Date: Sun, 23 Dec 2001 03:53:51 +0000
From: Stephanie M
Subject: Mom Knows Best 6

Title: Mom Knows Best 6/?
Author: Stephanie M
Fandom: BSB/Nysnc
Pairing: Nick/Justin
Disclaimer: This story is entirely fiction-i.e. not true and is not meant to
imply anything about the true sexuality of the celebrities mentioned herein.
Summary: Nick and Justin discover that sometimes your mom can know you
better than you know yourself.

Part 6

Justin relaxed into the chair as he waited for Nick to return, the older
singer had said something about a request before disappearing. He couldn't
help but wonder just what Nick had planned this time, and whether it was a
good idea to let Nick decide his fate.

"Justin, could I ask a favour of you?" Nick said avoiding Justin's eyes.

Justin couldn't help but feel nervous as he saw the way Nick was acting.
Smiling he said, "Sure, just what kind of favour?"

"Well, I was wondering if I could paint you. You don't have to say yes it
was just a suggestion.

Justin said thoughtfully, "I guess, I don't have to be naked do I?"

"NO! Of course not, I just wanted to paint the real you rather than..." Nick
said his voice trailing off so that Justin could not hear him.

His curiosity peaked Justin asked, "Rather than what?"

"Rather than having to just use my imagination like on the others. You think
I'm sick now don't you?" Nick answered shuffling nervously.

Justin smiled as he realised Nick had actually been painting him, the very
thought made him tingle. He couldn't believe Nick found him interesting
enough to spend time painting him.

Grinning he said, "I think it's sweet. How long have you been painting me
then?

"Not long, about a year and a half. Do you want to see them?" Nick asked
calming now that he realised Justin wasn't about to run out of the house
screaming.

"Yeah. Do you want me to get changed so you can paint me?" Justin said
looking down at his clothes.

"No need, you look fantastic as always." Nick answered as he led the way to
the studio.
*******
The studio was actually a large bedroom that he had converted; the room was
perfect to paint in due to the wonderful lighting. Strewn around the room
where various paintings either patiently waiting to be placed in their
rightful home or unfinished. On the walls were paintings of Justin and the
rest of the Backstreet Boys. There were ten paintings of Justin including
five portraits; the other five where simply inspired by his imagination.
They depicted Justin in a number of situations; his favourite one was of
Justin watching the sunset.

Justin looked at the pictures in shock, he hadn't known Nick was so
attracted to him, even as he looked at them Justin couldn't help but feel
awe at the apparent depth of Nick's feelings. It was obvious from the
pictures that Nick had strong feelings for him and would do whatever was
necessary to keep him happy.

"These are great, if you've had feelings for me for so long why didn't you
say something?" Justin wondered aloud.

Nick sat down, looking at Justin's face as he pleaded his case. "I thought
you where happy with Britney and there was no indication that you were gay.
Besides, I wanted to be your friend more than I wanted a relationship. I
thought that if we got involved without being friends first it would be a
disaster waiting to happen."

"Oh, so you weren't just pretending to be my friend then?" Justin asked,
voicing the suspicions that lingered in his mind.

Nick looked at Justin in disbelief, "No, I'd never do anything so cruel to
you."

"That's good to here, so where do you want me?" Justin said, blushing at the
lust in Nick's eyes.

`Anywhere' Nick thought to himself but he only said, "How about the chair?
Just act natural."

Justin quickly moved to sit on the chair, he watched with rapt attention as
Nick started painting. He couldn't quite hide the shiver of desire as Nick
started to look him over; he loved the feel of Nick's eyes on his body.

They had been working for thirty minutes when there was a loud banging on
the door, wiping the paint from his hands Nick flashed Justin an apologetic
smile. He walked out to answer the door frowning at the interruption.

"Yeah?" Nick said as he opened the door to find an angry Kevin who looked
ready to knock the door down.

"I need to talk to you, inside now!" Kevin said sound both angry and afraid.

Nick held the door open, shivering as he looked at Kevin. He had never seen
the older man look quite like that and it scared him. If Kevin was so upset,
it could only mean something had gone seriously wrong but what Nick didn't
know.

