TLR CHAPTER 125

The next morning Coral woke early and looked for a long time down at his new husband. Ryan looked so peaceful and contented, he hated to wake him up. Finally, he leaned down and kissed Ry awake, gently, whispering in his ear and nibbling at the lobe. 

His new husband groaned and cracked open an eye. "Too early," he mumbled.

Coral grinned and gently bit Ryan on the neck. "Up my Angel, we have a big day ahead of us. You don't want to miss the plane, do you?"

At Coral's words, the younger man's eyes flew open. "No!" He threw back the covers and jumped out of bed.

The older man laughed and got out of bed with a little more decorum. "Let's have a shower and then we can make breakfast. What're you in the mood for... besides me, that is?" he teased.

Ryan looked down at himself and blushed at his erect staff.  He hugged Coral and kissed him deeply.  Breaking the kiss, he said, "Some of your infamous pancakes. It's what you made me the first mornin' I stayed with you...after you took my bottle of beer away." He blushed remembering that first morning after Coral had taken him home because he had smelled of alcohol when he reported for his shift.     

"Let's clean up together, then I'll start on those pancakes," Coral replied, gently stroking Ryan's erection.

Ryan smiled a little shyly but hugged Coral tight. "Let's do that." He kissed him once more and then tugged him toward the bathroom, Cas scampering along with them.

The two of them turned on the dual shower heads and washed each other, paying special attention to various spots that had them both groaning with pleasure. Coral reluctantly got out first and toweled off quickly.  "Sorry, Angel, someone has to start those pancakes," he said with a smile as he dressed.

Ryan sighed with pleasure, but finished cleaning up and was right on his husband's heels with his half-grown cat running and jumping at his master as he hurried to the kitchen for breakfast.

As they ate they made plans for the upcoming day. "Someone should be here soon to pick up Cas, and don't worry, Hon," Coral said in an understanding tone, "you know that Shorty and the others will take great care of him."

The younger man nodded. "Yes, I know."

"I have a little something special for you before we leave though. Do you want it now?" Coral asked, hoping that Ryan would like the gift. He'd had Tank put a rush job on it. 

Ryan looked at Coral curiously. "What is it?"

Coral moved his napkin and held out a rectangular object, wrapped in gold paper. "Hope you'll like it, Hon."

The younger man took the package and then gave his new husband a sad look.

"What's the matter, Angel?" Coral asked, concerned as he went to his husband to wrap his arms around him.

The older man's gesture was the boy's undoing and he burst into tears and began to sob. "I-I d-didn't get you anythin'!" I-I'm a b-bad husband! I-d-didn't even think of it!"

Coral wrapped his arms tightly around his husband and rubbed his back, "Angel! You're not a bad husband! You are my wedding gift! The best one I could ever have!" he reassured the upset young man.

Ryan looked up with wet eyes sniffling and asked in a hitched voice, "You're sure?"

"Of course, I'm sure," Coral replied gently.  "This is just a token, Hon. I know you love me. I don't need you to buy me presents to prove it."

The younger man sniffled and wiped his eyes and blew his nose with his napkin from breakfast and then set to opening the present.

Underneath the gold wrapping paper was a layer of silver speckled gift paper, and inside was a framed picture of Coral, still wet from the shower, wearing nothing but a smile and a towel, his muscular chest and arms, and the curve of his taut backside the only things showing. "I hope you like it." 

Ryan held the picture to his chest and grinned from ear to ear.  "I love it...think I'll show it to your parents as soon as we visit again," he teased.

Coral let out a hearty laugh, "They have much more embarrassing pictures of me than this. You'll have to ask them the next time we’re there."

"I will," the young man told his husband. He then reached out and kissed him. "Thank you, Coral...I'll cherish it forever."

"Well, put that somewhere safe, alright?  One of our friends should be here any minute to get Cas and bring us to the airport. Let’s get the bags ready." 

Ryan smiled at his husband and nodded as they went to put the suitcases by the front door.

