WIP • Reunion Challenge
Title: Untitled (WIP)
Summary:
Fandom: 'N Sync.
Word Count: 280.
Rating/Warnings: PG for language.
Pairing: None.
A/N: Written for the infamous reunion challenge, currently being worked on. Any input at all would be utterly appreciated!
~~
Joey loved his backyard, probably more than any other part of the house. The climate was one of the bigger reasons he'd stayed in Orlando. It could get oppressively hot at certain times of year, but a pool and a few shade trees hadn't been difficult to procure. Other than that, the weather was almost always divine. The hammock under the pin oak, he decided, had been his best idea to date.
"Daddy?" His eyes flickered open as he felt a tug on the ropes that suspended him over the grass. "Mommy says company's here and she wants you to help with dinner."
"Mmh, tell her I'll be in in a minute." He ruffled his daughter's curly hair, looking up to see her mother's smile reflected back at him before she ran back inside with the message.
It had always shocked his whole family how well Joey had adapted to suburban life. Steve and Janine were both hard-boiled city kids, but even when they'd first moved to Florida, the youngest Fatone seemed to flourish in the more relaxed environment. It had sort of surprised everyone, to that end, when he jumped so headlong into his career.
To Joey himself, of course, it made perfect sense. He'd never wanted to be an example of youth wasted on the young. He'd just taken his fill of reckless debauchery while it lasted. Now he was almost 30, with a wife and daughter, a nice house in the 'burbs, and a bitchin' backyard he could lay around in all day if he wanted to. It was rare that he ever missed his wild-child days.
"Daaaaddyyyyy! Uncle J says if you don't get your chubby butt in here he's gonna eat yours!"
And when he did, all it took was the prospect of free food to bring it back.
~~
The after-dinner conversation was taken outside when Briahna demanded custody of the living room entertainment center to watch The Aristocats again. Justin gave a low whistle as he walked onto the patio. "Regular jungle paradise you got going back here, Joe."
"Yeah, well, buying nine or ten cars don't sound so fun when you never go anywhere but the grocery store."
Justin's brow furrowed. "Don't lie like that, an. You got plenty to do, right?"
"Sure, sure. When I want it." Joey waved off Justin's concern with the hand not carrying his beer. "But I don't, that often. When I do, it's usually in New York or LA, so what good would having a big-ass ride down here do me?" He sat down at the top of the stone steps leading down into the lush yard. "If I need to party that bad, I'll just go chase Poo-Fu around Vegas for a weekend." He stretched his legs out. "Just enough to remind my fat ass why I quit doin' it in the first place."
Justin laughed softly, sitting in the grass at Joey's feet. "It ain't as fun as it used to be, that's for sure. I never knew being a 'respectable artist' was gonna be such a hassle. Seems like they give me a lot more crap now, you know?"
"It's about the same, really," Joey mused. "Just before, when it got thick, Chris could flash some skin or I'd pinch somebody's ass or C would spill something, and they'd cut it out."
Justin smiled, but just barely. "No, not like that. I think... the questions were different. They were interested, just not as personally as they are now. It's like, musically I've grown so much, but now it's less and less about the music to them."
"Well, you haven't recorded anything in two and a half years. You're dating Cameron Diaz now. It's more current." Joey grinned as he took another swig. "Hell, they're still asking us about you."
Justin was silent for a moment, his voice softer when it returned. "Why haven't y'all done anything more?"
"I guess it's just what we each wanted." Joey studied his bottle. "For C, it was always the music. That's why he's happy now, just doing his thing and making the rent. You're a performer, you gotta be making people happy -- the more the better. I think a lot of people mistake that for you being an attention whore." He finished off his drink, setting the bottle on the stairs beside him. "Chris just wants to take care of his family. Long as those girls are okay, he's happy. S'why he doesn't buy himself anything big. Lance just wants to be part of the scene -- he wants to schmooze, get around, be known. He cuts a movie deal now and then, gets to be a bridesmaid at Nicky Hilton's wedding..."
Justin cackled aloud at that. "Bet he had a corsage, too." He leaned back to rest his head on Joey's knee. "What about you, man?"
