Smiling at the compliance, Justin put a chunk of strawberry that he'd dipped in sugar in Brian's mouth. He watched Brian chew for a second and said, "You did very well. Now scoot your knees under your body so that your beautiful ass is up in the air."

Brian swallowed the bite of strawberry licking the grains of sugar off his lips. He let out a small chuckle thinking Justin sounded so cute trying to be authoritative. Brian kept his eyes closed and his smirk never left his face as he spread his legs out as wide as the tie binding his feet would allow and pulled his torso on top of his legs before letting his chest slide back on to the bed to leave his ass positioned high in the air for what Brian figured would be easy access for Justin's tongue.

Feeling himself get completely hard at the sight of Brian doing what he asked, Justin wondered why they'd never done this before. Then he remembered why he was doing it now, and wondered if maybe he should just let it go. He looked over at the front door and remembered Brian shoving him out. He remembered going to Brian's office and Brian yelling at him for daring to question the supposed trip Brian was going to take. No, he wasn't going to let it go.

He looked back over at Brian and decided one more bit of fun before things got serious. He got up on the bed behind Brian and put both hands on Brian's hips. He trailed his tongue slowly from the top of Brian's ass all the way down the crack to the sensitive skin around the tiny hole and pushed his tongue in. He slid it in and out slowly, hoping Brian was enjoying it as much as Justin had when their roles had been reversed.

Brian's breath quickened feeling Justin's talented tongue hit all of his sensitive nerve endings. As Justin expertly maneuvered his tongue, Brian's cock began to get harder, and he moaned softly in appreciation. As Justin continued, he spread his legs far enough out that his cock was able to rub on the soft sheets below. He desperately wanted to touch himself as the pleasurable sensations Justin gave him sent his mind reeling. When he could take it no more he grunted out, "You're so good with that tongue. I'm close to cumming; jerk me off."

Justin stopped what he was doing. He lightly swatted Brian's right butt cheek and said, "You're not in any position to give orders."

He swatted the left side and said, "As a matter of fact, we're going to change your position, and hopefully make things a little more clear for you."

Justin pulled Brian's legs out from under him so he was laying on his stomach again, and moved to the side of the bed.

Brian eyes shot open growling at the denial to his pleasure. He sucked in a breath his body stiffening a bit at the slight sting from the two swats that Justin delivered. His annoyance only grew as Justin pulled his feet out from under him as his words sunk in. Brian was no longer enjoying playing this game thinking Justin was getting a little too dominant for his taste, so he replied, "I'm always in the position to give orders. And, I think it's time for me to make things clear for you. Take these cuffs off me, it's your turn."

Justin shook his head. There was some truth to what Brian said. He was always in the position to give orders. But that was the problem. He'd been the one giving orders for so long that he'd forgotten how to accept help from anyone. "No."

He climbed up on the bed, lifted Brian's hips in the air long enough to put his left leg under Brian, set Brian back down so that his hip bones were right on top of Justin's thigh, and lay his right leg on top of the backs of Brian's thighs. He gave Brian a swat that was harder then the other two had been.

"What do you mean no?" He responded quizzically as Justin adjusted him over his thigh. He hadn't thought to fight at that moment still too in shock that Justin hadn't simply acquiesced to his demands. When the harder swat fell, Brian's body twisted arching up and to the side as quickly as a snake rising to strike. He gave Justin an incredulous stare, "What the fuck? I said I'm done playing you little twat. This isn't fun anymore, so you need to get these fucking restraints off." The determined look plastered on Justin's face had Brian feeling very uneasy; he was at Justin's mercy right now, and this fact made him both angry and nervous.

Justin smacked him again and had to admit he found some satisfaction in the way Brian's body jerked in response. He said, "I'm done playing too. This part is serious."

He smacked him again even harder and continued, "I'm sick and tired of you shutting me out the second you think you're not perfect."

He swatted again without pausing in what he was saying. "I'm sick and tired of your secrets and your lies."

He swatted harder still and then had to shake out his hand. "But mostly I'm sick and tired of you thinking that the world will come crashing down around you if you're not in control every second of every day."

Brian's brow furrowed in anger at Justin's words. What did he mean this part was serious? Brian's eyes were fixed on Justin in disbelief as he listened to Justin rattle off his transgressions wincing slightly as he felt the sting of Justin's palm follow each point made. Brian realized quickly that Justin really was serious, and in his current state of duress, that realization made him feel slightly nauseous.

