Title:

Celebration

Author:

Jules

Part:

1/1

Pairing: Rating:

TimberNick PG-13 for language

Feedback:

Is sweeter than chocolate - mailto:slash_me_baby@yahoo.com

Disclaimer:I am not making any assumptions on the sexuality of either of these men.  This is strictly for entertainment purposes.

Warning:

Bigroupal warning.  Slash warning

Celebration by Jules It was hard to believe that it was all over.  That all the work he'd put into it was finally paying off.  October 29th was here and Nick was on top of the world.  Or at least he should have been.  He'd been on TRL to promote Now or Never which had been released today.  His solo debut.  His pet project.  The one thing that mattered more to him than Backstreet.  Okay, one of the things that mattered more than Backstreet, but there were only two things on that list, so it was pretty fucking big if you asked him.  So yeah, there he was in his penthouse suite ove rlooking the New York City skyline wondering why it didn't feel as sweet as it should have. Girls had been lined up outside Times Square to get a glimpse of him.  All screaming and crying because he was there.  They all had their copies of his CD clutched tightly in their mitten and glove covered hands, posters waving in the air for him to see.  All with his name ... and his name only, professing their love for him.  Their support.  Their adoration.  He had been afraid that no one would show up.  That he would arrive at the studio to find that no one gave a fuck what the 'youngest Backstreet Boy' was doing these days.  But thankfully, that hadn't been the case.  Th ey were there.  For him. The show went smoothly, the crowd loving not only the CD, but him.  It was great to know that he had the support of the fans behind him, and even more, the support of the guys.  It had been a long road to get them to where they were now, but Nick was thankful that it had all worked out in the end.  In the beginning, the guys saw his solo efforts as damaging to the group as a whole, and that Nick was trying to break up what they'd spent so long and worked so hard to build.  But what they didn't see was that he was trying to save them, not destroy them.  As dedicated as they all were to the group, things were heading on a downward spiral at break neck speed, and had they continued on with the path they were taking, not only would the group have be en utterly destroyed, but their friendships would have been as well.  He just couldn't understand why he was the only one that could see it. It had always been that way once he thought about it.  They always saw him as the youngest, the most immature and the one that could never sit still long enough to do anything.  But what they didn't realize was that they underestimated him.  Just because he was constantly doing something, he was watching.  Listening.  Paying attention to what everyone else seemed to ignore.  He sat idly by as AJ drank himself further and further into a depression, knowing that no matter what he said, it wouldn't have any affect.  He watched as Brian withdrew himself from the group, focused intently on his wife and trying to start their family.& nbsp; He even watched as Kevin and Howie busied themselves with their extra curricular projects, businesses and charities that they were working for.  The entire time that they continued on with their lives, trying to convince themselves that they were dedicated to the group 100 percent, he could do nothing but sit back and watch as tension rose and interest waivered. And it was then that he realized that if they wanted there to be a Backstreet Boys that even remotely resembled the one the fans had known for the past 10 years, something had to be done.  He loved the group and his brothers too much to sit back and watch it self-destruct.  And thus, he announced his solo contract. It would give them the much needed time to get away from one another.  Live their lives outside of the plastic bubble they'd gotten so accustomed to living in.  From start to finish, the CD would take approximately a year, giver or take a few months.  Of course, he'd done it in 10 months, a feat he was certainly proud of.  He would take a bit of time to promote it and then start a small tour, giving himself just enough time to show the world that he was more than just one fifth of the Backstreet Boys, and then, at that time things would have calmed down considerably and they could go back into the studio to start writing and recording again.  As the Backstreet Boys that Nick longed so much to recover.  Of course, they didn't understand what he was doing and why he was doing it.  He didn't tell them the real reason, because he knew that they would dispute his observations, claiming that he was imagining things.

