Swapping Stories

(Wrap-up to Body Paint)

Co-written by: Jo, Carol, Mel and LJ

Characters: Kadyn, Kyler, Rene, Cameron, Billy, and Jason


“I hope most the guys are here, Vince,” Kadyn declared as Vincent drove into the small lot next to Billy’s garage. “There’s Rene’s car and Kyler’s. But then they left them here yesterday, so that isn’t necessarily a sign that they’ve returned for the clean-up yet.”

“If they haven’t, I am sure they’ll be here soon. Meanwhile, out you go and I’ll be back to pick you up when I get your call.” With that, Vincent leaned over and kissed his partner’s cheek. “For heaven’s sake, try to stay out of trouble.” He sounded stern but Kadyn saw the twinkle in his eye.

Kadyn hopped out and stood to one side, waving goodbye. Just as Vincent pulled away, Chad’s Ranger appeared and Cameron was dropped off.

“Hi,” Cameron greeted. He was not happy. Sunday was a Chad/Cameron day and he’d lost the argument to keep it that way. Chad’s comment of ‘You helped make the mess, now you help clean it’ ended the conversation.

“Hi, yourself; I see you’re no longer a ‘tiger’,” Kadyn laughed as the two of them walked towards the building. He held open the door for the other man to enter and followed him. “Guess we’re the last to arrive,” Kadyn needlessly announced when they saw Billy, Rene, Kyler, and Jason standing there.

Cameron looked around and scowled slightly. “I thought we cleaned up this place,” he exclaimed, seeing the cans and bottles of empty and half-empty beer strewn around the garage. He saw containers of paint and the odd sponge or two discarded in the corners.

Billy looked sourly at him. “This place is a mess,” he replied. “I guess being drunk doesn’t help when you’re cleaning.”

“Nah, we were probably seeing double so we just clean up the wrong mess,” Jay commented with a grin. As he bent over to pick up a pile of brushes, he winced when his jean tightened up around his very sore backside. ‘This is going to be so much fun,’ he thought as he stood up in a hurry.

“Well the longer we stand around talking about it, the longer it will take to clean up,” Kyler added his two-cents worth. “And I don’t know about you guys, but I got plans later.” He grabbed up carton and started putting empty beer bottles in it. His rear end was still causing him some discomfort and that slowed down his movements.

“Well to be fair to ourselves, guys, we did plan on returning here after our ‘marketing research’.” Rene added a somewhat sarcastic laugh. “After all, none of us exactly planned on being arrested when we left.”

As he joined in the picking up, Rene made his way over to Kadyn and quietly asked, “You get in a lot of trouble with Vincent?” He emphasized his question with a discrete rub over his backside. “Zack wasn’t too impressed with me being arrested, though he did like the art work.”

Kadyn sent his friend a faint grimace. “Like isn’t that a given? Vince thought you did a grand job of the painting though. Once he calmed down enough to actually look at it. And I really appreciate all the hard work you did.” He stuffed another bit of trash into the bag he was holding. “Wonder who’s gonna get roped into cleaning the shower? We shouldn’t have to, ‘cause we didn’t use it.”

Billy noticed Jay’s expression when he bent over and decided to give his friend a break. “Cameron,” he called over to the younger man. “We used the shower, so I think we should be the ones to unclog it. Jay, why don’t you clean up the workbench?” he suggested.

Cameron opened his mouth and then closed it again. He was already annoyed at his usual Sunday with Chad being interrupted, but after his argument with his lover this morning, he had resolved to get the cleaning done as quickly as humanly possible. Arguing would only add to the time he had to spend in the garage. He was wearing a loose pair of sweats, so the pain he felt when he bent to help Billy was not obvious to the casual observer.

Billy kept silent as he and Cameron worked on the shower. The sting he had felt after Mason spanked him had all but disappeared. He knew Jay was hurting and a couple of the others were moving slower than they had the previous day and Billy wondered how the hell he’d been let off so easy.

Kyler stepped closer to the shower enclosure. “You guys doing okay? Did your partners enjoy your artwork?” He knew he couldn’t have been the only one to get in trouble, but he wasn’t about to come right out and ask.

