Chapter 73

Niklaus held Marcel close to his chest as Kol mumbled to the floor about his feelings of dejection and the horror he feels about the camping trips. Kol couldn't look his brother in the eyes, fearing that Klaus's eyes wouldn't hold the same kindness Elijah's held earlier, and the moments after he'd stopped talking lingered for what felt like hours.

"I'm...sorry, brother," Klaus finally said. His hand drew up Marcel's back to his shoulder, squeezing it as if he feared his son may have felt the same way. "We didn't know."

Kol's eyes fluttered with tears. He quickly dropped his chin so no one would see his tears. "I...I'm sorry. I should've said something before."

"No," Elijah cupped his hand under Kol's chin, forcing his brother to look him in the eyes. "We should've known. It's our job to assess the situation and make sure you're comfortable. To ensure that you fear the consequences, not the method. We failed you, little brother and we will do everything in our power to make sure it does not happen again."

Kol rubbed the back of his hand across his face, wiping away his tears as if he thought if he did it quick enough, they never happened.

"It's not necessary to hide your feelings, brother," said Klaus. "We understand."

"Not hiding nothing," Kol muttered as he continued to wipe away his tears. "I'm just...too old to be crying about something like this."

Elijah's hand caressed Kol's cheek, guiding his brother's eyes up to his. "You're not. If you're hurting, brother, it's okay to cry. You have to be okay with expressing your feelings to us. Our family is large and it seems to grow by the century...we have a hard enough time getting the kids to open up to us. We need to know that you will come to us when you feel mistreated or abandoned and not just hold it in until the pain becomes too much to bare."

Kol gritted his teeth but as he tried to look away, Elijah pinched his chin between his thumb and finger, keeping his brother's eyes locked on his.

"Because I will not be letting things get this far again. If I feel as though you're shielding your pain from us, I will do whatever I have to do to help you open up to us."

"Fine," Kol grumbled, his face bright red. "I won't try to hide my pain from you anymore. But...you...can't judge me for my feelings. E-Even if they sound stupid to you. You don't judge Marcel...you can't judge me."

Elijah nodded as he released Kol's chin. "You have our word."

Kol stood awkwardly in front of his brothers, having never gotten this far into a deep conversation with them without making some sort of crude joke. He was just considering if he should say something to break the tension when Klaus spoke.

"Since we're on the subject," Klaus adjusted Finn against his shoulder. "Why not take the moment to discuss how you'd prefer your discipline to take place from now on."

Kol's face grew redder at the question. "N-now? Wouldn't this be a question better asked...some other time?"

Kol had never given any real thought to how he 'preferred' being punished. If he had it his way, he wouldn't be punished at all. Although, he also knew that if he hadn't spent years getting his butt blistered along side Marcel as a child, he may still be prone to the random acts of violence that often tore a riff between him and his siblings. And he also gained a friendship that seemed to be rekindling now. Still, he'd never tell his brothers that.

"Now is as good as any," Elijah said as he walked back to the armchair. "Finn and Marcel are sound asleep. Neither of them have much in terms of a choice when it comes to their discipline so we'd rather not wait until they're awake to hear them complain about us giving you a choice."

Kol raised a critical eyebrow. "Why don't they get a choice?"

"Because we know what's best for them," Klaus answered plainly. "Marcellus is my son. He is very clever and can strategize a war like a game of chess. But he has trouble controlling that wretched impulsivity of his and I'm afraid that the century he spent being coddled by me and the century he spent reigning over baby vamps has made him cocky, a trait that does not often end well for someone in our community. And Finn...well...he is just a boy. Reckless, impulsive, prone to emotional outbursts and fits. The only choice he gets in the matter is whether or not he wants to submit to whatever punishment we deem appropriate and if he wants to cuddle afterwards. You, Kol, are the only one who gets to choose how your punishments will be handled."

"And we expect you to be mature and judicious about it," Elijah added.

Standing in the middle of the living room in front of his brother, Kol felt like there was a spotlight on him. "Can I choose to not be spanked anymore," he grumbled.

Klaus glanced across the room at Elijah.

"Of course," Elijah answered. "You've always had that choice. Although...if you choose to go that route, know that it doesn't mean you will not still be held accountable for your actions. As long as you are a part of this family, Klaus and I...and now Freya...make the decisions regarding how this family is ran."

"And...what happens if I don't go along with it?"

