�Woo!� said Chris� voice. �Somebody got some last night.�

�Ugh�� Justin groaned and clung tighter to JC, burrowing his head closer. �Make Chris shut up,� he said, voice a mumble against JC�s shirt.

JC craned his head, looking over his shoulder at where Chris was watching them bemusedly. �Man, you know Justin is pissy in the morning,� he said.

��m not,� said Justin. Even as he did, he frowned in his sleep, brow creasing. JC smoothed out the wrinkle lines with his thumb and Justin seemed to be asleep again. Despite the fact that Justin was a terror first thing in the morning (Justin even admitted it), JC thought he looked sweet.

�Sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Diva,� said Chris. �I�m gonna make coffee, you want some?�

�Please,� said JC, still holding onto Justin. He didn�t know why he was, but it was comfortable. Plus, Justin was still clinging to him fast, like some sort of leech. A cute, sleepy leech�

Joey and Lance came downstairs then, but only waved their hellos before heading into the kitchen. They didn�t comment on seeing their two band mates wrapped up in the living room together; they were used to them spending the night in each other�s rooms. Joey and Lance also knew about Justin�s moods in the morning.

Besides that, JC and Justin never actually did anything at all, although JC admitted the thought had crossed his mind once or twice, but they had always been friends. Best of friends, but nothing more. Justin always had Britney or some random girls he picked up at clubs or concerts. Nothing with JC. Just� best friends.

�Want coffee?� JC asked, murmuring into Justin�s ear. �You�re gonna need an early start if you want to look for a job.�

Justin moved his mouth and mumbled a soft answer, which JC took for a yes. He didn�t move though. If anything, he held on tighter.

�Yeah, well, you need to get off of me,� said JC, smiling.

�Dun wanna.�

JC sighed a little bit. He was such a sucker for all this but he couldn�t really help himself. �Okay,� he said, settling in more comfortably. He listened to Justin breathing before he fell asleep again too.

* * *

The sun had risen high to its peak when Justin had finally woken up, gotten his coffee, and became normal again. He and JC were poring over the newspapers� classifieds in the kitchen, when the phone rang. For a moment, they froze, wondering who would be calling them and what news the person would bring.

Then Chris sighed and picked the phone up. He said, �Hello, insane asylum� Yep. The patient is in.� Cupping a hand over the receiver, Chris bellowed upstairs. �Lance!�

The bass singer pounded down the stairs two steps at a time. �What?� Lance asked. His blonde hair looked disheveled and his clothes were rumpled for some reason, as if he had just woken up even though it was noon and everyone had been up for hours.

�Phone,� said Chris, gesturing with the receiver. �I don�t know who it is.�

JC and Justin stopped reading the newspaper to watch Lance answer.

�Hello?� he said into the phone. Lance�s expression was surprised but he covered it well. �Yeah� Oh� Okay� Sorry. Yeah, I�m sorry, there was a family emergency and I just� Yeah, I know I should�ve called. Sure� wait, where are you again?� Lance laughed nervously. �Okay, sorry. I�ve been kind of out of it lately. Yeah, see you. Bye.�

After Lance hung up, Chris, who had been leaning against the wall, said, �That wasn�t weird at all.�

�Um�� Lance ran a hand through his hair. �I have a job. That was my boss, Rick. He� he was calling, asking why I didn�t come in last night� I work as a bartender at the Corner Pub on 13th Street, supposedly.�

�What?� asked JC and Justin at the same time.

�When did you get a job?� said Chris, amazed.

