Daniel stood in the bedroom doorway, shaking his head, as he watched Alan pack.  It was amazing how much he could stuff into a duffel bag.

"What? Are they here yet?" asked Alan. He had stopped packing when he
noticed Daniel watching.

"Not yet. I was just wondering how much longer you would be."

"Done! This is going to be such a great week. I can't wait". He was lifting
the bag off the bed when, as if on cue, the doorbell rang. The bag was
thrown to Daniel as the excited youth ran down the stairs.

Alan, pulled the door open to see Dave and Carl. The friends who would be going to the cabin with them.  The two had just celebrated their second year together.  Dave worked in the carpenter shop for Daniel. He was tall and handsome.

Carl had been Alan's friend since childhood. Daniel called the two youths
"Partners in crime". When you saw them together, trouble was not far behind.

"Right on time guys", came Daniel's voice from behind Alan.  "Let's get the
van packed and we will be on our way."

Alan had never been to the lake.  The two had planned to use it as a weekend getaway but something had always come up.  It had taken several weeks to convince Daniel to let their friends join in the trip.  Alan argued that they needed all the help they could find.

The cabin was old and had belonged to Daniel's grandfather.  As a child,
he'd loved to go with 'Grandpa Joe'.  Just the two of them at the secluded
lakeside cabin off an old dirt road, but it had stood empty for some time
now and would need repairs and a good cleaning.

Carl and Alan climbed in the back seat of the van so they could watch videos on the little TV screen and dig through the bag of snacks that were behind the seat.

"Can't wait to explore the woods and hike up the mountain" said Carl
munching on cookies.

"Yeah, maybe it will be warm enough to swim" countered Alan.

"Hold it right there you two" chided Daniel. "Did you forget that this was a
working trip? We only have a week. The bathroom will take at least two days. The other jobs won't be that hard, but there will be a lot to do."

"I was hoping to have a few days to relax . Not to work the entire time."
Alan tried to keep the whine out of his voice.

"This is not a pleasure trip.  It's April. The lake is still too cold and
you need to stay close to the cabin. You don't know the woods and it is easy to get lost. We will be using the cabin all through the summer. There will be plenty of time to play later."

"But Daniel....."

Daniel gave him a look that stopped Alan's next reply. He had been warned about arguing earlier that morning. The two men had different opinions on what arguing was; what Alan considered conversation, Daniel considered arguing. Alan crossed his arms and stared out the side window. Carl, catching Dave's sideways glance, held his tongue.

They stopped at the little store not far from the cabin and bought
groceries, cleaning supplies and other necessities.  Dave found a package of Double Stuff Oreo's hidden under the bread and, without having to ask which brat slipped them in,  instructed Carl to please return them to their
rightful place on the shelf. Just a little further and they would be at the
cabin. The dirt road was full of potholes, and the four bounced and swayed as the van made its way onwards.  After about ten miles, they came to a little clearing and saw the cabin. Three of the front steps were missing, the railing on the porch was sagging, several screens were missing from the windows and weeds had taken over the yard. Daniel heart sank at the sight. It had been a beautiful lake side home when he was a child. It held many happy memories for him. To the left was a large lake.  The trees were just getting new leaves and a cool breeze was blowing.

"Oh man. Is it too late to take me back home?" Carl asked climbing out of
the back seat.

"Watch your manners". Dave gave him a swat. Carl had the grace to look
ashamed.

"It's been empty for awhile so I don't know what the inside looks like.
Should be fine once we get it cleaned up."  Daniel did not want to admit it,
but he'd had the same thought as Carl.

The front door opened to a wide hall with rooms on each side. The first door on the right was a bedroom, next to that a bathroom.  To the left of the front door was the living room with a large stone fireplace. An archway led to the kitchen. At the end of the hall was another archway to the kitchen and a second bedroom.  The furniture was covered with white sheets, and dust thickly covered everything in sight.  There was a musty smell in the air, and the men shivered in the chill of the room. They opened the windows to air the place out, and then went out to the porch for a picnic lunch.  After the van had been unpacked, Daniel held up a box to the unsuspecting friends. It was full of little folded pieces of paper. Three pairs of questioning eyes stared at him.