Klaus shrugged. "That's what we're having this conversation to find out."

Kol's twisted his fingers behind his back as he stared contemplatively down at the floor. If he wanted to stay with his family, he had a choice. To be spanked or to not be spanked. He hated the spankings for sure, but the alternatives weren't any better. Davina could end up discovering the secrets of the Mikaelson Family Dynamics if he had to cancel Date Night because he got himself grounded. And replacing a spanking with a stint in the corner could mean having to extend the time to fit the crime, leaving him facing a corner like a naughty toddler for hours.

"Kol." Elijah's lilted voice drew Kol's eyes up. "Would you like some help deciding?"

Biting his lip, Kol nervously nodded yes.

"Alright. Let's start with the obvious. Spankings."

Kol's blush deepened at just the sound of the word out loud.

"I know that they are painful and uncomfortable," Elijah continued, ignoring his little brother's squirming for the moment. "But they are also quick."

"And embarrassing," Kol added. "When you turn off my healing like this, I can't be with Davina."

Elijah nodded his understanding and then turned to Klaus. The two of them shared knowing looks for a moment before Klaus said, "If you agree to continue spankings as your preferred form of punishments, we will continue to have Freya turn off your healing to accommodate them. Current mistakes aside, the threat of being spanked without your healing has proven, so far, to be an effective deterrent for misbehaviors."

Kol's jaw tightened as he pouted. "I thought you said it was my choice."

Klaus gave a wry smirk. "The choices you make here today are not unfettered. Whichever decision you make, we still get a say on it. And your final decision will be whether or not you agree to submit to it."

Kol let out an exasperated huff of air through his nostrils. "Fine." He bit. "Then what's the catch if I choose 'grounding's?"

"I can assure you there's not 'catch', little brother," said Elijah. "If decide you'd rather be grounded than spanked, we will oblige by it. Depending on your misbehavior, your sentence can last anywhere from one day to a month. We will still allow you to see Davina, of course, but date night's during the course of your grounding will be null and void. You will also have to adhere to a strict bedtime and if you were to miss it for whatever reason, another day will be added to your punishment. You will not be allowed any visitors, television, books, recreational activities or devices, including your cell phone, for the course of your punishment."

Kol crossed his arms over his chest, his pout growing more pronounced. "That sounds worse than a spanking."

Klaus couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped him. "No one said any of this would be easy, brother."

"And what if I choose to just stand in a corner for my crimes. Will you make me stand there for days?"

Niklaus cocked an eyebrow as he turned to Elijah who seemed just as undecided. Neither of them had considered 'corner time' as a predominate alternative to spanking."

"Standing for days would be torture," Elijah said to Niklaus.

"Hours maybe."

Elijah thumped his finger against his chin as he considered it. "Perhaps a series of hours broken up into days."

"One hour a day for a month for the worst infractions." Klaus suggested.

"Perhaps before bed. We may need to enact a bedtime routine for consistency."

"That's a given. Dinner, PJ's, corner, bed."

"In your studio or my study depending on who's available."

Kol felt a shiver go down his spine as his brothers discussed his fate before him. He knew corner time would be the most humiliating of the punishments but he didn't expect them to be so thorough in his humiliation.

"Yes," Elijah crossed one knee over the other with a satisfied smirk on his face. "I think we've come to a conclusion, Kol. What do you think?"

Kol's lip curled into a snarl. "I think you're both batty if you think I'd willingly agree to a month of that."

"How unfortunate," Klaus sighed. "I was very much looking forward to the bonding time."

Marcel suddenly stirred in Klaus's lap, groaning as he twisted his hips to bring some relief to a part of his bottom that had scooted down too far between Klaus's legs and fell to the sofa. Klaus helped his son back into a comfortable position and said, "Perhaps I will save it for Marcel."

Watching as Klaus placed a gentle kiss against Marcel's forehead as the man finally relaxed back into a deep slumber, a twinge of jealousy shot through Kol.

"Kol," Elijah stated firmly, drawing Kol's attention back to him. "Are you still with us?"

"Um..." Kol's eyes dropped to the floor, his cheeks tinting pink with embarrassment of being caught longing. "Yeah, of course, 'Lijah. Just...thinking."

"About your punishments?"

"Of course. What else?"

Elijah shot a look over to Niklaus and, without a word, they both came to an agreement.

