Title:Coming Home Author:Jules Part:1/1 (Sequel to Long Time Coming) Pairing:Nick/Kevin Rating:PG 13 Disclaimer:Fiction for entertainment purposes only. Feedback:Yes please - mailto:goddess_julie@just-in-dreams.com Coming Home by Jules Nick grinned as he stepped off the train. The first person he saw was his best friend, the younger man leaning against the wall of the station coolly. It had been far too long since Nick had seen Justin, email and phone calls great, but nothing compared to being here with him person. Nick felt the excitement course through him as he threw his duffel bag over his shoulder and headed in Justin's direction. Although he'd been stuck on the train for 6 hours, it had passed by like nothing. All because of the man that he knew was following him close behind. "J. How's it going bro?"Nick pulled Justin in for a tight hug, letting his bag drop to the floor in the process. "Great Nicky. So good to see you."Justin hugged him back just as tight. When they pulled away he stepped back to get a good look at his best friend. "Bro, you've lost weight. Ain't you been eating up there?" Justin accented his comment with a pinch to Nick's hips before ruffling his blonde spikes affectionately. "You're going to waste down to nothing." Nick could only blush at the attention, shaking his head. "Nah. Just been eating better, that's it. My room mate is a health freak, so he's got me eating all sorts of healthy shit." "Well you look good dude."Justin's attention moved past Nick to the man standing behind him. Nick could see the affection in his eyes for his big brother. "Kev. Good to see you. I mean, it's only been a few weeks but damn, I've missed ya." Kevin grinned at Justin pulling him in for a hug. "Thank you."He said softly, knowing that the younger man would understand what he was thanking him for. Justin simply nodded, winking at him in return. "So, come on. Let's go. Mom and dad are waiting for me to bring you two by the house." Although Justin had moved out of his parents house, he still visited regularly and Nick was always invited over when he was in town. He was practically one of the family anyways, and so it was always customary for Nick to at least spend some of his vacation time with them. "I've got to get home at some point too.."Nick pointed out, laughing at the excitement in Justin's step. He knew that Justin had been really looking forward to him being in town for two whole weeks. Nick hadn't been able to visit since the summer, and that had been four months earlier. Nick flashed Kevin a shy smile and was happy to see him grin in response. Although they'd had a heart to heart on the train in, it was still all too weird for him and he had no idea where things would go from there. He made a phone call to his parents, informing them that he would see them after dinner at Justin's, to which they replied that they figured that would be his first stop and they'd see him later on in the evening. "Well well, if it isn't little Nicky Carter,"Lynne said warmly, pulling Nick in for a hug. "You say that every timeyou see him mom,"Justin rolled his eyes and grabbed a carrot from the counter. Within seconds his mother had slapped his hands and warned him to stay away from dinner. "It's just so good to have you three in the house again. It's like old times. Now go and just relax, dinner will be ready in an hour." Justin turned to flash Nick and Kevin a sly grin. "Ummm, you guys are gonna be okay for a few minutes right?" The smile was wiped off of Nick's face as a familiar feeling crept through his body. "Dude.. I've been here all of five minutes." "I know.. I know. But I told Ash that I'd pick her up from work today because her car is in the shop. So I'm going to go and pick her up and take her home, I'll be back in twenty minutes."Justin was referring to his

		girlfriend, giving both Nick and Kevin puppy dog eyes. "Yeah yeah. Tell her I say hi,"Nick said shaking his head. Things never changed and as Nick saw the grin on his best friend's face, he didn't care. He was home and everything was going to be great. "Besides..."Justin whispered to Nick so that Kevin couldn't hear. "It'll give you time to cozy up to Kev.." Justin wiggled his eyebrows and Nick blushed. "We need to talk about that ..."Nick and Justin's gazes were fixed on the other, a look of warmth being shared between them. "How you knew..." "I just did Nick. And it's cool. But yeah, tomorrow. We'll spend the whole day together, like before. Just the two of us and we'll catch up on everything that we couldn't put in emails and phone calls."The two men shared a hug before Justin pulled away, promising he'd be back shortly. Nick found himself alone with Kevin, the air around them slightly awkward. They were standing in the living room, neither knowing what to do or say. Nick couldn't believe that he was here, in Justin's house with Kevin, the place where he'd spent so many years crushing on this man, now knowing that he felt the same way. It was too surreal. "Come on..."Kevin said, breaking Nick from the daze he was in. "Where?" "Upstairs..."Wordlessly, Nick followed him up the stairs to the main floor. He knew that Kevin's dad wouldn't be home until just minutes before dinner was served, so it was just them and Lynne in the house, the music coming from her radio in the kitchen filling the air. Nick held his breath as Kevin lead him into his bedroom, his stomach fluttering. "Wha?" "I just wanted to.."Kevin