James Harrington smiled to himself as he drove the resort van to Coral and Ryan's bungalow. He would put their bags in and make sure Ryan had Castiel in his carrier, although if he didn't fit he was sure the large kitten could sit in Ry's lap or on his shoulder for the short drive to Shorty's before they headed out for the airport. He pulled up and strode to the door and knocked authoritatively.

Coral laughed. "Well, now I know who's picking us up. Only one person knocks like that. Come on in, James!" he called even as he opened the door.

The resort owner gave the man who answered the door a stern look. "I hear you two newlyweds are already having problems. Well I'm here to straighten them out," he said in a no nonsense tone.

Coral looked at James curiously. He had no idea what his friend could be referring to. "What's up, boss?" he asked.

"Well, you two do need to drop Cas off at Shorty's and get to the airport, don't you?" His smoky blue eyes began to twinkle, belying the stern look on his face.

Ryan looked from James to Coral a bit nervously.

Coral did his best to fight back a grin, "Yep, I suppose we do. Have anyone in mind for that particular chore?" he asked, winking at Ryan to let him know nothing was really wrong. 

James pulled Coral into a bear hug and said, "James Harrington at your service!"

The younger man relaxed then as the two men hugged.

"Well Mr. James Harrington, thank you! It's entirely our pleasure." Coral grinned as he pulled Ryan into the hug.

Ryan grinned up at the two other men. 

"Cas all ready to go?" James asked.

The young man had corralled his kitten and stuffed him into his carrier. "Yes Sir, but I think we're goin' to have to buy a larger one when we get back. He barely fits into this one now," he told James.

The older man chuckled and grabbed a couple of the bags to bring out to the van.

Coral grabbed the rest and followed his friend outside. "It's a great day, isn't it?" he asked, breathing in the fresh air and turning his face up to the sun which was just peeking up over the trees.

"Yes, it is," James responded putting the luggage in and helping Ryan to get settled. "Hop on in and let's be on our way."

Coral did as he'd been told with a grin and sighed contentedly as his friend began to drive.

James had stopped at Shorty's and amid a tearful good-bye to his cat and good wishes from Shorty, Beau and the twins, herded the young man into the van and took the road out of the resort and towards Bangor and the airport. 

Coral watched the scenery as it sped by. As much as he loved Maine and the resort, he was looking forward to spending time with Ry in Hawaii.

James smiled as he drove. "I served at Kaneohe Marine Base on O'ahu," he told the other men. "It was the best duty station I had.  Duke and Jeff were lucky enough to receive the same assignment at the same time."

"Can't wait to see everything," Coral replied.  "What was it like back in the Dark Ages when you all were there?" he joked.

The older man chuckled. "Hot, humid but very beautiful. We spent two years there and I loved every minute of it. I especially loved the fresh fruits, pineapple and all the other tropical fruits that grow there."

Even though he'd eaten not too long ago, Coral's stomach growled at the thought of fresh fruit. He gave an embarrassed laugh and grinned. "So, Ry, we're going to have to eat lots of that fresh fruit in honor of James while we're there. Whadda ya say?"

Ryan grinned. "As much as we can stomach." He asked, "Don't they have volcanoes there James?"

The retired Marine nodded. "Yes, they do and they have lava flows all the time. They are what have created the islands. They're under water and there are some on the islands as well, they're really quite beautiful."

"Well, I'm looking forward to every experience we can have while we're traveling," Coral said with a smile. "I've never been to Hawaii before, only heard stories and seen pictures," he continued, pulling Ry into a one-armed hug, thinking of all the fun they'd have together. 

James neared the airport and stopped finally at the airline and said, "Well gentlemen, this is where you get off. Have a great time." He opened the door for the men and began to take their bags out. A smiling porter approached and asked, "May I help you with your luggage and check in?"

Ryan suddenly got nervous. He'd never been inside an airplane before.