Lance shrugged. �I� didn�t. Not that I know of. I guess� I don�t know. I�ve never heard of Rick or the Corner Pub in my entire life.�

JC was impressed. �You did some fast talking then.�

�A talent I�m not too proud of. Well, actually, I am,� Lance said with a shrug. He started to head back upstairs. �I think I should go get ready for work then.�

Chris came to sit by Justin and JC. �It�s like �N Sync was all a dream and this is the reality,� he said. �Like we just woke up one morning and our lives are already in place around us, except different.�

�But we don�t remember any of this new life,� said JC. He pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling another headache coming on. He didn�t like thinking about all this too much. Justin, without even looking, reached over and rubbed a comforting hand on JC�s shoulder. �We could all have jobs right now and not even know it.�

�Except me,� said Justin, bent over the classifieds. His hand was still on JC, moving in slow circles. �We know I don�t.�

Chris nodded. �Yeah�� he said. �I wonder how many more calls we�ll get today.�

* * *

Justin and JC were still sitting at the kitchen, eating dinner and looking over the newspaper for the millionth time, when the other three band mates came downstairs at a run and skidded into the kitchen.

�You won�t believe this,� said Joey, sitting down opposite them at the table.

�Believe what?� asked JC, not really alarmed since Joey just sounded like he had some scandalous gossip and not any terrible news.

Chris was bouncing up and down where he stood. �Britney is still famous,� he said. �We were just watching MTV and her video was voted number one.�

�What?� Justin demanded. He narrowed his eyes and JC almost recoiled at the angry thoughts he could imagine going through Justin�s mind. �But we�re the ones who got Britney her break by signing her up with WEG and giving her the opening act of our tour. How can she still be famous if �N Sync never helped her?�

Lance, sitting down beside Justin and shaking his head, said, �That�s the part you�re not going to believe.�

�What?� Justin asked. The three band mates just looked at him for a moment and Justin threw his hands up in the air, exaggeratedly. �What? I broke up with her but that doesn�t mean you can�t tell me,� he said.

�She�s with the Backstreet Boys,� said Lance.

JC felt the tension bunch up in Justin�s muscles.

�Screwing Nick Carter, specifically,� said Chris.

To everyone�s surprise, Justin shrugged. �I guess they deserve each other,� he said.

Ever since their break-up, mentioning Britney was a sure-fire way to get Justin royally pissed or violent. Now, all of that didn�t seem to matter, because the break-up never really happened, did it? Regardless, Justin was being abnormally calm.

Chris was the first to recover from the shock. �Yeah, you�re right, Justin.�

�You know� It makes me wonder,� said Lance, tilting his head a little, thinking. �If this change wasn�t for the better,� he said.

�You want to give up all of that�� Joey said, waving his arm around vaguely to signify the grandness of everything they had before, ��for this life?�

Lance nodded. His voice was soft. �For some things, it�s worth it,� he said.

Chris nodded, thinking, while Justin had gone back to looking at the newspaper. JC thought he was probably the only one who noticed Joey�s blush. They sat in silence for a moment and absorbed all that had happened.

�Uh�� Joey was still blushing and JC was amazed no one had seen yet. �Wanna watch a movie?� he asked, nodding toward the living room. Lance and Chris followed and then it was back to Justin and JC again.

�For some things, it is worth it,� said Justin suddenly. His voice was soft and muffled, since he was bent over. JC thought he might have imagined the words.

JC said, �What?�

�The change is for the better,� said Justin. He looked up, watching JC with deep eyes, dark and knowing. JC thought he was falling into a blue abyss. �I think it is. Now I can really be myself. I can be Justin. I mean, I can��

�You can what?� JC realized he was breathing hard.

�Look!� said Justin suddenly, not finishing his sentence. His finger pointed at a tiny advertisement in the corner of the page. It was so small there was no wonder why they had missed it the first hundred times. The classified was about a job at a coffee shop, not too far from Chris� house. �That looks good. Wanna come check it out with me?�

�Sure,� said JC slowly, bewildered. �We can pick up groceries on the way home, too.�

Justin took up his jean jacket from where it hung on the back of his chair. JC hadn�t seen that jacket in years and assumed Justin had outgrown it. He thought Justin threw it away a long time ago, but here it was again, relatively clean and fitting Justin perfectly.

�Let�s go,� Justin said.

