Hayday

Noah doesn't rush them, letting them cling until they've regained their composure. He strokes their hair, hums quietly, and holds them close until they eventually pull away of their own volition. Koda pulls away first, and scrubbing the remaining tears from his face as he steps back. Walter takes an extra minute, face pressed against the familiar plaid chest. He appreciates that Noah must have taken a moment to change his shirt because though the farm manager still smells like fresh hay and sweat and tractor exhaust, there's no awful scratchy hay under Walter's face.

When he pulls back with a quivering breath, Noah tilts his chin up and studies his face. Walter isn't sure what the man is looking for, but he must find it, because he nods with the tiniest of smiles and then releases him.

Koda's walked over to the corner where he shed the clothes from his bottom half, but when he picks up his boxers, Noah clears his throat. Both boys look up; Walter feeling like the floor has dropped out from under him - surely they are done now? Even the idea of getting spanked anymore kind of makes him want to die. Koda, a few feet away, looks on the verge of spitting fire.

"You can put them on, but you'll just have to take them right back off." Noah says in a voice that they both find entirely too reasonable.

"Why?" Walter doesn't have the bravery to ask, but Koda does, raising his chin belligerently as he does. Thankfully, for Koda's seared rear end anyway, Noah has a pretty high level of tolerance for sass and brattiness. Not over his knee, at all, or right before a spanking, but he seems to have decided they've paid their dues to him and he just shakes his head at Koda's attitude.

"Your slate is clean with me," Noah crosses his arms over his chest. "But you have one more conversation to have, boys."

Walter looks over at Koda, who's frowning but doesn't appear to have the answer. When he meets Walter's eyes, he tilts his head and makes a gesture that obviously indicates he thinks it's Walter's turn to ask, but it turns out he doesn't have to.

There's a light knock on the door. "That's probably him," Noah says and then calls, "Come in."

The door swings open, and they're blinking at Auggie. His hair is wet, he must have showered when they finished unloading the hay, and he has a small duffle swung over his shoulder. Reluctantly, Walter focuses on his face - and yeah, he doesn't look happy.

"But…" Walter looks from Auggie to know and then snaps his gaze back to the older boy, who has closed the door and is approaching the desk. "You already spanked us!"

"When you decided to risk your necks in the barn, was it me you were deliberately disobeying?" Noah asks sternly.

"N-no, but…" Walter can't look at Auggie again. He doesn't want to know if his friend is disappointed and mad, or just mad. Koda has no such problem, picking up the thread of thought.

"He's not my top," the brat declares, and then to Walter's shock, stomps his foot. "I don't have to listen to him!"

Eyebrows shoot up on the faces of both tops, and Walter kind of wishes he was close enough to step on Koda's foot, and maybe keep him from shoving it in his mouth any further. Because after a year under Noah's supervision, he should know that's not how the farm manager runs things. They do a lot of dangerous jobs on the farm, and Noah expects his workers to observe the hierarchy of newer workers minding the directives of older workers. That includes a tactic approval of those older workers doling out swats here and there as needed. Sometimes even a full spanking, if the pair have that sort of relationship (Walter had been spanked on shift by his AP, Roscoe, before), but usually more serious issues are brought back to Noah.

Likewise, Walter knows the farm manager would absolutely hear out anyone who thought another worker was overstepping their bounds or taking advantage of the policy, but that is not this. This was Auggie giving the two of them a clear direction related to their safety that they both know they should have heeded, but instead they'd deliberately disobeyed him only moments after he left.

They have no defense, but that doesn't stop Koda, who starts to pull on his boxers. "Forget this," he spits. "I'm leaving."

Noah looks over their heads at Auggie. "I was pretty thorough," he says, as casually as if he's talking about the weather, "but as long as you stick to using your hand, you can take care of this little tantrum as well as what we talked about. Make sure you get them cleaned up before you bring them over for dinner, or Harley is likely to come after all of us for tracking hay in his clean house."

"Got it, boss," Auggie agrees, and Noah leaves, shutting the door behind himself. Koda has pulled his boxers all the way on now, and darts for the door himself. Before he can escape, Auggie is on his feet and snatches him by the arm, yanking him to a halt. Bypassing the task of pulling his boxers down, he lands a flurry of ringing open-handed smacks to the middle of Koda's thighs where skin is still exposed. It drives Koda up to dance on his toes, though he manages not to make any sound.

