the last thing he wanted to do was get up and get anything right then. Not with Justin squirming against him like that, trapping him there. "Oh, me too, you just gotta help me ... "

Justin's eyes were blank and dreamy, though, and he was humming low in his throat, his hips seeming to settle into a rhythm that pleased him, if the flash of heat in his expression was any indication. Everything was unfamiliar, the heat of Justin's cock between them, the lack of moisture between his legs, but the way he froze when Joey settled in one spot...that was almost familiar. His eyes went huge, and he moved a fraction, and Joey felt something yielding. "Ohshit," Justin breathed.

"Oh," said Joey, and Justin's eyes weren't the only ones that got huge. "Oh ... oh ... but we can't ... can we?" He didn't know and he desperately wanted Justin to say that yes, they could, to not stop for anything now.

Justin's face was a study in agonized indecision, but he finally shook his head, quick and short, his hair tumbling over his face. "Not without lube," he whispered, even as his hips pushed down and Joey sank an inch inside. Burning heat and tightness and "oh god," Justin keened, tossing his head back and digging his fingers into Joey's shoulders, and dragged one knee up towards his chest. "Please, lube, or it's gonna hurt," he gasped out, though his body was not making any move away.

But that did it for Joey, right there, the idea that he could hurt Justin in any way. It wasn't easy, but he pulled away from him and pushed himself up on his arms and closed his eyes. "Okay," he said, doing it because it was clear that Justin couldn't. "Lube. Okay. Justin ... baby ... I'll be back in two seconds, I swear. I'm *not* gonna hurt you."

Justin just blinked at him gratefully, and sighed a little when he pulled away. "Okay. I'm just gonna stay here, okay?" He sprawled flat when Joey got up to leave, and hadn't moved an inch when Joey returned, a bottle of lotion in his hand. "Come back, come back," he urged, a little pout pulling his lips down. "I'm all cold here without you."

Joey didn't hesitate even a secod this time, fitting himself back in exactly where he'd been before he'd left, with one tiny exception. "This is where you gotta help me, baby, just tell me what to do and I'll do it cause I want you so bad ... "

Justin chewed his lip again, emotions flashing across his face so quickly that Joey couldn't begin to read them. Finally, he just arched his back and lifted his hips up, smiling a little as he wrapped his legs back around Joey's waist. "Just do it, you know how to do it, it's not different or strange or weird or anything. Don't worry, Joey, it'll be okay..."

Joey laughed nervously. "I'm not used to this whole lube issue," he admitted, and slopped some on both of them, clumsily. "Don't laugh, okay?" but Justin wasn't laughing. Justin was doing anything but laughing at him. "Okay ... okay ... " He knew where to go now, knew just where to hit, and pressed up against it again.

Justin yipped a little, and his hips bucked sharply up, his hands fisting in the bedsheets and his throat working as he swallowed suddenly. "Oh, god. Go slow, Joey, real slow, okay?" His body was the tightest, hottest place Joey could possibly imagine, and his arms were shaking as he held himself over Justin.

He had to close his eyes again and hope he wasn't missing anything real good because going slow was so hard and so good and so *hard*. "Like this?" he gasped out, lowering his body closer to Justin's, if only because it was getting harder and harder to support himself.

"Just like that," Justin said, barely a whisper, reaching up to pull him closer. "That's perfect, you're doing it perfect." His face was tight with concentration and every muscle on his body was standing in relief, though his eyes were getting that dreamy look as Joey pushed deeper.

He wished he could touch him, touch his arms and his face and his chest and everywhere, but he didn't trust himself to be able to hold himself up on one arm. So he just kept pushing, slowly, determined, and leaned in to give Justin a kiss. It was all he could do.

Justin kissed him back, licking into his mouth almost desperately, sighing as Joey finally sank into him completely. It was tighter than he was used to, strange fluttering of muscles around him, and so warm it almost hurt, and then Justin clenched and pressed down and there were lights flashing behind his eyes. Justin's hands left the bedspread and fisted in his hair, and he pulled back long enough to whisper "perfect, Joey," before kissing him again.

Joey waited for instinct to take over, because it had to sooner or later. He knew what to do when he was in a hot, tight hole. But Justin ... Justin ... one look at him right now, his body flushed and eyes closed and hair cascading onto the bed, and there wans't a thought left in Joey's head. He let one hand run down Justin's neck, down his chest, felt the muscles tense and relax, and only then did he try to thrust.

Justin seemed to like that, his body arching up under Joey's, his breath leaving him in a sexy little moan, his legs clenching around Joey's waist before slipping up higher, until Justin's hips were almost off the bed. It must have been a better angle, because Justin squeaked and his eyes flared open, and he was staring into Joey's eyes and licking his lips. "Again," he begged. "C'mon, Joey. You can. Please."

Joey did, again and again, his body taking over where his brain left off, finally. He clutched at Justin's shoulders and hair and arms and tried to do the things to him that felt right, that *he* would have liked. Whatever he was doing, it seemed to be working because Justin just got more and more enthusiastic about it.

"I...oh....god..." Just whimpers now, as Justin squirmed and bucked under him, his eyes closed and sweat shining on his body, and he finally let go of Joey's hair and shoulders and slid one hand down between their bodies. Joey felt knuckles bump his belly as Justin fisted his own cock, and got even more vocal, breathy sighs and moans and curse words, mostly, with his name thrown in, and it was *hot*, and Joey was trying to keep a rhythm but it was almost impossible when Justin was clutching him like that. Even harder when Justin's hand sped up, his body demanding more, and he shouted and tossed his head back and everything went tight.

Joey had never felt anything like it, he could hardly move, hardly breathe, and his orgasm was like a bullet through him -- sudden and ferocious and explosive. He shouted a little, he knew he did, but he had the presence of mind left to wrap his hand around Nick's and at last hold him as they started to come down again.

Justin panted against his shoulder, legs going limp and sliding down his body, hands grasping at Joey like he was afraid to lose him. "Oh my god, Joey," he finally breathed, face still pressed against Joey's skin. "Oh wow." He was trembling a little, still, Joey could feel it in his hands and arms and where they were still joined.

Joey was careful as he pulled out, soft and ultrasensitive and Justin was just so tight now. Still. He was trembling more than a little himself, and even as the warm afterglow feelings were spreading through him, it was starting to hit him what he'd just done. "Oh baby," he whispered, and tried to meet Justin's eyes.

Justin met his eyes, his own suspiciously damp at the corners but a little wary, now, too. "Hi Joey," he whispered, touching his face with soft fingers. "Wow. You're...we did...wow." He fell silent, but kept touching Joey, watching him carefully and not moving his body away at all. "Are you okay?" He finally asked quietly.

Joey wasn't even sure what the answer to that was, he realized. He was still feeling the effects of what they'd just done, and he was shaking, and too many things were going through his head at once. "Was it good?" he blurted out as he lowered himself to the bed, one leg still tucked between Justin's. "Was that good for you?"

"It was amazing," Justin nodded, never taking his eyes from Joey's face. "It was amazing and wonderful. Just right. Was it good for *you?*" He laughed, just a breath. "You couldn't tell from all the screaming that it was good for me? God, Joey, I feel completely...I'm shaking, still."

Joey just nodded and worried that maybe that was something that Justin said to everyone. That now that they'd had sex, he wasn't something special anymore, he was just like everyone else who just wanted Justin for his body. "I'm glad," he said softly, and ran his fingers down Justin's cheek. He was still so beautiful.

Justin blinked up at him, all big blue eyes, his hair *huge* and everywhere. Instead of answering, he leaned up suddenly and captured Joey's mouth, kissing him soft and slow and tender, looping his arms around his neck and drawing him down again. When he finally drew back, he tucked his face into Joey's neck and sighed again. "Special," he murmured, "this is so nice."

"Yeah," murmured Joey, and let Justin snuggle him for a moment. "I think I need to ... " He bit his lip and pulled away carefully. "I just ... I need some air. Just a few minutes. I promise Justin. I'll be right back." He slipped out of bed before Justin could stop him -- or before he could find out if Justin wanted to or not -- and grabbed his robe and headed out to the balcony. It was just so much to take all at once -- what he'd just done and what it meant and a hundred other things attached to that. It was all cluttering up his head.