"This is the chore box. " Daniel explained to his clueless friends.

"Each paper has a chore written on it. You take one out of the box and that is what you work on. When you finish that job, you come and get another one until the box is empty."

"Sounds fair to me", said Dave.

"Well I don't like it, what if I get all the dirty work" complained Alan.

"It's all dirty work my love. Now take a paper out and get to work."

Daniel held out the offending box and Alan reached in. He unfolded the paper and made a face.

"Scrub bathroom. Great. I will trade this paper for the next one drawn,
before it is read" He said hopefully.

"Oh no you don't. Get moving, we have a lot to do before we can start the
repairs. Your turn." Daniel held the box out and Carl closed his eyes
praying for an easy job.

"Sweep out all rooms. Hey, that's not so bad. Where is the broom big guy?"

"Try the kitchen pantry, your turn Dave." Daniel held out the box.

"Wash windows. I will give you fifty bucks to let me draw again".  Dave gave his best smile.

"No way" laughed Daniel. "If you put that back in, I might draw it. The
ladder is in the shed out back."

Daniel reached in and grabbed the first paper he touched. "It says to sit
back and watch everyone else work".

Three disbelieving men shouted at him as he ran outside to start chopping
wood, just as the paper said.  They all went about their chores. No one
seemed to mind the work. The radio was loud and once in awhile they would sing along or stop to dance.

As Carl was sweeping out the kitchen,  he noticed a large chimney pipe
hanging from a hole in the top of the wall. Looking closer, he saw that the
pipe was stuffed with newspaper.  He reached up into the pipe and started
pulling the paper out.  Without warning, a large black cloud of soot
descended, covering everything in its wake. The fine black powder covered Carl and a fine mist filled the kitchen.

Dave was washing the kitchen window.  He saw Carl reach for the pipe, and yelling a warning, jumped down from the ladder and rushed to the back door to stop him, but was too late. He stepped inside just as the soot fell, and a murky figure stood before him.

Dave couldn't help it, he started laughing so hard and loud that Daniel and
Alan came running.  They took one look at Carl and burst out laughing.  Carl just stood there with black soot covering his feature and his clothes.
Alan asked if anyone thought to bring a camera. The trio continued to laugh. Carl did not think it was amusing but kept his mouth shut. Dave carefully, so not to disturb the settling black dust, took Carl to the shower and helped him in. The kitchen was still a mess when Carl finished washing the annoying black powder off of his body. Daniel was sitting on the floor
laughing when he returned.

Dave told Alan and Carl to go outside and take a little break. When the two were out of hearing range, he tried to scold Daniel about laughing but could not keep a straight face. He started laughing too. After a few minutes the two younger men came in. Dave decided to finish the kitchen and Carl took over the windows.

Soon the chore box was empty and the cabin was clean and smelling fresh. The four tired men were pleased with how it looked.

They ate a supper of cold sandwiches and canned sodas.  Dave had spent a long time in the kitchen cleaning the stove and refrigerator. He threatened bodily harm to anyone who messed it up.  All went to bed early knowing they had a busy day ahead of them again tomorrow.

Daniel was already in bed when Alan came out of the bathroom, hair still
damp from his shower. Daniel held open the covers and Alan jumped in and snuggled up for warmth.

"I've been thinking...."

"Bet your head hurts now", Daniel teased.

Alan tried to act mad and move out of Daniel's arms but was caught and
pulled back for a kiss.

"What have you been thinking about baby?" he asked softly.

"I still want to redo the shower walls tomorrow by myself. "

"I don¹t think so. Just like I told you this morning, it is a hard job and
you've never done anything like that before. I would like it if you help me
though."

"Spreading grout on walls cannot be that hard Daniel. Just like the
cleaning, if we each do a separate job, it will go faster".

"No. It is more that just spreading grout. You first have to chisel out the
old. You can end up with a big mess if you are not careful. We can do it
together.

