The door of the holding area closed once again. This time, it had been Jason to be hauled off to meet his doom by Officer Quincy. Now only Kyler and Billy remained. They had been informed moments earlier that their partners had been notified and were on their way.

“Well, looks like we haven’t been totally forsaken,” Kyler mused with a slightly strangled laugh, as much to himself as to the other man in the room.

This would be the second time his partners had been called to come and fetch him from the police station. He cringed at the thought. At least the first time had only been a case of him being in the wrong place at the wrong time; he hadn’t broken any laws. But this time was different; so horribly different. This time he had done something illegal.

He couldn’t imagine what the consequences would be for his present predicament and at the moment, really couldn’t bear thinking about it. If only he could find something else to concentrate on, but he wasn’t that lucky. He tried to remember at what point he had lost his thong. It might have been during the photo sessions Kadyn had them all participating in. Fortunately, Billy’s voice attracted his attention.

“Yeah, I guess Mason is caught up with a fire.” Billy squirmed uneasily. “I’m not exactly looking forward to seeing him. He’s not going to be pleased with me. My ass will probably be the next fire he deals with.” He blushed a beet-red when he realised he’d said the last bit out loud.

Kyler studied his companion for a minute or two. He recalled a conversation he’d had with Cameron a while back when they’d been discussing various same-sex couples in Jade Heights, and had jokingly wondered if any were living the same lifestyle as them. They had only come to grips with learning of each others’. Was Billy hinting at the same?

“I’ve got two partners. Hugh can get kinda stern, but Patrick is pretty much laid-back.” Kyler didn’t want to say much more. He tried to move and found his naked butt beginning to stick to the chair, so he got to his feet and began pacing. He was hoping Patrick still had that sports bag with the change of clothes in the trunk of his car.

“Stern?” Billy raised an eyebrow. His mind made a leap and he looked closer at Kyler. He smiled wryly. “You know,”" he finally said. “I think we’re both worried about what our partners think for the same reason.” He was leaving it open for Kyler to pursue the issue if he wanted too.

“Possibly.” Kyler shrugged and continued pacing. He was a little confused as to just where this conversation was headed. Not knowing the older man too well, Kyler chose not to comment further.

Billy’s eyes narrowed slightly. When he was nervous and on edge, his normal discretion and shyness took a holiday; plus he was still pretty drunk. “Come on, man. Tell me you’ve never heard of discipline partnerships.” Billy’s voice had a teasing note to it.

“Of course, I’ve heard of them,” Kyler scoffed, nonchalantly. “I may even know people who have such a relationship.” Sitting back down, he leaned on the table and stared into Billy’s face with a curious expression on his own. “What all do you know about it?” The remaining beer-induced daze resulted in him being slightly bolder than he would normally be.

“I’m in one,” Billy softly admitted. “Who do you know whose in one?”

Kyler blinked at the other man’s bluntness. Although he had begun to deduce it might be so due to the few comments he had overheard, he was still taken back by Billy’s straightforward declaration. He wasn’t usually comfortable with talking openly on such personal subject.

“It isn’t my place to name anyone I know or suspect of living a DP.” It took Kyler only a few seconds to change his mind and be as up front as Billy had been. “I guess I mostly know about it because I have two Tops of my own.”

“Two?” Billy faltered briefly as he tried to get his mind around the concept. “I get in enough trouble with one. Do you get away with anything?”

“Yea, right,” Kyler scoffed with a smirk. “There’s nothing that gets by them, and this caper definitely doesn’t stand a chance. I mean, can anything be more blatant?”

Billy shot Kyler a brief smile. “Parading down Main Street in the buff might be considered so,” he smirked, his eyes twinkling. “Although I don’t think we’d get off as easy with the law as we did this time. And anything our Tops do to us for today’s escapade would feel like a walk in the park if we did that.” Billy winced at the sheer thought.

“Humph, point taken; that would seriously up the repercussions. I already have a pretty good idea about what is going to go down for today’s poor choices; unless my partners pull something new.” Kyler dropped his head down on folded arms with a groan. “I just wish Patrick would get here so we can put this whole mess behind us.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Patrick had had a hectic day in the operating theatre, not that that was anything out of the ordinary. Being one of the few top surgeons in the area meant his schedule was usually jam packed. His was a demanding profession but he loved every bit of it. He loved being able to give hope when there was despair, and there was nothing more rewarding to Patrick than someone’s eyes lighting up with gratitude when he had performed another successful surgery.

