Title: Strange Bedfellow
Author: Granitite Stone, granitite@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: If they were mine, would I be writing fanfiction? There is no malicious intent in this story, I know nothing about these men's real lives.
Rating: NC-17

"Alex." There was a rough voice in his ear. "Alex." Another pause, then louder, accompanied by a shake. "Alex! Wake the fuck up. I wanna talk to you about what I said last night."

"Sssh." AJ cautiously sat up. "There are elephants singing one of your songs in my head."

Cold blue eyes narrowed. "You’re drunk. You were drunk, and I had no fucking idea. Yeah, you’re getting real good at this, Alex. You managed to fool a pro."

"Marshall, why are you so mad?" Everything was all swirly and AJ realized that was a line from one of Eminem’s songs. He thought.

"You don’t remember." It wasn’t a question. "You don’t remember!"

For the first time since they’d hooked up, AJ was actually afraid of Eminem. "Marshall?"

"Out. Get out of here. If I wanted to be around someone three sheets to the wind, I would have gone out clubbing with Bizarre." Eminem was practically shaking with rage. "You can’t remember, you get the hell out."

Confused, AJ grabbed his shoes and left. In two years, he had never seen Eminem’s anger directed at him.
--------------------
Howie knew something was wrong when AJ showed up in his doorway. "You look horrible."

"He threw me out." AJ walked in without waiting for an invitation. "He threw me out, and I don’t even know why."

"That Marshall guy?" Howie knew AJ’s mysterious boyfriend’s name, but not much else. "Why would he throw you out?"

"I was smashed last night, and he told me something important." AJ sprawled across one of the double beds. "Now I can’t remember what he said."

"Must’ve been some revelation." Howie sat down next to AJ.

"I can’t remember." AJ sounded a little stunned, and looked up at Howie. His face was streaked with tears. "I’m not losing him. I need to go see Kevin."

"Why?"

"I think I need to get some help."
--------------------
Howie flipped through AJ’s address book. He found only one Marshall listed, with no last name. He dialed it. The person didn’t even wait for him to speak. "I told you to fuck off, Dre. I’m not dealing with this shit today."

Howie blinked. Why did that voice sound familiar? "Um, I’m not Dre. My name’s Howie."

"Howie who? You work for my lawyer? I ain’t talking to him today either." The man only seemed to get angrier.

"I’m one of AJ’s friends."

There was a snort on the other end of the line. "And you have the balls to call me? You tell Alex the next time he shows up here drunk, I’m taking the nude photos to the press."

Howie decided not to laugh, because he guessed that Marshall wasn't joking, and what he was about to say was serious. "I won’t get the chance. AJ went into rehab this morning. He told me he didn’t want to lose you."

"You’re fucking with me. No way he’d do that for me."

"He did. No offense, Marshall, but who are you? AJ hasn’t exactly been a fountain of information." Howie had been dying of curiosity for months.

"He never told you?" There was a dramatic pause on the telephone line. "I’ll give you a hint."

"Shoot."

"They call me Slim Shady." There was a dark laugh, and a dial tone.

Howie got up, and ran into Nick’s room. "I need to talk to your brother."

"He might be online, but I already told him, Howie. You don’t need to call him or whatever." Nick was a mess. He’d been like this all weekend. Howie didn’t want to see what he’d be like on TRL Monday.

"It’s either him, or Justin Timberlake. I need someone who likes rap." Howie pulled his ace card.

"Hold on." Nick logged on. "He’s on. Whatever this is, let’s keep it in the family. No need to bring Nsync into this."

"Thanks."

<You are now entering private chat….>
<Sweet D> Aaron, need to ask you something.
<Pop Prince> Go for it.
<Sweet D> What’s Eminem’s real name?
<Pop Prince> Marshall Mathers. What rock have you been living under?
<Sweet D> The one where he hates us.
<Pop Prince> Hey, it’s an honor to get trashed by him.
<Sweet D> Is he from the northeast?
<Pop Prince> Detroit. What’s up with the fifth degree?
<Sweet D> Nothing. Just needed to check something out.
<Pop Prince> It’s cool. Gotta go rehearse. Beat up Nick for me.
<Sweet D> You got it.
--------------------
Later, on the way to New York, Howie spoke. "I called Marshall this morning."

