Date: Sun, 24 Oct 1999 00:16:59 GMT
From: Scotty T <thepoetboy@hotmail.com>
Subject: Lance-In-Shining-Armour-19-21


Heyhey!  Standard stuff, I don't claim to know NSYNC and these
characters are not designed to be accurate representations of the guys.

For all I know, they're all straight. :)

Anyway, I'd love to hear your comments, criticisms, oatmeal recipes
and anything else you care to send my way!  (No junk mail, please.
I don't read it, nor to I pass on chain letters.)

You're all great -- and thanks for reading. :) And David, thanks for
making posting possible.

thepoetboy@hotmail.com

Part 19

I left the guys to look at the paintings and went back downstairs for a
slower walk-through.  I opened every drawer and every closet, and Joy
stared back from each one.  There were boxes of letters in the linen
closet, one of the dressers was filled with dried flowers, and the
bathroom cabinets were full of old records -- going back more than 60
years.

I had no idea why they'd be in the bathroom, but then again not much
was making sense to me.  I couldn't claim to understand Joy, or even to
know her.

When I got to the main floor I found David II talking with Michael.  I
waved at them and continued my exploration.  I found Justin in the
kitchen, sorting through the refrigerator.

"This thing is stocked, David!  You can eat like a king!"

"Focus on anything that used to make barnyard noises, Just, cause I've
got no use for the meat.  You might as well eat as much of it as you can
before I have to throw it out.  Anything that could be a verse in Old
Macdonald's farm is yours."

I walked through the kitchen to a large room with glass walls and
ceiling.  It had an amazing view of lilac bushes and a rose garden.

Justin's voice carried out from the kitchen.  "What sort of barnyard
sound does cheesecake make?"

Normally that would turn me around, but my attention was on the
centrepiece of this new room.  A huge, black grand piano stood in the
middle of everything.  It was as smooth as a baby's bottom -- if the
baby's bottom happened to be jet black and the size of a station wagon.

I sat down at the keys and just wished I knew how to play.  My
parents had gotten me a keyboard years ago when I wanted to teach
myself to play, but none of the piano settings sounded anything like a
piano, so I gave it up.  Now there was a beautiful creature standing under
my fingers, and I played the only thing I could think of.

The basic melody to "Lean on Me."

Justin walked in with a big plate of cheesecake.  He hummed along.  We
both stopped when we heard the feet pounding down the stairs.

JC's voice echoed around the cottage.  "Did I hear a piano?"

I laughed and played a few more notes -- like a homing signal, it drew
Josh into the room.  He stopped at the door and his eyes got really wide.
"Wow.  That's a beauty."

I hopped off of the bench before he pushed me off and sat in one of the
chairs at the side of the room.  He was playing bits of different songs,
most of which I recognized from NSYNC's first album.  Then he
repeatedly hit one key.  "Just a bit out of tune.  Perfect."

Joey, Chris and James moseyed in a few minutes later, each with plates
of cheesecake.  Justin slipped out for seconds.

James took the chair beside me and I put my hand on his.

"How do you like my castle, James?"

"It's great.  But what's with all of the records in the bathroom?"

I shrugged and laughed.

Michael and David II found us sitting around the piano listening to Josh
play.  I pulled my hand away from James'.

"Well, it's getting late, David," Michael said.  "And I've got a shift here
tomorrow at 9."

"How many people work here?"

"Two per day, and the lawn care guy comes on Tuesdays."  That day
kept popping up.

"Does the house really need two people each day?"

"Ms. Hilliard didn't like the idea of the house being empty."

"I don't wanna pull a job out from under your feet, but does it have to be
daily?  I kinda like my privacy."

"Don't worry, the service can get us other work.  How about Tuesdays?
A crew of three should be able to give it a proper cleaning."

"Tuesdays it is.  See you Tuesday."

"Deal."  He smiled and waved.  He shook David II's hand and then let
himself out.

Joey smacked the back of my head.  "Watch out -- you're turning into a
Lance."

"What?"

"Being all practical and business like, even late on a Sunday night on the
first night in your new place."

I smiled.  "There are worse things to become than James Lance Bass."

"Besides," Chris added, "albino-ism isn't contagious."

James was looking for something to throw at Chris, I just laughed.

David II was leaning against the piano, watching Josh play.  Or, more
exactly, watching Josh.  I didn't know if he was just a bit star struck or if
a certain radar of mine should be flashing.

Finally David II noticed me watching him.  He blushed a little (causing a
blinding dot to appear on my radar screen) and smiled.  "I left the
address to my office on the kitchen counter.  Just drop by whenever."

"Deal."  I smiled at him.  Gay, but I don't think he was interested in Josh
-- just in the fact that a celebrity was playing piano in front of him.  I
liked David II -- if I ever needed a lawyer, I'd choose him.

Fortunately I had no murder charges to worry about, but that didn't seem
to be his area of the law anyway.  David gave a little wave and then left
too, calling over his shoulder that he'd send the limo away since it
looked like we were staying.

