Destined 
SS by Kelli

"Now remember, the place isn't decorated," Britney said as she stepped out of the rented SUV in Destin, Florida.

"But it has the basics, right?  I mean, we're not going to be sleeping on the floor?" Justin asked as he stepped out of the driver's side.

She felt herself blush.

"Yeah, it has the basics.  I bought it that way, remember?"

He joined her on the passenger side of the car.

"Yeah," he said softly.

He walked to the back of the SUV and took out their bags.  She took her overnight bag from him and searched for her keys to the condo.

"Well, let's go."

They walked to the front door and Britney unlocked it.  Justin pushed the door open and let her walk in first.  She looked around and set her bag down by the stairs.

"It's so much bigger than it looks like the pictures," she said looking around.

Justin set the other bags down next to Britney's and smiled.  "Yeah, it does.  I can't believe you've never been here yet."

She turned slowly and looked up at him.  "It was too hard."

He nodded and walked over to the balcony doors.  He opened them and walked out onto the balcony overlooking the Gulf.

"Great view," he said.

Britney stood next to him, leaned on the railing and nodded.  "Yes, it is."

He looked up and down the coast.  "Oh, remember that little place?  I didn't know we were that close to it," he said pointing down at a little restaurant on the beach.

"Yeah, I remember.  Food was good."

He nodded.

They stared at the water a little while longer.  Britney turned around so that her back was to the railing.

"So, what do we do now?"

Justin stared straight ahead.  "I don't know.  I guess we just play it by ear.  We have to get over the weirdness."

She nodded.  "Yeah.  But how do we do that?"

He shrugged.  "Any suggestions?"

She bit her lower lip.  "Um, we can ease our way into the situation...or we can just jump in quickly."

He nodded.  "Whatever is more comfortable for you."

She folded her arms over her waist.

"Oh come on Justin.  You were always the one who took charge.  I need you to do that again."

Now he glanced at her.  "Okay.  Let's go back inside.  We need to talk about what this weekend means for us.  I mean do we want it to be about the physical aspect of our relationship or the mental?"

She swallowed hard.  "Why can't it be about both?"

He gave her a lazy smile.  "It can be.  I just needed to know."

*~*~*

"Hello?"

"Hey Brit...it's me."

"Oh hi, Justin.  How are you?"

"I'm doing good...I'm doing good.  How about you?  I heard you got to stay at Donatello's villa in Italy."

She laughed.  "Oh yeah.  That was a blast.  I think my next purchase will be a place in Italy.  It's gorgeous there."

He smiled.  "I can imagine."

"So, is the album finished?"

"Yeah...you know, they're doing little touchups here and there, but I'm happy with it."

"I can't wait to hear it."

"You'll get a copy, don't worry."

She laughed.

"So, are you in LA?" He asked.

"Not right now.  I'm in Kentwood, but I'll be going back to LA in a couple of days."

"Would you have dinner with me?"

"Umm.  Dinner?"

"Yeah, at my house...I don't want to go anywhere where people will talk."

"Okay.  Is there something wrong I should know about, Justin?"

He closed his eyes.  He remembered a time when she used to just call him 'J'.

"No.  I just wanted to see you, that's all.  I thought maybe we could talk.  I'll play some songs from the album for you," he said in a hopeful tone.

She laughed.  "Okay, you've talked me into it.  I'll call you when I get to LA."

"Good.  Take care."

"You too."

They hung up the phone and Britney closed her eyes.  Every time she heard his voice her heart started to race.  He still had this affect on her and they had broken up 7 months ago.

She sat back in her chair and sighed.  She would always tell everyone she was happier than she had ever been because she felt free...or some crap like that, but in truth, she missed him.  She missed everything about them, even their fights they would have.  Usually she started them.  It always happened when he would knock down another wall of hers...she'd put her defenses up and pick and argument about something stupid.

*~*~*

"Smells good," Britney said as she walked into the kitchen.

"I'm glad you had food sent here or we'd be screwed," Justin laughed as he flipped the hamburger.

"Did you learn to cook?" she asked as she sat down at the counter and watched him work.

