JC checked the clock again and turned off the coffee maker. He tilted his mug into the sink and watched swirls of milky liquid disappear into the garbage disposal before putting the mug into the dishwasher.

It was late.

The dryer had beeped itself done awhile ago but JC had ignored it. Now, he pulled the laundry out and carried it loosely into the bedroom. It was all bedding and now a bit wrinkled. Not that anyone would notice, here in the dark room. It still bothered him, just a little. He liked things to look nice, especially for important occasions. He had his own idea of beauty.

So, he shook out the sheets and let them settle a bit before smoothing one hand across them, pushing down folds and creases of cloth. He tucked in corners and clothed pillows and finally spread the satiny duvet over the down comforter. He worked quickly at making the bed sharp and neat. As a final touch, he carefully pulled back one corner of the covers. Half-wishing for a way to make things look even nicer, he checked the clock again and then made a mental note to ignore it. It wasn't telling him anything new.

It was late.

Today was a Thursday. It was also the last day of the month and the end of the deadline JC had created for himself. It seemed silly, setting a deadline to fall in love. Something a lovesick girl would do to be spiteful. "If you're not my boyfriend by Friday then I'll never talk to you again!" It was sort of like that, but then again, it wasn't like that at all.

JC wasn't a teenage girl. He already had a boyfriend, after a fashion. And he most certainly had to talk to him everyday whether or not they broke things off. Also, the boyfriend in question had no clue about any deadline. But still, JC felt the lingering ghost of teenage girl hovering as he continued with his plan.

He took a slow walk through the house, shutting off lights and checking locks. The house was dark and quiet in these finals hours of the night. The party he was supposed to have gone to would have been over for a long time by now. He hadn't gone, though, hoping to have one last night away from it all with the man he was in love with. Let the other three handle the appearance for once, he wanted a last chance to make it work, this thing he had dreamed they might have.

But if JC were being honest with himself, he would admit that there was no way one more evening with him was going to bring about some magical romance. Romance isn't what they did together; they never had. While JC might have the occasional daydream of butterfly-filled picnics, sharing wineglasses and sweatshirts just because and rings with initials engraved on them, he had always been too embarrassed to try anything like that, certain his secret desires would be spread around and he'd be teased for months by all four of the guys.

As if they didn't have enough ammunition already.

And perhaps that was part of the problem. He had never been brave in this relationship, scared of taking things that one step too far. Scared of the rejection that he instinctively knew would be automatic followed closely by the mocking. While he might feel inside as if he were in a desperate war for the love of his life, he had been too much of a coward to really fight. And now the fight was over.

It was over, all done but for the packing. He'd save that for the morning, when it couldn't be put off any longer. As for tonight...his stomach clenched and burned. He was so anxious tonight that he could feel himself coming apart. It's better, he told himself, that he didn't have company. He was babbling right now inside his own head. He could only imagine what nonsense would come out of his mouth were anyone else around to hear it.

His body language would have betrayed him, as well. His hands were fisting the bottom edge of his t-shirt as he paced the living room, finishing up his last lap of the house. He felt resigned, yet restless, prowling around, adjusting knickknacks, wiping away dust before finally approaching the front window, moving the curtain aside to peek out and then letting it drop into place and adjusting its folds.

No, no matter what his heart wanted, tonight wasn’t a good night for him to have company.

It didn't matter anyway, because Justin wasn't here. Britney had needed him with her at the appearance, or so he had said. JC's boyfriend had to go spend time with his girlfriend.

It was just as well. What JC really needed was time alone to prepare himself. Even though he had set this deadline himself, just over a month ago, it was still going to be a shock to deal with tomorrow.

Tomorrow, he would do what was right. He would pack. Maybe head back to LA, maybe home to Chicago to see his parents. Maybe to Venice, so he could spend some time watching the sun bounce off the waters of the canals, drink wine at outdoor restaurants while watching the pigeons flit around the bell tower, buy Murano glass trinkets or ivory cameos at the crowded shops, stay at a little place he knew on Lido where they always had bowls of Italian candies on the front desk and let you take as many as you liked. That sounded nice.

And tomorrow he would begin to try, as hard as he could, to forget that in two years of sleeping with him, Justin had never been able to fall in love. Not nearly like JC had. Not at all.