"You gonna actually play something," I asked Josh, "or are ya just gonna
mess around?  For a band you guys don't seem to do much singing."

He grinned at me and motioned for the guys to gather around.  James
patted my hand and moved to the piano.  Chris had a confused look on
his face -- he was kinda cute when he was confused.  Hell, they were all
kind of cute.

"Since you were playing it earlier, here goes."  He played the basic
melody I'd played earlier, but then he started layering until it sounded . .
amazing.

"Sometimes in our lives -- we all have pain, we all have sorrow.  But, if
we are wise, we know that there's always tomorrow."

The other guys came in to add harmonies.  It was a bit confused at first,
but it smoothed out.

They got about halfway through the song before they realized they didn't
really know the words.  JC tried to force his way through, but the song
quickly became chaotic.

"Now I know why you guys don't seem to sing much."  I laughed at
them and went to raid the cheesecake.

***

James and I took the master bedroom.  Joy's bedroom.

We were lying side by side under the heavy blankets.  "I think I'm going
to make the back bedroom mine," I said to him.  The room had the same
smell as Joy's hospital room -- Joy's smell.  "This is her room, and
always will me."

"The house is yours now, David.  You've got to make it your own."

"There are too many ghosts here.  And they aren't mine."

"Change things.  Make them yours.  We can get some boxes and put
some of Joy's stuff away.  You can go buy some of your own furniture.
We can box up the paintings and everything."

"Not the paintings.  The attic is hers, and always will be."

"Then we can box up some of her stuff from the rest of the house and
move it up there."

"She's still alive, James.  I don't want to pack her stuff up."

"She'll never see this house, David.  There's no cure for old age."

I knew he was right.  I lived here now.  The house would have to accept
that.  And I'd have to accept the house.

"Now get to sleep, David.  Tomorrow's my last full day in town and I
don't want you napping through it."

"Is that your way of asking me to sleep with you?"

"Just shut up and go to sleep."

He rolled over and nuzzled into my shoulder.  I smiled.

***

At three AM, I did my best to make a bandage out of toilet paper and
scotch tape.  James was leaning against the door frame, giggling tiredly.
I'd searched both bathrooms for some sort of first aid kit, and even went
through all of the kitchen drawers, but nothing had turned up.

"That tape won't hold to skin."

"Yeah, thanks, Sherlock, but telling me what doesn't work doesn't help.
What kind of elderly woman has a house like this but not one roll of duct
tape?"

"Maybe it only really caught on in the past decade."

"Society couldn't have evolved without duct tape.  It's just not possible."

My final solution was to wrap the tape all around my body -- so James
held the dispenser and I twirled.  Couldn't have looked sane, and it made
breathing a bit uncomfortable, but it was either that or have to look at
the wound until I got my stuff from the hotel.

We were both laughing pretty hard by the time we ran out of tape.

***

We stumbled into bed a few minutes later, trying to make the trip
through strange hallways in the dark.  Joy sure did like putting little
tables in odd places.

We crawled under the blankets and met somewhere in the middle.

"David?"

"Yes?"

"Did I ever tell you that scotch tape really turns me on?"

"No."

"There's a reason.  You look stupid."

I laughed and gave him a push.  He pushed back.  Soon we were caught
up in a wrestling match, not really having a goal in mind.  The bed
squeaked loudly.

I managed to get him in a headlock and started performing a quality
noogie.  "No, David, no!" James yelped, a little too loudly.

There was a knock on the one wall -- the direction of the room Justin
and Josh were sharing.

I started laughing too hard and James worked his way loose.  He grinned
at me and dove across the bed, pinning me.  His elbow hit an
unfortunately part of my stomach and I let out a short painful squeal.
"Oh, James!" I groaned.  His eyes widened apologetically and he pulled
his elbow away.

There was a knock on the wall we shared with Chris and Joey's room.
Chris' voice carried through the wall.  "Guys?  Thin walls.  Get a room."

James fell on me, laughing himself hoarse.  He laughed so hard he got a
stitch in his side.

So did I, in more ways than one.

***

Part 20

I was in the bathroom, brushing my teeth as well as I could with Kleenex
and . . . ack . . . Colgate.  I had to convert Joy over to the wonders of
Crest too.  The tape around my stomach had become downright painful,
and it was curling in on itself.

Joey walked by and waved, then he stopped and stepped backwards.

"Got a tape fetish?"

"Didn't bring medical tape."

"Oh.  Can't you leave it uncovered?  I was always taught to let a wound
breath."

"Doesn't work if looking at the wound makes you sick."

"It's not that bad, is it?"

"I've got a low tolerance for disfigurements."

"Then just don't look down."  He picked up a small pair of scissors from
the counter and cut through the tape, peeling it off of me.  Yet another
moment where Joey was really close -- the boy must have absolutely no
personal space issues.

He peeled the folded Kleenex off my bullet hole and looked closely at it.
"Doesn't look too bad."

"I beg to differ."