It was quiet and cool outside, and he leaned on the railing, looking out over the city and trying to settle his mind. Cars drove by, and he could hear a dog barking; it seemed too normal, for a night when everything had changed so drastically. He had no idea how long he'd been out there, but his feet had gone cold when the door slid open quietly. He didn't turn around, didn't want to deal with Justin right now.

"Joey, I'm. If you want to lock the door behind me." Justin's voice was small, but even, almost emotionless, and he turned at that. Justin had his dress back on, crumpled and crooked, and his hair was standing out around his head like a fluffy halo. Makeup had run around his eyes, leaving them smudged with thick black. He was looking at the floor.

"Justin ... " said Joey softly, and chewed on his lip. "I promised I would come back. I'm sorry I'm ... I'm sorry it's taking a long time. I'm sorry. I don't want you to think ... I don't even know what you're thinking. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Justin said, shrugging slightly, still not looking at him. "I'm just gonna go, okay? Don't be sorry, it's cool. That way you can...you don't have to be out here, or worry about me being here, or anything." He stepped back away from the door, and Joey noticed he was still barefoot. "I'll talk to you later, Joe."

Joey nodded, even though the last thing he wanted was for Justin to go. "I'm sorry I'm not everything you hoped for after all," he whispered, and looked down at his own feet. And tried not to acknowledge how fucking heartbroken he felt, at the thought. "I'm sorry I'm freaking out a little, here. You don't have to ... I said we'd spend the night together. I'm sorry you don't want to anymore."

Justin laughed, only this time it was sharp and harsh. "This isn't about me. I'm not the one who left the bed without even saying why, after sex that was so incredible..." He trailed off, swallowing hard, and turned abruptly away. "Whatever. I'm sure your girlfriends'll be glad to have you back." He started for the door, stopping only to fish for his shoes under the couch.

*That* got Joey's attention at least. "Justin!" he said, not caring that his voice carried pretty well in the night air. "Don't ... just let me be ready to come back to you! Jesus Christ, I'm practically having a fucking *breakdown* here because everything is suddenly changing for me and it's real and I'm sorry but it's *scary* and I don't want to have to deal with you leaving me on top of that. I thought this -- us -- was more than that. I mean ... isn't it?"

Justin paused, on his knees, shoes in his hands, and his shoulders rose and fell in another impossibly graceful shrug. He finally looked back over his shoulder, and Joey was struck by how *incredibly* young he seemed. "I thought so," he said, loudly enough to be heard but only just. "I don't...you know I don't do boyfriends, Joey, you *know* I don't, and you *left*, and I don't care if it's scary, you don't, you don't just *leave* someone like that." His voice was trembling, and getting louder. "It's been real all along, for me, fucking didn't change that, not for me anyway."

"I didn't *leave*," said Joey, moving to the door. "Justin, I didn't *leave*, I was always coming back. I didn't want you to ... I just wanted to try to get over this without you knowing how fucking *scared* I am right now because i just had sex with a guy for the first time and it was wonderful and *you're* wonderful, and that ... it ... it changes *everything*. All at once." He realized he was shaking so much now it was visible."And you told me not to be scared of it and I didn't want to admit to you that I *am*."

Justin stood, slowly, and turned, shoes still in hand, his body radiating wariness. "I don't...it's okay to be scared," he finally said, his voice more even. "I wouldn't care about that, I don't. But you should have told me, you should tell me this stuff, because I thought...I thought you were gone because it was bad and you hated it." He fidgeted with his shoes for a second, then looked down, but not before Joey saw the tiny smile tugging at his mouth. "I'm wonderful?"

"*Yeah* you're wonderful," said Joey, and sniffled. "You don't know you're wonderful yet? You're wonderful and you just ... you can't leave, Justin. I don't want to let you leave. I just need ... I don't even know what. I'm still figuring out how to deal with all this."

"I just..." Justin shook his head, and took his first tentative step back towards Joey, body relaxing out of its defensiveness just a little. "I didn't have cab fare anyway," he confessed softly. "If I was wonderful you'd be happy about being with me," he finished sadly, though he didn't turn away again.

"Justin, I am," he said, wishing he could sound more convincing when he said it because it was true. "And I would never be awful, even if I didn't want to date anymore. Which I *do*. I do. I'm just ... finally having to deal with what that means, and it's ... it's kinda big. Really big. Really huge. Like ... big enough that it could make me happier than I've ever been ever, if I let it. And I want to let it, I just have to get used to it a little first. It was amazing, Justin. I didn't even know it could be that good, and I'm not just saying that. It was wonderful, with you."

"It was pretty wonderful with you, too," Justin said, though he didn't come any closer, and in fact settled back onto the couch, curling his long legs up underneath him with only a little wince. "I'm, it's scary for me too, you know. You're not the only one. Can't you deal with it *with* me, and not go all away like that? Being left alone in bed is just not fun, for me, it freaks me out."

Joey finally stepped all the way back inside and closed the door. "I'm sorry," he said. "I got scared and I ran and I didn't think it would be that long. I don't even know how long it was. I'm just ... i'm sorry." When Justin didn't look up he made his way to the couch and tentatively sat down beside him. "Why's it scary for you?"

Justin still had a shoe clutched in his hand, and fiddled with the strap, still not looking up. "I don't know the rules," he admitted, still softly. "Like, one night stands? I know just when to go, when to stay for a little, what that kiss means. But with you...it's different. I'm sure I'm doing it all wrong somehow, like, too much sex or too little sex or I'm not supposed to talk about myself so much, or whatever, and I just really really want you to keep liking me." He finally lifted his chin a little. "An' you, you're so new, I still think you might maybe change your mind, if I'm not perfect."

"And I don't know that stuff either," said Joey. "I don't know anything. You know I don't know anything. And I just ... god Justin, I never knew it would be that good, that right for me. I mean, I *knew*, but not like that, not all the way inside. Not until ... and we were together and you were beautiful and I was happy and ... okay. I know how stupid I sound. I don't know how to say what I'm feeling."

"So, we can be stupid together," Justin said, with a little chuckle that sounded mostly genuine. "I can be scared that you don't like me, and you can be scared because you're happy all suddenly, and we can just...I don't know." He stretched his feet out a bit, and poked at Joey's thigh with blue-tipped toes. "It felt beautiful, with us. Right, like what you said. So maybe we should both just...not be so worried?"

Joey chuckled nervously and wished it was that easy. "I just ... need to get used to it," he said. "It might take me a little time. Don't give up on me? And ... and there's something. That I didn't think about until after ... "

"I won't give up on you. Just don't leave me, okay?" Justin said seriously, meeting his eyes for the first time, though he blinked shyly. "W-what's the something? Is it bad?"

"I don't know," admitted Joey. "I just ... we just ... we were really into it Justin, and the heat of the moment and all, and ... we didn't use a condom."

Justin's eyes flared wide. "We didn't? Oh, god, we didn't." He bit his lip, hard, and drew his feet back. "I know better, I never do it bare," he said, his voice soft. "I think...I think it's safe...I was tested, not too long ago, and I'm *so* so safe mostly...I wasn't even thinking. I'm sorry." He hung his head. "It felt so good..."

"It did," said Joey. "Me too, Justin, me too. It felt so good. But ... you should probably be more worried about me than you, baby. I told you ... things I've done ... I'm not a great person, always. I wasn't thinking either, and I'm sorry, I just wanted to so much ...it was like I couldn't tell you everything I was feeling about you without doing that."

Justin sighed deeply, and then uncurled in a sudden movement, crawling over to Joey and pushing under his arm, until he was curled against Joey's side. "Not again," he said softly. "Not till you're tested and I'm tested and we're sure we're just gonna be with us. Okay? And...what kinds of things you were feeling?"

"Didn't I just say I couldn't say?" said Joey, laughing nervously again. But not so nervously, now that Justin was tucked up against him. "I don't know how. Some writer I am, huh, when I can't even find the words for something so ... basic. So big. I really like you a lot, Justin, I just ... sometimes I need time, right now, and I don't want you to be scared of that. Don't be scared I'm gonna leave you."

"I can't help it," Justin said, a little petulantly. "I don't want you to spend time away from me, it makes me think you're thinking you don't want me any more. I just...when I'm with you I get all these warm squishy feelings and you make me hot, at the same time, and I like it. I mean, not *all* the time, but when we've done new stuff, or big stuff..."