started, pulling Nick into his room. Nick could see that he was blushing and felt his pulse race faster. Before Kevin could complete his sentence, Nick walked over and pulled him into his arms, pressing their lips together. Kevin tensed for a few seconds before relaxing into the kiss, participating fully. Kevin's tongue was licking at his lips playfully and Nick couldn't help but moan, opening his mouth for entrance. Finally, they broke apart gasping for breath. "..do that."Kevin finished, his eyes closed blissfully. "God I waited so long for that." "Me too Kev."Nick's fingers were playing with the hem of Kevin's shirt nervously. Looking up, he saw a pair of intense green eyes, fixed on him. Without speaking, their faces came together once again. The kiss was slower and more erotic this time, both men knowing exactly what was happening, neither caught off gaurd. When Kevin's chest felt as though it weas going to burst, he pulled away, leaving fleeting kisses on Nick's lips. "I was wondering if we could ...maybe go out. I know that you're going to want to spend a lot of time with Justin but .." Nick giggled and rest his forehead on Kevin's shoulder, not wanting to leave his embrace just yet. "I'd love to go out. I mean, yeah I'm here to see Justin.. but I'm sure he'll understand if we can't spend every waking minute together."Kevin's hand moved to his back, drawing lazy cirles on his skin through his tee shirt. Nick could feel his whole body tingling, his stomach fluttering excitedly. "I'm going to be chillin with J tomorrow.. but ...tomorrow night we can get together."Nick looked up, his gaze meeting Kevin's. "Good."They shared one last kiss before hearing the door slamming and feet rushing up the stairs. Justin was back and their time alone had been interrupted. Dinner was the same as it had been when they were younger, except this time Nick and Kevin were exhanging knowing smiles across the table. Justin couldn't do much other than grin at his best friend and brother, all three men surprised at their parents oblivion of what was going on around them. Finally it was time for Nick to go home, Justin offering to drive him. Although Kevin had wanted to be the one to do that, Nick had originally come home to spend time with Justin and thus he promised that he'd call the blonde the next day to confirm plans. Nick and Justin ended up going to the courts early in the morning. That was one of the great things about living in Orlando, even in the middle of winter they could still play basketball outside, not having to worry about cold or snow. By lunch they were exhausted and famished from their work out. Heading over to their favourite diner, the two men sat down and ordered, finally given the opportunity to talk seriously. "So why did you never tell me that you had a thing for Kevin?"Justin asked, coming right out and getting to the point. NIck shifted uncomfortably, unsure of how to answer. Finally she shrugged, meeting his best friend's inquisitive gaze. "I don't know. I just felt ...so stupid. So childish. I mean shit, he's 9 years older than me. I figured he saw me as his kid brother's best friend, a pest."

		"How long..." With a sigh Nick replied, "since I was like 14 or 15. I've never told anyone." Justin grinned at the waitress as she put down their food. Diving in, he waited until he'd finished about three mouthfuls of fries before speaking. "It's cool you know. I know you and you're probably freaking out about what I'm going to say."Nick was shocked at how Justin could read him so well. Not that they didn't know each other well, but it was just something that he had thought he'd kept hidden. Apparently he hadn't. Justin wasn't finished, "and I want you to know that I wish you had have told me. I understand why you didn't, but you need to know that you can tell me anything. Anything about anyone. You're more than just my best friend Nicky ... I feel that you're as much a brother to me as Kevin is." Nick thought about that and grimaced. That meant that Justin saw Kevin and him as brothers too... definitely not something he needed to be thinking about. Justin must have known what he was thinking because he began to laugh hysterically. "Nicky... not that you and him are brotherly.. you're just brotherly with me. Because that would be wrong..." Nick started to laugh as well, lightening the mood considerably. "So ...you're cool with it?"He still felt a little nervous. "Of course. I've always known that you two were perfect for each other. I just can't believe that you guys were such pussies. I mean fuck, what the hell took you two so long?"Justin winked at Nick and they continued their lunch, enjoying the comfort of each other that they'd missed for far too long. By the time Nick got home he was happy but exhausted. He and Justin had spent the whole day together, doing everything that they'd missed doing since Nick was gone. Of course, they had two weeks to get everything in, but being the kids that they were, they had to do it all in one day. There was a message left for him on his bedroom door in his mother's handwriting. "Call Kevin when you get in."Nick's stomach reacted by doing a few flips. Before calling Kevin back, he decided to take a shower and relax his nerves, which had suddenly returned with a vengeance. Nick dressed in a pair of tear away pants and a sweatshirt, settling in a lazy boy chair with the phone in his hand. He knew Justin's parents number like the back of his hand, a