Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 15:41:17 EST
From: Garrett Sparks <xander874@hotmail.com>
Subject: Hold the Pickle - Chapter 6

I needed a little JC and Lance action and since they weren't even in the
last chapter, I'm giving them their due, although Drew and Joey are still
the center.  I wanted to say thanks to whoever nominated my other story,
Next Window Please, for a fan fiction award - that's so cool!

Please write me with feedback.  Per guidelines, no illegal viewing of this
and don't let your fantasies get the best of you - this stuff is all fiction
and in no way implies anything about anything.  Enjoy!

Chapter 6

	The plane was silent.  JC sat in his first-class chair, trying to
jot down some lyrics for a song he was working on.  It was a cheesy love
song, which he generally didn't like (a good dance song always was his
preference), but this one was special.  He was writing it about and for
Lance, which made things a little sticky, since he was stuck playing the
pronoun game.  He didn't want to cave in and use 'she' and 'her', but he
couldn't use the male pronouns...so it had to be words like 'they' and
'you'.  This made it a little bit harder.  But, Lance was worth it.
	And now, as he glanced at the seat next to him, where his lover was
now sleeping soundly, his head nestled on JC's shoulder, he suddenly got
inspiration, and started writing away.  He knew this song would probably
never make it on an album, so he didn't know why he was being so paranoid
about.  But, he did know.  It was for Lance and he wanted it to be perfect.
The perfect song for his perfect guy.
	He let the words flow out of his pen (he always wrote songs by hand
- the computer seemed too impersonal for that) and he decided to worry
about specific word changes later.
	Lance shifted slightly and his eyes fluttered.  He smiled at JC and
lightly said, "hello."  JC kissed his own fingers and placed them against
Lance's lips.  Lance kissed his hand back and fell back into his doze.  JC
glanced out of the window at the darkness below.  No matter how many times
he flew, he was still amazed at the concept of air travel.  Here they were,
thousands of feet above civilization, far away from the good and the bad of
society.  The lights of the world below dotted the landscape and JC leaned
back in his chair.
	The flight to North Carolina was supposed to leave that afternoon,
so they would have a full night to get some rest.  They were going to spend
all of Monday doing last minute preparations for the tour - trying on
costumes and working out any kinks - and Johnny wanted them to be fresh
when this occurred.
	But, like so many times before, the weather had postponed the
flight until nearly ten o'clock that night and now, closing in on midnight,
the guys had tried their best to get some sleep.  JC couldn't ever sleep on
flights.  He may have been the guy who slept the most, but it always had to
be a ground sleep.  He just couldn't get comfortable on flights.  He would
occasionally doze off, but it never was a deep slumber.
	Lance was like JC in that he didn't really sleep either.  Lance was
afraid of flying and his nerves usually kept him up.  But, they had been
running around all morning, packing and saying their good-byes, and
everyone was exhausted.  JC was too, but he just couldn't get comfortable.
He did grab a quick cat-nap in the airport lobby, so he wasn't too worried.
No matter how tired he was on Tuesday, the adrenaline rush from the
prospect of performing would keep him alert.
	JC looked around the cabin.  Justin was sprawled out in front of
them taking up two seats and JC could see his feet dangling off the side.
In the two rows next to them, Chris and Joey were also sleeping, each with
their own row.  All of the guys could've had a row to themselves, since the
management had reserved the whole section for them; but of course, Lance
and JC had to be close to each other.  JC knew it comforted Lance to be
close to him and JC also liked having him close.  He couldn't believe that
they had spent pretty much every moment together for the past two months as
a couple and things were better than ever.  He had heard tales of people
getting sick of each other - Chris constantly complained when Dani stayed
more than a week - but that wasn't happening with him and Lance.
	Part of it had to do, he was sure, with the fact that they had been
together every day almost for the last 5 years.  They were a part of each
other - as were the rest of the guys - and not being together would've
seemed weird, regardless of if they were dating or not.  But, now that they
were in love, the bond between them seemed stronger and he relished every
moment with Lance all the more.
	Joey snorted and JC glanced over to see his friend turning onto his
side.  JC smiled as he thought of Joey and Drew.  He was so happy they had
found each other - partly because he didn't have to worry about Lance and
Drew and partly because he wanted Joey and the others to be as happy as he
was.  He hated that he still was a little tense around Drew.  He was sure
he didn't show it and told everyone he was fine, but it was still somewhat
awkward.  He knew Drew was the innocent one with what happened, but Lance
was the one he loved and it was hard to think bad about him.
	And, it was just a kiss.  And there were extenuating circumstances.
And it meant nothing.  Still, he shuddered when he thought about it.  But,
it was something he had to deal with and he was sure in time, he would be
over it.
	He did feel bad for Joey and Drew though.  Today at the airport as
they said their good-byes, JC wanted to cry for them.  Things had been iffy
between them recently and although their relationship seemed solid, the
fact that it might be weeks before they see each other again was saddening.
JC couldn't imagine going a week without Lance, let alone two or three.
But, Joey had been on the cell phone the moment they had taken off and had
only gotten off a little while earlier when sleep overcame him.
	Drew was going to try and visit them as soon as he had a break, but
no one knew when that would be.  Drew had this whole marriage thing to
promote and the group also had the album to push.  JC knew how hectic
promotion was and he secretly doubted Joey and Drew would hook up before
the holidays, which was a month away.
	He would never tell Joey that though, and maybe Drew would surprise
him.  From Drew's recent actions, he obviously put Joey first and JC
admired that.  He just hoped that Nick Lachey wouldn't try to spoil things.
He had already done a number on Drew by forcing him into this marriage, and
he knew that Drew's older brother had some influence on him.  But, he knew
Jeff and probably their Justin would be looking out for him.  He guessed
only time would tell.
	Lance shifted again and JC ran his hand through his boyfriend's
hair.  It was a little crunchy still from the moose he had put in this
morning, but it was also soft underneath the surface.  JC took in the sweet
aroma from Lance's hair and kissed him on top of his head.  Lance, eyes
still closed, reached over and took JC's other hand, squeezing it.  "I love
you," he murmured.
	"I love you too," JC replied as he returned to his lyric book,
intent on finishing this song before they landed.