"I'm sorry," Joey said again, but there was no way he could make up for what he'd done. He'd done what *he* needed to do, but it was exactly what Justin *didn't* need. "I get warm squishy feelings when I'm with you, too, Justin. And ... I mean, that's part of why I'm freaking out. You pretty much always knew about yourself; I didn't. I guess it's different, how we deal with it."

"Huh." Justin seemed to contemplate that, and nodded. "I'm sorry too. I just, I thought, I assumed you hated it. But I guess you didn't? Since you're getting the warm squishy feelings too?" His voice was adorably wobbly. "I'll try to be better, about not freaking out. When you need space."

"I won't, very often," said Joey quickly. "I *like* being with you, lots and lots. Just sometimes ... just until i get my head all sorted out. I guess next time, though, next time I'll try to let you help me with the freaking out thing, before I go anywhere. If you want to try that."

"Okay. Or...now that I know, maybe it won't be so bad." Justin melted against Joey's side, finally relaxing again. "I promise, I won't think bad about you if you want to talk about it. Whatever it is that's scary. And...can I stay, tonight? Still?"

"Of course," said Joey, finally breathing a sigh of relief. "Yes, please stay. Even when I'm being all weird I do want you here, Justin. I'd feel awful if you left tonight, I really would. And not just cause I'd have to face Chris and explain it to *him*. So okay ... I'll try to talk about it. Maybe ... maybe you'll understand."

"Heh, Chris. He'd be mad," Justin chuckled a little. "But probably just as much at me as you. And...even if I don't understand, all the way, you can still tell me, and I'll try. I bet when you woke up yesterday you didn't think you'd be sitting on your couch in a robe telling your problems to a boy in a dress, huh?"

Joey laughed and pulled Justin even closer to him. "No ... no I really didn't," he admitted. "So you're not scared anymore, right? You're good now that you know that I'm not going anywhere?" Because one of them freaking out was quite enough, really.

"I wasn't *scared* so much, I don't think, as mad and sad and...okay, a little scared," Justin said thoughtfully, inching closer to Joey. "But not so much any more, no, if I get to stay tonight. How about you? Are you still scared?"

"Yes," said Joey, because it would just be dumb at this point to lie about it. Not after going through all that. "I don't know what happens next. But I know whatever it is, I'm going to let it happen. Um. About that sex thing, though ... "

"Yeah?" Wariness trickled back into his voice. "What about it? Which sex thing?"

"We can do it *with* condoms, right? Like ... you weren't saying not at all?"

"Oh." Justin brightened immediately. "Yeah, definitely. *God* yes! And I still need to give you a blow job, remember? And we can do it a lot. We have to get you all un-nervous, after all."

"You've given me a blowjob," said Joey, remembering it fondly. "I think it's my turn or something." He laughed again, and even turned Justin's face to give him a little, spontaneous kiss. "God. I'm *so* relieved. Not that I wouldn't be with you without sex! I just. You know. Sex is fun!"

Justin giggled, and pressed closer, raising his face to be kissed again. "I need to give you *another* blow job, then. Sex is so fun. I think...I'd be with you without sex too, but I think my head might explode, or maybe spontaneous connushtion, or whatever, where you just burst into flames?"

"You're asking the wrong guy about that," said Joey, giving him a longer kiss. "Kevin would know. We can ask him when we go over there. We just, you know, don't have to tell him why we're asking." He gave Justin a conspiratorial grin, and finally started to really relax again. Because Kevin was okay with it, and Joey wasn't just curious anymore. He had to really admit that to himself. "You're gonna tell Chris about this, aren't you."

Justin's big hand trailed over Joey's chest lightly, and slipped inside his robe to touch his side. "I want to. It helps me sometimes, talking about stuff with him, helps me get stuff straight in my head. It's not like he tells me what to do, just that he always seems to ask the right kinds of questions." He dropped a little kiss on Joey's chin, then his jaw. "If it's okay with you, I mean."

Joey nodded carefully. "He'd probably get it out of me anyway. He wouldn't even have to try so hard. Justin ... you can tell anyone anything you want. I don't have the right to tell you not to. I'm ... I'm really not sure how much I'm gonna tell Kevin yet, though. I don't know how much he wants to know."

"You mean, about the sex stuff, or about the scared stuff?" Justin was slowly wrapping around him, hooking a leg over his knee. "And you can tell me not to tell Chris things, there's things that stay private between us. Right? Isn't that part of being boyfriends too?"

"I guess it is," said Joey with a little smile. "It's just ... you don't stop being you, just because we're together. You still get to choose what you do. I think it's good you tell Chris stuff anyway. He's your friend, and he's fucking smart."

"He really really is. He's a good friend, too, he takes good care of me. Makes sure I stay out of trouble." Justin yawned jaw-crackingly. "Mostly. Do you think we can go get back in bed, these sequins are really itching me. And you can tell me what's scary, or not, if you don't want, and your bed's really nice. Did I tell you that? It is."

"It is," Joey agreed with him. "And we definitely need to get you out of that dress again, no matter how beautiful it is. And thing time, I can show you what it's like *under* the covers on the bed. Cause I think I"m just about beat too, baby."

Justin smiled up at him, interrupted only by another huge yawn, and let Joey pull him to his feet. He wobbled and winced a little, and hung off Joey's shoulder. "Good," he murmured as Joey led him back to the bedroom. "My dress is all wrinkled now anyway, not beautiful any more. I have to take it to the dry cleaners, I think. Maybe monday." It was such a normal, mundane thing to say, in the middle of all the emotional upheval of the last hour, that Joey had to chuckle.

"Yeah, I think that's something that can wait," he said. This time, once they were both in the bedroom, he closed the door behind them. Then he reached for Justin's dress and helped him slip out of it again, surprising himself how comfortable he'd become with their nakedness. "Come on, baby, you can just crawl into bed with me. It'll be heavenly."

Justin stretched, hands linked above his head, yawning again and then grinning at Joey. "Oooh, nice," he agreed, reaching for the tie on Joey's robe. "You naked too," he demanded, and pushed it off his shoulders, before tugging Joey towards the bed. "We can crawl in together."

It was kinda sweet, that he wanted to do something like that, and Joey was more than happy to shed the robe and be in there with him. "We can talk tomorrow, maybe?" he suggested, pulling the covers up snugly. "I think I just wanna wrap around you and sleep right now."

"Okay," Justin said agreeably, though he seemed to be doing most of the wrapping, twining his legs between Joey's, throwing an arm across his chest and basically snuggling in like Joey was his personal full-body pillow. "Tomorrow for sure," he murmured tiredly.

"Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow," said Joey, and closed his eyes and everything felt so comfortable, so right, that moments later he was asleep.

* * *

The combination of a body moving and shifting the mattress, and a sunbeam in his face, woke Joey the next morning. He turned his head, blinking, not quite awake, and got a facefull of corkscrew curls. Justin was resting almost entirely on top of him, breathing deeply, obviously still asleep. It was sweet and amazingly comfortable, but Joey really *needed* to get up.

He could only manage to push on Justin gently, though; he didn't have the heart to disrupt him entirely. There was no welling of panic, no confusion, no regrets, he woke to nothing but pleasure at being in bed with Justin -- and he certainly hadn't forgotten who he was in bed with. It was almost -- but not quite -- enough to make him ignore the needs of his body. "Justin," he said softly, and gave him another gentle nudge. "I gotta get up, baby."

Justin twitched, hands scrabbling at Joey's hip and shoulder, and he *growled*, before relaxing again with a little sigh, and starting that deep, slow breathing again. He hadn't moved more than an inch.

"Justin," he said again, a little more urgently. "Baby, if you're listening, I'll come right back, promise, but you gotta let me go." That didn't seem to have any effect at all, so Joey started to slither out, as much as he could, but as soon as he unhooked one appendage from himself, Justin hooked him with another. He shook him carefully. "Justin!"

Justin moaned a little, head suddenly snapping up when Joey shook him. He looked sleepy, face all crumpled and lined, and *pissed*, eyes bleary and narrow. "*Sleepin'*," he snarled, then, like he'd never spoken, his eyes slid shut and his face relaxed and he was asleep again, though this time he slid limply off Joey to curl at his side.

Joey didn't know whether to laugh or get out while he could; in the end he decided to do both, slipping into the bathroom and having a good chuckle when he got there. Even when he was being snarly, Justin was still adorable. When Joey came back Justin had already started a slow sprawl across the bed.