Brian wasn't one to give up easily and surged forward in an attempt to escape Justin's grasp and regain some semblance of control as he yelled in retaliation, "If you're so sick and fucking tired, then why do you keep coming back for more?!" In an attempt to disarm and hurt Justin, Brian added, "I don't need you or this shit! Let me the fuck go now Justin!"

Brian succeeded in moving himself a couple of inches forward with his struggles. Justin put his hands on Brain's hips and pulled him back in place easily, even though Brian was struggling now. He pulled the spatula out of his back pocket with his right hand, and grabbed Brian's left wrist with his left hand to keep him from moving forward again. "I know you don't need me. I don't need you either, but I think we're both happier together then we are apart. And I keep coming back for more because I love you."

He snapped the spatula down on the right cheek of Brian's ass, and was almost surprised at how loud the slap sounded, and by the way it made Brian's whole body jerk.

Brian grunted angrily as Justin dissolved his efforts by placing his ass right back where it had been moments before. He continued to struggle against Justin but faltered noticeably, pausing in his struggles, at what Justin had said. He did feel the same way about Justin even if he didn't always know how to show it. He didn't fully understand how the boy could love him so much with the way he had treated him in the past, but he was Brian Kinney, and that was to be expected right?

These thoughts were cut off abruptly by the searing brutality the spatula delivered. His eyes bulged as the pain took Brian by surprise and he let out a yelp, "Ow! What the?!" He had been facing the top of the bed while he'd struggled, but at this new revelation he swiveled with the best of his ability to face Justin giving him an apprehensive glare, "Damn it Justin! Stop it! That really fucking hurt!"

Looking at the red spot where the spatula left it's mark, Justin said, "Stop? No I don't think so. We're just getting started."

He turned and looked into Brian's eyes. "You're not in control right now. I am, so stop making demands."

He looked back at Brian's ass and said, "This is for shoving me out the door when my only crime was showing you some concern."

Justin brought the spatula down again on the left side of Brian's ass, but didn't stop with one swat this time. He set up a steady rhythm of swats alternating sides as he spanked.

Justin's words made Brian's stomach tighten. 'Just getting started?! He can't be serious?' Brian thought desperately. Brian's head swam unable to deal with the fact Justin wasn't listening to him anymore along with the fact that the dynamic of their relationship had just done a 180.

And then the pain came, and it became more excruciating as the spatula reigned down too quickly to register each individual hit. Brian screamed out enraged, "Ahh! You little shit! Ow! OW!! I swear to god I'm going to kill you for this fucking shit!" He struggled in vein to escape the implement's kiss, but Justin had him pinned well enough where he wasn't going anywhere until Justin decided otherwise.

Upon realizing that Justin had no intention of bowing to intimidation, Brian decided it was time to go with another tactic as he quickly rattled off, "Okay! I get it! Ahh! For Christ's sake! OW! You made your point! I'm a real fucking asshole!"

Justin stopped for a second and said, "No that's not the point at all. Let's talk about your lying. We have an open relationship, which means we should be able to be honest with each other. But you lied right to my face about your supposed trip. And I wouldn't even mind your lying to me if it was for a good reason, but it wasn't. So why don't you tell me why you lied to me and everyone else."

Justin started spanking again to get Brian in the right frame of mind to answer honestly.

The constant sting to his rear was making it hard for Brian to focus on anything else, and all he knew for certain was that he wanted it to end. Brian's ego and the need to justify his actions to Justin currently weighed greater than the pain as he bucked violently and responded, "Lied! I didn't say anything because it was none of your business! Ow! Ahh! Ahh! I didn't want you doting on me like I was some kind of invalid!"

Justin was pleased at how easy it was to keep Brian in place throughout his struggles. He continued the spanking, snorted a disbelieving laugh, and repeated, "None of my business? What a load of shit. Try again." He gave Brian six harder swats in time with the words, "Why did you LIE to me?"

Brian's body stiffened rigidly, his back arching high as the harder swats peppered his ass. "Ow! OW! OWWOW!" He howled out in pain reflexively kicking his feet and franticly trying to cover his ass from Justin's assault. "Justin! Stop! STOP! Okay? Let's talk! I'll talk about whatever you want! Just no more hitting! Please? I, I can't think straight!"

Justin did stop. He wasn't used to hearing Brian say please for anything, and thought it was a step in the right direction. He also wasn't used to hearing Brian yell out in pain, and being the cause of it was making him feel somewhat ill. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves knowing they weren't done yet, and said, "Okay we'll talk for a second. Tell me why you lied to me, and don't give me that bullshit about me doting on you. I know you'd hate that, but that's not why you lied." As he waited for Brian to reply, he set the spatula down on the backs of Brian's thighs, and put his hand on his bright red ass to feel the heat there.