As he scrubbed his hands at the sink, he thought of Hugh, who had gone out of town that morning with the school swimming team. Patrick remembered their lingering goodbye kiss and he ran his tongue over his lips, almost tasting Hugh. He couldn’t imagine life without him. Hugh had always provided such solid comfort after a hard day’s work. He would miss that sorely that night; in fact he already missed the big man.

Fortunately he had someone else to look forward to that night. Patrick smiled to himself as he thought of Kyler, their young and impetuous partner. Kyler made him feel young and energized; he brought such life to their relationship. Kyler was the direct opposite from Hugh and provided the perfect balance in Patrick’s life.

Patrick suddenly couldn’t wait to get home and gather Kyler into his arms. He thought he would take him out to dinner, just the two of them. It would be a nice change. While none of them would consider life acceptable without the other two, it didn’t mean they didn’t enjoy being a couple every now and then.

As he dressed, he noticed there were some missed calls on his cell. He frowned as he didn’t recognize the number. Just as he was about to check for messages, his phone rang.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The two young men in the holding area became quiet as they listened to the ominous footsteps coming down the hall. Officer Quincy’s entrance had the two men looking up and wondering whose Top had arrived. Before either of their names could be called, Patrick appeared in the doorway and within seconds, had his arms filled with a naked Brat.

“Are you all right?” Patrick asked softly.

“Yes, now that you’re here,” Kyler whispered as he tried to nestle even closer to the older man holding him.

“Officer?” Patrick turned to Paul Quincy. “Can I take him home now? Or is there any paperwork to get done?”

“You’ll have to clear it with the Chief, Dr. Dean. I believe there is a fine to take care of, and you may want to put some clothing on that young man of yours before leaving the station.”

Patrick pushed Kyler away so that he could run his eyes over his partner. His eyebrows raised as his eyes traveled downward. “Yes, very creative. We’ll have a chat about that when we get home, but for now, let’s see what we can do to make you a bit more presentable.”

Kyler accepted the sports jacket handed him and slipped his arms into the sleeves, pulling it tightly around himself. “Trust you to be wearing a jacket in this heat, Patrick. But I’m kinda glad you did.”

“I can’t imagine what they were about to leave you in the nude like that,” Patrick mumbled mostly to himself. “... public viewing or what? ...” He suddenly found himself getting increasingly incensed at the idea of his partner being ogled by various members of the police force.

“They didn’t have anything to put on us, Patrick. Besides, the Chief said that since we obviously liked being in the buff so much, we could just stay that way.”

Once the formalities had been taken care of, Patrick quickly bundled Kyler out the police station. He led his young partner towards his car, saying in an amused voice, “I wonder if I should have taken a photo of you - Hugh will definitely want all the details and a picture tells a thousand words, or so they say.”

“Kadyn already took plenty of pictures and he is giving us all copies. Hell, I think it was the picture taking that led up to the mess we found ourselves in.”

The only response Kyler got to that interesting bit of information was a grunt. Thankfully the roads were mostly clear and Patrick soon pulled into their driveway. He drove straight into their garage and firmly pressed the remote button to bring the garage door down

“First things first,” Patrick announced as they entered their home. “You need to get yourself cleaned up. Much as I appreciate the artwork, I don’t think we can have a serious discussion with those Celtic designs curling around your body. Is that paint I see in your hair, and just when did you cut it so short?”

“I got a brush-cut this morning so I could paint the back of my head. At least I didn’t shave all my private parts like most of the guys did. I was wearing a flesh coloured thong, but seem to have lost it somewhere along the way. I’d even painted over it to kinda camouflage it.” Kyler began to chuckle. “You should see Kadyn; he shaved his head and is now completely bald.”

“Oh really?” Patrick inquired calmly, one foot tapping as he drank in the details so artlessly disclosed by the younger man.

Kyler eyed his partner silently for several seconds and then employed a quick change of strategy. “I’m hungry, Patrick. Can we have something to eat ...?”

“Bathe first!” Patrick said firmly, pushing Kyler up the stairs towards their en suite. “I want to see white skin again, so get busy. Don’t come out till every bit of paint is gone. I will be checking every inch of you!”

“Okay,” Kyler quietly went along with his Top’s directives. He strongly suspected he was in trouble and didn’t want to dig himself in deeper.

