The following story is a piece of fiction. It does not reflect the true sexuality of any of the celebrities portrayed within.
If you are underage or homophobic, then please do not read any further.
Some info: the story is very (extremely) light on sexual content. It is basically about the build-up of a relationship, and is written more in the style of a 'romance' than anything else. As such, sex doesn't play a great part in it until near the end. This is pretty much an attempt at a 'love story', so for those looking for hot steamy sex, you'll have to find it elsewhere.
Oh, by the way, I'm Australian, and so is my spelling. So please ignore anything that might not seem 'right' to you. It's just the way that we spell that particular word in Oz.
And if all that hasn't put you off yet, then please enjoy 'Kevin & Justin'.
KEVIN & JUSTIN - Chapter 1
Kevin's foot started tapping impatiently.
He had arrived at the airport several hours ago, only to find that their flight had been delayed and wasn't expected to arrive for another couple of hours.
He had waited patiently for the plane to arrive. He had waited patiently for it to come to a rest against the air- bridge. He had even waited patiently for the stream of disembarking passengers to diminish to a trickle, but still no sign of them!
Thankfully, before he became agitated enough to go looking for an official to check the passenger list for his missing charges, a face peered around the half closed door to Gate 23. Sighing in relief at seeing Lance's face cautiously inspecting the lounge, Kevin started to chuckle.
"Looking for something? Or should I say 'someone'...?"
"Hey Kev! There you are. I was just..." Lance coughed in embarrassment. "I was just making sure there weren't any screaming fans waiting for us."
"Oh, is that why I had to wait around for twenty minutes? Scared of the fans are you?" joked Kevin.
"No, not really. It's just a new policy we've adopted since a near miss we had in Dallas. Poor Justin almost got ripped to shreds!" Lance replied. Still feeling slightly apprehensive, he continued, "So these days we make sure we're the last ones to board the plane, and the last ones to disembark as well."
"Oh geez Lance," Kevin groaned, "you could have told me that when we spoke earlier! I was just about to send out a search party after giving up on you."
"Oh sorry Kev, 'my bad'. I forgot that you wouldn't know about this."
"That's okay," Kevin said, forgiving Lance. He wondered why Lance was still cowering behind the door? "Are you going to stay hidden there forever?"
"Yeah probably," replied Lance, grinning at Kevin. "At least until I'm sure that the coast is clear and we can leave."
"Sorry, my turn to say 'my bad'. I had airport security move the fans back to the outside of the terminal building. And I've got the limo waiting at a side entrance. It should be safe to leave your hidey-hole."
"Okay, thanks. Hang on a tic and I'll go get the others," Lance said. Then he paused and looked around the empty lounge area once more. "Speaking of which, where are the rest of your guys?"
"Later, Lance. Go get the guys and I'll explain it all when you get back."
"Yessir!" replied Lance in mock seriousness before disappearing down the air-bridge with a grin.
Several minutes later, Kevin was amused to see another face repeat Lance's furtive glance. He wracked his brain to remember the name to go with the face, and came up with 'Joey' just as Lance walked out the door and chuckled.
"Joey, I already told you, there's no-one here except Kev. He's arranged it so that the fans are outside the building. We're perfectly safe."
Joey shrugged, and walked out into the lounge as if he hadn't made a big deal of worrying about his safety a moment ago. Kevin grinned inwardly to see that Lance seemed to have as much control over his guys, as Kevin had over his own. Well, to be honest, his guys usually did what he asked because they had gotten used to him giving the orders, and not because he had any real authority or power over them.
Joey sauntered over to Kevin and shook his hand. "Hi, I'm Joey Fatone, Jr."
"And I'm-"
"Yeah, you're Kevin Richardson. We're not deaf and blind; we've seen you before on TV and stuff."
"Oh," Kevin responded, slightly taken aback. He didn't know what to make of Joey's comment. He felt both insulted and honoured!