Joey tried to move him gently, but Justin was dead weight. It took some leverage and strength to even get Justin's long legs pushed away, so that there was room for Joey on the bed at all. He slipped back into the bed, tugging the covers back up over them both, and when he turned to his side Justin was blinking at him foggily, a little frown between his brows.

"Shhhh," said Joey, and touched the bridge of Justin's nose gently. "I'm back. I had to take care of things. Close your eyes, baby." But Justin didn't; he just kept staring at him in confusion.

He smacked his lips once and the frown deepened. "Fuck. Morning. 'wake bad." His voice was low and rough with sleep, and he kicked a little, thumping his foot into Joey's calf. Joey was starting to get the impression that Justin wasn't a morning person.

Joey gave him a quick kiss -- closed-mouthed because he had no idea how bad his morning breath was -- then pulled away again. "You need more sleep," he insisted, but after that kick he was wary of curling up with him again. "Or coffee. Not sure which."

Justin kicked again, this time keeping it up until his bare legs were free of the bedcovers. "Hot," he bitched, yawning. "'m all sweaty. Coffee, breffast, food. Food." He curled onto his side, tucking his hands under his head and lit head to toe by the sunbeam, and kept staring at Joey.

"Demanding little thing in the morning aren't you?" Joey teased gently. It was a little glimpse of Justine outside the act is what it was. But he looked so damn beautiful all haloed like that that Joey didn't so much as lift a finger to get him what he was asking for; he just stared back.

Justin scowled at him, level brows drawing together and eyes still a little blank with sleep. His brain seemed to be ticking along at around half speed; Joey could practically see thoughts filtering through. "Coffee or sex," he amended, reaching for Joey's hip.

"We're not having sex until I brush my teeth," insisted Joey, licking them self-consciously. "That's just a bad scene. Okay, fine, I'll get you coffee. Then we can have sex after that, yeah?"

"Mmmph," Justin grumbled, returning his hands to where they'd been, under his cheek. "Food," he reminded, stretching his legs out languidly. "Don' gotta toothbrush. Blowjobs, or somethin'."

"You can't brush your teeth with my dick," said Joey, "and I have to say, I'm not sure I want you to try." He shuddered at the thought of teeth. "What do you want to eat? Since the cook is up and all, and apparently at your beck and call."

Justin's nose had scrunched up at the idea of teeth as well, but his face smoothed out again when it became clear that Joey would be feeding him. "Cereal," he said with dreamy anticipation. "Or pancakes. Whatever. And coffee. Need it," he explained, not-quite-apologetically.

"I will make you pancakes," said Joey, "and I will make you coffee. But I won't be serving them to you in bed -- you need to come and keep me company in the kitchen, even if you just sit there and look all pretty. Okay? Deal?" Because if it wasn't, Joey was just about ready to fall back into bed and fall asleep himself.

Justin scowled even more fiercely, but nodded after a moment, the desire for food and coffee clearly barely edging out the comfort of bed. He groaned theatrically and rolled over, pushing himself up to all hands and knees and staying there for a moment, head hanging down. "Waking up *sucks*," he informed the pillow, clearly much more awake than he'd been even a short while before. "I hate it. You're nice to me, though." He started crawling towards the edge of the bed.

And once again, Joey couldn't keep his eyes off him for even a second. There wasn't anything that Justin could do that he didn't look sexy doing, and that was that. End of story. Even with sleep-mussed hair and crap in the corners of his eyes and sheet prints all over his body, he still made Joey hot. Maybe the sex would come before the food after all. But *not* before the teethbrushing.

Justin finally made it to the edge of the bed, almost tumbling off it before getting his legs under him and standing woozily, scrubbing his hands through his hair and making it stand out from his head even further. "Okay, 'mup. Gotta pee. Be right back." He ambled past Joey, but paused to run his hand through Joey's hair, and lean down to give him a soft, closed-mouth kiss. "Morning."

Joey smiled and watched him go, and only then could he manage to get his feet going so he propelled himself right into the kitchen to get started on breakfast. And when he caught sight of the time on the microwave, he swore softly to himself. He had no idea it was already that late in the morning, no idea at all. Last night must have wiped them both out more than he knew.

"Joey!" Justin's voice came through the door and the hallway, and then louder. "JOOOEEEEY. C'mere! C'mere c'mere c'mere."

The first shout of his name made Joey jump; the subsequent one convinced him that something terrible had happened and he went tearing towards the bathroom, dropping his tub of pancake mix on the floor and not caring what kind of mess it made. "What, Justin, what?"

Justin popped his head out of the bathroom door, followed by his hand, holding a long thin plastic package, and he blinked at Joey's worried face. "Can I have this toothbrush?"

"Can you ... what?" said Joey, taking a few moments to let his heart stop pounding. "Christ, Justin, I thought you'd slit your throat open on the razor or something. Yes, yes, of course you can have it."

"Oh, good. Thanks." Humming quietly, he turned and shut the door behind him, leaving Joey standing, baffled, in the hall. "Hey Joey, I'm gonna use your toothpaste too," he called, and then Joey could only hear the water running. Shaking his head, he made his way back to the kitchen. The pancake mix had managed to stay mostly in the tub, thankfully.

Joey almost, vindictively, decided to make Justin toast instead of anything that required any effort on his part, but eventually he did pick up the tub and sweep the floor and start making the batter, all the while waiting for Justin to show up in the kitchen. Justin, who seemed to be taking his sweet time in the bathroom.

When he finally strolled in, he'd scrubbed the last of the makeup off his face, and had his hair twisted into a knot at the base of his neck. "I think I'm feeling better," he said, yawning a little as he cozied up to Joey's back, kissing his shoulder. "Oh." His voice was slightly disappointed as he peered into the mixing bowl. "I wanted to see how you made them."

"You wouldn't have seen much anyway," admitted Joey, mollified by the kiss. "I premake the mix and keep it in a tupperware container. Saves time. I just have to add liquid stuff to it and voila -- pancakes. Well, once I cook them anyway. You're here in time to watch that part." He turned all the way around finally and gave Justin a tiny peck on the lips. "You seem a bit more human now, baby."

Justin grimaced. "I'm trying extra hard because you're here," he admitted, and he still had a grouchy line between his eyes, even though he snuggled closer to Joey, feathering little kisses over his cheek and mouth. "What are you doing today? Later, I mean?"

"I don't know yet," he said, giving Justin a last kiss before turning back to his mixing, letting Justin continue to hang off him. It was kinda cute, really. "Do you work tonight? I didn't really plan it out yet. My plans kinda only went up to last night."

"I'm not working, nope, I don't work Sundays," Justin said, hooking his chin over Joey's bare shoulder and watching him crack eggs into the bowl. "I'm not working at the video store either. I've got an honest to god day off, only I promised I'd go thrifting with AJ, and Howie wanted me to come with him to this new waxing place he won't shut up about. You can come with if you want."

Joey thought about it as he mixed. "Sure, if you want me to," he said finally. He didn't remember ever having been to a waxing place before, not even with a girlfriend. That was one of those girl mysteries he'd stayed out of. "I wouldn't want to intrude or anything, though. If you've already got plans with other people."

"Oh, no," Justin said airily. "They're always bringing tricks along to stuff. Not that you're a trick, or anything, but it won't matter, and Howie likes you already. AJ probably won't, but AJ takes a while to warm up to people. Unless he's screwing them, and he doesn't get to do that with you." He gnawed lightly on the hard point of Joey's shoulder. "I think I'll need to borrow some clothes, though. My dress just isn't daywear, you know?"

"You can borrow anything you like," said Joey, chewing on his own lip. "I'm not sure how well it will fit, but I"m sure you'll find something. So ... what ... AJ's not gonna like me?" He wasn't sure how he felt about that, not that he expected everyone to like him or something. "That kinda sucks."

"He won't *dis*like you," Justin corrected hastily. "I mean, he's not gonna try to hit you or anything, he's just a little standoffish. He doesn't warm up fast, you know? The first two weeks I lived with him I thought he hated me, but Chris kept telling me he didn't, and he was right. So just...don't take it personal. It's just AJ's way." He scratched his fingers lightly over Joey's belly. "*I* like you."

Joey smiled and gently nudged Justin away from the stove before he turned it on. "I know you like me," he said quietly. "I like you too. And that's the important thing." That *was* the important thing, the thing he ought to remember when other stuff was freaking him out. "I guess me and AJ, we'll deal, because I'm not letting you go."