Patrick stayed till the shower was on and Kyler was scrubbing away at his arms before he went back downstairs to fix their evening meal. There goes my plan for a nice dinner, he thought to himself. He checked through the fridge and decided to just heat up some leftover pot roast his mom had sent over. He also threw together a quick salad and was slicing bread when Kyler appeared, towel in hand.

“I’m clean, Patrick.” Kyler held the towel at arm’s length as he slowly turned a complete circle.

“Are you sure it’s all gone?”

“You can check me out like you said you would if you don’t believe me,” Kyler intoned with a smirk. Maybe Patrick examining him would lead to something much more pleasurable than the upcoming discussion.

“Come and eat then. Mom’s pot roast from last week. Damn, if I don’t think it tastes even better now. It sure smells good.”

Kyler’s stomach chose that moment to gurgle out its’ emptiness, causing the young man to chuckle as he seated himself at the table. He pulled the bowl Patrick had placed in front of him closer, digging in enthusiastically.

Patrick watched Kyler wolf down the food. “Didn’t you eat at all today?”

“Not since breakfast,” Kyler mumbled around a mouthful of bread and butter. “Unless barley sandwiches count.”

“How about telling me what happened today – your version?”

Kyler shovelled in the last forkful of meat and glanced at his partner, trying to read the older man’s expressions. He found himself still half-way between sure he was in trouble and hoping he was not.

Patrick reached over and patted Kyler’s hand. “Go on sweetheart, it’s ok.”

“It all got started about mid-week when a couple of the guys came up with the idea of body painting. The rest of us easily agreed to it being a fun way to surprise our partners.”

Patrick’s brows rose but he refrained from speaking.

Kyler continued. “We all chipped in for the supplies and the project got underway at noon today. Man, we had some neat designs. Good thing Kadyn got pictures of everyone. He was the only one to bring a camera.”

“How fortunate,” Patrick murmured dryly.

Kyler sat back as he warmed up to his storytelling. “We really had a great time painting each other, especially since we all brought along some beer. Rene, Jades Heights ’ professional artist, did the most difficult designs but Quinn was also there to help out. He is quite an artist in his own right, you know. He ended up leaving early and we tidied up a bit.”

He paused long enough to realize his partner was expecting to hear more. Taking a deep breath, he plunged ahead. “It was while we were sitting around finishing up the beer and looking at the pics that the idea to put together a calendar came up. Someone suggested we do a little market research to see if it would be worthwhile. Must have been the beer that had us thinking a stroll through the park to show off our handiwork might just serve the purpose. We never for a moment thought there would be so many people there, and certainly not the police. Guess you pretty much know the rest of the story.”

“I do,” Patrick said shortly.

Kyler suddenly felt a shudder of chagrin run through him as he took in the expression on Patrick’s face. It certainly did not bode well for his immediate future that Patrick was looking unusually grim.

“Yeah, I guess Chandi told you what happen after he and Paul got their hands on us.” Kyler spoke quietly while looking down and nervously toying with the cutlery next to his place.

“Kyler, do you know why you were arrested?”

The younger man nodded and a blush of embarrassment rode up his cheeks. “We caused a disturbance by streaking in the park and probably upset more than a few people.”

“Are you aware that streaking is illegal?”

“Yeah, Chandi told us it was.”

“Why do you think it’s illegal?”

“Probably because most folk are embarrassed and uncomfortable seeing such open exhibitions, so doing it is unacceptable. The Chief only charged us with the misdemeanor of being a public nuisance though.”

“Count yourself lucky then!” Patrick could not hide the tone of frustration in his voice. “It could have been worse. You might have ended up with a police record, and that would have followed you for the rest of your life. You do not want that to happen, Ky!” (This is perfect)

Kyler shook his head, shifted uncomfortably and bit at his lower lip.

“The law aside, what about us, how do you think we feel about you baring yourself like that in public? What about your mom and Uncle Kipper?” Patrick’s voice was soft but it nevertheless drove the point home.

“None of that even crossed my mind, Patrick. Guess the beer was sort of messing with my head.”

“How much beer did you actually drink?” Patrick asked with a slight frown.

“I kinda lost count, Patrick. But I know it was more than I usually do.” Kyler figured honesty was his best bet; too many times a little white lie had come back and bitten him on the butt.