* * *

Getting the job was much easier than either of them had expected. Justin just smiled at the manager until she got flustered and blushed red. She was a woman in her mid-thirties, with her hair tied up in a loose bun. It was almost too easy. JC watched the proceedings over his cup of coffee, amused. Justin might not be a pop superstar anymore, but he was still Justin Timberlake, who had the ability to make anyone melt, no matter if he was famous or not.

�Man, you�ve still got it,� said JC, throwing away his used cup, as they headed out.

Justin held a copy of his application in his hands, already signed and settled. He was going to start work tomorrow. �Was there ever any doubt?� he asked, grinning.

They walked from the coffee shop to the grocery store, only having two cars between the five of them, Chris� and JC�s. JC told Lance that he could use his before they left, so Justin and JC walked. Both of them didn�t mind that much and JC found it was a relief to use his own two feet to go places again. Something else was a relief, too.

�You know what feels good about this?� said JC as they went into the grocery store.

Justin took a shopping basket from a pile. �What?� he asked.

�No one knows us,� said JC. He hadn�t been able to place the sensation before. It felt like an absence of something that he had forgotten was there until it was gone. No one screamed when he walked by. He didn�t have to wear hats or sunglasses indoors. No flashbulbs popped and no cameras flashed everywhere he looked. No one even turned his or her head to look or stare at him. Nothing. Only peace and quiet. Two guys going out to buy food without being hounded or bothered or� anything. The feeling was so strange but when JC realized what it was, he felt like a sudden weight had been lifted off of him.

They had both stopped walking, JC realized, and were gawking at the store in amazement, as if they had never seen one before. JC noticed that some people were staring, but only because they thought JC and Justin were crazy.

�Ha!� Justin laughed. JC was surprised to see Justin so pleased with the new development. Normally, he loved the attention of the fans. Justin loved the fans, period. But now Justin spun around in the aisle of the grocery store, whirling the wire basket around and smiling. �This is cool!� he said.

�Yeah, but� I mean, don�t you�?� JC didn�t get to finish his sentence when Justin stopped and moved closer to him.

Justin was suddenly too close. Deep twin pools of blue watched him. �Now I can do this,� he said. His voice was soft and his breath ghosted over JC�s cheek in warm puffs.

With a hard swallow, JC�s breath caught when Justin kissed him, right there in the middle of the grocery store, basket still in hand. The kiss was soft and warm and although it wasn�t the first time Justin had kissed him, it was still kind of like a first kiss. This one wasn�t Justin�s usual peck on the mouth. This one was more like� JC had to pause for a moment to collect his scattered thoughts� it was like your first serious kiss. A meeting of warm closed mouths and shared breath. The fact that they were in public suddenly made the kiss that much more seductive and exciting and just� damn. The kiss was still quick though, and before he knew what was happening, JC found himself swaying on his feet towards Justin as his friend pulled away.

�I always wanted to do that,� said Justin, winking, before moving down the aisle.

JC, feeling his body quivering with the sudden rush of adrenaline and arousal, could only follow numbly. �Damn,� he breathed to himself.

* * *

�Honey, we�re home!� called Justin as the pair entered the house, both carrying bags of groceries.

JC followed Justin blindly inside, his view obscured by the bags, relying on his memory of the house to navigate his way. He was proud of himself when he made it into the kitchen without bumping into anything. When he put the bags down, he found Justin standing in front of the fridge, reading a note scrawled in Lance�s neat, loopy writing. Got two more calls, it read. Joey�s got a job at the community theater and Chris is a DJ at some club. See you guys tomorrow morning.

�Wow,� said JC, reading over Justin�s shoulder. �How come I don�t get to do anything?� he asked, pouting but only half kidding.

�You're the housewife, I assume,� said Justin. He wrapped an arm around JC�s waist. �Wanna help me cook?� he asked, grinning.