Cameron smiled as he straightened up. “Chad loved the tiger, but made sure he made his displeasure known about the streaking,” His hand unconsciously strayed towards his butt. “He said if I ever did something like that again, he’d use a hairbrush.”

Billy couldn’t help but respond to that. “Speaking from experience, I wouldn’t push your partner. A paddle or the back of a hairbrush hurts a hell of a lot more than a hand. And if you see a wooden spoon come out, beg.” He grinned at the other two men.

Kyler looked from one to the other. “Patrick liked the designs on my body, but like Chad, had plenty to say about the streaking. Hugh doesn’t know anything about yesterday yet. He’s been in Vancouver since Friday.”

“So if Patrick dealt with it, do you think Hugh is going to continue the discussion?” Cameron asked.

“Two Tops,” Billy muttered. “I really can’t get my head around it.”

“Nah, I don’t think so. Patrick only used his hand and didn’t threaten me with anything else.”

“I got off pretty easy,” Billy admitted. “I fully expected the paddle; instead he spanked me. It stung for a couple of hours, but I can sit comfortably today, which is really unusual.” Billy was not going to continue and say he was slightly sore for a whole different reason.

“Maybe you did get off easy, but Jay sure looks like he didn’t,” Kyler commented, feeling bad for the other man. “Oh, and having two Tops does have its’ advantages.” He smirked at his friends.

“Jack is pretty strict,” Billy replied. “And Jay was on an alcohol restriction, so he was in double jeopardy.”

“Ouch,” Cameron winced. “I’m guessing no one got grounded. I truly thought I wouldn’t be allowed out until I was thirty. Chad is pretty laid back but he does have limits.”

Kyler shrugged his shoulders. “I know I’m not grounded, but I can’t speak for anyone else. Hmm, I wonder if being grounded would have got us out of our community service next weekend.”

Both Cameron and Billy laughed and without looking at each other chorused, “No way!”

“I don’t mind doing my fair share of the cleaning up; I just wish we didn’t have to do it today. I’d much rather have spent it with my partner......partners when Hugh gets home this afternoon.”

“You and me both,” Cameron griped. “Sunday is a day Chad and I spend together, but he insisted I had to do my part. After last night, I wasn’t going to push the issue.” He looked at Billy who was looking a little annoyed at the discussion. “I’m sorry, Billy, but the truth is the truth.”

“If I had to do this myself, I’d be here all bloody day, mate. Besides, it wasn’t my idea to get together; it was Mason’s.”

“I guess what makes it worse is that we won’t be able to make plans for next Sunday either,” Kyler reminded them.

“Oh shit!” Cameron leaned back against the wall and when his butt advised him this wasn’t wise, he yelped.

“Well less talk will go a long way in getting this mess taken care of faster. I’ll leave you guys to it and get more bottles packed up,” Kyler offered and turned to make his way back to the main area of the garage.

“He’s talking sense,” Cameron said and turned back to the shower. Billy shrugged and knelt down with the drain cleaner in hand.

Rene sighed as he knelt to scrub some paint splatters off the floor. Though his backside wasn’t really sore, it was still a bit tender and bending like this irritated it. He put his hands back to adjust his pants over the sensitive skin. At the same moment he glanced over at Jason and caught him rubbing at his own butt. When their eyes met Rene thought he saw recognition dawn in the other man’s face.

Kadyn’s eyes followed Rene’s and he saw his expression when the other man clued in to Jason’s predicament. “Psst, Rene. You get the feeling we’re not the only ones dealing with tender butts?” He kept his voice lowered as he knelt down to help his friend with the paint removal. Looking towards the shower, he raised a questioning eyebrow. “What do you think the possibilities are that we’re all in the same boat?”

Rene kept his voice soft as he replied. “I’m beginning to wonder if we need a bigger boat.”

“Hmm,” Kadyn softly chuckled. “Maybe we should really consider starting that Brats’ Support Group after all, Rene. There just might be more of us here in Jade Heights. I mean, who’d a thought there’d be six of us to begin with?” Kadyn softly spoken comments immediately had him and his friend laughing uproariously. They were unaware of Jason staring at them.

