In San Diego, an hysterical fan jumps on the catwalk and attacks Justin. You're startled when the girl grabs him, terrified when it looks like the two of them are about to pitch right off the catwalk into the audience. When you think about it hours later, it still makes your heart race. You could have lost him to the people who claim to love him.

There isn't time for hugs after; they rush you into the van more quickly than usual. Justin vents his anger on the way, and Lance sits beside him, tense and white-lipped, saying nothing. While Justin swears, Lance nods, looking out of the window as the city scrolls by. Joey's bug-eyed and silent. Chris looks ready to kill someone, but none of you speak, letting Justin work through his frustration alone, making it easier for him to eventually wind down. You sit on his other side, your thighs pressed together, and you think that's all the contact he needs for the moment.

Once you hit the hotel - rushing by fans waiting outside because you've all had enough up close and personal for one night, thank you very much - Justin disappears inside his room. The rest of you congregate in your suite to raid your mini-bar, and Lance plays bartender. Joey goes around the room giving you all hugs, and then you're all hugging each other, giving comfort through touch.

"Someone needs to talk to him," Lance says, when you've all settled down. He's mixing himself a whiskey and Coke. You glance at Chris: that's been his job, lately. To your surprise, he's looking at you.

"What?"

"Go talk to him," Chris says.

You shake your head, not wanting to get into this again. "Chris, you're his buddy. He takes care of you when you're wigged out, you'd be best for this one."

"C, if he needs someone now, it's you."

You know your face is red. "Chris, just do it. He'd want you down there, man." This isn't the time to be reminded just how far you and Justin have drifted apart. "Chris, just go."

"One of you needs to fucking take care of him," Joey says, impatient.

"He needs you, Jace. Trust me, ok?" Chris gives you a look that you don't understand, and you wonder if they've had a fight.

"Don't be surprised if I'm back in five minutes," you sigh, and head out of the room.

The door is locked, of course.  "Justin?  How you doin'?"

The sound from the other side is muffled, and Justin mutters, "I'm fine. Just thinking. I'm all right."

He's not all right, and you know it.

"Are you hungry? Want to order some dinner?"

"No."

You wonder what the hell Chris would do to get him to open the door. "J." You don't know what else to say, and you lean your head against the door. "You know I can get the master key. Let me in."

You're surprised when he does just that. He strides to the other side of the room and you shut the door behind you. He's visibly angry, and you see why he didn't want you to come in. His eyes are red, and you know that he's been crying, though crying for him these days means that tears pooled in his eyes and probably didn't even spill over his eyelashes. He looks at you, and it seems that he's daring you to say something about it.

You pull him to you tightly and kiss his fuzzy scalp. You're trembling, so you don't notice for a moment that he is, too. He hugs you back, just as tight, and he mumbles into your neck, just a little wetly, "Jesus, we try to get closer to them, and…Jesus," so you hold him, murmuring softly and kissing his head. You finally feel him pulling back a bit, and you let him go. He swipes a hand across his face, and you do the same.

"So what the fuck movie are we watching?" he says. His voice is shaky, and you can tell that he's trying hard to give you a smile that's normal. It isn't, quite.

"Not sure. We hadn't gotten that far." He nods, and because he still looks angry and a little lost, you pull him close again.  He presses his face into your neck, and you wish he'd lose it, just sob it all out, but you know he probably won't until later, when he's alone.  It's a scary thing to be mobbed; he's still running on adrenaline.  He could use some sleep, but for now you hold him, running a hand slowly up and down his back to soothe him.

"It's ok to cry," you murmur softly.  He nods, but only sniffs.  Then,

"Thank you," he mumbles into your skin.

"For what?" you ask, and give him a little squeeze.

"For being the way you are.  Sweet. Gentle."

You're not sure what to say, and your face feels hot. "I'm just me," you say, and laugh a little because you're embarrassed.

"I know. That's what I mean."

Now you're even more embarrassed. You're still holding him, and he's holding you, and neither of you is making a move to separate. "You want to try sleeping? When your rush fades you're gonna crash hard."

"Not yet; I want to hang out with you guys for a while. I don't want to be alone."

"Good."  You kiss his temple. "We don't want you to be alone, either." You part slowly, almost reluctantly, you think. "Let's go watch a movie."

The smile he gives you is a little closer to normal.

"Girl, Interrupted," Chris announces the movie choice when you walk in. He's sitting on the floor, his back against the spare bed, and he tickles the back of Justin's leg when Justin passes.

"Girl, Interrupted? Oh, hell no," Justin grins. They all stand and they all hug him. Chris is last, and Justin hugs him the longest.