"Perhaps we're been a bit too inconsiderate," said Elijah. "To make you choose between three choices when you'd rather have none at all. So I tell you what we will do, as a favor to you little brother. We will continue to choose your punishments for you."

Kol's eyes widened. He didn't see how that was a favor to him at all.

Noting his brother's distress, Klaus said, "We will take the stress of choosing your punishment off of your shoulders."

"But hen we're back where we started," Kol objected.

"We are. But, perhaps, with an addendum. We promise to hold you after every spanking, to kiss you good night whenever you spend an hour in the corner, and to check on you every day you're grounded to ensure that loneliness does not overcome you."

Klaus's promise made Kol blush and squirm. "I'm not Marcel," he grumbled loud enough for his brothers to hear but almost as if he didn't want to say it. "I don't need to be babied."

"Perhaps not," said Elijah. "But something tells me you'd prefer it."

Kol stared down at the floor unable, and unwilling, to argue. "Does that mean...I'm still gonna be switched now?"

Elijah looked over to the switch sitting at Klaus's feet. "It does," he answered, uncrossing his legs and sitting forward, silently urging Kol to look him in the eyes. "But I would also like to propose another change to your punishment. One that will require considerably more effort on your part."

Kol tensed at the seriousness in his brother's eyes.

"I want you...I need you...to start talking during your spankings." Elijah sighed as Kol's face scrunched to display his displeasure. "We don't spank you as a way to assert our disappointment and frustrations, Kol. We do it in the hope that you will understand that there are consequences to your actions, consequences that you do not enjoy and so hopefully you will work to improve and to prevent more consequences. But in order for us to know that you understand why you're being punished, that you understand that you are in fact being punished for your own actions - not because we want to beat you - I am asking that from now on, you are more verbal when you're being spanked. Can you do that for me, little brother?"

Kol sucked his lip between his teeth, leg bouncing with anxiety. "Wh-what am I supposed to say?"

"Whatever's on your mind, Kol. Your feelings about the spanking, how you hope to improve so as not to end up in this position again.

"But..." His voice fell softly from his lips. "If I do...I might start crying harder and begging and..." Kol's eyes dropped to the floor. The conversation was making him feel vulnerable and he couldn't bare to look them in the eyes as he spoke. "And...it's embarrassing."

Niklaus smirked. "The entire ordeal is a tad embarrassing, brother. But the moment you realize that there is no shame in baring your soul to your brothers, the closer we become. Take Marcellus for example. He went two hundred years without a proper thrashing and in that first century, he started pulling away from us, keeping secrets and devising schemes because he began to feel less like a Mikaelson."

Klaus's eyes fell lovingly down to his sleeping son.

"And tonight, months after returning to the Mikaelson regime, he called me 'Poppa' for the first time since he was a boy."

Kol felt a warmth engulf his body as Klaus turned his loving eyes up to him.

"Our relationship would not have grown to this extent if he were not so willing to accept loving discipline when it is due. Sure he puts up the occasional fight, but when he's over my lap, he understands why he's there and tries, for the most part, to make amends for his mistakes. You have to learn to be just as amiable, little brother. Release these feelings of shame and understand that what we do is for the betterment of our family as a whole."

Kol squirmed from foot to foot. He was sure it was easy for Marcel to spill his guts to Klaus and Elijah. He'd been doing it since he was a boy. He remembered back when Marcel was human, there was times when it seemed like the boy couldn't wait to get back to Klaus and tell him everything he saw and heard and felt that day. In a thousand years, Kol had never felt the urge to share his feelings with any of his family members.

Elijah rose from his chair and walked over to the switch, picking it up as he turned his attention back to Kol. "All you have to do is try, brother," he said, gripping the switch in his hand as he walked back over to the chair. "It'll come easy with time."

The thought of being switched made Kol tremble.

"I don't want to be grounded for a month," he suddenly said in an attempt to prolong his punishment. "Th-that's too long. Josh and Davina might start to get suspicious if I can't hang out for that long."

Elijah nodded his agreement. "Understood. Groundings will not last longer than two weeks. Anything else?"

Kol's bottom lip trembled. "And...and you won't hold what I say against me. E-Even if it's cruel?"

"We promise," said Klaus. "However, depending on the depths of cruelty, we may have to discuss it afterwards just to ensure you aren't repressing any stronger feelings."