JC walked past the fireplace, skimming his hand along the edge of the bricks as he used the low light to examine the pictures displayed in artful jumbles down the length of the mantle. In some of them, Justin's hair was very light, his smiles big and naïve. In the others, his hair was longer and longer until it wasn't there at all, his smiles smooth and perfect. In some of them, he and Justin were best friends, in some of them lovers, though a stranger wouldn't have been able to tell by looking. For a moment, JC felt dizzy, disoriented by the mismatched timewarp of all the different Justins. JC touched the glass over Justin's face in the photo at the end where he had one arm over Britney, one over Chris and JC sat close by looking wide-eyed at the photographer.

He decided not to take any of these when he left tomorrow.

He climbed the stairs up to the bedroom and got ready for bed. Justin was so late now that JC wasn't sure he was even going to come home tonight, though he had promised he would. JC had asked specifically that Justin be there, not something he always did when he knew Justin would be out with Britney. JC wasn't angry, though, just melancholy. It would've been nice to make love one more time.

As he settled back into the pillows, JC wondered if Justin had any idea why he had wanted Justin to stay home tonight. Probably not, because JC had tried hard not to act any differently just because he was living out this plan. He wasn't a very good actor and he knew that his eyes were traitorous and showed everything he was thinking, always, but he had really, really tried this time. This was important to him. Justin didn't need to be worrying about him. Nothing about this situation was Justin's fault. There was no way to make someone love you, and JC hadn't really wanted to try. If Justin just couldn't do it, then it wasn't real. No matter how very, very real it had always felt to JC.

He turned onto his side and smoothed the covers out again; making sure Justin's side was still neat and folded down. He rested his hand on Justin's pillow and closed his eyes.

Outside, the gate squeaked as it engaged and rolled on its track. JC, still awake, opened his eyes as he heard the sound of an expensive automobile engine idling and then dying. A car door slammed shut and then there was no more noise until a key rattled in the lock downstairs, sounding very near. JC stared at the shadowy wall, not moving.

He waited and eventually heard rustling and quiet breathing as Justin walked through the open bedroom door. There was more rustling as Justin moved around the room making soft sounds as he stripped off his clothes. JC didn't need to watch; though he supposed he should, to mark the occasion or something. He had waited just like this countless times before. He wondered if Justin knew he was awake.

Water ran in the bathroom, though Justin hadn't turned on any lights or shut the door behind him. The toilet flushed loudly and then the rustlings drew closer, the mattress dipping under sudden weight and fastidiously spread sheets bunching as Justin pushed them aside. JC finally looked away from the wall, his eyes sliding over his companion. Justin's nude body had streaks of light and shadow from moonlight coming in through the window blinds.

"You awake?"

"Mmmm." JC moved his hand off of Justin's pillow and closed his eyes.

Justin's breathing sounds came nearer and he felt warm breath on his shoulder. He shifted, making his posture welcoming, and opened his eyes.

The low light in the room made Justin's eyes shiny, the only feature JC could make out clearly despite the fact that Justin was now very near.

"Hi," he said solemnly.

"Hi." Justin grinned a little, teeth flashing. "Can I--?" He dipped his head down and kissed JC's collarbone.

JC sighed and rolled onto his back, Justin following instinctually, never taking his lips away from JC's skin as he simultaneously pushed the covers down to JC's hips. Justin mouthed along the bone, dry and lewd. He finally pulled back and flashed teeth at JC again.

JC's lips lifted in a small smile and he reached up to rub at Justin's new curls. "How was the party?"

Justin's face twisted and that was enough of an answer. "Did you get done what you needed to get done?"

JC shrugged the shoulder that Justin had been kissing. "Sure."

"I'm glad you're awake."

JC's breath hitched. "Yeah." Justin was hovering above him and one hand was pressed against his waist, kneading it.

"You don't feel like talking, do you?"

"Mmm. Not really." He reached both hands up and ran his fingers along the sides of Justin's head and around to the back, cradling his skull.

"Good." Justin leaned back down as JC tugged until they were kissing. Their mouths opened immediately and the kiss went deep.

It was very late, maybe even tomorrow already. JC knew that he shouldn't be doing this now. Maybe if Justin had stayed home with him this evening, making love then would have been okay. Now it was too close to the end. It wouldn't change anything except make it one more time that he made love to Justin and tried to take a little of what he needed, while Justin never knew. It was going to make tomorrow even harder, naturally. JC clenched his eyes shut and lifted his hips to press against the man above him. Voices in his head were loudly telling him this was wrong, wrong, wrong, and he mentally flipped them the bird, but only managed to turn down their volume when Justin sucked hard on his tongue and he whimpered.