	Drew was very tired.  He hadn't slept much the night before (he was
stocking up on Joey booty) and now, even though it was only around nine
o'clock in California, his body was registering midnight.  As the plane
touched down in LA, Drew mustered up all the energy he had to force himself
to follow Jeff off the plane.  All he wanted to do right now was climb into
his bed and sleep.
	He partially blamed himself for being so tired.  His flight was
originally scheduled to leave around lunchtime, but when NSync's flight got
moved, he changed his as well to spend as much time with Joey as he could.
And when they plane took off, he got on the cell phone to chat when he
should've been napping.  Jeff had been smart and zonked out as soon as the
plane took off, but Drew wanted to be with Joey for as long as he could,
even if it was only his voice.
	He also didn't know when he would see Joey again.  They had
tentatively agreed to meet up in the next couple of weeks, but a look at
his promotional itinerary showed little free time before the holidays.
Still, he made a firm decision that he would see Joey before Thanksgiving,
even if it was only for a day.  He couldn't go a month without him and
wasn't about to let anything get in his way.
	Of course, he said this not trying to think of Nick.  Nick was his
brother, a guy he had always looked up to and he had a heavy influence over
him.  Even with all the crap he had pulled lately, Drew still respected his
opinions and found it hard to say no.  It had taken all his courage to
leave for New York the week before and he knew he might be facing a firing
squad when he got back.  Jeff had assured him Nick would be on his best
behavior, but Drew was still cautious.  It was easy to defy Nick when he
was around, but face-to-face was a whole other story.
	The guys were met by their manager at the gate and quickly escorted
to the special VIP exit, where a limo waited.  Drew relished the idea of a
quiet ride to his house, during which he planned to take a nap.  He figured
Lea would be at his house, waiting for him and he knew they had to sort
some things out and get other things straight (no pun intended).  So, when
he climbed in, he was upset by another passenger waiting for them.
	"Hey, bro!" Nick Lachey said as Drew and Jeff climbed in, "How's
that stud muffin of yours?"
	Drew sighed, "It's more than that and you know it," then trying to
be civil, "How's it going, Nick?"
	Nick had a serious look on his face, "Well, to tell you the truth
it isn't going that great.  You see, our album isn't doing as big as the
label had hoped and we have all this promotion to do, yet our youngest
member has decided he'd rather play house than help his best friends."
	"Cut it out, Nick," Jeff cautioned as he situated himself in the
limo.  The car took off.  The three sat in silence for a minute.
	Finally, Drew couldn't take it anymore, "I'm in love with Joey."
He didn't know whether he was saying this because he was happy, or because
he knew it would get Nick's goat.  It definitely worked for the second
reason, because Nick turned away disgusted and looked out of the window.
	Eventually, he turned back, "You are, aren't you?"
	Drew nodded, "Tell me honestly, Nick.  If Jessica took off across
the country after a big fight, you wouldn't go to her?"
	Nick was pensive, but eventually agreed, "Yeah, I guess.  But, this
is different."
	"How?" Drew asked. "Because Joe's a guy?  It's all about love, bro.
He's important to me and I'm not going to let petty things stand in the way
of that."
	"It's not petty to Lea," Nick replied, "This marriage thing may be
a whole big joke to you, but she isn't kidding around."
	Drew looked away, "She knows it's a sham, Nick."
	Nick stared out of the window again, "She still loves you.  She was
hurt when you took off for New York."
	Drew wondered if Nick was just saying this to make him feel guilty,
because it was working.  He knew he had to talk to Lea and as the limo
turned off of the highway, he knew they were going to his house and this
conversation was going to happen sooner rather than later.
	Nick looked at Drew, "I'm only looking out for you, bro.  And the
band."
	"I know," Drew responded, "But, we have to find a happy medium.
You can't expect me to sacrifice one for the other.  98 Degrees and Joey
are two of the most important things in my life and I'm not going to let
anything come between them."
	He just hoped that he had the strength to not let those two things
tear him apart.

