Epilogue – Take Back The Night

Mid-August 2013 – Nine months later

Adeline barely felt herself slipping off to sleep, Lance's arms wrapped tightly around her waist, when the muffled cry came from down the hall. It took a couple of seconds before she felt him stir and she groaned herself.

“Don't worry,” he whispered, kissing her shoulder. “I'll get him.”

Her eyes still closed, she groaned again in response. She felt him throw the covers off himself and step out of the bed, walking out of the room and down the hallway.

She was about to fall asleep again when the shrill ringtone from Lance's phone came from the table beside his bed.

“Oh, you're kidding me,” she moaned.

She turned over and reached across his side of the bed to grab it. She looked at the caller ID with a single eye open, which she raised when she saw the name across the screen.

“Justin?” she questioned when she lifted it to her ear. Lance walked into the room at that exact moment, holding Liam to his chest and shoulder with a bottle in his hand.

“Mamasita!” Justin exclaimed. “You normally answer 'Lance's phone, it's Addy'. What's up? Are you slacking off on the job?”

“Justin, are you high?” she responded, getting Lance's attention. “Do you know what time it is? It's--” She looked over at her table to read the screen on the clock. “Fuck, Justin, it's almost one in the morning.”

“Oh, so what, you clock out at midnight or something?” he joked. “Is that when the assistant clocks out and the wifely duties begin?”

He said it suggestively, and she could imagine him furrowing his eyebrows – she rolled her eyes at the thought.

“If I could reach through the phone and strangle you right now, I would,” she said. Lance raised his eyebrows but only smiled and turned away, swaying along with the quiet baby.

“I like a feisty woman,” Justin said. “A bit violent, but maybe I could get into that dominant-submissive, Fifty Shades shit.”

“Justin, what do you want?”

“Is Lance there?” he asked, his laughter dying down.

“It's your lucky day,” she said to Lance, holding the phone out to him. “Trade me – phone for baby?”

“Seems to me like you get the better end of that deal,” he said as he walked over to her side of the bed.

“Tell him I heard that,” Justin said, and Adeline smiled as Lance handed the baby off to her gently and she handed him the phone.

“Is there a cut-off time for you being annoying?” Lance said when he put the phone to his ear. “Maybe eleven? Midnight?...Yeah, well can there be?”

Adeline placed Liam, almost back to sleep already with the bottle in his mouth, next to her in the space between her and Lance's sides, preparing to lay back down herself.

“I'm afraid to ask you what kind of favor you would call me for at one in the morning,” he finally said. He paced around the room as she laid her head back down, relaxing into the pillows. “You want to what?”

She watched him turn toward her but remain looking away from her. Even though there was little light, her eyes had adjusted to the dark and she could see the various faces he was making.

“Wow, Justin, I...I don't know what to say,” he said. “Have you talked to the others about this?”

She closed her eyes again to try to sleep, but after a few seconds of curiosity, she opened one back up to look at him.

“So it's happening, then?...Hell yeah! I mean, what day?...Shit, what day is today?...Dude, you woke me up at one in the morning. No, I don't know what day it is.”

She couldn't help but let a giggle escape her lips.

“August 25th? I think...no, I don't know.” He moved the mouthpiece away from him and looked over at her. “Am I free next week?”

She opened her closed eye to look at him. “He woke me up at one in the morning, too. I don't sleep with my appointment book, you know.”

“She makes a good point,” Lance said, speaking back into the mouthpiece. “I'm sure I can move things around...No, the radio show will be fine, it's only a week, right?...A secret? It's radio Justin, it's not like it will be obvious.” Lance chuckled and was silent for a few seconds, listening. “Cool, I'll get it scheduled. Just one question...did you have to call about this at one in the morning?”

By then, Addy was too tired to be interested in whatever get-together Lance and Justin were planning together. With the baby already back to sleep and her eyes closed, she felt herself drift off back to sleep.

She didn't know how long it took, but she felt Lance sink back into bed and lay down, being careful to avoid Liam in the middle of them.

“Hey Ad?” he said.

“What?” she mumbled, half-asleep.

“Wanna go to the VMAs?”

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After seeing the beginning of the frenzy and the results of what one little slip of a rumor from a rather idiotic former MTV intern could do, the boys had only one intent...to yank their fans' chains as much as they could.

