Pairing: Lance and Nick
Words: consume; mic; smoothie; exterminate


Nick grins at Lance.  Lance is here to see Justin, yeah, but Lance
is cool.  Nick's always kinda had a soft spot for Lance.  Though
Nick remembers him as incredibly blonde.  So blonde it was scary,
even.  But they roomed together a couple times when the Boys and
Nsuck were in the same hotel.  Nick knows Lance is okay.  He's also
a lot of fun.  And nice, totally nice.  Plus he makes a mean
smoothie.

"Hey," Lance says, looking up at Nick through his lashes.  He'd
invented a reason to come see Justin 'cause he knows the Boys are
co-dependent, especially Nick and Justin.  The easiest way to get
to see Nick without admitting that he's there to *see* Nick is to
say JC had something he wanted Justin to see.  The Mouse connection
still holds true there, even with the two of them in rival bands.

"Everything going good?  I can't imagine what kind of trouble
they're giving you for you and Justin both going solo at the same
time."

Nick shrugs.  "It's okay."

"Can I tell you a secret?"

Nick leans in.  "Sure!"

Lance grins at him.  "I'm not looking forward to Justin's album. 
JC's been playing me cuts he's working on for it.  It's all the
stuff I dislike most about our music.  I'm looking forward to
yours."

"That's sweet!"

"See, I figure you're gonna go for something a little more
rock-and-roll.  At least, that's what Justin's been hinting."

"Yeah, kinda.  I mean, that's the plan."

"Cool."

"Yeah.  Hey, what're you doing tonight?  I mean, you and Justin,
right?"

"Yeah, sorta."  Lance hefts the papers and CDs that are his excuse
for coming over.  "Mostly I need to drop this stuff off.  I won't
get in your way if you two have something planned."

"Uh, no.  Not me and Justin.  But you're gonna hang out with him,
right?"

"I guess," Lance says, even though the real plan is to hang out
with Nick, if possible.  "So, you guys, you're not... I'm not
interrupting anything."

Nick snorts.  "No way.  Actually, if you don't have plans, I kinda
wondered if you'd like to hang out?  With me, I mean."

"Yeah?" Lance asks, heart beating faster.  So Nick and Justin
aren't together then?  He'd never been completely sure, not with
the way the two of them hang off each other.  "I'd like that."

"Cool.  I'm free, uh.  Now.  So, y'know, whenever you're free. 
Come to my place?"

"Sure.  Just let me set these down somewhere?"

Justin rescues the stack of papers and disks before Lance dumps it
on an invisible table.  "So, Nick-ay.  You doin' a little slumming
now?"

"Like you don't love JC like a brother."  Nick rolls his eyes. 
"Me'n Lance're gonna hang."

"Yep," Lance says, nodding.  "Hang."

Justin snickers.  "Guess JC's gonna have to find someone else to
send me his little love letters."

Lance looks at the ceiling.

Nick wraps his arm over Lance's shoulders.  "I knew they were love
letters.  Like that perfumed one you made me take him last month!"

Lance looks at Nick.  "Really?"

"Totally."

Lance nods and looks at Justin.  "I didn't tell you this, but JC's
got the hots for you."

"So?"

Lance rubs his forehead.  "Never mind.  I didn't say anything. 
Nick?  Want me to drive you to your place or do you have your own
car?"

"I don't have a car here, no.  Are you ready to go now, then?" Nick
asks hopefully.  He also reaches out and punches Justin, just on
principle.

"Yep.  If you haven't guessed it yet, I came to see you."

That's way cool, Nick thinks.  It's more than cool.  It's, like,
the coolest thing ever to happen.  He smiles.  "Cool!"

Justin snorts.  "Go ahead and hold hands already."

Now Lance is naturally a little shy when it comes to Nick.  'Cause
Nick is big and blonde and golden -- pretty much Lance's ideal at
the moment -- and can take Lance or leave him.  He's no toy or
pretend boyfriend or bandmate to be coolly dismissed at will.  On
the other hand, he has spent several years with Chris, and even
with Howie there to keep Chris in check, Lance has learned a few
things about standing up for himself.

So he steps closer to Neck, slips his arms around his waist and
kisses Nick, very briefly, on the lips.  "Happy now?"

"I am," Nick says, linking his hands loosely behind Lance.

Lance grins up at Nick.

Justin mutters, "I hate you.  Get your asses out of my house
already."

"I think he's jealous," Lance whispers.

Nick looks at Lance and says, "He should be."

Lance doesn't look away from Nick.  "Call JC.  Talk to him.  I hear
that works."

