Lions and Tigers and Brats, Oh, My!
October 2003
By Nelson
“Pass the bread, please, Zach,” Vic said from across the table. The couples were enjoying a meal out and Vic always liked the fluffy light rolls the restaurant served, glistening from the butter brushed on the tops. Zach reached for the basket and passed it over to Vic, but not before snagging a light roll for himself.
“Thanks,” Vic said, taking the basket from Zach and placing it between his and Ben’s plates. “Do you want one, sweetheart?” he asked Ben.
“Yeah, I love these things,” Ben replied as he grabbed one of the hot rolls. Vic smiled, glad that there were a few things his brat enjoyed eating without complaint.
Nelson was buttering one of his own and said, “Can you believe it’s only two weeks before Halloween? Where has the year gone?”
Vic said, “I know. Christmas will be here before we know it. Whose house this year?”
“Ours,” Zach said, taking in a bite of roll. “We were at yours last year,” he said around a mouthful of bread. The couples liked to get together on Halloween, enjoying casual conversation and companionship while they passed out candy.
Nelson nudged him and said, “Zach, swallow before you talk, please.” Zach rolled his eyes, but swallowed.
“Remember last year? Ben ate all your candy,” Zach said, beginning to giggle.
Ben, not anxious for a reminder of the incident, said sharply, “Shut up, Zach.”
Ben had helped himself to the candy without Vic’s knowledge. The extra bag that was supposed to be in the kitchen was mysteriously missing when Vic went to refill the candy bowl. Vic was anything but happy when he found out Ben had managed to eat the whole bag and he made sure Ben knew it when he had finished giving him a good tongue lashing.
“Hey, we should dress up this year!” Zach said, having another one of his brilliant ideas.
Nelson started shaking his head immediately. “I’m not dressing up as anyone but Nelson. Sorry. You go ahead if you want to.”
“Same here,” Vic said.
“Come on, don’t be such prudes,” Zach complained, running an elbow into Nelson’s ribs.
“I’ll dress up with you. What do you want to be?” Ben asked.
Zach sat quietly for a moment assessing his options. He quickly came up with an idea and said, “How about the Grim Reaper?”
“How about something else?” Nelson said. “I don’t want you scaring the kids.”
Zach’s mouth fell open and he looked at his partner. “It’s Hall-o-ween,” he said, emphasizing each syllable.
“I know what holiday it is, but I said no scary costumes. Come up with something else.”
Zach huffed and started to think again. Ben jumped in while Zach was thinking and said, “How about Batman and Robin?”
“That’s been done to death,” Zach complained, dismissing the idea without further consideration.
“Well, what other ideas do you have?” Ben snapped, slightly hurt that Zach didn’t like his idea. Vic recognized the edge that had crept into Benji’s voice and he laid a calming hand on his leg under the table.
Zach’s face lit up as an idea struck him. “How about a pumpkin and Linus from Charlie Brown? You know, the Great Pumpkin story?”
Ben thought about it briefly and asked, “Who’s going to be the pumpkin?”
“You would, you big fruit,” Zach teased.
“Zachary,” Nelson warned.
Ben’s face fell into a well-practiced scowl. “I don’t want to be the stupid pumpkin. YOU be the pumpkin.”
Vic leaned over to calm his brat and said, “Why not? You’re MY pumpkin.” He discreetly brushed a kiss against Ben’s ear and Ben blushed furiously.
Zach started to laugh at the term of endearment. “See? You’re the perfect choice; even Vic thinks so.”
“I’m NOT being a pumpkin,” Ben complained. He folded his arms dramatically and slumped against the back of the booth.
“Come on, Benji. Be a sport…pumpkin,” Vic teased.
“Quit it, Vic,” Ben said sourly, pushing Vic away. “Stop picking on me.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Vic asked smiling. “You don’t like being called ‘pumpkin’?”
“I don’t mind you calling me ‘pumpkin’. Just don’t make me dress up like one,” Ben said.
Nelson said, “Since no one wants to be a pumpkin and you can’t think of anything else, why don’t the two of you shop for costumes tomorrow? Maybe you can find something you both agree on.”
Zach and Ben liked the idea and decided to follow Nelson’s advice the next day.
*****
Zach picked Benji up the next morning, ready for their quest to find the perfect costume. They didn’t have a lot of options as to where they could go so they decided to check the mall, stopping first at Spencer’s.
“Crap. Everything’s scary,” Zach complained when he surveyed the limited selection of costumes. “We waited too late. It’s too close to Halloween.”
Ben was nodding in agreement. Two weeks before the holiday left the store with very little to choose from. “Where else can we look for ‘unscary’ costumes?” Ben asked.
“I don’t know. Nelson can be such a bore sometimes. No sense of adventure. Halloween’s SUPPOSED to be scary.”
They started walking aimlessly through the mall hoping one of the stores would give them an idea for a costume when they came upon The Disney Store.
“Hey, let’s look in here,” Ben suggested.
Zach rolled his eyes heavenward. “Why? You want to be Cinderella or Tinker Bell?”
“Shut up and come on,” Ben said, pulling at Zach’s arm. “It’s not like we’ve found anything else.” They wandered through the store passing through to the back where the costumes were kept. They slid varying costumes across the rack and saw everything from Peter Pan to the Big Cheese himself. Zach paused when his hand fell on a Buzz Lightyear costume.
“How about Buzz and Woody?” he asked, holding up the costume uncertainly.
Ben looked at the costume and ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know. It just doesn’t click for me.”
Zach hung the costume back on the rack and said, “Me neither, really. Although, Nelson would approve. It shouldn’t scare anyone.”
They continued to search the rack and finally gave up. “We have to find SOMETHING,” Zach said. They left The Disney Store and continued to browse the mall, coming up empty.
“Nothing. Shit,” Zach complained.
“Why don’t we look on the internet? We could probably find something there. It shouldn’t take two weeks to get a costume to us if we order it today.”
“Yeah…We should try that. Want to come to my house?”
“Sure.”
They quickly left the mall, anxious to see what costumes the internet had for sale.
********
Zach turned on the computer so it could boot up while he and Ben got a couple of drinks from the kitchen. Nelson came in to find Zach bent over rummaging in the fridge, and he couldn’t resist a swing at the butt bent over to him.
“How did it go, guys?” he asked as he playfully swatted Zach’s exposed bottom.
“NOT good,” Zach said, pulling a couple of sodas from the refrigerator. “We couldn’t find a thing. Except scary stuff…”
“You know what I said,” Nelson said. He laid a hand on Zach’s shoulder as he leaned into the fridge beside him, getting a drink for himself.
“Don’t get chappy, Nelson. We didn’t BUY any. I still don’t see why it matters.”
“Because I said ‘no’,” Nelson said, kissing Zach’s head as he did so.
Zach shut the refrigerator door a little harder than he planned and got a nasty glare from his partner. Nelson didn’t have to say a word since his expression was speaking volumes. “Sorry,” Zach mumbled. “My hand slipped.”
“Um, hm,” Nelson said, not buying it for one second.
Wanting to get out of the kitchen fast, Zach said, “We’re going to check the internet. We’ll be in the office if you need us.” He exited the kitchen quickly before Nelson could respond and led Benji back to the office.
“I think you were getting ready to get your butt smacked for real,” Ben said with a smile.
“Why do you think I left in a hurry?” Zach asked, grinning over his shoulder at his friend.
The computer was humming softly when they came in and the desktop was fully loaded. Zach plopped into the chair at the computer and told Ben to pull up the other office chair. Ben sat in the available chair and used his heels to roll it over near Zach to get a better view of the screen. Zach logged onto the internet and promptly pulled up Google to search out adult-sized costumes.
Zach clicked in the search field and mumbled slowly to himself as he typed, “Adult Costumes.” They watched in anticipation as the search engine pulled in link after link of sites matching the search criteria. Zach clicked on the second link and they began to peruse the varying costumes available from the internet vendor.
Zach read one category and started laughing. “Oh, my God,” Zach said.
“What?”
“Look at that,” he said, pointing to one category in particular. It was titled “Pimps and Ho’s”.
Ben started laughing with Zach. “Maybe you shouldn’t have put ‘adult’ in the search field.”
Zach clicked on the title and had to wipe tears from his eyes. He saw one costume named “Mac Daddy Purple Deluxe”. The model was wearing an all-too-flashy pimp costume complete with a large hat. “That is too funny. You should get that one. You look good in purple.”
“All right, but if I have to be the pimp, you have to be the ho,” Ben said.
“I DON’T think so.”
Zach clicked the “back” button returning them to the homepage’s list of costume categories. He clicked on “Action and Super Heroes” and watched pictures of Batman and similar heroes fill the page.
“Hey, I’ll be Batman and you can be Wonder Woman,” Zach suggested.
“I thought you didn’t want to be Batman.”
“I will if you’ll be Wonder Woman.”
“No way. You’d have to be Wonder Woman. You have better legs than me. Plus, you have the boobs for it,” Ben said, teasing.
“Very funny,” Zach said, clearly not amused. He clicked back and saw a heading for Star Wars costumes. “Hey, let’s be Luke and Han!”
Ben rolled his eyes knowing how attached his friend was to the Star Wars saga. While Ben shared a like for the series, Zach was an avid fan. Zach shook his head after clicking on the link, disappointed to find only costumes from the second Star Wars series.
“I don’t like the new ones as well as the old ones,” he complained. “I can’t believe they don’t have Luke and Han.”
Ben reviewed the pictures and said, “Look, there’s Leia.”
Zach looked over at his friend. “I’m not being Leia. Besides, I don’t look good with honey buns on my head.”