“Hugh and I don’t have any objections to you drinking beer or any kind of liquor for that matter, as long as it’s controlled and within limits. You know that. But when you lose your sense of reason and allow the drink to drive you into doing something illegal, that’s when I have a problem. And let me tell you Kyler, Hugh will feel exactly the same as well.”

Kyler cringed slightly when he thought of Hugh’s response to this latest bit of mischief. “It’s not like I set out to cause trouble, Patrick; it just sort of happened.”

“Of course you did not, Ky.” Patrick was quick to assure him. He sighed. “I never for one moment thought you intentionally set out to do anything that would upset us or cause trouble. But that is not the point. And you know it. Having done something wrong, and then saying you didn’t mean it does not mean you are absolved. It’s better than denying it, I suppose, but it hardly cleans the slate.”

“I know,” Kyler murmured in a small voice.

Patrick did not in the least enjoy chastising his lover but he knew this discussion was far from over and there was still the punishment to come. Hugh would not be back till tomorrow and after the last time when Hugh had suspended sentence, Patrick knew better than to do that again. However tired he was, he would have to make sure he settled Kyler before they could leave this unpleasant topic behind them.

“I think in this case, you guys were simply too free with your drinking.”

“You’re right; we all kind of overdid the alcohol consumption thing.” Kyler looked up and noticed the tiredness in his Top’s eyes. It was only then that he remembered Patrick had put in a long day at the hospital and it doubled his feelings of remorse. “I’m sorry for being such a nuisance and not thinking things through a bit better.”

Patrick smiled and his eyes crinkled with kindness. “Would it help if we went upstairs now and took care of things? We can just leave all the dishes in the sink and deal with that tomorrow.”

Kyler simply nodded his agreement, stood up and carried his glass, plate and cutlery over to the sink. When Patrick joined him with his own dirty dishes, the younger man wrapped his arms around his partner’s waist and leaned into him. “I’m sorry, Patrick,” he whispered with a slight catch in his voice.


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


Patrick lay in the darkness, listening to Kyler’s deep breathing. Kyler was curled on his side, snug within the circle of Patrick’s arm and the weight of Kyler’s head was on his Top’s chest. Patrick inhaled the freshly shampooed hair and leaned to lightly kiss the tousled hair.

Kyler stirred a little, moaning softly as he shifted position.

Patrick had a sudden urge to shake Kyler awake to ask him if he was all right. Had he spanked him too hard? Too long? Did he make it clear enough he was not angry or had he been too stern? Patrick told himself to remember to check Kyler in the morning. He didn’t think he had been too tough but Kyler’s bottom had been quite red when he finished. He had certainly cried hard as the smacks landed and he had apologized profusely throughout the spanking, so he supposed it had been effective. Hugh had said they must never do a half-baked job or the Brat would be resentful.

God, he wished Hugh was there – he needed to reassure himself. At that moment, seeing Kyler sleeping like a lamb, he suddenly realized how much harder the Top’s role was compared to the Brat. But he didn’t grudge Kyler one bit, nor regret his decision to participate in this lifestyle. Their relationship had proven to be surprisingly satisfying.

With a sigh, Patrick planted another kiss on Kyler’s cheek and closed his eyes. Within a few minutes, he was sound asleep.

Kyler was up shortly after eight. He planted a kiss on his sleeping partner’s cheek and quickly headed for their en suite, grabbing up the boxers and t-shirt he had left on the floor last night.

Once he’d completed his morning routine of shaving and brushing his teeth, he returned to the other room and dropped down on the bed. He’d never have done that had Hugh been home. His older partner would want Patrick to sleep in.

“Morning, my love; you’re awake early.” He grinned innocently when he saw the other man’s eyes open.

Patrick lazily swung an arm over Kyler, pinning him down. “Mmm, come back to bed.”

“Can’t; we’ve got lots to do and I’m hungry.”

“Five more minutes, darling,” Patrick said, burrowing his face against Kyler’s side. “Just five ....” It was a luxury for him to sleep in and he took every opportunity he had.

Kyler deliberately bounced, making the bed shake in the process.

“So much energy,” Patrick muttered but he opened his eyes again and looked at Kyler.

“Hugh gets home later this afternoon and I can’t wait. That is, I think I can’t.” Kyler paused and gazed at his partner. He was beginning to have second thoughts. “I know things are okay between you and me, Patrick, but do you think Hugh will spank me too when he finds out what I did? You do plan to tell him, right?”