Spinning Koda around to face him, the newly-minted junior gives him a look that even secondhand makes Walter shiver. "Are you done with the tantrum, or would you like me to continue?"

Koda is tomato red from his hairline to where skin disappears into his shirt, but the way he winds his fingers nervously into the hem of said shirt is a sure tell that Koda's gotten through to him. "It's not fair," he whines softly. "We got spanked, and strapped. And Wally got paddled! Not fair for you to spank us again."

"What's not fair is that I told you not to do something that you very well know you shouldn't have been doing anyway, and then you did it as soon as my back turns," Auggie lectures. "What's not fair is that now I have to wonder if you'll listen if I tell you to do something for your safety while we're working, or if you'll do the opposite just for kicks and end up hurt. What's not fair is that I'm going to have to worry about whether we should work shifts together, or if we do, you'll just put yourself in danger to prove you don't have to listen to me."

Walter wants to cry again; his eyes are burning and he's pretty sure the tears would be flowing if he wasn't simply cried out.

"It wasn't…it wasn't like that, Auggie," Koda protests, sounding hurt. "You know it wasn't like that."

"If that is how it is, I'll take to the bossman about making sure we don't get scheduled together unless someone you will listen to is also on shift," Auggie continues without mercy, and Koda also looks on the very of tears. "The other option is that you were just being a naughty brat, and you didn't think about how dangerous it was until you got caught. And in that case, you need to settle up with me to make sure next time you'll stop and listen."

Auggie pauses, letting them sit with that, and then continues, "Which is it, Dakota? Did you deliberately disobey me to make a point that I'm not in charge of you, or were you being a naughty brat?"

All of the air has been sucked out of the room. Walter can't breathe. If Auggie had said that to him, he'd incinerate on the spot.

"The second one," Koda admits, scuffing his foot on the ground. Some tops would make him repeat the exact words, but Auggie just hmm's and pats his hip as he releases his arm, turning his laser gaze to Walter.

"What about you, Walter?" he asks, "Do I need to talk to Noah about our schedules, or were you also just being a naughty brat?"

"I…" Walter chokes, not looking at him. He's not a brat! He was bad, today, but he's not a brat. "I'm not…b-but I'm sorry!"

"You don't have to be a Brat by designation to be a naughty brat sometimes, little man," Auggie answers him, somehow both stern and gentle. "But I don't think you were trying to be a brat, you just got caught up in the mischief. I'm still going to give you a reminder of what happens to boys who make poor choices."

Walter can't help but nod. Unlike Koda, he never had any plans to kick off about something Noah had put his stamp of approval on. Auggie studies him for a bit longer, and then turns his attention back to Koda.

"Alright, brat, take these," he gives the waistband of the boy's boxers a little snap, "back off. You won't need them."

When giving him the best doe eyes he can manage doesn't get anything except a single finger held up, Koda slowly strips his boxers back off with a whine. Auggie takes them, and then leaves the two of them waiting in front of Noah's desk as he gathers and folds their jeans and underwear and puts them in his duffle. Sliding the strap back over his shoulder, he reaches out and takes each of them by the hand.

"Let's go then."

There's nothing quite like being led by the hand, bare-bottomed, down the hall to your uncertain fate to put you in your place. Walter is acutely aware of his every breath, and Auggie's, and barely keeps from tripping over his own bare feet as they walk. If it was the school year, with the possibility of anyone walking in to see them, he doesn't think he'd be able handle it, but as it is, there are only a handful of them on the farm for the summer and most of them have seen his bare bottom, in various states.

Auggie releases them again to push open the door to the locker room. Perhaps one of the best things to be added to the farm when they built the new office and classroom space, the central space is shared between men and women, offering two long rows of benches between two walls of lockers where students can keep farm and riding gear and stash street clothes while they're on the farm. At either end of the bank of lockers are two gender-neutral smaller rooms, each containing a toilet, a sink, a sturdy chair, and a shower.

They're ushered across to the closest one. There's water on the floor, indicating someone had showered here recently. Auggie drops his bag on the chair and turns to consider them; Walter must look as anxious as he feels, because the older boy says, "Walter, you first. Let's get you settled. Shirt off. Koda, nose in the corner."

