Hey everyone, Long time no story (as per usual form huh?) Well I'm finally done, and only 2 weeks after I promised it. I swear to God that I do have a number of good excuses prepared to explain the lateness of this chapter (not the least of which was a small court appearance and a 10 month loss of drivers licence, OOPS!) I have to thank heaps of people who wrote to me, all of you except the person who wrote and suggested I read Lance in Shining Armour. Now I'm not saying it wasn't good, because it was awesome, but, Dude, you could have warned me about the ending, I was depressed for a fortnight! LOL. This is where I would normally list a heap of people who were instrumental in the writing of this chapter, but the list has become sooooo long that it's getting ridiculous. You all know who you are, and I love all of you!

Recommendations:

1. Doggy Style -- It's fun, it's weird and so is the author (sorry Pen!)

2. Lances search -- The story is engrossing and it's just getting to a crucial part!

3. Let it rain -- I think it's gonna remain a one part thing, but I will let you know in future!

4. The more you ignore me -- The story is really well written and Corey is a good friend of mine (so I have to say his story is good, LOL)

5. My Surprise Romance -- I'm not sure where Gab has gone, and if she will ever release the next chapter (hint, hint) but I love her anyway, even if she is a harlot!

Disclaimer:

As a 23 year old guy it pains me to tell you that I had my fiancé line-up for 2 copies of Celebrity (one for me and one for Corey -- hey you did realise there was music too, not just pics...right?) on the weekend, and it is pictures like the ones in the album sleeve that make me wanna write stories like C&J. This story is a product of my deranged, diseased mind and nothing more. Oh and by the way, thanks again Mel, I'm sure it was very traumatic for you and you will never be able to shop at HMV again, but wasn't it worth it to see your man happy?

Note from Mel -- "UM...NO!"

OK On with the story: (Oh yeah, warning: impending "cheese" alert!)

# # #

The restaurant was dimly lit, even in the early afternoon it took on a cosy atmosphere perfect for a first date. The boys were unrecognised as they were greeted and ushered to a quiet table in the back of the restaurant. They sat across from each other, their legs entwined as a secret symbol of their love for each other.

"I'm so glad we did this now Josh" Justin said "I'm not sure how much of a chance we'll have to be together once we get back. There's bound to be interviews and all the crap that goes along with it."

Suddenly JC felt guilty about waking Justin up so early, he hadn't even considered the possibility that they wouldn't have time to themselves when they returned to the US. He found himself wishing he had left Justin to sleep, to recuperate and hide form the world for a bit longer to make dealing with the waiting frenzy a little easier to bear.

"I'd never even thought of that. I had visions of us returning home and to our lives as normal." JC laughed bitterly "Sorry Jup, I should have let you sleep a bit more, we can go back to the room and order lunch if you want to."

"No way." Justin replied quickly grabbing JC's hand, squeezing it then releasing it before anyone noticed. "I'd much rather be here with you."

Because the record company was paying, they ordered a pile of dishes that they had no chance of ever finishing and JC watched with loving amusement as Justin ate enough food for 3 people. After lunch they shared a dessert and JC ordered a bottle of Champagne to toast the official beginning of their relationship.

"Justin, baby, you have no idea how long I've wanted this to happen, and now that it has I'm so much happier than I ever pictured I would be." JC told the younger man tenderly, as he raised his glass.

"Jayce, I'm so happy." Justin replied briefly, his eyes cloudy, and it was all JC needed to hear.

# # #

It was a little after midday when they left the restaurant, having eaten lunch early, so they headed for the beach. The weather was mild and a little overcast so the beach wasn't busy, but there were still enough people to notice if they showed their affection publicly.

"I wanna hug you so bad." Justin whispered "I wish I could hold your hand and feel your arms around me." He breathed sadly.

"I've got an idea." JC replied as he lead Justin toward a pier that began in the sand about 10 metres from the water line and extended far enough into the water that cruise boats docked at the far end. Justin was confused as JC walked past the end of the pier and continued around beside it. JC dropped to the sand and crawled underneath the wooden structure, beckoning Justin to join him. Once they were underneath JC proceeded to crawl toward the end where the pier met the sand and motioned for Justin to lay in front of him, where he wrapped his arms around him and nuzzled his chin into Justin's neck.

"MMMMM" Justin moaned as he turned his head to kiss the older man. The kiss deepened as Justin turned his entire body toward JC who pulled him close. The warmth of Justin's body lay all along his side, and JC delighted in the feel of Justin's velvety skin as he reached under his top to gently stroke his back. They lay like that for ages, hands exploring each others torso, tongues entwined in a passionate kiss until finally, Justin gently pulled away.

