Their morning routine became tea and coffee by the fire, followed by a walk in the morning before breakfast. 

Breakfast was finished, the dishes were clean, and Deana sighed. “You know what sounds good? A soak in that giant, jetted tub. I brought my bath salts, very relaxing…”

“Go for it.”

“You don’t want to join me?”

“Eh, fancy baths aren’t my thing. A hot soak, sure, but I don’t need the extras.”

“Then you’ve been doing them wrong. I left the bubble bath at home, but the bath salts are great.”

“Fine,” he sighed. 

“You’ll love it.”

She sprinkled the salts around the bottom of the tub, then began filling it with water. The water was the perfect temperature, and Justin got in. He watched Deana undress and step in, his legs wrapped around her. 

“See, cozy, intimate, perfect,” she sighed, letting the warmth of the water combined with leaning against him take over her thoughts. She closed her eyes, leaning her head back to rest on his shoulder. 

Justin started to relax, his eyes closed as he sat. The smell of the salts wasn’t overpowering like he expected.  It smelled like her, the scent comforting, mixed with having her in his arms.  

He gently kissed her shoulder, opening his eyes. He knew they were both naked, but the warmth of the water had distracted him. It wasn’t until he saw her breasts before him that his mind wandered to dirty thoughts. He kissed her neck, taking the edge of her ear with his nose. She hummed in enjoyment. 

“Relax,” he whispered in her ear.  His hands explored her body, touching where he knew she liked. Her body relaxed into him, letting him have free reign of what he wanted. She was soon moaning at his touch, the water not being a boundary. 

“How are we going to finish this?” she asked. 

“I told you you were giving me ideas…” he chuckled. 

They emerged from the tub, he pressed her against the bathroom counter, watching her face in the mirror as he entered her from behind. The heat of the moment and the angle they were at made for a quick session, but left both feeling satisfied. 

“How long have you been wanting to do that?” she asked. 

“Since you leaned over the counter that first night here to do your makeup.  We can try other counters in the same way, or switch things up.”

“Not here. Sounds like a great way to officially welcome me to our place. I know we’ve had sex at our place, but I wasn’t fully moved in and living there, just staying the night at my boyfriend’s.”

“Can we do this in hotels at least? Not every time, but I like being able to see you at this angle…”

“We’ll see where things lead each time. It’s not a no, I just need to close my eyes if we do…”

“You could look at me, I could look at you.”

“Like I said, we’ll see.”

She threw on her pajamas, Justin rolling his eyes at her shirt. 

“I thought every time I wore this you’d pull it off me…”

“We just finished, gimme a bit if you’re actually wanting another go…”

“I’m good for now. I told you, I like the shirt and it’s super comfy.”

“You could’ve picked any other shirt…”

“I suppose you’re right. I could’ve picked the OTHER *NSYNC shirt, where you’re 16 years old for your album cover…”

“Damnit…”

“At least in this one you’re not jailbait.  Why does this bother you so much?”

“I dunno. Maybe cuz I get shit on all the time about leaving the group to go solo, blaming me for us not doing at least one more album.  And no matter how many solo albums I have, the media loves to remind people of it like it’s my biggest accomplishment.”

“Well, it kinda is.  Even as successful as you are solo, the last 2 *NSYNC albums are the number 2 and 3 best selling albums of all time within their first week. Even with all your total album sales COMBINED, *NSYNC still sold more albums. You’ve been able to grow and change in music and be taken seriously as an artist, but it’s still a big fucking deal. I think the walk of fame ceremony proved that.”

“Yeah. And I love the guys, we do talk every day, but it’s all dumb shit.”

“Do they know about me?”

“Are you kidding? Since that first night I heard you sing…”  She noticed the tone of his voice change. 

“Yeah? Really?”

“I can try and scroll through the chat to go back that far, but yeah… Once I heard you sing, I was yours, babe.”  His eyes stared deeply into her. 

She kissed him, pulling herself into him. “I think you better pull this shirt off of me, cuz that is one of the most romantic things I’ve heard in a while…”

“Mmm, you better believe I will, to satisfy my woman…” he laughed, pulling the shirt over her head and pulling her onto the bed. 

…

It was now their last full day alone before he had his show on Valentine’s Day. 

Justin got up before dawn, careful not to wake her up. He drove into the city, getting things he needed for the day. 

He pulled into the garage of the cabin, carefully tiptoeing back in. He peeked into the bedroom and sighed in relief that she was still asleep. He started on breakfast, getting things in the oven so he could do other parts of his plan. 

He had most everything ready when Deana started to wake up. She noticed he wasn’t in bed, sitting up. Her eyes widened as she saw flower petals on the bed, a trail leading to the door. She was in her pajamas, opening the door to see the trail continue down the hall towards the kitchen. She smelled something sweet and delicious. She slowly followed the trail, leading her into the kitchen. 

Justin stood in a pair of joggers, leaning against the counter, a cup of tea in his hand. She saw a giant bouquet of different lilies in a vase on the table. “Happy early Valentine’s Day, baby,” he smiled. 

“Justin, this is wonderful…” She slowly crossed the kitchen, kissing him before taking the tea from him. 

