They were at Naruto's apartment for once. It was a Friday night, but they were both a little tired after having worked all day. The room still smelled of the Chinese takeout they'd eaten a couple of hours ago. Naruto was lying on the floor, resting his eyes. Sasuke was on the couch, flipping through a copy of Rolling Stone.

"I feel old, Sasuke," Naruto mumbled. "We're young. Shouldn't we be out doin' stuff?"

"Like what?" asked Sasuke, flipping through several pages at once.

"I dunno. I know there's not much to do around here, but it'd be good to go out."

"I take it you don't just mean to grab a few drinks at the bar," said Sasuke, closing the magazine and neatly aligning it with the corner of the coffee table. "We could go to a club tomorrow if you want."

"What sort of club?" He rolled to his side, propping his head up with an elbow. "Like a dance club?"

"I didn't realize I had to specify." Sasuke grinned and leaned back against the sofa. He looked good that way, making himself comfortable in the only place Naruto had that he could call his own. It was nowhere near as nice as Sasuke's apartment, but it was cozy, and he liked when Sasuke slept over here, because then the pillows and sheets and everywhere smelled like him.

"You could've meant strip club," Naruto suggested with a smirk. "But maybe we'd have different ideas of which one to go to?"

"Maybe I meant book club." Sasuke's tone was light, playful, but he did sound tired. "I hear they're having a read along for Twilight."

"God, Sasuke. Why didn't you tell me earlier? You just know how I love that one guy... with the... teeth... and the... hair."

"Ah, yes. I also love guys with teeth and hair," Sasuke said dryly.

Naruto dragged himself to his feet and walked over to Sasuke, standing between his legs. Sasuke leaned forward and rested his head against Naruto's stomach, letting out a yawn. Naruto rubbed his head for him.

"Tired?" he asked.

Sasuke nodded, hands winding around behind Naruto's legs, tugging at his pajama pants.

Naruto continued to comb his fingers through his boyfriend's hair and gently swept them across the nape of his neck. "Wanna go to bed?"

Sasuke looked up at him, almost apologetic. "Yeah. I'm pretty beat."

"Okay," Naruto said with a smile in case Sasuke was worried he'd be disappointed they weren't doing much of anything tonight.

Naruto helped him to his feet and, grabbing Sasuke's hand, led him to the bedroom after flipping off all of the lights. There was nothing particularly special about his room. The walls were a very pale blue. The bed - smaller than Sasuke's - was shoved into a corner, and he usually took the side nearest the wall. There was a dresser on the opposite wall, where he'd set his 18" flatscreen, which he usually put on before bed. Naruto picked up the remote control and turned on the TV, able to see Sasuke out of the corner of his eye as he pulled off his shirt and removed his watch. One of the drawers had a few of Sasuke's clothes for when he stayed over, so he got out a pair of lounge pants. Naruto flipped through the channels, humming a song as he ended up settling on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

By the time he turned around, Sasuke was already getting under the covers. Naruto switched off the bedroom light first before removing his own shirt, casually tossing it across the room, where it hit against the side of the hamper. He crawled over Sasuke onto his side of the bed, with Sasuke giving his ass a slap in the process, making him laugh.

"Bastard," he said.

"How am I supposed to watch the TV when your ass is in my face?" Sasuke smirked.

"Funny," replied Naruto. "I've never known you to have a problem with having my ass in your face."

"That's true." Sasuke rolled over and draped his arm across Naruto's waist. "I'm not so tired that I'd turn down the opportunity." He leaned in to kiss Naruto on the mouth, hand moving up to his chest where it paused above Naruto's heart. Naruto wrapped his hand around the back of Sasuke's neck, pulling him down more, until he was pressed up against his side.

Sasuke shifted back a ways, and Naruto could still feel the pressure of where his lips had been. He rubbed the tip of his finger across the bottom one.

"I like having you here," he said, looking at Sasuke, head angled a bit to the side.

"Do you?" Sasuke asked and moved a strand of hair from his cheek to behind an ear. "I like being here. With you."

"You're not bored of me yet?" Naruto asked, reaching up to touch the side of Sasuke's face, thumb sliding along the curve of his jaw.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Why would you ask that?"

Naruto shrugged. "Dunno. Guess I feel morose tonight."