"From what I heard last night, you don't have to beg for anything."

I laughed.  "It was just a wrestling match.  Nothing X-rated."

"Oh, come on!  You guys have been sleeping in the same bed for as long
as I've known you -- you can expect me to believe that nothing is
happening."

Justin wandered by sleepily.  He came in when he heard the voices and
hopped up onto the counter.

"Nothing's happening."

"What's happening?" Justin asked, joining the conversation.

"Nothing," I added.

"Davey's claiming he and Lance haven't danced around the maypole."

"They haven't," Justin said, wiping crusties from his eyes.  He yawned
deeply.

"How do you know?"  Joey felt like he'd been left out of the loop.

"Scoop's waiting for marriage."

I laughed.  "He'll be waiting a hell of a long time -- legislation isn't
going to come through in the next few weeks."

"He never said it had to be legal."

I was having trouble reconciling Justin's news with the James who stole
my towel and had a conversation with me while I was having a bubble
bath.  I also started to notice a bathroom theme in our relationship that
made me want to start running a nice long bath and conveniently forget
to lock the door.

"Lance told you that before he was outed, right?"

Justin nodded.

"Could have been part of his closet," I said.  "That way you wouldn't
expect him to have girls walking out of his room in the mornings."

Justin's eyes widened.  "So you guys have had sex?"  He was avoiding
looking at me, but I explained it away assuming that my stomach was as
gross to him as it was to me -- maybe even grosser since I've seen it a
few times already, and the healing was already starting to show.

Chris stuck his head on the door.  "Who's having sex?"

Justin gave him a small wave.  "Lance and David."

"We are not!"

"Oh come on," Chris scoffed.  "All of us heard you."

"We are not having sex!"

I looked over at the door, half expecting Josh to be standing there.  He
wasn't.

"What are you waiting for then?" Joey asked.  "We've all caught him
naked at some point -- you won't be disappointed."

I stared at him in open mouthed shock.  Chris and Justin giggled, but
Joey was holding onto his deadpan expression.  Barely.

I shook my head and looked over at Chris -- his eyes were on my
stomach.  He didn't know I saw him looking.  Suddenly I was self
conscious -- normally I'm not comfortable being shirtless around people.
But these guys were so comfortable that I . . . well, it all disappeared
with Chris' reminder.

"I'm going to go get dressed," I said, slipping out of the room.  I held my
hand over my stomach as I left.

***

James was making the bed.  Unfortunately I only had one outfit to
choose from -- the one I wore out to the cottage/house.  And it was
James' and therefore a wee bit too small.

And the shirt kept rubbing up against my "beauty mark."

"So what've you got planned for today, Jimmy?"

"We're going up to your rez and packing your stuff.  I think the guys are
going to look around for a place to play some b-ball."

"I can move out of rez when you're gone.  I'm not going to waste your
last day on that."

James sat on the bed and raised an eyebrow.  "Really think you're up to
heavy lifting all by yourself?"

Check and mate.

"It'll be easier without a bunch of university girls drooling all over my
work man."

He laughed.  "University girls can carry boxes if they wanna follow us
around.  More hands, less work."

He had a point, but I wasn't ready to give in.

He sighed.  "Or, we could start getting the house set up for you.  We can
get some boxes and start making this into Davey's place."

"Or -- you can sit back, relax, and for once let your vacation happen.  We
can order pizza, rent some movies and spend the day hanging out."

"There's no VCR, David."

I thought about it and realized I couldn't remember seeing a TV in this
place, much less a VCR.

"Okay, short trip to my university.  We'll grabs some clothes, my TV,
VCR and my computer.  Other than the mini-fridge, that's all the heavy
stuff.  Then we can sit back and relax for the rest of the day, alright?"

"Works for me."

We went downstairs to find some breakfast.  I worked on my secret
recipe for amazing oatmeal (eat your heart out, Nurse Leslie) and James
worked on some delicacies of his own.  JC was already playing around
on the piano in the next room.

Joey was going from room to room, finally yelling, "Where the hell is
the TV?!  I need my cartoons!"

Justin was searching the cabinets for some quality cereal -- unfortunately
most of the labels included "bran" and he was quickly turned off.  Chris
was exploring the basement, the one area I'd forgotten to look.  The
piano had made me forget my own explorations.

The guys showed up and took what they wanted and then wandered back
to their own distractions.  Joey had given up on ever finding a television
and was going through the bookshelves in one of the smaller rooms.  I'd
noticed a lot of the books were missing, but I'd seen them when I'd met
Joy in the hospital.  I decided I'd see her tomorrow, when the guys were
gone.

"When do you guys fly out tomorrow, anyway?" I asked.  I noticed
James' head fell a bit at the question.

"Around two," James replied quietly.  He looked up with a hopeful
smile.  "Why don't you come with us -- just for a few days?"

