Chapter Text
There was no annoying beep of the alarm clock to awaken Will this morning, just the smell of pancakes and coffee wafting in from the kitchen below. He didn’t sit up and shiver for long moments on the floor of a cramped apartment, instead the blue eyed young man lounged for a bit against the pile of pillows at the head of the bed, curling Timothy under one arm and sliding his thumb in his mouth to suck gently. Someone had taken his glasses off while he slept and he found them sitting in front of the alarm clock on the nightstand.
It was only eight in the morning, which of course meant that his boyfriend’s had been up for a few hours and probably had showered together before going downstairs to make breakfast. The curly haired young man knew that he should get up and join them, but he wanted to stay here in the comfortable bed for a little while longer. His head was throbbing pretty steadily from a hangover, though it wasn’t as bad as the one he would have had if he hadn’t thrown up the night before. His eyes were itchy and a little swollen from his time spent crying, and his throat burned every time he swallowed.
Luckily some thoughtful person, probably Charlie, had left a dose of ibuprofen and a new sippy full of water right next to his glasses. Will gulped the medicine down with the cold water, sighing happily around the pink plastic mouth. Now that he was fully awake the young man should probably get out of bed, but all of his problems seemed to be looming just on the other side of the covers. Surely no one would blame him if he just drifted off for a while longer?
“Well look who’s finally up?” Charlie’s face crinkled with a teasing grin as he opened the bedroom door, the muscular blonde padded over to sit by Will, pulling him into a one armed hug. “Thought you were going to sleep the whole day away cub.”
“It’s only eight Papa,” Will grumbled even as he buried his face in the other’s chest. “I’m still sleepy.”
Calculating green eyes looked down at him and a warm palm brushed his forehead. Will blushed and ducked his head, toes curling in the sheets. He wasn’t feeling sick, unless you counted sick with guilt.
“No fever baby boy. Come on, breakfast is ready and we have a big, full day ahead of us.” Charlie untangled himself from the pouting boy and stood, opening his arms for Will to crawl into. Timothy was left on the bed where he wouldn’t get messy while they ate. Curled up against the blonde’s hip with a strong hand holding him up, the curly haired young man wasn’t sure why he’d thought the bed was better at all. Nothing was better than being carried and doted on.
“When we’re done with your apartment today, I’ll give you the grand tour of the house.” Will stiffened at Papa’s words, looking up at him warily. “It’s not such a bad place sweet pea, I promise. I think you’ll really like it.”
“It’s not that Papa,” the brunette murmured as they started down the stairs. Even from the little bit he’d seen, this house would be perfect. “My apartment? I didn’t think we’d be going there today.”
“Ah, well we want to get this all figured out you know. Thought there might be some stuff you left there that you’d want.” Charlie set him down in the kitchen, patting his curls and smiling brightly. Will half shrugged at that, he understood the sentiment of course, but that didn’t really banish his desire to not have either of his Dom’s get a good look at the way he’d been living.
The table was set for three, pancakes piled high on a serving platter with a jug of syrup. There were eggs and sausage in little dishes along with cut up fruit. It was a far cry from the crackers and cold fast food that the young man had been waking up to.
“Coffee please!” The little brunette requested as he hopped into his chair, picking up his blue sippy cup and taking a drink of milk.
Nathan looked up from the morning paper in surprise, dark brows furrowing over his eyes. Will blushed as he grabbed a couple pancakes, sliding them onto his plate and spreading on a generous pat of butter. He fiddled with a piece of bacon for a moment, nibbling on the end while brown eyes looked at him expectantly.
“I said please. Just a little coffee? I have a…” Will swallowed his words, best not to remind the other of his alcohol soaked escapades. “Headache.” He finished lamely. Charlie came to the rescue, plunking a half full mug of coffee in front of him and ruffling his curls.
“Charles,” Nathan sighed as he folded up the paper.
“A little coffee isn’t going to hurt him Daddy. We’ve all got a long day ahead of us.” The blonde smoothly slid into his own chair, loading his plate with eggs and bacon. He winked one green eye at the little brunette and Will stifled a giggle.
“Well when he’s bouncing off the walls later, I’m going to consider the baby your problem.” Nathan shot back as he cut into a pancake, taking a pointed sip of his own coffee.
“Anyway,” Charlie rolled his eyes and popped a piece of cut up melon into his mouth. “After breakfast we were thinking about going to your apartment cub. And… well, I’m going to talk to the building super.”
“To tell her that I’m moving out?” Will almost sighed in relief at the thought.
