Author's Notes--- Hi!! This is Jess with a special holiday short. I just came up with this idea last night and started typing. Don't really know where this came from... but most of the time I never know where the ideas for my stories come from. Yeah I know that this is a day late.... But the creative process takes TIME people.
Pieces Six will be out soon, I promise.
Disclaimer--- Blah Blah. Homosexual and Heterosexual relationships. Don't like, don't read. I'm just borrowing *N Sync and Backstreet for a little while. I promise to put them back... I don't promise that they'll be in the same condition they were in BEFORE I got my hands on them (evil laughter)
A Thanksgiving to Remember
As the yams came out of the oven, burned as usual, Joshua Chasez cursed at himself. "Why am I doing this again?" he asked the empty air.
"Because you put your proverbial foot in your proverbial mouth and said that you would do Thanksgiving this year." His boyfriend of one year, and fellow bandmate, Lance Bass said as he came into the kitchen with a bag of last minute groceries for some of the Thanksgiving fixings.
"Oh be quiet you. I didn't ask for your opinion. And where is Joey when you need him. He can actually cook."
"He wiped his hands of the whole thing as soon as you said you would do it sweets." Lance said as he kissed Josh's cheek and reached over him to a cabinet to get a bowl for the peas.
"You know your not helping right?" JC said as he rummaged through the paper bag Lance had brought in and took out the canned yams. "Ahh canned yams, the best way to go."
"Especially when you have no idea how to cook yams." Lance said as the peas easily slid into the bowl.
"Didn't I just tell you to be quiet?" JC said.
"No. I don't recall you did. And what incentive do I have if I do shut up?"
"More of this later." Josh said seductively as he grasped Lance's hand in his and kissed him forcefully, turkey, yams and peas forgotten for the moment.
"Are you guys ready yet?" Kristen Willis yelled into the house of Brian Littrell and Leighanne Wallace-Littrell. Her and Kevin had spent the last day at her cousin-in-laws house before going down to Orlando to JC and Lance's house for a big Thanksgiving meal. It had become a big tradition for the two bands to get together around Thanksgiving time for a special meal between the ten of them and their girlfriends, and now wives. Leighanne came down the stairs. "Yeah Bri will be down in a sec. You know it takes him forever to get ready in the morning." Leighanne paused at the bottom of the stairs as she walked into the living room and sat down on one of the two couches in the room and put on her stockings and shoes. "Have you told him yet?" Leigh asked Kristen. "Nope. I just couldn't do it last night." Kristen said as she sat down on the couch next to Leigh. "You know you're gonna have to tell him soon though right? I mean relatively soon it will be kinda difficult to hide." "Yeah I know. I'm gonna tell him tonight. I promise." Kristen swore. "You don't have to tell me you promise to tell him hun, you just gotta do it." Leighanne said as she stood up and walked back over to the staircase. "Brian, if you are not down here in the next two seconds we are leaving without you!!" she yelled up the steps. "I'm comin', I'm comin'." Brian said as he appeared in the hallway in front of the staircase. "Well get your fine Kentucky butt down here mister so we can leave." Leigh said as she put on her coat. "Okay I'm down. Hey, where's Kev?" Brian asked as he too put on his jacket. "In the car. Unlike some people he didn't wake up ten minutes ago." Leigh said as she kissed Brian on the cheek. "But you still love me anyway." Brian smiled as he picked up a box of bakery cookies he promised Josh he and Leighanne would bring as part of dessert. "Yes unfortunately I do." Leigh laughed as she quickly opened the front door and ran to the Four-Runner waiting outside. "You're lucky I love you so much girl, otherwise you'd be in deep trouble for all the cracks you make at me." Brian yelled as he locked the door to his house and Kristen laughed the whole time. ~~~~~~~~~~ "You got the ring, right Bone?" "Yes I have the ring, yes it's fine, and no I won't forget it." AJ said as he placed the ring he was asked to pick up in his jacket pocket and zipped it for good measure, just to make sure it wouldn't fall out. "Thanks