"Do we really have to go back?" He asked with a devious grin.

"'fraid so Baby boy." JC replied "But look at it this way, the sooner we get back, the sooner we see our families and the sooner we put the interviews behind us, and get on with our lives." He continued, then tentatively added "and our relationship"

Justin found JC's vulnerability endearing and gave him a big wet kiss to reassure him that a relationship was definitely what he wanted. Suddenly Justin thought about what JC had just said and thought about how much he did miss his family. That had been put to the back of his mind while he concentrated on the relationship he and JC were starting, but it returned now, with a vengeance.

"Josh" He asked hesitantly

"Yeah Baby"

"Do we have to wait until later to go home?"

"Well the record company is sending a liaison to brief us before we get on the plane then we go to the airport at 5 and should leave at about 6-6:30, the plane won't be there before that." JC stated "Why?"

"'cause I miss everybody and I wanna see my Mum."

"So do I." JC replied, as though the thought had only just occurred to him.

"And then there will be the reporters at the airport, and I don't know if I can deal with that."

"Do you wanna leave now?" JC asked

"Yeah." Justin replied apologetically "but I can wait if we have to."

Not wanting Justin to worry any longer, JC decided that he would do anything to get his boy what he wanted. "C'mon." he said excitedly, leading Justin back toward the hotel.

They were back at the hotel at about 1:15 and, after quoting JC's credit card number, had the concierge book them a 2 o'clock flight and a taxi to the airport. They were on a normal passenger flight, flying first class. As the flew JC organised a rental car to be waiting at the airport when they arrived.

"Some men have muscles They are muscle bound And on display Some men have money And a few of them Think they can own me

But it's you I know And no one else will do Yes it's you I know And all you pull me through When I was drifting down You pulled my up again And it's you I know You'll love me 'til the end."

Even though JC had told him how much he loved him Justin was still surprised by the effort JC had put in to get him what he wanted. He felt guilty, like he was using JC but the older man didn't seem to mind. Justin couldn't believe that his life had gone from lonely self-pity to being so totally, head-over-heels in love, all within a matter of days. The transformation scared him as much as it thrilled him.

"No one seems to touch me In the way you do Nothing seems to hurt me When I'm close to you"

Justin was asleep when the plane landed, and JC could think of no way to get him to the car without waking him. He waited until the plane was mostly empty then reached under Justin's sweater and gently stroked his belly until he woke up with a goofy smile.

"Morning Sleepy." JC said kindly, aware that waking up wasn't Justin's strong point.

"Are we here?" Justin asked groggily

"Yup, you just need to get to the car and you can go back to sleep." JC replied, taking his hand off Justin's stomach.

They walked through the airport without being recognised, mainly due to the absence of entourage and the lack of luggage to collect, so they avoided all crowds. JC thought they may have trouble passing back without passports, but, as with the airport on departure, they passed without incident due to the record company leaving specific instructions and copies of their passports, which had been lost in the crash. Justin noticed that JC looked tired and he wanted to take the keys from him and drive to JC's parents house to give him a chance to sleep. The house was an hour from the airport and he knew that JC could use the sleep, but after his last 2 attempts at driving he couldn't bring himself to risk the life of another person he loved dearly. He decided the best thing he could do was stay awake and talk to JC for the duration of the drive.

# # # #

"Oh Hell, what now?" Karen Chasez cursed as she pushed her slender, but exhausted frame from the chair in the living room.

She had been sitting in the large room at the back of the house with Roy, the 4 of Justin's parents, the 3 remaining NSYNC members, Sarah, Erin, Britney and Christina. They had all been elated when they received the news that the boys were found alive and well. Then when they had phoned them from the hotel the previous evening they had truly begun to count their blessings. But fate struck another blow just an hour before. The record company had contacted them once more, telling them that the boys couldn't be found when a representative had arrived at the hotel. The knocking at the door was just another unwelcome intrusion that further inflamed Karen's already fragile mood.

"I'll get it Hon, you stay." Lynn offered

"No, it's OK." Karen replied, her demeanour softening "I'm already up."

As she passed the window in the dining room she noticed a small unfamiliar sedan parked in the driveway. She automatically assumed that it would be reporters, as they had been hanging around the house for days, trying to get information.

"What can I...." She began as she opened the door, but stopped when she noticed JC and Justin standing on the porch, the unspoken remainder of her sentence leaving her lips as an unintelligible whimper, as tears sprang to her eyes."

"Mum." JC whispered, as both he and Justin rushed to hug her, both choked by emotion and unable to properly speak.

"My Boys" Karen cried, as she buried her head in between theirs, her entire body wracked with sobs.