"He'll like you fine. He just needs to get to know you. Chris and Lance and them, they just like people in general. AJ, not so much." Justin drifted away from him, poking at things around the kitchen, before wrapping his arms around himself and dancing on his feet. "Okay, need clothes now, my toes are turning into ice. Can I get socks? Is that okay? Not gross?"

"Yeah, go ahead, steal my socks," said Joey, looking back over his shoulder to give Justin another grin. He was so lucky -- *so* lucky -- he almost couldn't believe it. Justin was great. Mostly. "Whatever you need, Justin. After last night, I don't think anything is really too intimate to share."

"Hah!" Justin grinned back, wiggling his eyebrows as he backed out of the kitchen. "Wait till the guys ask if there was rimming." When he realized what he'd said, he flushed a dusky red, and fled to the bedroom, moving so fast Joey didn't even get a chance to enjoy the view.

"Justin!" he called out to him, far too late. "They're not gonna," he muttered to himself, but he was already flushing, too, and he was glad there was no one there to see it. No freaking out, though. He just cooked his pancakes and didn't think about Justin pawing through his drawers and closet, didn't think about meeting AJ later, didn't think about going with his boyfriend to get waxed, didn't think about the hundred ways his life was changing. And was glad he had something like cooking to keep him occupied when he knew full well he was on the verge of freaking again.

By the time Justin shuffled back in, swimming in Joey's oldest sweatpants and a t-shirt that read "Punk Legend" across the chest, there was already a stack of pancakes waiting on a plate, and Justin's nose was twitching like a rabbit's. "Oh, smells GOOD," he sighed. "I don't ever get pancakes. Joey, you need a shoe organizer. They're all, like, piled on top of each other in your closet!" He made a beeline to the pancakes, his earlier embarrassment clearly behind him, though the tips of his ears were still red.

"But I can find my shoes just fine like that," Joey insisted. He didn't think they were *that* much of a mess. "What do I need a shoe organizer for? Grab yourself a plate, Justin, and the syrup's still in the cupboard. Can you get that for me? I'm almost done here. Do *you* have a shoe organizer?"

"Of course I have a shoe organizer," Justin said, as if shocked that not everyone did, even as he moved to get a plate and the syrup. "Otherwise they scuff and get each other dirty, and get all mixed in together. You take good care of your shoes and they'll take good care of you, Joey." He sounded very serious. "Shoes are important." He set the syrup on the table and held his plate out expectantly.

Joey chuckled and forked him some pancakes before putting the last of them on the top of the pile. "I don't think it matters much if my shoes get scuffed, baby. Who's gonna notice? I think they like to mingle anyway. I have very sociable shoes. Is that enough for you or do you want more?"

Justin looked longingly at the rest of the pile, but pulled his plate away. "This should be plenty, thank you. Joey, your shoes can be sociable sitting in nice pairs on a rack, you know. How can you stand to have them all scuffed up? It's just...*you* know, if they are, even if no one else checks." He took his plate over to the table and started piling on butter and syrup. "God this smells good. Thank you so much, I've never had anyone make me breakfast, not since...anyway. Thank you!" He beamed at Joey before cutting a huge forkful.

"I'll make you breakfast any time," Joey promised him, half-wishing he *had* finished that sentence, that he would just open up a little more, about what he'd been through. "I don't really care if my shoes are scuffed, to be honest. Or if my jeans are a little stained. Or if my socks match perfectly. You'll still go out with me, though, right?"

"Yesh," Justin grinned at him, cheeks puffed around a mouthful of pancakes before he chewed and swallowed. "But don't think I won't try to dress you up sometimes. Also, I have this great recipe for stuff that gets stains out of jeans. It works on *anything*, I swear. I'll get all your stains out if you make me pancakes like these sometimes."

"Pancakes like these?" said Joey, finally helping himself to some. "This is nothing, Justin, I'll make you meals much nicer than this. And you don't have to get the stains out of my jeans for me to do it, though I'm thinking that you might want to do that anyway so I don't embarrass you."

"Oh, you won't," Justin said seriously, shaking his head, though his eyes had lit up at Joey's promise to cook for him. "I don't care, much. Just, you know, there are some pretty dramatic label queens in my scene, and *you* might want them out. If not, that's cool too." He watched Joey eat for a moment in thoughtful silence. "Will you really cook for me? Like, dinner? But I can't do it for you back."

"You don't need to do it back, Justin, I just like to do it for you," said Joey, smiling at him. "I just want you to like it. And I guess it couldn't hurt to get those stains out, but only if you don't mind. Some of 'em are pretty old. Especially the ones on my tie that I never wear anymore because it's stained. I actually liked that tie, too. You look ... " He grinned. "You look good in my clothes."

"Yeah?" Justin preened a little, tipping his chin up to lengthen his neck, looking at Joey through lowered eyelashes. "I bet I'd look better out of them," he purred, suddenly all Justine, even to the huskier, deeper voice. "Wearing nothing but a nice, warm Joey..." He pushed his empty plate out of the way, and lounged back in his chair, never taking his eyes from Joey's face.

"You're insatiable," said Joey, but suddenly Justin was looking more appealing than the remains of his pancakes. But ... "Do you want something else to eat?" he offered him instead. "Or juice? There's juice in the fridge, baby .. "

Justin blinked, and was suddenly a slightly rumpled, rather shy boy again, who sat up in his chair and poked at the syrup on his plate with his fork, watching the patterns he was making. "No, thank you, I had water before," he said quietly. "You don't have to get me anything, you're not even done with your breakfast yet."

"Yeah, but i'm working on it," said Joey, and hoped he'd made the right decision. He gave Justin a smile. "What time do you need to go out?" he asked. "Do we have time to do anything together before you do?"

Justin shrugged, a minimalist lift and fall of his shoulders, though he smiled back at Joey. "I don't...it's only ten, I don't think Howie or AJ are awake yet, if they're even home. We were gonna call sometime this afternoon, I think, and I should probably go home first, so you can have your clothes back and I can get some jeans. So, hours. Yeah."

"Good," said Joey, taking another tiny bite of his breakfast. "Good. So ... Justin? Baby? You wanna look at me a little, maybe?"

Justin's eyes flickered up to meet Joey's, then down and away, then back up. "Okay." He fidgeted with his fork some more. "I'm looking at you, now what?"

"Now you tell me what you're thinking," said Joey, putting his own fork down, appetite gone. "And you tell me if you're upset at me now."

"No! No, not upset, no..." Justin trailed off, though he didn't look away from Joey any more. He was clearly a little flustered, cheeks pink and hands flipping the fork over and over. "Just. I don't get when it's okay to flirt with you and when it's not. Yet. Is all."

"Oh baby," said Joey softly. "It's *always* okay to flirt with me. I just ... I was trying ... I still want to make sure you know that I'm here for more than the sex, is all. You're so sexy, Justin, you really are. You don't need to worry about that."

"But I *like* the sex," Justin answered plaintively, his hands going still, finally. "I mean." He flushed even pinker, looking down. "I don't *just* like the sex, but that's the part I know how to do. What else do we do? Now, I mean?"

"Breakfast?" suggested Joey, pulling his pancakes back towards himself. "I'm just trying to balance things is all, Justin. You know I think sex with you is great. I just want to ... show you other things, too. Maybe. If you want."

"Um." Justin giggled a little, nervously, and licked his syrupy fork. "I'm not sure what the other things are, but yeah. If you want to, okay. Is this, like...where we talk about if I'm from Mars or Venus and stuff like that?" He was looking at Joey intently now, clearly watching him for cues.

Joey laughed and shook his head. "We just talk," he said. He'd never really *thought* about this part of a relationship before. It just happened, or else he wasn't the one pushing for it. "About whatever. Anything. Everything. Or we watch TV? If there isn't anything you want to talk about right now. Oh, and there's more pancakes, too. And juice."

"Maybe juice is a good idea," Justin nodded seriously, pushing back from the table. "Especially if we're going to be talking about everything. I'll get you some too, if you want. And there's really more pancakes? All ready to eat and everything?"

Joey grabbed the plate of cooling pancakes. "You warned me about your appetite," he said. "So I made lots, help yourself. And ... oh, are you getting the juice? It's probably back behind the water jug, that's where it usually ends up. I wouldn't mind some too, thanks." So far, so good.

