Little Earthquakes

Author's comments to follow at the end for those of you who care.

Disclaimer: oh these little earthquakes here we go again these little earthquakes doesn't take much to RIP us into pieces

Chapter Nine

Kevin pulled the car into Howie's driveway. There were no lights on and Howie's car was visible through the garage doors. Kevin was the only person who had the key. Howie wanted him to make sure the plants were watered and his cat was fed while he was in rehab.

We still didn't talk as Kevin unlocked the door and turned off the alarm. I sat down on the leather couch in Howie's living room and waited for Kevin to join me.

"Here." Kevin handed me a glass of wine. "Remind me to get this stuff out of here before Howie comes home. He's got a lot of alcohol hidden around this house."

I nodded taking the glass from him. "Thank you." Kevin sat down in the chair opposite the couch.

"You love me?" I asked him.

"I didn't expect it to happen but I do. Being around you makes me happy. Just hearing your voice can make my day better."

I nodded. "How do you feel about me?" Kevin asked tentatively. I sighed heavily. I had to tell him the truth.

"I'm madly in love with you."

A smile broke across Kevin's face. "Then why aren't we together?"

"I don't want to lose you." I said to him my eyes holding his own in their gaze.

"Why would you lose me if you dated me?"

"Everybody I love I end up losing. My parents, Gramps, Abby, Michael, Lucas. I wouldn't be able to stand losing you too."

Kevin got up and walked over to the couch. He put his glass down before taking mine from me. He put them on the glass coffee table next to the couch. Kevin took my hand in his own.

"You're not going to lose me. I promise."

I shook my head. "You can't promise something like that Kevin. Accidents happen. People leave."

He sat down next to me, turning so he was facing me. I turned to face him, sitting Indian-style on the couch.

"Who was Lucas?"

His hand squeezed mine softly. His thumb was slowly making circles on the underside of my wrist. The very touch of him made me tingle.

I looked into his green eyes for a moment. I trusted Kevin. Hell, I loved Kevin. I could tell him.

"Lucas was my husband."

I heard the sharp intake of breath and watched as Kevin's eyes snapped shut and then back open. I nodded.

"I met him at the beginning of my junior year in college. By the end of my senior year, Lucas and I were engaged. He moved back to Florida with me where we both had jobs set up. We were both in physical therapy actually. We bought the house and got married that September. Everything was great. My family and friends actually accepted Lucas and treated him great. They've never liked anyone I brought home."

I reached over to pick up my wine. This was a lot harder then I had dreaded it would be. I couldn't break the hold Kevin's eyes had on mine, so every word I was saying, I was saying directly to his eyes.

"Apparently I was the only one who was really happy in the relationship after a while. Last year, two days before Maggie's 4th birthday, I walked in on him with another man in our bed."

Kevin's hand squeezed mine again. "It always fucking amazes me how the bastard cheated on me and I get shit for divorcing him. My parents practically disowned me for divorcing him. My mother actually had the nerve to say it was my fault. I don't talk to them anymore. The last time I heard from them was when they surfaced to say that Abby and Michael wanted me to have the kids."

"The really important people stuck by me. Gram. Abby and Michael. Kari and Marcus. I pretty much lost everyone else because I divorced Lucas."

Kevin's hand reached up and brushed my cheek gently. He cupped my face as I leaned into his hand. It felt so good to have him touch me.

"Lucas left on Maggie's birthday. All he took was his car and the cat. We split what we wanted to split. He decided he didn't want anything. His name was removed from the mortgage on the house and the bank account was split. And he was gone."

Kevin leaned in and kissed me softly on the lips. As he pressed his warm lips against mine, I knew that I was going to let myself be with him.

"I'll never do that to you. I promise." Kevin whispered.

I nodded and leaned in to kiss him again. When we broke apart, neither of us moved.

"Jeremy." Kevin said to me.

"What?"