I hopped up on the counter in front of him.  "That's just delaying the
inevitable, James.  And there's too much to do here.  I have to move all
my stuff in, get this place set up to my likings, withdraw from classes
and sign out of rez.  And I have to deal with my parents -- they probably
have no idea what's going on.  I'd love to go, but it just isn't practical"

He moved between my knees and put his hands on my waist.

"I don't want to say goodbye to you."

"And you don't have to."   There was a catch in my voice.  My eyes
started to burn.  "Not until tomorrow."

He rested his forehead on my shoulder.  I watched his french toast start
to send out dark smoke, but neither of us moved to save it.

As hard as I tried, I couldn't stop a few tears from escaping.

That's when Chris barged into the room excitedly.  "You could make
that basement into one hell of a game room with a pool table and . . ."
He saw us there, and I gave him a small smile.  "Oh, sorry."  He started
to back away.

"Don't worry about it."  I cleared my voice to make it stronger.  "What's
the basement like?"

"It's finished, but pretty well empty.  Doesn't look like it got much use."

"I'll look into getting a pool table then.  No dream home would be
complete without it."

Chris was standing with us now, with his hand rubbing the small of
James' back.  I could feel James crying into my shoulder, and the lump
in my throat came back.

"Chris?  Can you turn off the heat on the stove?"

The french toast was burned beyond edibility, but none of us really
cared.

***

We decided the boys would stay with me again that night, so Chris and
Joey went back to the hotel to collect everyone's stuff and check out.
We didn't even try to pull Josh away from the piano -- he was so cute,
completely lost in it.  I don't think he even noticed us watching him.

Justin decided to go with James and I to the university to get my stuff.
He made the call for a limo -- James chose a limo because we'd be able
to fit a lot of stuff in it.  A further search of the house hadn't turned up a
good stereo either, so mine was added to the list of things we'd bring
back.

The limo made its way onto campus, and I knew this wasn't going to be
easy.  Monday mornings had the campus at full population -- crowded.  I
spent a lot of time disguising James and Justin with whatever I could
find in Joy's closets.  Unfortunately (and for some odd reason) Joy didn't
have many pieces of clothing that could pass as men's, so the costumes
were very limited.

But a blind and deaf man might not have recognized them.  That was
something.

We left the limo at the base of the residence, letting the driver do his
best to get a good place to park.  We got in the building with no
problem, no recognition, but waiting for the elevator was disastrous.

I was recognized first.  "You're David Sheer, right?"

I nodded.

"Where the hell have you been?  We had a whole celebration set up for
you -- we worked hard and you . . ."  There was recognition in her eyes
as she looked at my two companions.  She fell silent, but her lips kept
moving.

I had to ask her twice which floor she wanted to get off on before she
finally replied.

My floor was quiet, but elevator girl must have spread the word quickly.
We'd barely gotten into my room (the three of us managing to fill the
room to capacity just by standing in it) when there was a knock at my
door.   I looked out the peephole and saw a small crowd forming.

"Dammit."  I said.

Justin took a look out the peephole and laughed.  "How about I keep
them busy while you guys get everything ready?"  James nodded and we
threw Justin to the dogs.

I grabbed the phone and called Eric to reclaim my fish.  He picked up on
the 7th ring, obviously having just woken up.

"Eric -- I'm in my room, can you bring my fish down?"

"Yeah, sure.  Finally moving back in?"

"Kinda, sure.  See you in five -- and thanks for taking care of them."

"No problem."

I hung up and waited a few minutes before I called him back.  I'd lived
with him for 8 months -- I knew how his mind works.

I woke him up again.  "Hullo?"

"Fish, Eric.  Now."

I laughed and hung up.  Two was the charm with him.

I grabbed the boxes out of the top of my closet and started packing
cables and wired from my computer away.  James started going through
my closet and packing my clothing.

A few minutes later there was a knock at my door.  I barely heard it over
the loud voices in the hallway -- poor Justin.

Eric was standing there with my fish, and my Don was standing right
beside him.  I waved them both in.

My Don didn't look happy, but she tried to once she saw Lance folding
my underwear into a box.  I blushed a bit at the public display of
undergarments.

Eric put my fish tank down on the dresser and then flopped into a chair,
trying to stay awake.  The Don -- Stacey -- stayed by the door with her
arms crossed.  She opened her mouth to speak, but I beat her to the
punch.

"I'm moving out.  I'll turn my keys in by Friday."

Her mouth hung open limply.

"Oh, and Stacey, Lance, Lance, Stacey."

James smiled sweetly.

"Where are you going to stay?" Stacey asked curtly.

"I got a house east of here.  I'm dropping my classes too."

"The university will give you time to catch up, you know."

"I've decided.  It's just a matter of informing the university."

"Well, I don't know what to say.  You'll be missed."

She never was much of a liar.

I looked at her and then at the door, repeating the action until she caught
on that she was being kicked out.  Finally, with a glare over her shoulder,
she left.

Eric was snoring already.  That familiar snore that had kept me awake
for 8 months.