"Not really.  I know how to do some stuff though.  I can flip a mean burger.  I've got microwave fries going too," he nodded towards the microwave.

"Mmm, impressive."

"It's better than starving."

"True.  So, when do I get to hear the rest of the album?"

He looked up at her before he looked back down at the grill.

"I've got it with me.  You can put it on now if you want."

"Is it in your bag?"

He nodded and then looked up at her when she didn't move.

"You can go get it."

"Okay."

She left the kitchen and he felt that uneasiness creep up on him again.  She used to just go look through his bag without his permission because she knew he wouldn't care.  Now they both felt like they had to ask each other everything.  He sighed.  Well, it was just something they'd get over in time.

He smiled.

In time.  He liked the thought of that.  He had enjoyed his single life.  He dated...he dated a lot, but would never commit to one person.  He was young, after all and had already been in one serious relationship in his life.

"I'm glad a stereo system is one of the bare necessities," she yelled from the living room.

Justin chuckled as he heard the music starting.  He started to bounce his head to "Like I Love You".

"So, tell me about your recording," he said when she came back in the kitchen.

"It's just for fun," she shrugged.

"So tell me."

He got two plates out of the cabinet and opened the bag of hamburger buns.  Britney walked over to the refrigerator and got out the condiments.

"I did a couple of songs when I was in Italy.  They're very techno."

"What about the one you just did with Pharrell?"

"We redid one of the ballads that didn't make it onto my last CD."

"Do you like the way it turned out?"

"Of course...it's Pharrell we're talking about here."

He laughed.  "True.  Okay, dinner's served."

They both made their plates and decided to eat out on the balcony.

"I love the sound of the Ocean," Britney said.

"And the smell of it," Justin agreed.

Britney took another bite of the hamburger and another sip of the wine.

"I hate this."

"Hate what?" he asked.

"This tension between us.  Let's just say what's on our minds right now."

Justin looked at her.  The sun was setting behind her and it gave her a beautiful glow.

"I was thinking about you listening to the rest of the album.  I haven't played "Never Again" for you yet."

She looked down at her plate.  "Yeah, I know.  We'll listen to it together, okay?"

*~*~*

"Welcome to my humble abode," Justin said as he opened the door for Britney to enter his house.

"Thanks," she said almost shyly. 

He gave her the grand tour.  "I'm going to change these to basketball courts.  I think they're going to work on that next," he said showing her the tennis courts.

"You should keep one of them as a tennis court.  Who knows, maybe you'll find a new hobby."

She smiled at him, which made him smile back.

"I think golf and basketball is enough."

"This is great," she said, looking around.  "It's a shame it wasn't up for sale when we were looking..."  She closed her eyes and then opened them.  "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"No, it's okay.  Are you hungry now or do you want to wait?"

"Let's eat now."

They walked back into the house and Justin led her to the kitchen.

"I had stuff delivered.  I hope you still like it," he said as he took the wrapped boxes out of the oven.

"My tastes haven't changed."

She looked around the kitchen.  "I see you still love candles."

He nodded as he opened the containers and put them on a plate.

"Yeah.  The vanilla ones still remind me of you."

"That's funny, they remind me of you," she said softly.

"Here," he said handing her a plate.

They walked into the dining room and Justin lit a couple of candles on the table.  He went over to the stereo and pushed a couple of buttons and soft music began to play.  Then he walked over to the wall and dimmed the lights a little.

Britney smiled at him.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked before she took a bite of potatoes.

"I just wanted to see what you were doing."

"Something specific or in general?"

"In general I guess."

"I'm trying to take a break, but I still end up doing things in the public eye, don't I?"

He had just taken a bite so he nodded and smiled.

"I'm just taking things as they come along," she shrugged as she pushed a green bean around on her plate.

"I talked to your mom the other day.  She seems to be doing okay with adjusting after the divorce."

"Yeah."

He stopped lifting his fork to his mouth.  "How about you?" he asked before he took a bite.

"I'm okay with it.  You know I hated how they fought all the time."

"Yeah, but it's still hard, Brit."

She put her fork down and rubbed her temple.  "Yeah...kinda.  I still make sure I see him, so that's what counts."

