Bringing Home Danny (2 page)

Danny took a deep breath, sighed and lifted his spoon to take a tiny nibble.

“
Try it with some cinnamon,” Ricky suggested, trying once again to lighten the mood.
 

TJ, on the other hand, was rather amused by the scene unfolding in front of him. “He probably doesn't like that either,” he said, poking fun at Danny's discomfort. “Mmm…” he continued, while making a show of buttering and savoring the taste of his freshly baked biscuit.

Danny rolled his eyes and tried unconvincingly to appear as if TJ's performance was not bothering him. Unable to contain his growing annoyance at being forced to sit and eat something he didn't like, Danny rested his head against his hand and muttered, “It doesn't matter what I put on it, it's still oatmeal.”

“
Elbow off the table, please,” Antonio requested, in a somewhat exasperated tone.
 

Danny leaned back with a huff, and TJ snickered. Mitch stood up giving them each a warning look. Danny flinched, bowed his head, and reached for his spoon. Grabbing his coffee mug, Mitch stepped out of the kitchen, much to Danny's relief. Thinking this might be his last chance, Danny bravely forged ahead with his oatmeal protest once he thought Mitch was out of earshot.

With a sneer of disgust he put his question to Antonio. “Do I have to sit here and eat this?”

“
You can eat it sitting down or you can eat it standing up. Your choice,” came the brisk voice of Mitch, who swiftly reentered the room.
 

Realizing he miscalculated his luck, Danny sank back down in his chair with a deep blush, losing all nerve for further protest.

Taking delight in the reprimand, TJ snorted OJ out of his nose.

Danny glared at TJ and told him to “shut it!”

He leaned back in his
chair with a pout. After all the stirring and procrastination, Danny's oatmeal had become cold and runny. Not thinking it would help, but hoping to stall, he picked up the bowl of sugar and began scooping several spoonfuls onto his breakfast.

Danny's plan to have a bowl full of sugar was intercepted when Antonio reached over the table and took both the bowl of sugar and teaspoon from Danny's hands. “That's more than enough sugar, my sweet boy.”

“
Just eat it, Danny,” Ricky quietly pleaded.
 

Embarrassed by the scolding and having the sugar taken from him, but not willing to take Mitch to task on his earlier threat, Danny reluctantly lifted his spoon again. Feeling more than a little self-conscious, he peered up from his spoon to see all four sets of eyes on him.   

Losing his battle with self-control, Danny slammed down his utensil and demanded to know, “What's everybody staring at!”

“
Calm down,” Antonio soothed.
 

“
Everybody is staring at you because you always have to be the center of
attention,” TJ baited.
 

Outraged at the statement because all he wanted was to be was left alone, Danny screamed, “I do not! Why do
you
always have to be such an ASS?!”

“
That's enough!” Mitch barked.
 

All three boys flinched in unison.

In one quick motion Mitch was over by Danny. He hauled him up by his arm and landed three sharp swats to the seat of his pants. Danny instinctively jerked away, and Mitch pulled him in closer. “You will sit and eat your food with no more complaints or rude comments. Otherwise, you will be one sorry little boy.”

He emphasized his point with two more hard smacks before positioning him back into his chair. With as much dignity as he could muster, Danny shifted in his seat to release some of the heat from his bottom. It really hurt through the thin threads of his pajama pants. Dropping his head to avoid any eye contact, Danny once again tried to 'make gone' with his oatmeal. As much as he wanted breakfast over with, he found it increasingly difficult to stomach his meal as he fought back tears of indignation.

Mitch towered over Danny and announced, “I have a few things to do, and then I am taking a shower." Pointing one long menacing finger at Danny's oatmeal he threatened, "When I get back that had better be an empty bowl. Do you hear me?”

Not satisfied with Danny's nod, Mitch grabbed him by the chin and tilted his face up to meet his eyes. “When I ask you a question, you answer me.”

“
Yes, sir,” Danny squeaked out.
 