Coral saw the change in his husband immediately and put an arm around him, hugging him close. "It's all going to be alright, Angel. I'll be right by your side the whole time. You'll be amazed at the sight of earth from above. It's lovely," he leaned down to whisper in his husband's ear, "and so are you."

Turning toward the porter, Coral thanked him and helped put their luggage on the trolley. With a final hug and goodbye for James, the two followed the other man. 

James smiled as he watched them go and when they were no longer in sight got back into the van and headed for the resort.

Ryan had smiled at Coral and stuck close to him knowing he'd keep him safe and give him clues so he wouldn't make any mistakes interpreting anything literal.

As they approached the security check point, Coral leaned down and whispered in Ryan's ear,  "Just do what I do, alright?" He then put their carry-on luggage onto a conveyor belt and began to take off his sneakers, motioning Ry to do the same.

The young man followed his husband's example and took off his sneakers. "Why do we have to take off our shoes?" he asked.

"I think to make sure we're not hiding any weapons or anything that can be used as a weapon in them." Coral replied as he took a small bin from an airline security agent. He began to empty the contents of his pockets into the bin.

With that done, Coral waited for the agent to gesture him through the metal detector. He went right through with no problems and gathering up his things, turned toward Ryan with an encouraging smile to wait for him. 

Ryan bit his lip, but emptied his pockets into the bin as his husband had and walked through the metal detector with no problems either and smiled as he reached the other man.

"The hardest part is done," Coral said encouragingly. "Now it's just a matter of getting to our seats and it's smooth... flying... from there."

Ryan took Coral's hand and squeezed it. "'Kay, let's go," he said a little nervously.

They presented their tickets to the stewardess who directed them into the first-class cabin.  Coral's eyebrows went up in surprise. He hadn't looked at the tickets that James had handed him. "Well I'll be... that sly son of a gun. We're going to have to do something to thank him for these when we get back," he grinned as he spoke.

Ry looked at his husband. "Who? What?" he asked a bit confused.

"James," Coral laughed. "He somehow upgraded us to first class when I wasn't looking."

Ryan asked, "Is that good?"

"That's better than good, it's great." Coral laughed. "Wait'll you see. Come on, Angel," he said, taking his husband gently by the hand to lead him to their seats.

James drove back to the resort. He had been thinking of his service time in Hawaii and how special that duty station was. It had been coveted by most servicemen and he counted the three of them lucky to have been sent at the same time.

After he parked the van he walked back to the house and through the living room where he paused at his shadow box. Glancing at his medals and ribbons he took a deep breath and smiled. Even after all this time he was proud to have served his country. He walked through the lower part of the house for any sign of his partners. seeing none, he walked out onto the porch and smiled as he saw Heath there. "There you are," he said delightedly. "So where's our boy?" he asked as he sat down.

Heath leaned in and gave his partner a hug and kiss. "Jax is off with Dean and Griff on a job, and I've just been sitting here, relaxing and enjoying the quiet. Not one medical call today so far." He smiled.

James sat down and returned the smile.  "Good. Coral and Ryan got off okay and I'm sure they'll realize who's behind a few little surprises."

Heath laughed, "I'd give just about anything to get a picture of their faces right now. That was some smooth maneuvering on your part, Captain.  Hey, I'm going inside for a drink, do you want anything?"

"Sure, bring me something cold would you please?"

"Will do."  He smiled as he went into the house.  He opened the refrigerator and pulled out two icy cold beers. When he closed the door, his attention was caught by the spice rack on the kitchen wall and suddenly he remembered a question that had been on his mind for some time now.

As he returned with the drinks he said, "JW? I've been meaning to ask you something."

James smiled as his lover and partner reappeared.  “Yes, what is it, Doc?” he asked as he took the beer he was offered.

"The shadow box on the wall in the living room... the one with all of your medals in it...  there's part of a broken ruler in there that says, 'Love Dad'... I've been wondering why you have that in your box of service memorabilia?"

The older man blushed uncharacteristically. "Well...there's a story behind that," he told his lover.

Heath smiled and looked at him curiously as he sat beside his partner. "I'd love to hear it." 