Like almost every room on campus, a corner has been left conspicuously empty. Without protest, Koda trudges over and plants himself there, hands clasped behind his back. While Walter drags his gross shirt - full of dried sweat and bristly hay bits - over his head, Auggie turns on the shower, holding his hand under the spray until he's satisfied with the temperature.

"Good boys," he says when he looks over and they've both followed directions exactly. "Into the shower and get clean." Later, Walter thinks he might be horrified that this is the first circumstance under which his crush has seen him naked, but right now, Auggie is so straightforward about it, it feels like no big deal.

He inches past the older boy, half expecting a swat as he does, and slides into the warm spray. It's not hot - and that is a kindness from Auggie, because he has enough experience to know a hot shower would be unbearable on his well-spanked rear - but it feels like heaven to wash away the grime of the day. Even so, he lets out an embarrassing squeak at the way even the lukewarm water increases the sting down there. So ready to be done with the whole experience, he washes as quickly as he can. When he pokes his head out, tentatively, Auggie is holding one of the big fluffy towels they keep stocked in the cabinets under the sink and he holds it out.

Another small mercy, he lets Walter dry himself. He does so quickly, and then looks around for his shirt, which is nowhere to be found.

"Here," Auggie pulls something out of the duffle, and hands that over. "This is what you'll be wearing tonight, trouble. Get them on and go take Koda's place in the corner."

As they make the handoff, the bundle unrolls, and any blush Walter might have gotten rid of returns full force. He's holding a blue, zip-front fleece onesie. The kind with the feet attached. Still, it's better than being naked. He slips into it, appreciating that it's soft and loose enough to not rub against his sore bottom, and then he pads quietly over to tap Koda on the shoulder and take his place.

He can hear Auggie giving Koda basically the same instructions - strip, get in the shower, the other bottom gets a sharp warning not to dawdle - but it feels far away, almost underwater. Walter feels kind of floaty, but not in the bad panic-attack sort of way. This is something different. It's kind of…nice. He lets himself sink into it, and everything else fades away.

When he resurfaces, he finds himself cuddled on Auggie's lap, Koda nowhere to be seen. Somehow, they've migrated back to Noah's office. Clumsily he struggles to sit up, but Auggie's arms tighten around him, not allowing him to fall or to stand. "Easy, Walter, easy. Take a minute. You crashed pretty hard just now, Wally."

"I passed out?" He asks, confused, but lets himself be gathered back up against Auggie's chest. He doesn't want to be anywhere else, even if he does feel a little guilty that he's getting this snuggle and his friend doesn't realize he's harboring more-than-friendly feelings.

"No, you didn't pass out. I do think you were pretty far in subspace though."

Walter stiffens. "But…we didn't…you were punishing me," he protests. He can't have gone into subspace! Subspace is for playing, and for…intimate relationships. He tries again to get off of Auggie's lap, unsuccessfully; he can't have done that! Auggie will never want to try dating him now. Desperately, he cries, "I'm sorry!"

"Woah, hold on. You have nothing to be sorry for. I was disciplining you, and you were being a very good boy. I'm not surprised you dropped, Walter." When that doesn't do anything but make him more confused, holding himself as far away from Auggie as he can, the older boy sighs and turns him around on his lap. "Can you look at me, Wally? That's it, good boy. Now listen to me. I'm not sure what you've been told, but subspace is not just a sex thing. Some bottoms never go into subspace. Others do occasionally, and some bottoms who are submissives need to go under frequently."

"But regardless of if it's a want or a need, what sends someone to subspace is different for each person. Some people it's linked to sex, yes, but for others it's just being able to do what their partner asks of them, or for some it might be just a good hard spanking. Everyone's different, and there is absolutely no shame in it, do you understand me?"

"I guess?" Walter wants to believe him, because that would mean he didn't do anything wrong. And he wants to trust whatever Auggie says because, well, because he's Auggie. In his heart though, he doesn't quite trust that it's true. Maybe Auggie thinks that's how it works, but not all tops are as kind and understanding.

"We'll work on it," the other boy says with a crooked smile. "How are you feeling now? Still fuzzy, shaky?"

"No," Walter shakes his head. "I feel, um, normal."