Mitch held his face a moment longer to make sure his message was being communicated. Danny bit his lip waiting for Mitch to release his face. When he finally walked away, Danny batted away a treasonous tear that escaped down the side of his face.

“
Aw, did Danny get in trouble?” TJ mocked.
 

“
Leave him alone,” Antonio cautioned sternly.
 

TJ dropped his grin to imitate Danny's scowl, but swiftly returned it when Antonio's back was turned.

“
Leave him alone, TJ,” Ricky whispered.
 

“
What's the matter? Am I upsetting the baby?”
 

Anger, replacing self-pity, gave Danny his voice back. “Knock it off! I am not a baby!” He blushed realizing how babyish that sounded.

“
Then why do you keep acting like one?”
 

“
Because everybody keeps treating me like one!” Danny pouted while giving an accusatory eye to Antonio.
 

“
Nobody is treating you like a baby,” Antonio rebuked.
 

“
Yeah, right,” Danny muttered under his breath, knowing he was pushing his luck.
 

“
If you don't like the way you are being treated then I suggest you adjust your behavior accordingly,” Antonio defended. He was not happy to be pulled into one of Danny and TJ's petty quarrels.
 

“
Yeah, so stop acting like a baby and eat your porridge.” TJ set down his glass of OJ to laugh at his own cleverness.
 

Ricky spoke up when he saw Danny go tense. “Don't let him get to you, Danny.” Placing a reassuring hand on the little one's arm, he implored, “Just eat what's in your bowl and get it over with.”

Danny shrugged, but managed to put two disdainful spoonfuls into his mouth. He fought not to gag after realizing the sugary cold mush was not going to go down easily.

“
Thanks, Antonio. Breakfast was delicious,” TJ said gleefully, for Danny's benefit.
 

“
Thank you, TJ,” Antonio replied dryly. “Please put your dish in the sink.”
 

“
Sure thing, Antonio.”
 

Still gloating, TJ bent over Danny, and slyly stated, “It appears you've got a bit more to go. You better hurry up and empty that bowl or your backside is going to be toast.”

Danny knew he was being a baby about this whole thing. He also knew TJ took particular pleasure in teasing him because he can always get him to react. As much as he hated to admit it, today was going to be no different. Danny was angry, and he allowed himself the satisfaction of turning his anger into rage. He felt momentarily justified when he picked up the infamous bowl of oatmeal and hurled it towards TJ. Luckily, TJ was able to duck in time for it to skim the top of his head and smash into the wall behind him.

“
There! I emptied my bowl! Was that fast enough for you?”
 

“
DANIEL CHRISTOPHER!!!”
 

Danny jumped in surprise at the force of Antonio's voice. Even though TJ was being an ass, if the flying dish had hit him he could have been seriously hurt. Danny felt immediately ashamed.

“
You little shit!” TJ screamed, once he got his bearings.
 

“
Fuck you!” Danny yelled back in heightened hysteria.
 

“
That is enough out of the both of you!”
 

Antonio knew he had misjudged their earlier agitation with each other and should have intervened sooner. He had hoped they could have settled it on their own, and now they were spinning out of control. No longer listening to Antonio, TJ lunged after Danny. Although he quickly leapt out of the way, it was not in time to avoid being shoved against the wall by TJ on pure adrenaline.

“
You could have killed me!”
 

“
I'm sorry,” Danny said, in a shaky voice full of remorse.
 

TJ drew his hand back as if to hit him.

“
Stop!” Ricky cried.
 

“
Leave him alone, TJ,” Antonio commanded using his strong authoritative voice.
 

“
Why? Just because he's the baby he gets away with murder.”
 

“
Nobody is getting away with anything. I will handle it.”
 

“
Yeah, well you better spank him good or I'll do it myself!”
 

“
You, young man, will keep your hands to yourself and adjust your attitude, or it will be
your
backside that I'll be tanning.”
 

Realizing he was stepping out of line and was taking more liberties than if Mitch had been there, TJ let Antonio's last comment defuse his outrage.