Nick starts guiding them to the driveway.

Lance goes with him.  "Think he'll do it?"

"Maybe.  Right now I'm more interested in you and me."

Lance swallows.  "So, yeah.  About that."

"Yeah?"

"I was trying to be more subtle than that.  So if, y'know, you were
just joking..."

"I wasn't.  I kinda wanna see if we can make a you and me.  Are you
interested in that?"

"Oh, yeah.  Hell, yeah."

Nick goes instinctively to the driver's door, making Lance laugh
and toss him the keys.  "You know the way.  You might as well
drive."

Nick grins back.  "Thanks, man."  He unlocks the doors.  "Good. 
Get in.  You make smoothies and I'll grill something.  We'll call
it a date, huh?  And I'll take you out tomorrow, if you want."

"You really like my smoothies, huh?"

"Nobody else makes them taste so damn good!"  Nick drives fast, but
not too fast.  Wouldn't do to splatter Lance all over the
windshield on their first sorta-date.

Lance grins.  "It's all about the blender."

Nick laughs.

At Nick's house, Lance hangs back, at least until Nick heads for
the kitchen.  That puts Lance at ease and he starts going through
Nick's fridge, trying to see what Nick has that he can use to make
smoothies with.  If he remembers right, Nick consumed the whole
gallon Lance'd made last time.

Nick starts making dinner.  "Vegetarian, right?"

Lance looks up, appalled.  "Vegetarian *grill*?  No!  Steak.  Or if
you have to, chicken."

"Oh, good.  JC's forever forcing me to grill him veggies and tofu. 
Pick out your cut.  There should be several in the fridge there."

"JC's over here a lot?" Lance asks in what he hopes is a casual
tone.

"When he visits Justin, they end up here.  Personally, I think
Justin can't be alone with JC for very long without jumping him."

"Oh!"  Lance brings a cut over to Nick and lays it out on the
counter.  He's relieved, 
It's not good professionally to think about the extermination of
your bandmates.  Even if you are on hiatus.  "I didn't realize
they'd gotten that far.  I thought they were still dancing around
it."

"Just hanging out.  Justin would never admit to wanting JC before
JC admits to wanting him."  Nick smiles at Lance.  "We're smarter. 
'Cause I like you, Lance."

"Well," Lance says, turning back to the fridge.  Nick has ice,
vanilla ice cream and orange juice.  That's all he needs to make a
good smoothie.  Some peach schnapps would make it absolutely
perfect though.  He should look through Nick's liquor.  If Nick has
any, what with the AJ thing.  "I wasn't exactly planning to admit
anything either.  But then I'm not a lead singer type.  I'm
surprised JC's made it this long without grabbing a mic and
declaring his love for Backstreet."

Nick laughs.  "True, true.  But you should see him totally...
what's the word?  Like eat but more.  Oh!  Consume.  He consumes
Justin with his eyes.  It's kinda embarrassing."

Lance puts the items out on the counter, near the blender.  "I was
just thinking the same thing about you and my smoothies."

"Well, there is that."

"So, not that I have to use it or anything, and I'm not saying that
I think you'd have any such item, but if you did and you thought it
was a good idea..."  Lance stops.  "And no, I'm not usually this
tongue-tied around gorgeous men.  But you wouldn't happen to have
any alcohol?  Peach schnapps preferably?"

"Yeah.  Locked in the cabinet in my bedroom."  Nick goes onto his
tiptoes and gets the key out of the antique sugar dish on a high
shelf.  "Here ya go."

"Thanks."  Lance smiles and goes to find it, feeling oddly trusted
and special somehow.

Nick hums as he puts the steaks on the grill.  It's so nice to have
someone around.

Lance comes back with the schnapps.  Setting it on the counter, he
hands the key back to Nick.  "I relocked it."

"Thanks."  Nick stows the key away again.  "I don't like feeling
like I have to completely change my life because of someone else's
mistakes," he explains, eyes on the grill.  "But it's not his
fault, either."

"It's cool," Lance says.  "Really.  If anything, I probably drink
too much, so I don't have any room to talk."

Nick hugs Lance from behind.  "You always have room to talk."

Lance looks up, startled, then relaxes against Nick.  "I don't know
about that, but thanks."

"If we don't talk, we're all shit out of luck."

"I guess.  Maybe it's the way I was raised, but I can't help but
think that if you know you're doing something wrong, then you are. 
And somewhere, deep-down, I kinda believe that drinking's wrong. 
On the other hand," Lance twists his head around to look at Nick
and smiles at him, "so is wanting you, so maybe I just won't listen
to that part of me."

