Hearing a car pull up, Richie slowly climbed to his feet and walked over to
the gangway. He watched Duncan pay the taxi driver, grab his bags and walk
towards the barge. One look at his face and it was clear that his playmate'
s father had kept his promise to track Tessa down.
"Hi Mac, Where's Tessa?" Richie tried for a cheery smile and breezy manner. It was worth a try.
"At the Gallery, trying to calm down the owner. We need to talk. Now Inside". Said Duncan as he stalked past him.
Maybe not.
"Look Mac, I really can explain." Richie said, following the Highlander down the steps.
"I can't wait to hear it." Was Duncan's inevitable response as he dumped the bags and turned to face the agitated boy behind him. "You can start by telling me where my car is." He was obviously trying to stay calm.
"Could we maybe start with an easier question?"
"RICHIE!" But not succeeding.
With both hands out in front of him, as much for protection as anything else, Richie launched into speech before the Highlander could reach for his sword. Something he was clearly considering.
"Its not as bad as it seems Mac. It's perfectly safe. I. .Er.just...I.Er...Just.. don't know exactly where it is."
Duncan took a deep breath. He hadn't expected this to be easy but it was obviously going to be even harder than he'd thought.
"Rich. Just tell me what happened. Ok?"
And so Richie explained. And explained again. And again. He tried to get Duncan to see that it really wasn't as insane as it appeared at first sight and that, when taken individually, everything he'd done really had made perfect sense. It was just if you insisted on looking at the evening as a whole that it started to seem reasonable to question his sanity.
Duncan, however, became stuck on one question. And it was the question Richie was least able to answer.
"But why? That's the bit I don't get. Why?"
"Well I guess I was bored and a bit lonely and, well it seemed like a good idea at the time."
"Why didn't you come with us? You were invited after all."
"Oh come on Mac. I don't fit in with those sort of people. They'd just have spent the weekend counting the silver or something. You know that."
"You fit it with us don't you? And you'd get along perfectly well with them if you'd only give them a chance. Rich, if you were having these sorts of problems, why didn't you talk to us?"
Duncan really did seem to be trying to get to the bottom of the whole mess and help. The problem was, that that just rubbed Richie's vulnerability raw and he lost his head and blew up.
"And you'd have done what exactly? Asked everyone to be extra nice to your poor little street kid? Well no thanks Mac, I don't need that sort of help. And anyway, you and Tessa have your own life. You don't want to be bothered like that with me."
"So let's get this straight. You didn't want to bother us. You'd prefer to drive around Paris getting drunk, picking fights in bars and almost getting picked up by the police. You didn't think we cared enough to even try and talk to us? After everything we've been through you still didn't think we'd care." If Duncan had been angry before he was now absolutely furious. He advanced on the boy and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.
Richie tried to back away but he was already up against the wall and there was just no-where to go. He found himself being dragged, struggling and yelling across the floor.
"Heh! Lemme go. What are you doing?"
On reaching the couch Duncan turned towards him. Holding the boy by both shoulders and in a voice all the more frightening for being calm and quiet said.
"I'm going to prove to you once and for all just how much we care about you and how important you are to us."
With that, he sat down pulling the stunned Richie face down across his lap.
For once Richie's famed motor mouth failed him. He simply couldn't believe what was happening. His wail of "Maaaaaaac?" was cut off with a squawk as his friend's hand connected sharply with the seat of his jeans.
However, realisation quickly set in as Duncan proceeded to soundly spank him and he tried frantically to struggle free, kicking and screaming and swearing. But the Highlander was just too big and his determination to see this lesson home once and for all was just too strong. As Duncan concentrated on covering every inch of his backside, the threats and swearing slowly gave way to inarticulate grunts and cries as Richie became more concerned with not sobbing like a baby or being sick.
Hearing the change and feeling that the kid had probably had as much as he could take Duncan finished and allowed Richie to slip off onto his own knees. Then, grabbing his shoulders and looking hard into the tear stained face, Duncan slowly repeated the liturgy that Richie had been vaguely aware of running in the background throughout the spanking.
"We do care about you. We care very deeply. We care that you don't feel able talk to us. We care if you are unhappy. We care if that unhappiness makes you take off and do stupid, dangerous things and we care enough to take action before that stupidity costs you your life or your freedom."
Each statement was punctuated with a sharp shake so that, by the end of it, Riche was clinging to Duncan's arms just to stay upright.
"We care about you Richie Ryan and if I have to turn you over my knee every day for a month to convince you of it then that is exactly what I will do."
"That won't be necessary. I got the message." Answered Richie frantically, rubbing his bottom and waiting for the world to stop spinning.
"But you have to care too," Duncan finished quietly.
Richie's eyes widened and he suddenly looked terrified and very very young.
Reacting on impulse Duncan pulled him into a tight hug. Richie clung onto him. Clung to the security suddenly offered, sobbing out the last of the anxieties that had been building up in him over the last few weeks. Feeling the release, Duncan held on to him, slowly rocking him backwards and forwards murmuring quiet, comforting nonsense.
When he'd finally calmed down Duncan helped him to his feet and grinned down at him.