When Alan opened his mouth to protest, Daniel stopped him by saying,

"I said no".

Daniel's deep kiss and roaming hands forestalled further conversation.
 

In the bedroom on the other end of the cabin, Dave and Carl were doing a
little snuggling of their own. Carl gave Dave a playful grin and whispered,
"I wonder if they are doing it yet."

Dave laughed and hugged Carl tighter and said, "Do you mean this?"  and gave him a kiss that was breathtaking.
 
 

Morning broke with a beautiful sunrise. Dave woke first and started the
coffee. As he stood at the window drinking in the beauty he saw a
family of five deer grazing in the backyard. Before he could call the others
the deer family moved, noiselessly back into the woods.

His three sleepy friends slowly joined him and they enjoyed a breakfast of
cold cereal, toast and coffee in the morning sunshine.

Later, as Daniel and Dave measured the windows for new screens.
The two boys found a swing in the barn and hung it on the porch.

With a new supply list and measurements in hand, it was soon time to make  the run into town for materials.  Over breakfast, Alan and Carl  had
talked their partners into letting them stay at the cabin. Walking out to
the van, Alan was worried that Daniel would change his mind.

"What will you two do with the day?" asked Daniel. He was afraid to hear the answer.

"I can start on the bathroom and save you some time."  Alan looked at Daniel with large puppy dog eyes.

"No, we will be back this afternoon and I will help you. Now I don't want to hear anymore about it."

"But..."

"Alan", warned Daniel.  " I said that is enough. Do you want me to take you inside and show you I mean it?

"No"  Alan struggled to keep eye contact with his annoyed lover.

"All right then. We will be back soon."

Nearing the van, Daniel said to both Alan and Carl, "I don't like leaving you two here alone all day."

"There won't be enough room for the screens if we go too. You and Dave go on. Carl and I will be fine here alone." Alan wished they would hurry and leave.

Dave rolled his eyes and asked the sky above him, "Why does that worry me?"

"Do not go exploring the woods. Do not leave the yard for any reason.
Do not go swimming in the lake."  Daniel seemed to go on and on, thought
Alan rolling his eyes. Taking hold of Alan's arm, he asked in a raised
voice, "Are you listening to me?"

"Yes" answered Alan trying to pull away. He was becoming annoyed at being treated like a child.

"One more thing."  Daniel held his lovers arm tighter as he spoke, "Do not
work on the bathroom while we are gone."

Carl was listening to Dave's instructions but Daniel's warning caught his
attention. He heard enough to know that Alan was on thin ice.

They said their goodbyes with kisses and promises to stay out of trouble.
Both boys were reminded that a paddle had been packed along with the
supplies and was now on the bookcase in the hall.

Dave was not as strict with Carl as Daniel was to Alan. Carl usually tried
to do as he was told. Alone, each young man was responsible and calm, but when put together, they turned into something that no one could ever
explain. Words like whirlwind, rough seas, and earthquakes did not come
close.  As the van pulled out of sight, Alan grabbed Carl's arm pulling him
into the cabin.

"What are you doing?" Carl asked as he was being pulled up the stairs.

"We are going to have the bathroom finished when they get back."

"Did you listen to the big guy at all? He said to leave it alone!" Carl did
not like this idea. He knew how mad Daniel could get if he was disobeyed. He also knew that Dave would blister his butt for going along with it.

"Don't worry, he will be thrilled when he see it." Alan was excited but Carl
was still uneasy.

Carl stopped and pulled back from Alan¹s hand. "No way man! Daniel said not to work on the bathroom and I am not going to make him mad."

"He won't be mad when he sees that it is finished. Besides, we will have a
day left over to enjoy the lake and to relax."

"I don't know Alan, I don't think this is a good idea. Dave packed the
Nintendo game as a surprise. Lets play with that for awhile".

"I will make a deal with you. You help me with this and I will let you win
at all the games".  Dave still felt unsure but took the deal. After all,
they came there to work so, why not. He knew he could win the games anyway.