"You okay, babe?" Justin's voice carried into the room seconds before the
man came into view.
*******
Justin froze as he looked at Kevin realising that he had given the game
away. It was one thing for Kevin to know Nick was gay but it was another for
Kevin to know about him and their relationship.

"Oops." Justin said as he sat down next to Nick, who immediately wrapped his
arms around Justin's shaking body.

"It's okay, that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. Have you seen
the National Enquirer today?" Kevin said sounding more resigned than
anything else.

"We haven't had time; we didn't get up till late and spent the day hanging
out." Nick answered, not really thinking about what he was saying.

"Oh. Well there's something you need to see." Kevin said, taking the
magazine out of his jacket.

Nick quickly grabbed it and started reading, Justin reading it over his
shoulder. When they got to the second page the couple froze. The headline
read, Forbidden Love Revealed-Nick and Justin-the Hottest Couple in Pop!
There were several pictures taken from their performance at the GLB show the
night before.

Justin couldn't believe they had been so stupid! They should have known
better after spending so much time under the watchful eyes of the press.
Nick on the other hand was worried about how it would affect their
relationship, would Justin want to finish it now?

"What do we do?" Justin asked desperately, tightly holding Nick's hand.

"We're going to have a press conference tomorrow at eight and deny
everything. We'll just say you were helping some friends, which is true. If
anyone asks why you were together we'll just say you were collaborating on a
song for the joint tour." Kevin answered, thinking on his feet.

"I guess I should call the rest of my group." Justin commented as he
switched on his mobile.

Immediately there was a loud ringing, answering it Justin was relieved to
hear JC's voice.

"Where have you been Curly? Your mom said you where at a friend's place when
I called earlier." JC said, not liking the fact that Justin was spending
time with someone outside the group.

Taking a deep breath he replied, "Yeah, I was hanging out with someone. Have
you seen the National Enquirer today?"

"That's why I was calling. How come you were singing with Nick Carter?" JC
asked, hoping he wasn't losing his best friend.

"It was at a concert for the Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Society at the U, I
was helping out a friend." Justin answered, hoping JC wouldn't probe any
further.

"I guess that explains it, what are you doing about the paper?" JC asked,
knowing Justin was hiding something.

"Nick and I are going to hold a press conference." Justin said.

JC frowned at the phone, "Okay, Jive wants us all to meet them in an hour."

"I thought this was our downtime! Okay, I'll meet you at Jive." Justin said
scowling as he finished the call.

"What's up?" Nick asked seeing the angry look on his love's face.

"I've got to meet Jive in an hour. I'm going to have to get back home, pick
up my car, and drive there." Justin said pouting.

"I can take you." Nick offered, not seeing the point in taking Justin home
just to fetch a car, plus if he just drove Justin they could spend more time
together.

"No, you can't. That would be more trouble than it's worth, it would raise
too many questions." Kevin said seriously.

"I guess I had better take you back then." Nick said sadly.

Hearing the sadness in nick's voice, Justin chirped, "Yeah, I'll come back
here as soon as I've finished."

"Wait a sec I forgot something," Justin said as they reached the door.

"What did you forget?" Nick said looking at Justin in confusion.

"I forgot to give you a kiss goodbye," Justin said cheekily capturing Nick's
lips in a passionate kiss, they broke apart as Kevin coughed loudly.

"Thanks for the show guys (!) You have to get going." Kevin said grinning at
how happy the pair were; he didn't think he had ever seen Nick look so
alive.
*******
The drive to Justin's home in LA was spent in silence, each one to consumed
by their fears and thoughts to talk. Each one was wondering just how they
were going to cope with the added pressure on them now that people suspected
their relationship. Would they be able to have a relationship with the eyes
of the world watching, not to mention their friends?

"I'll see you, as soon as the meeting's over. It shouldn't last long,"
Justin said as he Nick stopped the car.

"I hope not, I'll have dinner ready for when you," Nick said grinning at the
surprised look n Justin's eyes.

"You cook, too? Oh you're definitely a keeper." Justin said as he opened the
door.

"I'll see you later, then." Nick said seconds before Justin closed the door
behind him.

Justin watched Nick drive away before fetching his own car, taking a deep
breath when he considered just how the others were going to react.
*******
"Now that you're all here we can discuss the purpose of this meeting. I take
it you have all seen today's National Enquirer?" Johnny said as everyone sat
down.