so much. I would get it, I just haven't had a free moment too." "Yes yes, we all know, you and Juju just can't get enough of each other. Please save me the sugar story." AJ said sarcastically. "Shut up. Like you don't talk about Manda to the point of annoyance, 'Poopy this... Poopy that...' and you tell ME I talk about him too much. Shessh." The voice on the other end pantomimed. "Shove it. I'll give you the ring at Josh and Lance's. See ya in a few." "Bye J." AJ heard as he placed his cordless back in the holder. "Manda! We gotta go!" He yelled. "Already one step ahead of ya sweetums." Amanda said as she held up the keys to AJ's Forrest Green Explorer between her fingers. "Did you get everything straightened out?" she asked as AJ took the keys. "Yep. I'm gonna give him the ring there." AJ said as he opened his garage door and went over to his 'baby'. "You coming?" "Yes." Amanda said as she shook her head and locked the door to the garage from the kitchen before getting into the passenger's side door of the Explorer. ~~~~~~~~~~ As Joseph Fatone, his girlfriend of one year Crystal Flowers, Christopher Kirkpatrick, and his girlfriend of three years Danielle Suthers entered the front door to JC and Lance's house, they heard as small cheer and JC's voice say, "Yes! The turkey is done!" Lance entered the main hallway shaking his head in slight enjoyment of Josh's antics in the kitchen. "Hey guys. Let me take your coats for ya. As you can see C is in the middle of cooking, but snacks and stuff like that are in the TV room." "Yeah so we heard. How's that coming anyway?" Chris asked as he took off his coat and handed it to Lance. "Oh interesting to say the least. Let's just say that Josh has gained a new appreciation for his mother and all of the times she has cooked Thanksgiving for the family." He said as everyone laughed. Walking into the TV room, Joey and Crystal snuggled up on one couch, while Chris and Dani opted for a loveseat. Seeing the snacks on the table, Joey yelled "Yes! You remembered the Cheezwiz!" Everyone laughed. Lance's bass voice reverberated through the house as he put the coats in the closet. "Yes I remembered to get that damn Cheezwiz you love so much at Thanksgiving. I still don't understand where this obsession comes from Joe." He stated as he came into the room. "It's a long story. Lets just say it became a tradition at my house and I can't have a thanksgiving without it." "Anyway, which game are we gonna watch?" Chris said as he started randomly channel surfing. "I say the Texas versus Florida State game." Joey said as he placed some Cheezwiz on a cracker. "Sounds good to me." Chris said as he turned on the channel that the game was on. "We'll go see if JC needs some help." Dani said as she gave Chris a kiss on the cheek, and Crys did likewise with Joey. "Okay." Joey said through a mouthful of the cheese product. Danielle and Crystal laughed to themselves as they entered the kitchen. "Hey Josh. Need help?" Crystal asked. "Hey Crys, Dani. If you guys could do something with the stuffing that would be great." JC said. "Sure C." Danielle said as her and Crystal started to put together the stuffing. ~~~~~~~~~~ "Justin if you don't stop doing that we are never going to get to Josh and Lance's." Nick Carter said as his boyfriend of two years Justin Timberlake kissed the side of his neck, one of Nick's more vulnerable spots. "And why would that be a bad thing?" Justin whispered into Nick's ear as he resumed kissing his neck. "Because at the rate you're going I'm gonna crash into something, that's why." Nick was able to get out before he uttered a loud moan from Justin's kisses. "Well then I'd die a happy man." Justin said as he collapsed back into the passenger's side seat. "And I'm sure you would Curly." Nick laughed as he pulled into JC and Lance's driveway. "We're here." "Goodie. Now I can die from JC's cooking instead." Justin said as he opened the door of Nick's Jeep. "It isn't THAT bad. I've had some of JC's cooking before." Nick said as he locked his car. "No, you had some of JC's cooking when Joey was helping him. Joey ain't helping him this time." Justin stated. "Well we'll just see. You don't have much faith in your best friend do you?" Nick laughed. "Nope. Not when it comes to cooking." Justin said as he kissed Nick on the cheek, with the two blondes entering the main hallway