When we had decided what I was going to take, we started handing
boxes out the door, and Justin handed them to members of his new
unofficial fan club.  I kept the fish tank for myself, to protect them.
James, Justin and Eric (who took a few kicks to wake) took boxes of
plants.

Good thing I'd kept the boxes.

Justin went with one group of laden ladies down the elevator and to the
limo, James went with another group.  The remainders didn't seem to
thrilled to be left with Eric and I.  Apparently we weren't cute or famous
enough.  All in all, we got a good amount of stuff out in that one trip.
Other than the fridge, I knew it would be smooth sailing from there.

James and Justin signed some thank-you autographs for the box carriers,
and for some other students who had joined the swelling crowd, and we
made out getaways.

My escape left me with more dignity than the last one had, not that it
took much.

***

Part 21

Chris and Joey got back to the cottage before the rest of us.  They were
dropping the stuff upstairs in the bedrooms when we walked through the
door.

"Chris and Joey," James yelled, "we need you to help carry things in."

I put the fish tank down and went to get some stuff from the limo when
James cut me off.  "Not you, gimpy.  You go put on a proper bandage.
You're not carrying anything."

I started to object by he blocked me with a kiss.  I deflated, but enjoyed
it.  He smiled and put down his box of plants before he skipped out the
front door.

I put the fish tank on the kitchen counter.  "You guys'll get a much
bigger home as soon as I get anywhere near a pet store.  You'll love it."

Josh was still playing with the piano.  I was beginning to wonder at the
stamina of his fingers.  I went back to the front door and directed the
placement of the boxes as they came in.  I put the television together in
the front room, and had the computer stowed in the little library Joey had
discovered.

I had the computer put together in minutes -- it's a knack.  I nearly went
into computers after high-school, but decided against it.  I was good at
computers -- I wasn't good at English.  So the challenge had won out.

The guys were relaxing in the front room as I took the plants and spread
them out through the house.  I would have to root more -- they were
densely packed in a small residence room, but they disappeared in a
large cottage.

Joey had managed to set up the antenna on the TV, so I told him to let
the VCR to do a station search, cause it would get the better reception
than he ever could.  I directed Justin to put the stereo beside the VCR
and connected the two.

I was going to continue my puttering around, but James caught me as I
walked by and pulled me down into his lap.

"There's no rush, Davey, you can make everything all perfect later."

"It's starting to feel like home.  The more I do, the more it feels like
home."

He sighed and let his arms fall to his sides, but I didn't get up.

"Your arms make it feel like home too, James."

Chris snorted at me, and threw a pillow at my head.

I vowed to get rid of all pillows -- these boys got too trigger happy with
pillows.

***

I convinced them to watch "Running on Empty" with River Phoenix.
Not that they had much choice -- I didn't have many action movies,
unless you count the Star Trek series of movies.  And I had a feeling
they weren't up for a Muppet movie.

It wasn't until we were ten minutes into the movie that I realized it
wasn't a good choice.  It was going to tread into territory that neither
James and I needed to be reminded of right now.

I was hoping he'd fall asleep by the end, but he didn't.  Most of us teared
up near the end.  JC had even joined us halfway through, complaining of
sore fingers.

No matter how many times I saw that movie, I always teared up, and it
was even worse with James lying on the couch with his head on my lap.
He stared up at me as the end credits rolled, and we both tried not to
break down.

The silence in the room lent some added support.

Josh broke it.  "Lance did ask you to come along, right?"

I nodded.  "I turned down the offer."

"Why?"  Chris sat up from where he was lying on the floor, propped up
on pillows.  "We'd all love to have ya, and you've got no ties here."

"I do have ties here.  I've got friends.  And finally, I have roots.  I have
to give it a chance.  I'd never be able to write on the road."

Chris looked disappointed, and I smiled.  I was wanted.  These guys
really seemed to like me -- that never stopped amazing me.

The movie went to static, and Joey hit the stop and rewind buttons.  "It's
a good movie," he said quietly.

The silence went on for another few minutes until . . . well, it didn't get
unbearable as much as it got damn boring.

"What does everyone want on their pizzas?"  It was a good question until
I remembered my $4 credit limit.  With any luck I could just afford to
get from the airport to David II's office tomorrow to pick up my new
found riches, but that didn't help with pizza.  "Wait -- never mind.  I
think I'll cook instead."

It was a problem since I had no recipes here, but with any luck Joy
would have me covered.

"Hey!" Chris objected.  "You can't dangle pizza under our noses and
then yank it away!"

My mind worked a mile a minute, trying to think of a way to afford
pizza.  I was near the point where I was going to offer to sell my body to
JC when James whispered "My treat" up at me from my lap.

I squeezed his shoulder in thanks.

***

We called in the pizza order and then I dialled up my voice mail.  I had a
pad beside me on the kitchen counter to write down any interesting
messages.  I planned on accessing 20 messages a day -- any more than
that and I'd need a tinfoil hat and mismatched socks.

Most of the guys were trying to set up my vintage Nintendo in the front
room, and James had wandered back to have a go at the piano.  He
wasn't bad -- not bad at all.