Ben couldn’t help but chuckle at Zach’s comment. Zach went back to the Action Heroes link and saw Spiderman. “How about him? You want to be Spiderman?”
“If I’m going to wear tights, I might as well be Wonder Woman.”
“She doesn’t wear tights,” Zach pointed out.
“You know what I mean.”
Zach left the first site and returned to Google’s search page. He selected another link and clicked on it, intently watching the screen as the images loaded.
“Man, this one has a lot more stuff,” Zach said, sitting up excitedly on the edge of his chair. An idea came to him and he clicked in the search box on the costumes page with a grin spreading across his face. Ben bristled as Zach typed in “pumpkin”.
“Dope,” Ben said. He gave Zach a gentle shove and watched as the various pumpkin costumes filled the screen.
Zach nearly lost his breath laughing as a picture popped up with an adult in an actual pumpkin suit. “Oh, God,” he said, laughing. “There you go. You can be a pumpkin after all.”
Ben gave Zach another shove and said, “Thanks a lot. You know, Vic’s been calling me ‘pumpkin’ since last night. I think it’s going to stick.”
“Does it bother you?”
“Not really,” Ben said. He wasn’t about to tell Zach he actually liked the title in spite of it being a little corny. Although, it wasn’t any cornier than “sweet pea”; Nelson called Zach that all the time. Vic had never called him anything except Ben, Benji, sweetheart and sweetie. And, occasionally, Benjamin David Monroe when he was in big trouble. But, the pet name was growing on him quickly and he found he liked it.
Zach said, “Look at the price! It’s $135. Shit. We’d HAVE to get it if it didn’t cost so much.”
“I don’t think so. I’m NOT dressing up like a fucking pumpkin.”
“You’re no fun,” Zach said. Having tired of his little game, Zach returned to the homepage to look for something else. He was pleased to find not only Star Wars costumes but costumes from The Matrix as well. The Matrix was one movie both brats enjoyed and couldn’t get enough of.
“How about Morpheus and Neo?” Ben asked.
“Yeah, that would be good,” Zach agreed. They’re only $40, too.”
Zach clicked on the Neo costume and selected a medium, adding it to the shopping cart. He clicked “continue shopping” and went back to the Morpheus costume. “Medium for you, too?” he asked Ben.
“How come I have to be Morpheus? I’d rather be Neo.”
“Because you’re taller.”
Ben frowned but couldn’t argue with the logic. He WAS taller if only by a couple of inches. With no further arguments from Benji, Zach added a medium-sized Morpheus costume to the cart. Zach spoke to himself, “Now, to complete the transaction.” He clicked on the “check-out” link and pulled the credit card he and Nelson shared from his wallet. He filled in all the required blanks and waited for the estimated delivery date to appear.
“Good,” Benji said. “They should be here before Halloween easily. What’s that, a week?”
“Yeah,” Zach said, pleased that the order should arrive in time. “Maybe it will even be earlier.”
“Or, later,” Ben pointed out with a frown.
“Don’t be a pessimist. Earlier, think EARLIER.”
Ben shrugged and said, “Whatever.”
“Now, we just need sunglasses and black shoes,” Zach suggested for completion of the ensemble.
“We have those already.”
“I can’t wait to see the costumes. This is going to be great!” Zach said cheerfully.
“I’ll give you the money tomorrow,” Ben said. “Thanks for putting mine on your card.” Vic didn’t allow him to use credit cards since he had proven time and again he over-used and under-paid them.
“Not a problem. I know where to find you. And, if I didn’t, Nelson’s name is on that card, too, and he’d hunt you down like a dog.”
Ben laughed and said, “I’m sure he would.”
Finished with their order, Zach glanced at his watch and saw it was only 1:00. “What do you want to do now?”
“I don’t know. Lunch would be good.”
“Why don’t we go get lunch and rent a couple of movies?”
Nelson was hard at work upstairs cleaning out their closet of summer clothes and replacing them with winter garments. Zach stood at the bottom of the stairs and raised his voice to reach into their bedroom.
“Nelson!!” Zach bellowed up the stairs rather than climbing them. “We’re going to get something to eat and a couple of movies! Want anything?!”
Nelson came out onto the landing in response to the page and leaned on the banister. “You know what I’d like? Some chicken. Could you guys stand the Colonel?
“Fine by me,” Zach said as Ben nodded. “Any movies you want to see?”
“Surprise me. Be careful,” Nelson responded. He puckered his lips toward Zach making a kissing sound then went back to his work as the guys left.
Before they left, Ben pulled his cell phone out to call Vic at his mother’s.
“Hi, pumpkin,” Vic said into the phone.
Ben smiled again at being called “pumpkin”, growing more and more fond of it. “Hey. How’s it going at your mom’s? Will you be there long enough for me to watch a movie with Zach?”
Vic sighed, having learned his mother had much more than just a few chores for him to do. “I’m sure I’ll be here at least that long. I should have brought you with me to help.” His mother had asked him to come over and do some things for her and what he thought would take a few hours had turned into a day job. “What movie are you getting?”
“I don’t know yet.”
Vic knew the brats enjoyed horror movies, and with it being so close to Halloween, they’d probably be looking for something scary. His own brat had trouble after watching scary movies so Vic didn’t generally allow him to watch them. “Nothing scary, Benjamin.”
“Vic…” he responded with a grunt.
“You heard me, Benjamin. No horror movies. I don’t want to spend the evening watching you jump at every little noise.”
“Fine,” Ben said conceding.
Satisfied that Ben would obey, Vic said, “I’d better run. I have tons left to do. Have fun.”
“Thanks. You have fun, too,” Ben said with a grin.
“Right. Talk to you later,” Vic said and disconnected.
********
The brats decided to go to the video store first so the food wouldn’t get cold. They immediately went to the new release section and scanned the various titles.
“We need to find something scary for Halloween,” Zach said.
Ben groaned inside. “Why?” he asked, not wanting to tell Zach he wasn’t allowed to watch one.
“You’re supposed to. It’s Halloween season. You aren’t scared, are you?” Zach asked grinning.
“NO, I’m not scared.”
“Well, come on then and quit griping about it.”
They searched the shelves and nothing was jumping out at them. Zach picked up The Others and said, “I can’t see this one enough. Nelson likes it, too.”
Ben squirmed a bit reading the back of the DVD box. It sounded scary enough. He handed it back to Zach wordlessly. Zach was looking over a different section and picked up another movie.
He read the back of the box intently and said, “Hey, this sounds pretty good.”
Ben took the box looking at the title, “Frailty? I’ve never heard of it.”
“Me, neither but it sounds good.”
Ben read the back and saw the category “psychological thriller” listed at the top. Probably scary, he thought but it didn’t sound TOO scary. He doubted it would be the kind of movie Vic would approve of. He kept his mouth shut and handed it back to Zach to rent. The title didn’t sound scary so if Vic asked what they saw, he thought he would be safe. At least it wasn’t “Jason” or “Freddie” something or other; either one would be a dead giveaway.
*******
After the movie and lunch, Ben was ready to go. He was slightly nervous as he got in his car to head home. They had watched Frailty and it was more disturbing than Ben had expected. He couldn’t get the images out of his head of a perfectly normal father going crazy and killing local sinners at God’s request. Worse, a storm was brewing so he would be going home to an empty house after a horror film with thunder and lightning streaking the sky. He hoped Vic wouldn’t be too much longer at his mother’s. Better yet, he hoped he was home already. Ben jumped at a loud clap of thunder and he gripped the steering wheel hard hoping the storm would blow over by the time he got home.
He pulled into the driveway and opened the garage door, disappointed to see Vic still wasn’t home. With the impending storm, the sky had grown dark in spite of the fact it was four in the afternoon. He opened the kitchen door off from the garage and quickly called for Maggie, craving the company. She came running through the house, toenails clicking against the kitchen tile. It looked like her whole body was wagging with the joy of seeing her owner.
“Hey, baby girl. How are you? Do you need to go out?” Ben asked, rubbing the puppy behind the ears. Maggie squirmed and wiggled with excitement to see Benji and he walked her to the back door. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw an old, nearly worn out ax propped against the back doorframe. He tentatively touched the handle and wondered where on earth it had come from. Vic had been gone all day so it couldn’t be his. He knew HE hadn’t brought it home. So, if neither he nor Vic brought it home and it wasn’t theirs, where had it come from? Both of those pieces of information fed his imagination and he began to glance nervously around the kitchen to see if anything was out of place. He jumped a mile as thunder rolled across the sky accompanied by a streak of lightning. As his heart found its way back into his chest cavity, he looked around the kitchen once more. Finding nothing amiss, he tried to put the ax out of his mind while he took Maggie outside. There had to be an explanation for it being there.
“Come on, Maggie. Do you have to potty?” he asked her as she followed him to the door.
Maggie quickly did her business, for which Ben was eternally grateful, not wanting to be standing in the middle of a storm in his backyard. It hadn’t begun to rain but the wind was blowing and the sky was ominously dark. It looked as if it would break open at any minute.
“Come on, girl, let’s go in before we get drenched.” She merrily followed Ben back into the house and he rewarded her with a treat for a job well done.
Ben was still feeling jittery from the movie, and finding a mystery ax in the kitchen didn’t make it any better. It didn’t help at all that the murder weapon in the movie had been an ax. He decided to try to find something on television to distract him while he waited for Vic to come home. He had barely settled in front of the television with Maggie curled up to him when he heard a loud crash upstairs. He sat bolt upright on the sofa, heart pounding against his chest. Maggie took off up the stairs to investigate and Ben watched desperately as she disappeared up the steps.