Sasuke frowned. "Why do you feel morose?" He played with Naruto's hair, running his fingers through it.

"Just one of those days maybe. It's not a big deal. I mean, it's infinitely better with you here already, but, yeah."

Sasuke hummed, grabbed for the remote and put the TV on mute. "Anything I can do?"

"Tell me a story?" Naruto suggested hopefully.

"What, like a fairytale? Aren't you a little too old for that?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "No, I mean a story from your past. Something I don't know yet."

"That could be entering dangerous territory," said Sasuke. "You get upset when I tell you things from my past."

Naruto made a face. "Only when you tell me shit like when those guys jumped you and beat the crap out of you and then your weird ass hopped on a bus after that. All bloody and bruised."

"Hey." Sasuke poked him in the forehead. "I thought that was pretty cool how I staggered right onto that city bus, went home, and passed out."

"Okay, so tell me a sexy story. I promise not to get jealous. Probably."

"You want me to tell you about a time I had sex with someone else?"

Naruto nearly gagged. "No. I don't wanna hear that, just... I dunno. A sexy story. Not, like, details about you with someone else, but just... somethin'."

Sasuke stopped stroking his hair and spoke near Naruto's ear. "If you're horny and just want to hear me saying something dirty, all you have to do is ask, Naruto."

Naruto bit his lip, suppressing a shiver. He turned, and they kissed some more, no part of their bodies touching except their mouths and tongues. Sasuke was patient, letting him nip and suck at his bottom lip like he knew Naruto needed some kind of assurance that even he didn't understand. It was enough, like he'd said, just to have Sasuke there with him. It was unbelievable how grounded it made him feel, how grateful. When they stopped kissing, Sasuke traced his mouth with a thumb. Naruto pursed his lips and Sasuke pressed his thumb against them until he bit gently at the tip and nail and then sucked on it, Sasuke's dark eyes on him the entire time.

"Tease," sighed Sasuke as he drew his hand away, letting it fall between them on the blankets. "So, am I still supposed to tell you a story or not?"

"Sure," said Naruto.

"Requests?"

"Hm. What's the kinkiest thing you've ever done?"

"Kinkiest?" Sasuke repeated. "I don't suppose I can get away with saying blowing you in the dressing room of the men's department at Sak's?"

"If it's the kinkiest thing you've ever done, then sure." Naruto folded an arm underneath his head. "We sort of do a lot of kinky things, don't we? Even right off the bat."

"Like the bathtub." Sasuke smirked.

"Like the other week in your car," said Naruto, grinning coyly.

"Yeah, I'm wondering if it's best we not do that while I'm driving anymore."

Naruto chuckled. "Maybe not. But, I mean... I've seen some of your toys, Sasuke."

"Wait. When have you seen my toys?" Sasuke scowled at him.

"Nevermind that. What's important is that I'm curious about your, uh... tastes."

"Uh huh. Is this about my whorish past?"

"Tch. I didn't say that."

Sasuke poked his cheek. "You didn't have to. I knew you were thinking it. What are you curious about? Orgies? Exhibitionism? Bondage? S&M?"

Naruto got up on his elbow. "Wait. You've had orgies?"

"Haven't you?"

"I can't tell whether you're teasin' or not. Besides, what constitutes an orgy? Four or more?"

"Four doesn't sound like an orgy."

Naruto fell back down on the bed, his hand on his chest. "Please tell me you haven't had sex with four guys at once."

"Seriously? Do you really think that's something I'd do?"

"Am I gonna get hit if I say I'm not sure?"

Sasuke glared, but there wasn't much intensity behind it. "I've never partaken in an orgy, nor can I say I've ever really wanted to. Have I ever roamed a bath once or twice and seen an orgy happening? Yes."

"Wow, really? Was it... hot?"

"Was it hot? Hm." Sasuke started to trace a finger down the line of his arm. "Not... particularly, but I didn't stand there and ogle them. I may have a few kinks, but I don't think multiple partners at once is one of them."

"What about a threesome?" Naruto asked, somewhat hesitantly because, while he could pretty much handle the idea of Sasuke fucking someone else (sort of), the idea of someone fucking Sasuke was more likely to make him jealous. Mostly because he knew that he'd said he didn't bottom often before they'd met, so if Sasuke did allow someone to do... things... to him, it was easy for Naruto to interpret it as having some type of meaning even if that wasn't necessarily the case.