“What’s that?” Patrick blinked. He paused to think before responding. “Well, I’d like to think I did a pretty good job last night, but if you think the message was not clear enough and a stronger reminder is needed, I am sure Hugh would be pleased to oblige.” Patrick laughed as Kyler pummelled him with the pillow.

“I don’t need a stronger reminder, thank you very much.”

Fending the pillow off, Patrick sat up, yawned and stretched. He caught hold of Kyler and pulled him over his lap.

“No!” Kyler wailed as his hands flew back to protect his now vulnerable bottom.

“Relax!” Patrick laughed. “I just want to check you out.”

Kyler settled down and moved his hands to give Patrick an unhindered view. “You didn’t answer my question, Patrick. Do you think Hugh will also spank me even though you did a perfectly good job at getting the message across?”

“Can’t imagine why he would need to when I’ve taken care of the situation,” Patrick answered gently as he ran a practised eye over Kyler’s butt. The skin was smooth and Patrick was glad to note there was not a single blemish on the taut, white cheeks. All remnants of redness from the spanking had disappeared and there was no evidence of what had taken place the previous night. Patrick patted the half moons briskly, and then his hands began to caress them more slowly.

Kyler sighed and raised his butt to encourage the other man to continue. He reached under the covers with one hand and groped around until found his lover’s growing erection; then he gently began fondling it. Patrick drew in a long breath and groaned loudly. After a while, Kyler felt Patrick stretching to reach the lube on the night table and in less than a minute felt a well-lubed finger inserted inside him, then another as he was gently prepared. He moaned and pushed himself toward the probing digits, opening up to allow his lover easier access.

Their coupling was quickly over but extremely satisfying to both men. It was pure sex – electrifying, swift, exhilarating. Patrick took Kyler from behind riding him fast, which made for a nice change from Patrick’s usual gentler style. When it was over, both of them collapsed on the bed spent and panting hard.

“That was sooo good. Let’s do it again,” Kyler hopefully suggested, always up for more.

“Give me a minute and I will try a repeat performance. Right now though, I am just hoping my heart will not go into cardiac arrest.”

“Geesh, I never realised you were getting on in age, Patrick. Maybe you need some medical help. Hmmm, who do you think I should call?” Kyler teased, confident his Top was too worn out to retaliate.

Patrick grinned. “You mean Hugh I think.”

Kyler laughed. “Yeah, must be thinking of him all right. I’m kinda missing him actually.”

“Well, he should be back by this afternoon, no later than 3pm I think. Let’s go to the shops and get it over and done with, then we can ...” he stopped as the phone rang.

“Hello, our residence.” This was Kyler’s standard method for answering. It saved the time it would take to rhyme off all their names. “Oh, hi ya Mason. Okay, I’ll be there and will let my partners know.”

Hanging up the phone, he turned to Patrick and made a face. “He wants all of us involved in yesterday’s activities at the garage to go there this morning and clean up the mess we left behind. He doesn’t sound overly pleased about it either. He tried to call last night but couldn’t get through. We had the phone turned down too low, I guess.”

“Well, looks like your morning is taken care of,” Patrick said with a sigh. “I shall go to the shops myself then. We can meet back here after you’re done. How long do you think you will be?”

“It better not be much more than an hour. I sure as hell don’t want to spend the whole day there.”

“Don’t take too long; I don’t want to spend the afternoon all by myself.”

“I really don’t want to go, but it’s only fair I do my share as I helped make the mess to begin with.” Kyler reluctantly pushed himself off the bed and for the second time that morning, headed into their en suite. He quickly shampooed his hair and showered, washing himself inside and out.

He came back into the bedroom just as his lover was getting up. “I’d suggest you get some more sleep, Patrick, but I need a favour. Would you mind giving me a lift to the garage? I left my car there yesterday.” He pulled out clean clothes and started dressing. “The sooner we all get there, the sooner we’ll be back home to spend the rest of the day with our partners.”

***

It was a little before noon when Kyler entered the kitchen with a whoop and holler. “I’m home, Patrick. I did my duty and now I’m all yours, so I hope you’ve recovered from this morning. I would have been home sooner, but I stopped by Kadyn’s. He burned this CD for me so I’d be able to show Hugh my gorgeously naked body covered only in Celtic designs.”

Patrick grinned broadly as he appeared in the kitchen doorway, an arm around his mom. “Hello Kyler.”