“Maggie! Maggie!!” he whispered after her, afraid to speak too loudly.
Maggie continued up the stairs without a care, concerned only with finding the source of the noise. Ben’s mind immediately went back to the mysterious ax in the kitchen. He quickly put two and two together and his blood ran cold with fear. There was someone upstairs and the ax must belong to him. His breathing quickened and he tried anxiously to think of what to do. Vic, he had to call Vic. But, first he would call the police.
He picked up the phone with an ear cocked upstairs listening for any movement. “911 emergency,” the voice said through the phone.
Ben whispered back urgently, “You have to send someone. There’s a guy in my house and my dog is upstairs with him.” He could hear Maggie barking excitedly as her yips drifted down the stairwell.
“Okay, sir. Try to stay calm. Did you see him?” the voice asked as thunder pealed across the sky.
“No, hurry up! I heard him and there’s an ax in the kitchen that doesn’t belong to us. It must be his.”
“I’ll send a unit right away. You need to get out of the house, sir.”
“I can’t. My dog. My dog is up there with him!”
“Please, sir. You have to leave for your own safety.”
“Just send someone quick!” Ben said gruffly into the phone. His nerves were standing starkly on edge as every fiber of his being was on full alert. He was afraid there would be bruising left on his chest where his heart continued to pound away.
His next move was to call Vic. Vic’s mother answered the phone and passed it to Vic. “It’s Ben. He sounds upset.”
Vic immediately took the phone as his protective instincts took over. “Benji. What’s wrong?”
“Vic! Someone’s here. He’s upstairs and Maggie’s with him and I don’t know what to do I called the police I’m so scared you have to come home right away,” he said in one long rant, not pausing even for a breath.
Vic tensed and his hand tightened around the phone as fear for his partner’s safety wrapped its cold fingers around his heart. His voice didn’t expose the fear he felt and he spoke firmly to Ben. “Benjamin, calm down. You need to leave. Get out of the house right now, do you hear me? Get out of the house now,” Vic said.
“I can’t leave Maggie…”
Vic switched to his most stern voice and said, “Benjamin! I said get out of the house RIGHT now. Move! I’ll be home as soon as I can.” Vic hung up the phone and left in a dead heat to get to his lover.
*****
Ben knew Vic and the 911 operator were right, but there was no way he could leave Maggie. She was just a baby and he didn’t want the mystery guest upstairs to hurt her. He thought back to the ax lying against the kitchen door and made a decision. He went hurriedly into the kitchen and picked up the tool; he was surprised at its weight lying heavily in his grip. He clutched it to him and swallowed hard as he went back to the hallway and placed a foot on the stairs ready to ascend them. He could hear his own heart beating in his ears as he crept quietly up the steps while his body trembled in fear. He stopped at the top riser as numbness spread through him with the adrenaline rushing through his body. He took a deep breath and turned around the corner.
The next moments passed in what seemed like slow motion. A loud clap of thunder shook the house as lightning flashed brightly and Maggie rushed at Ben. Shadows jumped along the walls with the blinking of the lightning and he could have sworn he saw someone in the hallway. Reacting quickly, he pulled the ax from his shoulder and swung it with all his might at the nothingness in front of him. It ripped through the air connecting solidly with the wall, and Ben saw it bury itself deep within the sheet rock. He looked back down the hallway and saw no one coming so he grabbed Maggie and ran, leaving the ax hanging in the wall.
He burst out the front door and saw the police cruiser in the drive and Vic right behind it, exiting his car quickly. They ran to each other and Vic busily gave Benji the once over, grabbing his face between his hands.
“Are you all right? You aren’t hurt, are you?”
Ben was shaking like a leaf and nearly jumped out of his skin when a clap of thunder ripped through the sky. Vic pulled Ben to him and tightened his arms around him to try to still the shaking. Maggie wiggled between them and Vic loosened his grip only long enough for Ben to put her down.
One of the officers said, “We’re going to go inside and take a look around. You two wait here.”
“Thank you. We will,” Vic said.
The sky was still rumbling and twisting but the threatening rain had yet to start falling. Vic said, “I was so scared I might lose you. Did he try to hurt you?”
“No, I never saw him. I just heard him and saw the ax.”
“The ax?” Vic asked, taking a step back. His hands were on Ben’s shoulders and he held him at arm’s length to look at him. “That was MY ax, Benjamin. I bought it at a yard sale this afternoon and hadn’t had a chance to put it in the shed.”
“But…but, you were at your mother’s. I didn’t think you’d been home.”
“I forgot something and had to come back. I bought the ax on the way home and left it in the kitchen. Are you positive there’s someone in the house or did you just think there was because you saw the ax?”
“YES! I HEARD him!”
“What did you hear?”
“A crash. It was a crash upstairs.”
Vic gripped Ben to him again, “Okay, okay, Benji. Just calm down. It will be fine.”
Ben pressed hard against Vic and was starting to calm down merely by his presence. Vic looked up shortly and saw the officers coming down the porch steps.
“It’s all clear, sir. No one’s in there. Whoever it was is gone. He left a nasty hole in the wall upstairs. Looks like he swung an ax into the wall.”
Vic looked at Ben who shrugged innocently. “I thought he was coming after me.”
Vic didn’t say anything to Ben in response. He stuck out a hand and thanked the officers for stopping by. “I think we’ve found our intruder,” Vic said to the officer indicating Benji.
“Are you sure there’s no one in there?” Ben asked suspiciously. “Did you check everywhere?”
“Yes, sir. We went over the whole house. The only evidence we saw of any unusual activity was the ax in the wall.”
“I don’t understand…I could have sworn someone was in there,” Ben replied.
Vic thanked them again and the officers left without needing to pursue the ax incident any further since it was obvious Ben had done it and there was no intruder. Vic waited until they had pulled away then took Ben’s hand tightly in his own. “We need to go inside before it starts pouring. We have some things to talk about.” Ben cringed inside but followed Vic meekly to the house.
Vic called Maggie to follow them in the house then turned to Ben as he closed the door behind them. “I think we should go upstairs and see your idea of redecorating.”
Ben winced and said, “We don’t have to. It’s not much.”
“Oh, I disagree. I WANT to see what you did with the place while I was gone.” Keeping his hand locked around Ben’s he started to ascend the stairs. Surprise registered on his face when he saw the ax hanging in the wall buried up to the handle. He closed his mouth after the shock wore off slightly and his lips pursed into a frown.
Ben made sure he was wearing his most innocent of expressions and said again, “I thought he was coming after me.”
“What were you doing up here if you thought someone was up here?”
“I had to get Maggie. I didn’t want him to hurt her and she wouldn’t come back down.”
Vic gave him the classic look and said, “We’ll discuss the wisdom of that decision in a minute. First, let’s see if we can figure out what made the noise prompting all this drama.” He turned into their bedroom with Ben trailing along behind him. He started to pull back and Vic pulled him forward, putting an arm around his shoulder. “There’s nothing to be afraid of, sweetheart. The police checked the whole place out.”
They surveyed their bedroom and found nothing unusual. Vic started toward the master bath and he felt Ben push up against him as they neared the door. “It’s all right, Ben,” Vic said, tightening his grip on Ben’s hand.
Ben’s breath caught in his throat when he saw Vic reach for the shower curtain and pull it back to look inside. Ben visibly relaxed, and understanding crossed his face as he looked into the tub. “Oh,” he said casually as the light dawned, “the shower thingy.”
Vic turned to him with an expression that showed he was getting less happy by the second. The shower shelf had obviously fallen into the bathtub as it and its suction cups were lying on the bathtub floor. All their toiletries were scattered about as they had been dislodged from the shelf in the fall.
“Benjamin, did you not think to check this shelf when you heard the commotion? You know this thing falls occasionally.”
“I…I just thought…well the ax and all…I thought we had an ax murderer,” Ben stammered.
“Why would you jump to such conclusions?”
“I don’t KNOW,” Ben said miserably.
“If you truly thought the ax belonged to an ax murderer, why did you stay in the house? Furthermore, why didn’t you call me to ask about the ax before you determined it belonged to an intruder?”
“I don’t know!” Ben repeated.
Vic paused and thought for a moment. His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he asked, “What kind of movie did you watch this afternoon?”
Shit. Ben often referred to Vic as “Vic the Almighty” and for good reason. The man seemed to be omniscient in that he always seemed to know nearly every damn thing. Even those things Ben didn’t want him to know, unfortunately, and this was definitely one of those things. He struggled with an appropriate response to the question without lying and decided giving the name of the movie would be enough. “It was called Frailty.”
“What KIND of movie was it?” Vic said, his arms criss-crossing each other across his chest.
“I’m not sure. Maybe suspense?” Ben replied.
Determined to get to the bottom of this once and for all, Vic asked, “What section was it in?”
His instincts told him Ben had watched a horror film despite being told not to. All the earmarks were there, most decidedly Ben’s over-reaction to a falling shelf and an ax in the kitchen. Even without those two tidbits, Ben’s attempts to sidetrack Vic’s questions were telling in themselves.
Ben swallowed, suddenly nervous all over again. His heart began to thud against his chest in a rhythm it had been practicing most of the day. It was getting the beat down pretty well. “The ‘New Releases’?”
Vic could see Ben wasn’t going to make it easy. He persistently pressed on with another follow-up question. “What was it about?”
“Um, this guy? He went crazy and thought God wanted him to…wanted him to…” Ben stumbled, searching for a description that didn’t involve the words “kill” or “murder” that would still describe the movie.
“Wanted him to what?” Vic asked as his patience began to slip away.
“Um…to get rid of bad people.”
“By ‘get rid of’ you mean murder?”