Justin moaned in harmonized response and pressed down hard; pinning JC's hips back onto the bed. They ground together as their kiss broke, both panting. Justin moved immediately and started mapping JC's body by mouth. JC felt moist heat spread down his neck and chest and belly, back up his arms and shoulders and to his neck again. It seemed to take agonizingly long; he never wanted it to end. JC felt sensuous heat seep from Justin's skin into his own, pooling in his limbs. He lifted a foot and rubbed at the back of one of Justin's calves, spreading his thighs to cradle Justin's tight body, to welcome it.

Justin's hands were rubbing and clenching against his muscles and he tried to return the favor. It was hard to think and he felt flushed and guilty. He loved this so much. He loved Justin so much. His eyes felt prickly and he blinked quickly before focusing on Justin's intense face above him.

Justin moaned again when he saw JC looking at him and bent to press their mouths together. JC felt like he was drowning in this moment. It was so powerful. As Justin's body rocked against him, their hard erections rubbed slickly and JC imagined that maybe, just maybe, Justin felt a little of the power, too. Then Justin pulled away abruptly and fumbled for a condom and JC shook his head to clear it. No, Justin didn't feel it. And that, right there, was his reason.

Justin shifted heavily back on top of him, like he always did when this moment came, bouncing a little playfully, anticipating what was to come. Justin, for all of his sensual rubbing and licking, when it came down to it, liked to have fun and sex was the ultimate good time.

JC felt his heart throb at the hot, glowing smile Justin beamed down at him. That smile was what had started everything, two years ago. Justin, wanting to have some fun, JC unable to refuse him. It hadn't really changed that much, despite what he saw in the photos downstairs. JC licked his lips and waited, scratching gently at the expanse of golden skin above him.

"Hold on, I'm just going to--" and JC felt Justin's hands move to his hips and downwards as they shifted their weight, getting ready. There were long, slick probes and strokes and some rubbing that made JC arch his back and feel wanton. Justin chuckled a little breathlessly, like he always did when they got really into it like this, like he was a little self-conscious but not ashamed.

With coaxing, JC lifted his hips up and his legs clutched around Justin, high on his torso. He startled a little as Justin's hands dropped heavily onto the pillow on either side of his head. Justin loomed up over him, sweating, facial features transformed by lust. His mouth was open, lips turned up at the corners and puffy, his eyes glazed and looking into JC's. With no more preliminary, Justin pressed into him and then waited. JC, not wanting to wait, flexed his legs and pulled. Justin gasped and took his cue, moving with purpose.

They panted together and JC clawed at Justin. He could barely think, but felt now that this was good. This would be a good memory to take. He was glad now, that he'd welcomed this.

Justin bowed his head until their foreheads were brushing together. They were rocking and sweating and JC wanted to touch himself but that would mean not touching Justin. Justin must have been able to read that desire in his eyes because then Justin shifted his weight again, never losing his rhythm and holding himself up with only one hand while the other stroked between their bodies right where JC had been craving it.

JC's heart was pounding and it all felt so incredible that the only thing he could do was lay there and moan as Justin made his brain explode. He was making a continuous stream of pathetic whimpering sounds, which Justin would occasionally echo with hoarse grunts, when his body couldn't take it anymore and shook itself into a final strain of mind-blowing pleasure.

Justin was shuddering and still looking at him as he finally calmed down enough to smile. They didn't speak as they cleaned up and went back to bed. The sheets were dirty again, and most of them were tossed sideways off the bed. JC tugged on one corner until they were covered enough not to freeze and then passed out.

He woke up a few hours later when the sky was beginning to call forth the sun again. The sharp lines of moonlight were gone, but the room was now filled with a weak gray light. It was enough.

He was careful as he lifted Justin's arm off of his chest, got out of bed and pulled on some clothes, but not silent. He wasn’t too worried. Justin was a heavy sleeper and would surely sleep until noon after last night.

Last night. Last night had been fabulous...

He shook the thoughts off and found that he had been rubbing over and over at one particular spot on his stomach. He peeled the shirt up and looked. A hickey. Justin had given him that.

But no. It was time to get going. He swiftly pulled two large duffel bags out from under the bed and worked efficiently, filling them within twenty minutes. He simply emptied his half of the drawers and took most of his clothes from the closet. Some were impractical to pack and some would be ruined by a trip crammed into a bag, so he left them. Justin would let him get them later, he was sure.

He took his travel kit out of the bathroom and looked around the room. He didn't really have much jewelry to take and had already ruled out taking most of the momentos they shared, but maybe it would be ok to take something. Just one thing.