By this time curiosity had got the better of the group and they had all emerged in the hallway. As soon as Lynn saw who was there she ran toward them, Justin saw her coming and gently pulled away from Karen and JC.

"Mummy" he called as she grabbed him in a hug, his voice thick and wet as though something had broken in his throat. They stood there like that for an age, both mothers clutching tight to their sons, until finally Paul came and placed his arm around Lynn's shoulder, leading her and Justin back toward the living room. JC placed his arm around his mother's waist and followed. The rest of the group tagged along in awkward, but elated silence, not knowing what to say.

Joey and Christina made their way into the kitchen to make coffee for everyone, and more importantly to escape the awkward scene which had played out when neither Justin nor JC could speak due to releasing pent-up emotion, and their parents were rendered similarly mute.

"I wonder why they didn't wait for the other plane." Christina wondered, more to herself than to Joey.

"If I know those 2 then it would have been so they could see their family and to avoid the press." Joey replied simply "I mean the reactions, I think, speak for themselves."

As they stepped back into the living room, the uneasy silence had ended and they caught the end of a conversation JC was having with the rest of the group. Justin still clung to his mother like a frightened child on his first day of school.

"We just got sick of waiting, we wanted to see you guys." JC smiled

"Well I, for one, am glad you did." Christina said as she placed the coffee on a small side table, gave both boys a kiss on the forehead and reassumed her seat on the sofa, where Joey then plopped onto the floor between her legs.

"Me too" Chris enthused "Welcome home"

"Yeah, it's great to have you back." Britney replied "Even if you both do need a shave."

"Should we ring the record company and let them know where they are?" Chris asked to nobody in particular.

"No, screw 'em" Lance spat, drawing attention from everybody in the room for his uncharacteristic outburst. "Well they couldn't have cared less if the guys were OK, all they wanted were royalties from exclusive interviews." He explained.

# # #

It was dark when Justin woke, he wasn't sure how long he had been sleeping, but the reassuring weight of JC's arms around his waist was still present. It hadn't seemed suspicious to anyone that they had retired to JC's room only 2 hours after they had arrived home. They had all either assumed that they had come to rely on each other for emotional support during their ordeal, or that the sleeping arrangements of the large number of people at the house had caused them to forgo personal space in favour of sleep. But now Justin was awake, he had slept enough on the plane to make a full nights sleep impossible, so rather than wake JC by tossing and turning all night, he slid out of the comfort of JC's warm arms and onto the floor. He eyed a pair of Garfield slipped in the corner of the room, and laughed to himself as he slipped them on. He owned an identical pair back at his parents place and the personality similarities were comforting.

He padded down the hallway and into the living room, turning on the TV he turned toward to couch and noticed the figure of a person illuminated in the glow the TV cast.

"Well if it isn't Wee Willy Winkie" Erin laughed as her eyes adjusted to the light.

"Sorry Sweetie, I didn't mean to wake you, I didn't know you were there." Justin apologised

"I wasn't sleeping." Erin lied "Anyway, sit your ass down and tell me what the hell is going on."

"going on with what?" Justin replied cluelessly, as he sat on the sofa opposite the one Erin was occupying. Erin rolled her eyes in mock irritation.

"With what?" she repeated "with the Middle East Peace accord, you dork!" She laughed.

"Oh with that?" Justin acknowledged "Well I told him how I feel, and he told me how he feels."

"And?"

"And what?"

"You can be so irritating."

"I practice"

"TELL ME" she demanded in a loud whisper.

"And we've been a couple for 3 days, 6 hours and 45 minutes."

"You're kidding?"

"Nope!"

"Oh My God, Honey that's great!" She exclaimed, motioning Justin over to give her a hug because she couldn't move without the aid of crutches.

"I'm glad to see you're still wearing Garfield slippers." Erin noticed sarcastically, as she pulled away from the hug

"It shows a certain consistency of character"

"It shows that people with mental illnesses can still make it in the world." She laughed

"Hey, if I found myself in Hell I could endure the place if I had Garfield slippers"

"Hmm, Obviously JC doesn't want you for your sense of style."

"He said he loved me for my brain."

"does he know ho diseased it is?"

"Jealously's a curse you bitter wench, anyway these belong to Josh, mine are at home." He continued before sticking his tongue out.

"Then you deserve each other."

# # # #

OK, there it was. I'm not sure if it's what you all expected, because I haven't had many suggestions as far as story ideas go (I've had plenty of other suggestions, and most of them can't be printed, thanks Corey and Dawn mainly, LOL) If you have any ideas in future, please send them my way, if you have no ideas and just wanna write to me, that's OK too. The address is Curly_and_josh@hotmail.com, thanks again, love and stuff, AKW.