Shit. Shit, shit. “Yes, sir.”
“And, HOW did he kill these people?” Vic asked, wanting more details.
“God told him who to get rid of…” Ben danced around the question again.
“HOW did he kill them?!” Vic asked a little more loudly.
Ben sighed deeply and answered the question. “With an ax named ‘Otis’.”
“An ax. An ax named ‘Otis’.” Vic said, repeating what he’d heard. Ben looked away immediately recognizing the link between Otis and the ax hanging in the wall outside their bedroom. “I’m beginning to see how this movie contributed to your conclusions this afternoon. Do you see any correlation?”
Ben didn’t answer. He shrugged slightly, with his shoulders barely moving up then back down.
Vic’s strong voice rose a decibel, “Answer me, young man!”
“Maybe a little.”
Vic uncrossed his arms long enough to point to the bed. “Have a seat on the bed, Benjamin.”
This wasn’t looking good. Benjamin obediently went to the bed and took a seat on the edge. Vic asked, “Did I or did I not distinctly tell you NO horror movies?”
Ben nodded his head and muttered a quiet, “You did.”
“How was the movie you watched at all NOT scary?”
Ben looked up and cast pleading eyes to Vic. “It wasn’t all that scary. Really! They didn’t even show all the murders.”
“Is that right? What do you think my opinion of it would be if I rented it and watched it tonight?”
Not good, he thought but answered, “You might think it was a little scary.”
“A little?”
“Maybe a little more than that, but it wasn’t like a Freddie or Jason movie. I swear! No ghosts or anything like that.”
“It was obviously scary enough to have you jumping at falling shelves and imagining ax murderers lurking about. I don’t like you watching them for a reason, Benjamin. You can’t seem to watch them without letting them get to you. When I say no scary movies, what should that mean to you?”
“That I can’t watch a scary movie.”
“Yet, you did it after I told you clearly not to.” Vic was quiet for a moment letting his words hit home with Benjamin. His hands were nervously picking at each other and the action told Vic that his message was delivered. “Then, more importantly, you stayed in this house when you believed an intruder was upstairs. Was that the wisest of decisions, Ben?”
“I had to get Maggie.”
“WAS that a wise decision?! To put, what YOU thought was your life at risk to get a dog?”
“She’s NOT just a dog. She’s Maggie!” Ben said adamantly, not at all remorseful for going to rescue her.
“I understand that, but if I had to pick between the two of you, I’m going to pick you every time. I love her, too, but your life is more important to me.”
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t just leave her…I couldn’t!”
“Did I tell you to leave this house immediately?”
Ben sighed again and slumped on the edge of the bed. “Yes, sir.”
“Yet you stayed long enough for me to come all the way home. Is that your idea of leaving immediately?”
“No, sir. I had to get Maggie…” he mumbled toward the carpet.
“When I tell you to do something, you DO it, especially when your well-being is at stake! Do you understand me?” Ben winced at the words and nodded his head. “LOOK at me and answer the question, Benjamin!”
Somehow, Ben managed to raise his eyes to his partner and answer. “Yes, sir.”
“Had you left when I told you to, we wouldn’t have an ax hanging from the wall, would we?”
“No, sir. But, I thought he was coming.”
“And, you thought you were okay since you were carrying an ax?! What if there HAD been someone there? Do you think you could live with yourself if you had connected with another body when you swung that ax?”
“I didn’t think of it that way,” Ben said.
“Worse, what if it had been someone with a gun and he shot you before you could swing?”
Damn. Ben hadn’t thought of anything except Maggie and getting her to safety. His partner was always able to see the worst case scenario, especially when it came to Ben’s well-being, focusing on what might have happened as much as what actually took place.
Ben answered, “I don’t know.”
“Well, I know.” Of course he knew, Ben thought. He was omniscient. “You could have been killed or maimed. Do you really think you made the right choice to not only stay in the house after I told you to leave, but to put yourself in danger by approaching whoever might have been up here?”
Ben was pretty sure they were nearing the end of this discussion and he knew how it would conclude. He whispered, “No, sir.”
“What did you say? Speak up, Benjamin.”
“No, sir,” Ben answered somewhat louder than before.
Vic took a step forward and held out his hand to Benjamin. Ben placed his hand in Vic’s and stood to his feet. Vic took a seat in his place on the bed and began to unfasten Ben’s jeans pulling them cleanly away from his rump.
“Vic, I’m sorry. I was just scared.”
“I’m not spanking you for being scared. You can’t help the way you feel. What you can help,” Vic said, lowering Ben’s underwear, “is disobeying me. That’s why you’re getting a spanking.”
Ben allowed himself to be pulled across Vic’s lap and tensed as his toes left the floor. He buried his head in his folded arms against the comforter while Vic wrapped an arm around his waist. Vic’s hand lay against Ben’s bottom and Ben could feel the contrast of the heat from his hand against the coolness of the air on his exposed butt that he always felt when his underwear was pulled away.
“When I say no scary movies that MEANS no scary movies. When I tell you to leave a place or situation, I expect you to do it immediately. Are those things clear to you?”
Ben’s answer was muffled by the comforter and further trapped by his arms supporting his head but Vic heard the “yes, sir”. Taking his cue he set to work and his hand began to fall in a slow, steady rhythm against Ben’s backside. What moments before felt cool, was beginning to heat up with the falling smacks. Ben began to wiggle and squirm on Vic’s lap and the tears he was trying to restrain began to fall.
“Stop it, Vic! Stop…it huuurrttts…” he cried between the tears.
Vic ignored the pleas he fully anticipated hearing and continued on his mission. The longer Vic spanked, the harder it was to remain still and by the end, Ben’s legs were flailing. Vic finished with a few strong swats to Ben’s bottom before stopping. He immediately raised Ben off his lap and gathered him to his chest, pulling the two of them onto the pillows propped against the headboard. He kissed Ben’s head and held him tightly while he waited for the tears to slow. He chose to simply hold and comfort him rather than remanding him to the corner for further punishment. Vic knew Benji had been through a traumatizing afternoon and although he wanted to teach him a lesson, he didn’t want him to suffer any further - apart from his stinging rear end.
“I’m sorrrryy,” Ben cried.
“Shhhhh. It’s okay. I’ve got you.”
“I didn’t mean to scare you,” Ben struggled to say against the sniffles.
“I know you didn’t,” Vic said, but thought about how many years were taken off his life that afternoon. “It’s over now.”
“What about the waaallll? I messed it up baaaddd,” Ben cried.
“You really took a swing, I can tell you that. The wall can be fixed. I’m not worried about the wall. I was worried about you taking unnecessary risks when I told you not to.” Vic gave him a gentle squeeze. “Hop up and get your pants pulled up.”
Ben groaned and slid from Vic’s lap to stand. He gingerly reached a hand back to rub his throbbing behind before he pulled up his pants. It was still hot to the touch and he knew from experience, it would stay that way for a while. He looked pitifully at Vic before bending over to retrieve his pants and underwear. Rain was suddenly pelting against the window and thunder clapped loudly again. Ben dropped his pants and rushed to Vic’s side, nearly knocking him back on the bed with the force of the impact.
Vic hugged Ben back and glanced over his shoulder to the window, watching the large drops of rain pound the glass. “Looks like the rain finally caught up with the thunder and lightning,” Vic said. He leaned down and pulled up Ben’s pants that had been forgotten in the wake of the crashing thunder.
Ben’s eyes followed Vic’s and he saw the rain streaming down the window. Vic said, “Let’s go downstairs and fix some hot chocolate. How’s that sound?”
“Good,” Ben sniffed. He saw Maggie sitting just outside the door, looking uncertain. Ben didn’t know if it was his imagination or not, but Maggie always looked like she was embarrassed to hear him get a spanking.
“I don’t think Maggie likes for you to spank me,” Ben said, rubbing the back of his hand across his wet eyes.
Vic chuckled, “Is that a fact? How can you tell?”
“I think she looks embarrassed.”
Vic couldn’t help a slight chuckle. “Embarrassed? Was she blushing?”
“No, she just looks it, that’s all.”
Vic shook his head and draped an arm across Ben’s shoulders as they took the stairs. “Well, she’ll have to go somewhere else next time, pumpkin. No one’s making her watch.”
“Maybe she’ll bite you one day to protect me,” Ben said as he reached up to take Vic’s hand on his shoulder.
Vic raised his eyebrows and looked at Ben. “Then I’d have to spank you both.”
Ben knew Vic would never spank Maggie aside from possibly a swat with the newspaper but he said, “Vic! She might be my only defense.”
“The only defense you need is to do like I tell you. It will save your butt a world of hurt, young man,” Vic said as they entered the kitchen. Ben was content to just lean on the bar watching his lover make hot chocolate, in no condition to be sitting just yet. Vic ran the water through the coffeepot to heat it quickly while he dished out chocolate into two large mugs. He smiled when he saw Maggie nuzzling at Ben’s ankle.
“I think she’s trying to make you feel better,” Vic said nodding at the puppy. Ben bent down and picked her up, feeling the sting in his bottom increase with the movement against his jeans. She gave him a healthy kiss against his neck and Ben squeaked with the tickle it produced. Whether she meant to or not, she did make him feel better.
Vic finished with the hot chocolate and Ben put Maggie down so he could take his mug. Vic took Ben’s free hand with his own and led him into the living room, gathering him in his lap on the sofa. Ben curled up snugly against his lover and clasped the mug to him, feeling the warmth spread through his hands. He almost spilled it when he jumped at the sound of a scratching noise.
“What was that?!” he asked in alarm.
“I swear, NO more scary movies for you EVER, young man. It’s just the tree limb outside the window behind us.”
