No one knew them in America. Half-hearted fans waved at them from across the airport terminal. Justin got a scream on his way to his mother’s car. It seemed like the entire world was indifferent and after the crazed frenzy they’d left in Europe, they couldn’t really say they minded.

Only those who visited them in Europe knew what it was like over there. Their mothers knew, for the most part, because Lynn told them and they believed her. Their friends would listen and nod politely but mostly, none of them really believed the stories.

Joey attempted to explain to Tony, one of JC’s friends from the Mouse Club, a week after they got back.

“No, really. Dude, they love us over there.”

Tony just laughed and shook his head. “Sure.”

“C, tell Tony about that time with the girls and the bus and the almost rocking over thing. Tell him!”

JC shrugged. “He’s not going to believe you.”

“But it happened!” Joey got louder as he got more frustrated. “We have an album-“

“Which I’ve listened to, and it’s pretty good.”

“Thank you. And we’ve done tours and they scream and cry and this one time a girl fainted-“

“Whatever,” Tony said, still laughing.

JC laughed as Joey fumed.

And so older friends fell away, replaced by each other, the members of the group who filled roles like mother, confidante, best friend, and lover.

In America, JC lived at Joey’s house because his parents had more room than JC’s and neither wanted to live apart. Not when their relationship was so new and so different and so all consuming. They hadn’t done anything beyond kissing, not too much anyway. Physical intimacy wasn’t something they were ready to commit to, but they still slept in the same bed, wrapped around each other even though America was a lot warmer than Germany had been.

It was two weeks after their return when JC hugged Joey tighter to his chest and whispered into the still night air. “You sure your mom is cool with this?”

Joey tilted his head up and smiled. “Yeah, pretty sure. If the cute, cooing noises she’s been making at us are any indication.”

“It was cool of her to let me stay here.”

“We’re not going to be here long anyway.”

“No, I know.” JC sighed. “Seems like we just stopped though.”

“I’m just excited to be touring.”

“Yeah.”

“Excited to be touring with my boyfriend.” Joey ran a warm hand down JC’s belly, tickling the skin.

He stopped when JC froze. “Boyfriend? Is that what I am?”

“Yeah. Aren’t you?”

JC grinned down at Joey’s confused face. “Yeah, I guess I am. We just never said it before.”

“JC, you’re my boyfriend.”

“Joey, you’re mine.”

“I’m yours…” Joey breathed before reaching up to cover JC’s mouth with his own. He slid his tongue past JC’s teeth and twined their tongues together for several long moments. He gasped for breath when he finally pulled away.

“Glad we got that settled.” JC grinned.

Joey laughed softly and ran warm hands up JC’s chest. They both slept shirtless, liking the soft glide of skin on skin. Joey ran his warm tongue across the smooth expanse of neck before him and JC caught his breath, fingers clutching at Joey’s back.

“Your parents…”

“Do not have bionic hearing,” Joey muttered against JC’s skin. He ran his hands down beneath JC’s pajama bottoms, stroking the quivering skin. “Please?”

JC nodded. “Okay.”

Joey grinned and pulled at constricting fabric, laughing as he threw the pajama bottoms off the bed. “Excited, are we?”

He felt hands tugging in his hair. He met JC’s eyes and his grin softened, becoming a tender smile. He caught JC’s lips in a quick, deep kiss before he pulled himself back and put his mouth on JC’s erection.

JC bit his finger to keep from making too much noise, from singing out his passion, his love for Joey. Stars formed on the back of his lids from the effort to remain quiet and it was almost a relief when he came, silently, into Joey’s mouth.

“Do you want me to…” JC asked, panting.

“Nah, I… uh… already did.” Joey pulled off his wet pajama bottoms and threw them on top of JC’s.

He smiled and pressed his warm, sticky lips to JC’s. They kissed, quietly, in the dark, hands running languidly over each other’s warm bodies. When they finally pulled apart, JC patted his back and smiled sleepily.

Joey smiled and rested his head against JC’s chest once more, content in the moment, in his boyfriend, in his life.

In America, they had to record new songs for their US album. Lou handed them two lists. One of the Europe friendly techno songs they were dropping, and one of the USA friendly pop songs they were adding.

JC spent a good hour pouting because they were dropping “More Than a Feeling,” which was his favorite song to perform. Justin couldn’t believe they wanted to drop “Riddle.”

“But it’s a good song!” he said, several times.

Chris poked him with his shoe. “Listen, kid. Honestly. Have you ever really wondered what goes on in women’s minds?”

Justin looked at Chris. He didn’t know what to say and he desperately wanted Chris’s approval. So he shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Well… it’s impossssssible to fiiiiiind,” he crooned, leaping onto Justin and knocking him back onto the couch.