Sasuke pressed his thumb between Naruto's eyebrows. "I'm not going to answer that because you're already worrying about it. I can tell."

"Well that answers it anyway. S'gotta be a yes."

"You've never had a threesome?" he asked Naruto, putting a hand on his hip and rubbing his thumb up and down along his naked side.

"Nope."

"You've never wanted to have one?"

"I'm sure I've fantasized about it," he answered. "It just never presented itself, and, I also think..."

"You're not that type of guy?" Sasuke's hand came to a rest on his stomach, his fingers curled inward over his navel. The thumb started to brush against his skin again, and it was oddly distracting.

"No. I'm really not. I like bein' with one person at a time. I like to be able to give someone my full attention."

Sasuke nodded and pressed his hand flat. Slowly, he moved it up to Naruto's neck, his fingers spread apart, not exactly squeezing. "The kinkiest thing I ever did was go to this one club a few times." His fingers constricted a bit more around Naruto's throat.

"Club?" asked Naruto, licking his lips and watching his boyfriend's face intently.

"Club," Sasuke repeated and started to drag his nails from Naruto's throat to the middle of his stomach. He slapped his hand down twice - not very hard, just like a rough pat.

Naruto's eyebrow drew up. "That sort of club?"

Sasuke's lips parted. Naruto could see him slide his tongue across his teeth. It's what Sasuke did when he thought deeply about something.

"I'll tell you, Naruto, so long as you promise not to get upset."

"You tellin' me not to get upset is more likely to make me upset," he said and folded his arm under his head again, feeling the need to shift around with the weight of Sasuke's hand still on him.

"You asked, so I'm telling you."

"Okay. I know. I can take it."

Sasuke gave him a doubtful look. He sighed, glanced away and moved his hand off of Naruto to run it through his own hair. "I moved to New York shortly after my parents died. It was a few months before my 21st birthday, and I'd had someone mention this club to me that was in the Meat Packing district."

"Of course," said Naruto with a snort, but the glare Sasuke shot him made him sober up his expression.

"As I was saying," Sasuke continued, "It wasn't one of the most uplifting moments in my life. I was looking for a cheap thrill or just something to make me feelagain."

Naruto frowned and rolled onto his side and then on his stomach, where he slid closer to Sasuke's front. Sasuke put an arm around him, his nose nudging Naruto's hairline. He waited for the rest of the story, chest rising and falling shallowly.

"I'd been given a name of who to ask for. Obviously it was an establishment that catered to gay men. I didn't know the guy, and he was very professional. Actually, I think he said that he worked on Wall Street during the day if I'm remembering that right." Sasuke shook his head, squeezing Naruto more tightly to him.

"What did he look like?" Naruto asked, voice quiet enough to be a whisper.

"He was big. As in, lots of muscles. Lots of tattoos, some piercings."

"Where at?"

"Where were the piercings?" Sasuke asked, kissing the top of his head.

"Yeah. I wanna be able to imagine this guy."

Sasuke kept his lips pressed to the side of Naruto's head. He placed his hand on the small of Naruto's back. "He had several in his ears. Both of his nipples were pierced. He also had a crossbar that went through the head of his penis."

Naruto's head snapped up. "You're serious? Holy shit. I think my cock just shriveled up at the thought of it." Then it occurred to him why Sasuke would've known the guy had his cock pierced and he lay his head back down on the pillow. "Sorry, continue."

"We discussed some terms. He asked me what I was into, what I wouldn't be okay with. I have to admit that at the time, there wasn't much I wouldn't have let him do. He wasn't even the usual type I'd go for, say if I was out at a gay bar or dance club. He was a genuine bear."

Naruto somehow found it difficult to picture Sasuke with a person who would've fit this description, but he didn't say so.

"The first session started off slow. He taught me some basics about what he expected me to do, how I was supposed to act. I had...safewords."

"Safewords?"

"For if whatever he was doing hurt too much or for something I wasn't comfortable with."

"Did you ever have to use them?" Naruto asked, genuinely curious.