Justin's jewelry box was opened on the dresser, chains and other items spilling out across the surface. JC didn't let himself think as he sifted through and found one of Justin's old pinkie rings. It was gaudy and ugly and not something JC would have purchased in a million years. He put it in his pocket.

When he turned back around, he saw Justin sitting up in bed looking at him.

His instinct was to panic, but years of stage training kept him from doing anything stupid, at least right away. Maybe Justin just wanted to ask him something, and then he would go right back to sleep. He was probably only half-awake anyway, even though his eyes were wide open and he was sitting very upright and still.

"So it's that time, huh?" Justin asked in a whisper.

"Yeah." JC blinked. "What?"

Justin shook his head sharply and pressed his fingers against his eyes. "It's okay. It's...Britney always promised me that she'd be here for this. I'll be...okay." He dropped his hands and was staring down at the sheets. JC thought he heard Justin's breath hitch. He was confused.

"Um, you're lucky to have her."

"I know." JC stared. It almost looked like Justin's bottom lip was trembling.

He decided to say something now. It was very close to the end, and why not? It wouldn't matter in about ten minutes anyway. "I've always been jealous of you two, you know?" Justin's head jerked up, his eyes intense. "You love each other so...so much. It's. I was jealous."

"Is that why--?"

"No!" JC said sharply, and then amended. "Well. I've always wanted...but it was okay, you know? You two are so. I mean, what can I do?" He stopped, afraid to go on stuttering. This was already more than he'd ever expressed to Justin on this topic.

Justin was staring at him. His eyes looked wet. "JC. I wasn't going to ask, because, I mean, but, why? Why are you leaving?" JC looked down at his bags and then up again, helplessly. He'd imagined this day so many times and he'd always thought that it would have been enough just to leave. By tonight he'd be in Venice and then maybe they'd see each other later this month at Lance's or Chris's. Maybe they'd run into each other very casually and Justin would shrug and nod at him. In his worst imaginings Justin thanked him--not necessarily for leaving because Justin wasn’t cruel, but for the 'good times' they'd had together, which was almost as bad. He'd always shuddered away from that thought. But he'd never expected to be doing this. He didn't want to be doing this, explaining his thoughts to Justin at 5am on the day he gave up and did what he knew was right. Justin continued, "Now, I mean. Why now? I always thought you would. Someday. I...Britney tried to help me. But, really, why?"

When JC didn't answer after long minutes, Justin shifted and climbed off the bed, pale skin flashing in the dim light. He walked over and stood in front of a miserable JC. "You don't want to leave." JC said nothing. "Do you?" He couldn't speak. This was too close to the truth. He looked away, back down at his bags. "Do you?!" Justin was almost shouting now.

"It doesn’t matter!" he finally spit out. "I have to!" He pinched his lips together and finally looked back up. His eyes felt heavy and wet. "I have to."

Justin took a step back. "But. Is it for good?"

JC blinked, startled. He felt some of the wet from his eyes drip onto his cheeks. "No! Of course not! We're still 'NSYNC." He paused again. "Right?"

"Of course," Justin said, his voice soft again. "'NSYNC 'til the end." His breath hitched again and he looked at his feet. His bottom lip was definitely trembling.

JC took stock of the situation. He raised a hand and rubbed at his cheeks. Crying. Justin stood in front of him, naked, and JC strongly suspected that he was crying, too. But, that didn't make sense. Of course, he had hoped that Justin would be sad when he ended things, but crying? That was more than just sad because Justin never cried. This whole thing wasn’t going according to the plan, at all.

"Justin." Justin sniffed, but didn't look up. "Justin. Why are you so upset?"

Justin's head snapped up and now he looked furious, with red cheeks and eyes that were swimming in tears. "Fuck you! Fuck you, JC!"

JC stumbled back, almost tripping over a bag. "Wha--?"

Justin kept yelling. "What do you mean, 'Why?' You are fucking unbelievable! You're sitting here, breaking my heart, telling me that we're still 'NSYNC but you're leaving me anyway, and you're asking why I'm upset?! Just...fuck you!"

"Just--"

"Yes! All right? I'm fucking upset. I'm crushed, you asshole! I loved you!"

JC stopped breathing. "Lo--love? Loved? You don't...no you didn't!"

"Shut up!"

JC sank down slowly and ended up perched atop one of his bags. He took a breath and tried to say something but couldn't. He cleared his throat and whispered the first thing that came to him, "I'm sorry."

"Well...yeah!" Justin sniffled.