“
Now, get out of the kitchen. You have caused enough problems this morning.”
 

“
Fine,” TJ huffed. “Just as long as he gets what's coming to him,” he added, pointing a finger at Danny.
 

As TJ marched out of the room, Danny slumped against the wall feeling thoroughly defeated. He blinked back tears at seeing Ricky's distress. It shamed him to know he was the cause of it. When Ricky turned to leave the room, Danny wanted to call out to him and tell him everything was going to be okay. But he didn't know if it was. He sucked in and bit his lower lip, then stole a quick peek up. When Antonio edged closer he tried to read his facial expression to gauge the severity of the situation. Danny wasn't sure if he should feel relieved at what appeared to be more of an expression of determination than disapproval.

“
Well, you have certainly made the most of your breakfast.”
 

Danny was unnerved by the uncharacteristic sarcasm. He resisted briefly before allowing Antonio to lead him back over to the table.

Antonio pulled out a kitchen chair. “Pull down your pants,” he ordered.

Danny stood frozen in his place with the exception of his quivering lip. Waiting for Antonio to retrieve the thick wooden spoon from the counter drawer, he wondered how he had he let things get so out of hand over oatmeal. Antonio was right. He had eaten it before, so why was it so hard for him to eat it today? It didn't seem fair.

Sensing Danny's reluctance to comply, Antonio placed the spoon on the table in front of them with a sigh. At the tender age of eighteen, Antonio was always a little extra careful where Danny was concerned. He did not want to give rise to the boy's internal struggle, so he untied Danny's PJ bottoms for him. Once they dropped past his thighs, Danny's knees began to tremble to match his lower lip. Antonio steeled himself in order to maintain his fortitude to carry through with his punishment.

“
You brought this on yourself,” Antonio chastised.
 

He slipped his fingers into the waistband of the boy's briefs, pulling him in closer. Danny whimpered when they were tugged down to meet his pants.  Antonio quickly lifted Danny up under his arms and took a seat while simultaneously draping the young man over his knees. At no time was it more apparent to Antonio that Danny was the smallest of his partners then when he was bent over his lap for a spanking. Not quite as tall as Mitch, Antonio was still an impressive six and a half feet, with broad shoulders and muscular arms. Danny, on the other hand, was scarcely five and a half feet tall, with a slender frame that carried small, tight muscles. He was athletic, and deceivingly strong for his size, but appeared more like a young child lying over Antonio's large thighs. His toes barely reached the ground as his hands grasped at Antonio's pant legs.

Antonio sighed as he surveyed the backside over his lap.
There were several pink blotches visible. He rested a hand at the under curve of Danny’s left buttock and could feel the warmth that Mitch had left there.
 

Danny had such a cute little backside. It was small, round, firm, and as smooth as a baby's bottom. He really hated to have to mar it up. In fact, he truly did not want to have to discipline him at all.

Danny was in an eternal conflict with self-control. Antonio wished he understand why everything was such a battle for him. Still, he was pushing limits all morning; he had all but asked for this spanking. Antonio briefly contemplated the idea of waiting to let Mitch dole out the punishment. He had to be fair. Mitch was usually the heavy disciplinarian in the family, and the boys knew it. They also suspected Antonio was becoming soft, and they were taking advantage of it. No, this was his responsibility, and it was time to take matters in his own hands.

Antonio could feel Danny trying to calm down with deep breaths as his stomach rose and fell over his thighs. Not wanting to drag this out any longer than necessary, he tucked his little man in close with his left hand to hold him securely against his body.

Steadying himself he remembered to ask, “How did you earn this spanking, Danny?”

Not trusting himself to speak, Danny shrugged his shoulders and covered his face with his arm. In some ways this was the hardest part of the punishment for Danny. When he knew he was heading for a trip over the knee he would sometimes provoke Mitch to immediately lay into him so he could evade this part of the spanking ritual. Leave it to Antonio to keep his cool. A loud slap to the middle of his rear jerked Danny to attention.