Kol's mouth moved but neither Klaus nor Elijah understood what he said.

"What was that?" Elijah asked. "We didn't quite catch that, brother. Speak up."

Kol crossed his arms in front of him and rolled his eyes, the knot in his stomach tightening as he mutter just a bit louder, "I said...you have to promise to hold me while we talk like you do Marcellus. That's the deal."

Elijah fought against the curve of his lips, attempting to remain serious in the mist of negotiations but Klaus could not hide the smile that tugged on his lips at Kol's proclamation.

"Stop smiling," Kol barked, his face turning beet red and his nose flaring at the sight. "Or the deal's off. I'm serious."

Niklaus nodded, forcing his face to be just as stoic as Elijah's as he nodded. "Of course, brother. My apologies. We promise to hold you during every conversation just as we do Marcellus."

Kol swallowed the lump in his throat as he realized he didn't have anything else to negotiate. Which meant there was only one thing left to do.

Elijah stood beside the chair and tapped the switch across the cushioned arm.

"Over the side, brother. Let's bring this unpleasant morning to an end."

Kol drug his feet across the floor to the chair. He was within Elijah's reach when he suddenly considered bolting up the stairs and locking himself in his room for the rest of the trip. Elijah's eyes narrowed at him in the same moment as if he could read his mind. He wrapped his hand around Kol's forearm before his brother could follow through on his plan and bent him over the arm of the chair, holding him in place until Kol's struggles waned down to reluctant acceptance.

Kol crossed his arms on the chair cushion, resting his head between them to hide the tears that already began to form as Elijah reached beneath him and untied his sweatpants. "I'm sorry," he muttered, a chill going down his spine as his exposed bottom touched the air.

Elijah ran his hand gently down Kol's back. "Sorry for what?"

Kol was silent, shame sealing his lips.

The first lash of the switch ended his silence immediately.

Elijah worked the switch methodically across Kol's backside, from the top of his clenched cheeks down to his trembling thighs. Kol kicked and squirmed with every smack but Elijah's hand pressed firmly against the small of his back kept him in place.

After lacing Kol with two dozen of his best, Elijah paused the onslaught. He could feel the sobs shaking through his brother's body but Kol hadn't said anything since the switching began.

"How are you feeling, Kol?" asked Elijah, his hand moving soft circles around Kol's back once more. "Would you like a pillow to hold on to?"

Elijah's touch left Kol's body for a moment but seconds later, Kol peeked up past his arms to see Elijah kneeling beside him with a small white pillow in hand.

His hands trembled as he reached out to take the pillow from Elijah but before he could pull it away, Elijah said, "You have to talk to me, Kol. How do you feel?"

Kol struggled to find his voice through his tears. "I...feel...a-angry." He whispered it, as if he were afraid of Elijah's reaction.

Elijah simply nodded as he released the pillow so Kol could squeeze it in his arms and bury his tearful face in it.

"Why?"

"B-because..." Kol pulled his face from the pillow just long enough to say. "I told him it was dumb. I-I told him to leave those Mystic Falls brats to their own dealings b-but he never listens to me."

Through his peripheral vision, Kol saw Elijah stand back up. The hand against his back confirmed his fears as Elijah started in with the switch again.

"And what should you have done differently?" Elijah asked after covering Kol's backside with a new blanket of red lashes.

Kol twisted his hips to the side in an attempt to avoid any more strikes and Elijah paused the thrashing. Broken sobs ravaged Kol's chest. Elijah stood by his side, waiting patiently for his brother to get his tears under control before he started against.

Once Kol's choked sobs reduced back down to tearful moans, Elijah said, "Get back into position."

With soft groans, Kol flattened his hips back across the arm of the chair.

Elijah balanced the tip of the switch across the curve of Kol's behind and repeated, "What should you have done when you found out Marcel was planning to meet with Tyler Lockwood and Klaus's old sireline?"

"St-stopped him."

"How?"

"By...coming to you and Klaus."

"Correct."

Kol wailed as Elijah landed another awful lash across his cheeks. Elijah netted the pink stripes across Kol's bottom until every inch of it was covered in a bright red hue. As he moved his aim lower to the tops of Kol's thighs, his brother's kicks for freedom became relentless. Elijah kept his hand on Kol's lower back, pinning him to the armrest as he peppered his tender thighs with a series of harsh lashes.