"I had a Lucas in my life. His name was Jeremy. I started dating him when I was 19 and we stayed together until I was 25. We never married and it didn't end because of cheating. It ended because he couldn't stand not having me around. So instead of trying to live with my travel schedule he left. After him, I felt like I could never love anyone again. I thought that I had just lost the one person I was meant to be with."

I nodded. "That's exactly how I felt."

"That changed the day I met you Robby. I realized that it wasn't Jeremy who I was supposed to be with. It was you."

Kevin's arm was around me and my head was resting on his chest as we talked. Neither of us had said anything, but we both knew that the relationship had changed now.

"I know you're afraid Rob. I'm afraid too. After what happened with Justin, my whole life is inspected by our record company and our management. They are going to flip if they find out I'm in a relationship with a man who happens to have two kids."

I pulled away from him. "I don't want that to happen to you. This can't work."

Kevin shook his head. "I don't care what happens to me. I don't need any of this. The fame, the money, the fans. I just want you in my life. Please."

"The kids." I mumbled lamely. I knew they weren't a factor. Kevin loved them and they loved Kevin.

"What about the kids?"

"I don't want them to get hurt."

Kevin reached for my chin and lifted my face so I would look at him.

"I will never hurt the kids. I will never let anyone else hurt them. Whatever happens between you and me, I will always be there for Maggie and Ryan."

I didn't say anything. "Do you believe me Rob?" I nodded slowly. My resistance was fading. I just wanted to hold him, to kiss him, to love him.

"Oh Kevin." I fell into his arms, pulling him to me tightly. "I love you."

His lips found mine, pressing gently, lovingly against my own. I pulled him down so we were laying on the couch.

I don't know how long we laid there, talking and kissing every so often. The rest of the evening passed that way. By the time we both realized we needed to get home, Kevin and I were dating.

The drive back to my house was decidedly less tense then the drive to Howie's house. The music even seemed to be happier, the CD's cycling through Republica, Billy Joel, Macy Gray, Santana, and Louis Armstrong. I held Kevin's hand the whole way unless he absolutely needed it to drive.

We pulled into the driveway. There were way too many cars here for this time of night. Kevin pulled me in for a kiss. The world seemed to stop and I forgot that my house was full of people for some reason. All that mattered was that Kevin was holding me.

We got out of the car and looked around. "AJ's here so Amanda's probably with him. Kristen's car is here. I'll bet that she and Lexie came over after dinner."

"That's Kari's car." I pointed it out to him. "And that's Brian's car." Kevin said with a note of surprise in his voice. "I didn't even know Brian was back from Georgia."

"Wanna' make a bet that AJ couldn't keep his mouth shut and told everyone what was going on tonight?" I asked Kevin.

"I'd be stupid to take that bet. I'm positive AJ did that. I'll bet that's why they're all here. They're waiting for us to get back."

"Do we give them the satisfaction of being right immediately or do we fuck with them for a bit?"

An evil grin spread across Kevin's face. "I think it's our duty to fuck with 'em."

I pulled him in for a kiss. "Just follow my lead."

I opened the door and walked inside, slamming it behind me. Kevin was still outside. He opened it back up and called after me.

"Rob! Wait." I walked into the living room and froze, pretending to be shocked that there were people in there. No one was making a sound.

Maggie was sitting on AJ's lap in her pajama's. Amanda was braiding her hair. She had stopped mid-braid when I walked in. Kristen and Alexis were sitting on the other couch next to Brian and Leighanne. All of them had stunned expressions on their faces.

I hadn't expected Maggie to be there, so I whirled around and bumped right into Kevin. I grabbed his arm and pulled him into the hallway. I'm sure everyone thought I was just pissed off.

"Maggie's in there. I can't do anything in front of her." Kevin nodded and took my hand.

"Besides I would've spoiled your fun." I heard a voice say behind us.

We turned to see Kari standing there with a smug expression on her face.

"Next time, don't sit and kiss in the car. I heard you pull in while I was in Ryan's room so I looked outside."