Joey tilted his head. "It was something to tell the grandkids, I guess. That, and the company. Y'all just seemed like fun guys, I thought I'd tag along."
"And the women?"
"And the women." Joey kicked Justin in the leg. "C'mon, let's go watch a movie with the brat."
"Sounds like a plan." Justin stood, brushing the grass off his jeans. He gave the backyard another look. "Man, we would have loved this place back then."
"Yeah, if by 'loved' you mean 'mud-wrestled my Bermuda sod into oblivion'. You want popcorn?"
~~
"So you conquered the world yet?" Joey asked casually, leaning against the fence as he watched Briahna play in the sandbox a few feet away.
Lance just barely laughed, lying in the grass next to him. "I think it's just about conquered me, bro. I'm startin' to run out of ideas."
Joey kicked him in the side. "Don't say stuff like that, man. Haven't you got a movie working now?"
Lance scoffed. "Please. If that thing so much as breaks even I'll be lucky." He picked at his fingernails. "S'how it always works. Everything I touch turns to screwed. Surprised I haven't managed to fuck J over somehow..."
"Hey, watch it around the rugrat," Joey warned. "And it's not like you need the money. With the head you've got for numbers, I know you've got a nest egg that could finance a small country."
Lance shook his head. "It's not about the money, it never was. I just... I wanna be good for something. I want to feel like I made some kind of impact." He looked over at Briahna. "I did something for the five of us, you know? Me being there made y'all better. It seems like everything I do now would be better off without me." Joey thought for a moment on how to reply, but was interrupted when Lance spoke again, more softly. "...and even y'all don't need me now."
Joey's expression became incredulous. "James Lance Bass, that is the single most back-asswards thing I have ever heard come out of your mouth."
"Yeah? You gonna tell me I'm wrong?" Lance sat up, a new bitter tone coming to his voice. "Sure, you're not all Justin, but you've all got something you can do. You can act and Chris is managing people and JC is just... being JC, and -- you may not be huge at it, but you can do it. I'm not any good for anything but singing bass in a boyband, and I haven't even got a boyband to be in anymore. It sucks, alright?"
"And what has that got to do with anything?" Joey crossed his arms. "Since when are you only good at something if you get paid for it? Look, Justin spent like a hundred grand on that 'white trash' birthday party of his, and the barbecue still wasn't as good as yours. And that sweet face of yours got me out of more trouble in Europe than I even want to think about."
Lance sighed. "It's not like that, man. I just want--" He was interrupted by an anguished shriek from the sandbox, followed by Briahna leaping to her feet with her hands clasped over her face.
Joey was on his knees beside her before she even took a breath. "Oh my God, pumpkin, what's the matter? What happened? Baby, please, tell me what--"
"It's in her eye," Lance announced, sitting calmly next to them and pulling her into his lap. "Go get me some Visine or something. Here, sugar, it's okay... move your hands for me, alright? Let me look at it."
Joey made it to the bathroom and back in under 30 seconds. By the time he got back outside with the eye drops, the howling had subsided, his daughter only sniffling slightly in Lance's lap. "Alright, darlin', this will get it out. Open up for me?... now look over at the house... good. Now look back at the swingset. There you go, now just blink a couple of times until it's gone."
She stood up slowly, nose still red from crying and her right eye watery, but no longer clutching her face or screaming. Lance beamed, kissing her forehead fondly. "There we go! Look at how brave you were. Now let's get you a popsicle for being such a big girl, huh?"
Joey just clicked his tongue and shook his head as he followed them inside. "You do realize I would have called 911 by now, right?"
Having administered the promised reward, Lance turned on his heel and stabbed Joey in the chest with his finger. "That's the whole problem with you, Fatone. You didn't get enough sand flung in your face as a kid."
Joey swatted Lance's hand away, throwing an arm over his shoulder. "That's what godfathers are for, right? Making sure Dad doesn't kill the kid?"
Lance grinned. "I hope not. She'll need about eighty more."
Joey jerked him over for a swift noogie before shoving him back into the living room. "Trust me, man, you're the best uncle Lance she'll ever have."