Lance holds out a drink, a screwdriver, which Justin likes. Lance smiles at you when he sees that Justin is better, and goes back to the bed he vacated when the two of you arrived. Joey's hogging the couch and looking unapologetic about it, so you sit on the floor against the bed you'll be sleeping in; if Justin gets sleepy, he can crash there. Chris returns to the floor. To your surprise, Justin plops down between you and Chris, and again, to your surprise, it's your shoulder he leans against.

"Why don't you get on the bed, man?  You're probably going to be zonked ten minutes into this thing," you tell him.

He nods against your shoulder, and he stands. "C'mon," he says, and holds his hand out to you.

You try not to look surprised. He crawls into the middle of the bed, and you sit up, back against the headboard.  Justin crawls over your legs, and settles stretched out between them, his head pillowed high on your thigh.  "Is this uncomfortable?" he asks.

"No," you say, and even if it were, you'd deny it.  Chris and Joey argue over the remote, but Chris wins.  He starts the movie, and within minutes they're making cracks.  Calling Winona Ryder "Girl Interrupted" instead of her character's name.

"Wait," Chris says, reading the back of the box. "Which girl was interrupted?  And what the fuck was she doing?"

Justin's on his right side, his head on your right thigh.  He shifts a bit, and after a moment, his right arm snakes around your waist and he shifts a little higher. He's nestled right in your crotch. You try not to think about it.

"You sure you're ok, man?" he asks, and his words are heavy and slow. His breath is hot on your leg, even through your jeans. He'll be out in two minutes.

"Go to sleep," you urge, and you stroke his back until you can tell from his breathing that he's asleep. "Turn it down," you say softly, and the others turn to look at you.  Lance, on the other bed, has been glancing your way periodically, and now he smiles and nods.

"Good," he says.

Chris and Joey look satisfied. Chris, especially, looks pleased. "See? I was right - he needed a little TLC."

You fight the blush you feel coming. "Chris, you could be doing this just as easily as me."

Chris shakes his head, and his eyes look mischievous. "Nope. Well, yeah, any of us could have given him 'tender loving care', but what he needed was some 'tender loving Chasez.'" Joey's grinning, too.

"Y'all can feel free to stop discussing my crush any time now," Justin mumbles against your leg.

"You're awake," you say, not even processing the 'crush' part of his statement, yet.

He stretches a little. "Almost, then Chris' dumb ass woke me up." He lifts his head to stick his tongue out at Chris. Chris returns the favor, and he's still grinning.

"Baby J's crushing." Chris looks gleeful. Joey's looking at Justin, who's still curled quite happily between your legs. Justin stretches again, and plants his hands on either side of your hips. He sits up a bit, and you're caged by his arms.

"I was working up the nerve to tell you, but Mighty Mouth just fucked that up. Are you freaked?" He's hiding whatever he's feeling.

"No, I'm not freaked. Not at all." You smile at him. "Now lie down - I'm supposed to be comforting you."

He smiles at you, looking sleepy and very happy, and he leans close, his breath warm on your skin before his lips touch your neck. The temperature in the room just shot up a hundred degrees, and you're so hard you think that Lance can probably feel it way over on the other bed. Justin kisses your jaw, and you can't believe he's doing this in front of the other guys, who are probably watching with rapt attention. He kisses you right beside your mouth, and he whispers your name just before he presses his lips to yours.

Your brain short circuits. Your mouth opens under his, and when his tongue slides against yours, your body takes over.  Apparently his has too, because you feel his hand, hot and huge, moving under your T-shirt and up your back. You cup his neck and hold him to you. It's everything you thought it would be, and more. You've forgotten the others are even in the room until Lance clears his throat.

"Uh, leaving now. Later, guys."

You part slowly, and Justin smiles, giving you another kiss before he resettles in your lap. "Nah, stay. Please? We'll be good."  The three of them exchange looks.

"I'm staying," Joey says. "Maybe there'll be live porn later."

Justin holds up his middle finger.

"Joey, you're not gay," Chris reminds him.

"What? You're going to tell me that wasn't hot?" Joey looks from Chris to Lance. "I may be straight, but that was hot."

Lance grins. "It was definitely hot."

"OK, sleeping now," Justin mumbles against your thigh. "All discussion of me and my boy can stop now."

You blush, knowing what's coming next. There are hoots and hollers, and Joey makes a funny noise, insinuating that five minutes into the relationship you're already whipped.

"Your boy?" Lance is all evil mischief. "Damn, one kiss and he's yours? What if I want a shot at him?"

Justin raises his head. "I'd say you waited a kiss too late, Bass. This fine ass belongs to me." Justin looks at you. "Doesn't it?"

"Am I yours?" you ask him.

"Yes." His arm tightens around your waist.

You read somewhere that Aquarians are possessive. You don't mind being thought of as something to be owned, a little. To be his, held close, and shared with others only by his permission. He isn't careless with his things, and you know that you'll be precious to him, that you are now. He's that way.

"Sorry Lance," you smile, " you're a kiss too late.

And that's how it starts.