of the house. Suddenly they heard a yell of, "What the heck kind of call is that ref!" from the TV room. "Joey's here I see." Justin sighed. "I guess so." "Hi guys." Lance said as he entered the main hallway. "Hey Scoop." Justin and Nick chorused as they both took off their coats and gave them to Lance. "Everyone's in the TV room, and dinner will hopefully be in about another 45 minutes. Barring anymore catastrophes in the kitchen that is." Lance said as both Justin and Nick laughed. "JC having some trouble in the kitchen?" Nick asked. "To put it mildly, yes. Thank God we have Crys, Dani, Leigh and Kristen here." The three friends laughed. "Yeah thankfully someone knows what they're doing." Justin said. "I heard that Curly!" JC yelled from the kitchen. "And what are you gonna do about it?" Justin yelled back. "No turkey for you if you don't be quiet!" "Okay fine." Justin rolled his eyes as they walked into the TV room. Nick and Justin had to settle with cuddling on the floor, while all of the couches and loveseats were taken. "Where's J and Amanda?" Nick asked. "Right here buddy boy." AJ announced as he and Amanda stepped into the room. "Hey J. Can I talk to ya for a sec?" Nick asked as he untangled from Justin and stood up. "Sure Nicky boy." AJ smiled. "AJ." Nick whined. "What?" AJ said sweetly. "Nothing." Nick sighed as everyone in the room laughed. Nick and AJ walked into the Dining Room where surprisingly, the table was already set. "You got it?" Nick asked AJ. AJ took out a velvet box from the zippered pocket of his coat. "Here ya go kid. Gotta admit, it's a nice one." Nick opened the box and admired the contents inside. Inside there was a ring with intertwined bands of gold and silver, while a small lone diamond sat in the middle on top. Inscribed on the inside was 'From here to eternity, love Nicky.' "Yeah I know." Nick said wistfully as he closed the ring box, seeing that its precious contents were intact. "You really are one lucky guy." AJ laughed to himself. "Yeah I am." Nick smiled as he and AJ entered the TV room. ~~~~~~~~~~ 45 minutes later Surprisingly, there were no more catastrophes in the kitchen and everything was now running smoothly. Yams, peas, mashed potatoes, carrots, salad and gravy were brought out by the girls, while JC brought out the turkey. Surprising everyone, the turkey was actually edible, and JC got a compliment or two. Nick took a deep breath, and then whispered in Justin's ear, "Come with me." "Nicky where are we going?" Justin asked. "Just outside." Nick said as he took Justin's hand. "If you'll excuse us for a minute guys." He addressed his friends. "Sure you two go on ahead." Kevin said. Stepping out onto the enclosed front porch of Josh and Lance's home, Nick sat Justin down on the swinging bench and said, "Wait here for a sec." "Okay. But you'd better be quick Nick, cause I'm getting kinda cold." "I'll be back in a sec to warm you back up." Nick said as he kissed Justin on the lips and raced back inside. Nick came out with a wrapped medium sized box seconds later. "Nick, you didn't have to get me anything. It's not gonna be Christmas for another month." Justin stated. "Well I did have to get you something. I'm gonna be on the road for our two year anniversary and I wanted to give this to you now." "Nick." Justin said, flattered, "but I didn't get you anything yet." "That's alright, all I need is you. Just open your gift already." Nick said urgently. Ripping through the wrapping paper, Justin quickly opened the box and rummaged around, his hand finally touching something that was hard, but had a soft feel to it at the same time. Grasping it, Justin was surprised to pull out a small ring box. "Nick, what's this?" Justin asked, getting slightly choked up, thinking about what could be in the box. Nick took the ring box from Justin, and got down on one knee in front of him, opening the box. "Justin you've been the best friend, lover, and caring soul I have ever known. And my life wouldn't be complete if I didn't have you by my side for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?" Justin was crying full force by the time Nick finished his little speech. "Yes. Yes I will Nick." he whispered, not wanting his voice to crack and betray him. Nick slipped the ring on Justin's finger and enclosed him in the biggest hug he could manage. "I love you Curly." He