Pairing: Joey and Lance
Words: alias; live; chicken noodle soup; lounge


"You can't make it out of live chickens!" Lance yells.  He
collapses into Joey's lap.  "I hate Chris.  Can't we trade him for
a monkey?"

"Can the monkey sing?" Joey asks, wrapping an arm around Lance's
waist.

"No, but it jerks off in public."

"So what you're saying is, nobody'd be able to tell the
difference?"

"Yep."

"Sure.  Why not?"

Lance sighs, and rubs his eyes.  "My whole face hurts."

Joey tips Lance's head back, looking for bruises.  "You okay?"

"Uh huh.  Sinus headache, I think.  Plus, y'know, that bar that
fell on me yesterday."

"Want me to thump him for you?"  Joey knows why the bar fell on
Lance.

"No.  Can I stay here?  He won't come if I'm with you."

"'Cause he knows I'll thump him?"  Joey settles his grip more
firmly around Lance.

"Uh huh."  Lance's head settles on Joey's shoulder as he curls in. 
"And because I love you."

Joey moves Lance's hair away from his face.  "Can't be just that,
or he'd be over here teasing the life out of you."

"He wants me to love you.  Thinks it'll make us easier to manage."

"But you already love me.  And vice versa.  What's there to
change?"

"Sleeping arrangements.  Granted, he doesn't know we sleep
together, but still."  Lance's eyes are closed as he tries to relax
his headache away.

Joey starts rubbing Lance's forehead.  "Yeah, but it's not like we
have sex.  I love him, too, the crazy fucker."

"He thinks we should."

Joey's fingers pause for a second.  When they resume, he shows none
of what he's thinking in his voice.  "Yeah?"

"Uh huh."

"How'd he come up with that one?"

"Don't know.  It's not a terrible idea, actually," Lance notes. 
Joey knows he's bi.

"Yeah?" Joey asks cautiously.

"Uh huh."

Lance is being his most infuriatingly inscrutable sphinx-like self. 
"How do you figure?"

"Because I love you, and you love me.  I don't trust anyone more
than I trust you.  I'm attracted to you.  I love your kid.  That
kind of thing."

Joey relaxes.  So Lance is for it.  "Those are good things, yeah."

"Yeah.  And you make my head hurt less."

"That's 'cause I rub it and don't drop stuff on it."

"That's part of it, yeah."

Joey kisses Lance's forehead.  "And you love me."

"I do, yeah.  More than chicken noodle soup and watching Alias
combined."

"That much, huh?  I'm definitely gonna be kicking Kirkpatrick's ass
then."

"Oh?"

"Yeah.  He was macking on my boyfriend, hitting him with stuff and
telling him how sexy he is.  Can't let him get away with that, can
I?"

Lance smiles against Joey's shoulder.  "Oh."

"'Cause you're mine now, and he's gotta learn some manners.  Or
else."  Joey looks down at Lance.  "You're mine, right?" he asks,
a little hesitantly.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to be, yes."

"Yeah," Joey says definitely.  "You're mine."

Lance smiles.  "What are we doing in the lounge?  Shouldn't we be
in a bedroom?"

Joey grins and stands up, depositing Lance on his feet.  "Just lead
me there."

So Lance does.

And Joey kicks Chris' ass.  But later.  And after thanking him
first.