number he'd phoned daily when he was a kid. But now he was calling for a whole new reason. He took a deep breath and dialed, surprised when it picked up after two rings. "Hello?"It was Kevin. "Kev? Hey, it's Nick."There was a nervous silence. "Hey. You got my message." "Just now, what's up?" "I was wondering if you wanted to go down to the beach. You and J probably already went down there today ...but the sun's going to set in about an hour and I thought we could..." "That's okay..."Nick interrupted quickly. "I love the beach.. I could spend all day every day there and be happy.. Besides, it'll be different with you." Both men let out a nervous giggle and Kevin told Nick he'd be there in about fifteen minutes to pick him up. Before he knew it they were on the way to the beach, sitting in a comfortable silence. They were both dressed comfortably enjoying the beautiful night. When they climbed out of the car, Kevin led them down to the water's edge, leaving their shoes in the trunk. The conversation was light and friendly, both men nervous. It was what they'd been waiting for for as long as they could remember, but now that they were there in the moment, they didn't know what to do or say. Nick stopped walking, grabbing Kevin's shirt and pulling him back. "Wha?" "Just look."Nick pointed to the horizon as the sun was setting over the water, the sky lit up beautifully. "Isn't that just amazing?" Kevin averted his eyes from the sky to stare at Nick, in awe of how the sun reflected off of his blonde hair, illuminating Nick's whole face. The light gave him an angelic quality that took Kevin's breath away. "Amazing doesn't even begin to describe it Nick." Nick turned his head at the tone of Kevin's voice, gasping at the intense look on his face. Their mouths were

		inches apart and Nick could feel Kevin's breath on his lips. He knew that Kevin was going to kiss him again, and all he could do was close his eyes and let it happen. Their mouths met in a gentle, sweet crush, Kevin's arms sliding around Nick's waist to pull him close, the waves crashing against their legs. All Nick could do to keep from falling was to hold onto Kevin, snaking his arms around his neck tightly. Wanting to deepen the kiss, Nick moved to his tip toes, angling his mouth just slightly. Their mouths opened simultaneously and tongues darted out, bringing each other to heightened levels of awareness. When they broke apart, Nick was breathless. "How are we going to do this?" "Do what?"Kevin gently stroked Nick's cheek with the back of his hand, nuzzling their noses together affectionately. "This. Us."When Kevin didn't respond, Nick opened his eyes and felt panic rising. What if Kevin was only interested in something to pass the time until he went back home? That couldn't be, since the older man had said that he'd been as attracted to Nick as Nick had been to him since the beginning. Kevin sensed the panic rising in Nick's eyes and kissed him again, wanting to calm his nerves. "It's okay Nicky.."Kevin spoke into Nick's mouth without pulling away. "We're going to do what we have to to make this work. I'm not letting you go that easily." Nick felt an overwhelming sense of relief wash over him and he relaxed into Kevin's arms. "I'm done school in the spring..."Nick had always planned on moving back home when he was done school, but that would put him over five hours away from where Kevin was living, and he wasn't so sure he could do that. "...and I'd always said I was going to move home when I was done." Kevin grinned, leaning in to kiss Nick, his tongue lapping playfully against Nick's. "Well ...I know J hasn't told you because ...well I haven't told him yet, but in June. I'm moving back here. They're opening a new office and I've been picked to head it up. So ..." Nick felt his stomach flip and his heart swell. "Are you serious?"Kevin nodded, still grinning. "I was going to tell everyone at Christmas dinner. They've given me six months at my current office to get everything ready to make the move. So ...when you're done school.." "We're both going to be moving home."Nick tightened his hold around Kevin's neck, inhaling his musky cologne as he buried his face in his neck. "And ...we're only a half hour away from each other as it is now Nick, so it's not like we can't see each other as often as we want when we go back in two weeks."It was a fact that Nick had known ever since he'd started school, but why they never got together while they were up there was beyond him. Their lives were too busy, their pride too strong. Neither had wanted to seem too obvious in their feelings for each other, so instead, they practically ignored the fact that the person they loved more than life itself was only a short drive away. It was a fact that both men decided to forget about. The time that had been wasted needlessly. "I'll be honest with you Nick. I want to try this. I want you."Kevin rested his forehead against Nick's, staring deep into his eyes. "I want this too."Nick sighed, watching the last of the sun disappear in the horizon, leaving them to watch the colours of the sky fade to dark. Nick inhaled deeply, closing his eyes. The scent of the ocean filled his nostrils, the sound of the waves dancing on the beach filled his ears and the heat from Kevin's embrace warmed his heart. As he allowed for his lips to curl into a shy grin, Nick felt for the first time in as long as he could remember as though he had finally come home. Finis