The supplies were already in the bathroom so they went straight to work.

They stood in the bathtub and chiseled out all of the white grout. It took
about hour to scrape the old grout from between the tiles.  Neither one
thought to put a cloth in the tub and did not notice that most of it went
down the drain.  The two friends sang along with the radio, as they had done the day before, laughing when one sang off key. As Alan was mixing the brown powder to put between the yellow tiles on the walls, Carl declared it lunch time. Alan noticed that he too was hungry.

"Let's get this stuff spread on the walls and then we will go see what we
have in the kitchen"  Alan told his friend and handed him a tray full of wet
grout. When they had a nice layer of the brown stuff covering the walls,
they left the tub and headed for the kitchen to raid the refrigerator.
Finding the makings for a sandwich, they headed outside to sit under a
willow tree by the edge of the lake. It was so comfortable that they fell
asleep in the soft grass.

"Hey buddy", said Carl as he shook Alan awake, "We better get going if we want to finish that job."

He was still nervous about Dave and Daniel getting back to early. The two
boys chased each other up the back stairs. Each one wanting to be the first to reach the bathroom. They made a bet that the last one inside had to clean up when they were finished.

What they found took the smiles off their faces. The new grout that had been so carefully spread, was now hard and dry

"Maybe we should have wiped it off before we went outside". Alan wondered out loud.

He just looked at the shower walls and wondered what they were going to do. Carl put a scraper in his hand and said "Lets get to it. The big guy will be home soon." Again, they did not put a cloth down and brown grout shavings followed the old grout down the drain. The yellow tiles were being scratched as they hurried to get the grout off the walls. When they tried to rinse out the tub, Alan noticed that the drain was slow.

"Go in the kitchen and see if there is some Draino or Liquid Plumber and
hurry."

Carl found two bottles of stuff for pipes.  "It says it is good for slow
pipes."

"Give it to me and let me read it first," warned Alan.

Handing Alan one of the bottles, he uncapped the other. Alan was standing at the bathroom door reading the instructions aloud.

"It says to mix 4 ounces of liquid and 4 ounces of water. Let stand 5
minutes and flush with clear water". He hears Carl pouring one of the half
gallon bottles down the drain.

"No Carl! Not that much!" yelled Alan.

Carl jumped at the shout and dropped the bottle, spilling the rest down the
drain. Nothing happened for a moment.  Then, suddenly, an appalling smell hit them.

"What on earth is that?" Alan asked.

"It's making me feel sick" Carl responded, the color draining from his face.

The stench was awful.  Choking on the fumes, they fled into the hallway
just as smoke started pouring out of the tub drain

Alan panicked and turned on the attic fan, pulling smoke and fumes through the whole cabin.  As they stood in the hall, held in panic, not knowing which way  to turn, the foundations started to shake. The pair could only cling to each other in horror.

After a moment Alan cautiously stepped back into the bathroom just as all
hell broke loose. Water shot up through every available hole: the toilet;
the bathtub; the sink.  Each seemed to be trying to out do each other in
producing bigger, more impressive fountains.

The force of the water knocked the toilet seat crooked, the ceramic cover
flew over Alan's head , landing in the tub.. The brown and white grout was
sprayed all over the ceiling and walls.Water was everywhere!

Carl ran up and down the hallway yelling "Daniel's going to kill us!
Daniel's going to kill us!"  Alan contemplated saving Daniel a job but,
instead tried to stop the water by holding his hands over the drain in the
sink.  Not surprisingly, he was fighting a losing battle. It was just coming
out of too many places at once.   Where he managed to stop one jet it just
increased the force of another.  Finally he gave up and grabbed towels from the closet to try and soak up the water, yelling all the while at Carl to
come and help.

As suddenly as it all started, everything stopped. Carl came to his senses
and grabbed some bed sheets from the closet, throwing them on the floor to use as a mop. Water was everywhere;  The ceiling; the curtains; the mirror; the shelves, everything was dripping with brown sludge.