“Oh,” Ben said, exhaling loudly and settling back down against his partner. “I think I’ve had at least twelve heart attacks today. You’re right. No more scary movies.”
Vic looked at Ben out of the corner of his eye, “What about Halloween in a few weeks? Aren’t you going to want to see one then?”
“I don’t care. I’ve had enough scares today to last a few Halloweens at least. Not to mention…well, you know…”
Vic smiled at the comment and kissed his lover’s head. “I’m glad I was able to help convince you.”
********
Later that evening, Vic went upstairs to assess the damage to the wall, pulling the ax free. It left a good-sized hole in its place and Vic shook his head looking at the gaping void. He wasn’t sure he could fix it and thought he might end up having to hire someone to do the job. He went to find the phone and gave Nelson a call.
“You won’t believe the afternoon we had,” Vic began and filled Nelson in on the day’s adventure.
“Oh, my God,” Nelson said. He couldn’t help but laugh.
“Quit laughing. It wasn’t at all funny at the time,” Vic said through a smile himself.
“I’m sorry, I really am. You’ll laugh later, I’m sure of it.”
“You really think so? Check with me after you see the wall. You’ve had some experience repairing sheet rock, haven’t you?”
Nelson paused his laughter thinking back to a time when he, too, had a brat-induced hole in the wall. “I sure have,” he replied. Zach had tried to move a recliner into their basement by himself against Nelson’s direct instruction not to and managed to bury the leg into the basement wall in the process. It wasn’t nearly so large a hole as Vic described, but he thought he could help.
“Well, I haven’t,” Vic said. “Until now, that is. Could you help me try to fix it before I have to hire someone?”
“Sure. I can come out one evening and we’ll work on it.”
Vic asked, “Do you have any experience with hair color?”
“Hair color? Why do you ask?”
“I haven’t looked but I’m sure my hair is white from the scare this afternoon.”
Nelson started laughing again at his friend’s experience. “Sorry, buddy. Can’t help you with that one. How’s your heart?”
“After it quit beating a hole in my chest, it seems fine. He scared the life out of me.”
Turning serious, Nelson said, “I’m sure he did. I know you’re glad the only damage was to the wall and not to Benji.”
“Most definitely. I’ll take a hole in the wall any time.”
“How’s Ben?”
“Sulking a little as you might expect. I’ve barely been able to peel him off my side all afternoon. I’m going back to him as soon as we hang up.”
“I’m sure he wants to be close to you for more reasons than one.” Nelson understood all too well how a brat needed firm reassurance after punishment. “Even though it was purely his imagination, in his mind the incident this afternoon was just as real as it was to you. He’s probably still a little jumpy.”
“That’s for sure. I’ve been lucky to get away from him long enough to pee, which is about as long as he’ll let me leave.” Nelson couldn’t help but laugh at the comment.
Right on cue, Benji’s voice traveled up the stairs to Vic. “VIC!! Are you coming back?!!”
“Speaking of which, my charge is calling me now. I’d better go back and sit with him.”
Nelson completely understood. “You go to him. I’ll come out maybe Tuesday? Does that work for you?”
“Tuesday’s fine. Bring Zach and I’ll fix dinner for you.”
“VIC!!!” Ben yelled a bit more loudly than before.
Nelson heard the summons through the phone and wrapped up his end of the conversation so Vic could return to his partner. “Sounds good. See you Tuesday.”
Vic hung up and went back to his place on the sofa to cuddle once again with his brat.
********
Vic managed to get the hole in the wall fixed with Nelson’s help and it would look as good as new with a fresh touch of paint. He was glad they worked on it so soon after the event because Ben seemed to bristle every time he passed by the damaged portion of the wall. It was a constant reminder of what had happened and kept him feeling guilty even though he had been punished and forgiven.
With the hole fixed and that awful day a memory, Ben could focus on Halloween coming up. It was only two days before Halloween and the costumes hadn’t arrived. The brats were starting to worry that their costumes weren’t going to make it on time for Halloween.
“Did you get a confirmation email?” Ben asked Zach on the phone.
“Yes! But they still aren’t here.”
“Try tracking it.”
Zach thought for a moment. He couldn’t remember if the order was coming UPS or USPS. “I’ll go check after we hang up and see if I can track it. That’s a good idea.”
He hung up and went immediately to the computer, finding Nelson hanging over it posting bills to pay through web banking. Zach put his hands on Nelson’s shoulders and leaned down to kiss his neck.
“Mmmmm. Now that’s better than doing bills,” Nelson muttered. Zach giggled and continued to nuzzle at Nelson’s neck taking in the smell of him and the fading fragrance of his cologne. Nelson twisted slightly with the tickle of Zach’s lips against his neck. “As much as I’m enjoying the distraction, sweet pea, I have to get this done.”
“Anal,” Zach said, continuing his work on Nelson’s neck.
“Guilty,” Nelson commented, trying to type while Zach gave his neck the once-over. He finally stopped and pushed away from the desk enough to gather Zach in his lap. “You’re a persistent little cuss, aren’t you?”
“You have to ask?” Zach said, smiling at his lover.
“Did you come in here for something other than to taste my neck?”
Returning to why he actually came in, Zach said, “Oh, yeah. I need to track our costumes. They should be here by now.”
“Well, why don’t you let me finish this and then you can check your order? I won’t be two minutes. Then, when we’re finished here, we can start something else more fun.” He kissed Zach’s lips enticingly.
“Oh, well, I don’t know. You might have to convince me…” Zach joked.
Nelson’s lips found his once more and he kissed him deeply and firmly then began teasing his tongue between Zach’s lips. He pulled away and looked at Zach raising his eyebrows to see how he did.
“Pretty good, old man. I guess we COULD do something more fun.”
Nelson playfully swatted Zach’s leg. “I’ll give you old man,” he said before pushing Zach off his lap.
**********
“Why didn’t you call me back last night?” Ben complained to Zach at college the next day. They were hunched over lunch trays in the college café where they met almost every day if their schedules allowed.
“I, um, got a little sidetracked or something,” Zach said dismissing the question as best he could. “Pass me the salt,” he asked, holding out a hand toward Ben.
Ben leaned over to reach the requested salt and passed it to his friend. “Sidetracked? What were you doing?”
“I can’t tell you everything,” Zach said grinning devilishly. He changed the subject before Benji began to press for details and said, “The costumes should be here today though.”
That little piece of news changed Ben’s direction from his current line of questioning, causing him to quickly forget about what might have held Zach’s attention the night before. “Awesome. I can’t wait until they get here.”
“I’ll call you if they come in.”
“Why don’t I come over after class? If they’re here, I can try mine on,” Ben said.
“Um, I don’t know,” Zach said without looking at Ben. “I’m not going straight home today. I, um, need to get something for Rudy at the pet store,” he said grasping at an excuse to keep Ben away.
Ben shrugged and said, “Oh, okay. Well, I guess I’ll just have to wait until you call, then.”
Zach hated lying to his friend, but he wanted to surprise him. He didn’t want Ben to see the costume until Halloween night and if he saw it before, it would ruin everything. He grinned to himself thinking of Ben’s face when he saw what he had ordered.
*********
Zach pulled into the driveway after school and could see the boxes lying against the door from the driveway causing a smile to break out over his face. He hurried to the porch to collect the boxes the UPS man had recently placed on his doorstep and he nearly ran to the house bounding up the porch steps toward the waiting boxes. He grabbed both boxes and struggled with the keys in the door. One box threatened to slide to the ground before he could catch it but he was able to juggle it just in time to keep it from falling.
Hurrying inside he took the boxes to the kitchen and pulled the box cutter from the junk drawer. He carefully slipped the blade under the tape holding the carton together and slid it down the length of the box. The first box held the special costume he bought for Benji right after he cancelled the order for the Morpheus costume. He giggled to himself at the thought of Ben’s face when he showed it to him.
“Priceless,” he muttered. He quickly opened the other box and pulled the Neo costume out and held it against him judging the fit. He slipped the long jacket on and adopted his best attempt at a Neo pose ready to engage in a bout of Jujitsu with an unknown attacker. His sunglasses were lying on the kitchen table where he dropped them and he pulled them on before going to the bathroom to check himself in the mirror.
“I am The One,” he said to his reflection in the mirror in his best impression of Neo. After checking himself over once more in the mirror, he went to the phone to call Ben.
A breathless Ben answered the phone on the fourth ring just before the voice mail picked up, “Yeah, hello?”
“What? Did you run home instead of drive?” Zach said laughing at his friend.
“I couldn’t get to the phone. I JUST walked in the door when you called. How’d you get home so fast? I thought you had to go to the pet store.”
“Um, I did, but they didn’t have what I needed,” Zach lied. “Our costumes came in,” he said shifting the topic to the reason he called.
“They did?! Great! How do they look?”
“Yours is better than mine,” Zach said and couldn’t help the smile playing on his lips.
“I can’t wait to see it. Bring it to school tomorrow.”
Shit. That would never work. “I’ll just keep it here. Halloween will be here in two days and you can see it then.”
“Zach! Bring it! I want to see mine, too!” Ben ordered.
Zach rolled his eyes and conceded, deciding he’d just manage to “forget” the suit the next day. “Okay, don’t get your panties in a bunch. I’ll bring it tomorrow.”
*****
Halloween night finally arrived and Zach was giddy with excitement. He had managed to hold Benji off on seeing the costume using a short memory as an excuse, and leading him to believe he’d simply forgotten to bring it two days in a row. Zach couldn’t wait to see the trick-or-treaters and interact with the little goblins who came by for the sweets they were handing out. This year would be even more fun since he and Ben were dressing up. He heard the doorbell ring as he was laying out his and Ben’s costumes and he ran down the stairs two at a time dramatically leaping to the floor from the third riser. He barely landed when he felt a sharp handprint land on his butt.