"Okay." Justin grabbed the juice and two cups, and followed Joey back to the table, only a little skittish, eyes just a bit wary. "Juice." He poured two cups, and set the pitcher down with a light thump. "Are you...did you want to ask me questions or something?"

Joey sipped his juice, slowly, to buy himself a little time. "Would that be easier for you, do you think?" he said finally. "Because I can, Justin, if you'd like that. I just want you to be comfortable and I'm not sure how ... "

Justin sighed, and propped his elbow on the table and his chin on his hand. "I have no idea what to talk about," he confessed, disarmingly frank. "I mean, if you were just some guy on the street, I'd--well, I'd be flirting like crazy with you. But other than that, I could probably find something to babble about. You're *Joey*, though. I don't even know what kind of stuff you like, and I don't want to be boring."

"Yeah, well, how are we gonna find that stuff out if we don't talk?" he said, stuffing his mouth full of pancakes, appetite fully restored once he was sure he understood what was going on. "I like listening to you. Tell me about work, how about?"

"Joe, you've seen my work." A little smile finally curled the corners of Justin's mouth up. "It's like. I go there, I get all dressed up and go mental and sing for a lot of gay boys who think I'm pretty in a dress. Or did you mean the video store?"

"Either," insisted Joey. "Sure, i've seen you work, but I don't know, you know, how *you* feel about it and stuff. Are you nervous, Justin? About talking to me?"

"Well, yeah!" Justin blinked at him, clearly surprised he had to ask. "Sure I am. I don't know how to talk to boyfriends." He seemed a little fixated on the boyfriend idea, really. "It's like we're on a date again, almost. Um. Work. Hmm. I like it. I love singing out there, you know?"

"I think it's the kind of thing where if you don't love it, you'd be doing something else," said Joey, trying to keep it as conversational as he could. If *he* would comfortable, maybe that would make it easier for Justin to be comfortable. "You have to love something to put that kind of effort into it. Like me and acting ... I'd never put myself through that whole audition process if it wasn't worth it."

"Yeah." Justin's smile widened and he seemed to relax a little. "It's a lot of work, you know? The clothes and the makeup and dealing with the bitches, and picking the songs and the rehearsals, but when I'm out there. Man. Well, you know, from the acting, I bet. It's like...snap! You're this whole other person, and you can do anything."

"Yeah, that's exactly what it's like," said Joey, pushing the plate of remaining pancakes closer to Justin. "Only I don't really have to sing when I'm on stage. Or I haven't yet, anyway. How often do you guys rehearse? Do you rehearse together, or just on your own?"

"Kinda both, whenever. We've got other jobs, except Lance who's writing a book because Chris is his sugar daddy." Justin grabbed the pancakes and piled most of them onto his own plate, not seeming to mind that they were cold. "So we work around our schedules. I rehearse mostly on my own, because getting into that gear takes a while, for when the other guys are there. For the new stuff, though we have to get together."

"So you get all dressed up, even when you're rehearsing, with them?" asked Joey curiously. "That seems like an awful lot of work. Can't you rehearse without? Or ... does it not work that way? Sorry ... I'm still not sure. You know. When you like to be her or need to be her or ... whatever."

Justin looked at him for a long moment, and Joey could almost see his thoughts tumbing around in his head. "I do. They don't. I can't...I can't rehearse right, unless I'm dressed. Not in front of people, with the moves and everything. I can do all the singing practice in my apartment, though."

"So it's different for you than for them, then," said Joey, and hoped Justin didn't feel like he was judging him because he wasn't, not at all. He just wanted to understand. "Do they just dress up for the shows?"

"Yeah. Well, no. Lalo's actually in drag kind of a lot, she likes it and Chris likes it and she's really comfortable like that, I think. But Bliss only dresses for shows and parades and parties, and even La usually comes to rehearsals in jeans or whatever." He was chewing his lip, then laughed uncomfortably. "They know it's gonna be a longer practice when Justine's there."

"Well, I'm sure they're fine with that," said Joey, smiling at him. "They love you to bits, I can tell. And you know *I* like you whether you're in drag or not. I'd love to see your closet some time."

Justin actually looked surprised for a moment before smiling back. "Nah. It looks like a Bob Mackie sales rack exploded in there. Which actually, is kind of what happened." He shook his head wryly. "They don't love Justine much, I don't think. Oh, she's fun and sexy, yeah, but I dunno if she's very lovable."

Joey shrugged. "She got *my* attention," he said. "She's a part of you and I happen to think she's just as lovable as the rest. If *slightly* more intimidating than the guy I'm talking to right now. Just as beautiful, though. I just want you to, you know, be happy and comfortable whatever you're doing. Maybe in a few years those two halves of you will mellow and find a place somewhere in the middle, who knows."

"I'm happy and comfortable," Justin defended, though he wilted back down quickly. "She's way more beautiful than me, you know. I can't believe you think she's lovable, too. That's just crazy talk, Joey, she's like. *Completely* over the top, even I can tell! I can't imagine her mellowing out much."

Joey just shrugged, feeling pretty damn mellow himself, right about then. "I like you both," he said again. "And you're so beautiful, Justin, I'm gonna tell you that every day until you believe me. You even make *me* look good, just by standing near me."

"You don't need me standing next to you to make you look good," Justin said, after a moment of blushing confusion. "You look amazing all on your own." He reached across the table, brushing Joey's palm with his fingertips. "You really like both of us?"

"Yeah, I really like all of you," Joey assured him. "Every part of you. Right now, especially the part with the appetite to enjoy my cooking. You want to finish those pancakes off? There's not really enough left to be worth saving."

Justin looked at him skeptically, then back at the plate where two lone pancakes sat. "I don't know. If you keep feeding me like this, I'm gonna gain a hundred pounds, and watching me try to get into my size ten dressses will make you *cry.* I mean it." He reached for them anyway. "I can't leave them sitting there all lonely."

"You're a growing boy," said Joey cheerfully. "We'd just have to buy you new dresses is all. You want me to cook dinner for you, too, or are we still going to be out? Or do you already have plans?"

"God, Joey, do you know what those dresses *cost*?" Justin looked horrified. "I'd have to get a corset, is all, and those are hard to sing in. Um. Tonight?" He folded his hands almost primly. "Isn't...don't you want some space? We should be back way before then, but I was thinking...you probably...you've got work tomorrow and everything."

"Well hey, if you don't want to, you've just gotta say," said Joey. "*I* would like to. Just dinner -- we don't have to do anything after cause yeah, I do have to work in the morning. Early. Too early. But hey, we can do it another night if you want. And oh, don't forget Kevin's on Wednesday."

"It doesn't have anything to do with what I *want*," Justin said, smiling a little. "'Cause I'd be pretty happy if we just stayed here for a week. But...I'm kind of...how about we go out this afternoon and then see? I'd hate for you to get tired of me already." He groaned lightly. "Especially if I'm going to meet the famous Kevin, so soon and all."

"I'm not gonna get tired of you, baby," said Joey, "but sure, let's just see what happens. We got time yet, nothing to worry about. So. Um. You like reading, at all?"

Justin's face closed up a bit. "Chris gives me books sometimes, he says I should expand my mind. Mostly, they're all about self-actualization and reaching your potential and inner peace and they're really boring. So, no, not so much. How about you?"

"I mean just *books*," said Joey. "Books with stories in them. Novels. I actually ... I do. Read. A lot. All kinds of stuff. It helps with the acting, I think, cause it lets you get inside people's heads. And plus, you know, that screenplay I'm writing ... A very wise man told me once that if you want to write, you have to read. So I do."

"Oh, I can see that. That makes sense. Like if you want to write music you better listen to a hell of a lot of it first." Justin nodded, then almost immediately shook his head. "No, I don't know, I don't read. Not since s-school. I remember I liked a couple books then, though."

"Yeah, exactly like the music thing," agreed Joey, nodding his head at him enthusiastically. He didn't want to make this as heavy-handed as Chris clearly had; he just wanted to get Justin's interest a little. "I have a bunch of books around the apartment; you maybe noticed. I could lend you the ones that are my favourites if you wanted."

Justin's stubbornnes was clearly waging a war with his interest and desire to please Joey; he practically twitched. "Um. Okay, I guess, but only if they're easy. Really easy books, Joey," he warned, though he couldn't seem to resist glancing over his shoulder at a packed bookcase. "Maybe just one? Are any about sports?"

