Four dollars and seventy three cents. That's all he had. Half of that was in coins he'd been saving all year. A quarter here and a couple nickels there. Money that wasn't missed when the bills were paid because it was so inconsequential. Over and over, Lance counted it. The amount never changed. Four dollars and seventy three cents. And tomorrow was Christmas.

The desperation of the moment overwhelmed Lance and he flopped himself down in the sofa chair and cried, beating on the pillow he held in his lap. Crying didn't really solve anything, but sitting in the little two room studio apartment, it was all he was capable of doing at that moment. There were two small windows and stains on the carpet that he'd tried repeatedly to remove to no avail. But it was home. And the mailbox in the foyer of the building held their names "J. Timberlake/L. Bass".

They'd recently had to downsize to this studio due to a change in fortunes at the company where Justin worked. He was the Timberlake to Lance's Bass and had been laid off from a high paying job at the factory in town. Actually, when he was laid off, there was a period of time where they'd been homeless, but Justin was able to get another job at the same factory. It paid the bills, but Lance's boy had to work hard. And to make ends meet, Lance was chipping in by selling his photographs to the highest bidder, but in these hard times, the need for pretty pictures just wasn't as high. Justin arrived each night, a sight for sore eyes indeed, though exhausted and dirty from working in the bowels of the only factory in town. Lance loved him just the same and hugged him hard every single night.

Tomorrow was Christmas day. Lance had decorated the apartment with a few things he had found. The bosses at Justin's factory had given a bonus of a ham and dinner fixings and Lance had been cooking some of it for a Christmas Eve meal and planning how he and his love would celebrate the holiday.

Tomorrow was Christmas. And he had $4.73. This simply wasn't enough money. He had saved all year, having to wipe out the fund from time to time when necessity dictated. He so badly wanted to buy something nice for Justin but $4.73 just wasn't going to get him much. His Justin deserved something beautiful and rare.

His eyes rested on the camera. Lance's only passion in life, other than Justin, was photography. He had a certain talent for catching expressions and the play of shadows on a face. His favorite subject being Justin himself. Of course, those weren't the ones he sold, but were some of his favorites. Lance had a certain reputation around their town and had been the subject of articles in the local press, which helped in getting his photos to the wider audience. All this was accomplished with a high quality 38 mm camera he'd been given by his parents as he graduated from high school. As he picked up the camera, an idea began to take shape in his brain and he gasped in surprise and a little pain.

Lance and Justin only had a couple possessions that they allowed themselves to display with pride. One was Justin's guitar, an ancient musical instrument given to him by his long since dead father. Justin polished and tuned it lovingly, pulling it out on occasions to serenade Lance or friends who requested the service. Justin has a voice like an angel and Lance didn't think he'd ever seen Justin happier than when he was playing that guitar and singing a sad or romantic tune. The other ...was Lance's camera. Justin's artistry and love of music was met only by Lance's passion for finding the perfect picture that would tell a story with no words. Lance spent hours and hours walking the city in search of that perfect image. He and his beloved Justin would keep themselves entertained for hours, taking each other's pictures or trekking through the snowy winter weather to capture new masterpieces of light and shadow. Justin had built him a dark room earlier that year so he could develop his own photos.

As a tear rolled down his cheek, Lance considered the camera in his hands and thought of the boy he'd been with for the last 3 years. Every day was a new adventure, even with money problems and tired muscles. Lance, more than anything, wanted to give Justin a present that would make him smile. That smile made Lance's heart sing and ache at the same time. That smile was what he lived for. He hadn't seen it a lot since Justin had started the new job. Yes, he was earning them a living but the price he paid was lack of time and energy to do much more than eat dinner and drop into bed at night. Lance hadn't heard him sing or play the guitar in several weeks. The guitar was in disrepair and needed new strings among other things. Justin didn't have the money or time to deal with it.

Lance grabbed his coat and with his camera in hand, he locked the door and ran outside.

After haggling with the pawn shop owner for 15 minutes, Lance left the store with a grand total of $145. That, coupled with his four dollars saved, gave him close to $150 and THAT was something to be happy about.

He searched and searched for something as special as Justin was to him. He looked at clothes and sports equipment, jewelry and tools, but nothing really stood out as something that could shoulder the honor of being a Christmas present for his best friend and beloved.

Then he saw it. It was a guitar strap with the blues that Justin loved swirled together in a colorful beaded design. Brown leather on each end and golden clasps completed the stunning affect. As luck would have it, the guitar strap was part of a package that included a tortoiseshell guitar case, and packets of picks and strings. And he would have $1.01 to spare!

Lance immediately went inside and purchased the lot, knowing that this would make his boyfriend positively glow with happiness. And few people on the planet could glow as brightly as Justin.