“OW!” he exclaimed while grasping at the stinging spot.
“Walk down the stairs, Zach. Don’t jump off of them,” Nelson said, having seen Zach’s gymnastics moments earlier. “You’re going to break your neck one day.” Zach cast a glare his way as he completed his route to the front door. Nelson smiled at the reaction but Zach didn’t find it comical at all.
“Hi, sweetheart,” Vic said as Zach opened the door. He gave Zach a peck on the forehead as he passed through the open door.
“Hi. Come on, Benji,” Zach said dismissing Vic. Vic shook his head as the younger men went rampaging up the stairs.
Nelson shrugged his shoulders at Vic, “What are you going to do? I swear, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been glad this house was built well. Those stairs would have come down a long time ago if the construction was at all lacking.”
“I think they’re excited,” Vic observed.
“You think?” Nelson quipped, grinning at his friend. “What gave it away?” Vic just laughed and shook his head. “Come on. I’d race you to the kitchen but I don’t have their energy level,” Nelson said.
Vic started laughing just imagining him and Nelson racing to the kitchen full throttle. “Good, because I don’t either. I’d have to let you win.”
At a normal walking pace, the tops went into the kitchen to gather the drinks and snacks Nelson had laid out. They were just on their way to the front porch when they heard raised voices from upstairs.
“Oh, no. Don’t tell me we’re going to have problems with them tonight,” Nelson said wearily. Despite their lesser energy levels, the tops quickly made it upstairs and Nelson tapped on his closed bedroom door just before opening it. “What’s going on up here?”
As the door swung open, he saw Zach busily shoving something into a box before he tried to hide it behind him. Recognizing the look of guilt on his brat’s face, Nelson stepped over closer to him and asked, “What are you two arguing about?”
Zach glanced over at Ben’s angered face and said, “Nothing.”
Nelson looked hard at his partner and said, “It was obviously something, Zachary. We could hear you downstairs.”
Zach shifted under the glare and knew the inquisition wouldn’t end without an answer. “I just wanted him to do something for me.” Zach scowled at Ben and saw his friend’s angered face glaring back at him. His face was still the color of a ripe tomato as it always was whenever Ben’s temper flared.
Vic took in his lover’s red face and clenched hands and knew his temper was flying high. He stepped over to him and asked, “What’s got you so mad, Benji? What did Zach want you to do?” He put his hand to Ben’s back and rubbed it down his spine. Vic knew Zach had a proclivity for joking around, and often at Ben’s expense. Judging from Ben’s face and Zach’s vague answers, he had a feeling this was one of those situations.
Zach jumped in, confirming Vic’s suspicions before Ben could answer. “Nothing. It was supposed to be a joke.”
Nelson eyed his brat suspiciously then reached out and took his arm, moving him over two steps so he could get his hands on the mystery box behind Zach.
“NO! Wait, Nelson! It was just supposed to be a surprise for Ben!” Zach screeched. Ben stood idly by waiting for Nelson to uncover what had gotten him so angered.
Nelson totally ignored Zach and continued to reach for the box. “Whatever this ‘surprise’ is, it has obviously caused a problem between the two of you and I want to know what it is.”
Then it was Zach’s turn to be angry and he gruffly crossed his arms and glared at Ben. “I don’t know why you just couldn’t wear it!” he spat, knowing his secret was soon to be out.
“I TOLD you I didn’t want to! I didn’t tell you to order it! You were SUPPOSED to order the Morpheus costume!”
“Shhhhh,” Vic whispered to his brat. His own curiosity was roused and he watched as Nelson pulled a full-sized, adult pumpkin suit from the box.
“He wanted me to wear that thing!” Ben said angrily to his lover. “I NEVER said I would wear it!”
“Well, you ARE a pumpkin. Vic even calls you pumpkin, now, fruitcake,” Zach said.
“Zachary!” Nelson said, trying to halt the stressful scene that seemed to continue escalating in spite of his and Vic’s presence.
Nearly at the same time Nelson spoke, Ben shot back, “Why don’t you dress up as a GREEN PEA since that’s what Nelson calls you?!”
“SWEET pea, jerk!! Not GREEN pea!” Zach said, equally angry.
“What DIFFERENCE does it make?!” Ben yelled back, hands balling into tight fists.
“ALL RIGHT! THAT is eNOUGH!” Vic’s elevated voice cut through the argument, quieting both brats. In the silence following Vic’s thunder, he said more quietly, “Benjamin, you don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to. Now, calm down. Let’s try to have a nice evening.”
Ben looked at Zach as if to say “so, there”. He looked to Vic for pity and said, “How can I? He cancelled the Morpheus costume and ordered THAT thing. Now, I don’t have a costume.”
Vic’s heart ached for his brat having been the butt once again of one of Zach’s attempts at humor. He had no doubt Nelson would deal with the situation fairly, but that wasn’t going to help at the moment. “It’s okay, Benji. You look fine the way you are.” Vic pulled Ben to him and put his arm around his shoulders. “Let’s go downstairs and let Zach change,” Vic said taking Ben’s hand. “I think a little distance between you two would be a good idea right now.”
“Wait a second, Vic,” Nelson said, causing his friend to pause. “Zach owes Benjamin an apology. Don’t you Zachary?” Zach’s face flushed and he looked at the floor. “Zachary, now!” Nelson said after landing a firm swat to his bottom. Zach’s eyes widened with the smack and he put his hand to his rear. He raised his eyes and cringed under the looks he was receiving from both Vic and Nelson. Vic was clearly not happy with Zach’s treatment of his brat, judging from the hard look on his face and the way he was clutching protectively to Ben.
Zach swallowed hard and looked shyly toward Ben. “I’m sorry, Benji. I shouldn’t have changed the order without asking you first. I really am sorry.” As a last ditch effort to lessen the consequences he expected to face, he apologized to Vic as well without being asked to do so. “Vic, I’m sorry I was picking on Benji. I just thought it would be funny.”
Vic said, “Funny for whom? Not, Ben.”
“I know,” Zach said with downcast eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“Thank you,” Vic said simply.
Satisfied with the apology, Nelson pointed at the Neo costume and asked, “Will that suit fit Benjamin?”
Zach was suddenly concerned that Nelson was going to give his costume to Ben, but had to answer. “Yes, sir.”
“Do you want to wear it, Ben?” Nelson asked.
Still upset over the ordeal, Ben had no desire to dress up as anyone any longer. “No, I don’t want to dress up any more.”
“You can wear it if you want to and Zach can wear the pumpkin suit.”
Zach’s eyes nearly popped from their sockets at Nelson’s words. “But, Nelson!”
“What? You don’t think it’s funny?”
Zach looked uncertainly at his partner and said, “No, sir.”
“I don’t want to wear any costume,” Ben said, pouting slightly. “I’m just going to wear what I have on.”
“You sure?” Nelson asked for the last time. Zach held his breath waiting for Ben to answer and was relieved to hear him repeat he didn’t want to dress up. “Okay, if you’re sure,” Nelson said.
Vic still had his arm around Ben’s shoulders and he gave him a gentle squeeze. “Come on, then. Let’s go downstairs so Zach can change.”
As they were leaving, Nelson bent over to pick up the invoice from the floor that had fallen from the box when he pulled out the pumpkin costume. Zach saw him moving toward it and scrambled to grab it before Nelson could get to it and see the price of the costume. Nelson snatched it back and looked in surprise at his brat, immediately wondering what was on the invoice that Zach wanted to keep quiet. He glanced down at the words printed on the packing list and his mouth tightened in a frown. He turned stern eyes from the list to Zach who immediately recognized the change in his partner’s demeanor as he grew more unhappy with his brat.
“What?” Zach asked innocently enough trying his best to feign ignorance.
“One hundred and thirty-five dollars?! You paid $135.00 for a JOKE?!” Nelson asked in surprise.
Vic paused at the door as he and Ben were leaving the room and turned back in surprise at what Nelson said. Vic shook his head and continued on, knowing Nelson and Zach would need some privacy.
“But, I was planning to return it tomorrow after he wore it tonight! It won’t cost more than the shipping!” Zach explained semi-hotly. “It’s not like $135.00 would put us in the poorhouse anyway.” Nelson looked back down at the invoice then held it for Zach to read.
In his typical calmness, Nelson seemed to ignore his brat’s outburst and said, “Read that for me. Out loud, please.” He held the invoice for Zach to read and pointed to the fine print at the bottom of the paper.
Zach’s stomach sank as he read the words quietly, “No returns after October 31st.” He cast worried eyes up to Nelson. He knew he was not only in trouble for hurting Ben’s feelings, but also for wasting money. “I didn’t know…”
“Don’t you think it would have been a good idea to read their return policy before you dropped $135 on a joke?” Zach shifted his weight uncomfortably under Nelson’s gaze.
“Zachary Adam. Answer me.”
“I guess so. I didn’t think it would be a problem.”
“Well, it obviously IS a problem, now isn’t it?”
“Yes, sir.”
Nelson didn’t say anything for a moment as he thought through how he wanted to handle the situation. “We need to get downstairs. You can put these costumes in the closet because you won’t be wearing one either. We’ll deal with this after Vic and Ben go home.”
Zach frowned at the pronouncement, “But, Nelson! Why can’t I wear mine?”
“How is it fair for you to dress up when you purposely didn’t order the costume Ben wanted?” Zach looked away when Nelson asked the question. “Put them away and come downstairs.”