Jay couldn’t help but over hear the laughter and wonder about the conversation that was going on between the two men several feet away from him. He felt his face burn when he realized Rene saw him rub his backside, wishing now he wore a pair of shorts or sweats to do the clean up in.

“Is there something about me you guys find funny?” he questioned. He couldn’t help but think that maybe his sore butt had provided their entertainment.

“Funny? We don’t find anything funny, just well...familiar,” Rene assured.

“We didn’t mean anything by it, Jay. We were talking about what we guessed is the state of affairs for all of us here,” Kadyn apologetically offered. He stepped back and bumped into an oil drum he hadn’t noticed behind him. “Oww!” he yelped and rubbed at the seat of his sweats as a tell-tale blush spread over his cheeks. “Told ya,” he grinned when Jason smirked at him.

Jason relaxed when he realized he and Billy were not the only ones in their special kind of relationship. “Try this, Rene; it cleans up anything. It will easily take care of that larger spill.” He handed Rene a can of cleaning agent.

Rene took the offered can and began to work with it. “Thanks, Jay, this is a lot easier. I’m gonna be glad to be done with this so I can get home soon.”

Bending down so he could help with the larger spill, Jason gave Rene a shy grin. “Works for me.”

“All the beer bottles are picked up, boxed and ready to cash in. Billy should get a tidy sum for all of them from the exchange depot,” Kyler informed them as he put the last filled carton on the pile by the front door.

“You wanna help me with these tarps, Kyler?” Kadyn requested and smiled when the other man nodded. He handed two corners to one of the awkward items to Kyler and they folded them up in a manner similar to folding bed sheets, before returning all six to the shelves where they were usually kept.

With that job out of the way, Kyler merrily commented, “Looks like we’re just about finished in here.”

His announcement coincided with Billy and Cameron coming out of the now cleaned shower area. Rene’s sigh of relief could be heard when he muttered that he’d finally got all the paint off the floor.

It hadn’t taken as long as the guys feared for the garage to be back to its’ original state. Most their personal belongings had been put in their cars and five of the young men were presently standing out of the way so Billy could back in the vehicles he would be working on tomorrow.

“While I’d admit to being a little scared at the cop shop and that I could have happily survived without Vincent walloping my butt, this whole painting thing has been a blast.” Kadyn grinned broadly as he packed his camera into his backpack with his clothes from yesterday. He straightened up and slung the bag over his shoulder. The youngest of those present, he was in all likelihood also the most ingenuous and care-free. His energetic, devil-may-care attitude resulted in him literally thriving on mischief. “We gotta do this again someday.”

“Minus the streaking and spanking thing,” Cameron dryly replied. “I really don’t have a death wish and Chad’s hairbrush can stay right where it is.”

Billy overheard Cameron as he got out of one of the trucks. “Your partner only uses his hand?” he asked curiously. “Mason introduced me to a paddle pretty early.” He was fascinated by other people in discipline partnerships. It had been a new idea to him when Mason had suggested it.

“I not only got introduced to the paddle, I got it last night,” Jay admitted softly. “I got the belt once and never want to feel it again.” He trembled slightly as he remembered it.

“So far, neither of my Tops has used an implement to punish me. But Hugh does have a paddle,” Kyler added matter-of-factly, “and has told me he’d use it if I endangered myself or someone else.”

“Vincent also only uses his hand; which I might add, can do some damage. I think I’d be running for the hills if he came near me with anything else.” Kadyn shuddered at the mere thought of his Top using a paddle.

“I never thought about implements much,” Rene added. “But I don’t think Zack would ever use one. Besides, his hand is way hard enough, thank you!” He shook his head in amazement as he looked around the room. “I just can’t believe we all have Tops for partners. I mean what are the odds? Must be something in the water!”

“I don’t know,” Kyler laughed. “After all, Patrick, Mason and Jackson are all from around here, while, Hugh, Zack, Vincent and Chad are from other parts of the country. What I find interesting is how all these relationships came into being. I mean how did the six of us even agree to our partners disciplining us in the first place?”