“Actually,” green eyes darted to Nathan who nodded. “We want to pay the rent for the rest of this month. We’ve been talking. Of course the two of us want you to come back for good. But…” he sighed and the blue eyed young man reached over to take his hand, squeezing it reassuringly.
“It’s okay Papa, I can take it.”
Charlie took a steadying breath and smiled softly. “We want you to come home for good. But if you decide that you don’t want that… well we want you to have the option to go back. And we love you baby. So we’ll pay your bills for this month and you can have the next few weeks to really make your decision. Alright?”
Will sighed as he took a bite of eggs, sipping his coffee and relishing the taste. The blonde had added just the right amount of cream and sugar. This was a very uncomfortable breakfast conversation, but he appreciated that everything was out on the table. Now they could go forward with their day on the same page.
“I understand. You don’t have to do this though, I’m not going to change my mind.”
“Well you can have the rest of the day to decide for sure Will.” Nathan offered from the head of the table. “We’ll talk more about it tonight, okay baby?”
“Yeah,” Will mumbled as he fiddled with a bite of pancake, finally putting it in his mouth and chewing slowly.
Will wiped a stray tear from his cheek as he looked into the closet. His clothes were right there next to Charlie’s and Nathan’s, what had the men been thinking as they hung his things up? Had they considered that all too soon they might be boxing them back up for good? Did they talk about where he was, worry about what he was doing out in the big world all alone?
The brunette shook his head to clear it, these thoughts weren’t going to help him get ready and fix his mistakes. He grabbed a long sleeved blue shirt and some heavy jeans, there was snow falling outside and the day promised to be another frigid one. Pulling on a pair of fuzzy socks to go under his boots, Will headed for the stairs.
Nathan and Charlie were waiting for him on the couch, talking quietly, snuggled together. They were also dressed warmly for the day, which would be good later when the three of them got to his powerless apartment. They looked so happy together, Charlie laughing at something the brunette said. Will fidgeted with his glasses as he stood in the doorway, not sure if he wanted to interrupt their gentle moment.
“There he is. All ready to go baby?” Nathan noticed him first, untangling from the green eyed man and standing up to crack his back. Will nodded silently, chewing his lip and shuffling his feet. The taller brunette padded over, scooping him up and pressing kisses all over his cheeks until the blue eyed boy was giggling, his bad mood mostly forgotten.
“Yes Daddy. I’m ready. I got my fuzzy socks on.” He kicked up one foot to indicate the pale purple sock.
“Good cub. You’ll be toasty warm.” Nathan’s lips found his own and Will sighed softly, fingers curling against the back of the other’s neck. Their tongues played gently against each other, tangling and tasting like fresh mint.
“Alright lover boys. Time’s a wasting.” Charlie teased as he stroked his fingers through Will’s curls. “Let’s get going.”
They loaded Nathan’s truck with some trash bags and cleaning supplies, the trio bundled in their warmest coats. It was just as chilly outside as Will had assumed, so they wasted no time in getting into the warmed up vehicle.
After he gave Charlie the address for his apartment, Will lapsed into silence. He wasn’t up to chatting pleasantly with the two men in the front seat at the moment, too preoccupied by his bleak thoughts to add much. The last thing the slender brunette wanted to be doing today was facing his terrible decisions of the past few months. Especially with Daddy and Papa right there to pass their own judgments.
“Will? Baby are you listening?” Charlie’s voice shook Will from his musings. He looked into the other’s green eyes, smiling apologetically. “I was just saying that we’re here. You and Daddy go get started cleaning the apartment, I’ll be up in a minute.”
Police siren’s sounded distantly as they all got out of the truck, a dog barked and glass shattered above them. Yeah, this was a great place to live. Nathan seemed to agree with his sentiment as the large man bustled him inside the building.
“I’m on the third floor, but the elevator’s broken. We’ll have to take the stairs.” Will murmured softly, hanging his head when brown eyes regarded him with disappointment. It wasn’t like this place had been his first choice, the brunette thought somewhat bitterly as they started the trek towards his apartment. It was just the cheapest place he could find that would let him move in immediately with the handful of cash he’d brought with.
“No power, remember?” He snapped when Nathan flipped the switch by the door. At least in the relative gloom of his dirty windows it was somewhat harder to tell how dusty and unkempt the place was.
“Excuse me young man?” The larger man turned to look at him, arms crossed over his chest and lips drawn into a thin line. Will couldn’t help himself and stomped his foot.