“Just to be safe, the petals are from tulips, no roses.”

“What do I smell?”

“French toast bake and an omelette bake type thing.  Something sweet and something savory.”

“How long have you been up? This must have taken a while to prep…”

“About 2 hours. Went into town before most everyone was up.”

“Baby, thank you. You’re so sweet…”

“I love you. Gotta make our first Valentine’s Day one to remember.”

“I’m dating Justin Timberlake, do you think I’d ever forget anything, even cuddling up on a couch?”

“Come have breakfast, enjoy everything I have planned today.  I’m going all out today.  We’re still here for 2 days for shows, but today is the last one just us, so you better believe it’s gonna be special.”

They sat down and ate, Deana gushing about how god everything tasted. 

“I know you’ve forayed in the restaurant biz, but you have a real knack for food.  Seriously, this is fantastic. All this, just for me?”

“I mean, I need to eat, too,” he laughed. 

“You know what I meant.  If I wasn’t here, you wouldn’t have made all this for just you…”

“True, but there’s enough here to have for breakfast the rest of the time we’re here, so that’s one less thing to worry about.”

“Getting off the point here, Justin…”

“Why wouldn’t I do all of this for you? You’re my girlfriend, it’s our first Valentine’s Day together, you deserve this. I am going to spoil you rotten, today, and every day I can because I love you and you are worth it.”

“I still feel bad I don’t have a gift for you. I can find something while we’re out today…”

“I can buy whatever I want. Today is about you. My whole life, outside of music, is about you.  Whatever you want, we’ll do.”

“Anything?” she asked. 

“Anything…”

“I’m holding you to that…”

“Why am I suddenly scared?” He laughed, a little nervous. 

“I want to see the group chat or try to FaceTime them all together.”

“No way am I letting you see the group chat.  We talk like I’m 16 again, you don’t need to see that. I mean, we can try FaceTime, see what happens.”

“Really?” she asked, excited. 

“I’d say change your shirt, but they’d get a kick out of me being ok with you wearing it around me… They all wanna meet you, so this is a good start I guess.”

Justin grabbed his phone and started the call. Justin was shocked that they all answered early in the morning. 

“Hey guys,” Justin started.

“You know what fucking time it is?” Joey asked. 

“It’s noon in Florida, lazy bum!” Chris laughed. 

“I’m awake, everyone else should be fine,” JC replied. 

“Why FaceTime instead of group text?” Lance wondered. 

“There’s a certain someone that wants to meet you,” Justin smiled, looking at Deana. 

“Now I'm scared,” Deana said. 

“It’s a phone, they’re not gonna bite you…” he assured her. 

“I mean, Joey might, then you’d need a rabies shot…” Chris joked. 

“Shut the fuck up, Chris,” Joey sneered. 

“I’ve shown you pictures, but she wanted me to do this to officially meet you all… This was clearly a mistake…”

“Lance and I will behave, not sure about the other two knuckleheads…” JC said. 

Deana slowly entered the frame. “Nice to officially meet you, Deana,” Lance said warmly. 

“Hi,” she said nervously. “16 year old me is trying so hard not to freak out right now…”

“Shit, she’s actually pinching herself, guys.  This is real. They’re STUPID, but yes, you’re talking to them.”

“Nice shirt,” Lance said. 

Deana blushed. “You didn’t freak out this bad when you found out it was me, all the stuff we’ve done together…” Justin said, admittedly surprised. 

“Like what?” Joey asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“It’s Justin, what HAVEN’T they done?” Chris teased. Justin shot a death look. 

“Anyway,” JC interjected sharply. “How’s Vancouver?”

“It’s been so great to get away, just the two of us,” Justin answered. 

“The calm before the storm,” Deana replied. 

“She speaks!” Chris cheered. 

“Justin sent us the links to karaoke, you can SING, girl…” JC encouraged. Deana blushed. 

“What about him made you fall for him? Not like he could be his usual self at the time…” Lance asked. 

“Well, he definitely had charisma, to win me over without being able to talk. Buying me drinks after every song didn’t hurt either.”  She was starting to feel comfortable. 

“Yeah, being drunk around him makes him tolerable,” Chris jabbed. 

“Enough,” JC insisted. “He didn’t call for her to hear you rag on him.”

“Thanks, C.  Though now I’m feeling like showing her the group chat was a better idea… Thanks for not holding back, guys…” Justin said sarcastically. 

“Hey, better she learn NOW…” Chris answered.  “Sorry, Deana.  You know we rag on him cuz we love him.”

“That’s what my brother said about me.  He’d tease me cuz he loved me, still made me feel like he was an asshole…” Deana said.

“Oh, we’re all assholes, in some way or another,” Joey answered.  “Chris and I just wear ours on our sleeves…”

“We need shirts made…” Chris laughed.

“I know a guy…” Lance chimed in.

“You know LOTS of guys,” Joey quipped.  Lance rolled his eyes.

Deana laughed.  “Sorry, not at the joke, but that this must have been what things were like when the cameras weren’t running, on the buses, hotels, backstage…”

“Pretty much, yeah,” JC answered.