	Justin was pouting.  The plane had landed awhile ago and the guys
dragged themselves to their hotel in Charlotte.  Luckily, no one knew they
were coming here before the show started, so no fans were waiting outside.
And frankly, none of the guys wanted that either.  They were all so tired,
they just wanted to go to bed.
	And things seemed headed that way, until Justin had looked in the
cabinets in their kitchenette and hadn't found any cereal.  Justin was a
bear in the morning until he had his bowl of whatever cereal he fancied at
that moment (Lance thought it was Count Chocula right now).  But, frankly,
Lance didn't really care.  He just wanted to snuggle under the covers with
JC and fall asleep.
	JC, ever the protective one, was worried however and was trying to
calm Justin, "Look, Curly.  We can call the front desk and get them to
bring up cereal in the morning.  It won't be a big deal."
	Justin stuck out his lip, "Yeah, but they won't have Franken Berry
and I have to have that."
	Lance smiled.  Wrong monster, he assumed.  Still, for being so
tired, he was pretty close.  But, he hated that Justin was acting like a
five year old and wanted to tell him.  But, he knew starting something
would only lead to a huge fight, since everyone was on edge already.  So,
he dropped it and headed into the bedroom.
	He took off his pants and shirt and climbed into the bed.  He
doubted it would work, but he shut his eyes and sent a subliminal message
to JC to join him soon.
	To his surprise, JC strolled in the room a second later.  "Is the
tow-headed one appeased now?"  Lance asked as he watched JC undress and
climb into the bed with him.
	JC nodded, "Yep, I called the front desk like I said and asked them
to get some Franken Berry for Master Timberlake.  They said no problem."
	Lance put his head on JC's chest, feeling his heartbeat beneath
him, "I guess being famous has a few perks."
	JC laughed lightly and ran a hand through Lance's hair.  Lance
raised his head and kissed JC on the nose, "Man you are so cute."
	JC smiled and replied, "Ditto."
	Lance was about to settle back down, when he felt JC grab his
shoulders and flip him on his back.  JC climbed on top of Lance.  Lance was
surprised, but when he felt the hardness from between JC's legs pressing
against his thigh, he knew what his boyfriend was after, "Not tired
anymore?"
	JC kissed Lance on the neck, "You know I can't sleep when the
thought of your naked body pressed against mine is running through my
head."
	Lance grinned, "Then, I would think you would never sleep, you
horny toad."
	JC said nothing, but lowered his hand down to Lance's crotch and
grabbed his hardening cock through his boxers.  Lance let out a moan and
reached his hand underneath the fabric of JC's briefs, feeling the coarse
hair brush against his hand as he grabbed JC's throbbing erection.
	JC closed his eyes and let go of Lance's dick.  He reached back and
removed his underwear, making sure Lance didn't let go.  Then, he slowly
pulled off Lance's boxers and tossed them to the floor.  They lay there for
a minute, their hot flesh pressed against each other.
	JC returned his hand to Lance's cock and began stroking it.  He
leaned forward and began kissing Lance, parting his lover's lips with his
tongue and probing the inside of his mouth.  Lance was moaning louder now
and stroking JC's cock harder.  Lance figured JC must've been pretty horny,
because he could feel his cock tense up and he knew he was close to orgasm.
	This excitement made Lance's own cock throb more and as he felt his
lover come and felt his warm jizz spray across his chest, he lost it and
shot off himself.  He looked down at the mixture of cum on his belly and
kissed JC.
	JC released Lance's cock and ran a finger through the puddle on
Lance's chest.  Lance loved the feel of the warm liquid being spread around
and he reached around to JC's ass and squeezed lightly.
	JC smiled and gave Lance one last kiss before hopping off the bed
and ducking into the bathroom.  He returned with a towel a minute later and
cleaned Lance up.  After he was done, he climbed back in the bed and pulled
Lance close to him.  Lance nestled his head in JC's chest, his chest hair
pressing against his cheek.  He loved JC - everything about him.  And JC
felt the same way.  He slowly drifted off to sleep.