It started that Tuesday, with Lance. Of course they weren't supposed to say anything revealing about it, because they all wanted it to be a “moment”. But after a few hours, Lance's Twitter, Instagram and Facebook had been so overrun with comments and mentions from the fans asking about the rumors of the reunion that Addy thought he needed to say something about it – something non-committal and non-confirming, perhaps an outright denial. When he had posted the “Rumors” music video with a witty little message to go with it, all she could do was roll her eyes at him. She knew what would happen.

And when that's exactly what did happen – fans jumping down his throat for being completely vague and yet transparent at the same time – she decided to give him one more chance to lead the fans astray and preserve their secret. A couple hours later, between rehearsals, she told him to say something else, something better. After he did much the same thing and had much the same reaction from the fans, she took his phone away – he wasn't to be trusted with this sort of thing, obviously.

But after a couple more days, she saw the rumors grow, the fan reactions getting better, and how much fun the boys were having with it. They even attained the official Twitter account back – and only then did she give Lance the rights to his phone back and let him Twitter-tease the fans to his heart's content.

“Mic check, mic check, one, two...is this thing on?”

It was Justin and Lance's original idea, spurred on by the other boys. It made the fans go nuts. And that's when they came up with the “great plan” for their intro.

As the lights went down on the Barclay's Center and the video intro started playing on the screen in front of them, she smiled from her place in the audience. She had watched as they filmed it, but had no idea how they ended up editing it and fitting it all together, so it was almost as big of a surprise to her as it was to everyone in the crowd – and everyone at home watching.

When the camera focused on Joey coming out of a Brooklyn Starbucks in his faded “Brooklyn” t-shirt and baseball hat, the first reaction in the crowd was confusion. He kept his eyes down as if he had no clue the camera was there, holding his coffee in hand. He briefly looked up at the camera and broke out into a smile, before pointing at the camera with two fingers and saying the phrase she would never forget him saying.

“Yo Brooklyn, represeeeeent!”

The crowd, although still confused, broke out into a flurry of screams that made Melissa and Addy laugh out loud as JC came up on the screen.

Standing right in front of the iconic Madison Square Garden in his “I heart NY” t-shirt, he did a little dance for the camera before breaking out singing four infamous words from their concert at the same venue, thirteen years before.

“You're all I ever...”

The screen went black as the four beats of music took them seamlessly into seeing Chris, who stood in front of the Empire State Building in the same Manhattan borough, wearing his “Manhattan” t-shirt and sunglasses. The camera started at a high angle to look at him from above before panning down to an almost-floor level angle, showing most of the tall building as he sang the next five words.

“So tell me what to...”

The screen went black again with the next four beats of the song before it went up on Lance, sitting on a bench in Central Park in his own New York themed t-shirt and sunglasses, looking down at the ground. There was no music, and the venue was almost quiet, surely from the confusion of attendees – until Lance looked up at the camera, briefly smiled, and started singing his opening harmony to the song as he stood up.

The camera slowly panned out to view more of the park and Lance stepped into his place on the far right, and Chris, Joey, and JC all stepped from off-screen into their places in their most common “V” formation. Each one contributed their own opening harmony as they walked in before finally, Justin stepped into frame with his contribution, directly front and center of the camera.

“I want you back...”

The screen went completely black again and as the red lights went up on the stage to silhouette Justin and his band, Addy smiled to herself. She couldn't imagine what the fans at home watching could be thinking. The internet had built up and nearly burst at the seams for a week with rumors, speculations, and excitement, especially after Joey had been cornered by TMZ and had been the only one to say “no” outright. The “would it happen or wouldn't it” questions had driven them crazy all week, and it had been a brief minute-long video of the guys, no in-person appearances at all, not what you could even call a real reunion – and now it was over.

“I'm bringin' sexy back...”

At least, that's what the boys wanted them to think.

As Justin ran through the next eight minutes of his generous fifteen minute setlist, Addy didn't even want to think of how many pissed off tweets Lance would be getting at that moment. She was sure that fans were glued to their TVs, computers, and phones at the same time, waiting to share their joy with their entire friends list in the event that it really did happen.

“Got time, but I don't mind...”