"Yeah, just why were you hanging out with Carter anyway?" Joey asked Justin
with a grin.

"We were talking about writing some songs together when Nick remembered he
had to perform for a friend of his at the GLB show. I asked if I could help,
seeing how it was for a good cause." Justin answered calmly.

"I guess that makes sense." Chris answered, looking Justin in the eyes.

"Why were you thinking of writing together?" JC asked his voice carried a
hint of jealousy.

"Oh, for the joint tour we're doing in six weeks." Justin said, realising
that his prior knowledge of the tour could come in handy.

"What tour?" JC, Joey, and Chris asked in unison while Lance simply glared
at him.

"Sorry, I forgot you didn't know about it. Nick told me about it when we
were talking the other day. I figured it would be good if we wrote something
together, kind of show that we're not at war with Backstreet," Justin said
thinking quickly, not wanting to reveal their relationship yet as he was
sure it would jinx them.

"Now back to the paper. I want you to hold a press conference tomorrow at
noon." Johnny said looking at Nsync.

"Nick and I have already agreed to do one tomorrow at eight." Justin
answered with an apologetic grin.

"Of course you have. Just why didn't anyone tell me this?" Johnny said half
to himself.

"Sorry, it just skipped my mind. Have we finished? I've got to meet
someone." Justin said eager to get back to Nick.

"Yeah, sure. You can leave, Justin." Johnny said, laughing when Justin
bolted out the room.
*******
"Now that he's gone I want to talk to you four. I need you to keep an eye on
him, he's acting secretive and out of character." Johnny said seriously.

"What do you thinks wrong with him?" Joey queried worried at the prospect of
his younger brother being in trouble.

"He was hiding something when I called him early and avoided meeting our
eyes all through the meeting." JC said thoughtfully.

"If I didn't know better I would think he was on drugs or something." Chris
said thinking aloud.

"Drugs? Justin wouldn't do something as stupid as that." JC answered
angrily.

"He's just in love Justin told me the other day he's never been this happy
before." Lance said, but it was clear the others didn't believe him.

Joey answered sceptically, "Maybe but I think we should watch him just in
case."

Meanwhile Justin was driving towards Nick's place, hoping he would be able
to convince the other man to continue the painting. It had felt kind of
erotic to know that Nick was staring at him, watching his every move.

Quickly dialling Nick's number Justin said as he heard the phone being
picked up, "I'm on my way. You want me to bring anything?"

Hoping nothing had upset Justin Nick said, "Just you. Did everything go
okay?"

"I think Johnny's upset that we've already organised a press conference. I
had to tell them I already knew about the joint tour so Lance is a little
angry." Justin said as he pulled into Nick's driveway.

"Don't worry, everything will work out okay," Nick answered as he walked to
open the door.

Seeing Justin Nick said into the phone, "I'll have to go, my gorgeous date
is waiting."

"Gorgeous, am I? You're not that bad yourself," Justin hung up his phone and
pushed Nick back into the house.

"You honour me, kind sir." Nick replied bowing with a grin.

"I know." Justin said seriously, "Something smell's great, what is it?"

"Nothing much, chicken in peppercorn sauce. I tried it in Paris once and it
was great."

"So has Kevin gone home?" Justin said wanting to know if they had to share
their time together.

"Yeah, he said that if we ever need to talk to him all we have to do is
call." Nick said, not mentioning Kevin's embarrassing warning to, "Be
careful, and always use protection."

"That was nice of him. He really looks out for you, doesn't he?" Justin said
as they walked out into the kitchen.

"Yeah, he kind of had to. Kevin is the self-appointed father but sometimes I
think it's too much for him. I get the feeling that he would like to escape
the responsibility every once in a
while."

"I never thought about it that way, maybe I should talk to the others and
see if we can share the responsibility instead of Lance handling it all."
Justin was starting to feel guilty as he thought about how pressure was on
Lance as the organiser and father figure of the Nsync.

"It's a good idea maybe we can take it in turns on the next tour. We'll have
to mention it to the others and see what they think. I don't think we should
tell Kev and Lance or they'll assume we think they can't do their job
properly." Nick said as he stirred the food.