My mother.  My brother.  City TV.  Jennifer.  Dan.  Jennifer.  Jennifer.
(Seems Jennifer didn't take well to her friend being shot.)  One of my
profs.  The Sun.  And a few others.  I copied down some names to
remind myself to call them soon and deleted that batch of messages.

20 down, 153 to go.

Lord, I wished the university system had a message cap.

The sounds of Super Mario 3 started to come from the front room and I
wandered back to the piano, to watch my boy make music.

I spent my time taking the dead leaves off one of my mini-rose bushes as
he played.  I noticed some mistakes creeping into the song that weren't
there when I was in the kitchen.

"If I can distract you like this just by being in the room, imagine what it
would be like on tour, Jimmy."

"I know.  But that's because I'm still not used to being around you -- not
completely.  It's been . . .  What -- a week?  You woke up last Monday.
It's been a week.  And we haven't even been  together that whole time."
His bass voice was practically growling the words.

"Then this is our one week anniversary, babe."

"We weren't official until Chris butt in."

"Yeah, I have get him a thank-you gift."

James laughed.  "I'll cover it."

"We'll have phone calls, and email, James.  And I'll have no shortage of
travelling money once I manage to drop by David's office and get my
new bank card."

"When will you come visit me?"

"I'll need at least a week here to settle things."

His face split into the biggest grin and his green eyes danced.  He swept
me into a hug and swung me around the room so that my feet didn't
touch the ground.

I was laughing when he finally set me down.  "That sounds like approval
to me."

"I thought it would be at least a month!"

His face looked like pure joy -- and somehow I'd been the source of that
joy.  He pulled me into a deep and lasting kiss, with his arms crushing
me into him.

It quickly descended into a rather passionate make-out session, and my
knees got weak.  I could feel a certain part of my James rubbing up
against my thigh.  I had one hand on the back of his head, making sure
he never broke the kiss, and the other was squeezing a well toned butt
cheek.  (His, of course.  I'm not quite strange enough to squeeze my own
cheeks in a make-out situation.)

Josh cleared his throat three times to get our attention, and finally tapped
us on our shoulders.  We both looked at him, but stayed clamped
together, keeping certain . . . enlarged happy bits hidden.

"Pizza is here, boys."  He laughed and left the room.

"James?"

"Yeah?"

"You're friend is really cute?  Could ya set us up or something?"

"Josh?  You're sick."  He laughed.

"Who said I was talking about Josh?"  I giggled and pushed my hips
against James'.  His eyes widened and his face quickly turned red.

"Ah well, maybe later.  Pizza time."  I smiled at his embarrassment.

I adjusted myself and walked to the kitchen, determined to sit down as
soon as was humanly possible.  James took a few minutes before he met
the rest of us at the table.

"Davey's going to come see me . . . us . . . in about a week!"

JC checked a schedule in his brain.  "We'll be in LA, right?"

"Nope.  Calgary.  We've got some Canadian dates coming up."

I breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief.  "Thank God I won't be running
into any Americans.  I hear they don't wash.  And with all of those
guns!"

I found my box -- we'd each opted for our own pizzas.  By the look of it,
Justin would have finished off what-ever was left since his own pizza wasn't
slowing him down.

"What've you guys got planned for tonight?"

Chris and Joey spoke as one.  "Nintendo."  They laughed and Chris
continued.  "We haven't seen the old time games in years."

I laughed.  "I just got them this summer.  Just something cheap to keep
my busy."

Justin snorted into his orange juice.  "Then Lance seems a bit
redundant."

I laughed, more amazed that Justin could use the word "redundant" in a
sentence than at anything else.  I'd always heard he was the master of all
things slang.

"What're you up to tonight, JC?"

Four voices replied for him.  "Piano."  JC just smiled into his pizza.

"And you, Just?"

"A looooong bath.  I just want to relax."

I could feel everyone at the table preparing a reply to that, so I sat back
and let mine evaporate.  I was betting Chris would get his out first.

"A one handed work out isn't relaxation," JC said, laughing.

Justin smiled back.  "Then you ain't doing it right."

***

James and I walked around the yard, bundled up in our coats.  The
flowers were turning brown around the edges, so I knew they'd all be
gone by the end of the week.  Frankly, I was surprise anything was still
in bloom.  The rose bushes on campus had stopped flowering a month
ago.

In the back we found a big circular pond.  Every so often the hint of a
brightly coloured fish showed between the plants.  I made a mental note
to check with the yard guy about how I was supposed to care for them.

"You should get a swimming pool, Davey."

"We had one at my parents' place, but we took it out when no-one used
it.  Vacuuming it was a nuisance."

"Hire a pool boy."

"I've got more than enough servants already, thanks.  If the yard was
smaller, I'd take care of it myself.  But I know the house would never get
cleaned if people didn't do it for me.  I can't stand dusting.  I'll take care
of the roses, but the grass and the tree pruning is someone else's job."