“Vincent and me never really discussed it much. He just kinda told me it was the way it had to be and I was okay with it. I figured it was either that or Vincent being on Valium most days. So the big guy took on the job of teaching me to be less impulsive. Course, he’s dreaming big time and probably doomed to failure. I keep telling him intense thinking gives me a headache and I try to steer clear of it whenever possible.” True to form, Kadyn was unable to take himself or life overly serious.

“When the subject first came up, my partners and I discussed it into the ground. But the final decision was mine and I wasn’t coerced into it in any way. My two guys help me stay focused. If it wasn’t for Hugh and Patrick, I’d more than likely still be at university trying to finish my degree. In addition, they also make me feel safe and cared for,” Kyler softly commented. All and all, he considered himself rather fortunate.

“Chad and I didn’t really discuss it. He just said he was a Top and head of our household, pure and simple. I’d done some reading and realised I wanted that kind of relationship. So we just developed ours around those principles. Recently he suggested we could stop it, but I really objected. I mean I hate being spanked but it makes me feel safe to know he’ll call me on my behaviour.” Cameron felt the men around him would understand those feelings. Thinking of Chad, made him realize he wanted to get home and figured it was as good a time as any to let his partner know he was ready to be picked up.

Rene, feeling emboldened by the others, decided to add his story. “Zack told me up front he believed a family worked better when there was a definite head of house who makes the final decisions. He also told me he believed strongly in discipline relationships, cuz he’d seen them work. Growing up in my family there was a lot of yelling and fighting. I didn’t want to live like that, so I figured Zack’s idea had to be better. Now that I’m living it, I can honestly say he was right.”

Billy laughed. “Mason and I talked about it and I agreed to it. I was working really hard burning the candles at both ends and he reigned me in; made sure I didn’t burn myself out. He’d been involved in DP’s before, so I just asked as many questions as I wanted. And it was partly my decision to allow the paddle for serious offences.”

“I’d once been in an abusive DP,” Jay informed his friends. “Jack wanted a DP and I wanted to give it another try, so we agreed to do it. Pretty simple,” he grinned.

“Well I don’t know about the rest of you, but I wanna get home ASAP. Hugh is due back soon and I’d like to be there when he arrives.” Kyler grabbed up his armful of personal belongings. “Just wish he had been around to see the neat paint job you did on me, Rene.”

Rene laughed. “I’m glad you liked the art, if not the consequences!”

“Hey, Kyler, if you give me a lift home and can spare a few minutes, I’ll burn all the pictures we took yesterday onto a CD for you,” Kadyn generously suggested. “Then you can show them to Hugh. I just have to give Vince a call to let him know he doesn’t have to come get me. I’ll make copies for everyone else during the week and hand them out next weekend.”

“Thanks, Kadyn, I’ll gladly take you up of your offer. Geesh, I almost forgot about the community service again. Nuts, that’ll be another Sunday shot to hell.” Kyler started heading for his car. “So long, everyone; see you all next Saturday bright and early.”

“Chad’s here, so I’m heading out now too, guys,” Cameron announced as he followed behind Kyler. “See you at the lounge tomorrow, buddy.”

“You bet,” Kyler responded, opening the driver’s door of his car. “You coming, Kadyn?” he hollered.

“Yeah, yeah, be right there! See you at the shop for coffee , Rene.” Kadyn smiled at his friend and then turned to run after Kyler, pausing long enough to shout over his shoulder. “Thanks for the use of your garage, Billy. Bye all!”

“No worries,” Billy called back. “Let’s get together again sometime.”

“I’d like that, now we all know we have something in common to talk about,” Rene added with a laugh. “I’d better go too. Zack’s waiting for me. Bye!”

“Well, looks like there’s just the two of us left. I want to hang around and tinker if it’s all right with you,” Jason said as he watched Billy lock up.

“Great! Then I won’t be working on my truck alone. You know, Kadyn’s right……this weekend was a blast!” Billy added with a wide grin. “Yep, we really gotta do it again sometime.”

The End