"And wait till you meet Chris, he's even worse!" Lance whispered in Kevin's ear, chuckling slightly at the thought of Chris and Kevin meeting each other.
He didn't have long to wait as Chris walked out next, carrying his overnight bag. He didn't bother greeting Kevin in any formal way, just throwing a "Yo dude. How's it hanging?" in Kevin's direction.
His entrance certainly was self-confident. Unlike Lance and Joey, he didn't bat an eyelid when walking out into the lounge. Kevin wondered if that was because he was naturally self-composed, or whether Lance's reassurance was enough to convince Chris that no-one was waiting in the lounge to accost him?
Lance appeared mortified at Chris's offhand greeting. "Christopher, you-"
"No, don't worry about it Lance," Kevin said with a smile. Turning to Chris, he said, "I'm good, Chris. How about you?"
Chris stared at Kevin for a second before grunting. "I'm cool."
Kevin shrugged. 'Okay so far,' he thought. He wondered what the remaining two members of 'N Sync would be like?
Lance was also wondering whether Justin and JC would end up embarrassing him like Joey and Chris had done. As if on cue, the missing two appeared in the doorway of the arrival gate and sauntered over to Kevin and Lance in almost perfect harmony.
Sensing Kevin's bafflement at their approach, Lance hurriedly introduced them. "This is Justin, and this is his partner- in-crime, JC. Don't let their togetherness bother you; they're not related, but they're almost like twins. They seem to be naturally 'in sync', no pun intended, with each other." He paused. "They're also the best of friends, so if they don't seem to pay much attention to anyone other than themselves, you'll just have to excuse them."
"Oh thanks a million Lansten, give the poor guy a bad impression of us straight up!" Justin said, giving Lance a fake punch in the arm. Lance just grinned.
"Nice to meet both of you. I'm-"
"Yeah, you're Kevin Richardson of the Backstreet Boys," interrupted Justin, smiling up at Kevin and extending his hand to take Kevin's in a handshake.
He was surprised at how different Kevin looked in real life. Oh sure, there was no way he could be mistaken for being anyone else but Kevin Richardson, but his features seemed somewhat softer than what he had seen in magazines and on television.
"Hey Kev, nice to meet you too," JC said as he traded Justin's hand for his own. They shook each other's hand briefly.
"Geez Lance," Kevin moaned, turning to face Lance. "I feel cheated. I didn't get to introduce myself to anyone."
"Well Kev, you could introduce yourself to me. I know we've talked before, but this is the first time that we've met face-to-face!"
Kevin grinned, pushed out his hand to take Lance's and said, "Hi. I'm-"
"Oh my God! You're Kevin Richardson!" Lance faked a surprised expression. The other guys cracked up at his joke, and Kevin fumed for a second before joining in.
"Thanks a lot buddy. I'll remember this!" he warned, smiling broadly to indicate he wasn't being serious.
Justin noticed that there was a certain amount of impishness to Kevin's character. Again, that seemed more obvious now that he was face-to-face with Kevin. He felt an instant bond to Kevin; it was amazingly easy for him to like Kevin on the spot, and that was a surprise. He usually took a long time to make that decision!
"Is everyone I'm supposed to meet here?" Kevin asked Lance when things settled. "There's no-one else in your entourage who needs to ride back to the hotel with us?" He saw Chris and Joey exchange a look before they walked slightly away from the rest of them.
Justin also saw the look and felt annoyed with his friends. Just before, in the plane, he had seen the look on the guys' faces when Lance had told them Kevin was waiting for them in the lounge, and what Kevin had arranged for them. He knew that they would pre-judge Kevin; it was one of their worst traits!
The guys tended to ignore or snub everyone whom they thought of as 'management', and Justin suspected that Chris and Joey had just made up their minds that Kevin fitted that category.
Normally it wasn't a problem, as management types were so 'anal' that they deserved to get as little attention as the guys could spare. However, from what Justin had observed so far, Kevin wasn't like that. Sure, he was a bit more responsible, just like Lance was the responsible one for their group, but that didn't warrant the guys' animosity or dislike.