"You're right.  Are you seeing anyone?"

Her eyes got wide for a second.  "Not really.  I went out on a date last week but the guy was lame."

"Lame?" he chuckled.

"Yeah.  I don't know, I guess I'm looking in the wrong places.  I need someone who is more career oriented.  I could tell he was going to be the kind of guy who smothered me."

"I used to smother you."

Her face softened.

"In a good way.  So, what about you?"

"I'm in between dating right now."

"So no Alyssa?"

He groaned.

"What?  I've heard there's a lot of pictures of the two of you together."

"We dated," he said quietly.

"But you're not now?"

He shook his head.  "No...she got tired of it."

"Of what?  If I may ask..."

"Of being asked about you."

*~*~*

"Comfy?" Justin asked as Britney sat down on the couch next to him.

They had just finished eating and were settling down to listen to the rest of "Justified".

"Yeah...you?"

He nodded and pushed the play button on the remote.  There were more lit vanilla candles surrounding them.

"Let's Take a Ride" was now playing.

"I started to write a few weeks after our tour was over," he said leaning back onto the couch.  His arms resting on the back of it.  "I think everything that happened came crashing down on me because my life came to a stand still."

Britney was leaning forward a little bit and she nodded.

"Before I had the tour to distract me...and I had the guys."

"Yeah, I heard stories of how distracted you got," she said in a sarcastic tone.

He ignored that comment.

"So the tour was over and you and I tried to make it work again...and that didn't work...so I met Pharrell and Chad in Virginia and all of a sudden, I had time to think about things."

"What are you getting at?" she asked but wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.

"Never Again," he said softly.  "It's a very raw song, I just want you to be prepared.  I needed to write about what I was going through."

She nodded.  He still couldn't see her face.

After listening to the rest of "Let's Take a Ride" the CD Player changed to track 13..."Never Again".

Britney sat there and listened to the lyrics.  She loved the simpleness of the song...practically just his voice and a piano.  But, the lyrics got to her.  She tried to fight back the tears but they overwhelmed her and since she and Justin were just going with what they were feeling on this trip, she let them flow.

Justin knew this would be emotional for her.  Hell, if things had happened the other way around, it would upset him to hear lyrics like this from her.  Slowly he moved his hand so that it was resting on her back.  She was leaning over with her face in her hands now.  He rubbed his hand up and down her back, trying to console her.

She didn't look up, but instead turned toward him, her hands still covered her face and she buried her head in his chest.

"I'm so sorry," she said as she continued to cry.

He wrapped his arms around her.

"I know...we've been over that.  That's not what this trip is about," he said in a soothing tone.

She finally looked up and started to wipe her face.  She hadn't realized how close to him she was.  He took her chin in one of his hands and his thumb wiped some of the tears away.

She could only look at him with her sorrowful eyes.  The song was over.  She sniffed one more time.

"Sorry I lost it," she tried to joke.

His expression was serious.  "Whatever you need to do...remember?"

She nodded.

*~*~*

"So I think I'm in a good place right now," he said nodding his head.

"I used to think I was."

They had finished dinner and was now sitting on the patio, overlooking his pool.

"I would go over and over all the things we said to each other..."

"Britney..." he tried to stop her.

"No," she held her hand up.  "I need to do this.  I would remember everything. All the harsh things we said.  All the hurtful things..." she added quietly. 

"We were both at fault with that..."

"Yeah, but I'm the one who caused them in the first place.  If only I hadn't lost my trust in you."  She shook her head.  "Somewhere along the line.  I let rumors and gossip and my own insecurities get to me."  She started to rub her temples.  Suddenly she looked up at him.  "I'm sorry Justin...for everything."

He looked down at his hands before looking up into her eyes.  "I'm sorry too.  It has taken me awhile to get to a place where I can be honest in saying that."

"What about that I'm forgiven?  Can you honestly say that to me?"

He reached over and took one of her hands in his own.  The feel of his skin against hers made her shiver.

"I don't think I can say that 100% but I'm close.  I want to forgive you, but mainly I want to understand why you did what you did."