	Drew's house was dark when he got there, which made him feel
slightly relieved that maybe Lea had gone to sleep.  But, when he opened
the door, he saw her lying on the couch in her robe, a book on her chest.
He figured he had better wake her, so he went up and shook her slightly on
the shoulders, muttering her name.  She slowly stirred and smiled when she
opened her eyes.
	"Did you just get in?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.
	"I took a later flight," Drew said as he brushed her hair away from
her face.  He looked in Lea's eyes and was taken aback briefly.  He really
did care about her, and even though he wasn't ever 'in love' with her, he
was probably the closest you could get.  Lea had been his best friend for
years and now, as he stared at her, it broke his heart to have to talk to
her about stuff like this.
	Lea saw the conflict in his eyes and asked, "How's Joey?  Did you
work things out okay?"
	Drew sat next to her on the couch, "Yeah, things are great now."
	Lea frowned slightly, "I'm sure you dreaded coming back here."
	Drew smiled and put a comforting hand on Lea's knee, "I didn't
dread seeing you, Lea.  I care about you a lot.  I just had to get away
from all the craziness."
	Lea looked away, "Like our wedding?"
	"Well, you have to admit, it was a bit rushed," Drew offered.
	Lea looked at Drew and smiled, "Yeah, not exactly what I expected.
I always hoped we would get married one day.  I just never thought the
circumstances would be so different."
	Drew felt his heart sank, "I'm sorry this happened.  It's all my
fault.  I let it go too far."
	"I don't totally blame you, Drew.  Nick facilitated this and I
could've said no.  I know you don't love me."
	Drew saw the tears forming in her eyes and hugged her, "I hate that
I led you on.  I hate that I let Nick get the best of me.  I hate that I
hurt you."
	Lea wiped her eyes, "I'm the one that's in love with you.  I need
to deal with it."
	Drew stood up, "But, you shouldn't have to.  You never should've.
I knew I didn't have those feelings for you and I let things go on."
	"You were confused," Lea interjected, "You didn't know what you
wanted.  I'm not mad, Drew."
	"You should hate me," Drew somberly offered.
	Lea went up and kissed him on the cheek, "I know you never
intentionally meant to hurt me.  You're a great guy and I'll be fine.  I
just need some time and being here isn't going to help."
	Drew was confused, "You're gonna move out?"
	Lea shook her head, "Not officially.  I made a promise to the guys
to keep this thing up no matter how twisted and wrong it is.  But, I'm
keeping my old apartment too.  When you're in town, I'm gonna stay there."
	Drew was mad now, "This isn't fair to you Lea.  You're too good a
person to be in this predicament."
	Lea sat down, "And I allowed it to happen.  I can't do this to you
guys."
	Drew sat down next to her, "I still hate it."
	"In time, maybe something else will happen, but for now things have
to be this way.  It sucks, I know.  But, that's the way it is."
	'Que sera, sera," Drew mumbled.
	He looked over at Lea and the thought of her sacrifice made him
angry at Nick again.  And their management.  And even Jeff and Justin for
letting this happen.  He was so angry and the only thing that made his
happy was three thousand miles away.  He had to see Joey soon no matter
what.

A little abrupt there, but it felt like an ending.  So, stay tuned - more
is a'coming and please, please, please e-mail me with feedback!