A/N: Yes, it's a time shift, consider this an epilogue if it helps :-)

* * * * *

Owen and I have been together, properly together, for six months when I plan a party at my house, ostensibly for my birthday, but really for something else.

I wouldn't say anything particularly exciting has happened in that time, to us anyway, other than falling more in love with him every day. He continues to be the sweetest and most adorable bunny you ever did see, with a huge side portion of cheeky and funny and smart. Even though the sex, both scening and regular, gets better and better, I think my favorite times with him are when we're laying comfortably on the couch watching a movie, or holding hands walking through Central Park, or... okay, yeah, the sex would be right up there too, it's useless to deny it, when I get hard at the mere thought of touching him.

I'm a bit nervous about the party, because it's going to be a pretty heavy mix of people in the lifestyle and regular vanilla folk, and I just hope I can trust my friends from both sides to behave appropriately.

Mrs M told me she wouldn't come if I didn't let her cater, but we managed to come to a compromise whereby I'd get staff in to do the work and she could just control everything. To precisely no surprise of mine, she's pretty much refusing to allow anyone to touch anything so I currently have a lot of kitchen staff standing around my kitchen like straight guys in a gay bar.

"No, no, that doesn't go with that, move let me do it," Mrs M huffs at the poor boy, who normally works for Emilio, pushing him out of the way.

Owen comes into the kitchen, winking at me.

"Mrs M, sweetie, come help me choose an outfit."

He bustles her out to leave the kitchen staff to their prep. Mrs M adores Owen, almost as much as I do, because he allows her to mother him, a wonderful thing to see, which means he has her wrapped around his little finger.

When everyone has arrived and things are going well, I can finally breath a sigh of relief. Though then I remember I have something else planned and get nervous again.

"You ready, mon ami?" Frankie asks me with a grin.

"Kind of," I admit, "slightly terrified he'll say no though."

"Does he ever say no to you cherie?"

"Not often, he'll try pretty much everything once. But we're not talking about the playroom now. He's independent, gloriously so. It's one of my favorite things about him, but it might mean this bites me on the ass."

"Well, you'll only find out when you try," Frankie grins and pats my back.

It's alright for him, this isn't his humiliation if it doesn't go right. But I take a deep breath and clink my glass to get everyone's attention. I give the usual speech, thanking everyone for coming, looking round at the faces of my friends from all walks of life.

"Owen," I say when it's nearly done, "I have you in particular to thank for making this the best birthday I've ever had. I mean, the last one was pretty amazing, but that was down to you too," my friends who were there laugh and let out a few hollers, while Owen goes a delightful shade of pink. "I love spending time with you, and I want to be able to spend every spare minute I have in your company, so I have something to ask you," I can't help but notice the slightly horrified look on his face, but I'm committed now. "Owen, will you move in with me?"

There's nothing for a moment, and I have to gulp down a feeling of nausea, but then that wide smile comes on his face and he leaps across the room, wrapping himself around me and burying his face in my neck.

"Fuck," he whispers, "I thought you were going to propose. Yes, I'll move in, I want to spend every spare minute with you too."

I give a thumbs up and everyone cheers and applauds. It makes me think though.

"Would proposing have been such a terrible thing?" I whisper, my arms wrapped around his back.

"Eventually, no. I definitely want to be with you forever. But I want more time without that pressure, just getting to know each other."

And that, I can live with. I do love his independence, after all.

* * * * *

I have another birthday present from Owen on Saturday night at the club when we put a show on. He loves exhibitionism and vulnerability so agreed in a shot when I asked him if he'd do this for me.

I have him cuffed, chained to the wall, kneeling and strapped on a bench, so his stunning lean torso is stretched out and pulling him forward. His knees are spread, kept wide by ropes, and the position feels incredibly perilous, even though he's held firm by his restraints, so he's loving it.

Everyone in the audience can see the end of the large plug I worked inside him, with plenty of lube and some patience, at the start of the show. I have to just admire him for a moment, he's so insanely gorgeous and I feel as though I'm the luckiest man alive.

But further admiration will have to wait, as I have a horny sub and a large audience to please.

I bring out my short flogger; I want to be close to Owen for this, monitoring his responses, stroking my hand along his velvet skin. He doesn't react at first, breathing calmly and deeply as I light him up with sparks of contact, almost soft in my approach. I want him well warmed up because it's going to get more intense as I increase the force and speed, until he's coated with a sheen of perspiration and his back and ass is covered in maroon pinpricks and stripes.

He sounds incredible – husky, lust-filled whimpers entering the air from his hanging head, which I lift, using his soft light hair, to see his unfocused eyes as he flies. I lick salty tears from his cheek, bringing him partly back, but he just murmurs an incoherent response to my inquiry about how he feels.

I'm not worried, in fact, I know I could choose to push him further, as I have done when we've done private scenes at the club, landing a well-aimed flick at his leaking cock to force his release. This time, though, I want him to finish while I'm inside his constricting heat, and I gently twist the plug from him, making him whimper in desperation as he's left empty for a moment, until I replace it with my length, filling him hard as he moans his desire.

Later, when he's recovered, back in the main room, I watch him talking with our friends, watch the relaxed turn of his neck, the glorious wide smile on his face and am rushed with warmth at how incredible he is. He catches my eye as he talks to Gabriel and Ellis, turning the smile into a lopsided smirk, his eyes knowing, and I love how obvious it is to him that I adore him.

Everyone's settling down, finding comfortable positions on the armchairs and couches, when he approaches me, standing on his toes to plant a light kiss on my jawline.

"Thank you for tonight, Sir. It felt good."

"It felt good for me too, Bunny, amazing, in fact. I love sending you wild," I hug him to me, not willing to let go for a moment.

"Gray?" Frankie interrupts our embrace, raising his eyebrow, and I nod.

"Owen, I have something to ask you," I'm aware that a hush has come over our private area, and our friends are quiet in anticipation.

"Again?" Owen whispers, wide eyed but grinning.

"Again," I confirm, "but a different question. I love you, Owen, and I love our double life of boyfriends and of Dom and sub. Yesterday I asked you to live with me, for the latter, and I couldn't be happier that you agreed. But today my question is for the other.

"You are my perfect boy, and you are everything I could ever want or hope for in a submissive. Will you wear my collar, Owen?"

I take the velvet box from Frankie, opening it to reveal the delicate metal collar, the design of which matches Owen's metal cuffs, which he regularly wears during the day when he isn't at work. It's the same narrow burnished copper-color metal with a small ring at the front and a chain with a small padlock across the back.

His eyes are huge and beautiful as he looks up at me, biting his lower lip, and nods, one small nod that means everything to me.

"Happy, Gray?" Frankie rumbles as I watch Owen surrounded by his friends, all in awe at his new adornment.

"Literally couldn't be happier," I hug Frankie to me, and suck down the tears of joy that threaten to fall, "it would be impossible."

* * * * *

The End

A/N: so, I mentioned in chapter 1 - this story is published on Amazon. The version there is somewhat different, though it's still about Gray and Owen. But I made considerable changes to the structure and the content (let's be honest, there's a lot more sex in the final version) and I want to give a shout out to @corona_queen1997 whose feedback made me brave enough to do the thing I'd toyed with but chickened out of, and that's remove Gabe's side plot. But if you liked Gabe don't worry - he'll be getting a whole story to his very own self.

So this version is about 80k words, and the version on Amazon lost a third of those words and regained new ones to then finish up at over 110k - which might give some clue as to the depth of the differences :-)