JC rubbed his hands through his hair. "I'm sorry. And I'm...confused."

Justin dropped heavily to sit in the middle of the floor, a pile of long, nude limbs. He stared at JC's bags. "Why are you confused?"

JC sat quietly for a moment, trying to decide how to answer. His plan had been the basis for his confidence during the last several weeks, something completely his own that he could rely on, and now he found himself adrift. Justin's reaction was so completely outside anything he had taken into consideration that he had to rethink the entire situation. Nothing was going the way he was prepared for.

He tried to comb his fingers through his hair again and noticed for the first time that his hands were shaking. It was terrifying, he realized, to lose control.

"Justin," he began, merely from the need to begin somewhere, "when you and I started, two years ago, why did we do that? Why did you do that?"

"JC, the fuck--"

"Please, Justin. Just...please answer the question."

Justin glared up at him. "It's a dumbass question, JC. Two years ago, I got with you because I wanted to be with you. I would've thought that was pretty obvious."

JC shook his head. "No, see. It's not. You got with me, yes. And I was happy, because, you know, I wanted to be with you and, I mean, I really wanted to be with you. A lot. But I never thought it would happen."

Justin was shaking his head. "C, this isn't--"

"Wait, ok? Just let me try to explain." He sighed and shifted his position. Finally, he gave up and slid down to sit on the floor right in front of Justin, folding his knees in front of him. The sun had started to brighten the room just enough to make the stretch of skin across Justin's cheeks seem ghostly and pale. "I never thought it would happen, Justin, but it did. Once we began...this...I wanted it even more. Do you see? I wanted it so badly that it was all I wanted. You were all...all I wanted."

Justin was staring at him, clearly struggling to understand. "Ok, so then, what changed?"

"I wanted it...too much. I thought. I thought that what I wanted could never be what you wanted. I knew you wanted to have fun and so did I. But, I need this, Justin, but I was never sure you did. It was never just fun for me." He stared at Justin, willing the other man to understand. To hear all of the things that his clumsy brain was finding impossible to put into words. "You were all I had, the only one I've been with for a long time now. But you. You had Britney. And I could never be her."

Justin jumped as if he was startled. "Britney?!" He let out a short bark of laughter. "Oh my God, JC. I can't believe..." he trailed off. "Actually, I can believe. You can be so dense sometimes, man. I never know exactly what you're seeing or if you're paying attention or not 'cause you spend half your time with your head in the clouds. You never said anything."

"Well, no. And, just for the record, neither did you." He was mildly offended that Justin was laughing at him, while at the same time trying to figure out how to ask what exactly Justin was laughing at. He didn't figure that would help his reputation as being dense, so he didn't say anything.

Justin seemed to realize that and said, in a soft voice, "Britney's like my sister, JC. She's been the only one I could talk to about certain things, for the last three years. She's the one I go to when I need to talk about you. She's a great listener."

JC blinked, feeling like someone had just poured ice water over his head. "So you're telling me--"

"Yes."

"You're not--"

"No."

"Fuck."

Justin sighed. "Yeah."

"And you never thought to say this out loud to me, just to clarify."

"I'm still having trouble believing that this whole time you thought she and I were--"

JC glared. "Oh, come on, Justin. The whole goddamned world thinks you're..."

Justin tilted his head and looked at JC steadily. "Ok, true. But I'm not sleeping with the whole goddamned world now, am I? I would've thought you'd figured it out when we started having sex. I never took you for someone who would cheat on someone else. Especially not someone who's a friend like Brit is."

JC looked down, feeling the familiar vague shame that he'd carried for the last few years fade away. "I wasn't. Until you."

They both sighed.

JC's mind was buzzing now, trying to pick apart everything Justin had just told him and fit it in with everything he had known before. Like the pieces of a puzzle, things were locking into place, but slowly.

JC looked back up. "Ok, yes, call me dense or whatever, but I'm still not understanding. What you said. Before." He quickly broke off and started picking blindly at the knees of his pants, afraid to look away from Justin. He didn't want to miss anything, terrified of misunderstanding again.

For the first time since he had left the bed, Justin seemed to realize that he was naked. He looked down at his uncovered thighs and quickly shifted around, pulling his heels more towards his body, balancing his crossed arms on top of his upraised knees. "What I said?"

"Yeah. Before, when I was about to leave. Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"Why didn't you?" Justin fired back.

"What?!"

"That's what this is about, isn't it?"

"Well, yes, but I never thought. Ever. I'd hoped, but...Never."

