Of Power, Glory, and Love

Author Notes: NONE! Except that I own every character, but other than that... no? No. Read it and love it.
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I am not alone, I am not afraid, I am not unhappy.
These are the words I say to myself everyday.
I am not alone, I am not afraid, I am not unhappy.
Tell me what ritual I should have today.
But I'm not alone. I've resolved so many things and set myself free. - VNV Nation, Fearless

***

Man, he said he'd call me at 6 tonight. It's 6:03! What is taking him so long?! Justin groaned internally, his right eye twitching from the lack of ringing from his phone. I haven't got to talk to my.. er, Nathan, for four days. Geesh, one day after we meet and his grandma falls on the floor during.. sex, he shuddered, and breaks her hip.

Yeah, but he was practically forced to go with his parents up to see her. Hehe, god, the look on his face was priceless. It was like a cat getting poked by a small child. The other part of his brain piped up. But he'll call. Of course he will. He specifically said his cell phone doesn't work up there and so he'd call at 6 on Friday.

AGH! 6:04! What's taking him so long?! What if he's just avoiding me? Or what if they got into an accident on their way back, and he's lying in a puddle of blood trying to call me with his last dying breath?!
No, calm down Justin. Just because he's our first... boyfriend - OH MY GOD! - doesn't mean we have to start going all crazy. Deep soothing breaths, there we go.... there we go.

As if God himself finally decided to unleash him from his torment, his phone rang. With a whooping shout, he dove onto his bed, cell phone in hand, and scooted back to rest on his headboard.

"Hello?" he began. Real smooth, Justin!

"Hey babe, it's nice to hear your voice again. I missed you." Nathan said, his silky voice enveloping Justin, casting away any lingering doubts in his mind. "I've been thinking about you, like, twenty-four seven."

Justin sighed dreamily into the phone. "Me too," Damn it, stop sounding like a girl!

"Really?" he said, his voice rising in surprise. "That's cool, at least I know I'm not the only weirdo in the world," he paused, laughing lightly into the phone. "Anyways, I was wondering if you'd like to go do something tomorrow? You know, hang out all day or something?"

"Heh, yeah, that sounds great. In fact, I was going to ask that, but it looks like you beat me to it."

Justin could hear a trace of cocky attitude in Nathan's voice as he replied, "I know, I can read minds."

"Is that so?" he asked, playing along.

"Mmhm," Nathan acknowledged.

"Then what else was I going to ask you, hm, Mr. know-it-all?"

Nathan paused for a moment, as if mulling over the unasked question, then responded, "Yeah, you can bottom tomorrow. I'd be cool with that."

"W-W-What," he sputtered, "I did- I-I," he stopped and growled softly into the phone. "Ass,"

"See, bringing up asses, what a perv. I had a feeling about you," he said, mirth filling his voice.

"Nateeee," he whined into the phone, "don't be gay."

"I can't help it, Justy, you're too cute for me not to be." Justin's face broke out into a huge grin from the compliment, and he started to squirm on his bed as his cheeks burned red. Even a hundred-some miles away, Nathan still managed to twist up his insides and make him feel full of wiggles and weightlessness. "So! What else did you have in mind?"

"O-Oh, no, it's.... it's nothing. Forget I brought it up."

"Ohhh, it must be something good for you to try and brush it off. So come on, tell me. Does it involve whips? Chains?

"No, it's..." he stopped and gulped in a deep breath. Okay, Justin, here we go, just like we rehearsed. "Well, I was wondering if, afterwards, you know, you could come over and.. have dinner? Y-You don't have to, I mean, if you don't want to I understand, but I was just curious because my parents were wondering what my new friend was like and I tol-"

"Justin," Nathan calmly interrupted, "shut up."

"Okay."

"I'd love to meet your family over dinner. We can do that after we're done hanging out tomorrow, alright?"

"Huh? Oh, I mean, yeah! Er, yeah. Sure, that should work." Oh god please stop talking please stop talking please stop talking!

"Anyways, my cell is going to cut out shortly, there's only one good spot up here, so uh, I'll come over around two-ish? Be back around whenever you guys eat dinner?"