"You'd love my place.  I'm building a secluded little garden around the
pool.  When it's done it'll be like swimming in a jungle."

I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my chin on his shoulder,
watching the fish.  "Sounds beautiful, Jimmy."  It was already getting
dark.  We'd had an early dinner, but had kept Justin away from enough
of the leftovers to be guaranteed a nice snack later -- I preferred pizza
when it was cold anyway.

James' voice sounded hesitant when he spoke again.  "David -- I wanted
to talk about earlier."

"I know.  You're not ready."

"Not yet."

"Neither am I, babe.  I've rushed into the physical side before, and I
don't want to mess this up.  I want to go slow."

"Good.  Me too."

I kissed his neck and sighed, squeezing him tightly.  His neck was so soft
that I had to kiss it again, and I let my lips linger as I inhaled his scent.

I tried to stay in the moment.  The last thing I wanted to think about was
that in twenty four hours he'd be back in New York, and I'd be in that
big house, all by myself.

But unfortunately the mind thinks what it wants, and it drags the thinker
along on it's trip

"What do you want to do tonight, Jimmy?"

"How about we stop time?"

"Seriously."

He sighed.  "Well, the TV is out of commission for gaming.  Piano is
occupied.  Since Just is using the bathtub, I don't even wanna touch it
until it's been thoroughly scrubbed."  I bit his neck.  He giggled.

"Okay, that's what we can't do, what do you want to do?"

"Build a fire and stare at it until we fall asleep."

I grinned.  "Works for me."

***

I was happy to find that all three fire places were wood-burning.  There
was one in the back bedroom, one in the newly dubbed Nintendo room
and a third in the basement.  We chose the basement for privacy's sake.

(Nintendo steals the romance, and Chris and Joey probably wouldn't
have liked James and I getting romantic in their room.)

The basement was pretty well empty.  It was made up of two main
rooms, and then a little laundry room and a sizable cold room.  The cold
room's walls were lined with various jars and groceries and one of the
main rooms was filled with boxes.  But Chris was right -- the remaining
room could be a nice little place with a pool table and a sitting area
around the fireplace.

I laid out a blanket over the carpet and piled pillows I'd pirated from the
rest of the house while James brought in wood from the woodpile we'd
found at the side of the house.  I discovered a few bottles of wine in the
cold room and got some gorgeous crystal wine glasses from the kitchen.

In about half an hour we were curled up in each others' arms on the
pile of pillows, watching the flames scatter around the burning wood.
We could hear the sounds of the piano travelling through the floor, and
Mario's constant jumping.

And every so often, above it all, the squeak of a skinny boy's butt on the
bottom of the tub.

"I need to get thicker walls."

"You should try living on a bus with them."

"I'll pass."

"I would too, if I had the choice.  Especially after we pass a Taco Bell."

"So much for a romantic evening by the fire."

"This is romantic."

"After a Taco Bell reference?"

"Fine, I take it back."

"Good."

We let it fall back into silence, and I was comfortable with that.  I let
him run his fingers through my hair, even though I knew that would
mess it all up -- when released from the hold of the mousse, my hair
curls and expands faster than a marshmallow in a microwave.

He'd seen my hideous gaping wound -- puffy hair didn't phase him.

The fire warmed the room quickly, and soon it was toasty.  The wine
was warm, but neither of us was complaining.

"David, there's something I want you to have."

"You've given me more than I could ask for already."

"It's so that you'll think of me.  Close your eyes."

"I'll think of you anyway."

"Just close your eyes."

I closed my eyes and waited for a moment before I felt James putting a
chain around my neck -- it was thin and warm.  I could feel a small
weight on my chest.

"Don't take this the wrong way, David.  Open your eyes."

I looked down to see a small silver crucifix on my chest, held by a thin
silver necklace.  It was the one James always wore.

"But this is yours, James."

"You don't understand the nature of gifts, do you?"

I laughed.  "No, I mean you always wear this."

"I'll get another one.  You don't mind?"

"Why would I mind?  It'll remind me of you."

He left out a deep sigh of relief.  "That, and it'll let me think that you're
safe even when I'm not here."

"Ah, assigning me a guardian angel?"

"Someone's got to make sure you don't get any more holes poked in
you."

"At least, not until we agree we're both ready."

He laughed and hit me with a pillow.

I sat up and stared into his green eyes.  "Now shut up and kiss me,
Angel."

We fell asleep in the basement, in the light of the fire, on an
uncomfortable bed of pillows.

***

I woke up in the middle of the night.  I didn't know why, but it was
always the middle of the night when I felt the need to change my
bandage.  According to the doctor, I should have done it before bed, but I
never did.

I opened my eyes to see James looking down at me.

"If we're not careful, we're gonna spend all of our last hours together in
horribly sad moods, Jimmy.  Stop worrying about what won't happen for
another" I checked my watch "twelve hours."

"I know.  Need to change the bandage?"

"Yeah."

He climbed to his feet and held his hand out for me.  The fire had died to
embers and the room was lit just by a faint glow.  We stumbled through
the pillows in the general direction of the stairs.