"I don't know if I can explain that to myself, Justin," she said, almost breathlessly.  "I just know that I'd never do it again.  It wasn't me."

He knew by looking into her eyes that she was sorry.  He could see the love there again.  They had tried a couple times over the last 7 months to get back together, because they both had wanted it...but they weren't ready for it.  Now, maybe they were.

"Maybe we could see if we can make it work this time," he said.

"Is that what  you really want?"

*~*~*

"Brit...you awake?" Justin asked.

She had fallen back into his arms while they were sitting on the couch, but she hadn't moved in awhile.

"Yeah," she said softly.  "I'm just thinking."

"So do you want to do anything?  Go for a walk on the beach or something?  It's not too late for that."

She shook her head.  "No...I like staying like this."

"Me too," he said before he kissed the top of her head.

"Your album was really good, by the way," she said, straightening up a little bit.

"Thanks."

"I mean it.  It's so different than anything out there.  It's very you."  He could hear the smile in her voice.  "A more mature you," she giggled.

"None of what I sang about should shock you," he said giving her shoulders a little squeeze.

"Tell me something?"

"What?"

"If we had been together when you recorded this...would have you asked me to sing Janet's parts in "Take Me Now"?"  She was looking up at him with her soft brown eyes.

He chuckled and she smiled.  "Of course."

Suddenly they both grew serious.  Justin's eyes kept darting down to her mouth.  She grew nervous.  It had been so long since she had been kissed the way she liked to be kissed...the way that Justin knew how to kiss her.  She wet her lips with her tongue.

Slowly his mouth reached hers.  His left arm was still around her shoulders and he used it to bring her closer.  He reached around her and gently grabbed her hair.

Their mouths touched...finally, she thought.  He gently opened his mouth over hers.  She opened hers a little wider and slid her tongue into his mouth.  Justin turned her head slightly so he could get a better angle and continued to deeply kiss her.  She felt her toes curling and her fingers were grabbing his jeans.

When Justin pulled away he placed one last small kiss on her lips.  His hands were holding her face now and he looked deeply into her eyes.  She was blinking, trying not the let her emotions get the best of her.

"That was nice," he said first.

"Very nice," she agreed.  "Small steps..."

*~*~*

"So do we just start dating again?" Britney asked.

"Yeah, I guess," he shrugged.  "I know one thing...whatever we do, we need to stay out of the public eye - at least for a little while."

"Yeah, that would be a good idea.  We can't do that in LA, Justin."

He looked at her left hand that he still held.

"We can go away somewhere...just you and me."

"But you've got promotions coming up."

"I can schedule in a long weekend somewhere."

He turned her hand over and was staring at her pinky.

"Okay.  Now we have to decide where."

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes.

"I know where," she smiled.  "The condo in Destin."

He straightened up a little bit and smiled.  "That would be perfect."

She leaned into him a little bit and put her head on his shoulder.

"I really want to make this work.  I've missed you," she whispered.

"We can make this work...baby steps, that's what we need to take."

*~*~*

"Why don't you go to bed?  You can't keep your eyes open," Justin whispered to Britney, who was now reclined against him.

"Okay."  She stood up.  "Um, how are we going to do this?"

"I can sleep in the other bedroom if you're more comfortable with that," he suggested.

"There's no bed in there."

"I can sleep on the couch," he said testing the firmness of the cushions beneath him.

"We can sleep in the same bed.  Maybe that's our next baby step."

He nodded.  "Okay.  I'll be in in a little while."

"Good night," she said as she leaned down, bracing herself by placing her hands on his thighs and kissing his cheek.

"Good night."

A couple of hours later Justin slowly walked into the master bedroom.  He had been thinking about a lot of things after she went to bed.  He quickly undressed so that he was only in his boxers.  He lifted up the covers and slid into bed, next to Britney.

He lie there on his back as he continued to think about the progress that they had made.  Back in LA she had asked him if he had completely forgiven her.  At that time he couldn't say that he had but now...maybe.  Spending time together like this was a healing process all on it's own.

She shifted a little and her hand moved  so that it was under his pillow.  He turned so that he was on his side, facing her.  She looked so beautiful in the glow of the moonlight that was coming from the window.