"The guy must be some kind of saint. I mean, he managed what none of us could. He got AJ to get help." Brian was amazed someone could have that kind of affect on AJ.

"You’re romanticizing, Bri. From what AJ told me, the guy threw him out of a hotel room and told him not to come back until he sobered up." Kevin shut the newspaper he had been pretending to read. "You talked to him, Howie. What’s he like?"

"He’s no saint." Howie didn’t think it was his place to tell them. "Although if I ever talk to him again, we’ll be having a ‘Hurt him, and I’ll make that song seem pleasant’ conversations."

"I still want to meet him." Brian didn’t care if he was romanticizing. "Hey, what song?"

Howie smiled for the first time since AJ had stumbled into his room. It was fun being in on the joke. "Now that would be telling."
--------------------
AJ came back from rehab with a new haircut, a new attitude, and questions. He’d started having recurring dreams about that night, but no matter how many times he ran it through his head, he couldn’t remember what Eminem had told him. It was starting to drive him a little insane.

In fact, he was upstairs brooding, while the rest of them ate dinner in the hotel dinning room. Nick was facing the door, so he was the first to notice. "They must be letting anyone stay here now."

"What?" Howie turned around, and saw a familiar face sitting across the room.

"He’s been staring at us for ten minutes. I’m not Timberlake, I don’t like being trashed on international radio." Nick stood up, and pushed out his chair. "I’m going to go say something."

"Sit down, Nick." Howie knew why he’d been staring, and decided to take care of the problem. "I’ll get rid of him."

"You?" Kevin wondered if Howie had lost his mind. "He’ll rip you apart."

"I’ll be fine." Howie slipped AJ’s keycard out of his pocket, palmed it, and got up. He walked over, and sat down across from him. "You’re annoying my friends. Go upstairs." He slid the card across the table. "He’s been annoying us too."

Eminem took the key with a smirk. "Bizarre told me to get laid, or he was leaving the tour. You Howie?"

"Yeah. I’d start looking pissed off, or they may guess we’re having a civilized conversation over here." Howie remembered what he’d told Brian that morning. "Oh, and you hurt my friend, and you’ll be the one being murdered in the woods." Howie got up, and walked away. Eminem strolled out of the dining room with a purpose, and a new respect for Backstreet Boys.
--------------------
AJ was asleep when the door opened and Eminem quietly walked in. He kicked off his shoes, and crawled into bed with him. "Alex…."

"Marshall?" He opened one eye. "Shouldn’t you be on the other side of the country?"

"When rappers tell you you’re getting too pissy, it’s time to get laid." Eminem trailed a finger down AJ’s chest. "Interested in improving my mood?"

"Hell yeah." AJ rolled over, and kissed him. His tongue traced across Eminem's lips, and slipped inside his mouth. "I have missed you so fucking much. I won't let them listen to the top forty hit stations because Purple Hills is starting to have the strangest affect on me."

Eminem laughed, and started taking off AJ's tee-shirt. "Most people who don't listen to D12 do it because they don't like the content. I've never heard of anyone not listening to it because it makes them hard."

 "You think it's funny?" AJ gasped as a tongue rasped over his nipple. "The guys are starting to think I have some kind of personal beef with you, since I kept storming out of the room."

"I got problems of my own." Eminem let AJ pull down his jeans. "Dre keeps emailing me MP3's of your songs. I never know what's stuff from the label for me to listen to, or some sappy pop ballad."

"They're not all sappy ballads." AJ muttered.

"Proof went to check our schedule, and found a file called Party. He practically ran screaming from the room. What the hell were you people thinking?"

"It was almost ten years ago. We aren't that peppy anymore." AJ knew one sure way to shut Eminem up. He pushed him down onto the mattress, and licked his cock. AJ scraped his teeth over the head, before slipping it down his throat.

Eminem's fingers tightened around his skull. He wished AJ hadn't shaved his hair. "Alex. You are so fucking good at this."

AJ smiled. "How many guys have you gotten blowjobs from, Marshall? Do I have another reason to be glad Shaggy's off the tour?"