James blushed furiously this time and said, "I just bet you would." He shook his head remembering the incident with the ruler, a little smile on his handsome face.

"This has got to be a great story if it's making you blush like that. Now you have to tell me." Heath grinned.

The resort owner ducked his head a bit and said, "Sure, I’ll tell you the story…it was quite a while ago...I had just graduated from basic training in the Corps and had a ten-day leave. I had gone home with my parents who had come to the graduation. I was about to turn nineteen...." This time the pause was much longer.

"Don't keep me in suspense," Heath laughed.

James gave the younger man a pained look, but continued his story, “I had been home a day or so and my Dad and I were in his study talking…”

<<<<>>>> 

Spring 1980…

"So, Jimmy! Congratulations again! My son the Marine. Mom and I are so proud of you," Andrew said, clapping his son on the back as he led the boy back to the study. "Have a seat, son. Tell me all about it," he said with a wide smile as he put a can of soda in front of James while he poured himself a whiskey. 

James smiled at his father, but frowned slightly at being given a kid's drink.  Legally, he was an adult now and could have a man’s drink, but didn’t say anything. "It was tough at times, but I made it through. It toughened me up quite a bit and made me reach into myself to use resources I didn't really realize I had. It made me into a man, Dad," he finished, hoping his father would take the hint.

His mother who had just joined them smiled, barely restrained tears of happiness and pride glistening in her eyes as she sat beside her husband and took a sip of his drink. "And a fine man you are. Imagine that. My little Jimmy... a Marine!" she said, leaning forward to give her son a kiss on the cheek.

"Marissa." Drew laughed. "He's hardly little anymore," he said as he hugged his wife.

James blushed a bit at his mother's words and the kiss on the cheek, but smiled.  “Dad's right Mom, I'm not little anymore."

His mother shook her head. “You’ll always be little to me, honey, no matter how old you get. You’re my baby and always will be.” She suddenly stood up. "Oh... I have to... make sure dinner doesn't burn," Marissa Harrington said quickly, feeling the tears beginning to flow and not wanting to cry in front of her son. "I'll be... right back."

Andrew shook his head fondly as he watched his wife exit the study. "She can't stop talking about you to the neighbors, you know."

James grinned self-consciously. "I can just imagine her doing that," he laughed. " 'My little Jimmy'... I'll never live that name down."

"I'm afraid that she'll always see you as the little boy in the dinosaur footie pajamas and that shock of hair that never would stay flat," his father laughed. "Now look at you! No hair to speak of." He reached across toward his son and rubbed his hand over the traditional military buzz cut. 

The young man shook his head. "That sounds like Mom." He laughed at his father, ducking away from the hand brushing over his almost non-existent hair.  "Nope, but once it grows back I'm sure so will that shock of hair."

"So, tell me everything while Mom sees to that imaginary dinner," Drew grinned, "how much do you wanna bet she's going to order out after all that."

The young man chuckled. “Whatever we end up with I know it'll be good.”

His father sat back in his chair and looked at his son. "Well, your mother’s right you know. No matter how old you get, even though you're a big tough Marine, you'll always be our little boy," Drew sighed. Then he leaned forward and said, "Not too old for a birthday spanking though!" he joked. "We're having half the neighborhood over to celebrate while you're here."

James made a face and frowned. "Dad... that's for kids, I'm a man now. I don't get birthday or any other kind of spankings anymore. I'm a Marine, a soldier...Marines are tough, they don't get spanked," he retorted.

Not realizing that his son was actually taking him seriously, Drew laughed and said, "You're so cute when you get that look. Always turned your mother to mush whenever you made that face. Besides, you'll never be too old for a spanking."

The young man arched an eyebrow and gave his father a look. "Look here old man, I told you I'm grown now and it's not happening... not at any time," he said in a low growl that he'd adopted in basic training to intimidate an opponent.