"Yeah, see you then. And uh, Nathan?" He paused, waiting with baited breath until he heard the acknowledgment on the other end, "it was nice talking to you tonight. I missed you."

"Aww, I missed you too Justin." He said, making a kissing sound on the other line. "See you tomorrow, sweet dreams."

Justin closed his phone, his eyes shutting with it as he stretched out on his bed. A genuine smiled spread across his face as he laid there, enjoying the comforting rush that seeped through every cell of his body and spread through his system. He turned over and looked at the picture that stood proudly on his nightstand, taken two years ago. The good feeling tapered off as he held his gaze at the picture.

He was so carefree back then.
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The warm August sun shone its bright rays through Justin's window as he dried his wet hair. He walked over to stand in front of his mirror, wearing a tight fitting light chocolate-colored undershirt and a white pair of boxers.

"What would look good? Hmm," he debated, holding up his favorite dark colored shirt. Emily said that it was the shirt in which 'the straightest man in the world wouldn't be able to resist.' Hehe, something about the dark colors contrasting with his frosty blue eyes, apparently it looked nice. Turning again to look directly into the mirror, he nodded to himself and decided to go with it and the matching shorts to boot. Lastly, he flung on his golden cross necklace.

By the time Nathan rung the door bell, Justin had rechecked himself a good twenty times in the mirror, his breath at least half that, and - oh shit! No wait, yes, deodorant as well. Calming his nerves, he raced down the steps and bolted to the door, almost sliding past as his socks skidded across the laminate flooring.

"Took you long enough," Nathan flashed his brilliant smile, almost blinding Justin, who stood near the door, frozen. "God, you look amazing," he smiled again, watching as Justin's knees began to tremble. "Care to hit the town with me, cutie pie, or do you just plan to stare at me all day? Really, I don't mind, after all, I am fucking amazing.”

The comment finally brought Justin out of his stupor, yet he still found it hard to take those first couple steps with the majority of his blood either at his cheeks or down to his groin. "Hehe, yeah, let's head outta here. I told my mom I'll give her a call when we start heading back, so everything should work out good," he finished saying as he slid his shoes on.

"Awesome," he grinned.

"So you're fucking amazing, huh?" Justin joked as the two boys walked out of the yard. He fought hard to keep the butterflies in his stomach in check while they walked closely together, heading a couple miles into the city.

"Oh, most definitely; nine out ten people agree."

"What about the tenth person?"

"There is no tenth person," he said, knocking his shoulder against Justin's. "I'm just trying to act modest."

A quiet chuckle escaped Justin's lips to mask the nervousness he felt radiating from every single pore of his body. He had to stick his hands in his pockets in order to hide their light trembling from Nathan's watchful and oh-so-captivating hazel eyes. He didn't want him to think he was weird; it was bad enough that he was almost visibly shaking, but now he was starting to get aroused on top of it! He glanced slightly up towards the sky. You hate me, don't you?
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"Whew, hey, let's sit down and rest for a bit." Justin suggested as he moved towards one of the many park benches that littered both sides of the large trail that wound around the lake. He plopped down and wiped his forehead with his arm, his dark hair clinging together from the perspiration.

"What, two hours of walking and you're all pooped out?" Nathan chided, a playful smile gracing his features as he walked over and stood in front of him. He nudged his shoe with his own. "Hey, do you want me to get you something to drink?"

Justin smiled affably, "No, but thanks for asking. It's been so cool just hanging out here with you, getting to know all the places to hang out and such. You know, out of my three sisters, I'd say Danielle would be the only one who would've ever done that with me." His blue eyes looked down towards the road, pausing for a moment before looking back at Nathan's hazel eyes. "How about we go grab a small bite to eat before we start to head back?"

"Sure," Nathan agreed, taking Justin's hand and helping him up. "That is, as long as I get to pay. It's the least I can do for a man who lives in a house full of estrogen."