They were desperately trying to get the mess cleaned up and make the
bathroom look even vaguely normal when a baritone voice bellowed up from the hallway.

"WHAT IN THE HELL HAPPENED?"

They almost jumped out of their skins Daniel could only see part of the mess. As he moved closer, the full impact of the scene hit him.

Carl standing holding an arm full of wet sheets with Alan, on his knees,
ringing water out of a towel into the tub. The only heart beating was
Daniel's.

"What is going on in here?"  asked Dave quietly as he stepped through water that had run into the hall.  He could see two very wet, very frightened brats standing in ankle deep water in the bathroom.

Alan said, a little to quickly, "I don't know. We were in the living room
and heard the bathroom blow up!

"Excuse me? It just blew up?" Daniel was still trying to take in the sight.

"Yes sir" Alan said looking to Carl to back him up.

"We were playing Nintendo. Carl was winning" Alan found it hard to meet
Daniel's eyes.

"We felt the floor shake and came to see what was going on" was Carl's
contribution.

Noticing the brown stuff everywhere, Dave asked "Did you two do anything in here today that could have caused this?"

"No Sir, we were just playing a game." Carl answered in an unsure voice.

"We just walked through the living room. Did you see the game hooked up Daniel?"

"No. I did not."

Daniel took a step toward their scared partners and asked,
"Are you lying to us?"

Carl looked at Dave and decided it was better to confess now. "Yes sir, I'm sorry. Alan made me do it."

On hearing this, Alan hurled the wet towels at Carl and then threw himself
on him.  Daniel grabbed Alan before he could do any real harm. In record
time, he'd half carried, half dragged his brat out to the barn.

This left Carl alone to face Dave.
 
 

Entering the barn, Daniel shook Alan.

"Didn't I tell you to leave the bathroom alone?  Did you hear anything I
said to you? "

"I'm sorry Daniel, let me explain!"

"Explain"? Daniel's voice was at a thundering level and it scared Alan. "How can you possibly explain what happened? You flat out disobeyed me! You had no intention of waiting for me to help you. You get Carl involved, destroy the bathroom and then have the nerve to lie to me! You are going to feel my belt for this one little boy!"

"Please Daniel!" cried Alan, "I'm sorry! It was an accident. I will pay for
the damages myself. I wanted to surprise you. Please don't use your belt!"

"Do you think my hand will be enough payment for my surprise? Think again". Letting go of Alan's arm, Daniel unbuckled his belt and pulled it through the loops in his jeans.

"Take off your jeans". The words were spoken in a hushed voice but were loud to Alan's ears.

"Please don't do this", Alan said even as he reached for the button at his
waist.  He had never before been spanked with a belt and was seriously
frightened. His hands were shaking so hard that Daniel had to help him
finish by pulling them down himself.  Alan was then turned and pushed
forward until he felt the wood of the stall railing on his belly.  Daniel
held Alan in place with a firm hand to his lower back. Without any warning, the belt whooshed through the air to land with a loud and painful crack onto Alan's bare bottom cheeks, and a scream of pain erupted from deep inside. For several minutes,  Daniel continued spanking Alan. Each whack followed in a quick succession across the curve of his buttocks and down the backs of his thighs. Daniel did not say anything, he let the belt speak for him. It was just as well. Alan's cries drowned out all other sounds.  After a few more well placed wallops, Daniel let Alan stand up.  He helped pull the briefs and jeans back up all the while lecturing him.

"Remember how that felt little boy, because if you EVER willfully disobey or lie to me again, I won't be as easy on you, it WILL last longer and hurt
MUCH more.  Do you understand?"

Alan nodded that he understood. He was still crying hard and could not
speak.  He found himself being led by the arm back to the cabin.  Once
inside, he was marched straight to a corner in the living room with strict
instructions not to move. Daniel whispered in his ear that  he'd get another
spanking before going to bed.  This started a new trail of tears down Alan's face.
 
 

Seconds after Daniel hauled Alan out of the house, Carl was roughly marched into the hallway. Dave left Carl's side to take the paddle from the
bookcase. When Carl saw this, his heart fell to his feet.