Brian collapsed on the bed taking a couple deep breaths to get himself under control enough to talk levelly again since all his screaming had made his voice hoarse. He was relieved that Justin had stopped using the dreaded implement; his ass was throbbing now, and he wanted to rub the sting away but Justin still had his wrists pinned in the middle of his back. Reminded of his loss of control again sent a pang of anger through Brian, but he dared not voice it for fear of Justin picking up where they'd just left off. He instead squeezed his hands into fists in an effort to cope with the pain as he thought over how he would answer Justin's question.

By the time he had the answer, it became difficult to say. He didn't want to admit that he was terrified of being seen as weak in the eyes of Justin and his friends; terrified that they wouldn't see him in the same light if they knew he was so sick. He had been impenetrable; never show them your Achilles' heel. He'd been taught that long ago by his father, and it had suited him well throughout his life. As long as he'd kept up the façade that nothing was wrong then there would be no need to question right? Did he really think that Justin was so shallow that he would have left him because of it? No. But he didn't want to chance it either. Several minutes had passed when he realized Justin was still waiting for an answer. He sighed despairingly as he answered softly into the bed sheets, "I… I didn't want you to see me like that okay. I was taking care of it, and I thought it was better for the both of us if you just didn't know."

Justin started swatting again with his hand, but didn't use as much force this time. He said, "Wrong answer. I believe that you didn't want me to see you like that, but you did NOT think it was better for BOTH of us if I didn't know. You only thought it would be better for YOU."

Brian yelped in surprise squirming involuntarily as the new barrage of swats landed. He hadn't expected Justin to start spanking him again, and he found that even though Justin was only using his hand now, his flesh screamed on contact still sore from its previous punishment.

Brian howled out, "Alright! OW! Yes! I thought it… Ahh! I thought it was better for me!" The pain was getting to be too much to take and no amount of wiggling, bucking, or maneuvering helped to ease or avoid it. The best Brian thought he could do now was to tell Justin what ever he thought Justin wanted to hear, anything to make the torture stop! "Ow! Fuck! Okay! Ow! I shouldn't have lied to you! OW! I'm sorry!"

Justin was surprised by the 'I'm sorry' and stopped again. He told himself that Brian being sorry was part of what he had wanted when he started this, and to finish what he had started. He picked up the spatula and said, "Okay listen up, because this is important. I love you being in charge. I love you being the top both in bed and out. Tonight doesn't change that. But your refusal to admit you need help sometimes needs to stop. Needing help doesn't make you weak, and showing me a moment of weakness isn't going to make me see you as less of a top," having said that, Justin started spanking again with the spatula.

Brian was glad for the break from Justin's hand, but he cringed inwardly at Justin's words. Had he really been that transparent and bull-headed? He had needed Justin no matter how much he hated admitting it. Justin was right; Brian knew this just as he knew that showing Justin any kinks in his armor would let the boy in closer. Was he ready for that?

Brian's thoughts froze as he felt the spatula being removed from on top of his legs. He spun his head back around to face Justin a feral panicked look in his eyes as he shook his head no. The spatula didn't stop but instead met its intended mark again and again. The realization that this wasn't going to end until Justin had felt his points had been made brought tears to prick Brian's eyes as he pleaded with Justin, "I said I was sorry! Ahh! Ow! What more do you want from me!?"

Justin kept his eyes focused on his target and kept spanking. He knew if he saw Brian's face, he would probably stop before they were really done. He said, "I want you to be honest with me, and tell me why you dealt with your cancer the way you did, and why it's so hard for you to accept help."

As the swats kept landing, the tears that had sat still standing in his eyes cascaded down Brian's face as he moaned out miserably, "I Ow! I don't know! Ahh! It's hard to… Ow! Ow! Justin please! No more! No more! Owwww! I can't!" Brian turned away from Justin in defeat unable to struggle any longer as he crumpled down over Justin's thigh letting the tears flow freely as he whimpered, "I… I was scared… Ahh! …scared to let anyone that close to me because… Ow! Because it means..." He trailed off unable to speak anymore as he sucked back a sob his body shuddering slightly in an attempt to keep himself emotionally intact. 'Because it means acknowledging someone really cares about me and having to admit that I care about them to,' he mentally finished the sentence.