*~*~*

"I hadn't realized how late it was getting," Britney said, standing up and stretching.  "I'm sure you're busy so I'll go now, I guess."

Justin stood up behind her.

"I'm glad you came today.  I'm glad we had dinner and I'm glad we talked."

She turned around and smiled at him.  "Me too.  Thanks for giving me a tour of your house."

He took her hand and led her through the house to the front door.

"It was my pleasure."

They stopped when they reached the door.

"So, check on what dates are good for you.  I'm open," she shrugged.

"Okay.  I'll call tomorrow then."

She smiled and nodded.

"Justin...I...I missed you."

She threw her arms around his neck.  He was a little bit stunned by this move so it took him a few seconds to wrap his arms around her waist and squeeze her tightly.  He buried his face into her hair.

"I missed you too," he whispered.

*~*~*

"Morning, sunshine," Britney's sweet voice rang through the room.

"God no..." Justin groaned and turned his head into the pillow.

"Still not a morning person, I see," she said tickling his back.  "Come on Justin, I brought juice and cereal."

Slowly he turned around and sat up.  The sheet fell to his waist and while he was rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Britney took in as much of him as she could.

When he opened his eyes he saw her sitting on the bed with a tray sitting in between them.  Her hair was up in a messy pony tail and she had on a thin T-shirt and loose fitting cotton shorts.

"Hey," she smiled at him.

He couldn't help but smile back.  "Hey."

She poured each of them a glass of juice and then started to pour the cereal.  Justin watched her closely as she did this.

"Did you have a good night sleep?" he asked as he took his glass.

"Yeah...I did," she said with thought.  "I haven't slept like that in a long time."

"Me either..."

She poured the milk.

He took a bowl and she took a bowl and sat back.

"So, what are we going to do today?"

"Umm, let's hit the beach," he said.

The rest of the day was spent laughing and playing.  

By late afternoon, Justin looked up from the book he was reading to see Britney running back up to him from the water.

"It's so refreshing," she said as she plopped down on the towel next to him.  "Let's watch the sunset tonight and then go to that little restaurant," she said pointing toward the place they had talked about the night before.

"You read my mind."

They decided to take a walk along the beach before the sun set and when they found the place where their stuff was at, Britney sat down.  She reached into her bag and pulled out a shirt and pulled it on.  Justin sat down behind her so that she was sitting in between his legs.  She smiled and leaned back into him as his arms wrapped around her waist.  She wrapped her arms around his and entwined her fingers with his.

They watched as the sun set over the Gulf.

"So beautiful," Britney sighed.

"Breathtakingly so," Justin agreed.  "Let's go...I'm starving."

She didn't want to move from this spot but she had to agree, she was hungry too.

They went back to the condo to quickly change and then they walked hand in hand down the beach to their favorite little restaurant.

*~*~*

"Today is November 5th, 2002 welcome to TRL," Carson Daly said.

The people in the audience applauded.  

"Today we have none other than Justin Timberlake with us today...his album "Justified" hit stores today and he'll be joining us."

The audience screamed again.

Later in the show Carson welcomed Justin.  After the usual talk about how excited he was about the album, Carson asked the one question that had been on many people's minds.

"So, I have to ask you.  There's a group of girls over there who are dying to know and they'll beat me up after the show if I don't ask."

Justin laughed.  "Okay."

"Rumors have it that you and Britney are back together.  What's up with that man?"

Justin smiled and looked down quickly before lifting the mic back up to his mouth and looking at Carson.

"Yeah...we got back together a few weeks ago."

Carson's face looked surprised and the girls in the audience screamed.

"Really?"

"Yeah.  We've been trying to keep it low you know?  Wanted to make sure it was going to work this time."

"How did that come about man?"

"Well you know, the timing was right for us.  We both needed to be in a good place in order for it to work.  I think we both believed that we were meant to be together so we needed to find that pathway again and we found it," he shrugged.

"That's cool man.  Did you enjoy your single life though?" Carson asked.

Justin laughed and waved his hands.  "Hey man...I can't talk about that now."