Awww, God.... he's perfect. He's caring, he's nice, he's..- He took a brief look at Nathan's ass. Oh wow, it looks perfect now, what will it be liked without all the clothes? He gulped. His sun-kissed skin, pearly white - there's no way those are real - teeth. That's inhuman perfection, and his smile? Oh. My God. I'd kill just for him to smile at me. Justin thought as the budding warmth in his gut churned and grew even warmer, filling him up to the brim. He relished the tantalizing feeling that spread through his system. He smiled without realizing it, and gave Nathan a quizzical look after he noticed him staring at him.

Nathan hid his smirk as he mouthed 'what' and playfully brushed his warm hand against Justin's for the third time that day, but just like the last two, Justin gave him a sympathetic smile, but didn't accept the offer. He understood though, after all, from what he gathered over the past two hours, Justin had never been in a relationship with another guy before, much less come out to his parents. He did mention someone, Emily, but besides his best friend, no one else knew.

They both looked away for a moment, giving their eyes a brief respite from the other. Nathan was the first to give in, a record four seconds was all he managed as he slyly glanced at Justin out of the corner of his eye, his dick stiffening to half mast while he stared at the dark-haired beauty. He watched, mesmerized, by the way the sun’s glare danced brightly upon Justin’s gold necklace. The canopy of trees provided thin slices of shade that splayed out upon the rosy blush that graced his white, flawless cheeks. His attire drew out his stunning sky-blue eyes. It baffled him to learn that Justin had never been in a relationship.

"You're making me blush," Justin whined softly, his chin moving down to his chest as his hair hid his eyes from view.

"You're just so beautiful; I can't help looking at you." Nathan said smoothly, licking his dry lips. "It should be a crime not to look at you."

The red hue grew to another level of intensity on Justin's ivory cheeks, and he bit the inside of his lip to keep from smiling uncontrollably. "If you keep talking like that, I'm going to have to sit down again."

Nathan arched an eyebrow while giving him a knowing smile. "I'd love to help you out, babe, but if you can hold out just a little longer, we should make it to Godfather's. You can hide your tiny little problem there while you snack on some pizza."

"Psh, tiny?! As if!" he retorted, his voice betraying him with a noticeable crack.

"It's okay, Justin, really, you'll go through puberty someday. Although it'll be hard to explain why you bleed down there every month. I'm sure we'll get through it together."

A few more minutes of walking and banter found the two teens in front of the modest-sized establishment. Their stomachs grumbled in unison from the smell of pizza that wafted out the door and enveloped them, caressing their taste buds. Entering, the couple was blasted by the delicious, mouth-watering aroma of all different kinds of pizza, sizzling fresh out of the oven, side by side in the buffet section.

Nathan smiled when he noticed Justin attempting to pay for his share. "Dude, I'll pay. You're nice enough to have me over for dinner, there's no way I'm going to let you pay for lunch, alright?" With a nod, Nathan placed the money for their buffet orders; the two boys got their plates and piled on slice after slice of their favorite pizza.

They decided on heading up the steps, sitting down at a table in a somewhat secluded spot right next to the LCD television bolted in the corner. It was still quiet, having just missed the lunch hour and not quite yet being the dinner hour.

"Mmm, man this is delicious," Justin moaned, taking a large bite out of his pepperoni pizza.

"Hehe, slow down there, chubby."

"Hey!" Justin warned through a mouthful of pizza. "I'm-" he coughed, a tiny piece of pizza getting stuck in the back of his throat. He took a large sip of water, clearing the object from his throat.

Nathan shook his head at his boyfriend's antics. "Easy there, don't kill yourself."

"Er, um, yeah.." he said hesitantly, a soft blush appearing on his face while he deliberately took his time chewing his food. "I was just, you know, it's.... good."

"Glad I picked a good place then," Nathan said, his compassionate green eyes crinkling up as he smiled in merriment.

They slowly fell into a comfortable silence, Justin's own attention being diverted towards the TV behind Nathan. A childish grin appeared on Nathan's face as he noticed a potential fun opportunity. With Justin's attention occupied, Nathan carefully took his right shoe off and tentatively raised his leg, lifting his foot on level with Justin's chair, letting his heel rest on the edge. He bided his time, waiting until Justin tipped his head back slightly, his red lips wrapping around the edge of the glass, drinking the contents down, when he pressed his foot forward, gently adding pressure to his crotch.