"No, this is everybody. We're all here and accounted for. Which reminds me... where are the others?" Lance had missed the look between Joey and Chris. Had he noticed it, he would have felt just as annoyed as Justin. Over the past couple of weeks, as he and Kevin has chatted, Lance had come to see that Kevin was exactly like himself - fairly responsible, but with a very likeable personality behind the façade. Lance was keen to get to know him better. In Kevin he had found a kindred spirit.
"They're back at the hotel," replied Kevin, having missed Justin's angry look at Joey and Chris. "They're either sleeping or relaxing. The tour bus isn't the most comfortable place to relax in, so when we got into town a few hours ago, they elected to head straight to bed. That's why I'm the only one in your welcoming committee."
Kevin tried to ignore Joey and Chris who had started having a loud conversation. It was slightly off-putting and rude while he was trying to give the guys the necessary information they required. The least they could have done was to walk a bit further away - if they insisted on talking so loudly!
"Oh, okay. Well, lead on Kev. I take it that you know where the baggage carousel is in this building? We need to collect our luggage," Lance said.
"Already done, I hope. I spoke to airport security before your flight arrived and asked them to take care of it. The last thing we want is for one of your fans to sneak in and souvenir your suitcases! They should already be in the limo by now. We can check when we get there."
"Geez Lance, you could learn a thing or two from the big guy," advised Justin, making him temporarily 'persona non grata' in Lance's books. Justin didn't care; he could cope with Scoop at his worst.
Kevin just smiled and said, "Not my idea, I'm afraid. It's a standard security procedure that we've been living with for some time now. I'm just 'borrowing' the idea. Our security guys are the best. You'll all get to know them fairly well I hope."
Somehow he doubted that anyone cared. JC had finally wandered over to join in the conversation that Joey and Chris were having. Only Justin and Lance were paying him any attention, and he suspected it was only because Lance had to, and Justin was too well mannered to just walk away. Sighing in frustration, he indicated that they should follow him. He didn't particularly care if they did or not.
So much for a good start to their joint tour!
Lance, who felt a bit better at Kevin's admission, also sighed in frustration at the behaviour of his friends. He waved for his group to follow Kevin, looking back at them until he was certain they were following. Joey had seen his signal, and started pulling the other two after him, talking the whole time.
Meanwhile, Justin had started to feel his annoyance grow into anger. How could JC have done that? They had barely spent five minutes in Kevin's company, and Josh had already made up his mind! He couldn't believe it!
Why had they judged Kevin so quickly? He couldn't find any fault with Kevin - if anything Kevin was quite remarkable! He was trying his best to be friendly to a bunch of strangers, when he didn't need to be... He was honest and modest, and had a wonderful sense of humour, from what he could see.
Justin couldn't see what more Kevin could have done to make them feel welcome, and to show that he was willing to be friends with them. He sighed in frustration, as he set out after them.
--*
After ensuring that their luggage had indeed been collected (Joey insisted that the driver open the boot so that he could see for himself), they all piled into the limo and settled down.
Now that the initial greeting period had passed, they seemed to become lost for words. Not unnaturally so, Justin knew. He was used to these silences when they were being driven around, but he could tell that Kevin was becoming concerned at the lack of communication.
"Ignore us Kev. We're just not very talkative when we're stuck in a limo."
Kevin smiled at Justin in appreciation for the explanation.
Justin looked into Kevin's eyes and saw a hint of hurt and sadness, at odds with the smile on his face. It certainly hadn't helped that the others, with the exception of Lance, had almost ignored Kevin. Their little performance at the airport was the telling indication that they didn't want a lot to do with Kevin, and Justin couldn't help feeling upset at their snap judgement. Kevin's eyes couldn't completely hide the hurt he had felt at their rejection of him. Justin could see it clearly, even though Kevin's manner and outward expression were neutral.