Feeling close to tears himself at hearing Brian's crying Justin really wanted to stop the spanking. But after hearing Brian admit that he had been scared, Justin knew he couldn't let that sentence go unfinished. He gripped the spatula harder, slowed the swats down, and put more force behind them which left little dark spots on Brian's ass that would soon turn to bruises. "Because it means what?"

Brian cried out, "Because it means you care about me! Ahhh! And I don't know how to show you I care! Okay? Oww! Ow! Ow! I'm sorry I lied to you! Stop! Justin please!" Brian buried his face into the bed as his feet kicked involuntarily from the harder swats; he couldn't hold back the sobs any longer as the mix of pain and emotional turmoil came to a boiling point.

Justin felt a swell of love for Brian as he admitted what Justin already knew. He gave him six more swats after he heard Brian's sobs, and then tossed the spatula to the floor. After a few seconds to let Brian catch his breath and realize the spanking was over, Justin took his right leg off Brian's, lifted Brian's hips as gently as possible, and got his left leg out from under him. He lay on his back on the bed next to Brian, propped his head up with a pillow, and pulled Brian into a hug with Brian's head resting on Justin's chest. He said quietly, "I know you care."

Brian had gotten a handle on his tears, but at Justin's words, the tears spilled down his cheeks anew. He lay on top of Justin's chest each breath hitching involuntarily unable to look Justin in the eye as he whispered, "Will you take these cuffs off me now?"

Justin thought it was a good sign that Brian was asking instead of telling, but had a twinge of nervousness at the thought of taking the cuffs off. The image of letting a wounded lion out of it's cage came to mind. He couldn't help but wonder if Brian would be angry and strike back, or worse, toss him out for good. But he couldn't keep him locked up forever, and really he didn't even want to. He much preferred it when Brian was the one calling the shots. Justin kissed the top of Brian's head and said, "Sure."

He moved out from under him, went down to the end of the bed, and untied Brian's feet. Then he went to the closet, got the key, and undid the cuffs. He set the cuffs and the key on the nightstand, and stood next to the bed slightly wary and unsure if he should try to get close or not.

The first thing Brian did when the cuffs were removed was to reach back and tenderly rub his very sore bottom; he could feel the welts rising from the bruised flesh. He saw Justin out of his peripheral standing timidly out of arm's reach; Brian sighed as he glanced up momentarily before returning his gaze back to the bed remarking softly, "I'm not going to retaliate against you," he sighed deeply before continuing, "I may not agree with what you did… but I guess I understand why you did it."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Justin quickly stripped, wanting to feel Brian's skin against his own, more for reassurance then anything else. He got into bed next to him, kissed Brian's shoulder, rubbed a hand on Brian's back, and said quietly, "Thanks."

When Justin climbed next to him, Brian was unsure how to react. He felt like he should be angry or hateful towards Justin; cast him away from him like he had so many times before. But somehow he couldn't bring himself to do it; the anger was gone, and what was left was a sort of calmness that left him more clear headed than he'd been in ages.

Now that the ordeal was over, the exhaustion he'd felt previously hit him like a wave, so Brian reached up to the top of the bed and grabbed a pillow for each of them to rest on. He was amazed that Justin would go to such lengths to prove that he loved him even at the possible cost of losing him. Brian admired that, and to set Justin's mind at ease, he gave Justin a small smile as he threw his other arm around Justin's waist drawing him in closer to him. He stared into Justin's eyes a slight hint of wonderment dancing behind his own. He knew deep down that he didn't want Justin to go away; Justin had made him admit that. It was a good feeling to feel loved, and Brian realized there was nothing he wanted more right now than to know that he would wake to Justin's warmth and beautiful smile greeting him.

Justin felt the rest of the tension about the night leaving his body as he saw Brian's smile and felt Brian pull him close. They stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds, and Justin could see the love Brian felt for him, even if he couldn't say it. Justin could see Brian was tired. He had been tired before they even started, and the spanking had been physically and emotionally draining for both of them, but more so for Brian. Justin kissed Brian gently on the mouth, and then lay down on the pillow he had provided and closed his eyes to get some sleep.

Brian's eyes fluttered tiredly as Justin leaned in to kiss him. The smile never left his face as he inhaled deeply to take in Justin's sent as Justin's lips pulled away from his own. He watched Justin close his eyes the dull glow of the nightstand light softening his tired expression. There were no words left to be said that hadn't been said already. Content in the comfortable silence they shared, Brain followed suit bringing his head to rest below Justin's chin, closing his eyes, and drifting off to sleep as well.