AJ's head bobbed back down, and Eminem almost forgot the comment, until he realized he'd never told AJ about that skit. "You do not own my CD."

"Whatever you say, Marshall." A little more teeth, and AJ decided to push things a little farther. He traced a finger down the crease of Eminem's ass. For two years, every time he'd even tried, he'd been growled at to stop. When Eminem didn't say anything, he pulled his hand back anyway.

"Did I tell you to stop?" The comment was a husky whisper.

"No." AJ wasn't sure what was happening here, but he had a feeling it was important.

"Then don't stop."

AJ looked at Eminem, who's eyes were closed tight. "Are you sure?"

"Don't ask, just keep going." Those blue eyes flickered open for a moment, and AJ saw something he didn't recognize. Something other than lust. Trust. Eminem was trusting him. Trusting him to make it good, to not hurt him. He hadn't thought the rapper known to the world as Eminem trusted anyone. Not even him.

AJ decided not to question Eminem, he just fumbled for the tube of lube on the nightstand. He slicked his fingers, and traced Eminem's rim with a light touch. He could sense the tension in the body spread out before him. "Relax, Marshall. I'm not going to hurt you."

He slowly pushed his finger in and twisted. Eminem gasped. "Alex." AJ leaned up and kissed him, before adding a second finger.

"Good?"

"Fuck." Eminem let his head fall back. "You never told me."

"You never asked." AJ couldn't seem to get his voice above a whisper. He felt like any loud sound would make Eminem change his mind, stop this. A third finger, and those eyes opened again, this time mostly clouded with lust.

AJ wasn't going any further with permission, but wasn't sure how to ask. Eminem solved the dilemma for him. "Go ahead, but you hurt me, Alex, and you aren't getting that dick back."

"I'm not going to hurt you, Marshall." AJ used more lube, and slicked his dick. "I'm not going to hurt you." He started to ease inside, and watched Eminem's face go slack with pleasure.

"Alex," Eminem couldn't finish the sentence as AJ hit his prostate. "Alex, I..."

"Quiet." AJ thrust a little harder, and kissed him. "You talk too much during sex."

Eminem groaned, and pulled AJ closer. "Fuck, Alex. Feels so good."

"You think I've been lying to you for two years?" He picked up the pace and moved from Eminem's lips to his neck, and stroked his temple. "You have no idea what it means to me, that you trust me this much."

Eminem groaned again, and went still beneath him. Hot semen splashed between them. Aching for release, AJ pushed in as far as he could, and let go. He collapsed on top of Eminem, and rested his head on the other man's chest. He was so sleepy all of a sudden. "No idea what this means to me."

"Go to sleep, Alex." Eminem kissed him softly. As AJ drifted off, he could hear Eminem's voice. "It doesn't matter if you heard me, Alex. All that matters is that I at least managed to say it."

A few hours later, AJ was vaguely aware of Eminem wriggling out from underneath him. "Have to get going."

"Kiss me goodbye." AJ mummers, and he heard Eminem laugh.

"Behave yourself, Alex. When I get back, you'd better still be sober." AJ got his kiss, and then Eminem was gone.
------------------
AJ was scaring everyone at breakfast. He smiled, made jokes, and teased Nick. Finally, the youngest Backstreet Boy had enough. "Alright, who are you, and what did you do with Sullen AJ?"

"Marshall was here last night." AJ's smile got wider.

"You won't believe who else was here." Nick's expiation soured.

"Don't start, Nick." Kevin was more interested in his coffee than dealing with Nick. "He didn't do anything to you, and Howie got rid of him."

"What?" AJ hated not knowing what was going on.

Brian looked a little disgusted. "Eminem. I'm glad you were upstairs, the hotel would have thrown us out if you'd started a fist fight. Howie got him to leave somehow."

AJ hid a smile. "Thanks, D. I appreciate it."

Howie almost choked on his eggs. "Let's not talk about Eminem."

"Yeah." Nick pinged a grape at AJ. "I want to know why you're in such a good mood. This is beyond just got laid."

