Nico felt an unsettling sense of foreboding rise in the pit of his stomach as he was pulled over Will's lap.

The reason for which might seem obvious as his brother pulled down his pants but…

Nico flinched as the first hit landed. Yikes that was hard.

But the thing was, Will always lectured him before putting him over his knee. Or he would berate him while doing it. He always made sure to tell Nico exactly what he did wrong before punishing him.

But on this occasion, the only precursor to his spanking had been silence. Even more disturbing, Will hadn't even seemed mad while doing it. Usually he bent Nico over in a spur of anger when tempers reached the surface. But this odd calm demeanor told Nico Will had been sitting on his anger for a while. This wasn't a flash of righteous rage but a cold, calculated fury.

Nico winced hard as he received another hit. Will really wasn't going easy on him this time around. Which, Nico supposed, wasn't truly a surprise but there were few times he could remember really being hurt after a spanking.

Ouch! Nico gasped at the sting then gritted his teeth at the way Will didn't even give him a second but continued his assault with a continuous row of spanks, only amplifying the sting. His skin must be turning a serious red by now, the color sure to linger for a while. Nico could almost feel the heat the skin of his backside must be giving off.

And still, Will did not falter.

Nico let out a broken shuddering gasp as he received his what? 20th? 30th slap? He'd lost count. Had it been five minutes? He'd lost all ability to judge time.

Nico bit back a whimper and wondered if Will was trying to make him cry. Was he expecting an apology? Was he waiting for him to beg?

The next hit was particularly harsh and sent him crying out before he could even attempt to rein himself in.

"Fuck! Will! Jesus."

"Why did you do it?" Will's voice came out flat and demanding. Almost like he'd been waiting this whole time for Nico to break the silence first so he could ask that question.

"Wha-?" Will's unforgiving hand came down hard making Nico jump and rush to answer, "I don't know!"

"Do you know how scared I was?" Smack. "Do you even care!?"

Nico felt himself at a loss for the way Will's voice broke in anger. His tone was filled with pure beseeching, and painful despair.

And he felt shame. For the first time in a very long time, Nico felt ashamed to have put the threat of tears in his brother's voice.

Slap. "How would you feel if I risked my life so carelessly? Huh? What if I put a gun to my head and played Russian roulette?"

Nico's heart jumped in fear at the notion. "Will, I didn't-"

"Don't you care about how I'd feel if you were gone? How mom and dad would feel? You-you gamble your life like it doesn't matter, you have no idea how much it matters to me!" Big gasps of breath were now being drawn between each word and Nico knew Will was on the verge of crying. He had never felt less worthy of his brother.

Smack! "How can you be so selfish?"

"Will, stop!" Nico sat up and grabbed his hands. "I'm sorry! Okay? I'm really, really sorry." Nico met his teary gaze head on, clear pleading in his eyes. He needed his brother to believe him. He had never been more sorry of anything in his life. A pit had opened in his stomach and his heart had dropped into it. Nico didn't deserve his brother. He'd always thought so but he'd never felt it more than in this moment. He'd hurt Will, more than he could fathom and if the drugs wouldn't kill him than the guilt surely would.

Will gasped and grabbed Nico in a tight hug. He buried his face in the slighter boy's shoulder, crushed him to his chest. He hadn't realized how much last night's incident had affected him. How deeply it had scared him.

They stayed locked in an embrace for a long time as Will got his breathing under control and the hitch finally disappeared from his voice. Finally he released Nico, feeling much calmer as he met his eyes.

"Okay, here's what's going to happen." Will paused but Nico didn't feel any of his earlier apprehension. He would take whatever punishment Will gave him. Nico was sure it would fall far short of what he deserved.

"You will stay close by me at all times when we're outside. I'm talking- you don't leave my sight- is that clear?" Nico nodded and Will continued. "By outside, I primarily mean school because as of now you are effectively grounded unless I say otherwise." Will took in their position of Nico still sitting on his lap. "And I'll be punishing you every day," he added bluntly.

Nico's heart jumped as his eyes widened. It was obvious what Will meant by "punish."

"For how long?"

Will stared at him steadily. "Until I decide it's enough." Nico couldn't muster the courage to question him more on that.

"And, most importantly," Will shifted his brother into a more comfortable position. "We are going to talk. Everyday. At least half an hour. And when I ask you something, I expect you to answer me honestly. I expect a real, genuine answer, okay? No "yes" or "no's," no deflecting, no "I don't know's." Nico, I expect you to try." He gently grabbed his brother's shoulders and looked deeply into his eyes. "This punishment doesn't end until you do."

Will's eyes were sincere. Nico bit his lip and reluctantly nodded. The blonde kissed him on the forehead and then adjusted him to stand up. Nico winced at the contact on his sensitive backside. That was going to hurt for a while.

And for a long time afterwards, Nico realized as Will retreated to the kitchen. He'd almost forgotten Will's promise of spanking him daily.

Jeez, how was he going to sit at a desk on Monday? Nico felt a slight frisson of apprehension at the thought of his open ended punishment. He'd never been punished over a continuous period of time before. Surely, it couldn't last more than a week?

This punishment doesn't end until you do.