A/N: It's epilogue time. This is set just over three years later.

But first check out the beautiful banners that 17foreverlisa made for me (there two versions on the same theme) you can see both here:
fr333bird(dot)tumblr(dot)com/tagged/banner

See you at the bottom.

I'm exhausted.

I had to work a double shift today, because someone called in sick and no one else was available to cover at short notice. I've been on my feet for the better part of twelve hours and all I can think about is getting home and sleeping.

I walk the few blocks back to our apartment. The night air is still warm and muggy, the heat from the day seeping up from the sidewalk. The hot city smell fills my nostrils. It was hot and sunny all day but I was stuck indoors behind the bar for nearly all of it, serving customers, talking, smiling.

When I moved to New York with Riley after graduation I still had no idea what I wanted to do. Riley started his job for an advertising company - as a lowly minion but with hopes of making himself noticed eventually. After a couple of weeks of searching job websites for ideas, I saw an ad in the window of Eclipse, a bar close to our apartment and thought, why the hell not?

I needed something to help Riley pay the bills, Lord knows you don't earn much on the bottom rung of the ladder in advertising and living in New York isn't cheap. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoy bartending. It suits me. I'm gregarious, I like talking, I like people. Don't get me wrong, we get our share of drunken assholes, but looking like I do - I don't have to take much shit. If I roll up my sleeves and look scary they usually back the fuck off pretty damn quick.

The manager, Sam is a good guy, we get on well and he's easy to work for. After I'd been there for a few months the position of assistant manager became available and Sam encouraged me to go for it. The hours can be longer now - like today when the buck stopped at me with Sam out of town and an employee calling in sick. But the additional responsibility and the opportunity to learn more about the management side of things is good. I enjoy my job and the extra money after my promotion has helped make things easier for Riley and me.

I smile to myself as I think about Riley. I can't believe we've been together for nearly four years now. We're so good together. It's easy, comfortable but never dull. I can't imagine life with Riley ever being boring.

I wonder whether he'll still be awake when I get home. I doubt it; he works long hours and is usually asleep when I get back from a late shift. Our time together is precious because of the pressures of work. Sometimes there will be a few days where it feels like we hardly see each other. But I still love coming home to Riley, even if it's a sleeping Riley. Sometimes he doesn't even wake when I crawl under the covers and pull him into my arms. But even in his sleep he always responds by snuggling closer, warm and pliant. And I breathe in the scent of his skin as I drift into sleep curled around him.

I let myself into our apartment block and climb the stairs to the fourth floor. There's an elevator but it's out of service as usual. I try to be quiet as I fiddle with my keys, closing the door silently behind me. The apartment is in darkness, Riley's clearly already in bed. I creep around, hoping not to wake him. It's such a small space it's hard not to disturb each other when we're asleep at different times, but we're used to each other's presence. I know that I rarely register the sounds of him clattering in the kitchen at seven in the morning on the days that I sleep in.

I flip the light switch and kick off my shoes, leaving them by the door. Barefoot, I pad to the breakfast bar. There's a note waiting for me.

Hi babe, hope your day was okay. I kept you some food in case you didn't have time to eat at work. It's in the refrigerator. R x

I smile, grateful and my stomach growls at the thought of food, reminding me that I only had time for a sandwich and that was hours ago. I get the plate of pasta out that Riley's kept for me and eat it cold, too tired and hungry to wait for the food to heat up.

When I'm done I head for the bathroom, stripping off my clothes and dropping them in the hamper. I turn the shower on to warm while I pee and then get thankfully under the water. It's the perfect temperature, just warm enough to be comfortable but not hot - not on a night like tonight. I wash away the sweat and smell of the workplace, enjoying the feeling of the suds sliding down my body.

When I'm done I dry off, brush my teeth and slip quietly through into our bedroom. I don't bother to get any clothes. I don't want to wake Riley with the sound of drawers opening and closing and I'm trying to keep the moving around to a minimum. If I know Riley - and I do - I don't think he's going to have a problem with me being naked.

It's warm in our room, even though the window is open. The light from the streetlamps and cars outside make patterns on the ceiling as the drapes move slightly in the breeze. The sound of traffic filters up from the street, along with the click-click-click of high heels and a distant shout of laughter. New York never sleeps.

Riley's lying face down in the bed, sleep-sprawled, one arm thrown across the space where I should be. He's covered only by a sheet, it's bunched around his waist just barely covering his ass.

The glow of the streetlamps means that our room is never properly dark. We thought about getting blinds to cut out the light, but somehow we never got around to it and now we're both used to it, it no longer bothers us.

I pause for just a moment, watching the soft rise and fall of Riley's ribs as he breathes. I feel a rush of love as I watch him sleep - my boyfriend, my lover, my best friend.