“But Lance, to REALLY answer your question, he made me feel beautiful, still does.  I felt like he saw ME, not just my weight.  He knew all of my baggage and still stuck around.  He made me feel loved in a way I didn't even know was possible.   Justin, how I felt earlier this week, I haven’t felt like that since you came into my life.  You’ve given me confidence, made me feel like I’m sure Dani feels every day just walking around.”

“Dani?” Joey asked.  “Dani’s a hot girl’s name…”

“She’s beautiful, my best friend, and she’s marrying my brother.  Sorry, Joey.”

“You have someone anyway, Joe…” JC snapped. “Sounds like he’s been really good to you, that’s my boy…”

Justin blushed a little.  “Yeah, well, love comes when you least expect it.  I was so afraid of all that time off being forced on me, but it led to the best thing I’ve ever known…”

“HEY!” 4 voices yelled.

“You know what I mean…  I never expected to find her, but I’m happy I did.”  He squeezed her tight, kissing her cheek.

“And it all started with one night at karaoke?” Lance asked. 

“I heard her voice and I was hooked.”

“I still can’t believe it sometimes. I mean, I knew he was hot when I first met him, but I’d have been way too put off if he’d told me then and there who he was. As weird as our story sounds, I’m glad it’s ours.”

“Shit, sorry guys, I hear Nash crying, Karly went out for a bit while he napped. He’s on this crappy sleep kick right now, it’s been almost a week.”

“Probably a growth spurt, physically or mentally. Watch for him to outgrow clothes or be able to do something new soon. Hopefully it’s almost over,” Deana said. 

“She‘s a child development major, finishing up her degree so she can be a teacher,” Justin beamed. “Well, at least she got to talk to you guys for a bit. Won’t be the last, I’m sure.  Bye guys, love you.”

He hung up and looked at her. “Well, that was… something. Thankfully it got better towards the end.”

“I can’t tell you how hard it was not to say ‘bye bye bye’ before they hung up…” she giggled. 

“I’m sure. I’ve never dated such a big fan before, so it’s a bit of an adjustment.  A good thing. Any idea where you wanna be for the shows?”

“I can pick different spots each time. Not gonna lie, I think ‘Man of the Woods’ is my song for us.  You’re bragging about me to the crew, your family, friends, hell, the rest of *NSYNC.  No one else will understand our relationship but us, and that’s fine.  That’s how it should be.  We may not make sense to the rest of the world, but we make sense to each other.”

“I hadn’t really thought about that.  You know I’m gonna be thinking of you for different songs…”

“I know.  You definitely showed me that during your birthday show.  I might even text you people to give special moments to…”

“What do they call them?” Justin asked.

“Timbertouches,” she smiled.  “I still remember mine…”

“Yours was VERY different…” he laughed softly.

“How?”

“Ummm, isn’t it obvious?”

“Apparently not.  I meant our little moment where you grazed my hand in getting my phone during ‘Supplies’.”

“Yeah, I definitely didn’t mean that… I was thinking something much more intimate.”

“Well, I definitely remember THAT, too.  I just didn’t know it was YOU at the time.  Hell, I still remember your smile that night I met you, dressed up as Batman.  God, I loved that smile.  It was like you lit up just looking at me.”

“I did, I still do.”

He pulled her in for a soft, slow kiss. His hand cradled her neck, fingers in the base of her hair.

“Like our first kiss, the first REAL one.  Though that other one, wow.”

“I think I can say this now without scaring you off, but that wasn’t just to make Paul jealous.  I wanted to kiss you like that, regardless of if Paul was there or not.  I just had a reason to once you asked.”

“I definitely enjoyed it.  Things were just so difficult between us at first.  I was afraid to let you in after everything with him.  I kept wanting you to like me, but being afraid of what I’d let happen if you did.  The fact that everything worked out how it did is really wonderful.  You were so patient, so understanding.  Honestly, for a little bit Dani thought you were gay.”

“Yeah?” Justin asked, confused.

“She was like ‘he either really likes you, or he’s gay’.  To do all the things you’d done for me, especially the girls day for us, the things you’d say to me, but not to make the first move…”

“We both know why I was nervous about making the first move.  Normally, sure, I’m all in, but with you, I knew you needed time.”

“I don’t know if things would’ve played out the same if I knew you liked me the entire time, even just as Bruce.  I wouldn’t have been wondering nearly as much, and that might have sped things up.”

“It all happened when it was supposed to.  I’m a firm believer in everything happening for a reason.  Especially once I got put on vocal rest.  Without it, we wouldn’t be more than just a pop star and a barista.  Now, I have the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.  That had to happen so I could meet you in a way that would let me see the real you.  Yeah, you were always nice to me at work, but the you I see when you sing, that’s the you you wish everyone could see, the you you wish you could be more often.”

“I think I’m slowly becoming that person even without singing, because of how confident and beautiful you make me feel.”

“I’m glad to be part of that, I want you to be the happiest version of yourself.”

“Well, this is definitely the happiest I’ve felt in a long time, possibly ever since I was a kid.”

She rested her head on his shoulder, her body sinking into his embrace.  “I could stay like this forever,” she sighed happily.

“I’m ok with that,” he sighed in return.