Wandering through the first floor, I noticed how dark it got.  Toronto
is usually so saturated with light pollution that it never gets dark
enough for those of us who originally came from rural towns to call
dark.  (How's that for an awkward sentence?)

It took a lot longer than it should have, but finally we got to the upstairs
bathroom, with our arms around each others' hips.  We probably woke
everyone in the house in the attempt.

James left me in the bathroom and slipped into Joy's room to get my bag
and the bandaging supplies while I looked in the mirror.  I looked dead
tired -- but I had no intention of going back to sleep -- not that night, not
in my last twelve hours.

James slipped back in with a little smile.  His eyes were puffy and shiny
from lack of proper sleep.  "Justin claimed our bed, we'll have to go
back to the basement."

"Let's go to the piano room -- we can wait for the sun to come up."

"That's like five hours from now!"

I grinned.  "Any complaints?"

He cut the bandage to size and his grin spread.  "Not a one."

***

Joey came into the kitchen around seven-thirty, wiping his eyes and
drinking straight from the milk container as he stood there in boxers and
a t-shirt.  He must have heard our voices because he walked into the
back room.

James and I were wrapped up in a blanket on the love seat and Joey
plopped down on the piano bench before taking another swig of milk.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked.

"Does a body good," he yawned.

"A glass would do a body better, cause then I wouldn't have to kick your
ass."

James giggled a little.  I was surprised that he was having the harder time
staying awake.  The sleep deprivation skills of a former university
student were turning out to be more than a match for those of an
international dancing celebrity.

"How long've you two been up?"

"Five or so hours.  Why're you up so early?"

"If I wanna sleep on the plane, I gotta wake up early."

I decided not to combat his logic -- especially since my own logic was
probably napping.

James' breathing had changed and I knew he'd fallen asleep.  I couldn't
blame him, I was just happy that I was still awake to hold him.

"He's going to fall apart when you're not with him, David."

"He's got you guys."

"How are you holding up?"

"Been better.  I've never been in love like this.  I'm verging on saying
`screw writing' and just going with you guys.  It'd be nice."

"Short term, yeah."

I sighed.  "I know, that's why I haven't said it."

James squeezed me in his sleep -- as if he was making sure I was still
there.  I stroked his shoulder and he relaxed.

Joey finished off the carton.  "You up for Mario?"

"If you think I'm letting go of this boy for so much as a second, you're
completely insane."

Joey laughed and ran his hands through his bright red hair.  "Then I
guess I'll catch a shower before the other guys wake up."  He didn't
move.

"Anything else, Joey?"

He nodded.  "We're all gonna miss ya.  I didn't get to know you as much
as I wanted."

"There'll be other chances.  A week, Joey.  I'll be on a plane by this time
next week."

"We'll try to hold your boy together until then."

"You damn well better," I laughed softly.

Joey smiled and left the room.  His butt wasn't that bad either.

***

The others started filing down shortly after Joey's shower started.  The
thin walls were more than a bit annoying, but it helped strengthen the
cottage feel of the place.

The cottage my family went to every summer had walls that were no
more than half an inch thick.  If someone talked anywhere in it, everyone
heard.

At least this place had indoor bathrooms.  And a complete lack of visible
spiders.  But I did miss the sounds of the waves on the beach.  Somehow
a big goldfish pond just wasn't the same.

I let the guys fend for themselves in the kitchen.  JC came straight for
the piano with his bowl of bran-something-or-other.  He stopped when
he saw James sleeping and let out a sigh.

"You'd better wake him.  He'll be mad if you let him sleep through his
last hours here."

"This isn't just your way of getting access to the piano?"

He smirked and shook his head, so I tapped James on the temple until
his eyes burst open.

"Oh God, how long was I asleep?"

"About twenty minutes."

"You should have woke me."

"I did."

"Earlier."

JC sat at the bench and finished off his cereal.  "The limo is coming at
noon."

James turned to me.  "What time is it now?"

"Around 8."

"I need a shower."

"You sure do," I laughed.  He grabbed my nipple and twisted until I
yelped and swatted his hand away.

He climbed to his feet, stealing the blanket entirely and shuffled out of
the room.  I watched him go, trying to convince myself that this day
hadn't finally come.

***

End of part 21

We're getting to the story's one month anniversary!  And to celebrate
I will post the big good-bye installment on the 28th!  (Unless something
goes horribly wrong. :)

The special anniversary installment may be huge -- but depends on
whether the university goes on strike in the next 24 hours or not.  If they
do, I'll have a lot more time to write.

But that installment won't be the last installment -- don't you worry.
The big conclusion is not for a while yet. :)

I want to really thank all of the emails you guys have sent so far --
y'all have been fantastic.  I've tried to reply to all that I can!

I'm an email junkie -- so email me!  thepoetboy@hotmail.com

And thanks for reading, ladies and gents. :)   Y'all are the reason
I take the time to write. :)