Joey made a face but he had to nod. "Actually yeah, yeah, a couple are. Or at least, sports are a big part of them. Much more fun to read about them than play them, anyway. You like basketball, right? I think you told me that you play?"

"I think my ears might be broken," Justin said, staring at him. "Did you just say that sports are more fun to *read about* than *play*? Are you kidding? Man, I've been playing ball since I was tiny. I was on the all-state team! I was-" He broke off immediately, going quiet again. "Do any of the books have basketball in them?"

Joey grinned at him and didn't let him start thinking badly of that time of his life again. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I'll grab you a basketball book. Does that mean I have to play with you some time? Cause that'll be really funny and I'll spend half the game on my ass. And *you'll* spend half the game chasing after the ball when it gets away from me."

Justin giggled, startled. "Oh, god, you can't be as bad as Lance, so whatever, Joey. And you're tall, too, worse comes to worst you can just stand under the basket and grab rebounds!" He grinned wickedly. "You and me versus Chris and Lance. Chris can play, but they're both little. We'll crush 'em!"

Joey just shook his head. Justin would see. "I'm really very terrible," he insisted. "You have no idea. You think being tall is an advantage but no, it just makes me clumsier. I hope you're really good, to make up for me, or they'll crush *us*."

"You really *can't* be worse than Lance," Justin countered, still grinning. "He bounces the ball off his feet more than the pavement, and then he sulks and goes and sits down. Plus, I am really good. Can't say that about much, but basketball? Yeah." He actually looked proud of himself. "I play in an urban league, at the uptown courts, on Mondays. That's pretty rough playground ball, but it's *awesome* fun."

"I'll be more useful cheering than playing," said Joey, "but at least I don't go off and sulk when I play badly. Which is always. It can be fun, if the people I'm playing with don't take it too seriously. You promise not to get upset if I make use lose?"

"Oh, me and Chris and Lance just play for fun, always," Justin said quickly. "Um. We try not to take it seriously, me and Chris. It makes it easier when there's other people there that don't. They don't come watch me play on Mondays any more, usually, Lance freaked out every time I got faceplanted into the cement."

"Oh," said Joey, trying not to picture that. "I would ... probably get a little uneasy about that, too. All overprotective and stuff. You probably wouldn't want your boyfriend coming to watch that stuff anyway. But for fun ... okay, I guess I could do that. I might still think readying about sports is more fun, though," he added, and grinned. "Somehow, there always seems to be more sex involved in the books."

Justin's answering grin lit up his whole face. "Yeah? Sex *and* sports? Maybe I'll like this book after all. But you can totally come see me play, if you want, if you want to. I don't get asphalt burn *that* often, Lance is just a little melodramatic. I might not hold your hand or anything, but it would be cool to see you there."

"Well, if I'm not working," Joey reminded him. Justin *would* like the book. And the next. And hopefully the next, too. "Which I'm not, always, but on Mondays? It's a good bet. When did you say you played?"

"Sometime between three and seven," Justin said, his face falling a little. "It depends on who shows up and what teams get picked and stuff. It's kind of free-form, you know? But I don't work on Mondays either, except mornings at the video store, so that's where I hang out. Just about everyone else works regular jobs."

"Oh, well maybe then," said Joey, hoping to get that smile back. "I mostly work mornings too, when I can. Leaves my afternoons open for auditions. So maybe yeah, I can go watch you be all butch and manly and ... coordinated. I bet it's a turn on."

Justin giggled, neither manly nor at all butch, but the grin was just as bright as before. "I dunno about that, but I'm really happy when we win. It would be excellent to have someone to go celebrate with. If you don't have auditions, I mean. Cause those are definitely more important. Do you go on a lot?"

Joey coughed politely. "Not so much lately, really," he admitted. "I think I ... lost my motivation for a while. Got caught up in other things in my life. Caught inside my head. But maybe I'll ... I should start again. Doing more. Trying more."

"Caught inside your head? Oh, you mean the gay thing? Or was it something else?" Justin seemed genuinely curious, and he reached for Joey's hand again. "You look all...excited, and stuff, when you're talking about acting. It seems like something you love, so you should definitely get that back, I think."

"Yeah, the gay thing," said Joey quietly. "It took a lot of my energy, figuring that one out. You know, dealing with it. But ... " He found himself smiling again. "I miss acting. Kevin's been kicking my butt a little, trying to get me to audition more, get an agent, stuff like that. Now that I've told him, maybe he understands a little more what's been going on with me."

"Oh, an agent?" Justin breathed. "That would be...wow, all professional. You said he acts a lot too, right? So he could help, and he probably knows stuff about stuff. Um. Are you done figuring it out, now? So you can give that energy to acting again? If you miss it, it sounds like Kevin's got the right idea."

"Just about done, I think," said Joey, when he wasn't sure of that. "I got myself a boyfriend and everything, It's about time to let the other stuff in my life balance out again. More acting, more reading, more writing, less angsting. And more talking and sex, too, if I'm lucky, which I think I am. Be nice if I was doing something *you* could watch, for once."

"I'd *love* to see you in a play," Justin says with conviction. "Though watching you cook is pretty cool too, especially when I get to eat what you make." His fingers slid between Joey's. "*Lots* more sex and talking, for sure. With all that stuff to do, you won't have any time left for angsting at all."

"No, maybe I won't," Joey agreed. "Maybe that would be a really good thing. I think I've had enough of that; angst is tiring. You finished eating, baby?"

"Yeah." Justin indicated his bare plate. "Man, I'm stuffed. I haven't had a breakfast like that in years. Thanks." He rubbed his thumb over Joey's wrist. "Are we still in talking-time, or can I flirt with you again?"

"Justin," said Joey, and laughed a little. "You can always flirt with me. I like it when you flirt with me. I just ... wanted you to know that you don't always have to. You wanna, um, head back to bed?"

"Oh yeah." Justin's voice was rich with sincerity. "I've been wanting that for quite a while now, actually. Pretty much since we left it." He smiled, a little shy again, and nipped at Joey's thumb. "Are we gonna sleep, or play more?"

"I wasn't thinking about sleep," Joey assured him, and licked his lips. "I was thinking more about teaching me a bit more about ... you know. Stuff. You know what stuff."

Justin laughed, light and happy, and stood up from the table, still holding Joey's hand. "You don't need much teaching, you know. You're a natural at that kind of stuff, so far, I think you should just tell me what *you* think would be fun. Got any ideas?"

"Everything's fun," Joey blurted out. "Even the stuff that wasn't so much fun before is fun. It's all just ... I like you an awful lot, Justin. I hardly even know where to start with you, with anything. With being with you and talking to you and, you know, sex. My body's really, really happy to be getting so more of that. Apparently it thinks it's been deprived my whole life before now."

"Well, you were having sex with girls before now," Justin pointed out, stepping closer to him with a knowing little grin. "No wonder. What stuff wasn't much fun before? 'Cause we should try all that stuff out, just to make sure it's all fixed now. I'm not so good with the talking to you, maybe, but this part I know."

"I like talking to you, though," said Joey quietly as Justin got him to his feet. "You're better at it than you think. Can we just ... do everything maybe? Or not everything, but you know. Lots of. Um. Touching. And kissing. And licking places."

"We can do everything," Justin agreed softly, slipping his arms around Joey's waist and pressing his body close. "Lots of everything, and extra touching and kissing and licking in all the fun places. And there can even be talking in between, when our tongues aren't busy."

"I think I'd like that," said Joey, and he felt warm all over as Justin took the initiative and started leading him away. "I think that sounds about exactly perfect."

* * *

Joey bowed over his desk and silently willed the phone not to ring again in the fifteen minutes before he went on his lunch break. Which was probably a futile effort but he did it anyway. It gave him a chance to update the schedule on his computer and finish off a report that he was compiling. Turned out that he should have expended some of that willpower to the door, however, because the phone didn't, in fact, ring, but someone showed up a couple minutes later. And maybe Joey had read the schedule wrong but he was pretty sure there were no more appointments scheduled until after lunch.

He tried to look very busy, hoping he could get away with nothing more than directions, or maybe job listings. Get the person gone and go to lunch, which was maybe not the nicest thing he could have thought, but it had been a long time since breakfast.

"Hey." The light, smooth voice brought his eyes up, and Joey quickly took in the battered leather coat and the fact that this guy was tall, before glancing at his face and freezing. "Is Ben in right now? He's not expecting me, but-whoa. I know you."