I crawl carefully onto the bed. The mattress dipping makes Riley stir and he moves his arm, turning onto his side away from me, making space. I slip in behind him and move close despite the heat. I need to feel him. I need the connection, even though he's asleep.

I tuck myself around him, the big spoon to his little one, and am surprised to feel the bare skin of his ass against my hips and cock. I'm not complaining, it's just that Riley usually wears underwear to sleep in.

I try and resist the urge to grind up against him but he sighs and presses back against me. I put a hand on his hip and am surprised to feel elastic under my fingers.

Okay, now I'm confused.

I feel carefully, exploring with my fingertips. I feel a waistband of what appear to be normal briefs, snug on his hips.

Huh?

Maybe it was just my imagination that his ass was bare, wishful thinking perhaps?

I slide my hand back, palm flat against him. Fabric gives way to warm skin. I stroke it gently, unable to resist the temptation of Riley's smooth ass under my palm. He hums and wriggles, and I start to suspect that he's not as soundly asleep as I'd thought.

I smile to myself. Oh, it's like that is it? Okay.

I keep up the movement of my hand as I start to drop gentle kisses on his shoulders, chaste ones at first, but as he pushes his ass back into my hand and my fingers slip into his crack my kisses get hotter, wetter. I lick and suck at the skin of his back, tasting the salty tang of his sweat until he reaches a hand back and cups my balls, pressing the heel of his hand into my erection.

"Hey, baby," he murmurs. "How was your day?"

"Hey, you," I reply between kisses. "Long and tiring but I have a feeling it's gonna end well." I stroke his ass more insistently now, my fingers probing, searching. "What the fuck are you wearing anyway?" I ask.

"Put the lamp on," he twists around to face me, kissing me deeply before pulling away again. "Then you can see them."

The lamp beside our bed has a dimmer switch so I turn it on low, just enough to let us see each other but not bright enough to dazzle. I turn back towards him and he's on his side facing me now. From the front it looks as though he's wearing normal briefs. Pale pink with a red trim. The stretchy fabric is pulled tight over his hard cock which is lying at an angle, still covered.

"Mm," I hum approvingly, running my fingers over his length, teasing the tip. "Very nice. Now get on your hands and knees so I can see the back view."

He grins at me, looking pleased with himself and then slowly does as I've asked. Rolling onto his front and pushing himself up on all fours, head down, ass sticking out. I move to kneel behind him and I chuckle as I see what my hands felt before. His briefs are backless, or maybe assless is perhaps a better way of describing them. There is a large cutout at the back exposing his beautiful ass to me. The weight of his balls fill the pink pouch, the rim of red elastic sitting neatly just behind them. I run my hands over his buttocks, separating his cheeks with my thumbs so I can see his hole.

"You like them?" He asks.

"Easy access," I say approvingly. "Nice."

He chuckles. "And I know you like me in pink."

"Yeah," I smile as I lower my head and kiss the cheeks of his ass, brushing my lips teasingly. "You always look pretty in pink, baby."

I keep kissing his buttocks, switching from side to side, gradually edging closer to where he wants me with each kiss. I bite a little too, sucking until red marks stain his perfect skin and he starts to whimper impatiently, pushing back into my hands.

I nudge between his cheeks with my nose, breathing in his musky scent, knowing that he'll be able to feel my breath on him, making him wait a little longer. But I'm impatient too, my cock hanging heavy, eager to be inside him.

"Please, Em," he begs.

I finally relent, licking from where the fabric of his underwear ends, right up his crack in one swift movement. He hisses as my tongue grazes his hole. I move my mouth lower again, circling the sensitive skin with my tongue, making him wet as I push gently against the muscle, easing my tongue just inside.

I move one hand up between his legs, cupping his balls, stroking the hard length of him through his underwear. There's a wet spot where the tip of his cock presses against the thin material. I trace the shape of his cockhead with my finger, feeling the rim, the slit. He moans and his hole flutters under my tongue.

"Please," he gasps again.

I pull back to speak, kissing his cheeks again between the words. "What," I ask him. "Tell me what you need. I want to hear you say it."

"I want your cock," he whines, desperate. "I want you to fuck me."

"Mm," I put my fingers to his ass now; pressing and feeling him open for me, greedy. I push two in with little difficulty; his body draws me in, hot and tight. "So hungry for it aren't you?"

"Yeah," his voice is breathless and his cock jerks under my other hand. "Em, Please!"

Needy Riley is pretty fucking irresistible.

I love that I can do this to him, reduce him to a desperate, quivering mess. I love making him beg for my cock and then giving him exactly what he wants until he falls apart.

I move swiftly, giving his ass a quick slap as I go. "Stay there," I say.