His father's eyebrows shot up as he looked at his son, "Old man? You bet I'm an old man. I'm your old man and you'd better remember that. I don't ever want to hear you speak to me in that tone again, understood?"

JW looked at his father and said, "I'll use whatever tone that'll get it through your thick head I'm not a boy anymore to be ordered around by you!"

"Boy, remember the three strikes rule? As far as I'm concerned, you've already had your three, so I suggest you change your tone. Now. Or else," Andrew Harrington said in a no-nonsense voice as he sat up a little straighter in his chair. He realized that he was gripping his glass so he gently put it aside and placed his large hand, palm down on top of his desk.

"Fine, but I'm warning you. I had self-defense classes in basic and I won't hesitate to use them on you if I have to, so you can take your fucking three strike rule and shove it up your ass," James said belligerently.

"And you're out," his father said through gritted teeth. He was up and had his son by the arm before James realized what his father was about to do. He tried to use some of his defensive maneuvers, twisting to make his father release his grip, but Drew was savvy and changed his own grip until his son's arm was bent up behind him. "I realize that I was only Army, boy," his father said sarcastically, "but we had defense training as well, and you're gonna get a taste of it."

The young man was surprised by his father's counter maneuvers. 

In a matter of seconds, the older man had his son laid across his lap and was putting his large, hard hand to good use as he had done a number of times in the past when his son had become unruly.

The heavy hand came down over and over, causing James to momentarily forget how to breathe. His eyes widened in shock. He tried to get free of his father's grip but it was like trying to wriggle out of a bear trap, and still that hand continued its work, turning the sting into a burn which turned into a gasoline fueled fire on his backside.

The young man gasped and wriggled and wiggled and found himself letting out Ows and Ahhs..."Dad..Please! Stop!" 

"Dad now, am I?" Drew demanded as he continued the punishment, "What happened to 'Old Man'?" he asked as he continued to scold his son. “You listen to me, little boy, and listen good, don't you ever swear at me. You will speak to me with respect. I don't care how old you get. I don't care if you're a Marine or the president of the United States. Never. Use. That. Language. With. Me. Again. EVER!" he continued, emphasizing each word with a solid hard smack giving him an almighty wallop with the last word.

James wailed at the harder smacks and cried out with the last one, "Oww! Yes Sir!"

Seemingly of its own volition, Drew's hand sought out the large desk drawer in front of him. He pulled it open and took out the inch and a half wide, 18" long ruler and began to use it on his son's sit spots and the backs of his thighs. "Yes sir? I'm Sir now? Well that's an improvement but I don't think you learned your lesson just yet, little boy!" the older man ground out as he laid down a dozen more smacks with the implement.

James couldn't believe he'd found himself in this position. When he heard the drawer near him slide open he momentarily stiffened. He was well used to what was in there and wasn't disappointed as he felt the fiery stripe the ruler left on his sit spots and then his thighs. He well knew it was deserved too now that he had the results of his skewed thinking brought home to him in a very memorable way.

"You just count yourself lucky that I let you keep your britches up, kid," Drew growled. "I can guarantee you, Marine or not, if you ever take that tone with me again, if you ever have the nerve to cuss at me, you won't be sitting for a week. Understand?" he demanded, laying down several more stripes with the ruler. 

The young man was sobbing by now and he sniffled out, "Y-yes S-Sir!"

Drew pulled his son up to stand in front of him and gave him a searching look. Seeing none of the cockiness that had been there just minutes before, he nodded and pulled his son in to a brief hug. "Now that we've got that straightened out, you go on upstairs and take a shower. Get on up there," he said, pointing unnecessarily toward the stairs.

As his son went upstairs to do as he'd been told, Drew angrily snapped the ruler over his knee and threw the pieces onto his desk top before sitting and taking up his drink once again. He took several deep breaths to calm himself and took a sip of his whiskey. He'd never liked to punish his boy, but the kid had done more than step over the line this time.  He was hardly aware of it when his wife put a comforting arm around his shoulders. He took her hand and kissed it tenderly. 

