Heart of Stone, Eyes of Tree by Synecdochic (NC-17)

[turlough]

Fandom: POPSLASH
Pairing: Lance/Chris, Joey/Kelly
Author on LJ: synecdochic
Author Website: venus in furs

Why this must be read: Because this is one of the best retellings of Tam Lin I've ever read. Because it's an absolutely wonderful story about the strenght of friendship and of love. The never-admitted love that makes Lance desperate to find a way to save Chris, the friendship that makes the rest of Nsync willing to take on something none of them really believes in for Chris' sake. The writing is beautiful and fully captures the contrasts between their modern-day life and the old, old tale they find themselves caught up in.

Excerpt: [T]hat night, Chris came back late, later than he usually did. Lance had been lying awake in the room he shared with Justin - telling himself that he just couldn't sleep, not that he was waiting up to make sure that Chris got home safely and okay. He'd slipped out of bed when he'd heard something or someone stumble into the wall of the hallway. When he opened the door, Chris - soaked to the bone, shivering uncontrollably, pale as a sheet, with his wrist wrapped up in some sort of bandage - stumbled again and turned around to face him.

"Chris," Lance had asked, thinking the worst. Bar fight. Mugging. "Are you okay?"

Chris had just looked back at him - no, through him, like Lance wasn't even really there. "Lance," he'd said, softly. Trying to remember who Lance was.

Chris' eyes were hollow, and tiny rivulets of water were running down his cheeks from the braids. The look in his eyes had made Lance shiver, like something walked over his grave. He stepped out into the hallway a little more. "Chris," he'd said. "Chris. What happened?"

"Nothing," Chris had said, and looked down at his wrist. "And everything." And then he'd shaken himself, like a dog trying to shed water, and was Chris again. "You should be in bed. It's late."

Heart of Stone, Eyes of Tree