~~
[[tbc]]
Summary:
Fandom: 'N Sync.
Word Count: 280.
Rating/Warnings: PG for language.
Pairing: None.
A/N: Written for the infamous reunion challenge, currently being worked on. Any input at all would be utterly appreciated!
~~
Joey loved his backyard, probably more than any other part of the house. The climate was one of the bigger reasons he'd stayed in Orlando. It could get oppressively hot at certain times of year, but a pool and a few shade trees hadn't been difficult to procure. Other than that, the weather was almost always divine. The hammock under the pin oak, he decided, had been his best idea to date.
"Daddy?" His eyes flickered open as he felt a tug on the ropes that suspended him over the grass. "Mommy says company's here and she wants you to help with dinner."
"Mmh, tell her I'll be in in a minute." He ruffled his daughter's curly hair, looking up to see her mother's smile reflected back at him before she ran back inside with the message.
It had always shocked his whole family how well Joey had adapted to suburban life. Steve and Janine were both hard-boiled city kids, but even when they'd first moved to Florida, the youngest Fatone seemed to flourish in the more relaxed environment. It had sort of surprised everyone, to that end, when he jumped so headlong into his career.
To Joey himself, of course, it made perfect sense. He'd never wanted to be an example of youth wasted on the young. He'd just taken his fill of reckless debauchery while it lasted. Now he was almost 30, with a wife and daughter, a nice house in the 'burbs, and a bitchin' backyard he could lay around in all day if he wanted to. It was rare that he ever missed his wild-child days.
"Daaaaddyyyyy! Uncle J says if you don't get your chubby butt in here he's gonna eat yours!"
And when he did, all it took was the prospect of free food to bring it back.
~~
The after-dinner conversation was taken outside when Briahna demanded custody of the living room entertainment center to watch The Aristocats again. Justin gave a low whistle as he walked onto the patio. "Regular jungle paradise you got going back here, Joe."
"Yeah, well, buying nine or ten cars don't sound so fun when you never go anywhere but the grocery store."
Justin's brow furrowed. "Don't lie like that, an. You got plenty to do, right?"
"Sure, sure. When I want it." Joey waved off Justin's concern with the hand not carrying his beer. "But I don't, that often. When I do, it's usually in New York or LA, so what good would having a big-ass ride down here do me?" He sat down at the top of the stone steps leading down into the lush yard. "If I need to party that bad, I'll just go chase Poo-Fu around Vegas for a weekend." He stretched his legs out. "Just enough to remind my fat ass why I quit doin' it in the first place."
Justin laughed softly, sitting in the grass at Joey's feet. "It ain't as fun as it used to be, that's for sure. I never knew being a 'respectable artist' was gonna be such a hassle. Seems like they give me a lot more crap now, you know?"
"It's about the same, really," Joey mused. "Just before, when it got thick, Chris could flash some skin or I'd pinch somebody's ass or C would spill something, and they'd cut it out."
Justin smiled, but just barely. "No, not like that. I think... the questions were different. They were interested, just not as personally as they are now. It's like, musically I've grown so much, but now it's less and less about the music to them."
"Well, you haven't recorded anything in two and a half years. You're dating Cameron Diaz now. It's more current." Joey grinned as he took another swig. "Hell, they're still asking us about you."
Justin was silent for a moment, his voice softer when it returned. "Why haven't y'all done anything more?"
"I guess it's just what we each wanted." Joey studied his bottle. "For C, it was always the music. That's why he's happy now, just doing his thing and making the rent. You're a performer, you gotta be making people happy -- the more the better. I think a lot of people mistake that for you being an attention whore." He finished off his drink, setting the bottle on the stairs beside him. "Chris just wants to take care of his family. Long as those girls are okay, he's happy. S'why he doesn't buy himself anything big. Lance just wants to be part of the scene -- he wants to schmooze, get around, be known. He cuts a movie deal now and then, gets to be a bridesmaid at Nicky Hilton's wedding..."
Justin cackled aloud at that. "Bet he had a corsage, too." He leaned back to rest his head on Joey's knee. "What about you, man?"