As Justin went into singing “Rock Your Body”, Addy glanced over to notice Mel dancing, shaking her hips with her arms in the air, emulating Justin's dancers. Mel looked over at her and both of them shared a laugh as Addy joined her in dancing. She wouldn't think about the messages and tweets; she would just have fun. By the end of the night, it wouldn't matter anyway.

“Gonna have you naked by the end of this song...”

As Justin and the dancers he had up on the stage with him broke out the funky dance number with equally as funky music, and the beats and the dancers all slowed down to a crawl while Justin slowly disappeared off the stage to the opening music of “Pusher Love Girl”, Addy and Mel both felt their stomachs jump and grinned at each other.

This was the boys' “moment”.

“You asked for it...”

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“After-party at Adeline's...”

A drunk Justin swaggered through the door following behind Lance and Adeline, who held Liam against her hip. Melissa and the other boys followed quickly behind him through the door. The celebrity after-parties had grown tired for them and after a party with Justin and his whole crew at a sports bar he had picked out, whoever was left standing – or stumbling, in Justin's case – decided to come back to Lance and Addy's house for a more intimate get-together.

“Adeline. Addy. Ad.” Justin giggled as he drew out her nicknames. “You have a funny name.”

Addy rolled her eyes. “Justin, go home. You're drunk.”

“He's staying with us, remember?” Lance asked. “He is home – unfortunately.”

“As long as he doesn't try to give another acceptance speech,” Melissa said. “I wanted to throttle him after the last one.”

“You guys,” Chris said, breaking into a convincing fake cry. “My bandmates...my brothers that I abandoned to have a solo career.” Everyone laughed except Justin, who watched Chris with glossy eyes. “I'm so glad you took the time out of your busy schedules to let me steal the spotlight from you again. When I go back to my own life tomorrow and forget to call you for another three months, just know...” Chris wrapped his arm around Lance's shoulder and tightly grasped him in a hug, pretending to sob into his shoulder. “...I love you guys.”

“Hey,” Justin said, one finger pointed at Chris. “Wasn't like that, man. Wasn't like that at all.”

“Yeah, Chris,” JC said. “It wasn't like that. J had to go on a mission to bring sexy back.”

“Where was sexy hiding for so long, J?” Chris asked.

“Forget you guys,” Justin said. He walked away from the group and behind the bar in the dining room. He reached under the counter, grabbing a bottle and pulling it up. “Me and my vodka will go where we're appreciated.”

“Oh no,” Addy said as she handed Liam off to Lance quickly and reached for the bottle in Justin's hand. When she pulled it away from him and took it back underneath the bar, he pouted. “Last call for you was an hour ago, back at the party Justin. You've had plenty.”

“Your wife is a buzzkill,” Justin said, pointing his finger in Lance's face before walking away from them, to lay face down on the couch.

“He's going to pass out right there,” Lance said to Adeline as she walked up to him.

“At least he can't hurt himself.” She took Liam from his arms and placed him back on her hip. “The sixth member of 'NSYNC has to be exhausted, I'm going to put him down and go to bed myself. After-parties aren't my thing. Try to keep the volume down?”

“I'll try,” he said with a smile, running a hand over his tired son's hair. “Get some sleep. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she said, kissing him. “You guys were great tonight.”

“We were, weren't we?”

She smiled at him before walking up the stairs and disappearing with the baby at the top.

“Hell of a night,” Chris said as Lance came walking over to join them around the living room.

“Hell of a year,” JC countered.

“Hell of a decade,” Lance said. “At least for me.”

“It was an amazing performance, Justin,” Melissa said. “One of your best ever, I'd say.”

“Well, thank you Mel,” he responded, pushing himself up from his laying down position to sit more appropriately. “It's too bad it will be one of my last ever, as well.”

The whole room stopped and all eyes rested on Justin, whose face looked troubled.

“What do you mean, J?” Lance asked. “Your last performance – ever? You would never stop performing, even if you were begging on a street corner for spare change.”

“Well, my last as a solo artist, I guess,” Justin said. “It's been ten years, I guess I'm tired of the shenanigans – being Justin Timberlake.”

“You could be like Prince,” Chris said. “Change your name to something that looks like a crop circle, tell people you were formerly known as Justin Timberlake, and ba-bam – you're an entirely different person.”

Everybody in the room chuckled, including Justin, even as he picked at a loose thread in the knee of his pants.