Nick kisses Lance on the cheek.  "Or maybe we'll just go slow and
convince that part it's wrong?"

"Sounds good to me."  Lance is adding the various items to the
blender as they talk.  Has to, before the ice and the ice cream
melt.  The secret, if there's a secret, is the combination of
ingredients.  Ice cream, but not too much, to make it sweet and
creamy.  Orange juice, because Lance loves it and nearly everyone
has it.  Ice to make it cold and make it a proper smoothie.  And
alcohol, depending on audience.  Peach schnapps mixes well with
orange juice, in small amounts.  Otherwise, vodka to keep from
destroying the taste, or sometimes a different kind of schnapps. 
Cinnamon schnapps with nutmeg and milk and egg nog ice cream is
another particular favorite of his.

Nick steps away and goes back to his grilling duties.

Lance mixes up a batch, decants it and puts it in the fridge.  Then
he mixes a second batch, which he pours into glasses before putting
everything back except the schnapps.

"Steaks are done!"

"Great.  So are the drinks."

"Synchronity!"

"Serendipitous even."  Lance looks for plates.

Nick points with his tongs.  There might be a bag of that salad mix
in the bottom drawer of the fridge if you want it."

"Salad mix?"  Lance shakes his head.  "I'll pass."

Nick laughs and sets the steaks on the table where Lance has put
the plates.  "All good, then."

Lance puts the cups down by the plates, as well as the silverware,
and sits.  "Smells good."

"Thanks.  Dig in."

Lance does.  There's something very charming about a man who cooks. 
Admittedly, grilling is more traditionally a male thing, but being
cooked for on a first date -- it's terribly, horribly, adorably
charming.

Nick grins and tells stories of his days in front of his days
recording and the never-ending battle to exterminate the two mice
living in the recording studio.

Lance blinks with mock innocence.  "I didn't know you'd ever
recorded with both JC and Justin."

"Couple times.  Nothing going on the CDs, though."

Lance chokes and starts laughing.

Nick smiles.  "Um.  What'd I say?"

"It was the image.  Of you recording with them while laying out
mousetraps baited with sequins and whatever Justin's attracted to."

"Oh!  Heh.  That'd be funny, yeah."

"So," Lance asks, "what *is* your album gonna be like?  You've
seemed a lot happier ever since you started working on it."

"It's some of my stuff, and that's cool."

Lance's mouth crooks.  "I don't write, which is just as well.  It's
all JC and whoever he thinks is appropriately representing his
vision of the sound or whatever it is he's doing.  Chris slips some
stuff in under the radar, but I think that's more because he's
willing to keep annoying everyone until he gets his way."

"Do you want to write?" Nick asks.

Lance shrugs.  "I probably wouldn't be any good at it."

"Never know until you try."

"Yeah, well.  When it comes to lost causes, there's other ways I'd
prefer to beat my head against a wall."

Nick shrugs.  "That's cool.  I mean, not *cool*, but."  He sighs
and rolls his eyes at himself.  "You know what I mean."

Lance's lips quirk in a smile.  "Is it cool if I say that dating
you is one of those lost causes?"

"If you explain it, it's cool."

"If I explain what?"

"How I'm a lost cause."  Nick plays with his steak.

"Oh!" Lance realizes that Nick misunderstood what he meant and that
the misunderstanding is making Nick feel bad.  "Because, y'know, I
couldn't figure out how to get from liking you to hanging out with
you to dating you."

"But now that you are...?"

"You're the kind of lost cause I like."

Nick smiles, but isn't sure if he should or not.  Lance's tone
sounds good but the words are confusing.

Nick's smile doesn't look particularly happy.  "I like lost causes
I can win," Lance explains again.  "There's no way a song I wrote
is ever going to get on one of our albums, and even trying to do it
would be painful.  But whether I got you or not, I knew trying
would be fun.  And it worked out, which is even better."

Nick smiles more brightly.  "Oh!  That's cool."

Lance smiles back.  That's better.

"So, um," Nick says.  "I know you said you don't want to write
music..."

"Yeah?"

It sounds so dumb in Nick's head, but now Lance is looking at him
all expectant.  "...but see, I'm a lost cause and that's a lost
cause and I don't think you should be lost at all."

Lance raises his eyebrows, not sure where Nick's going with this.

"So you wanna make beautiful music together?"  Nick's going to be
really embarrassed if Lance laughs at him.

Lance's smile is stunning.  "I'd love to."