"If that changes, I need you to tell someone, okay? It doesn't have to be me. You can tell Roscoe, or Professor Sparks, or the bossman, or Coach if you want. But if you're not used to subspace, you might get droppy, and if you do, you need to let someone help you."

When he pauses, Walter nods his agreement and says, "Okay."

"Let's finish up and go get some dinner then. I'm going to put you over my knee, and spank you with my hand. Just a little reminder about listening."

Auggie waits, and when Walter doesn't protest, deftly lifts him and returns him to his lap face-down. There's a moment where he thinks his last spanking is going to be delivered over the soft, thick, fleece; that is, until he hears a zipper and groans out loud. They are dropseat pajamas. Where Auggie got them in his size - and, presumably, Koda's - on such short notice is a mystery he doesn't think he'll ever be brave enough to solve.

And then he doesn't think about it anymore, because Auggie's hand is falling, crisply, all over the exposed skin. His fourth - fourth! - spanking of the day doesn't last long. Auggie spanks just long and hard enough to relight the fire in his behind and leave him breathless, squirming, and very sorry. Then he's scooped up to stand between the top's legs and hugged close.

"Drop seat stays down for the night," Auggie says in his ear. "And then the two of you will be in these or your uniform bottoms at work for the rest of the week. Stay out of trouble, and that's it. If you get into trouble before the week's up, someone will spank you and you can go the rest of that day flap down."

Walter shivers, but for some reason, the whole idea isn't awful. Having that reminder all week and the boundaries firmly re-established feels…good. He's equally as sure that Koda is furious, but he's not.

It's also really nice to walk from the office over to the big farm house with his hand in Auggie's. When the older boy releases him just inside the front door with a friendly pat to his bottom and a warning to, "Stay out of trouble tonight, Wally,", he feels an empty feeling creeping in. Sticking close to the wall, he follows a trail of cheerful noise to the living room, where the summer crew is splayed out over chairs, couches, and the floor in a chaotic and yet somehow inviting manner.

He spots Koda, sporting an open-butt-flap onesie of his own (though Koda's is, fittingly, black), laying face-down as close as he can get to Nath, who is lazily running his hand up and down the other freshman's back. Koda's AP had gone home unexpectedly after the first semester, leaving the brat spinning; their RA had stepped up, filling that space for the rest of the year, and he's one of the few Tops Koda doesn't challenge just for the fun of it.

Sweeping his gaze over the other six or seven farm kids sprawled across the room, he stops short on Roscoe, who has snagged a coveted spot in a big squishy armchair on the edge of the group. His (former) AP is watching him intently, and when they lock eyes, he crooks a finger imperiously. The universal 'come-hither' is not to be ignored. Walter skirts around the edge of the group, behind the couches. He hesitates just before reaching Roscoe, but the other boy gives an affectionate huff and yanks him into his lap, where he squirms to get into a position that puts the least amount of pressure on his bum.

Roscoe squeezes him tight in the way he knows Walter loves, holding it for several breaths. It's long enough for Walter to relax, settling fully back into his body. That's when Roscoe leans down to speak quietly into his ear, words just for Walter. "You know, Wally, if you needed to make sure someone was still paying attention to you, you could have just asked for a maintenance spanking. It would have been a lot less painful than goading Noah to get the strap out."

"I didn't…" he starts to protest, but not wanting to lie, he has to revise to, "I didn't think that's what I was doing. It wasn't on purpose."

Roscoe just chuckles and hugs him again. "You might wanna start thinking, kid, or it's going to be a long summer." He's quiet long enough for Walter to let his guard down, and then adds wickedly, whispered directly into his ear: "How was your first trip over August's knee, then?"

"Shut up!" Walter thinks his head against Roscoe's shoulder. There it is. The mortifying embarrassment. He'd forgotten, briefly, until Roscoe teased him about it. "Not here. If you must know, you busybody, you can ask me later."

Roscoe's laugh is silent, but Walter can feel it. He wants to be mad, crosses his arms over his chest to pretend, but really he just feels warm - and loved - and seen. A year ago he would never have guessed how great it would be have a big brother, but it's really special. Even if that big brother has an abhorrent habit of turning Walter over his knee and teaching lessons through his butt, Walter wouldn't trade him for anything.