“No, I just mean, that's all I am,” he said. “Everybody only knows me as Justin Timberlake. Actor. Musician.”

“You can always retire,” Lance said. “From music, I mean. Direct movies instead of act in them. Play more golf. Do something different.”

“Actually, I was thinking of doing something more...in a group,” Justin said.

“Is One Direction hiring a new lead singer?” Joey asked with a smile.

“He's a little old for them. Hey, he could go on the road with Justin Bieber,” JC said.

“They could call it Justin and Justin,” Lance said, chuckling.

“Justin squared,” Chris said.

“Nah, that little twerp ain't cool enough to perform with me,” Justin said with a smile.

“Who is cool enough to perform with you?” JC asked, rolling his eyes.

“You guys are.”

The light laughter in the room stopped as all the guys turned to look at Justin, still smiling.

“Justin Timberlake said we're cool, guys,” Chris said. “We're part of the in-crowd now.”

“He probably needs four new backup singers for his new album and worldwide tour,” Lance said with a chuckle.

“Actually, it'd be nice if you guys could take back some of the spotlight.”

All four men, plus Melissa, stopped and stared.

“What are you saying, Justin?” Lance asked.

“Am I drunker than I think, or is he saying what I think he's saying?” Chris asked.

“If he is, I think I might have a heart attack right here,” Melissa said.

Justin only looked up at them with a smile.

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Adeline hadn't gotten enough sleep the next morning when she woke up. She was used to attending awards ceremonies and after-parties, since she had done it a few times when she was working with different clients, going if they needed a date or because they invited her. She wasn't used to actually partying, though. The latest she had ever stayed at after-parties was around midnight. Walking in the door at three in the morning was a new feeling for her; an exhausting feeling.

She had immediately slipped out of her dress when she went upstairs to bed and changed into a tank top and shorts. The minute her head hit the pillow it felt as if she was asleep. She wasn't a party person, and she was asleep so fast that she never heard the rest of them making noise but she knew they probably stayed up several more hours. It was still only eight in the morning; she expected the rest of them to be passed out downstairs still – but she had no idea where she would find her husband.

Lance had never come to bed last night. His side of the bed was still as untouched as it had been before. It made her wonder what went down after she left the room.

She found Lance sitting at the island bar, coffee mug already in hand, not looking fresh-faced but at least alive.

“You're still up,” she said as she pulled out a mug. “Did the party get hopping last night? You never came to bed.”

“Hopping? I suppose you could say that,” he said, circling the mug's brim with a finger. He stared down into the mug as if it was a crystal ball and he was waiting for an answer.

She finished pouring her coffee and looked behind him, into the living room. It reminded her of the frat houses in the morning after huge parties in college – bodies scattered all over the place. Mel and Chris were asleep in a reclined chair, him at an angle and her curled into him, her face on his chest. JC had fallen asleep on the floor, right next to Joey. Justin was still chest-down on their couch, in a stereotypical drunk pose – one arm slung off, his entire body spread out, with mouth wide open.

“Wow,” she said with a smile, taking in the sight as she sipped. “The thought that comes to mind is Liam in a milk coma after his bath – except Justin is bigger, and it's more like good bourbon coma. And he drools more.”

Lance laughed. “I'm surprised he held out as long as he did last night. For as drunk as he was, it was pretty impressive.”

“You mean he didn't pass out right away?”

“No, he held out a couple more hours.”

“Really?” she said, surprised. “That is impressive.”

She came to sit on his lap. He wrapped an arm around her and nuzzled his nose into her shoulder. After the chaos of the last couple of days – between rushed rehearsals and preparing for the performance – the quiet moment alone was welcome.

“What did you guys do?” she asked. “And why are you still awake? They're all out like lights.”

“Mel fell asleep around four,” he said. “The rest of us stayed up, talking. I couldn't go to sleep. I may not be able to sleep for a week.”

“Why?” she said, her interest piqued. “What's wrong? What'd you talk about?”

He looked up at her with tired but happy eyes, grinning.

“What?” she said when he didn't speak, smiling herself. “Tell me.”

His chuckle said everything – it was that laugh of his that told her he was hiding a secret and he was about to burst at the seams.

“NSYNC is getting back together,” he said. “Reuniting. For real.”