He wrapped it all, except the guitar case. He stashed it all inside the case and wrapped a big red bow around it. Under the bed it went until Justin got home from work. Lance quickly went about making dinner with great anticipation as the dinner hour arrived. It was a bit later than normal when Lance started wondering where Justin was. He was never late.

The stomping of boots signaled Justin's arrival before he even opened the door. Lance had set the table and was reading a photography magazine that was dog-eared from repeated handling. Justin came in in a rush, teeth chattering, rubbing his hands together and saying, "I'm home."

Lance watched him set a wrapped gift on the table by the door and take his coat off. "Hey Lance!" was the greeting.

Justin was smiling like an imp. He was covered in grease and grime from the bottom of his steel toed boots to the top of his blond curls, with smudges on his face and dirt under his finger nails. Lance didn't care as he wrapped his arms around him and hugged him tight. Sweet Justin needed a bath, but that didn't matter. He was home.

Lance busied himself with the meal as Justin disappeared into the bathroom, shucking his grimy clothes into a special place they had set up especially for grimy clothes. Lance couldn't help but notice him unlacing the boots and kicking them in the closet, before peeling the rest of the clothes from his body. Lance burned his finger on the oven rack thanks to his oggling and cussed to himself to be attentive to what he was doing.

A few minutes later, Justin came out of the bedroom, dressed in his favorite sweatshirt and blue jeans. He was madly drying his curly hair with a towel, making a b-line straight for Lance, who was sitting at the table, eating olives off his fingers.

Justin scooped him up into another hug and whispered next to Lance's ear, "Is this better?"

Lance could only nod as Justin's soft lips found his own and he was swept into a liquefying kiss. Justin was smiling as he kissed Lance, looking at his face with love shining in his eyes. "I missed you, baby boy. Have I told you today that I love you?"

Lance shook his head and kissed him back, burying his hands in the soft blond curls on Justin's neck. Mumbling against a bristly cheek, "I love you too and I'm so glad you're home."

A few more kisses later, Justin pulled back and, with a gleam in his eyes, said, "I got you something."

Lance's eyes immediately rested on the gift by the door. "What?"

Justin smiled. "Do you want it now?"

Lance smiled back, stroking Justin's face, rough with a days growth of whiskers. "No, I want to give you your gift first."

Justin shrugged and watched Lance disappear. He returned a few moments later. "You have to come into the bedroom, Curly."

Lance pushed Justin playfully toward the bedroom and jumped in front of him at the last moment, so he could watch the expression on his face.  Justin smiled shyly and walked to the guitar case, running his hand over the dark tortoiseshell skin. "God, Lance!" was all he said as he looked at Lance in surprise.

"Open the case," Lance said, wanting to cry. Justin was his boy and was just so beautiful.

Justin opened the case and pulled the strap out, feeling the little beads in the intricate beadwork. "I love it, Lansten."

Lance was confused at the display of emotions on Justin's face. Joy with a hint of sadness fought for supremacy as Justin pulled Lance into his arms and held him tight. "You are too good to me, baby," Justin whispered as he touched his forehead to Lance's. "Thank you."

Justin pulled Lance by the hand out to the main area and handed him the gift sitting by the door. Lance opened it, pausing every few moments to look at Justin. As he saw what the gift was, he grinned and read the box. It was a telephoto camera lens, but not just any camera lens. It was one he never hoped to be able to afford. And there was a note attached. He opened the note slowly and read it aloud, feeling his cheeks redden as he did.

Lance,

It's just a lens but worth ever penny. It'll give you
better access to all the wonders of the world. I can't
wait to see what you do with it. Your talent is only
second to the look of wonder and amazement you get
when you discover some truly rare thing to photograph.

I love you, baby.

Justin

The tears in Lance's eyes threatened to spill down his cheeks so he gathered Justin to him again and hugged him tightly. He smelled like shampoo and a little like Musk. "I sold my camera to buy your guitar stuff."

Justin leaned back, his mouth agape. "No way! Lance? You sold your camera?"

Lance nodded sadly, but felt genuinely loved. "Yeah, you needed something special worse than I needed that stupid camera."

Justin's eyes got watery. "That stupid camera? Lance! You loved that camera," Justin stammered. "I hawked my guitar to buy that lens."

They looked at each other for several moments, feeling the emotions that went with discovering that they had both sold their most prized possession in order to give the other a special gift.

Justin just sighed as he kissed Lance's trembling lips. Lance wanted to crawl inside Justin's arms and never come out. Cameras and guitars were something they could save for and buy again. But, to each, the one he held in his arms was the more important person in the world.

"Let's eat, baby," Justin whispered. "I've got all I need right here."
 
 

the end :o)