"Dave. Please, no. I'm sorry."  Carl held out his hand to stop Dave from
reaching for him.

"You knew that Alan was not to work on the bathroom. Did you try to stop him?"

"I told him that Daniel said not to and that he would be mad..."

Dave reached for Carl's arm and turned him so that the paddle landed a good swat on his butt.

"If you knew he would be mad, why did you help?"

"He said that Daniel would be surprised when he came back."

"Oh my boy, he was surprised all right. Get out of those jeans.

"Please don't use the paddle,"  pleaded Carl.  "It was an accident."

"An accident that should never have happened if you had listened in the
first place. Take them off...now!"

Carl unfastened the jeans and pushed them to his knees. Dave put his foot on a step stool and turned the scared young man over his leg. With his arm
across Carl's back, he was able to hold him in the desired position. Holding onto Dave's thigh, Carl let his tears fall when he felt his briefs being pushed down. Dave seldom used a paddle on his young lover, for he usually was able to get his point across with a firm hand applied to the tender flesh. This time was different. Things had gone too far and called for sterner measures.

Carl felt Dave raise his hand to begin.  The first swat over the jeans had
hurt, but this one made him gasp. Dave swiftly delivered several more to the now reddened backside, paying special attention to the sit spot. Carl cried out with each spank. He tried to stand straight but Dave kept him at an angle and continued spanking. Carl pleaded, cried and begged for it to stop, even though he knew that Dave never stopped until he was ready. Only when Carl fell limply against Dave's leg did the spanking stop. Dave let Carl cry for a few moments then told him to straighten his clothes. Carl could not remember a harder spanking.  The one he received for mooning an old man came close, but this one hurt much more. The jeans were pulled up and Carl was led into the living room. Alan was in a corner, sniffling.  Carl saw Daniel lean over to whisper to his friend, which started Alan crying again.

Daniel noticed that the two had entered the room.

"Is there something you want to say to Daniel"? came Dave's voice.

"I...I...I'm....so..sorr...so." Carl was crying,his breath hitching and
looked to Dave for some kind of help but none was forthcoming.

"Go to the corner by the piano and keep your face to the wall. You can
apologize to Daniel later." With this said, Dave gave a slight push to
Carl's back to get him moving.

"I don't want to hear any talking coming from this room. Understand?"
Two heads nodded, answering Dave's angry voice while their still mad
partners went back to the bathroom to check out the damages.

Dave and Daniel did what little they could with the mess in the bathroom. It would take a plumber to really find the damage, if any. When the two decided the room was clean enough, they mopped the water from the hall. Soon it would be time to prepare supper.

The two with red bottoms were called to the table. It was not easy to sit
thorough the meal but neither one commented, just squirmed and ate fast.
After the meal was over, Dave escorted Carl back to his corner.
Hearing muffled voices coming from the living room, Daniel turned Alan and gave him six more hard swats.

"Go to bed".

As fresh tears fell, Alan walked toward the bedroom without speaking.

Daniel had sent Carl to bed after another twenty minutes in the corner. He
climbed into their bed behind the young man that was so dear to his heart
and held him close. Carl turned to his lover and said in a shaking voice,
"I'm sorry Dave, I should not have helped Alan and then lie to cover it up".

"It's all over now baby. Just don't lie to me again. It hurts me to punish
you like that".

They fell asleep in each others arms each knowing their love would still be
there in the morning.

Just a few rooms down the hall, Daniel walked into his bedroom and saw
Alan's sleeping form facing the wall. He quietly slipped under the covers
and pulled Alan to him.  Daniel heard Alan sniffle and whisper "I'm so
sorry."

Daniel immediately turned Alan over to face him and in a soft sweet voice
said  "Hush now, it's all over".

Alan stopped crying as Daniel rocked him. He knew that all was forgiven and tomorrow would be another day. He also knew that his savings account would be a lot less when they returned home.
 

THE END
I hope you have been entertained.
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