Joey blinked a couple times and the guy looked *so* familiar to him but he couldn't place quite where. An audition maybe? He'd met dozens, hundreds of people at the things. But ... no, he didn't think so. Something else then. "Mr. Landry is on a conference call until half past," he said, realizing then guy was waiting for an answer. And then, all at once, it hit him where he'd seen him before.

The slow smile--more of a smirk, really--spreading across the guy's face was the final clue Joey needed. "Hellooo," the guy said again, with an entirely different tone. "How's Justin?" He cocked a hip and leaned it on Joey's desk, crossing his arms and looking comfortable.

Joey immediately looked over both shoulders to see if anyone was wandering by, listening to the conversation. But he was alone at the reception desk. "Shhh," he said anyway, a little more panicked about it than he'd expected to be. "He's. Good. You are?"

"Nick," the guy answered promptly, sticking his hand out to shake. "Nick Carter. He IS good, isn't he? Tell him I say hi, if you talk to him again." He followed Joey's eyes around the office curiously. "Why shh? What's the big deal, man?"

"Cause I'm not ... you know ..." Joey looked over both shoulders again, for good measure. "Out. Here. Anywhere. At all." He did take Nick's hand, though, as Nick introduced himself.

"Oh," Nick said, with a knowing nod and another little smirk. "Well, don't worry, my lips are sealed. So to speak. I'm not really out myself, but I wouldn't say I'm 'in,' either, you know?" He shook Joey's hand briskly, and then dropped it, recrossing his arms. "Just a warning, you want to stay in the way back of the closet, Barney's probably shouldn't be a regular part of your nightlife."

Joey sighed and ran his hand through his hair, and he *knew* that already. It wasn't really a decision to stay in the closet, it was just habit. "I think, maybe, I gave up my choice in the matter when I started dating Justin," he said, and gave Nick a tentative smile. "So. Um. Did you want me to set you up an appointment, or did you want to wait until he's free?"

Nick's eyebrows went up a little. "Did you just say you're dating Justin? The fabulastic Lady Justine? Are you sure?" He grinned. "Make me an appointment, man, I know how Ben gets on those calls, and I ain't waiting around here. Not that you aren't cute and all, but I gotta see a guy about an amp."

Joey raised his own eyebrows at him, even as he called up the schedule. "I thought that's why you were asking," he said finally. "About Justin. I though you knew we were together. I've got nothing for today, unless you want to take your chances at five before he leaves for the day. Tomorrow morning I can do, though. Your choice."

"Well, I saw you get towed outta there the other night. Doesn't usually mean she's dating someone, is all," Nick shrugged, and his brow furrowed. "This amp thing might go long, better write me in tomorrow morning, I guess. Not too early, though, I can't make it before ten."

"Neither can Ben, most of the time," said Joey with a brief chuckle, writing him in. "I've got you for 11:30." Then he looked up at Nick again. "You really don't know Justin very well, do you?"

"Nah," Nick admitted easily. "We're not friends or anything, I've only talked to the guy a few times. He's a hell of a lay, though, and a mean ball player, I know that much. If you two are dating, that's cool." He pushed away from the desk, rapping it briskly with his knuckles twice. "Thanks for setting up that appointment, by 11:30 I might almost be awake." He winked at Joey.

Joey narrowed his eyes at him, but he didn't even know what to say. Justin had told him how people saw him, told him how he was with them, but that didn't make it any easier to hear it from someone else. "Justin's the sweetest person I know," he said finally. "And ... I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Nick. Good luck with the 'amp thing'."

Nick looked mildly startled. "I'm not talking bad about him, jeez," he said, shaking his head. "I'm sure he's a great guy. Just like I said." He rolled his eyes a little. "I gotta go. See you tomorrow." He wandered back towards the door, pausing to lift a copy of "Spin" that was sitting by the door.

"I didn't mean ... " Joey began. "It's just ... I'm just ... it's complicated." But it probably wasn't the time or place, when he was working and Nick was -- in some way, he guessed -- a client of some sort, or something, and he still wasn't on lunch for another five minutes, until his relief came.

Nick just rolled his eyes again, and paused just inside the door, looking at Joey almost kindly. "Listen, you probably don't want my advice, and you don't know me from Adam, but I'm gonna say it anyway, because I'm a nice guy. You go jumping down the throat of every guy who's slept with your boy, you're not going to have time to do much else. And that ain't a knock on him either, so don't freak out on me. I'm just saying."

"I'm not," said Joey, surprising himself with how calm he was about it, really. "Not down your throat at all, man. I'm just saying. I don't kow how this whole thing works yet, in the community, and how people are with each other, but there's all these people that seem to think Justin's something he's not. And I wish they didn't. Is all. Nothing personal at all, man."

"A'right, cool." Nick smiled, clearly holding no hard feelings. "Well, since you're the one taking the kid home, I figure you've got an inside track on what's going on. Good for you two, seriously. And you'll figure it out soon enough, I guess. Give Justin my best, okay? And I'll see you later, definitely. The man," he jerked his thumb upwards, "is gonna sign me, I'm pretty sure."

Joey's eyebrows went up again. "Yeah?" he said, instantly interested. He should have guessed, though, when Nick came in. "For real? That's great, man. What kind of stuff you do?" He glanced at the clock. Two minutes, and the phone hadn't rung yet.

"Rock and roll, man," Nick laughed, and grimaced, and still looked startlingly pretty. "Hardcore, all the way. Well, kind of. Me and the guys have been playing out a lot and I think this is our break, you know? This is for real." He looked so excited, Joey had to grin.

"Seriously, that's fantastic," he said. He knew who he worked for, and who *they* worked with, and he knew maybe better than Nick did how real it could be. He felt a tap on his shoulder and looked up and there was Angie, ready to take over for him. Right on time, and bless her for it. "Lemme walk you out, man." he said as he stood up.

"Cool." Nick waited while he grabbed his jacket, and held the door for him as he headed out. "Y'all should come hear us play sometime. You and J and that guy, what's his name, short and kind of a freak? He looks like he'd be a fan. Not tonight, though, I got a hot date." He wiggled his eyebrows at Joey suggestively.

Joey chuckled again, and felt a bit more comfortable now that he was out of the office, even though this whole thing, this whole conversation, was kind of a new thing to him. "Chris," he supplied for him. "Who would, of course, bring Lance with him. And I don't know who else they normally hang with, but Justin might bring his roommate. I... pretty much don't know anyone else, though. When you guys playing, then, if not tonight? And where?"

"Tuesday and Thursday at Kit Kat, Friday at Bing, maybe something on Saturday but that's not for sure. We're, like, saturating the market," Nick nodded, still grinning happily. "And we're even getting paid, which is kinda big. Lance is the short one, right? Wears green, mostly? Dunno if she'll fit into the crowd, but y'all are all welcome to come. We give good show."

"I don't know them real well, but I'm guessing they pretty much come as a pair," said Joey. Though Chris seemed like the independent sort when it came down to it, doing whatever the hell he wanted, with whoever he wanted. "That's some serious exposure you guys are getting. How long have you been playing together?"

"Three years," Nick grinned, dogging his heels out to the parking lot. "Three years, four boyfriends, five girlfriends, uncounted one night stands, one bout of alcohol poisoning (the drummer, not me), two pregnancy scares, and a soundboard explosion later, and we're still playing. I think it's meant to be, man, seriously. We're tight, we're good. It'd be cool if y'all came."

Joey was actually already looking forward to it. Nick might be more enthusiasm than talent, but Nick doubted it, not if things were progressing the way he said they were. "I will, Nick, totally. Oh, and..." He offered his hand to Nick again. "By the way, in case you didn't real the lovely name plate, I'm Joey."

"Oh, hey, yeah. I caught the name plate." Nick grinned, but shook his hand anyway. "Glad to meet ya. Always nice to see a familiar face guarding the door, y'know? Look, I gotta run, that amp guy's a real bitch and he'll leave if I'm late, and I need the thing fixed for the show tomorrow. I'll see you around, all right? Barney's, if nowhere else." His leer was deliberate and charming.

"Yeah, you will," said Joey, and it felt good to smile back, and wave as Nick got into his car. Felt like he'd just been welcomed into some sort of secret club, some sort of secret brotherhood, and that made everything just a little less scary.

* * *

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