AJ got quiet. Usually he was happy to gross Nick out with details, but what happened last night... That was just between them. "I'm not going to describe my sex life over breakfast." He pinged the grape back. "What Marshall and I do together is none of your business."

"I think it's wonderful you finally found someone who loves you." Brian didn't hear Howie's snort. He didn't think Eminem was capable of loving anyone.

"Marshall doesn't-" AJ stopped as the last piece of the puzzle clicked into place.

"Marshall doesn't what?" Nick's voice snapped AJ out of his memories.

He got pale as a sheet, and stood up. "I...I have to..." He bolted from the room.

"AJ!" Kevin looked at the knocked over chair and the wide open hotel door. "What's his problem?"

"I'm going to find out." AJ had looked terrified. Howie didn't know what could scare his best friend that much.
-----------------
He found AJ in his room, on the floor in the bathroom, shaking. "AJ, you're scaring me. What's wrong?"

"Marshall..." AJ sounded so confused. "How could I do that to him? How could I forget that?"

"You remember?" Howie wondered what had happened to bring it back. What had Brian been saying? No. No way. He refused to believe that.

"He told me he loved me." AJ shakily got to his feet. "God, Howie, he let me fuck him last night, and I had no idea why. How could I have been that drunk?"

'He let me fuck him last night.' That sentence more than the confession convinced Howie that Eminem meant it. He knew from AJ's previous gross out Nick descriptions that 'Marshall' never let AJ anywhere near his ass. "Do you... I can't even say it. AJ, if you're just in this for the sex, it's time to get out. If you're not, it's time to tell the other guys exactly who Marshall Mathers is."

"I wouldn't have dried out for him if it was just sex." AJ looked at his face in the mirror, pale and drawn. "I need to call Marshall."

"Come back to breakfast first. You need to explain things. You scared the hell out of Brian, he didn't know what he did to upset you."

"Okay." AJ let Howie take him back to Kevin's room. He wordlessly went back to his breakfast, oblivious to his friends' stares.

"AJ, I'm sorry if I said something to upset you." Brian broke the silence.

"It's okay." AJ tried to shake off the shock. "I, uh, finally remembered why Marshall got so angry. I'm a little out of it still."

"Who is he, anyway?" Nick's curiosity was in full swing. "We've waited for two years to meet him."

Howie leaned back, and waited for all hell to break loose. He expected AJ to just tell them. Instead he pulled out his wallet, and took a picture out from behind a picture. "You already know him."

Nick's jaw dropped. "This is a joke, right? I mean...you made this up on a computer right?"

"Sorry, Nick. No joke. That's Marshall." AJ was smiling again as Nick passed the picture to Brian.

Brian got green. "AJ...you hate Eminem."

"Eminem!" Kevin snatched the photo from Brian. "AJ, are you insane?"

"Yesterday, Brian was going to nominate him for sainthood. Today I'm insane?" AJ took his photo back. "I never said I hated Eminem. You just assumed it was a bad thing I left the room every time I heard his voice."

"I don't understand!" Nick whined. "D12 told us to go fuck ourselves. He trashes the pop scene every time he has the chance."

AJ laughed. "Bizarre hates me. You never thought it was odd he trashes Nsync all the time?"

"I always figured it made for better lyrics." Brian made a decision. "AJ, I don't really care who you're with, as long as he makes you happy."

"Thanks, Bri."

Kevin got up and started pacing. "You're telling me that Eminem is bisexual, sleeping with you, and on top of all that some punk rappers knew before we did?"

"It's not like he came out to them or anything. Dre found us in bed together." Howie stared. AJ had never told him that.

"And you're both still alive?" Nick sounded amazed.

"He thinks its hilarious. I guess that after what Kim did to him, Dre figured he'd never let another woman near him anyway." AJ was definitely enjoying himself. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to make a phone call."

AJ left Howie to sort this mess out, and dialed a phone number. "Hey, Marshall."

"Alex." He could here static as Eminem moved around. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to tell you…" AJ didn't want to say this over the phone, but he didn't have a choice. "I love you too."

THE END

Dedicated to Salem, Wax Jism, Lipstick Traces and all the other Eminsync slashers, and Twilight who dared me to write this.