We both began to blush. Kari leaned over and gave Kevin a kiss on the cheek.

"Welcome to the family Kevin." She grinned. "Finally."

I swatted my cousin lightly in the arm. "Let's go tell everyone else."

I held Kevin's hand tightly as we walked back into the living room with Kari following us. All eyes were on the two of us.

I smiled happily and held up my hand intertwined with Kevin's. The tension broke as everyone jumped up to hug us. Apparently they had all been trying to get the two of us together.

Maggie squirmed her way to the two of us. Kevin picked her up and she hugged him tightly.

AJ grabbed me, twirled me around, and dipped me. While he had me down, he planted a kiss on my forehead. I began to laugh as he let me up.

"I'm glad both of you came to your senses. I was gettin' tired of watchin' the two of you pine for each other."

"Hey McLean. Get your paws off my boyfriend."

AJ pouted. "But he's so gosh darn cute Kev." AJ reached out and pinched my cheeks. "Just look at those cheeks."

I slapped AJ's hand away with a smile. "You just keep your hands on Amanda where they belong."

AJ slipped his arms around Amanda's waist. "If you say so." Amanda laughed and nudged him in the stomach gently. "Ouch. Amanda's elbowing me Rob." He whined.

"Elbow her back."

Brian tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to look at him. I didn't know Brian very well. He had been in Georgia for the past month and he hadn't been all that social while he had been in Orlando. The impression I got from AJ, Kevin, and Howie was that Brian was a self- absorbed guy. He made me vaguely uncomfortable. However, he was Kevin's cousin.

"Can I talk to you for a moment Rob?"

I nodded and we went over to the other side of the room. Brian smiled at me.

"Welcome to the family." Then to my surprise, Brian wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tightly.

I hugged him back. "Thank you." We let go of each other.

"Kevin loves you a lot and all I want is for him to be happy. I know you make him happy."

"And he makes me happy."

Brian held up a finger. "But if you hurt him, I will kill you."

"And if Kevin hurts Rob, I will kill Kevin." Kari said from behind us. We turned to look at her. She had a tendency to sneak up on people, but this time I was glad she was there to stick up for me.

Brian nodded. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

I walked back over to Kevin. Maggie had let him go and was now on Lexie's back.

I reached up and turned his head to me. We both smiled happily.

I let out a huge yawn. "Wow. I'm exhausted." Hopefully they would all get the hint.

"That reminds me Rob. Maggie and I wanted to know if it was cool that we had a sleepover at my place tonight?" AJ asked pulling Maggie off Lexie's back.

"As long as she actually gets sleep this time. Last time the two of you stayed up all night watching movies, eating ice cream and drinking soda."

AJ blushed. "I'll make sure they sleep this time Rob." Amanda said with a smile.

"The rest of us are going to head out too. It's getting late." Kristen said. "Should I expect you for breakfast tomorrow morning Kev?"

Kevin turned to look at me. I shook my head slightly. "No. I think I'll be missing breakfast tomorrow."

"Okay." Kristen kissed both of us. Lexie did the same then the two of them left after saying their good-byes. Brian and Leighanne were next. AJ and Amanda already had Maggie's stuff packed so they left with her right after that. Kari was the only one left.

"Ryan and Gram are at my house. You two enjoy yourselves tonight. You won't be getting many nights alone."

I hugged my cousin tightly. "Thanks Kari."

Then she was gone and Kevin and I were alone.

His arms wrapped around me, hugging me tightly.

"I love you."

Chapter Ten

"Dad!" Maggie shouted happily. I turned towards her voice. She was waving to me from the crowd of people on the football field.

Today was Maggie's high school graduation. I still couldn't believe that this day was finally here. She had turned 18 two weeks ago. My little girl was all grown up.

I smiled and waved back. Maggie began to weave her way through the crowd towards us.

A moment later she flew into my arms, hugging me tightly.

"I'm so proud of you Maggie." I whispered as I hugged my little girl.