Joey tilted his head. "It was something to tell the grandkids, I guess. That, and the company. Y'all just seemed like fun guys, I thought I'd tag along."
"And the women?"
"And the women." Joey kicked Justin in the leg. "C'mon, let's go watch a movie with the brat."
"Sounds like a plan." Justin stood, brushing the grass off his jeans. He gave the backyard another look. "Man, we would have loved this place back then."
"Yeah, if by 'loved' you mean 'mud-wrestled my Bermuda sod into oblivion'. You want popcorn?"
~~
"So you conquered the world yet?" Joey asked casually, leaning against the fence as he watched Briahna play in the sandbox a few feet away.
Lance just barely laughed, lying in the grass next to him. "I think it's just about conquered me, bro. I'm startin' to run out of ideas."
Joey kicked him in the side. "Don't say stuff like that, man. Haven't you got a movie working now?"
Lance scoffed. "Please. If that thing so much as breaks even I'll be lucky." He picked at his fingernails. "S'how it always works. Everything I touch turns to screwed. Surprised I haven't managed to fuck J over somehow..."
"Hey, watch it around the rugrat," Joey warned. "And it's not like you need the money. With the head you've got for numbers, I know you've got a nest egg that could finance a small country."
Lance shook his head. "It's not about the money, it never was. I just... I wanna be good for something. I want to feel like I made some kind of impact." He looked over at Briahna. "I did something for the five of us, you know? Me being there made y'all better. It seems like everything I do now would be better off without me." Joey thought for a moment on how to reply, but was interrupted when Lance spoke again, more softly. "...and even y'all don't need me now."
Joey's expression became incredulous. "James Lance Bass, that is the single most back-asswards thing I have ever heard come out of your mouth."
"Yeah? You gonna tell me I'm wrong?" Lance sat up, a new bitter tone coming to his voice. "Sure, you're not all Justin, but you've all got something you can do. You can act and Chris is managing people and JC is just... being JC, and -- you may not be huge at it, but you can do it. I'm not any good for anything but singing bass in a boyband, and I haven't even got a boyband to be in anymore. It sucks, alright?"
"And what has that got to do with anything?" Joey crossed his arms. "Since when are you only good at something if you get paid for it? Look, Justin spent like a hundred grand on that 'white trash' birthday party of his, and the barbecue still wasn't as good as yours. And that sweet face of yours got me out of more trouble in Europe than I even want to think about."
Lance sighed. "It's not like that, man. I just want--" He was interrupted by an anguished shriek from the sandbox, followed by Briahna leaping to her feet with her hands clasped over her face.
Joey was on his knees beside her before she even took a breath. "Oh my God, pumpkin, what's the matter? What happened? Baby, please, tell me what--"
"It's in her eye," Lance announced, sitting calmly next to them and pulling her into his lap. "Go get me some Visine or something. Here, sugar, it's okay... move your hands for me, alright? Let me look at it."
Joey made it to the bathroom and back in under 30 seconds. By the time he got back outside with the eye drops, the howling had subsided, his daughter only sniffling slightly in Lance's lap. "Alright, darlin', this will get it out. Open up for me?... now look over at the house... good. Now look back at the swingset. There you go, now just blink a couple of times until it's gone."
She stood up slowly, nose still red from crying and her right eye watery, but no longer clutching her face or screaming. Lance beamed, kissing her forehead fondly. "There we go! Look at how brave you were. Now let's get you a popsicle for being such a big girl, huh?"
Joey just clicked his tongue and shook his head as he followed them inside. "You do realize I would have called 911 by now, right?"
Having administered the promised reward, Lance turned on his heel and stabbed Joey in the chest with his finger. "That's the whole problem with you, Fatone. You didn't get enough sand flung in your face as a kid."
Joey swatted Lance's hand away, throwing an arm over his shoulder. "That's what godfathers are for, right? Making sure Dad doesn't kill the kid?"
Lance grinned. "I hope not. She'll need about eighty more."
Joey jerked him over for a swift noogie before shoving him back into the living room. "Trust me, man, you're the best uncle Lance she'll ever have."
~~
[[tbc]]