Justin groaned and hit his forehead against his crossed arms a few times. "I can't believe...JC, you asshole, I was waiting for you."

"Waiting? Why?"

"Because! That's what I do! I always have. I've never made the first move, not once in our whole relationship. Except that first time."

JC could clearly recall the night they had changed their friendship, how it had all begun with just one smile from Justin.

He's like sand, JC thought, pouring in through the cracks of my defenses.

That first time, they had been sharing a hotel room in Boston. It had been late and they were talking quietly about their schedule and what they would do the next morning with the few free hours they had. Justin had been moving around, getting ready for bed, while JC sat in a corner, in one of the uncomfortable hotel chairs, hoping Justin wouldn't notice him watching as Justin stripped off his shirt and bent over to put it into his suitcase. Justin had turned around quickly and caught him. And then...then Justin had smiled at him, that special, hot, knowing smile that JC'd never seen directed his way before, and he knew then what to do. So he had stood up and walked over--

"I had been waiting for a long time for an opportunity like that, hoping you'd get the message and do something about it, but you never did. So, I waited until you slipped up and I saw you being obvious with wanting me. And I smiled at you."

"And I kissed you."

"Yes, you kissed me first. You got me naked first. You fucked me first. You set up this house for us. You always did things first, and then I knew everything was ok. And the rest, as they say, is--"

"Don’t say it. If you say it, that means it really is over."

"But isn't that what you're doing? You're ending it. I always told Brit that you would one day. She didn't really believe me, but I figured since you had stopped taking our relationship further then there wasn't much reason you'd want to stay, after awhile."

JC shifted and pulled the pinkie ring he had been going to steal out of his pocket. He rolled it around in his palm, feeling calmer now. "Yes, I was ending it. I didn't know what else to do. For two years I had been hoping to see something more out of us together than fun and sex. I was too afraid to do anything to find out, though. I may have been the one to do things first, but that was only because I took my cues from you. About this, though, I couldn't read you. And this was too important for me to be anything less than sure. I was convinced that if I ever tried to find out how you felt about me in comparison to Britney that I'd lose. I figured that I had a part of you, at least, and it would be enough. Until I realized that it wasn't and I decided to be brave and do the right thing."

"Which would be walking out on me like an ungrateful bastard?"

"Well, ideally, that's not how you were supposed to look at it."

Justin snorted and shifted closer, bumping their knees and twining their right legs together. "I don't even want to try to figure out what goes on in that twisted head of yours. What I would like to know is what you're going to do now."

JC ran his empty hand over the bag next to him and then over Justin's shin, feeling the hair and skin smooth under his palm. "Well, I guess I'm going to go first again, though hopefully after this we won't need to play these games. No more acting like 12-year-old girls, ok?" He stared hard at Justin who was nodding and smiling. "Ok, now, if I ever get a note from you that says, 'Do you like me? Check the box.' I will come after you in your sleep, do you understand?" Justin's smile turned into a grin. "Seriously, man, I don't want to be afraid of you anymore, so from now on if I have something to say, I'm just going to say it and I want you to do the same." In response, Justin reached down and covered JC's hand with his. JC took a deep breath. "Justin. I love you."

Justin's smile was huge and blinding, full of happiness and teeth. JC bit his lip anxiously, waiting for a response. Justin paused, dragging the moment out, and then finally said, "Ditto."

JC lunged at him, knocking him back onto the carpet and straddling his waist. "Bastard!" he screeched, almost losing his words in his giggling. "Ditto? Ditto?!" Justin crowed with laughter underneath him. "Fuck you, Patrick Swayze and your cheating ditto, too! No! Not fair!" He began tickling Justin's naked ribs causing the younger man to writhe in attractive ways. "You made me actually say it and then you. Chickened. Out. You have to say the words, you cheater!"

Justin gasped weakly, helpless in his mirth, and choked out, "Ok, ok! Stop! I love you. I love you. Please. Stop."

JC sat back and released Justin's abused ribs. They beamed sappily at each other and JC tried to remember if he had ever been this perfectly happy before.

He leaned down to kiss Justin and the answer was easy. No.

For the first time, everything in his life felt completely right. He didn't want to change a thing or for this moment to ever end.

Sunlight was pouring through the blinds, lighting up the room and warming things nicely. Justin sat up, causing sunbeams to slant brightly across his chest and JC became suddenly, thunderously aware that Justin was spread out before him totally nude, partially aroused, and looking at him with powerful, glowing love.

And things got even better.

~end~