Thinking desperately, he tried to find a topic of conversation that would include all of them. If he could get the others to talk to Kevin, then they might see that he didn't deserve to have the cold shoulder treatment. Maybe it could also erase the sadness that Justin had glimpsed in Kevin's eyes...
"So Kev," he started, not knowing where he would end up. "Have you guys been in the studio recently?" He groaned inwardly at himself. This wouldn't do! If he just talked 'shop', then the other guys wouldn't become interested enough to join in and interact with Kevin.
"Yeah Justin. We've finished a couple of new songs that didn't quite make the deadline for our new album." Kevin gave Justin a warm friendly smile, knowing instinctively what Justin was trying to do.
He found it really sweet that Justin was making the effort to make him feel comfortable and accepted, especially when the others seemed to have taken an instant dislike to him. Justin's friendly attitude was earning him a lot of points in Kevin's book.
"Oh really?" Justin asked. "Are they any good? I really liked 'Millennium'. If the songs are as good as the ones on the new album, they're going to be massive hits when you finally release them." He was babbling, and he knew it - the look from JC confirmed it for him, but he had to do something to get the guys to take notice of Kevin. Kevin didn't deserve to be frozen out!
"Yeah, I think they're as good as the songs on 'Millennium'," Kevin replied, getting the feeling from Justin that he had honestly liked the album. Then being the gracious host that he was, he asked, "What about you guys? Done any studio work recently?"
"Yeah, we've recorded almost enough material for a new album," Lance said brightly.
Justin seethed. It was no good having Lance talking with Kevin, as they had already established a relationship - albeit a business one. It was more important for the other guys to start talking with Kevin. Though, of course, it didn't help that they did nothing to hide the fact that they were ignoring Kevin and the conversation.
Justin poked JC in the ribs with his elbow as he said, "And JC here just finished recording his song yesterday. He wrote it and all!" He prayed that JC would open up just a bit!
JC gave Justin a private look, which the latter took to mean 'Thanks for nothing!' before he indifferently added, "Yeah, it was a change of pace for me. I'm usually just singing lead with Blondie over here, but when the urge strikes I guess..." JC shrugged his shoulders, running out of steam, much to Justin's dismay.
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Kevin said, looking from JC back to Justin. "Both Brian and I managed to get a bit more involved in this album. He wrote one of the songs, as well as coming up with some of the lyrics for another of the songs. I also wrote one of the songs, which I'm really happy about. I guess I'm a bit biased, but I like that song the most."
"Which song did you write?" Justin asked, momentarily sidetracked.
"It was 'Back To Your Heart'. It's a bit slower than the other songs on the album, but I still like it."
"I know the one you mean - I really liked it. It has some great lyrics." Then remembering what he was trying to do, he added, "Right Josh?"
JC looked at Justin again and thought, 'What's his problem?' Turning his attention back to Kevin, he said, "Yeah, the lyrics weren't too bad. Not a bad song really. It's just a pity that slow songs don't get any airplay or support from the public."
As soon as he said it, he knew that it was the wrong thing to say. It was true; but not very polite. He could see both Justin and Lance looking at him with severe expressions. Joey and Chris also turned their heads in surprise, though their expressions were mostly neutral.
"Sorry Kevin. I didn't mean to imply anything..." He trailed off, unsure of what to say.
"No, that's okay JC. I totally understand. I'm not fooling myself into thinking it will ever be released as a single. The best I can hope for is that it gets some airplay, but I very much doubt it. Unless, of course, a radio station decides to play the whole album over the air." Kevin's amusement was catching and soon JC, Justin and Lance were feeling comfortable again. Joey and Chris turned their attention back to the window on their side of the limousine.
Though Justin desperately tried to think of other topics, they ended up spending the whole trip discussing their respective albums and latest studio work. Justin and Kevin carried the bulk of the conversation, with Lance throwing in the occasional comment, though it often fell on deaf ears.