Nelson hated to punish Zach, but ignoring what he had done wasn’t an option. Zach had been so excited about the evening and now his fun was dashed, as Nelson could well see in his downcast face. He put his arms around Zach and said, “Don’t fret about it, Zach. I want you and Ben to try to have a good time tonight.”
Zach pulled tightly against Nelson and tried not to think about what would happen later. Nelson hadn’t said exactly HOW they would deal with what he had done, but he had a good idea. “Nelson, please don’t be mad at me. I didn’t mean to spend all that money and I didn’t mean to upset Ben.”
Nelson pulled Zach away from him and took his face in his hands. “I’m not mad at you, Zach. I said we’ll talk later, okay?”
Zach nodded slightly and said, “Yes, sir.”
Nelson kissed the upturned lips and turned him toward the bed where the costumes were laying. “Put those away,” he said leaving the room, “before I decide to make you wear the pumpkin costume.”
*******
A despondent Zach came out on the porch minutes later wearing his regular clothes and not his Neo costume.
“There he is,” Nelson said, trying to act normal. “We saved you a chair.” Zach didn’t say a word as he took a seat in the available rocker away from Nelson. Nelson could feel the air turn frigid with the cold shoulder directed at him from all the way across the porch in spite of the unseasonably warm night. Zach was in trouble and he knew it. He scooted his chair away from the group trying to distance himself from them. Nelson said, “If you’re going to move your chair, move it over here by me.” He was not at all interested in letting Zach segregate himself to pout all evening.
Zach didn’t move at first and cast a pitiful glare in Nelson’s direction. Nelson prompted him to move and said, “Come on, Zach.”
Not wanting to find further trouble, Zach lifted his butt off the rocker and took the arms in his hands pulling the rocker along behind him until he stopped beside Nelson. As soon as he was settled again, Nelson put a hand to his knee and patted it reassuringly.
Ben’s mood had improved having gotten out of wearing the pumpkin costume and getting plenty of attention from Vic after Zach’s failed attempt at being funny. He met the various trick-or-treaters as they came to the door for candy and filled their buckets while Zach continued to sulk in his chair. Knowing that Zach was probably in big trouble, he was able to get over his anger at him and bury the hurt feelings. As much as Zach picked at him, he still didn’t want to see him in trouble and knew exactly how he must be feeling at the moment. He tried several times to engage Zach in conversation but found himself sharing the cold shoulder offered to Nelson. He wasn’t sure if Zach happened to be mad at him or just miserable in general. Maybe it was a combination of both.
“Zach, do you want a Reese’s Cup?” Ben offered the bowl of candy to his friend, hoping the enticement of sugar would bring him out of his foul mood. Zach just shook his head quietly.
Vic said to Ben after seeing his efforts fail once again, “I don’t think Zach wants to talk, sweetheart.” Vic knew Zach was probably in trouble and in no mood to socialize. Ben looked away and put the candy bowl back on the porch until more demons showed up to haunt them.
Nelson could take Zach’s silence, but he wasn’t pleased with how he was treating Ben. “Anyone want another drink?” Nelson asked, standing from his place on the porch.
“I’ll take one if you’re going back in,” Vic said.
Ben drained the last of his drink and offered the glass to Nelson. “I’ll take some more.”
Nelson handed Ben’s glass to Zach and said, “Come help me in the kitchen, Zach.” He wasn’t willing to ignore his partner’s sullen mood any longer because it was making everyone uncomfortable.
Zach looked uncertainly at Nelson then rose from his slumped position, finding his feet. Zach followed him in silence obediently carrying the glass but not saying a word.
Nelson began to lecture as he pulled the freezer door open. “I’ve had enough of your sulking tonight, Zachary,” Nelson said while reaching in the freezer for more ice.
“I’m not doing anything,” Zach complained.
Nelson turned from the freezer, swinging the door shut and sat two glasses on the table. He leaned down to level his eyes at Zach, supporting his weight on the table with one hand and placing the other on his hip. Nelson looked squarely into Zach’s eyes and said, “You’re being rude. You’ve ignored Ben every time he’s tried to talk to you and you’re being generally unpleasant. It was bad enough that you kept him from getting the costume he wanted. If either of you has a reason to be angry, it’s him. Now, I said we’d talk about the pumpkin thing later. If you want to talk about it now and get it over with, just keep it up.”
Zach’s eyes grew wide with alarm. “NO! I’ll be nice. Just leave me alone, okay?”
“I’m not going to leave you alone. I want you to be courteous while Ben and Vic are here. They are our guests and more importantly, our friends. I’m not going to put up with your attitude any more. If I have to, I’ll bring you in here and wear your butt out. Then you’ll have something to sulk about. Do you understand me?”
Zach mentally rolled his eyes, not at all interested in ruffling Nelson’s already puffed up feathers. “Yes, sir. I just didn’t feel like talking, that’s all.”
“You’d better try a lot harder not to make it so obvious, understand?”
“I’ll try,” Zach said sullenly.
“Thank you. Pour some more drink in those glasses while I finish getting the ice, please.”
Zach nodded and proceeded to pour the drinks. They went back outside and Zach made an effort to be nice and interact with Ben and Vic. He turned quiet again when Vic announced it was time for them to leave.
“Looks like most of the little ankle biters are done for the evening,” Vic said glancing at his watch. “It’s almost 9:00. I guess we’ll head home.”
“Okay,” Nelson said, standing up to walk them out.
Vic asked, “Ben, did you get your jacket?”
“Shoot. I left it upstairs,” he said, running back into the house. The night had proven warm enough that only his sweater had been needed. Vic watched him head back inside then went to the car to wait for him. Nelson followed him out while a crestfallen Zach stayed on the porch waiting for him to come back so they could “talk” about the pumpkin suit.
Nelson leaned into the open window of Vic’s car and unconsciously let out a long sigh as he thought about what he had to deal with when they left. Vic knew where the sigh came from and said, “You have a long night ahead of you, I guess.”
Nelson looked up at his words then glanced back down. “Yeah. I’m really sorry about what he did to Ben, Vic. He needs to learn to think about how his actions affect other people.”
“I know he didn’t mean any harm, but it hurt Ben’s feelings aside from making him mad.”
“I could tell. If it makes him feel any better, you can tell him Zach will be punished for it after you leave.”
“I think he pretty much figured that.”
“I hate to do it. I wanted this to be a fun evening for both of them. Zach’s been so excited about it,” Nelson said shaking his head, “I hate to end it on a bad note.”
“He didn’t have much fun tonight,” Vic observed. “I think Benji was okay once he got over being mad at Zach and being disappointed in not having a costume.
“Well, Zach’s about to find it even more ‘unfun’. I know he’s been worrying about it all night. I didn’t want to deal with it earlier though. I didn’t want to spank him while you guys were here unless I had to. It wouldn’t have helped him have a better time had I done it before, anyway.”
“I agree. It’s too bad you couldn’t have found out tomorrow or even yesterday.”
“I know,” Nelson said, glancing over his shoulder toward the house. He saw Benji was back on the porch and he and Zach appeared to be talking seriously as neither one was doing any smiling. “They’re probably talking about it, too.”
“I wouldn’t doubt it,” Vic said, starting the car. “I’d better get Benji out of your way so you can get on with it,” he said before raising his voice to call Ben over. “Ben! Time to go!”
Ben turned toward the car and waved at Vic, “Just a sec!”
“NOW, Benjamin! It’s getting late. Come on,” Vic responded.
Ben said to Zach, “I’ve got to run. Vic the Almighty has spoken. I hope everything goes okay.”
“Thanks,” Zach said sullenly. “I’m really sorry about tonight. I didn’t think you’d get that upset.”
In spite of how mad it had made him along with slightly hurting his feelings, Ben felt bad for Zach’s predicament. “It’s okay. You’re not mad at me for not wanting to wear it, are you?”
“I’m not mad. I just didn’t feel much like talking tonight. Sorry.”
“I COMPLETELY understand. I’ll talk to you tomorrow?” Ben said.
“BENJAMIN! I’m NOT telling you again…” Vic bellowed from the car.
Nelson chuckled, “If he keeps it up, you may be having a long evening yourself.”
“Here he comes,” Vic said, relieved he wasn’t going to have to deal with anything that night. He was beginning to think he’d have to go to the porch and let Ben know in a way he better understood that he meant him to come when he was called. Ben ran toward the SUV and quickly got in and buckled up. “See you later, Nelson,” Vic said to his friend and Ben waved a goodbye.
Nelson stepped back away from the SUV and threw up his hand watching Vic back from the driveway. He took a deep breath as they left and looked back to the porch where Zach waited. There was no need to make him suffer any longer and Nelson went to him so they could get it behind them.
Zach cast sorrowful eyes Nelson’s way as he approached him on the porch. Nelson managed not to be outwardly moved by the sad eyes and said, “Help me get the glasses and candy inside, please.” Zach wordlessly complied and Nelson followed him into the kitchen, placing the glasses in the sink.
Nelson went over to a container on the counter holding their kitchen utensils and pulled a wooden spoon from the bucket. Zach’s eyes grew wide as he saw what Nelson had in his hand. He hated the spoon almost as much as the paddle. It wasn’t one of those cheapo Wal-Mart wooden spoons. His partner wouldn’t have one of those. No, he had to buy the thicker substantial spoons from one of those damn home party companies. Pampered Chef, was it? Ironic, that the implement about to cause him a great deal of discomfort came from a company with the word “pampered” in its title. Nelson had bought a set of the spoons from a girl at the office when she passed a book around and the spoons had occasionally doubled as a “learning tool” against Zach’s bottom. That usage wasn’t mentioned in the damn sales flyer, Zach was sure of it. He would have definitely remembered that part.
