A/N: I lost the contest, so now I can go outside their rules and add this minor epilogue.

Beta: Blood Zephyr


Naruto turned over with a wince. He was sore everywhere, sticky, and starving. After a moment of blinking up at the ceiling, he used the couch beside him to leverage himself up to his knees. He looked around.

The wall clock said it wasn't even noon yet. He'd only been asleep a few hours then. He pushed himself the rest of the way up and sat on the couch. He dropped his head into his hands.

Bowed though his head was, he had a clear view of Uchiha. The man was sprawled on his stomach, right there at Naruto's feet. There was cum dried on him and on the floor around him. He was snoring softly, one hand flung up as if he'd been in the process of calling for help when he'd fallen asleep.

Naruto let a few minutes tick by. He didn't think about anything, his eyes roaming over the small half-moon scars on Uchiha's body, places where Naruto had dug his nails into his skin. There was a set of teeth marks on the back of one shoulder that made Naruto grimace in puzzlement. He wasn't a biter. What had possessed him to bite Uchiha? He looked down at his nudity and found a few bruises on his own chest, more evidence of the wild night he'd just spent.

He stood and just held in his cry of surprise as his knees refused to support him. He went back down on the couch, landing hard enough to make his teeth click. Uchiha continued to sleep.

Naruto tried again. This time he eased himself to a standing position, paying close attention to what his body was telling him: he was at a state of such physical exhaustion that if he exerted himself at all, he might as well call an ambulance for himself. He made it to his feet and stood there, tottering for a moment. When he was reasonably steady, he began hunting for his clothes.

His weakness was worrying. Bending over to retrieve shirt, pants, and underwear was an exercise tantamount to climbing Everest. He almost crashed his face into the floor countless times. He dressed slowly, moving gingerly as sore muscles protested. He had to bite his lip as a muscle cramp in his leg had him hobbling. Still, he was able to ascertain that his keys and phone were still in his pants pocket. He let himself out of Uchiha's loft, stumbling to the elevator.


On the street, he leaned against the side of Uchiha's building and flipped his phone open. He called himself a cab. He dozed during the ride home. The cabbie had to yell for him to wake up. Naruto paid him, and heard the man mutter about drunks as he zoomed off from the curb.

He nearly fell getting up the stairs in his own apartment building. His elevator hadn't worked in a year. On the landing to his floor he stopped to catch his breath, alarmed at how woozy he felt.

Naruto slid down the wall, until he was sitting on the dirty floor. He leaned his head back and tried to think.

Never in his life had he had a sexual experience that came anywhere close to what he'd done last night. Everything, from kissing Sasuke to his final thrust and ejaculation, had been a hundred times better than any of his previous experiences.

Still, he wasn't as young as he used to be, he couldn't handle too many more nights like this one. Naruto snorted to himself. As if he could control such a thing. He suspected that with Sasuke, every night would be similar, which gave him pause. Would there be more nights like the last one?

He must have dozed off again, because the next thing he was aware of were his friends crouched around him with wide eyes. They looked scared, and Lee was in the process of calling 911. He told the operator nevermind when Naruto opened his eyes.

"Thank god," Neji sighed. "Naruto, you okay? What happened to you?"

Naruto felt sleep trying to suck him back under, but he forced his eyes to remain open, pushing himself up straighter. "Nothing. Tired is all."

Shikamaru grunted. "Tired, he says. Naruto, have you looked in a mirror?"

Kiba got one of Naruto's arms as Lee got the other. They helped the blond to his feet. Neji got the door leading to the hall and Shikamaru led the way to Naruto's apartment.

Once inside, Naruto was deposited in his sagging armchair. His friends stood around or sat on the equally dilapidated couch, waiting to hear of Naruto's latest date and how it could have gone wrong. Uchiha had to have been the one to do this. Naruto spent all his free time with Uchiha lately, a fact his friends approved of. It increased his chances of fucking the bastard.

When Naruto only stared out his window, Kiba sucked his teeth. "Well? What happened? Why'd he hit you?"

"Tell me you got a piece of him in turn," Shikamaru said tightly. "I know you don't fight, but tell me that piece of slime got a nice black eye to match the one you've got?"

Naruto turned his head at this, staring at Shikamaru. He felt the area around his eyes gingerly, surprised at discovering tenderness around the left one. Then he remembered Sasuke accidentally hitting him there during one of his orgasms, yelling Naruto's name at the same time.

The whole night came back to him. The images were cloudy, distorted with passion and lust and his own recent realization of his feelings. Instead of answering Kiba or Shikamaru's questions, he dropped his eyes to the floor, a crease forming between his brows. "I don't know what to do."

"Has he threatened you?" Lee asked.

Naruto, his head leaning back on his armchair, slowly shook it from side to side. "No."

"What, then?" Neji asked softly.

Naruto kept his eyes down, not even seeing his threadbare rug or anything in his apartment. He was reliving Sasuke's words, hearing them again, about how he'd wanted Naruto enough to do anything to get him. "Everything's different," the blond said beneath his breath. "And I don't know what to do about it."