"Go get cleaned up and I'll get you a drink. You look like you could do with one, But you're not finished for the day yet you know"
"Huh?" Richie started to get nervous again. What else did the man have in store for him today?
"You still have to find the car remember."
"Hi Mac, Where's Tessa?" Richie tried for a cheery smile and breezy manner. It was worth a try.
"At the Gallery, trying to calm down the owner. We need to talk. Now Inside". Said Duncan as he stalked past him.
Maybe not.
"Look Mac, I really can explain." Richie said, following the Highlander down the steps.
"I can't wait to hear it." Was Duncan's inevitable response as he dumped the bags and turned to face the agitated boy behind him. "You can start by telling me where my car is." He was obviously trying to stay calm.
"Could we maybe start with an easier question?"
"RICHIE!" But not succeeding.
With both hands out in front of him, as much for protection as anything else, Richie launched into speech before the Highlander could reach for his sword. Something he was clearly considering.
"Its not as bad as it seems Mac. It's perfectly safe. I. .Er.just...I.Er...Just.. don't know exactly where it is."
Duncan took a deep breath. He hadn't expected this to be easy but it was obviously going to be even harder than he'd thought.
"Rich. Just tell me what happened. Ok?"
And so Richie explained. And explained again. And again. He tried to get Duncan to see that it really wasn't as insane as it appeared at first sight and that, when taken individually, everything he'd done really had made perfect sense. It was just if you insisted on looking at the evening as a whole that it started to seem reasonable to question his sanity.
Duncan, however, became stuck on one question. And it was the question Richie was least able to answer.
"But why? That's the bit I don't get. Why?"
"Well I guess I was bored and a bit lonely and, well it seemed like a good idea at the time."
"Why didn't you come with us? You were invited after all."
"Oh come on Mac. I don't fit in with those sort of people. They'd just have spent the weekend counting the silver or something. You know that."
"You fit it with us don't you? And you'd get along perfectly well with them if you'd only give them a chance. Rich, if you were having these sorts of problems, why didn't you talk to us?"
Duncan really did seem to be trying to get to the bottom of the whole mess and help. The problem was, that that just rubbed Richie's vulnerability raw and he lost his head and blew up.
"And you'd have done what exactly? Asked everyone to be extra nice to your poor little street kid? Well no thanks Mac, I don't need that sort of help. And anyway, you and Tessa have your own life. You don't want to be bothered like that with me."
"So let's get this straight. You didn't want to bother us. You'd prefer to drive around Paris getting drunk, picking fights in bars and almost getting picked up by the police. You didn't think we cared enough to even try and talk to us? After everything we've been through you still didn't think we'd care." If Duncan had been angry before he was now absolutely furious. He advanced on the boy and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.
Richie tried to back away but he was already up against the wall and there was just no-where to go. He found himself being dragged, struggling and yelling across the floor.
"Heh! Lemme go. What are you doing?"
On reaching the couch Duncan turned towards him. Holding the boy by both shoulders and in a voice all the more frightening for being calm and quiet said.
"I'm going to prove to you once and for all just how much we care about you and how important you are to us."
With that, he sat down pulling the stunned Richie face down across his lap.
For once Richie's famed motor mouth failed him. He simply couldn't believe what was happening. His wail of "Maaaaaaac?" was cut off with a squawk as his friend's hand connected sharply with the seat of his jeans.
However, realisation quickly set in as Duncan proceeded to soundly spank him and he tried frantically to struggle free, kicking and screaming and swearing. But the Highlander was just too big and his determination to see this lesson home once and for all was just too strong. As Duncan concentrated on covering every inch of his backside, the threats and swearing slowly gave way to inarticulate grunts and cries as Richie became more concerned with not sobbing like a baby or being sick.
Hearing the change and feeling that the kid had probably had as much as he could take Duncan finished and allowed Richie to slip off onto his own knees. Then, grabbing his shoulders and looking hard into the tear stained face, Duncan slowly repeated the liturgy that Richie had been vaguely aware of running in the background throughout the spanking.
"We do care about you. We care very deeply. We care that you don't feel able talk to us. We care if you are unhappy. We care if that unhappiness makes you take off and do stupid, dangerous things and we care enough to take action before that stupidity costs you your life or your freedom."
Each statement was punctuated with a sharp shake so that, by the end of it, Riche was clinging to Duncan's arms just to stay upright.
"We care about you Richie Ryan and if I have to turn you over my knee every day for a month to convince you of it then that is exactly what I will do."
"That won't be necessary. I got the message." Answered Richie frantically, rubbing his bottom and waiting for the world to stop spinning.
"But you have to care too," Duncan finished quietly.
Richie's eyes widened and he suddenly looked terrified and very very young.
Reacting on impulse Duncan pulled him into a tight hug. Richie clung onto him. Clung to the security suddenly offered, sobbing out the last of the anxieties that had been building up in him over the last few weeks. Feeling the release, Duncan held on to him, slowly rocking him backwards and forwards murmuring quiet, comforting nonsense.
When he'd finally calmed down Duncan helped him to his feet and grinned down at him.
"Go get cleaned up and I'll get you a drink. You look like you could do with one, But you're not finished for the day yet you know"
"Huh?" Richie started to get nervous again. What else did the man have in store for him today?
"You still have to find the car remember."