"Yeah, we don't want to upset them. I was thinking could you finish the
portrait of me. I like the idea of you painting me." Justin said shyly.

"After we've eaten, why don't you go into the living room while I organise
everything?" Nick said wanting to surprise his love.

"I think I'll check out MTV and see what they are saying about the article.
If you need my help just give me a yell." Justin quickly walked into the
lounge.

Just as Nick was about to serve the food his phone started ringing, looking
at his caller id he found it was Howie. He didn't really want to answer the
phone but knew that if he didn't the older man would just continue to ring
until he answered.

"What do you want D?" Nick said as he walked into the lounge, putting one
arm around Justin as he sat next to the younger man on the couch.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Brian said he was trying to phone
you all day and got no answer. I was worried you might have been freaking
out about the stuff in the National Enquirer," Howie said softly already
knowing Nick was in a mood.

"Why would I be freaking out about it?" Howie asked wondering how long Howie
intended to bend his ear.

"You know because they think you're a fag." Howie said reasonably.

"A fag? Look, I've got to go Howie; I've got a friend over." Nick said
disgusted at what he had just heard. He didn't give Howie a chance to answer
as he ended the call and took the phone off the hook.

"You okay, babe?" Justin said gently, seeing the pain in Nick's eyes.

"No, he said asked if I was worried in case people thought I was a dirty
fag. How could he say that! Does this mean he'll hate me when I tell him the
truth?" Nick said sounding afraid and angry.

"He's your friend, I'm sure when he realises how much he hurt you, he'll say
sorry and feel really guilty. I don't know why he said that but some people
aren't too accepting of gay people like us." Justin said holding Nick
tightly.

"I just didn't think Howie was like that but this means that I might loose
him when I come out," Nick said his tears slowly falling onto Justin's top.

"Do you want to stop seeing me? It might make your life easier and you might
be happier." Justin said, knowing it would break his heart but he would do
anything to save Nick from being hurt.

"No, you're the most important part of my life. I love you Justin and I
don't want to be without you, ever!" Nick swore, hoping Justin wasn't
suggesting this just so he could end the relationship.

"I don't either. I couldn't cope if I lost you, I love you too much." Justin
said, closing his mouth with an audible snap as he realised he said those
three little words.

Nick moved quickly and kissed Justin, overjoyed at what he had just heard.
Nick ran his tongue over Justin's teeth causing the younger man to shudder.
The pair kissed gently, reaffirming their love and doing their best to
comfort the other. Each one knowing that they had just overcome a major
obstacle in their relationship. The smell of smoke caused the pair to break
part. Nick ran into the kitchen to find his meal had burnt while he had been
distracted by the considerable lures of Justin.

"I guess we'll have to settle for takeout. I'll call that Mexican place I
mentioned earlier." Nick said as he picked up the phone and pressed number
six on his speed dial.

"Hi, it's Nick Carter. Can I have two lots of my usual...? Thanks," Nick
said smiling over at Justin.

"You call so often you have a usual?" Justin asked in amazement, he didn't
eat that well but he didn't think he was as bad as Nick, yet.

"What can I say? I can't cook that well." Nick said, with an embarrassed
grin.

Justin grinned, "Yet you cooked for me, I feel really special. So how long
will the food be?"

"About twenty minutes, so we have plenty of time to get everything perfect."
Nick answered, motioning for Justin to follow him.

Justin was amazed as Nick grabbed candles from various places around the
house and told him to place them on the floor. There were about twenty
candles altogether, looking at them closely he could see that they were
sandalwood and jasmine.

"Now for the music!" Nick said as he walked back into the lounge carrying
three CDs.

Placing them in the CD changer he pressed start and the sounds of
Beethoven's Fur Elise filled the room. There was a knock on the door,
picking up his wallet Nick walked to the door and took the bags from the
laden delivery girl.

Silently Nick walked back to the Justin, shocked to see the room was bathed
in a dim light which served to make the room look magically. The music only
made the room more romantic. Placing the cartons on the floor he passed
Justin some chops sticks and the pair ate, feeding the other with a grin.
They laughed and joked the whole time feeling more comfortable with each
other, now that an invisible barrier had been broken.