“Oh, hi Mom!” Kyler felt a hot flush of embarrassment spread right up to the roots of his hair.

Bette didn’t bat an eyelid. “Hello dear.” She came forward and brought Kyler’s face down so she could kiss him. “I heard all about the body painting. You silly boy!”

“Really?” Kyler squeaked. He glanced at Patrick, hoping for a sign that his parents hadn’t heard about him streaking and getting arrested. At least he knew his partner would never tell them he’d been spanked.

Doug came into the kitchen, rubbing his hands together. “What time’s lunch?” He caught sight of Kyler and immediately addressed him. “Oh there you are Kyler. I hear you spent time at the station yesterday. I hope it was an illuminating experience and one you are not likely to repeat. Patrick will be able to trade experiences with you and tell you how he made sure he never let that happen again!”

“Dad!” Patrick remonstrated.

“What?” Doug rounded on his son. “You think I have forgotten the incident? I was never angrier with you than that time!”

“Dad ...” Patrick said again, but a little more resigned. When his dad got going, there was not much he could do to stop him. In fact, any sign of opposition was more than likely to egg him on.

Kyler stared at his Top. “Patrick got arrested before? Our Patrick? Wow, I wanna hear all about that,” Kyler begged at once. It had never entered his mind that one of his Tops might have been in trouble with the law before. They had so far been sitting quite firmly on the pedestal he put them on.

“He’s never told you about the time he fought with a police officer and got himself arrested and I had to go bail him out?” Doug asked.

“I didn’t fight with the officer, Dad!” Patrick protested despite himself. “I just told him I didn’t agree with his ticket.”

“You got a ticket? What kind of ticket? Surely it wasn’t for speeding?” Kyler was almost hopping with excitement as he fired off the questions. He looked from Patrick to Doug, obviously expecting one of them to answer.

Patrick shook his head at an attempt to quell Kyler’s enthusiasm. “I was hardly doing over the limit. It was an old deserted dirt road. The officer was just too zealous. He could have let me go with a warning, which was the correct thing to do under the circumstances.”

“Speeding is still speeding. Didn’t matter whether you were going at sixty or seventy.” Doug said firmly. He turned to Kyler and continued. “And to make matters worse, he refused to admit his mistake, refused to apologize, refused to take the ticket and was cited as resisting arrest!”

Kyler’s eyes grew rounder still. He didn't think Tops misbehaved. “No shit! Man, this is just too good. Does Hugh know about all this? Exactly how old were you when you did it? You must have been over sixteen, cause you had a license.” Kyler kept the questions coming.

Patrick scowled and wrapped an arm around Kyler, pretending to squeeze the breath out of him. “Enough questions! And yes, Hugh knows about it so there is no need to squeal at all!”

“Hey I was just asking. I had no intention of squealing. Besides, it’s not as if he could do anything about it.”

“Wouldn’t have been so bad if he had been an experienced driver,” Doug confided, to Kyler’s delight. He turned to his son and reminisced. “But I remember you had just got your driving licence and you slipped off with the old car without permission and without anyone being the wiser.”

Patrick suddenly grinned. “Every boy’s dream, Dad, to drive their first car down that dirt road. That was as close to off-roading as we could get during those days. It was the ‘man’ thing to do.”

Doug grunted. “Don’t think the officer quite saw it that way, son.”

Kyler immediately asked, “So, Dad, how did you make sure that particular crime was never repeated? My uncle Kipper would have busted my butt for sure.”

Doug chuckled. “I’ll leave Patrick to fill you in on the details.”

Patrick rolled his eyes.

“Well, you boys can take this discussion out in the lounge if you please, while I put lunch together,” Bette said placidly. She had heard this discussion enough times and had zero interest in repeating the experience. “You must be hungry Kyler dear. Patrick stopped to buy some pasta and salad on the way, and I brought over a chocolate cheesecake. You’ll like that.”

“Chocolate cheesecake? You bet I’ll love it!” Kyler licked his lips. “Ah, do you need a hand, Mom?” He felt torn between helping Bette and getting the rest of the details out of Patrick. How often did one get to hear about one’s Top’s misdeeds? He really wanted some answers.

“No, no, dear; I can handle things here. I’ve heard that speeding ticket story numerous times, but you haven’t. So off you go. I’ll call out when lunch is on the table.”