Sasuke rested his head on Naruto's shoulder. "I did. Only once. Not because the pain was too much. I'll just say that he had put me in a very confined space. We'd even done it before, but this particular time... I don't know why, but it really started to get to me, and I had to quit the scene."

"Hm." Naruto grazed his knuckles against Sasuke's bare stomach. "That doesn't sound very sexy."

"That part wasn't, that's for sure." Sasuke sighed again, heavier than before. "But there were sexy moments. The whole thing was just about sex and pain and giving up control, but it was a phase."

"How many times did you go to this guy?"

"I had five or six sessions with him, but I quit going shortly after my 21st birthday. I just... didn't need to go there anymore."

Naruto got up and, pressing the back of his hand to Sasuke's stomach, pushed him down onto the bed. Sasuke went willingly, his expression open. He looked vulnerable. His hair was scattered across his cheek and pillow, the light from the TV bringing out the blue hues in it.

"It makes me sad that I didn't know you then, Sasuke."

"I wouldn't have let you getto know me. Not at that time. I was a different person than I am now."

"I would've been persistent, but, yeah, I guess there are things we encounter that bring us around to who we are today."

Sasuke grabbed for one of his hands and held it loosely. "You would've been with your older woman anyway. You wouldn't have given me a second thought."

That comment... sort of hurt him, but he wasn't entirely sure why. Probably because it was true, or maybe he was still affected by that relationship for some reason.

"She did have me wrapped around her finger," he admitted. "But she definitely didn't have any piercings."

"No?" Sasuke's lip curled into a smirk. "That's too bad."

"Should I pierce my cock, Sasuke?" he asked playfully. "Did it feel good at least?"

"I think my ass was too numb from the floggings and spankings to even notice any other added discomfort," Sasuke answered.

Naruto shook his head and buried his face into the crook of his boyfriend's neck, breathing his scent in deeply. "I don't feel jealous, but I sort of feel sad that there came a point where you had to go to someone and have them beat the crap out of you and fuck you with a bar in their cock for you to be able to feel anything."

"I'm better now," said Sasuke, turning his head to kiss at his temple. "Obviously. You get the product of all that stuff I had to work through in order to become normal."

"What's normal anyway?" He kissed the side of Sasuke's throat. "I like you how you are." He paused, biting his tongue when he was about to say I love who you are. It wanted to come out, but he couldn't get the words to actually form and leave his mouth.

"Would you have liked me then, I wonder?"

"You're you, Sasuke. You've always been you. I wouldn't have liked the you you are now any more than the you who would've gone to that sorta club for fun or pleasure or... to punish yourself. It's not as if that person disappeared. He's still in you somewhere, right?" He put his hand over Sasuke's heart. "I just gotta stick around and make sure he stays inside, though. Not, like, as a prisoner. But just..." He turned his hand into a fist and flattened it out again, fingers spread out widely. "Keep him content. Remind him that he's not alone anymore."

Suddenly he was being pushed and rolled over onto his back. Sasuke grabbed for his wrists, pinned them above his head and kissed him roughly. It was so sudden, so heated, that Naruto let out a whimper as Sasuke urged him to open up so that he could get his tongue inside. Sasuke's kisses were urgent and searching. Naruto met every one of his kisses with equal passion and fervor. When they stopped, they were both breathing hard. Their mouths remained close. Sasuke was looking at him like he had something to say. Naruto cupped his cheek and tenderly traced the delicate shell of his ear with a thumb, smiling softly at him.

"I wish you'd say it," said Sasuke, leaning into his hand, sounding very tired.

"I want to say it. You know I want to say it. You know how I feel."

"I know."

"You'll say it soon." It was almost like a question.

"I will say it soon," he answered and covered Sasuke's eyes with his hand.

"Naruto..."

"Hm?"

Sasuke was biting his lip. Naruto kept his hand still.

When Sasuke didn't finish what he was going to say, Naruto simply told him, "I know."

Sasuke nodded, and Naruto removed his hand, leaned in - eyes shut - and kissed Sasuke slowly, telling him all those things he couldn't quite verbalize yet but wanted to make sure he understood it was all in there if only he could just wait a little longer. When Sasuke kissed him back, long fingers curling at the base of his neck to pull him on top, he knew that Sasuke would get it because that's just how it always worked with them.