“Leave my hair alone!” Justin yelled, ducking his head to prevent the impending noogie attack.

“Can’t! Must… attack… curls…”

Justin reached up and grabbed onto Chris’s new braids, thanking Chris and the voices that governed his actions that he had a new hand hold in wrestling with him. Chris squealed and protested, but Justin wouldn’t let go.

They kept going until Lou came in and yelled at them again. Chris let Justin go and said, “makes more sense in its original language anyway.” Then he patted Justin’s head and called him “baby,” only he did it in German. Which, really, was only the word “baby” spoken with a German accent, which only annoyed Justin more.

So Justin jumped on his back, ignoring protests from the others that Lou would yell at them for the fifth time that morning. Chris ran around the room, occasionally stumbling into things in an effort to shake Justin off.

“Get off!” he yelled, over and over.

“Noooooo!” Justin cried, clinging tenaciously despite Chris’s writhing.

“I’ll go to the bathroom.”

“You will not.”

“I will so. I’ll go in and take a dump and I don’t care if you’re still attached when I do it.”

“You wouldn’t.”

Chris started toward the door and because Justin knew Chris well enough to know that even if he hadn’t planned on it before, he would now, he let go.

JC was still pouting about “More Than a Feeling.” Joey was rubbing his leg and whispering in his ear and JC was doing his best to maintain the pout, though Chris knew that he would crack any second. His lips were quivering at the corners.

Lance was looking at the notes for the new songs. “They want me to talk, you guys.” He squinted down at the paper in front of him. “And I seriously don’t think I can hit that note.”

And because it was in America that Chris finally started liking Lance, he reached over to ruffle the platinum hair and said, “Sure you can, Bass. It’s why you’re here, after all.”

They were rehearsing for the Z100 show in New York when Lynn ran in the room, jumping up and down and yelling for them to turn on the radio. JC ran to the corner where the tape had been playing and turned it off, searching for the local pop station. He stopped when he heard it.

Over the tinny speakers in the little dance studio came JC’s voice in the opening lines of “I Want You Back.”

Joey was the first to realize what they were listening to. He began screaming and jumping up and down and throwing his arms around Chris and Justin and Lance. He kissed Lynn.

JC, Justin, and Chris joined him in a horrific rendition of the choreography. Lance was laughing too hard to participate.

Somewhere around the time that Justin’s verse ended, JC jumped on Joey, wrapping his legs around Joey’s waist and his arms around the other man’s neck. Joey spun them both, ecstatic and thrilled and too happy to speak.

It wasn’t the first time they’d heard their song on the radio. European stations played it all the time, in between Backstreet songs and techno songs and songs with titles they didn’t understand, following foreign melodies and styles. It was the first time they’d heard their song on American radio. On the station they’d all listened to in Orlando, on their station.

The song reached the bridge and Lance was leaning against the mirrors, gasping for breath in between fits of hysterical laughter when Lou burst into the room. He saw Lynn and bit off whatever rant he’d been about to break into.

He just stared at them each in turn, raising one eyebrow at JC and Joey, before he said, “You want to stay on the radio? Get back to work.” He glared at JC and Joey again and left the room.

Because Lance took Lou’s criticism the hardest, pushed the most to have Lou nod slightly in approval, Chris pulled Lance up from his position on the floor. “Don’t let him ruin your fun, Brüderlein,” he said, calling Lance his new pet name for his “little brothers.” He spun Lance around before dipping him close to the floor.

“You drop me, you’re dead.”

“I’m not going to drop you.”

Joey laughed and spun JC around again before kissing him and dropping his legs to the floor. Justin hugged his mom and smiled.

America meant performing for the Disney channel when the Backstreet Boys had to pull out. The Disney channel meant their record went platinum and that meant that they were really popular again.

Janet Jackson signed them to open for her on tour, and after months of new choreography and songs, they left Orlando again, traveling with Janet’s entourage in a small, converted bus.

Touring, for the most part, meant small, shared hotel rooms in cities they’d never heard of, much less been too, all across the US. Lynn stayed home, only visiting them every now and then, so Justin and Lance shared a room. Chris got his own, though he could most often be found in Justin and Lance’s room, bothering them.

JC and Joey, by default, shared a room every night. As became their custom, they still only had the really important talks at night, lying in bed in each other’s arms.

They’d been on tour with Janet for a week when JC turned over in Joey’s arms to face him. Joey could barely see him in the dark.

“Joey? Is this love? Are we love?”

“You mean are we in love?” He felt, more than saw, JC nod. “I’m in love with you, so yeah, I think so. I think this is love.”