“I get it, this place sucks. I suck. Just say whatever you’re thinking Nate. Get it all out in the open and stop fucking looking at me like that!” He kicked an empty glass bottle in frustration, feeling a small flash of satisfaction when it clattered against the far wall.
“Come here William.” Nathan growled, pointing to the ground in front of himself.
“No! You don’t have to like how I’ve been living, but I don’t have to stand here and… and watch you think that you’re better than me!”
“William Blake!” The larger brunette’s voice cracked loudly in the quiet apartment. “I have heard just about enough of your attitude little boy. Don’t make me come and get you.”
Will planted his feet firmly on the floor, mouth set in a disobedient frown. He’d been coming down on himself all day, every day since he’d left, and he couldn’t stand seeing that same condemnation mirrored in the other man’s eyes. Nathan uncrossed his arms, striding over to the smaller man and grabbing him firmly by the arm to tug him into the middle of the room.
“Alright young man. You’re guilty about everything that’s happened? Fine. You should be. But this isn’t the way to make yourself feel better. If you’re trying to push me, trying to force my hand and get yourself a little punishment for your actions, well you’ve done it.”
The brown eyed man swept crumpled food wrappers and a box of stale fries off of the only chair in the room, sending the packages clattering to the floor. He planted one foot on the seat of the chair, yanking Will up and over his leg before the young man had time to react.
SMACK!
Nathan’s hand came down hard on his jean covered backside, making the blue eyed boy yelp. His hands clutched at the other’s leg, trying to steady himself as the brown eyed man wrapped a hand firmly in his coat to keep him still.
SMACK!
“Who am I William?”
“Wha-?” SMACK! “Ow! Daddy! You’re my Daddy!”
SMACK!
Will kicked his legs with a futile whimper. This was not what he’d wanted when he’d snapped at the larger man.
SMACK!
“And what do you call me?”
“Ow! Daddy or s-sir!” Will cried out, damn he’d forgotten how hard the other’s hands were.
SMACK!
“That’s right, little boy. Do you curse at your Daddy?”
“No-ho!” Tears gathered in his eyes as the sharp sting started to turn into a true burning.
SMACK!
“Answer me properly William.”
“N-ah! No sir. No cursing! Daddy please!” Will sniffled out his plea, twisting the fabric in his hands.
SMACK!
“If you are unhappy with me, then you will tell me respectfully young man. You do not snap and use an attitude with me. Understand?”
SMACK!
Will whined softly as the tears spilled down his cheeks, really regretting his earlier attempt to get on Nathan’s nerves. “Y-yes sir. I’m ow! I’m sorry!” His shoulders shook as he cried, feet linking together at the ankles and his body relaxing into the pain.
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
The last three hard swats were aimed at the tops of his thighs and the curly haired brunette wailed finally, dissolving into sobs and mostly unintelligible apologies. His bottom felt well toasted, throbbing and stinging even though the strikes had been cushioned by his jeans and boxers. Nathan tugged Will firmly into his arms, taking the boy’s glasses and letting him sob into his shoulder.
“That’s it baby. Let it out. I’m right here.” The brunette tucked his face into his Daddy’s throat, letting his tears soak the other’s shirt through his open coat. Nathan hummed and bounced him gently in his arms, walking a slow path through the apartment until blue eyes finally looked up.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you Daddy.” He croaked, sniffling softly and bringing his thumb up to suck on it softly.
“It’s okay baby bear. You’re forgiven. I know you’ve got all these bad feelings and thoughts tangled up inside. Don’t worry, we’ll figure it all out.” Nathan reached up to wipe his wet cheeks, smiling sympathetically.
“You… you didn’t say anything about the apartment.” Will mumbled as he accepted his glasses and put them back on. Brown eyes looked down at him in confusion and Nathan stopped walking.
“Before,” he clarified, swallowing thickly and blushing. They didn’t normally analyze a spanking once it was over, but Will couldn’t help needing to prod at the metaphorical bruises he was carrying inside. “You didn’t say anything about the apartment when you…”
Daddy gave him a moment to continue before he spoke. “Baby, I already told you. We understand why you did what you did, or we’re trying to. We don’t blame you for living like this, and we can’t punish you for doing what you had to, to try and get by on your own.”
Nathan tilted his head gently, bringing their lips together in a soft, chaste kiss. “But I will paint your backside cherry for being disrespectful and cursing at me. We don’t do that to one another. Right baby doll?”
Will smiled softly, sniffling away the last of his tears. “Right Daddy.”