A loud round of coughs sounded from Justin, attracting strange looks from the few patrons there, all the while the teen across from him laughed raucously. An array of emotions swept across Justin's face; shock, horror, embarrassment, anger, and back again to embarrassment.

Wiping a tear from his eye, Nathan finally settled himself down, even through Justin's persistent glare. "Oh, come on, don't look at me like that, Justyyyyy," Nathan said, dragging out his name. Justin glared harder in response, still miffed from the lewd act. "I'm sorry, okay? Maybe I moved too fast," he said in a hushed tone, but still got no response. Sighing, he looked down at his lap. "If you're mad and you wanna go, that's.."

Justin giggled while he watched Nathan curl up in a ball in front of him. After seeing him suffer long enough, he decided to let him off the hook. "I'm not that mad, just..." his blue eyes latched onto Nathan’s, "don't catch me by surprise like that. What if someone saw?"

"What if someone burst through the doors and started killing everyone?"

"What?!"

"Don't be worried about the what-ifs!" Nathan stated cheekily in a wide grin. "Hehe, so!" He started off, trying to regain a semblance of normalcy. "Do you like any sports?"

"Ahmm, sure. I mean, yeah, just.. mostly the Twins, though. My dad got me into them at an early age, and I just liked them ever since, you know?" Nathan nodded towards him, and, smiling from his undivided attention, Justin asked, "What about you?"

"Mmm," Nathan pondered, stroking his chin in thought. "I'd have to say I...... completely agree with you." He finished with his patented smile, running a hand through his light-brown locks. "Although, I don't think they have a shot this year. There's no way they're going to win their division. Too many injuries and inconsistencies."

Justin squeezed his thighs together. Oh god, I'm getting hard again. Think happy thoughts, stop being a perv. Think happy thoughts... mmm, what I wouldn't do to have him press his foot against me again. Or maybe his hand.. stroking me, then he'd get on his knees an- NO! Dirty! Get out of the gutter! Think about... the sunset. Yeah, the nice, beautiful sunset. Where two old ladies are humping! UGH! No, wait, what were we talking about again?

"You know," Nathan began, "watching you squirm in your seat is oh-so fascinating." Justin blushed while he attempted a glare, but to no avail. "You get so cute when you drift away like that. Your eyes get a little far away look, it's just funny to watch."

He gulped. "I... Stop, you're embarrassing me," he whined.

"Aw, but its true, Justy." He said, his voice rising as if he were talking to a small child.

"L-Let's get back on topic, before I totally melt in a puddle of mush."

"Let's!" Nathan exclaimed, clapping his hands together.

Justin stared at him with a timid look on his face. "I uh, forgot what we were talking about." he admitted sheepishly.

"Twins aren't making the playoffs this year." He said simply.

"Hm," Justin responded as he mulled it over briefly. On one hand, what he said was true, but on the other, they had swept the Royals and recently took the series from Baltimore, setting themselves in good shape. "I think you're wrong. I think they're building momentum, and that everyone has their role to play now, so I think they'll continue to gel together and win it."

"Ah, such optimism..." he said, stroking his chin in an attempt to look and sound wise. "Listen, I'll tell you what. If the Twins win their division, I'll be your slave for a whole day. Sound fair?"

"So..." Justin trailed off, "what do I win?"

A thwack sounded as Nathan playfully slugged him in the arm. "Jerk. Do you know how many people would love to be in your shoes if that came true? People would kill for a spot like that! Do you understand the implications? People would die!"

Justin couldn't repress the small bit of laughter that began inside of him, and finally it busted forth; his shoulders shook while the laughter racked through his body, Nathan all the while holding the same serious expression on his face. Tears began forming in his eyes, and he quickly brought a hand up to cover them as he lost all control. Nathan's stone-faced countenance eventually split when Justin let out a snort, making him laugh even harder. Justin buried his face in the crook of his elbow, his stomach starting to ache as the two teens fed off of each other's outbursts.