Kyler didn’t have to be told twice. He eagerly followed the other two men out to the lounge. He was delighted with the newfound knowledge and savoured the thought that even Tops screw-up now and again.

Doug sat down and closed his eyes, smiling secretly to himself as the younger man began badgering his son. It was clear where Patrick inherited his sense of humour and mischievous side.

“So Patrick, you gonna tell me the rest of the story?” Kyler asked impatiently.

Patrick sank down on the sofa, and pulled Kyler down beside him. “Are we still at this?”

“Yep!” Kyler grinned at the hint of exasperation he picked up in Patrick’s voice.

“You already heard the story, Ky. I was going a bit faster than I should, I admit that. I got pulled over by a cop who – in my opinion till this day - was terribly self-important and intolerant. And he decided to haul me to the station when I stood my ground and said I didn’t think I should get a ticket for speeding when I was just a bit over. Nothing more to tell.” Patrick smiled at his partner’s face, full of indignation.

“But there’s more than that,” Kyler insisted.

“Well, what more do you want to know?”

“I wanna know all that happened at the station and your dad’s reaction to the whole episode.”

“At the station? They took my driving licence and gave me a lecture and then called dad, who came to get me.” Patrick’s eyes crinkled as he glanced over at Doug, who was peeping at them. “And he gave me another lecture which lasted all the way home.”

Kyler grinned. “I can understand him being a little hot under the collar; it’s the long-windedness I have trouble getting my head around.”

“Oh you don’t know my dad, Kyler,” Patrick said in a mock serious tone. “You don’t want to get on his bad side, especially when it comes to breaking the law. Take my word for it.”

Doug chimed in and said caustically. “You ought to be grateful to me for making sure you have a healthy respect for the law, son. See how well you turned out.”

Kyler’s ears pricked up. “How did you do that, Dad?” Kyler glanced at the sweet elderly gentleman quietly sitting there with his eyes sparkling with amusement, quite unable to visualize him being the stern disciplinarian.

Doug chuckled but didn’t reply. He just gazed at Patrick to see how he would respond.

Patrick looked harassed for a moment, and then his sunny temperament emerged and he shrugged and said matter-of-factly and without any trace of embarrassment. “Heck, why not? When I got home, Dad sent me up to my room and he gave me my first, and thankfully also my only, thrashing. I got a taste of his belt!”

Kyler’s eyes got so big, for a moment it looked like they’d pop out of his head. “That musta hurt like hell!” was all he managed to get out.

“It sure did – got the message loud and clear. No lying, no disobeying and no messing around with the law. Learnt that lesson well and good, eh Dad?”

Doug smiled. “You’ve always been a good kid Patrick, with the occasional kick in the gallop. Can’t ask for a better son!”

“So he really didn’t get in too much trouble, and the odd time that he did, he learned quickly not to repeat it.”

“Usually a reprimand or a look would be sufficient for Patrick, but I felt that time needed stronger reinforcement. You even been thrashed with a belt, Kyler?” Doug inquired.

“Nooo, never.” Kyler’s shock played across his face for a second or two before he put his head down. It was easy to see the thought of one of his Tops using a belt was frightening to him. However, a reassuring wink and a gently squeeze from Patrick assured him such a thing would never happen.

It didn’t take long before Bette called them into the kitchen.

“There’s enough for Hugh too if he’s hungry when he arrives home,” Bette said dishing out the food. “Eat up boys. Patrick, you need to put on some flesh; you are looking positively haggard.”

Kyler couldn’t resist the temptation to tease his partner. “Mom’s right, Patrick; don’t forget how easily you get worn out.”

Bette had just got up to serve the dessert when Kyler heard a car drive into the yard. He was up and running before the motor was shut off.

“Hugh, you’re early!” Kyler exclaimed unnecessarily as he threw his arms around his partner. “And just in time for lunch too. Bette saved some for you.” He grabbed up Hugh’s sports bag. “But you missed a very interesting conversation.”

“Another one?” Seeing a look of confusion on his Brat’s face, Hugh continued. “Already had one with Patrick; something about you streaking and him receiving a call from the Chief of Police.”

Kyler stopped in his tracks. “Tattled already, did he?”

Hugh pulled Kyler to him and kissed him hard. “Yes, you are in disgrace, Kyler Benjamin Jamieson.”

Kyler screwed up his face at the use of his full name.