		Sometimes you had to do what you know is right and best for everyone, even if they themselves don't see it at the time.  This was one of those times.  He accepted their anger.  Their rage.  Their feelings of betrayal, and with each interview that asked him how things were going with the group, he carefully avoided the question.  Not once did he say anything harmful or spiteful about his brothers, no matter how harsh they were to him.  He took it in stride, because deep down, he knew that they loved him and were hurt and confused.  He accepted it because the ends would justify the means.  Just as he knew it would happen, one by one they started to come back around.  Howie had surprised him on the video shoot, and then again on MTV when it was being premiered.  That first night they had finally talked after the big blow up, a lot of tears were shed by both men.  Appologies made and accepted, the barriers beginning to break down.  After that, they kept in constant contact, speaking every few days just to keep in touch with one another. AJ had been next, followed by Kevin and finally Brian.  Brian's had been the most emotional, mainly because at one time they had been inseparable, two halves of a whole.  And although neither of them could pin point when things got so bad between them, the prospect of a new life being brought into the world put a lot of things into perspective for the older man.  Leighanne was pregnant and he didn't want petty differences to prevent his best friend from being a part of it.  It was time to right everything that had gone wrong over the past few years, and with that one phone call things were on the road to being right again. He'd put his heart out in his thanks for the CD booklet.  He'd dedicated the album to the guys, and it was the complete truth.  He wouldn't have been half the man he was if it hadn't been for them.  Each of them.  In their own way they'd each had a hand in raising him, shaping him, influencing him to find his true self and be proud of that.  Even in his roughest times they had been there for him, showing him what a real family was like, and for that he felt that the CD, his biggest project to date, was all because of them.  For them. So, with all that said and done, Nick wasn't sure why he was so forlorn.  He should have been on top of the world, and he was.  It was just lonely up there.  Everyone had expected him to be out partying.  Celebrating.  Living it up.  And he would have been, except that the one person that he wanted to be there with him wasn't.  So it didn't mean anything without them there, and for that reason he stayed in.  Basking in solitude that one of his biggest dreams had come true. His cell phone ringing broke him out of the daze he was in.  Nick crossed the room to where he had tossed it, laying face down on the bed.  Hitting the Call button, Nick smiled as he saw the caller ID. "Hello?" "Why aren't you out celebrating?"The voice on the other end asked, causing Nick's heart to flutter. "What's there to celebrate?"He plopped himself down on the bed, laying back comfortably with his feet hanging off the end. "Oh I don't know.  That your CD was released today and is fucking fantastic.  That you've finally done it and I'm so damn proud of you.  That everyone is going on about how amazing the album is and that damn Timberlake kid doesn't stand a chance with his piece of shit CD that's coming out next month." The last comment made Nick giggle as he rolled over and buried his face in the pillow from the head of the bed.  "You're just trying to sweet talk me."He was so wrapped up in the voice on the line that Nick hadn't heard the door to his suite open and someone enter quietly.  They toed off their shoes and padded across the carpeted floor, hoping that he wouldn't realize they were there.  Nick was still talking so that gave them more leeway to surprise him.  "I mean now that I'm a superstar SOLO artist, my net worth has gone up a billion times and you're just trying to butter me up so you can say you knew me when." "Nah, I'll be saying I loved you when ...and that I'm the reason you got so far."The sound of the voice in stereo startled Nick out of his thoughts.  He shook his head keeping his eyes shut tight.  "What?"It was barely a whisper, Nick's heart was beating too fast for him to be able to say any more. "I said ..."Nick heard his call disconnect and the bed dip down beside him.  Fingers were running through his hair tenderly and he felt goose bumps cover his skin.  "That I can say I loved you when, and the only reason you got as far as you did was because of me." It couldn't be true.  He couldn't be there, because Nick had asked if he would come to New York to celebrate his CD release and Justin had said no.  That his schedule didn't permit it.  But from the scent that was dancing around him, that voice Nick knew all too well and those gentle hands he had been wrong. Nick wondered what was going on.  If he was hallucinating, because if he was, he would have to find out what was in that salad he'd had for lunch and have it sent in bulk while he was on tour.  "J?" "Nicky?"Justin laughed and leaned in, kissing Nick's cheek softly.  His kisses moved up his face to end up on his temple and he watched as Nick's eyes slowly fluttered open, blue meeting blue.

		"How?" "I made arrangements.  You didn't really think I was going to miss this did you?" Nick was up in an instant, the two men now face to face on the bed.  Justin's lips were curled in a wide smile, Nick's mouth still hanging open in shock. "But..." "But what?" "I love you Jus."Nick's eyes quickly filled with tears and his heart with love.  Unable to hold on much longer, Nick leaned in and covered Justin's mouth with his own, wanting to feel his lover's kiss. His tongue broke through the barrier of Justin's lips and into his mouth, tasting and licking as much as possible until finally they had to break for need of oxygen.  It was only then that they pulled away and took a deep breath, eyes locked firmly on one another. "I love you too Nicky.  And I'm so proud of you."Justin cupped Nick's face in his hand and kissed him quickly.  "So fucking proud." "Thank you."Nick breathed.  A feeling of calm blanketed over him and Nick felt complete.  The day had officially been a resounding success, the one person he wanted to share it with now there with him.  Justin knew what Nick had been going through.  What the solo attempt meant to him, because he was going through the same thing.  It really was amazing just how similar the two were, and that was what had originally brought them together.  Four years earlier. They had been through some of the roughest times together, but with each test that they were given, their love grew deeper, stronger.  And this last one had been the ultimate test.  Both men veering off to do solo efforts.  They had thought the comparison between them had been brutal before, now it was cutthroat.  The media doing their best to pit them against one another.  But the whole time, they never let it get to them.  Because deep down, both were the other's biggest fan.  And when the sales were final and numbers crunched, nothing was more important than their love for one another.  Not a career and definitel y not a media rivalry that had been concocted to make people feel better about themselves, having nothing to do with them as artists but the industry as a whole. "You were beautiful up there today."Justin confessed once they'd moved up the bed and curled up together, their bodies touching at every possible point. "You watched?"Nick watched Justin nod, blue eyes wide.  "Yeah.  It streamed onto my laptop while I was on the plane.  Saw the whole thing."Justin leaned in to kiss Nick, moans softly audible.  I wanted it to be a surprise.  I figured you'd be out celebrating, so I was going to drop my stuff off here and find out where you were.  I wanted to surprise you." "Didn't want to celebrate without you.  Didn't mean anything if you weren't by my side.  Sharing it with me." Nick admitted, blushing slightly.  He trembled when Justin rolled them over and leaned down to place kisses all over his face. "Well I'm here now."Justin smiled, as they started a long passionate kiss, tongues tangling together erotically. As they laid there together, talking ...kissing ...celebrating ...Nick couldn't help but smile, a feeling that everything was going to be just fine settling with him.  He had his brothers, and plans to start recording with the group in early spring.  He had released his first CD, one that was all him and only him.  And he had the person he loved more than life itself with him, giving his complete and utter devotion to him, as he had given to him.  And in a few weeks, when Justin was going through the same thing, he knew that he'd be there.  Ready to celebrate.  Finis.