"Hehehe, okay, so. Hehe, sto-stop laughing! Okay. Breathe.... breathe..." Nathan said out loud. "We should.. we should probably head out soon if we want to be back by dinner."

Justin cleared his throat and nodded. "Yeah,"

The duo walked down the steps, and Nathan moved quickly in front of Justin so he could hold the door open for him. The soft smile and barely noticeable blush, along with the polite thank you, was all he needed to know that he scored major brownie points. Justin fished in his pocket and took out his cell phone. He called his house, letting his mother know they were on their way, and hung up.

"So tell me, what's your family like?" Nathan asked while they started their trek back to Justin's home. "Any other hotties that we could eventually threesome with?"

"Ewww," Justin said. "Incest is icky, you sick perv. You'll just have to stick with me." He finished, sticking his tongue out in Nathan's direction.

Throwing caution to the wind, Nathan whipped Justin around by his elbow and, looking briefly into his questioning eyes, cupped his face with his hands and kissed him passionately on the lips. "I think I can manage that," he said with a grin, then, as if nothing had happened, continued walking onward. "I'm not stopping, you better catch up," he said behind his shoulder. Giggling, he thought, After you readjust yourself, that is.

Justin stared at the retreating figure with a permanent smile on his face. His fingertips traced his lips, still tingling, and a euphoric rush still pleasantly pulsing in his veins. Suppressing the burning flames of passion that raged tumultuously inside of him, he quickly regained his composure and raced in eagerness to his side.

They walked even closer together after the loving event, their arms brushing boldly against each other. Justin battled the nervous swell inside of him over the public display of affection, but nonetheless he continued to return the flirtatiousness. His fingers tentatively found Nathan's, and, very slowly, grasped them lightly in a tender embrace. Nathan smirked as the blue-eyed teen offered him a shy smile.

"Three sisters," Justin finally said.

"Hm?"

"I'm the second oldest. Danielle is the oldest. Then there's Jessica and Kim. Jess just turned 12 and Kim is 8."

"And your favorite is... Danielle?"

Justin smiled, a serene look appearing on his face as he began talking about his big sister. "Danielle, she's..-" his voice hitched a little bit, and he looked down, then back up. "She's awesome. Always making sure I'm doing alright, asking me how my day is." He chuckled as a particular memory came to mind. "This one time when I was 13, I wanted to go see this R-rated movie, and all my friends were dying to see it. I begged my parents to let me go, but they were busy and told me I could wait. But I couldn't! So, Danielle wakes me up at 2 AM.. ON HER 17TH BIRTHDAY! And she drives me down to the theater, and we watched it. I remember there was a midnight showing, which was packed! And the one after it was just as full, but we managed to get in.” He paused, taking in a much needed gulp of air. "It was the best day of my life. I got to skip school for a day, we ate at Perkins afterwards. It was... amazing."

"Wow..."

"Hehe, yeah. That's just the kind of person she is. Always putting others ahead of herself. I gave her a really cool gold cross necklace for her birthday. She loves it so much, she never takes it off." He said, beaming with so much heart-felt affection that it made Nathan's own heart melt.
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"Well, we're here."

"Yep,"

"Are you ready?"

"You act as if you're about to carry me over the threshold."

He sputtered, "T-T- Wha-mph! Hey! No kissing me in front of my house!"

"Then open the door already you big baby."

"I was getting ready to, alright!"

"Getting ready for what," Nathan mumbled quietly to himself while he waited for his boyfriend to open the door.

"They're back!" Shouted a young child's voice. Must be Kim, Nathan thought as he stepped inside, Justin closing the door right after him.

"Well it's about time; I've been waiting to see this new friend of yours that you've been talking about non-stop." Said an obviously older female voice, much to the chagrin of Justin. She had dark-black hair that fell down and rested on top her shoulders. Her eyes were very expressive, the color of milk chocolate. Her face was round and tan, holding a few wrinkles; no doubt, she looked like a working woman. "Why didn't you come in and say hello before?" She said as she turned to look directly at Nathan.