JC looked up at his friend, raising an eyebrow. �Since when do you cook?�

�I can!� Justin said. �I can� if you help.�

�Ah-ha!� said JC, unpacking the groceries. �Timberlake admits he can�t cook!�

The curly-haired singer only grinned wider. �So?� he said. �I can learn.�

JC crumpled up a paper grocery bag and threw it at Justin. �Yeah, right.�

�Do you regret this?� asked Justin, dodging out of the way.

�What do you mean?� JC noted the sudden serious tone in Justin�s voice.

Justin paused. He seemed to be thinking about how to word his statement. �I mean�� he said. �Would you rather be here, doing this, or� back there, in that world?�

For a moment, JC just watched Justin�s wide blue eyes. They were deep and beautiful. �There�s no question,� said JC, voice a whisper as he kissed Justin�s sweet mouth.

* * *

For some reason, none of the guys were taking their new lives too badly. After the initial shock had worn off, all of the band mates had been able to readjust to their life with relative normalcy. Despite the fact that they had lost millions of dollars, all their material possessions, and everything else, nothing had really changed. If anything, things got better.

Chris, who never really lost his normal and unglamorous life, even when he was famous, made the transition the easiest. The second night back at the house, JC had seen Chris in his bedroom, through the partially open door, listening to his old records and nodding his head to the beat as he lay on his bed. Chris had always been into his music and always will be. He was a great singer, but honestly, Chris was an even better deejay. He came home late at night from the club, singing softly and grinning like a fool, smelling like alcohol, smoke, and sweat.

Joey was� Joey. JC had a feeling Joey had always been himself, despite whatever had been going in his life. At first, he seemed sad about the loss they suffered. He was quiet and reflective a lot. That lasted for about one day. As quickly as that, Joey was back to his old self, laughing and joking with Chris. He always got the lead in the community theater and he even got some contacts for some Broadway roles.

Even Lance, who JC thought would have the hardest time transitioning back into his old life, had found his place. He bartended at night and went to college during the day, majoring in business. Sometimes the guys would come by the Corner Pub to keep Lance company, watching him sing under his breath while he mixed drinks. He seemed happy, too, even though he never did get a new cell phone.

Not to mention the fact that once when JC walked into Lance�s room, he found Joey there too, in a tangle of sheets and naked limbs. They both fell off of the bed in surprise while JC just stood in the doorway, halfway between amused and shocked. Lance stammered and Joey blushed, trying to explain, but JC just closed the door again, smiling.

The guys never even tried to recreate what they had before, with �N Sync. When they were all sitting around the dinner table, the guys would joke every now and then, saying they should call up Johnny and pitch the group to him again. No one ever spoke seriously about that though and no one ever tried.

As for Justin and JC�

�C?� Justin turned over in bed. He had grown his hair out again into a mess of golden brown curls. JC loved it; he liked to fist his hands in that cottony softness. �You�re thinking too much again,� said Justin.

JC laughed. �What�s wrong with thinking? Just because you never do it��

�Hey, hey, not nice,� said Justin. He rolled over some more, until his body lay flush on top of JC�s. The smooth slip of their naked skin made JC shiver. Justin smiled. �Apologize, please,� he said.

�Sorry,� said JC, moaning a little bit as Justin rolled his hips.

Justin laughed. �You�re too easy,� he said.

�You broke my brain or something, I think,� said JC. �Why am I so nice to you?�

�Because you loooove me,� said Justin, wrapping his arms around JC�s neck.

JC laughed, tickling Justin�s muscled stomach. �No, that�s not it,� he said.

�Because I�m so sexy,� said Justin, laughing and squirming in JC�s hands.

�Nah, not really.�

�Because I�m Justin and you�re JC?� said Justin. He held JC close and he watched JC with clear blue eyes.

�Really?�

�Really really.� Justin�s voice was soft and their foreheads were touching.

�Yeah, I think that�s it,� said JC, feeling a little breathless suddenly.

Justin leaned forward for a kiss. �Good reason,� he said.

The End