Maggie let go of me and turned to Kevin. He had tears in his eyes as he gathered her into a hug.

She made the rounds, hugging the whole family. Well everyone who was there. We only got 10 tickets. We snuck David in.

I put my arms around Kari's waist and rested my head on her shoulder. We both watched as Maggie laughed and joked with everyone. She looked gorgeous and so grown-up in her cap and gown.

We were having a party at Kevin and David's house after the graduation. The whole family would be there for that as well as all of Maggie's friends.

It had been a long 14 years since the kids had came into my life, but we had all gotten through it together.

Kevin did get married to Kristen. They stayed married for almost three years before they both decided it was just stupid. The Backstreet Boys only did one more album and tour before they all went their separate ways. Kevin came out soon after he and Kristen got divorced. Kristen and Lexie are still together and very happy.

We stayed together for seven years. When Kevin and I did finally break-up, it was very amicable. We were still best friends. We just knew that we weren't meant to be a couple anymore.

Maggie and Ryan still think of him as their father. They have rooms at his house as well as mine. Kevin and I let them decide who they wanted to live with and when. At the moment, Maggie was living with him and Ryan was at home with me.

Kevin wouldn't let me get away with paying for everything for them. We made a deal regarding that. He would pay for cars, insurance, and housing for them. I would cover college tuition. It made it relatively fair. We would never get any financial aid since he supported them as well.

Kevin got married three years ago to David. Instead of things being weird, David took everything in stride. The kids accepted him and he treated them like they were his own. He's a good addition to the family.

I'm currently dating a man named Jonah. We've been together for about two years now. I'm hesitant to say that we're going to get married, but it seems that we are heading in that direction. I'd love to marry him.

AJ and Amanda broke up a long time ago. She dropped out of our lives after that. AJ got married ten years ago to a lovely woman named Brin. She was back at Kevin and David's along with the rest of the former Backstreet Boys and their families.

Brian and Leighanne were still happily married. They had three kids. Howie is still living sober. He never got married but he's been with his girlfriend Michelle for almost 8 years now. Nick never married either. He has two kids with his girlfriend Terri.

Gram died when Maggie was seven. We were all surprised that she lived that long. We all miss her greatly though. As for my parents, I have no clue where they are. All I know is that they are still alive.

Jonah planted a kiss on my cheek. I blinked and left my silent musings about the years that had passed.

"Hi honey." I said with a smile. "What are you thinking about?"

I gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "How happy I am right now and how lucky I am to have so many people I love in my life."

"It is a beautiful day isn't it."

Jonah was right. The sun was shining. The sky was blue. Everywhere around us, people were happy and smiling. And somewhere up there, Abby, Michael, and Gram were watching all of us with a smile on their faces.

THE END

---Hey folks! Well we've finished another one. Three down, two more to go. And yes for those of you who care, I have two more stories that will be posted on Nifty. I hope that makes some people happy, even though I can't give you a set date or even a possible date for the posting of either of them.

I had someone ask me why I was ending this story so quickly, because they really loved it a lot. They IM'd me while I was at work so I didn't get a chance to answer them. So I'll answer it now. 'Little Earthquakes' was only meant to be a brief glimpse into the lives of Rob and Kevin. I'd only planned on doing 10 chapters of this one. I'm glad you enjoy it enough to want to read more. It's great to hear that.

Okay, I haven't done this for sometime now, but I want to let you guys know what I've been reading lately.

My Surprise Romance: A sweet story with a great set of characters

My New Life: This guy just writes great stuff. Go read this.

Brian and Me: go check out DLS' website for another great story. I'll even give you the URL: dls-stories.homepage.com

Superman Can't Fly: This is a great short story. Go check it out. I give it two big thumbs up.

Mirrors and Beneath it All: I included these together because they are both by Scotty T, the guy who wrote Lance In Shining Armour. Both of these stories are really good.

Old favs are still Forever, Home, Search and Rescue, and of course Escape and Choices.

See y'all soon!

Rachel