“I heard…are you all right, honey?” she asked quietly, knowing how much her husband hated to chastise their son.

Drew looked up into his wife’s loving eyes. “Yes, I knew it was going to happen eventually, but I didn’t expect I’d have to do that so soon after he returned home,” he replied, thinking about the time shortly after boot camp when he'd done the same thing to his father. He'd never done it again, that was for sure.

She hugged him once more and nodded. “I’ve never known you to give Jimmy anything he didn’t deserve, Drew,” she said quietly.

<<<<>>>> 

James rubbed trying to get the fire out of his backside and limped up the stairs to take his shower as ordered.

Once the young man left the bathroom he dressed in comfortable sweat pants and a tee shirt and made his way back downstairs to seek out his father. His eyes were still red rimmed and his rear end hurt still, but he realized he had stepped way over the line and had earned everything he'd gotten. 

A thought occurred to him as he stepped off the last stair that this could be an effective discipline measure to keep in mind in the future if he ever got a command. It was short, to the point and got the message across in a very memorable way. He rubbed once more, grimacing with a rueful grin on his young face. He wondered for a fleeting moment if his grandfather had been a strict disciplinarian. Uncle Chet did as good a job at roasting his rump as his dad did.

James made his way to his father’s study once more and peeked inside.

Drew looked at his son as he saw him reappear and opened his arms. "Come here, little boy," he said gently.

The young man went to his father's arms without hesitation. "I'm really sorry, Dad...I had no call to act that way," he said with a smile and a little rueful chuckle as he cuddled into his father's strong arms.

Andrew pulled James gently toward the couch and down beside him, careful to avoid irritating what had to be a very sore backside. He put his arms around his son and pulled him in close, kissing him on the temple and apologizing as well. "I don't like to punish you, boy," Drew said quietly. "Let's not ever have to do this again, OK?"

The young man gave his father a wry smile. "At least not for a long time anyway," James added.

Drew nodded. “Yes, for a very long time,” he repeated dryly, continuing to cuddle the young man he would always consider his little boy, and vowed that he would never hesitate to correct ill behavior no matter how old or tough his son was.

<<<<>>>> 

James’s smoky blue eyes smiled as he finished the story. "So, Heath, when I was unwrapping my birthday presents, with a still aching bottom, I found this half of the ruler in a box, wrapped up so nicely and with the inscription 'Love Dad', and the date, so I kept it with my military things to remind me never to underestimate my dad and to remind me that he knew how to handle an ornery kid. After Jeff and I had become friends all those years ago, and were discussing discipline and the terms Top and Brat, I had told him the story," he added.  "It wasn’t one of my more stellar moments, but it also taught me that discipline such as we practice in our relationship and here at the resort was a positive thing, used lovingly and correctly it could be very effective." 

Heath smiled understandingly. "You're lucky you had such a great dad. I can see where you got your caring nature from," he said as he put an arm around his lover and drew him close for a kiss.

James smiled and returned the kiss. "Thank you, and now you understand why when I give you or any other Top the occasional swat, what it’s all about."

Heath smiled and laid his head on James's shoulder with a sigh of contentment.

Mutt, who had been doing some gardening nearby and who had heard the entire story, grinned and stifled a laugh. Before he could be discovered, he stealthily ran off, savoring the flavor of the story, planning to return at a later time to finish the job. In the meantime, he had to go somewhere to let out the laughter before he burst.

James looked at Heath. "I thought I heard something...did you?"

Heath looked around and shrugged. "Probably a squirrel," he said as he leaned back toward James to put his head back on his shoulder.

“Probably," James chuckled as he cuddled Heath, relishing the one on one time they had together. It wasn't as much as he would like sometimes, but it was difficult to get time with each of his partners alone. He wouldn't give up their threesome for all the world however, he loved both his partners with his whole heart. They made him feel content and complete for the first time in his life

<<<<>>>> 

Authors note: The legal drinking age at the time of this story in the state of Colorado was 18, but was changed to 21 in 1987.