"It is your job to protect Marcel," Elijah scolded between strikes. "If you know he is about to make a life-altering mistake, you either stop him or you come to us and we will stop him. You do not keep secrets from us, especially when doing so puts the lives of one of our family members at risk. Do you understand me, Kol?"

"Yesss," Kol hissed. He bit his lip, afraid of crying out anymore until Elijah let a sharp lash ring out across the undercurve of his bottom.

"Stop biting your lip," Elijah scolded. "If you want to scream, scream. If you want to cry, cry. You're not allowed to hold your feelings in anymore."

"But it hurts," Kol howled as if that explained why he was so reluctant to speak.

"I know." Elijah landed another half dozen strikes to Kol's sit spots, careful to make them just sharp enough to sting without breaking skin. "But how much pain do you think this family would've been in if something would have happened to Marcellus because the two of you decided to keep secrets from us?"

As Elijah lapped the length of Kol's bottom for a third time, Kol lost the will to fight. His body laid limply over the armrest as sobs broke through his chest.

Elijah ended the switching the moment he felt Kol's hips relax under his hold. Lifting Kol's limp body from the armrest, he took his seat in the chair and pulled Kol onto his lap.

Kol bawled against Elijah's shoulder as his brother held him tightly rubbing soothing circles against his back. He was prepared to whisper apologies into Elijah's ear when he opened his eyes to see Finn and Marcel staring back at him. They were both still engulfed in Klaus's hold but for some reason, him being held by Elijah still embarrassed him. As if it was some place he didn't belong and they knew it too.

He tried to pull out of Elijah's hold but his brother wrapped his arms around Kol's back and held him tighter.

"Go to sleep," Elijah insisted firmly. "You had a long night. I'll wake you in a bit."

Kol tucked his face in the crook of Elijah's neck, shielding his pity from the others.

"You two should go back to sleep too," said Klaus, turning his attention down to Marcel. "Especially you. You didn't get much sleep last night."

Marcel groaned as he struggled to rise to his feet. He'd slept enough. If he looked anywhere near as childish in Klaus's arms as Kol did in Elijah's then it was time for him to get up.

"Who could sleep after witnessing that," he grumbled.

"Marcellus."

Marcel paused in his stride as Klaus barked his name. He was halfway to the kitchen door.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Suddenly remembering the rules of the trip, Marcel answered, "I-I was just going to get a blood bag."

Finn didn't fight as Niklaus eased him off of his chest to stand up. "Sit back down," he ordered his son. "I'll grab it."

Marcel rolled his eyes as he passed Klaus on his way back to the sofa.

"Attitude, Marcellus," Elijah warned, Kol still tucked safely in his arms. "Your bottom is not too sore for a round two."

"Y-yes it is," Marcel said as he eased himself down on the sofa cushion. The day he went furniture shopping for the cabin, he never imagined he'd have to sit on any of it with a sore behind. If he did, he would've made sure to get the softest cushions he could find, not the firm ones that currently pressed against his aching behind.

"Then behave like it."

Marcel huffed, fighting the urge to pout. He already felt much younger than his two hundred years. He felt much younger even than 19. He vaguely wondered if that was the point of the weekend. To remind them of Klaus and Elijah's control through emotional regression.

Niklaus came out of the kitchen with an armful of blood bags. Finn was surprised when he received one since he didn't ask but a part of him had hope'd his brother wouldn't forget about him.

Kol refused to sit up as Elijah to his and Kol's blood bags from Niklaus, feigning sleep when in reality he was just ashamed of getting caught cuddling his big brother by Finn and Marcel.

"Y'know," Marcel said to Niklaus as his father took his seat back between him and Finn as he squeezed the empty blood bag in his hands. "I remember a time when these used to help with the pain." He'd emptied his bag in seconds, hoping for a possible slight reprieve from his torment but alas the blood only helped to sooth his hunger.

Niklaus placed his hand on top of Marcel's soft curls and guided his head back down to his lap. Marcel was grateful to relieve some of the weight from his sore behind but as he stared across at Kol, he knew that they were the same.

Still, he closed his eyes as Klaus ran his fingers through his soft hair, soaking in the moment. Beyond the cabin, he was Marcel Gerard: the ex-upgraded Original, the former King of the Quarter, the man admired by many, envied by others, feared by most. Within the cabin walls, he Marcellus: Niklaus Mikaelson's son. And that was all that mattered.