“No, Nelson. Don’t use that, please!” he pleaded.
“Have a seat,” Nelson directed without commenting on Zach’s request. Zach’s eyes were glued to the spoon as he moved over to the bar and pulled out a stool. He preferred to sit at the bar rather than the table because he felt somehow less small under Nelson’s glare in the higher stools. Nelson saw Zach’s eyes fixed on the spoon in his hand so he slipped it into his back pocket to remove the distraction. He wanted Zach’s mind only on the discussion at hand. He could think about the spoon when he used it later.
Nelson waited until Zach got himself settled then asked, “What do you have to say for yourself, young man?”
Zach sighed and spoke, “I was just making a joke. That’s all.”
“It was an expensive joke, don’t you think? Both in dollars and in Ben’s feelings.”
Zach felt the heat rise in his face and said, “I didn’t think it would make him so mad and I thought I could send it back…”
“Let’s take these one at a time.” Zach cringed against the barstool recognizing he had more than one offense to deal with in Nelson’s mind. “Let’s start with the most important issue - your total disregard for Benji and his feelings. How would you have felt if he cancelled your order and got you a silly costume as a joke?”
Zach hadn’t thought about how Ben would feel; he was merely trying to be funny. “I don’t know…”
“Try to figure it out. ‘I don’t know’ isn’t going to cut it, Zachary.” It never did, but Zach could rarely resist saying it.
Zach shifted on the tall stool and hooked his toes behind the bottom rung as he thought hard to come up with the right answer. Nelson prompted again, “I’m waiting, young man.”
Zach exhaled slowly and admitted, “I wouldn’t have liked it, I guess.”
“I doubt that you would. Did you not stop to think how Ben would feel when he saw your little surprise?”
Zach was getting upset with the questioning as his wrongdoing stared him right in the face. He never meant to upset Ben with what he did. He knew he would be mad, but thought he would get over it and wear the costume. “I was only kidding around…”
“At Ben’s expense,” Nelson interrupted. “Don’t you think he wanted to dress up tonight, too, in the costume he had picked out?”
Zach was miserable as he considered how Ben must have felt. He nodded mutely in answer to the question. Nelson said, “Speak up and answer me, Zachary.”
Zach always knew he was in trouble when Nelson used his full name and not the shortened version. Nelson couldn’t seem to lecture without using it. The more they talked, the more Zach realized just how much trouble he was in and he answered aloud quickly in an effort not to make it any worse than it already was. “Yes, sir.”
“He was looking forward to tonight just as much as you were. How could you think what you did wouldn’t ruin it for him?”
“I DON’T KNOW!” Zach snapped through his ever-increasing guilt.
“I’d suggest you lower your voice RIGHT now, Zachary Adam! You have your own self to blame for being in this position. Now, answer me without the attitude.”
“I was just joking around. I didn’t think…I didn’t know…” Zach stammered as the tears began to prick his eyes.
Nelson segued to the other issue from the current case in point. “If you were simply doing this to be funny – and I do believe you were – don’t you think it would have been a good idea to check the return policy before dropping $135 on a joke?”
Zach squirmed uncomfortably, “I JUST didn’t THINK about it. All right?!”
Nelson shook his head, “Watch your tone, Zach. It’s not all right. I trust you to think things through before you spend our money. You need to spend it responsibly.”
Zach’s head dropped at that statement. He had never given Nelson a reason not to trust him with money. “It was just a mistake.”
“It was irresponsible, Zachary.” Zach’s eyes were riveted to the floor avoiding Nelson’s gaze. “Do you see that at all?”
Zach knew Nelson was right. He slightly nodded his head without vocalizing his agreement since the words were trapped in his constricting throat.
Nelson asked, “Was it irresponsible, Zachary Adam?”
Zach swallowed hard and answered, knowing full well it meant the end was upon him. “Yes, sir.”
He watched as Nelson pulled a kitchen chair away from the table and beckoned him over with a curling of his index finger just before he reached back and slipped the spoon from his pocket. Zach slid silently from the barstool and tried to move to Nelson against his protesting feet. He began the long walk to his lover and stopped just outside of Nelson’s reach with his eyes locked once again on the spoon.
“Spoons are for stirring vegetables,” he said, hoping to dissuade Nelson from applying it to his backside.
Nelson glanced at the wooden spoon in his hand and replied, “This one is a multi-purpose spoon. It can be used in a variety of ways and tonight it’s going to be used on your rear end. Now, come here before I decide the paddle is a better option.”
Knowing he hated the paddle far worse than the spoon, Zach took the last fateful step to his partner. Nelson took his hand and pulled him more quickly around to his right, resting the spoon in his lap. Zach felt his jeans slip down his hips, followed immediately by his boxers as Nelson worked to bare his bottom. He picked up the spoon and pulled Zach across his lap where the spoon had been. He felt Zach wiggle against him as he tried to get as comfortable as possible in that awkward position. Zach tried to focus on the pattern in the linoleum just under his nose as Nelson’s left hand held him snugly. The absolute last thing he wanted to think about was that spoon falling against his butt. The head was rounded, stretching about three inches across and it was thicker than the cheaper models sold by most discount department stores. Nelson had a knack for working that damn spoon effectively and his stomach clenched in anticipation.
“You need to think your actions through ahead of time, Zach. I know you thought this was funny, but it was an expensive little joke at Ben’s expense emotionally and ours financially. Do you understand?”
Zach’s voice was again lodged in his throat with pending tears but he managed to squeak, “Yes, sir.”
His breathing quickened to match the thumping of his heart as he waited for the first lick of the spoon against his vulnerable backside. Nelson brought the spoon down sharply against Zach’s bottom and left a three-inch sized pink circle where it landed. He continued to add more pink circles until they blended together in a solid shade of red. Zach bucked against Nelson’s restraining hand trying to move out of the way of the damn spoon torturing his bottom. Nelson continued to work the spoon’s magic on Zach’s ass teaching him the value of thinking through his monetary decisions and being more considerate of his friends. After awhile, Zach quit wiggling and lay still but for his legs kicking involuntarily with the swats. He was resigned to the fact that Nelson wouldn’t stop until he was ready to do so. He finally did stop and Zach sobbed across his lap. He allowed Zach to lie there until he could regain control of himself, then he gathered him in his lap to console his broken brat after laying the spoon on the table behind him. Zach clung to his neck and Nelson’s arms tightened around him.
“It’s okay, sweet pea. It’s okay…” Nelson whispered to him. Zach could hear the soothing voice just above his head that was nestled close under Nelson’s chin. After a very few minutes of Zach crying and Nelson cooing, Nelson helped him to the corner in the kitchen. Zach caught a glimpse of Nelson’s face as he steered him to the corner with his pants still clinging to his knees. Zach’s heart hurt as much as his bottom from the disappointment he saw registered on Nelson’s features – at least, what Zach thought to be disappointment. The expression overrode any of the words of comfort Nelson had just uttered. Zach cried alone against the corner and tenderly touched his hands to his heated behind, grateful his pants weren’t covering it to hold in the heat.
He had almost stopped crying by the time Nelson returned and spoke from behind him. “Do you think you’ve learned to be more considerate of your friends now?”
Still feeling Nelson’s disappointment, fresh tears began to fall and he struggled to answer through them with his nose still to the wall. “Yes, sir.”
“Come here, Zach,” Nelson said softly, taking Zach’s elbow to turn him from the corner. Zach’s hands went around Nelson’s waist and he clung desperately to him while he cried on his shoulder.
Nelson began to calm him again from the fresh onslaught of tears, “Shhhh. It’s okay. It’s over…” Nelson could barely untangle Zach’s arms from around him to straighten out his pants and underwear. Zach continued to cry as Nelson dressed him and he allowed himself to be led into the living room. He quickly found himself in Nelson’s lap cuddled to him in the familiar big chair. Nelson settled back with Zach against him and waited out the last of the new tears, stroking him gently.
“I’m sorry your night was ruined, sweet pea. I wanted you to have fun,” Nelson said once Zach had calmed down.
Zach sniffled against him and let Nelson wipe away the tears. “I’m sorry I messed up and got Ben so upset,” Zach said. “And, I was going to send the costume back, I swear.”
“I know. Don’t worry about it. It’s over, now, sweetie.” Nelson’s right hand was busy loosening the tight muscles in Zach’s back as he talked and Zach melted from his touch.
“You aren’t mad at me?” Zach asked, still sniffing.
“Not at all,” Nelson said reassuringly as he gave Zach a firm squeeze. He patiently waited for Zach to quiet down further and glanced at the clock. “It’s almost ten. Why don’t we get ready for bed? It’s been a long night.”
Zach nodded absently but didn’t let go of Nelson’s neck. Nelson reluctantly pushed him from his lap but kept a firm grip on his hand as he led him up the stairs, pausing only to turn out the lights and lock the door.
Zach’s breath was still occasionally hitching but he was no longer crying when Nelson slipped into bed behind him, snapping off the lamp. He pulled his younger lover close and continued to hold him in the dark. “I should have let you wear the Neo costume. I always wondered what it would be like to sleep with Neo,” Nelson teasingly whispered to Zach.
“That’s not funny, Nelson.”
“I’m just teasing with you, sweetie. I’m sorry.”
“You’d better not think of sleeping with anyone but ME,” Zach said.
Nelson chuckled and kissed his head. “Never. There’ll never be anyone but you, sweet pea. I love you.”
“Love you, too,” Zach said and quickly fell asleep in his lover’s warm embrace.
The end.