"My apologies, how very rude of me." he said, walking up to her and offering out his hand. "My name is Nathan, it's a pleasure to meet you."

She accepted the offered hand, gripping it firmly. "I'm Jackie, and this big oaf behind me," she said as she moved and patted the stomach of the heavy-set man behind her, "is my husband, Dan."

Dan was a good six inches taller than her. He had very broad shoulders, and a big, powerful frame. Short, curly dark chestnut-brown hair complimented nicely the strong, piercing blue gaze. Nathan gave an involuntary shudder at the imposing look. That's where Justin gets his eyes from.

"Hey, welcome to the family," he said in a light manner, a big grin on his face as he patted Nathan on the shoulder, causing the young teen to grunt. In a deep voice, he placed his hands on his hips and stuck out his chest, "Men, I believe the hormonal balance in this house is beginning to shift. Come, let us celebrate this joyous event and make way to the dining table! Where we will feast until we can feast no more!" He finished, strutting out of the room and to the dining table.

Justin offered a short chuckle, looking over to his boyfriend to gauge his response. Relief flooded his system as Nathan gave him a big smirk. It was like a dam broke, and muscles he didn't know were taunt, slowly began to relax.

"So," Nathan started, his legs moving him towards the book shelf, which held an array of framed pictures propped up one of its levels. "Family pictures, oh, how fun," he cooed. The pictures on the outsides were individuals of the kids, with the picture smack dab in the middle being that of the whole family. "You were so cute, even when you were little." he said in a hushed tone, looking over at the couch to make sure the two girls didn't overhear. "How old are you guys in this?"

Justin's blue eyes studied the pictures, hanging briefly over the one in the center, each one of the kids held giant smiles, while his parents offered more toned down - yet still happy - smiles.

"Justin?"

He jumped. "Huh? Oh... oh, yeah, uh.. I don't know."

"You don't know when you guys took the picture?" Nathan asked incredulously.

"No, I don't, alright? So just drop it! It was a long time ago!" He barked at him, then turned and started walking away.

"Hey, where are you- hey! When will we know when it's dinner time?"

"DINNER!!!!" Shouted Jackie, and even though she was a room away, Nathan could swear it was like she was standing right next to him.

"Nevermind," he grumbled to himself as the two girls raced by him, leaving him standing there in the middle of the room, alone. What the hell just happened? He thought, miffed. He made his way into the dining room, which turned out to be a large kitchen with enough room for a table off to the side. He sat down at the last seat offered, Justin to his right and Jessica to his left. Everyone stiffened as soon as his butt cheeks made contact with the seat, which did not go unnoticed by him. He leaned over and whispered to Justin, "Why's everyone so stiff?"

Justin said nothing, only offering a shrug of his shoulders, and continued eating.

The next ten minutes passed by uneventfully. Nathan answered when he was suppose to, and offered the correct responses to any questions asked of him, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss. He wiped his mouth with his napkin, and turned again to whisper to his boyfriend, who had since clammed up. "You know, for someone who talks about Danielle so much, I was kinda hoping to meet her."

"You won't." He stated plainly, subtly turning his body further away from Nathan.

"Whatever," Nathan muttered under his breath.

After they finished their meal, Nathan thanked them again for the food and for the chance to meet them all. Justin, suddenly the dark-and-gloomy type, didn't say much and headed up to his room. Still miffed from Justin's early attitude and unwarranted cold shoulder, Nathan decided to follow him up there.

"Dude, what gives?" said Nathan as he flung open the half-closed door, only to find no one in there. Two doors later, he finally found Justin, who was lying back on his bed; his left knee was up, with his right leg crossed over it.

"What?" Justin weakly snipped at him.

"Don't 'what' me. You've been acting all mopey for the last half hour or so. What gives?"

"Whatever, maybe you should just go." He said, turning on his right side and showing his back towards him.