said softly. "I love you too Nick. Forever." Justin whispered into Nick's neck, as a slight shiver from the cold ran down his body. "Let's get you back inside. I wouldn't want my fiancée to get pneumonia now would I?" Nick joked. "No I guess not." Justin said as he wiped his runny nose with the back of his hand. Nick helped Justin get up and opened the door for him. "There we go, all nice and warm." Nick whispered into Justin's ear as he ran his hands up and down Justin's arms. The couple walked back into the dining room, where everyone was still sitting and talking. "Hey guys." Howie said when he saw the two blondes walk back into the room. "Wait a sec... why do the two of you have those cheesy ass grins on your faces?" He asked. "Nick asked me to marry him." Justin whispered. "What was that?" Howie asked, not being able to hear Justin's whispered declaration. Justin swallowed, "Nick asked me to marry him." He said a little louder, which caught everyone's attention. "And Curly said yes." Nick said, still with his arms wrapped around Justin's waist. All of the girls went "Oh my god." at the same time, and immediately went over and hugged Justin and Nick. All the rest of the guys, except of course for AJ who knew this was coming, looked at each other in shock for a moment and then were happy for the two blondes. The girls immediately started talking about wedding plans, while Kristen herself, decided that now was as good a time as any. "Kevin can I talk to you?" she asked as she approached her husband. "Sure hunny. I'll be back in a second guys. And congratulations again you two." He addressed Nick and Justin. Nick just smiled at the older member of the group, while Leigh gave Kristen a smile of encouragement, knowing what Kristen was about to do. The couple walked into the kitchen, where no one was at the moment, and Kristen took a deep breath, "Just like taking off a Band-Aid." She reminded herself. "What did you want to tell me Kris?" Kevin asked his wife. "I'mpregnant." Kristen stated so fast that it almost sounded like one word. "What'd you say?" Kevin said, not too sure at what he had just heard. "I'm pregnant." Kristen said slower, looking down at the tile pattern on the kitchen floor as she said it. As the seconds ticked by and Kristen didn't hear a word come from Kevin, she feared the worst. "We can not have it if you do..." "Stop right there." Kevin said defiantly as Kristen looked up at Kevin, tears shining in her eyes. "You're gonna have a baby?" he asked softly. Kristen shook her head. "We're gonna have a baby? I'm gonna be a father?" Kristen shook her head again. "That's great!" Kevin said enthusiastically as he hugged Kristen with all his might. "I'm gonna be a daddy!!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. "Come on.," he said, pulling Kristen's hand with him as he ran back into the dining room. Skidding to a stop, with Kristen using Kevin to stop herself, everyone in the room now turned their attention to Kevin and Kristen, Nick and Justin's news forgotten for the moment. "Now why do you have that shit eatin' grin on your face Train?" AJ asked. "Cause I'm gonna be a daddy. Kristen's pregnant." Kevin said, smiling the biggest smile possible. "Whoa. As if Nick and Justin didn't give us enough of a surprise." Chris said. "That's great!" he said as he was the first to hug the new expecting mother and father. Everyone else followed suit, as the joyous feeling of the holidays seeped through the house for the rest of the night. ~~~~~~~~~~ "Well I can definitely say that this is going to be a very memorable Thanksgiving." Lance said as he and Josh got ready for bed a few hours later. "Definitely." JC said as he kissed the hollow of Lance's neck and the two cuddled next to each other in their bed. "And to think that nothing burned down either." Lance said jokingly as he kissed his boyfriend goodnight. "Be quiet." Josh scolded as he snuggled deeper into Lance's back. "Happy Thanksgiving Josh." Lance whispered. "Happy Thanksgiving James." Josh whispered as the two lovers fell asleep in each other's embrace. THE END Adios mis amigos. And I hope you all had a Happy Tommy Turkey Day. Jess. PS-- And I apologize for the cheese during Nick's proposal. But there had to be cheese somewhere in the story... besides Joey's necessary Cheezwiz at Thanksgiving. (Don't ask where that came from.)