Neither of them realised what they were doing... they were becoming too wrapped up in their conversation and paying little attention to the others in the limo. They also did not realise that the others had taken special note of the intensity that had gripped them while talking with each other.
--*
The limousine came to a gentle halt, indicating they had reached their destination. Kevin, being the closest to the door, opened it before the driver managed to get half way around the front of the car.
"It's okay, we're fine. Can you please organise for their luggage to be taken upstairs?"
"Yes Mr. Richardson," replied the driver, hurrying off to find the concierge.
The group piled out of the limousine. As Justin got out, Kevin gave him another warm smile and silently mouthed the words "Thank you". He started grinning when he saw Justin reply, equally silently, "You're welcome".
Leading the group to Reception, Kevin went up to the check-in clerk and asked, "Can you please arrange to have these gentlemen situated on the same floor as my group?"
The young lady looked at Kevin and replied, "No problem, Mr. Richardson. How many people are in the party? And will they be requiring separate suites?" She could make out the figures of five people behind Kevin, but didn't presume to guess that that was the number of rooms required.
"There are five of them, and yes I think they'll all require separate suites," he replied, looking around to make sure that he wasn't speaking out of turn or giving her false information. Lance's nod indicated that he was correct.
"Oh," replied the clerk, after studying the computer's screen for a moment. "There are only four suites left on that floor. The other four are already occupied by the rest of your party."
Kevin groaned inwardly. He hadn't paid that much attention when he had dropped off his luggage before heading out to the airport. Otherwise he would have realised they were short one room. He usually didn't miss details like that...
Behind Kevin's back, the five members of 'N Sync looked at each other, with raised eyebrows at this news. They were unsure about what they would do now. Would one of them be required to bunk in with someone else? Would they all have to be located on a different floor from the Backstreet Boys? Lance tried to think of what outcome would best suit them, so that he could discuss it with Kevin.
"I see," Kevin replied, also thinking hard. Making a decision, he addressed the clerk again, "Please book all four suites, and book a room on the floor below." He turned to face the guys. "You can have the four remaining suites, plus my suite: that's five. I'll bunk down in the room I'm arranging on the floor below yours."
Kevin's announcement raised eyebrows a second time. Justin knew that the guys wouldn't say anything to dissuade him. As far as they were concerned, he was nearly management and should therefore be the one who put up with the inconvenience. Even Lance wouldn't argue, as he could sympathise with Kevin - he'd do the same thing if the tables were turned.
"No, there's no need to go to all that trouble," Justin said, before he could stop himself. "Why don't you bunk in with one of us?" He looked around and saw the closed expressions on his bandmates' faces. The only one who was seriously considering the idea was Lance. He felt his anger return in full measure at their attitude. What was their problem?
"No Justin, I'll be fine. I don't mind sleeping on the floor below you guys. We're only going to be here tonight and tomorrow night, so it's not like I'll be put out too much. And besides," Kevin joked, "at least I'll be far enough away from Nick and Brian that they'll think twice about bothering me when they next argue. Why they bother sharing a room, when they get on each other's nerves all the time still baffles me."
Some of the expressions relaxed, indicating to Justin that they had accepted Kevin's decision. However, Justin wasn't about to give up. He had seen how much Kevin had felt like an outsider tonight. He wasn't sure if Kevin's own group treated him the same way, but Justin wasn't willing to wait and find out. He didn't feel that Kevin should be ostracised just because he was a bit more responsible than the other nine of them. He included Lance in the count, as Lance should have known better - he was in a similar position to Kevin, but had done nothing to assist Kevin!
"Rubbish. It's no problem sharing a room. If Brian and Nick can do it, even when they argue all the time, then so can we." Justin knew that he was taking a big chance, but he had to do something. Now that he was Kevin’s friend (and he felt surprise that he already thought of Kevin in that way), he had to help Kevin out.
"We?" asked Kevin in surprise. The surprise was echoed on the faces of Justin's friends.