He stays – panting, his legs spread, ass waiting for me as I reach for the lube. We haven't used condoms for ages and right now, when I'm impatient to get inside him, I'm very fucking happy about that. I dribble some lube directly onto his crack with no warning, making him jump as the cold gel hits him.

"Fuck!" he hisses.

"Any minute now," I smirk, smoothing the lube around his entrance and using the rest to slick my cock. I nearly groan aloud at the feeling of my hand. It's so fucking good, but Riley's ass will be exponentially better.

I tease him a little more, rubbing the blunt head of my cock over his hole. But I can't wait any longer, so I finally line myself up and push inside in one slow determined stroke.

"Oh, God," I moan, leaning forward over him to lick along the length of his spine and kiss his shoulder blades. His back is damp, salty under my tongue. He shivers and rocks back, encouraging me to move, so I do.

I pull back, almost all the way out and then push in again, as deep as I can go. I repeat the movement, gradually speeding up, holding his hips to keep him steady for me as he moans and arches his back. It feels amazing and I could come like this so quickly. It's tempting to keep going, to reach around and jack him off and push us both over the edge.

But I want to see exactly what I'm doing to him.

So I pull out, and flip him over. Riley gasps in surprised amusement. I grab his thighs and pull him to where I want him, pushing his legs back, opening him up for my cock. I push back in hard, filling him until my balls brush his ass. His cock is still encased in the pink fabric, the wet patch a deep rose at the head. He's been very patient tonight, he hasn't touched himself once yet. He likes to let me do it, but sometimes he can't wait.

I lean down close, trapping Riley's hard cock between our bodies as I kiss him, breathless and a little frantic. I rut into him, grinding down to give his cock some attention at last. The kiss gets harder, messier. Teeth bump and my lip stings; I taste blood in my mouth. I drag my lips from his and kiss his face, his neck, his chest, sucking on his nipples as I thrust relentlessly into him. He's mine, I want all of him.

I can tell that Riley's close now from the wrecked expression on his face and the sounds that he's making. He's incoherent, beyond speech. When I pull his underwear down to expose his cock and take it in my hand he curses, wrapping his legs around me, his heels digging in my ass, urging me to move even faster, harder.

I'm so close, but I want him to get there first. I love it when he comes around me, drawing my orgasm out of me by the clench of his body, the sight of his cum spurting from his cock.

I grip and slide, his cock is slick with pre-cum and my hand moves easily in time with my thrusts.

"Oh, God," he cries, his body tensing. The moment stretches out endlessly as I wait, desperate, teetering on the brink.

And then I feel the pulsing deep inside, the jerk of his cock in my hand and the hot, wet splash of his cum and I see the pain-pleasure on his face and I let myself go. My hips jerk and my whole body goes tense as I buck into him, my cock spilling inside him.

I can't hold myself up any longer once I've finished and I collapse on top of him, a sweaty, panting mess, my softening dick still inside him. Riley makes a crooning noise and runs his fingers lightly through my hair as I pull the shattered pieces of myself back together. As I calm down I'm hit by the weight of tiredness that comes after more than a full day's work and an amazing fuck.

I huff and fake a groan, chuckling to myself.

"What?" Riley asks me, his hands still in my hair.

"I was just thinking that I need another fucking shower," I mumble, too tired to enunciate properly.

"Cleanliness is overrated," he replies, amused. "But if you get off me, I'll get you a washcloth."

I slip easily out of him, my softening cock slick with my cum as it dribbles out of him. I flop onto my back, my belly sticky with his release.

Riley jumps up, graceful as always, tucks his cock back into his underwear and slips out to the bathroom. He's gone a few minutes and I hear the brief sound of the shower as he gets himself clean. I'm almost asleep when he returns, naked now. He's carrying a bowl of warm water, a wash cloth and a towel.

I let him take care of me, wiping the cum off my stomach and cock. He cools my heated skin with the damp cloth and pats me gently dry with the towel.

"Thank you," I smile sleepily through half closed eyes.

"You're welcome," he smiles back, his voice soft.

When he's finished, he takes the stuff back to the bathroom and finally climbs back into bed with me. I'm at that boneless state of exhaustion now, the weight of my body too much. Riley curls in beside me, and kisses my cheek, his hand on my chest.

"I love you," he whispers.

"Me too..." I manage, moving my hand and laying it over his.

The last thing I'm aware of as I slip into sleep is the warm weight of Riley beside me, the scent of his skin, the beat of my heart beneath our hands.

A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews, support, tweets, comments on Facebook etc. It's so great to hear when someone is enjoying one of my stories. I've had a blast writing this one and I'm glad that I have outtakes to write because I'm not ready to let these boys go yet. There might even be a futuretake sometime, I had a plot bunny hop into my head for one already so anything could happen.