Nathan walked slowly up to the side of the bed, his hazel orbs staring confusingly at his boyfriend's bizarre behavior. He glanced down towards the nightstand, at the golden cross necklace that sat in a heap, and the picture behind it. He reached his hand out and carefully picked it up. His eyes roamed over the photograph. It was of a very beautiful woman with shoulder-length hair the color of Justin's, and expressive, soft and compassionate light-blue eyes. She had a beautiful smile, and had her slender arm wrapped around the shoulders of Justin, who looked to be around the age of 12. "So this is the sister I haven't got to meet yet, huh? She's not bad looking.. if maybe I've been drinking." He laughed, then placed the picture back in its place and headed towards the door. "I've gotta go to the bathroom, I'll be right back."

It took two steps out of the door, when a light flickered on in his head as he thought back to the day's events. "It's been so cool just hanging out here with you, getting to know all the places to hang out and such. You know, out of my three sisters, I'd say Danielle would be the only one who would've ever done that with me."

"I gave her a really cool gold cross necklace for her birthday. She loves it so much, she never takes it off."

"You know, for someone who talks about Danielle so much, I was kinda hoping to meet her."

"You won't."

He moved from his frozen state, and turned around, taking a few steps back into Justin's room. He could tell from the way Justin's shoulders were shaking that he was probably crying. Knowing he had just insulted his boyfriend's dead sister, he felt lower than scum. He paused in the doorway, leaning weakly against it as he watched his boyfriend breakdown before him. "What happened to your sister, Justin?" he asked softly.

Justin's whole body quivered, and, as he took a shaky breath, he answered, "S-She died in an accident."

Nathan shuffled across the floor to the side of the bed, and paused before sitting down on the edge. He moved his hand, hesitant at first, and placed it on Justin's back, rubbing soft, soothing circles. The teen shook again, another stream of tears sliding down his face from the caring act. "How..." he said, uncertain on how to begin. "How, how did it happen?"

Justin slowly turned on his back, and Nathan situated himself so that his back rested on the headboard, and leaned next to him. His eyes began to take on a blood-shot appearance while the tears continued to run down freely. Small tremors ran through his body, but he pushed through, answering in a shaky voice, "My mom had asked me to go to the store on my bike, and, ahem," he cleared his throat, "sorry, a-and get some items at the gas station. But I didn't want to go. I had just gotten Madden 07, and you couldn't tear me away from that game. I made a big deal, and Danielle ended up going instead." His voice wavered off, and he coughed again, trying to clear his throat and keep from totally breaking down.

"It's okay, take it easy," Nathan whispered encouragingly, holding him close against him. "Take your time with it."

"I'm... just..-" he stopped, burying his face in Nathan's shirt. His words muffled, yet still recognizable, "She ALWAYS wore her seat belt, but maybe, maybe if I hadn't made such a big deal about it, she wouldn't have been frazzled and would've.." he pulled back and hiccupped. His haunting blue eyes stared into hazel, totally shattering Nathan's heart, "...would've put it on. You know? Maybe she wouldn't have... died."

"Don't do that to yourself," Nathan said, turning Justin's face with his finger. "Hey, look at me. It wasn't your fault, alright? There's nothing you could've done. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Hey, look at me, okay?" He nuzzled his face against Justin's, kissing his tear-stained cheeks. He pulled back to look into his eyes. "It's not your fault, Justin." He hugged him, slowing Justin's shakes and tremors, as he whispered again, "It's not your fault."

Surprisingly not a soul came up to check on them, as the two teens stayed that way, locked in each other's warm and loving embrace. Justin's crying slowed and stopped, but he stayed in position, nuzzling against the warmth and safety he found in the embrace of his boyfriend. Nathan obliged him, soothingly whispering in his ear, and occasionally placing soft kisses against his skin. He wasn't going to let it hurt his boyfriend anymore. He was going to take the pain away.
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Author Notes: Chapter two is in the books! Here's how it stands: I hope you enjoyed it, please, review, let me know what you liked the most, what you liked the least, any questions you may have, I'll answer 'em. Chapter 3 should be out in a couple weeks, after chapter 2 comes out of Seth Khons. Then I might add another chapter to A Physical, but I digress.
Hope you all had a great Halloween! (Cuz this is when the chapter was first written. I know, school's been a bitch. I will update soon! PROMISE!)