Hugh landed two hard smacks on his young partner’s bum and laughed. “There – all taken care of. This time you get off easy.” His meaning was clear.

“Maybe by you, but definitely not by Patrick,” Kyler groused before turning a beaming smile on his partner. “Thanks, Hugh. I missed you too.”

The two men walked hand and hand into the house. Kyler dropped off Hugh’s bag in the back porch to be unpacked later and watched as his partner was greeted by the others.

Hugh bent and gave Bette a kiss on the cheek and then sat down with the others. “Chocolate cheesecake? Kyler’s favourite!”

“Next time I will make yours,” Bette promised. “Apple strudel with vanilla sauce - I haven’t forgotten, Hugh.”

As the decadent dessert was leisurely eaten, Hugh regaled them with the highlights of his trip. The group drank coffee and chatted the afternoon away, before Patrick got up to send Bette and Doug home. Hugh had already unpacked and Kyler was helping Hugh put his dirty laundry into the wash, when Patrick returned.

“Are you guys done?” Patrick asked, coming down into the basement.

“Almost,” Kyler answered, closing the cover on the washing machine and turning towards the stairs.

“I’m beat!” Hugh announced. “Let’s go up and relax in front of the TV. I’ve missed you both.”

With his arms around both his partners, Hugh swept them into the living room. The three men collapsed onto the sofa together.

“Anything on TV?” Hugh asked, suppressing a yawn.

“Ky?” Patrick turned to Kyler, as was his habit. He always let Kyler pick the movies.

Kyler smiled conspiratorially. “Now that we’re alone again, do you guys wanna see the CD Kadyn gave me? It’s got all the pictures of our body painting on it.”

“Why not?” Patrick grinned and Hugh looked up with interest. “Sure,” he said.

Kyler happily picked up the CD from the counter he had left it on earlier and headed for the living room where he shoved it into the player and turned on the TV, smiling eagerly at his partners.

“Are we going to get turned on watching gorgeous naked bodies? Patrick teased.

“Or jealous?” Hugh inquired, running a hand down Kyler’s back as he snuggled against him. “I don’t like the idea of you prancing around naked, my boy. Unless it’s just for Patrick and me. Did Patrick spank you sufficiently for this little episode?”

“He spanked me for streaking, not painting. And yeah, it was enough to get the message across, don’t you think, Patrick?”

“It certainly was,” Patrick confirmed immediately. “Much harder than usual, I’d say. Perhaps not as hard as you would have though, Hugh.”

“It’s not a competition about who spanks the hardest, guys.” Hugh held Patrick’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “You did what you had to do, and I can see you handled it well. Otherwise we would be having an unhappy and unsettled Brat by now.”

Kyler squirmed free of Hugh’s hold and twisted away. He looked between his Tops and grinned naughtily. “Know what? I think we should try an experiment. I’ve already found out the hard way that both you guys spank harder than either my mom or Uncle Kipper. Maybe you, Hugh, could spank Patrick and then you, Patrick, can determine if your dad or our older partner here has the stronger arm. What do you think, huh?”

There was a moment of shocked silence. Then Kyler burst out laughing at the expressions on his partners’ faces. Hugh shook his head and Patrick actually glared at the suggestion.

Kyler couldn’t help tormenting them further; he was experiencing a happy, almost giddy high and feeling especially mischievous and impish. “Not exactly crazy about the idea, huh,” Kyler commented seriously and pretended to give the matter some thought. “Okay, then how’s this for a plan? We can have a stamina test. We all get naked, have wild passionate sex and see who can keep going the longest. Wanna give it a try?”

Patrick reached out and playfully tried to swat Kyler but it was apparent the idea held immediate appeal to Patrick. He managed to pull Kyler out from behind Hugh (who treacherously gave him up) and proceeded to hastily divest both his Brat and himself of their clothing amidst yells and protests from the struggling Brat.

“Help me, Hugh!” Kyler gasped, as a tear streaked down his cheek. He was laughing so hard he was crying.

“Come on, Hugh! Don’t be a spoilsport!” Patrick called from where he and Kyler were wrestling on the carpet. With a grunt, he managed to pin Kyler’s arms down on the floor above his head as he straddled the young man around the waist. “Mine!” Patrick announced, his eyes hot with passion.

Hugh rolled his eyes, undecided if he needed sleep more or sex. He feigned disinterest for only a few moments and then he laughed and merrily jumped into the fray.

THE END