"Yeah, I can share with you. That's not going to be a problem is it? Your room has an extra bed doesn't it?" Justin asked. He hoped that Kevin would say 'yes'. If Kevin would agree, it would allow Justin the chance to spend time with his new friend and deepen their growing friendship. He desperately wanted to get to know Kevin better - their conversation in the limo had only managed to whet his appetite.
"Yes it does have an extra bed, and... no, I guess it won't be a problem to share with you. But only if you're sure?" Kevin asked. He was shocked that he was even considering this!
"Positive!" Justin was rewarded with another of Kevin's warm smiles. He realised that Kevin hadn't smiled like that at anyone else in the group. He felt a tingle go through his spine at that thought.
"Okay, let's arrange it." Turning back to the clerk, Kevin noticed that she was smiling and had already put out the keys for five suites. An extra one for Kevin's room, which Justin would now be sharing, and the remaining four suites on that floor.
She indicated the register and asked them to sign in. She then got them to quickly fill in the check-in forms.
"Thank you gentlemen. I hope your stay with us is a pleasant one."
They all thanked her and headed toward the elevator. Their bags had already been taken up to their floor.
"Thanks again Justin," Kevin said, as the doors closed and he pressed the button for the 21st floor. He smiled warmly at the person who was rapidly becoming a good friend.
"You're welcome big guy," Justin grinned back at Kevin.
Now that the matter of sleeping arrangements had been settled, the other guys seemed to have found their voices.
"You'll have to watch out for this one Kev... he's a bit of a snorer!" Lance advised.
"Am not," replied Justin quickly. He relented a bit at the laughter and said, "Well, not too much of a snorer. You can hardly hear me!" He shyly smiled up at Kevin and was happy to see Kevin return it.
"And he's a hell of a bother to wake in the morning," JC advised. "We practically have to dump a bucket of water on him to get him up."
Another bout of laughter filled the elevator as Justin blushed deeply.
"Okay, are we done humiliating me yet?" he asked nastily, as the elevator stopped on their floor and they got out.
"No!" a chorus of voices answered. Kevin smiled at their closeness, knowing that Justin was not really offended at the comments. He felt a small twinge of pain at their camaraderie; he had enjoyed something similar with his own group several years ago. Before circumstances forced him to distance himself from the guys... His eyes briefly displayed the pain, hurt and loneliness he was feeling, but he quickly suppressed his emotions.
Remembering that he hadn't spoken to the hotel staff about their security requirements for the morning, he turned to Justin. "I forgot to arrange something for tomorrow and I'll have to go back downstairs. Our room is the one on the end, on the left hand side." He turned to face the others. "I'll see you guys shortly."
Picking up their respective suitcases from the pile just outside the elevator, they chorused "bye" as he walked back in. Justin's louder call of "Okay, see you soon!" also echoed down the hallway.
As the doors to the elevator closed, the doors in the hallway opened. Three of the four Backstreet Boys peered out at their noisy 'neighbours'. Justin wasn't able to see Brian anywhere. He was probably still in the suite that he and Nick shared.
"Geez," said Howie. "You don't need to shout you know!"
"Sorry guys," a chagrined Justin replied. "I didn't mean to."
"That's okay," replied A.J. "Ignore grumble guts over there," he continued, pointing to Howie, "he's just overly sensitive."
Howie gave him a sour look, but then grinned back at A.J., as his sense of humour was restored.
"Hey, how about you guys get settled in and then come on over for a chat?" A.J. asked.
"Yeah okay, we can do that," replied Lance on his groups' behalf. "We won't be long. Come on gang."
The 'N Sync guys peeled off and entered their respective rooms, not noticing the surprised look the other guys gave each other when they noticed Justin entering Kevin's room.
"I hope he knows that Kev sleeps in the nude!" exclaimed A.J. softly. The other two looked at him and just nodded before they all shrugged their shoulders and went back into their rooms.
End - Chapter 1
Well, I hope you liked what you've read so far. It's still in the early stages, so there's not a lot of 'action' yet, but that will change soon. :)