Though no one else was speaking, it seemed as if his friends became quieter. They heard clearly what Naruto was saying, even if the words were hardly above a whisper. Their eyes remained fixed on their friend's face, waiting to hear the rest.

"Last night was the best night of my life," Naruto resumed. "Every night with Uchiha is wonderful, but last night… when we… when I…"

The other four surmised that the deed had happened at last and scanned Naruto's bruises with new interest. If the night had gone well, then that was a first. The blond's friends knew how much trouble he had performing with past girlfriends. They hadn't expected there to be any trouble with Uchiha because they figured all their Naruto had to do was bend over. But maybe it had been the other way around…

Neji thought he understood. "It's never been good except with him?" Which probably made Naruto think he was gay, which in turn might make him feel strange.

Naruto nodded faintly. "Everything is good with him. Stupid things that I do every day are just better with him around. I've never been happier than I am when I'm with him. I think I'm falling in love with him."

They waited, but Naruto didn't say anymore. "So," Neji drawled, making a rolling motion with his hand. "What's the problem?"

Naruto seemed to come to in the space of a heart beat. He jerked himself to a standing position and walked to the window. This flurry of activity was nothing uncommon; his friends had seen him exhausted, only to apparently receive a second wind and continue working as if he'd received food and rest.

"The problem," Naruto said in a much stronger voice, "is that there are too many new and unknown variables in my life right now."

"Such as?" Shikamaru prompted.

"Such as Uchiha," Naruto stated. "Such as the fact that we only had the warehouse job because he was trying to get me to go out with him long before I'd met him. Such as the fact that we all now have jobs in his company that pay six figures. Such as me being in love with a man and that man loving me in return… and me being straight. Such as me not knowing where to go from here in my life."

The other four men were stunned. "Six figures?" Lee choked.

"New jobs?" Kiba said in a strangled voice.

"At Uchiha Unlimited?" Shikamaru groped behind him for the couch and nearly plopped in Lee's lap. Lee made room.

Neji kept his head. "What do you want to do? About Uchiha?" For surely this boiled down to Uchiha and Naruto's feelings for him.

Naruto turned from the window. "I don't know," he said again helplessly. "I don't recognize myself anymore."

"Or maybe you've finally found yourself," Neji countered. He moved to stand next to Naruto, putting a hand on the back of his neck. "Listen to me. Do you want him, Naruto? Really want him?"

Naruto thought about it. He thought of Uchiha's smile, of how intelligent he was, how he instinctively knew what Naruto was thinking or feeling. He knew when the blond wanted to be alone, or when Naruto just needed someone to listen. He shared himself with Naruto in a way the blond didn't think Uchiha shared himself with anyone. He was formidable in his way, not easily intimidated by Naruto's temper. And the sex! My god, Naruto thought. "I've never wanted anyone or anything more."

"Then be with him," Neji said. "If this is the person that makes you feel alive or like life is worth living, be with him."


"But nothing," Neji said adamantly. "Forget the fact that he's a man. To be honest, I think the reason you've always had trouble with women is because you needed a man, but forget gay and straight for now. You love him, that's all that matters. We," and here Neji swept his hand wide to encompass the other three, "accept you no matter your orientation or who you love. Okay?"

Naruto stared into Neji's eyes, a slow smile spreading across his face. "You're right. I guess I was just afraid, but you're right. I want him and he wants me. We could… have a life together."

Neji nodded, smiling now too. "Damn straight you can. No one's judging you."

"I wasn't worried about that," Naruto said. "It was having so many changes thrown at me at once. And Uchiha… no one's ever wanted me enough to go to such lengths." Naruto gave a blinding smile, hugging Neji so hard that his feet left the floor. "I'm going to call him."

The other three bounded up from where they'd been sitting, throwing themselves into the hug. They fell to the floor, shaking the apartment with their weight, as they all had a minor wrestling match for Naruto's cell, saying they wanted to thank Uchiha for the jobs. They cursed and laughed like school children.

Sasuke had woken up an hour ago, seen that Naruto was gone, and limped to the shower. He let the steamy water wash away some of his soreness. He was completely done in, he wouldn't be going to work again today. Itachi called regularly now, demanding to know when Sasuke would be back at the office.

Naruto. He would never have believed the man to be in possession of such monstrous appetites. Sasuke topped more often than he bottomed, but there would never be any topping Naruto. Jesus, his ass felt scoured raw. His whole body was more or less numb.

But the man was gone, Sasuke told himself as he switched off the shower. Naruto had skipped out without a word, without talking to Sasuke about where they went from here. He really wished he knew what Naruto was thinking. Had he been repulsed? No. Not with Sasuke's living room floor covered in cum stains.

Sasuke walked out of his bathroom with a towel slung around his waist, intent on getting some coffee. He'd give Naruto a few days to think. Hopefully last night didn't-

His phone was ringing. Sasuke found it in his bedroom, vibrating on the bedside table. The number was Naruto's cell. "Hello?"

"Sasuke," Naruto said. Sasuke felt a jolt of pleasure at hearing the man finally use his name. "Wanna do lunch?"