JC nodded again.

“Um… C? Do you?”

JC smiled- Joey could see the white gleam in the light spilling through the window. “Yes, I love you. I think it is.”

Joey resumed normal breathing patterns. “You had me worried. Very briefly, but yes.”

“Sorry.” JC ran his hands down Joey’s bare chest, lightly skimming over the warm skin. Joey had always been so warm.

“No, it’s okay.” Joey’s breath hitched as JC’s fingers brushed his nipples.

Joey reached his hands up to cup JC’s face. He pulled JC in slowly, savoring the moment and the night. “Love you,” he breathed against JC’s full lips, before covering them with his own. His hands roamed down JC’s back, hooking into his boxers, running over the smooth skin he found there.

JC pulled away. “Joey, can we?”

“You mean…”

“Yeah.”

“You really want to?”

JC squirmed against him, pressing his erection into Joey’s thigh. “Yes, please.”

Joey pulled completely away and rolled off the bed, heading for his bag in the corner. “Chris gave me this stuff a couple months ago. He wouldn’t believe me when I told him we didn’t need it yet.”

“Chris bought it for you?”

“He called it a gift.”

JC laughed when Joey returned with a small brown paper bag. He upended its contents over the hotel spread: a box of condoms and a huge container of lube.

Joey looked down at him, spread over the bed and half naked and sexy as hell. “You done this before?”

JC nodded. “You?”

Joey shook his head.

“I’ll go first then.”

“First what?”

“You know…”

Joey ducked his head. “Right.”

JC reached out his hand. “You sure you’re ready for this?”

Joey grabbed it and nodded vehemently. “I am, I swear.”

“Take off your boxers.”

Joey hitched his hips up to comply, watching as JC did the same. He watched as JC’s erection bobbed; he could barely see it in the dark room, just its outline against the lighter window. He reached out to run his hand down it, around it. JC gasped and arched up into his touch. He leaned closer and wrapped his hand more fully around it, pumping up and down as JC moved against his hand.

“Lube, Joey. Get the lube,” he said.

Joey reached back and grabbed the lube, placing it in JC’s outstretched hand. He opened the tube and squirted some on Joey’s fingers.

“Just… slowly. It’s been awhile.”

Joey nodded and ran his hand between JC’s legs, pressing against tight flesh. He rubbed across it for a bit, then inside, just a few inches, when JC said, “now.”

JC pulled him closer, kissed him as Joey moved one finger in and out, slowly, and then more quickly as JC squirmed. “Another,” JC gasped, and Joey added a second finger.

Joey kissed down JC’s neck, licking at his jaw line and his Adam’s apple and his sharply delineated collarbone.

“Now, please. Now…” JC said, groping for the box of condoms. He pulled one out and ripped it open. With shaking hands he rolled it onto Joey, then squeezed more lube out, spreading it liberally over the condom. “Now…” he said, pulling Joey toward him, positioning Joey between his legs.

Joey pulled his hand out and used it to guide himself in. JC shuddered as the head went in, so slowly that Joey’s thigh muscles quivered and sweat broke out along his brow.

“More.”

Joey inched in, slowly because he didn’t want to hurt JC. He was so tight, so tight and hot and warm. Joey didn’t know how long he’d last.

“Faster…” Joey shook his head. “Please, Joey.” JC put his hands at Joey’s hips and pulled, throwing him off balance so he drove all the way in. JC gasped, tears in his eyes at the pain and joy and wonder of it all.

“So tight...” Joey moaned, breath hitching as he felt JC arch under him.

“Move, baby. Move.” JC writhed beneath him, pulling at Joey’s hips and scratching up and down his back, pulling Joey as close as possible.

Joey lifted up on his arms again and pumped in and out, in and out. Joey moved slowly, so slowly until JC grabbed his hips again, pulling him, controlling the rhythm even as he screamed his release. The movement was a dance, a perfect dance between two people who loved and were in love and Joey couldn’t believe he’d ever be any happier, any more in love than he was right now.

Joey came moments after JC did and collapsed on his chest. They’d be stuck together in the morning, but Joey didn’t think he could move.

“See? That’s why I wanted to do it,” JC said, running his hands up Joey’s sweaty back. He ran shaky fingers through sweaty hair and pulled Joey’s head up so he could kiss swollen lips.

Joey smiled as he pulled back. “Yeah. Love you, C.”

“Love you.” JC murmured, half way to sleep and dreams, still clinging tightly to Joey. Still wrapped around him in every way possible.

And Joey decided he liked touring, liked America, even liked Lou as long as he could be with JC, like this, forever.